II - 59

The tall figure of I-jun loomed over Suk-tae, looking down at him.

“How is your sister-in-law doing?”

“Sister-in-law? What’s with this sudden change in tone?”

Suk-tae was visibly flustered.

“Of course, I mean your eldest sister-in-law. Your younger sister-in-law is someone you’ll take care of yourself.”

Acting on instinct to protect his wife, I-jun moved swiftly.

The lounge bar erupted into chaos in an instant, and both I-jun and Suk-tae ended up at the police station.

While Suk-tae looked like a mess—his face battered and his clothes soaked—I-jun remained impeccably clean.

“You need to call someone to pick you up before you can leave. Hurry up and call them.”

The officer had been yelling at both men for a while now, demanding they contact their guardians.

I-jun initially considered calling Manager Kim but changed his mind. Instead, he called I-ryeong—the one person who shouldn’t meet Kang Suk-tae under any circumstances.

“You bastard! You beat me half to death? Tomorrow, your face will be plastered all over the newspapers, so you’d better prepare yourself!”

Suk-tae was in no state to be seen. His face was bruised, his clothes drenched, and his overall appearance was pitiful.

“Did I do that? I don’t recall doing anything of the sort.”

“Still denying it, huh? Let’s see if you can keep spouting nonsense when AE’s stock price plummets!”

The police were summoned thanks to someone at the scene making a report.

“Officer, I’m innocent here! It’s this guy—he left me in this state!”

Suk-tae exaggerated his injuries, putting on his most pitiful expression while conveniently omitting his own wrongdoing.

“There’s nothing we can do for you here at the station until your guardian arrives. Then you can leave.”

“What do you mean, ‘leave’? Are you seriously going to let this violent thug loose on the streets?”

The small police station reverberated with Suk-tae’s loud voice.

“Quiet down!”

Finally, the exasperated officer issued a warning, bringing the commotion to a temporary halt.

Having received I-jun’s urgent call about the incident, I-ryeong rushed to the police station.

“I-jun!”

Her pale face revealed just how worried she had been.

Fortunately, she had been nearby at the hotel; otherwise, something worse could have happened on her way.

“Let me see you. Are you hurt badly?”

“Some trouble started, and they said I needed to call someone. The only person I could think of was you.”

“You did well.”

I-ryeong cupped his face with both hands, examining it carefully for any signs of injury.

“Suk-tae! Oh, my goodness!”

At that moment, Suk-tae’s mother stormed into the police station, her shrill voice piercing everyone’s ears. He had called his mother instead of his wife.

“What are you doing here at the police station in the middle of the night? When will you stop causing trouble?”

“Mom! It hurts!”

Suk-tae’s mother smacked his back repeatedly, clearly exasperated by her son’s sorry state.

“A forty-year-old man getting into fights and being brought to the police station—is this what I raised you for?”

“It’s because it doesn’t make sense that I called you! Surely you didn’t contact her, right?”

Suk-tae glanced nervously at the empty space where his wife should have been, pestering his mother anxiously.

“How could I handle this on my own? I already called Hana, so she’ll be here soon.”

“Why did you call me? Why would you involve Hana? Ugh, honestly!”

Hana was Suk-tae’s wife.

“The only person who can save you from this mess is Hana. What else could I do?”

“Save me? Just come and go, Mom! How many times do I have to explain this to you?”

Suk-tae paced restlessly near the entrance of the police station, looking like a dog desperate to relieve itself.

I-ryeong paid no attention to Suk-tae or his mother. Her sole focus was on I-jun, frantically searching for even the smallest scratch.

“Do you think I got hit?”

“Yes. Do you know how worried I was that my husband might be seriously hurt?”

I-jun almost burst out laughing at the sight of I-ryeong’s teary eyes.

Could anyone be this adorable? She reminded him of a rabbit, and he had to suppress the urge to tease her further.

“Does your husband look like someone who gets beaten up?”

“Well, no…”

He was the kind of man who exercised every morning without fail—even after intense nights, he never skipped his workouts.

“Look at me properly. Look! There’s a wound here.”

Finally, under her sharp gaze, she spotted a tiny scratch. It was so minuscule that one would need a magnifying glass to see it.

“Really? I didn’t see anything when I checked in the mirror earlier. Is it really there?”

“It’s right here!”

It was smaller than the “ant poop” jokes her childhood friends used to make.

“Was this done by that person?”

I-ryeong pointed accusingly at Suk-tae.

“Well… yes, but it’s not like he necessarily hit me…”

“The person who hurt my treasure is definitely him.”

Without listening to another word, I-ryeong concluded.

Thinking about how both she and her husband had been wronged made her blood boil.

“Hey, Kang Suk-tae! Did you hit my husband?”

With sharp eyes and a shrill voice, I-ryeong confronted Suk-tae directly.

