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“Mom, really... Seok-kyung-ssi kept saying he wanted to see you, so we came. Let’s go inside and talk, we have a lot of luggage.”
“What talk?”
Her mother still asked coldly.
“I’ve come without any shame because I have something to say.”
“Hmph. Come in.”
When Seok-kyung showed the fruit basket and the premium Hanwoo beef gift set he was holding in both hands, her mother nodded with a reluctant expression.
Following behind her mother, Eun-chae saw her aunt and uncle’s eyes widen as they thanked Seok-kyung for the gifts he had brought.
“You didn’t have to bring all this...”
“Compared to how you’ve taken care of Mother in place of Eun-chae and me, this is nothing. I apologize for visiting so late.”
Seok-kyung bowed his head to the two of them as well.
“Why did you come? You didn’t even come from England when you divorced Eun-chae.”
“I am truly sorry.”
Seok-kyung bowed his head without hesitation, as if he could bow a hundred or a thousand times.
Her mother sat on the sofa with her legs crossed and snorted.
Eun-chae wanted to say something to her mother, but she understood her feelings, so she just watched quietly for now.
She must be feeling hurt, resentful, and frustrated. The things Eun-chae had told Seok-kyung were okay, the things she had said she had forgotten, wouldn’t be the same for her mother.
“There were various circumstances, but no matter the reason, it’s all my fault. There’s no excuse.”
“Hmph. Why are you doing this now, after three years? Why suddenly, when you’re the CEO of Baedo Group?”
“No matter what I say to you, Mother, your disappointment won’t be eased. I will do better in the future.”
“So why should you be good to me?”
“Please allow me to reconcile with Eun-chae.”
Seok-kyung knelt down in front of her mother and lowered his head.
“Seok-kyung-ssi! We agreed not to talk about this...”
“I can’t not mention the most important reason.”
Seeing Seok-kyung’s sly smile, Eun-chae bit her inner cheek.
“Oh my, oh my! Did you hear what this man is saying? He’s asking for permission to reconcile with our Eun-chae. I didn’t hear wrong, did I?”
“No, Sister. I heard the same thing.”
“No, why would the CEO of Baedo Group, who has everything, want to reconcile with our Eun-chae? What about that ballerina or whatever she was?”
“I’ve cleanly resolved things with that person.”
“Hmph!”
Still not appeased, her mother sat on the sofa, arms crossed, and turned her head away.
Seeing the cold atmosphere, Seok-kyung pondered for a moment what to do, then continued, “Why don’t you come up to Seoul?”
“What?”
Eun-chae and her mother looked at Seok-kyung at the same time.
“What are you talking about? Come up to Seoul?”
Despite her question, Seok-kyung only looked at her mother.
“How upset and lonely have you been, living apart from Eun-chae all this time? I will prepare a house for you in Seoul, so please come up.”
“Well... I would like to live with Eun-chae, but...”
Her mother didn’t readily accept his offer and trailed off, looking at Eun-chae as if trying to save face.
“Soon, Father will also receive a special pardon and be released from prison. Then, the three of you should live together happily.”
“Special pardon? Our man will be pardoned?”
“Yes, Mother.”
Seok-kyung, who had been invited to the Blue House a few days ago, had given what he needed to give and gotten what he needed to get, just as his grandfather had told him.
Since his release date was only a few months away, the Blue House had agreed to his request without much hesitation.
“What are you talking about? Father is getting a special pardon?”
“I went to the Blue House this time and made a small request.”
Eun-chae’s eyes widened at the mention of asking the President.
She was only now beginning to realize the extent of Baedo Group’s power.
“Isn’t that against the law?”
“He had already applied for a pardon. You don’t have to worry.”
Eun-chae was suddenly afraid that Seok-kyung might get into trouble because of this.
“I’ll also take care of the compensation for the creditors...”
“Why would Seok-kyung-ssi do that...!”
Eun-chae was startled and about to say something to Seok-kyung when her mother mumbled beside her.
“I don’t like small houses...”
“Sister!”
Her uncle, sitting next to her mother, called out to her reproachfully.
“Why? It just means a big house would be better.”
“Mom!”
Eun-chae’s face turned bright red with embarrassment. She was so ashamed that she couldn’t lift her head to look at Seok-kyung.
This was why she had wanted to bring him as late as possible.
“I understand, Mother.”
Oblivious to Eun-chae’s feelings, Seok-kyung answered with a bright smile.
She finally managed to dissuade them from insisting he stay for a meal and went outside with Seok-kyung.
On the way back to Seoul in the car, Eun-chae bombarded Seok-kyung with questions like a machine gun.
“What do you mean you’ll take care of the compensation?”
“He’s served his criminal sentence, but he hasn’t been cleared of civil liability. There will definitely be civil lawsuits, and considering Father’s age, applying for personal rehabilitation or bankruptcy isn’t really an option.”
