IMFOBO | CH 26 | Future Wife

Eun-cho involuntarily held her breath at the sudden contact.

His hand was firm and strong.

Perhaps it was the heat rising from where their skin touched.

Her heart seemed to be beating faster and faster.

He’s right, she thought. Like Tae-san said, this feels much closer.

Like a couple about to be married.

It felt natural, as if it wasn’t the first time they’d held hands.

Eun-cho, who hadn’t been able to put any strength into her grip, seemed to make up her mind and squeezed back.

Her hand, which had been loosely held in Tae-san’s grasp, found its place.

Then she felt a stinging gaze in the air.

When she looked up, she saw Tae-san staring down at her, his expression blatant.

His glossy eyes intensely scanned her eyes, nose, and then her lips in sequence.

“What? What is it?”

“Good job.”

His eyes, uttering words she couldn’t decipher, seemed darkly burned somehow.

Drawn in by his gaze, which felt as if it were pulling her closer, Eun-cho stared up at Tae-san’s face.

He put a very slight pressure on their joined hands, so subtle that only Eun-cho would notice.

“Let’s go in.”

After a short silence, Tae-san’s single sentence transformed the taut tension into a different kind of unease.

Her fingertips grew cold, and she stiffened her back, which she had been trying so hard to keep straight.

Eun-cho swallowed hard and entered the inauguration hall, where, as if on cue, everyone’s eyes fell on her at once.

The low murmur of voices was also unsettling.

“Don’t be nervous.”

Tae-san put his arm around her shoulders and leaned down.

His breath tickled her neck in a way that was almost too stimulating.

His unusually low voice felt like it was being driven into her ear, making her neck flush.

“If you’re nervous, just look at my face.”

Wouldn’t that make me even more nervous?

This man seemed to know the power of his face but forgot it at the most crucial moments.

The man who was whispering to her, as if trying to ease her tension, had a mischievous look on his face.

Like an innocent boy.

Eun-cho took a short, deep breath and smiled, pulling up the corners of her lips.

A woman appearing in public with Ryu Tae-san, one of the successors of the Baekun Group, holding his hand tightly.

She wasn’t naive enough not to know what this meant.

Half curiosity, half envy. The gazes that had been pouring in since the lobby had only grown more blatant and intense inside the grand hall.

“The woman sitting at the third table on the left is glaring daggers at me. Is she on some kind of ‘Girlfriend of the Month’ list?”

“What is that, like some kind of Guinness World Record? ‘List’?”

Eun-cho whispered, standing on tiptoe, and he let out a ridiculous laugh.

The man, who didn’t exactly deny Eun-cho’s question, lightly adjusted his earring in a way that wasn’t too flashy.

His touch grazed his earlobe, as if he was enjoying the attention.

It was enough to clearly show that Lee Eun-cho was Ryu Tae-san’s woman.

“If you’ve noticed, smile, future wife.”

“How many ‘Girlfriends of the Month’ are there anyway?”

He just smiled without giving her a real answer.

She had a feeling that whatever she imagined would be more than that.

“What are you doing? You need to crush them.”

His repeated whispers eased the tension, which had been stretched taut for a moment.

No matter how many women were on the “Girlfriend of the Month” list, in the end, Lee Eun-cho was the final victor.

Well, even if it was just a one-year contract position.

Tae-san’s words sounded like encouragement and support, but also like he was inciting a fight.

Anyway, he was born with the talent to make people angry and laugh at the same time.

“It’s not difficult.”

Perhaps it was because of the experts’ help today.

Eun-cho, who had gained quite a bit of confidence in her appearance, lifted her chin slightly and gave a melting eye smile.

I have to do well.

This was like a mission—the first gate that this man was giving her.

Just as the heart that had been walking on thin ice had loosened slightly.

Before she could even relax, a crisis struck.

“Boss is here. Chairman Ryu Deok-bae in front. He’s my grandfather.”

The appearance of a boss monster at the same time as entering was too high a difficulty level.

Eun-cho straightened her clothes as neatly and demurely as possible and moved her feet.

“Grandfather.”

“Hello.”

At Tae-san’s call, an old man with white hair turned around.

As soon as their eyes met, Eun-cho bowed respectfully.

Thinking that he was the head of the Baekun Group, her shoulders involuntarily shrank.

But…

The old man’s face, which she saw for a moment, was somewhat familiar.

His gaze was so intense that it felt like he was piercing through the top of her head.

Why… why didn’t I think about searching his name on a portal site?

It was only after Tae-san said that the other party had already finished investigating her that she had this thought.

