Extra Chapter 2

Chairman Cha stared across at the other side. He clenched his fist towards someone who was out of his reach. The cold glass, which separated him from the world, stood in his way. On the other side of that glass was his son.

A son with no blood relation to him, the product of his ex-wife’s affair with someone he didn’t even know. Kang-joo asked in a neutral tone.

“Have you been well?”

Chairman Cha tried to suppress his anger, forcing himself to calm down. The contrast between his blue prison uniform and Kang-joo’s sharp suit highlighted their positions clearly.

If it weren’t for that bastard Kang-joo, if it weren’t for that woman and her son, there was no reason he should be in here.

As always, he would have ruled the world, trampling anyone beneath his feet. He would never have been wasting time locked in this tiny room with his wings clipped. Chairman Cha struggled to hide his agitation and lowered his voice.

“I’ve been doing quite well, thanks.”

“Do you think that’s because of me? It’s all your ability, Father.”

Kang-joo’s voice came calmly. Upon facing Kang-joo’s relaxed smile, Chairman Cha’s face cracked for the first time.

This was why people said you shouldn’t raise black-headed beasts. He had taken in a child who wasn’t his own and raised him as his son for years, only to have this be the return.

“What the hell are you doing here? You ungrateful brat, do you have no sense of the debt you owe me for raising you?”

Even at Chairman Cha’s outburst, Kang-joo didn’t show any agitation. Kang-joo looked straight into Chairman Cha’s eyes and spoke leisurely.

“Si-eun is getting married soon.”

“Married? Without my permission, how dare—”

“You know him, Father. She’s marrying Director Kwon Gi-seok.”

“What!”

Chairman Cha yelled through the glass, his surprise and anger unmistakable. Si-eun, his precious daughter, was going to marry someone like Director Kwon?

This was absurd. How could someone like Director Kwon even think of marrying his Si-eun? It was a decision made by a madman. A mad marriage.

None of them were in their right mind. While the bastard Kang-joo might not care, his ex-wife, Yoo Yeonghyeon, would never have allowed this. That arrogant woman allowed the marriage between Si-eun and Director Kwon?

“It’s a lie! My Si-eun would never marry someone like him!”

It was definitely a lie. Kang-joo must have fabricated this unpleasant lie to deceive him. Si-eun would never marry Director Kwon without his permission.

Unlike that bastard, Si-eun was his real daughter, with his blood in her veins. She would never betray him like this.

“You’re lying to deceive me!”

As expected, Kang-joo gave him a bored expression.

“Si-eun said it was too difficult to tell you herself, so I came in her place. She didn’t want to meet you, either.”

“What... what did you say...?”

Chairman Cha’s stiff cheek trembled with anger. A groan escaped from his throat.

He had grand ambitions. He had a perfect plan. He had no doubt that after rotting in here for a few years, his world would open up again.

He didn’t need family. People like Kang-joo and Yoo Yeonghyeon had never been a part of his world to begin with.

But Si-eun was different. He had been planning to rise again, just by looking at Si-eun, and to rule the world once more.

But why was Si-eun... why did Si-eun have to...

Kang-joo stood up as if he had said everything he needed to. Chairman Cha’s angry gaze followed him. Kang-joo quietly scanned the space beyond the transparent wall.

“It looks comfortable.”

“Much better than the warehouse you locked me in.”

With a faint smile, Kang-joo turned his back. Chairman Cha slowly lowered his head, like a defeated man.

As Kang-joo walked down the stairs, he suddenly turned his head. Water droplets were running down the dusty window.

One drop, two drops, and the rain, which had been lightly tapping the window, soon turned into a heavy downpour, pouring down mercilessly.

Kang-joo pressed his temples as a dull headache surged. Rain. More rain. Seeing the rain again stirred something within him. It gently swayed, trying to swallow him whole.

“Ha...”

Kang-joo rubbed his eyes and, with a heavy sigh, began descending the stairs in long strides. Behind him, outside the window, the rain was pouring down relentlessly.

Just before entering the lobby on the first floor, Kang-joo paused for a moment, holding his mobile phone, deep in thought. Should he call the driver or take a taxi?

