IMFOBO | CH 5 | A Scandalous Proposition

A Scandalous Proposition

 

Out of the blue, he suggests pairing up?

Eun-cho stared at Tae-san, momentarily stunned.

He probably meant matching numbers, but it strangely sounded like a scandalous proposition to mate.

“What do you mean? Surely you don’t mean we should go greet people together, do you?”

“Is that so bad?”

So, he’s suggesting introducing me to his family as someone he intends to marry…

Is this the Serengeti? We’re not animals in the savanna pairing off. How can he talk about something as serious as marriage so casually?

“When have you ever seen me?”

“I’m a little hurt you don’t remember. I didn’t think my presence was that forgettable.”

Was the vague familiarity just from seeing him on the news all the time?

No matter how hard she tried to remember, Eun-cho couldn’t recall ever meeting Ryu Tae-san.

His unique, untamed aura was the kind you wouldn’t easily forget if you’d met him even once, just as he said.

Alright, let’s say I have seen him before.

“Why…why me of all people?”

Tae-san looked at the wary Eun-cho and smirked meaningfully.

It was a strange smile that felt mischievous in some ways and suggestive in others.

It was a stark contrast to Eun-cho, who was so flustered she made an awkward bleating sound like a goat.

Tae-san answered Eun-cho’s perfectly reasonable question with an unruffled demeanor.

“Well, you shouldn’t have caught the chairman’s eye.”

The unkind man didn’t seem inclined to explain the meaning of his cryptic words.

“I’ll see you again.”

After unilaterally saying his piece, he turned without hesitation and strode away.

Even his gait exuded his unique arrogance as if measured with a ruler.

“Hey!”

As Eun-cho reached out to stop Tae-san, Jung-seok grabbed her arm and shook his head vehemently.

“If you chase him out of here, you’re really done for. That guy’s something else.”

As if he were a normal human being… I’m so confused!

Eun-cho, utterly dazed, looked around the ruined traditional house without answering.

“Sigh…”

The commotion that had swept through felt unreal, and she let out a soft breath.

Eun-cho plopped down on the floor and began to clean up the broken furniture.

She wiped and wiped the black footprints on the wooden floor, but traces she couldn’t erase remained.

Tae-san’s last words were like those dark smudges.

The strange intruder had thoroughly ransacked Eun-cho’s mind and showed no signs of leaving.

“Have you ever met my grandfather?”

“It hasn’t even been thirty minutes since I found out Ryu Tae-san is your brother, okay?”

“Right? Ugh… Ryu Tae-san doesn’t say anything meaningless without a purpose. He hates wasting effort.”

Jung-seok, looking deeply troubled as if something was amiss, scrubbed the floor obsessively.

He seemed ready to drill a hole in the floorboards before finally throwing the rag down hard.

“Ugh! Why did it have to be that guy? I’d rather deal with Ryu Gi-beom!”

Jung-seok’s failed attempt at eloping was inevitably a huge blow.

After trying so desperately to escape, not only was he caught, but now he was about to be dragged back.

“I’m whatever, but did you get caught up in this because of me? There’s nothing good that’ll come out of catching that crazy guy’s eye.”

Jung-seok stared intently at Eun-cho, his face full of apology.

His guilt was overflowing.

“Lee Eun-cho, I’m sorry.”

A heavy atmosphere settled over them, which was uncharacteristic of the always cheerful and talkative Jung-seok.

“I don’t know what else to say. I’m sorry for having that kind of guy as my brother.”

Even though it was beyond his control, Jung-seok’s reaction of apologizing on behalf of his blood relative was perfectly normal.

It was a clear contrast to Ryu Tae-san’s attitude.

“Are you okay, though? Shouldn’t you run away somewhere else?”

“I’m already in Ryu Tae-san’s palm anyway. I’d rather negotiate separately than bring Su-ji into that family.”

Having calculated things in his own way to some extent, Jung-seok shivered.

Jung-seok didn’t usually talk about his personal family matters.

So much so that even though they’d been close friends for seven years, she hadn’t known Jung-seok was the son of the Baekun Group.

My friend, who was overflowing with silliness—no, human charm—is the youngest son of a conglomerate family? I still can’t believe it.

“So, that guy is, well, a little… no, a lot crazy?”

“Seems like it.”