“I can just keep paying it off little by little like I’ve been doing.”
“Don’t be stubborn.”
Seok-kyung lightly flicked Eun-chae’s forehead with his finger.
“The 1.6 billion won debt you have and the debt your father has to repay are completely different amounts.”
“Still, why would you...”
“The person you love has an abundance of money. It’s money that grows in his account every day to the point where he can’t even control it, so the settlement money won’t even make a dent.”
It couldn’t possibly be unnoticeable.
Eun-chae felt like crying.
She was grateful, and sorry, and so relieved that tears welled up in her eyes.
Overcome by emotion, she covered her face with her hands.
She didn’t want to show him her crying, but Seok-kyung pulled the car over at a rest stop that happened to appear and embraced her.
“You idiot. Please don’t cry. Do you know how much my heart breaks every time you cry?”
“It’s because I’m grateful and sorry.”
“I know.”
“Still, I can’t just accept it. I can’t pay you back right now since I quit my job again...”
“Quit your job? You quit the company?”
Seok-kyung tilted his head and asked back.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“The president and the director were being too obvious around me.”
After Seok-kyung’s visit to the company last time, the president and the director’s attitude towards Eun-chae had completely changed.
They became very cautious and hesitated to ask her for errands they used to assign without a second thought, often handling things themselves instead.
Eun-chae felt it would be a burden for the superiors to be so wary of an employee, so she had no choice but to quit.
“I invested so they’d be wary of you?”
“That’s why you shouldn’t do things like that.”
Eun-chae pouted.
“Good. Don’t do hard work, do what you want to do. Should I set up a piano academy for you? Or do you want to go back to studying?”
“What did you say? With the money I owe you and my father’s debt, I have to work my fingers to the bone!”
“Do you think I’d let you work your fingers to the bone? You’d say you don’t even have time to see me, and your stamina is weak, so you get tired after doing it two or three times anyway.”
“Hey!”
Eun-chae’s face flushed as she lightly slapped Seok-kyung’s arm.
“It’s the truth.”
“Still...!”
“Use me at times like this. I don’t want you to have a hard time, do I? I’ll pay off all that debt. I’m the CEO of the mighty Baedo Group. What would people say if I let my woman go through such hardship?”
Seok-kyung asked back with a serious face.
Eun-chae, who had been pondering his words for a while, bit her lip.
“Okay. Then invest in me.”
“What?”
“I’ll pay you back. The money you’ll pay off, the house you’ll let my parents and me live in, and the piano academy... I’ll pay it all back once everything is settled.”
That was her bottom line.
Seok-kyung’s offer was so incredibly generous, but she had no choice but to accept it.
However, she couldn’t just shamelessly accept it, so she intended to pay him back, even if it took a long time.
Even if she couldn’t pay it all back before she died.
“Hmm... alright, I understand.”
Seok-kyung sighed and nodded.
“I’m a little disappointed that you seem to be drawing a line between us no matter what, but you can’t leave my side until you pay back all that money. So I’ll follow your wishes.”
Seok-kyung smiled bitterly, reluctantly agreeing to Eun-chae’s wishes.
“Thank you.”
A large hand gently rested on Eun-chae’s head and softly stroked it a few times.
________________________________________
“To the company?”
-Why? Is that not okay?
Seok-kyung replied to Eun-chae, who asked back in surprise, as if it were nothing.
It wasn’t that it wasn’t okay...
Since she had abruptly quit the company back then, the only person she had contacted separately was Hyun-jung.
Moreover, she had treated Hyun-woo coldly last time despite his help, so she felt a little awkward about running into him.
-Everyone knows about us, so you can be confident.
Seok-kyung said softly, as if he had sensed what Eun-chae was worried about.
“I wish I could be as thick-skinned as you, Seok-kyung-ssi.”
-What was that? It sounds like an insult.
“No, it’s not an insult...”
She really meant how wonderful it would be to be as confident as Seok-kyung, not caring about what others thought and being assertive in everything.
-You joined Studio FIRST first. There was no reason for you to tell people we were married until I showed up. And it’s the same even after I showed up.
“Hmm, I understand. I’m not confident, but I’ll give it a try for now. If it really doesn’t work out, I’ll hide nearby.”
-You don’t have any talent for hide-and-seek, so please try not to lose your confidence.
Seok-kyung chuckled and hung up.
It would have been better to just meet somewhere else.
Eun-chae pondered what to do, then firmly made up her mind and hurried to get ready to go out.
The Studio FIRST building, which she had arrived at after a long time, hadn’t changed. It was still big, clean, and crowded.
She prepared coffee and desserts at the first-floor café, carried them in her hands, and headed to the planning department.
Employees from other departments who had had some contact with her cautiously approached her, greeted her, and offered their congratulations.
Just as she was starting to get used to visiting the company, which she had initially been afraid of, she arrived at the planning department office.
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