Chapter 2: Marriage Before Our Thirties (2)
"Mrs. President, what"s going on? What happened to Mr. Yang?"
"I"m sorry, everyone, but the investments off."
Seung Hee said this bitterly as she returned to her seat. She was still in a bad mood from her conversation with Yang. Seung Hee then saw mail on her desk. One was sent from the "Y University Business Administration Department. She opened it.
- 89th Annual Alumni a.s.sociation of Business Administration Department of Y University
After reading the first line of the mail, Seung Hee didn"t read anymore and put it back in the envelope. She had never been to an alumni a.s.sociation, and she won"t start now, even if there will be no more after this one.
After she roughly threw away her mail, Seung Hee changed the name of the business plan in her computer"s doc.u.ment box to Twinkle a.s.set Business Plan Server 27. She tried so hard to sell it to her investors, but it failed. Seung Hee sighed bitterly as she put the doc.u.ment into the recycling bin before she got up from her seat.
"You guys can have lunch now. I have an appointment, so I"ll be eating lunch separately."
She then places her corporate card on Hye Soon"s desk before walking out the door. Hye Soon, who was dying to know what was said in the conference room, followed behind Seung Hee.
"Unni, what happened to your investment?"
Briefly, before this, the two other employees were imploring Hye Soon to ask Seung Hee about what had happened in the conference room. After all, Hye Soon was more straightforward than the others.
The employees of Twinkle a.s.set and Seung Hee were like blood brothers who shared life and death. They hid nothing from each other. Plus, Seung Hee thought it was better to tell them now before they start imagining weird things.
The suggestion from Yang echoed in Seung Hee"s mind. After Seung Hee had told Hye Soon what Yang said, Hye Soon"s face remained unwavering. After all, Hye Soon lacks in feelings of sympathy. Although she is talented and is a significant help to the company, she was just too cynical in stories such as these. To sum it all up, she didn"t care about other people or understand the feelings of others.
"Since you were put in that position, I guess that there"s nothing that can be done. However, it is a bit disappointing."
Seung Hee"s left eyebrow raised to Hye Soon"s comment.
"But I think it would be easy to meet the person at least once. Besides, I heard that there are many great people who are also the same age as you. Aren"t you curious?
Seung Hee then noticed that Hye Soon"s disappointment is not due to their loss of investment, but instead that Seung Hee is not seeking marriage.
"Why would I meet someone I don"t know while having the intention of marrying?"
"For most married couples, they first met their partners without knowing anything about them. But through these meetings, you can know some basic information about them and their looks, giving you the freedom to reject if you"re not interested."
"…So, are you worried about the investment, or are you just curious about my love life?"
"Well! Knowing you, I"m sure that you are going to take care of it just fine. Enjoy your lunch!"
Since she got all the information she needed, Hye Soon then went back inside the office ever so coolly.
Last night"s dream added to Yang"s words. The two seemed to connect. This only made Seung Hee in a bitter mood.
"Ahh… I don"t want my dad to see me like this."
"Ugh… I wish that five billion won could drop from thin air."
Seung Hee walked to a restaurant near the company and stopped right in front of their gla.s.s wall to try to make herself look presentable while looking at her reflection.
"Why isn"t my plan running smoothly…"
Seung Hee was starting to feel bitter again. She hasn"t even pa.s.sed the first page of her business plan in front of her investors yet.
"Still, you"re doing a great job, Seung Hee."
Seung Hee grumbled over the past hour while she was trying to console herself. Then, Namsu, the father of Seung Hee, arrived at the restaurant.
"Daughter! How long has it been?"
"Too long. It"s probably because you"re late. Again."
Seung Hee pouted her lips together. Since she started living alone, she has only seen her dad three or four times a year. She has really been missing her father a lot.
"I know… but it"s tough. However, you"ll always be my loving daughter, won"t you?"
Namsi smiled as he took a seat opposite of Seung Hee. He then stared at his daughter"s face.
"Ah, you"ve become even prettier."
Seung Hee was still a bit annoyed by the fact her father came an hour late, but his compliment lightened up her mood. Her father"s affectionate eyes proved to Seung Hee how truthful he was being.
"So, what"s up? We usually have lunch on weekends, but you suddenly wanted to meet now."
"Uh, I was just wondering if your business was doing well and all."
"Are you really curious about that, or are you just using it as an excuse to see me?"
Seung Hee questioned with a mischievous smile. However, Namsu, who usually laughs at times like these, kept his mouth shut tight. If Seung Hee had known what was going to happen next, she would have run out of that restaurant at that moment.
Soon, the food that Seung Hee had ordered from earlier was placed before them. Masu diligently out some of his share of meat onto Seung Hee"s spoon.
"Make sure to eat a lot, Seung Hee. Don"t worry. I"ll pay for it."
"But with what money?"
Seung Hee laughed. How could he pay if he"s tight on money? On the television that was slanted on the wall, it televised an interview from the parent of an actress. They were talking about how their daughter had to lend money to her parents due to complicated reasons.
"You don"t have debts that are going to pa.s.s onto me too, right?"
Seung Hee said this jokingly as she took numerous peeks at the TV to watch the ongoing interview. Namsu smiled, but he strangely didn"t laugh at the joke again.
"Seung Hee."
Suddenly, Namsu put down his chopsticks. He was starting to look more serious. Seung Hee was now alert. A pang of anxiety shot through her chest. Namsu then told her a story.
"A long time ago, around 23 years, my dad and I were caught up in this huge mess. We were trying our best to fix it, but we didn"t have any money. Hanbu, a man that I knew well at that time, knew of my pitiful situation and lent me land."
Seung Hee"s eyes were now wide open.
"I then sold that land for 200 million won."
Two hundred million won?!? That"s a lot of money.
"I should have met that person Yang was talking about earlier. I don"t have that kind of money with me right now!"
"Currently, the price of that land is now twenty-five times higher."
"Dad, are you insane?!?"
Some people heard Seung Hee"s loud remark and were looking at them. However, Namsu continued his story.
"However, there"s a condition if I can"t pay Hanbu back."
Seung Hee p.r.i.c.ked up her ears.
"You need to marry his grandchild."
Namsu pulled the contract out of his bag that was placed next to him and then showed it to Seung Hee. A few sleek words in the middle of the contract drove Seung Hee into a state of shock.
- The two must get married before they turn 30.
Seung Hee"s hands trembled with anger. Twenty-three years ago, her father sold her for 200 million won, and she was only five years old at that time! How crazy can he be?
"But I have good news!"
Seung Hee, who was seriously thinking about whether she should completely cut off communication with him, glared at her father.
"We signed this contract after a few drinks. He may not even remember!"
"But how would you know that for sure?"
"That"s just his personality. It"s very possible."
"So, we should go to his house and secretly steal the contract. I know where they placed the contract so all we have to do it just get it."
"Then you should be the one to get it."
"I would, but their dog is huge. Plus, they let it roam inside the house."
Twenty years ago, Seung Hee"s father was bitten by a dog. It was so bad that the skin that the dog bit off left a scar. After that, Namsu developed cynophobia (fear of dogs).
"… I thought you said that the rich man"s name was Hanbu, but why is there a different name on here?"
She asked, half giving up.
"It"s a nickname. I meant to say Mr. Han."
"No way. Don"t tell me it"s the man that I"m thinking of."
Seung Hee shook her head.
“It"s Han Tae Jo, chairman of the Geumw.a.n.g Group.”
This is the bad premonition that Seung Hee has feared since this morning.
“Dad, are you really crazy?!?”
Her loud remark once again caught everyone"s attention.