No matter how sick and out of it she was, she needed to focus not only on Ryu Tae-san but also on the people around him.

But it’s strangely familiar.

Eun-cho had thought that she had no contact with a big shot like Chairman Ryu.

The face of the old man she met, especially the fierce glint in his eyes that reminded her of a tiger, was familiar, and she was even embarrassed.

Eun-cho rolled her eyes and tried to remember where she had met Chairman Ryu.

“Dr. Lee! It’s been a while.”

“…Ah! Grandfather?”

Only after hearing the friendly voice calling her Dr. Lee did someone flash through her mind.

The expression “like falling backwards in surprise” must be used in situations like this.

The name she used when receiving treatment was definitely not Ryu Deok-bae, but he was definitely an elder she often ran into at Jaedong Korean Medicine Clinic.

There was quite a gap between the dark brown and dark gray hanbok he wore alternately and the neat suit he was wearing.

He was different from the naive grandfathers of Cheongnim-ri, who mainly gave her potatoes and sesame oil, but Chairman Ryu was also a kind person who gave her his favorite snacks, such as sweet bean jelly or red ginseng crackers, every time he saw her.

“I was so upset that you quit the clinic without saying a word! You heartless person!”

The grandfather was about to grab her hand because he was so happy, but he opened his eyes fiercely when he saw Eun-cho standing next to Tae-san.

Eun-cho’s hand was held by Tae-san.

“Why are you holding our Dr. Lee’s hand?”

“You already know everything; why are you pretending? Like a sly old fox.”

A tense atmosphere flowed between the grandson and grandfather.

No one backed down.

Tae-san was the first to open his mouth.

Of course, it was a preemptive strike.

“She’s the woman I’m going to marry.”

“What is this guy up to, dragging in an innocent Dr. Lee?”

The sharp scolding voice was never loud.

His face was calm and even had a faint smile.

The voices of the conversation would not reach others except for the three people involved.

On the surface, it was a very peaceful scene.

“What’s all this about, huh? You had no intention of getting married, driving this old man crazy, and now look at you, you sly fox!”

“Would you still be opposed if I did decide to get married? If you keep throwing tantrums, Grandfather, I might just get tired of it.”

What is even happening right now?

Unlike the grandfather-and-grandson duo, who seemed to control every variable in the palm of their hands, Euncho was utterly bewildered despite being directly involved.

Chairman Ryu had said, “I want to pair Dr. Lee with my grandson,” every time he got acupuncture.

She didn’t know that it was sincere, and even more so, she didn’t know that the main character of those grandson-in-law ballads was Ryu Tae-san.

“It’s difficult to have a long conversation here, so let’s go home after the event.”

“No, I’ll take her there formally next time.”

Chairman Ryu immediately grasped the intention of his grandson, who was trying to hide Eun-cho in his arms.

“Let’s see how long you can hide her. Dr. Lee, make sure to set a date with that guy and come to Baekunjae.”

Don’t make the old man wait too long.

Chairman Ryu added and patted Eun-cho’s shoulder affectionately.

Then, the gazes of the people looking at Eun-cho softened.

Chairman Ryu was absolutely friendly, so of course it had to be.

Then, someone approached the three of them.

“Chairman, you seem to have something good going on. Thank you for coming from afar.”

“Director Lee, no, no! Now I have to call you President Lee! Congratulations!”

A familiar face was seen over Chairman Ryu’s shoulder.

The bond between them, built over a long period of time, was immediately evident in the way they greeted each other.

It was her father.

The main character of this event.

Eun-cho bit her lip tightly, trying not to show her expression.

Moreover, her father’s wife, with her elegant appearance, was also by his side.

A cool contempt settled on Madam Jung’s expressionless face.

Just facing the woman made Eun-cho feel like she was suffocating.

Unlike her gentle appearance, Madam Jung was a master of sharp words.

Recalling her childhood, when she was treated like an illegitimate child, her chest ached as if it were a habit.

“Well, it seems that Tae-san is finally going to get married. He brought his future wife to this event without any notice.”

Only then did Lee Han-mu recognize Eun-cho standing next to Tae-san.

His reaction was slightly different from Chairman Ryu, who had grasped everything in advance.

His expression, which had given even a solid feeling, shook slightly before returning to its former state.

The commotion was like a fleeting moment.

Han-mu stared at Eun-cho, who was next to Tae-san, and then opened his lips.

“Have you greeted my daughter yet?”

His daughter.

She didn’t expect her father to come out like this right away…

It was unexpected.