IMFOBO | CH 47 | Ryu Seobang Is Perfect

Eun-cho hadn’t expected to return to Tae-san’s house again—at least not so soon—when she’d first followed Madam Han to Baekunjae.

But when she stepped into the villa in Hannam-dong, the clothes she’d left behind the night before had already been washed and neatly folded.

Most likely handled by whoever managed the place for Tae-san.

There’s no choice. I have to get out of here—fast.

She still felt gross after rolling around on the garage floor, but there was no time for a shower. She barely managed to change clothes.

All that mattered was escaping to her grandmother before he came out.

There was no way she could be in the same space with that man again.

All she could think about was that blush-inducing kiss.

Once Ryu Tae-san had gotten a taste, it was like a dam broke—he wanted to kiss her constantly.

But the one more ridiculous and pathetic than him… was Lee Eun-cho.

That first kiss, while drunk? She could pass it off as a mistake.

The second? She’d been swept up in the moment.

But the third?

She couldn’t blame him anymore.

She was the one who’d opened her mouth, who’d let their tongues twist together the moment their lips met.

So Eun-cho fled Tae-san’s house like her heels were on fire.

Since taxis didn’t come through those narrow alleyways, she had to jog all the way out to the main road before she could finally flag one down.

Only after sinking deep into the back seat did she finally let out a shaky breath.

Today had felt endless.

Though it wasn’t even 7 yet, the sun had already started slipping beneath the skyline.

Eun-cho sat staring blankly out the window at the blur of the city.

Even as dusk smeared across the glass, her heart wouldn’t calm down.

She had a feeling… For a while, every time she got into a car, every time she heard a car horn, she’d remember that kiss.

It was getting to a point where she worried something might be seriously wrong with her.

“You’ve arrived—Juseong Hospital.”

“Oh, thank you.”

She blinked, suddenly brought back to the present. They were at her grandmother’s hospital.

As she stepped out of the cab, she couldn’t help glancing around, anxious.

What if he had gotten there before her?

But thankfully, no sign of him.

“What do you think made Baekun Group as big as it is? Debt collection.”
“We’re good at finding people—even the ones buried deep.”

Seriously, what kind of twisted DNA is that?

A man born with bounty hunter instincts?

She’d really stepped into it this time.

Even after checking her surroundings, she couldn’t fully relax. She picked up her pace.

She didn’t even dare to look back.

She kept imagining Ryu Tae-san standing there, smiling that crooked smile of his.

She’d get caught eventually—there was nowhere else to go, really.
But for now, running was the right choice.

There was no need to dangle herself in front of the wolf, begging to be eaten.

“Haa…”

Eun-cho made it past the tight security and stood in front of the VIP room.

Her face, reflected in the small mirror on the door, was flushed pink.

Just thinking about Ryu Tae-san—more precisely, just recalling that intimate kiss—left her like this.

She pressed her heated cheeks with the back of her hand, but the warmth wouldn’t go away.

“Aigoo, my baby pup! Why are you just standing there? Come in!”
“Halmoniii!”

Her grandmother spotted her lingering at the door and greeted her with bright delight.

Eun-cho dashed over and buried her face into her grandmother’s lap as if nothing had happened.

“You said you couldn’t come, but here you are—seeing your face makes me so happy.”
“Me too. I came because I missed you. I’ll head to Cheongnim-ri tomorrow.”

Eun-cho rubbed her cheek against her grandmother’s hand like a child.

She didn’t even notice how the movement had shifted her shirt collar open.

“Oh dear? Summer’s over, and there are still mosquitoes? Looks like you got bitten right here. Those little pests!”

Her grandmother had sharp eyes—she’d spotted the red mark hidden beneath the blouse collar without even needing glasses.

Eun-cho flinched and quickly adjusted her clothes.

She knew the move looked awkward and unnatural, but all she could do was laugh it off.

“A mosquito? I didn’t even realize I got bitten. Haha.”

There had been a mosquito.

A big one.
The kind that was very into Lee Eun-cho.

She’d thought she was safe—he’d only left marks where clothes covered—but she’d been caught so easily.

It was enough to make her soul want to leave her body.

Without realizing it, Eun-cho gently pressed her fingertips to her lips.

She could still feel it—the roughness of his tongue as it slipped in, the way he’d sucked and bitten.

The tingling left her feeling just shy of desperate.

“Euncho-yah, my baby, is it that good?”
“Huh? What is?”

No matter how much she played dumb, she could never fool her grandmother.