As he stood there, his expression unreadable, a voice, like an echo, pierced his ear.

“Kang-joo!”

Kang-joo slowly lifted his head. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. She couldn’t possibly be here, at this hour, in this place. But it wasn’t an echo.

At the far end of the lobby stood Jae-hee, approaching him with a light smile. With every step she took closer, the deafening sound of the rain seemed to subside.

“I was worried because I heard it was raining. Are you okay?”

Jae-hee grabbed Kang-joo’s hand, forcing a bright tone as she spoke. She knew how he swayed and trembled when it rained, so she deliberately tried to sound cheerful.

“I’ll drive. You can sit back and relax.”

“Let’s go home, take a hot shower, and have some warm tea.”

“Mm?”

Jae-hee tilted her head, hiding her anxiety. She hadn’t received any response from Kang-joo. Was he anxious again? Was he struggling again?

Behind his impassive face, what emotions could be hidden? Kang-joo looked down at her quietly.

He saw her holding his hand, looking at him with concern.

It was as if the world became clearer, like waking from a dream. Among the blurry vision, she was the only one shining brightly.

Kang-joo released her hand and then tightly grasped hers. Her warm hand slowly spread its heat into his cold, lifeless one.

“Alright, let’s go quickly.”

He took her hand and walked ahead. Outside the lobby, he stepped toward the pouring rain.

Now, the sound of her heels walking beside him seemed louder than the rain itself.

The cold, clicking sound of the heels against the cold ground felt like the warmest thing in the world to him.

Once outside the building, Kang-joo opened the umbrella that Jae-hee had brought with her. He pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her slender frame, guiding her toward the car. The car wasn’t far from the entrance.

Without hesitation, he opened the door, and Jae-hee, startled by his action, grabbed him in surprise.

“Kang-joo?”

The place he guided her to was the passenger seat.

“Mm, what is it?”

“Kang-joo, I—”

Kang-joo gently pushed her into the car. He knew what she was about to say. But after closing the passenger door, he slid into the driver’s seat.

When the door closed, the torrential rain that had been pounding on the car seemed to quiet down, as if blocked by the walls. Without any delay, Kang-joo started the car. Jae-hee lightly tapped the back of his hand on the steering wheel.

“Are you… going to drive, Kang-joo?”

“Yes.”

“…Are you sure you’re okay?”

There was undeniable concern in Jae-hee’s voice. Kang-joo smiled faintly.

“It’s okay.”

“Are you really okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Kang-joo gently tapped Jae-hee’s cheek, then focused on the road as he pressed the accelerator. The car smoothly moved through the rain, its wheels cutting through the downpour.

Between the slowly moving wipers, droplets of water flowed like a river before scattering away. While waiting for the traffic light, Kang-joo turned on the radio. At just the right moment, soft classical music began to play.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t scared. But in this moment, with one step taken, his heart was strangely calm.

Perhaps it was because of the presence of one person by his side. Kang-joo turned his head to look at her. Her eyes sparkled, innocent like a timid herbivore, more anxious than he was.

He leaned down and kissed her closed lips. The surprise in her round eyes was adorable.

After a quick peck, he straightened up, and the traffic light had already turned green. A smile gently spread across his face. The man who had once caused him trauma, Chairman Cha, was now behind cold bars.

The woman who had once laid beside him, burning with fever in the rain-soaked warehouse, was now his wife.

Whenever he reached out, she would take his hand; whenever he opened his arms, she would embrace him. She would never leave his side.

With his salvation right beside him, he was slowly able to shake off the trauma that had once overwhelmed him. Step by step, slowly.

“I was going to kiss you, but the light changed. What a shame.”

He jokingly said, and Jae-hee sighed softly in relief, a small sound filled with comfort.

“If we hit the next red light, we can do it. I want to kiss you too, Kang-joo.”

As soon as Jae-hee finished speaking, Kang-joo’s laughter followed.

Jae-hee gazed at his profile. The corners of his mouth curved up softly. It wasn’t a forced smile. As always, his face was neat, his jawline calm and serene.

The back of his hand on the steering wheel was firm. He was moving forward steadily, undeterred.

Through the pouring rain.