“W-what?! Who do you think you’re talking to like that? Don’t talk to me so rudely!”

“What relationship do we have that warrants respect from me?”

I-ryeong sneered as she glared at him.

“Trash.”

Her icy tone sent shivers down her own spine.

“W-what? T-trash? Me?”

“You’re not even worth being called trash.”

Regret washed over her as tears threatened to spill. She wished she had fought back just as fiercely back then.

“Kang Suk-tae. I’ll make sure you pay for hitting my husband.”

“You dare take his side, calling yourself a husband? After seeing my face like this, how can you even say such things?”

I-jun found I-ryeong’s protectiveness both endearing and amusing. Her frail frame standing defiantly to defend him made her seem impossibly lovable.

“I’m fine, so calm down, okay?”

“How can I calm down when there’s a scratch on your precious face?”

With an anguished expression, I-ryeong gently caressed the tiny wound on I-jun’s face, genuinely worried.

“I won’t leave that person alone.”

“Alright. Do as you wish.”

When he first called her, he had second thoughts. He feared she might be hurt further by seeing Suk-tae. But it didn’t take long for him to realize his worry was unfounded.

“No, listen here, missy! Look at my son’s state! Anyone can see your husband completely ruined him!”

Suk-tae’s mother pointed accusingly at the couple, taking her son’s side.

And truly, Suk-tae’s face was unrecognizable—his swollen lips, blackened eyes, and overall battered appearance were hard to look at.

“That’s your problem. Kang Suk-tae, I won’t let you off for this!”

But now wasn’t the time to sympathize with him.

Thinking about I-jun being struck by Suk-tae’s fist made her blood boil. She felt a sharp sting as if she herself had been hit. If they weren’t in the police station, she would have lunged at Suk-tae right then and there.

“If you don’t leave me alone, do you think I’ll stay quiet? Didn’t you get sued for assault before? A couple who throws punches together—why don’t you two go eat prison food together?”

Just as Suk-tae sneered through his scabbed lips, Hyuk-joon entered the police station. Unlike Suk-tae’s disheveled state, Hyuk-joon looked immaculate, much like I-jun.

“I didn’t know you were here—I went looking for you somewhere else.”

Hyuk-joon approached I-jun with a soft voice.

“You didn’t need to come, but here you are anyway.”

Hyuk-joon’s eyes narrowed mischievously.

Knowing his friend wouldn’t call a personal assistant, he rushed to the nearby police station after tidying up the scene.

“Could it be… Is this your wife?”

Hyuk-joon paid no attention to Suk-tae’s loud complaints in the background. His focus was entirely on the treasure his friend had kept hidden for so long.

I-ryeong, too, was momentarily stunned by Hyuk-joon’s arrival.

They say birds of a feather flock together. Her eyes widened as she alternated between her husband and his equally handsome friend, her head spinning.

She had always believed her husband was the most handsome man alive, but this man was just as striking. Shocked into silence, she couldn’t find words.

“Stop staring. Even I can’t bear to look at her, so what gives you the right to ogle her?”

I-jun warned Hyuk-joon, covering I-ryeong’s eyes with his hand.

The moment his friend and wife faced each other, his chest burned like an active volcano. Hyuk-joon’s presence suddenly felt unwelcome.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Park Hyuk-joon, this guy’s best friend since childhood.”

Ignoring I-jun, Hyuk-joon greeted her warmly.

“I wondered why this jerk kept hiding his wife from me. Turns out, she’s an extraordinary beauty!”

He had assumed I-jun was hiding someone beautiful, but not to this extent.

After rejecting introductions his whole life, how did he manage to find such a stunning woman and marry her? Hyuk-joon couldn’t help but feel envious.

“Hey, Park Hyuk-joon! Can’t you see me? Are you treating this place like your playground?”

Finally unable to bear it, Suk-tae shouted angrily.

“Oh, Senior. What happened to your face?”

“What do you mean, ‘what happened’?! This bastard hit me! Are you trying to be funny? You want to cut ties with First Pulp over this?”

Hyuk-joon’s feigned ignorance irritated Suk-tae. Though he was only a figurehead director, Suk-tae hoped Hyuk-joon would show some sympathy—or at least beg for leniency.

“If that’s how the dominant party wants to act, so be it. But Senior, making threats here is quite unpleasant.”

“What? Threats? Unpleasant?”

Hyuk-joon smirked, responding with practiced ease, as if he had prepared for this exact situation.

“Senior, you should speak accurately. I-jun narrowly avoided your punch, and you stumbled and fell on your own.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Suk-tae’s face turned bright red.

“You tripped while holding the whiskey bottle and ended up hurting yourself.”

Hyuk-joon teased him mercilessly, stretching out his words with a sly grin.