“That’s why I always said—you should’ve dated when you were younger. If you show too much that you like someone, men get bored quick, they say.”
“N-No! It’s not like that!”

She jumped to deny it, but the ticklish warmth in her chest was unfamiliar.

Is this what it feels like to like someone?

Maybe it was just a fleeting flutter, nothing more than a reaction to her first real kiss.

“…Grandma, do you like him?”

She tried to sound casual, as if it didn’t matter, but Eun-cho’s voice was careful.

Because giving her heart to a man like Ryu Tae-san was dangerous.

The taste in her mouth turned bitter.

She didn’t think she could handle a man like that.

Not when they were about to get married.

“It doesn’t matter whether I like him or not. He cares for you. He likes you.”
“…He does?”
“Men don’t need much, really. As long as all their limbs are attached and they’re hardworking, that’s enough. Once the lights are off and you’re under the blankets, they’re all the same anyway.”

Ryu Tae-san not only cared for her but was head over heels?

Yeah, right.
That couldn’t be further from the truth.

This time, Grandma was definitely mistaken.

“Our Ryu-seobang is mighty handsome too. Tall and solid. And he spends money on you without a second thought. Where else are you gonna find a husband like that?”

His personality’s kinda crazy though, Grandma…

Eun-cho kept that one to herself as her grandmother sang Ryu Tae-san’s praises like an old-school fan club president.

Well, if it made Grandma happy to imagine things that way, she could have it.

Her grandmother gently caressed her cheek with a wrinkled hand, full of love and tenderness.

Eun-cho leaned into it, letting her face press into that slightly rough palm—until she suddenly flinched.

Just hours ago, she’d felt another kind of pressure on her cheek. Hard. Like being slammed into a stone wall.

Of all the places to fall—right there? Talk about cursed luck.

Maybe it wasn’t even Tae-san who was the overly forward one.
Maybe she was the real perv.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Ah, no?”
“You’re acting odd today, my precious girl.”

Eun-cho clung to her grandmother, playfully rubbing her face against her like a kitten.

The faint earthy scent that clung to her brought a strange comfort.

“Euncho-yah… Grandma’s got something to tell you.”

There was a strange shakiness in her voice.

Uneasy, Eun-cho lifted her head from her grandmother’s embrace.

One glance at that hesitant, guilty expression, and she felt a pit open in her stomach.

“Hm? What is it? What’s going on?”

Her grandmother’s lips moved like they were trying to form the words, but nothing came out at first.

Eun-cho gripped her grandmother’s hand tightly, suppressing the sinking feeling in her chest.

“It’s just… your aunt. She’s coming back to Korea soon.”
“…What?”

Her head pounded.

If it were up to her, she’d never see that woman again.

Blood ties meant nothing to her now.

She hadn’t cut them off completely—for Grandma’s sake—but now that there was debt and betrayal involved, even hearing her name made her boil inside.

“Tae-hee’s getting married, apparently.”
“Hah…”

She didn’t want to lash out in front of her frail grandmother, but she couldn’t stop the bitter breath from escaping her lips.

“She says I should at least see my daughter get married.”

How convenient—now that her daughter was getting married, the con artist wanted to play the part of a decent mother?

Memories of all the mess her aunt had left behind came flooding back like a fast-forwarded nightmare reel.

Her blood rushed wildly.

Her heart pounded so hard it made her feel dizzy.

And it was during all that chaos… that she met that man.

If her aunt hadn’t blown everything up back then,
She wouldn’t have ended up in a marriage that felt more like collateral than commitment.

“Grandma, I can’t forgive her.”

Her grandmother only knew the surface.
The truth was, her aunt had been cruel—far more than anyone realized.

Despite years of child support from her father, that woman had intercepted it all, leaving Eun-cho to be treated like dirt.

There were countless times she’d been forced to take the fall, dealing with lowlife thugs in her aunt’s place.

“I know. What right do I have to tell you to forgive Hwaran?
My poor baby’s been through so much. I’m always on your side.”

Even as she heard it, Euncho knew her grandmother could never truly turn her back on her aunt.

Still, she wanted to believe those words.

She had vowed—again and again—that she would make that woman pay back every last cent, principal and interest, no matter what it took.

She would cut ties for good and return the betrayal in kind—twice over.

But there was one thing Eun-cho had overlooked:

Only someone utterly shameless could abandon a sick, devoted mother to be cared for by the very niece they’d ruined.

Go Hwaran was already standing high above her,
smirking down from the top of the food chain.