“I guess he does have eyes, and he thinks you’re pretty…”

Jung-seok, looking serious, gripped the rag he’d been using to wipe the floor. He looked furious and worried.

Eun-cho smiled softly and chuckled.

It was time to lighten Jung-seok’s mood.

“Do you think I’m pretty too?”

“Don’t talk like you’re trying to seduce me! That’s a bad habit, you know?”

“We already got mistaken for being in a three-way relationship. I might as well do this to make it less unfair.”

“I’m a terrible person!”

At her teasing words, Jung-seok, who had a very upright personality, pressed his forehead to the floor again.

His repeated apologies, as if he were kneeling in supplication, were just like Ryu Jung-seok.

“Hey, it’s okay! I’m just kidding! Why are you apologizing so much? It’s not like you’ve committed a crime.”

“How are you not intimidated by Ryu Tae-san?”

If it looks that way, it’s a misunderstanding.

I was shaking a lot, even if you can’t tell.

Is it even possible not to be scared of Ryu Tae-san, that man?

“That guy looks normal, but he’s kind of scary. The gods must really love Ryu Tae-san. He’s like he had all the best traits from his mom and dad’s genes and was perfectly molded. Hmm, I take after my dad too much, so I’m like this.”

Jung-seok’s words kept getting longer as if he were frustrated.

Jung-seok had a habit of digressing when he was flustered.

Thanks to that way of talking, he was able to mingle with girls without any awkwardness.

“Oh, anyway, from the moment that guy was born, he’s lived with that superiority complex, and he’s a little crazy, terribly selfish. He never does anything that’s a loss for him. But he asked you, whom he just met today, to go see his grandfather together? That means something. He’s not the kind of person who makes empty promises without an ulterior motive.”

Perhaps because he felt guilty that Eun-cho had been caught up with Tae-san because of him, Jung-seok was desperately trying to give her any clues he could.

“Plus, he said you’re his grandfather’s type? How many times has his grandfather rejected his brothers’ potential marriage partners because he didn’t like them? He’s not someone who’d be impressed by just anyone. He’s not going to bring someone into the family unless it helps his business.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about. There’s no way someone like me would catch his eye, right?”

“You can’t read his grandfather. I gave up on the company a long time ago, but why are my brothers so anxious about their shares? Just because you’re blood-related doesn’t mean he’ll easily hand over the company.”

So, to summarize Jung-seok’s words, Lee Eun-cho, who used to just put needles in old people in the countryside, has become a shrimp caught in the middle of the succession battle between conglomerates?

“I have to be careful then. So my back doesn’t get cracked.”

“I’m not kidding? There’s a reason why I’m talking this long.”

Jung-seok glared and grabbed Eun-cho’s shoulders, meeting her gaze.

“I’m giving you this advice with our friendship on the line…”

“What?”

“Don’t ever get involved with Ryu Tae-san. Just because someone’s good-looking doesn’t mean anything. Eun-cho, don’t just pick up anything and eat it. This isn’t just a stomachache; it’s food poisoning.”

“Ew, gross.”

The analogy was unpleasant, but the desperate intention flew like a dagger and struck its mark.

Perhaps it was because Jung-seok’s expression was so serious.

A red alert was constantly ringing in her head.

“If you run into Ryu Tae-san, avoid him at all costs, Eun-cho. At the very least, you’ll get gastroenteritis, and if you’re unlucky, you’ll die.”

He looked like a shaman even without the white makeup on his face.

Feeling a chill down her spine, Eun-cho nodded almost involuntarily.

Jung-seok’s last words, “That guy’s incredibly persistent,” were like a trailer.

She had a premonition that she would end up on Ryu Tae-san’s palm like a docile cat in the end.

Eun-cho shook her head to shake off the ominous feeling.

At that moment, loud footsteps could be heard outside the gate.

The rumor that loan sharks had appeared at the clinic spread throughout the village in less than an hour.

She had been struggling so hard not to reveal that she had taken out loans to run the clinic and workshop, but the loan sharks had made a mess, and everything had been exposed.

It was only a matter of time before her sick grandmother heard about it.

“Where are they?! Where are they?! You bastards!”

Su-ji, her eyes bloodshot, burst through the gate. Behind Su-ji, the residents of Cheongrim Village followed.

“Eun-cho! What’s going on? How’s Grandma?”

And among them was one unwelcome guest.

The source of Lee Eun-cho’s misfortune, Jo Tae-hee.