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However, such anticipation and worry were fleeting. As Kang-joon persistently caressed her earlobe, Sehee’s long eyelashes fluttered. Even though she knew it was just an affectionate gesture without much meaning, her body instinctively reacted. This man, who was both intelligent and skilled with his hands, came to mind. It was then that her face unnecessarily flushed, and her mind went blank. Smack! A sharp sound echoed in Sehee’s eardrum.
“Stop bothering Sehee!”
Yeon-sook, who had approached unnoticed, had smacked Kang-joon’s hand. Kang-joon, subtly furrowing his brow but keeping his arm around Sehee’s shoulder, replied nonchalantly,
“Can’t I show affection to the woman I’m going to marry?”
“It’s only affection if the other person likes it. Can’t you see Sehee’s face is red and she can’t even breathe properly?”
Only then did Kang-joon’s gaze slowly fall upon Sehee’s face. Despite the stinging gaze on her face, Sehee stubbornly looked straight ahead, blinking her eyes. She didn’t want Kang-joon to know if he saw her reddened eyes. It was her last bit of pride, which she desperately wanted to protect, not wanting to be caught reacting to a simple display of affection.
“You’re right.”
“See? Mom was right!”
At Kang-joon’s reply, Sehee instinctively turned her head. Kang-joon, with a subtle smile, was looking at Sehee. With eyes that clearly understood why her face was red.
“Sehee, I was wrong, so...”
Kang-joon’s hand, which had been caressing her earlobe, now gently stroked her smooth cheek as he continued,
“Breathe comfortably.”
His deep eyes, which only knew her, his affectionate and tender touch, and his low, pleasant voice. Was he telling her to breathe or not? Yeon-sook, seeing Sehee’s face flush even more, this time smacked Kang-joon’s back.
“Sehee’s going to wear out, wear out! Worn out by your eyes, worn out by your hands! And she’s already so small and slender!”
Yeon-sook’s eyes, which had been sharply glaring at Kang-joon, softened as soon as they turned to Sehee.
“Mom is sorry, Sehee. I don’t know if I gave birth to a son or a beast. If he’s like this with adults around, it’s obvious how sly he’d be when the two of you are alone!”
Despite Yeon-sook’s continuous scolding, Kang-joon replied with shameless nonchalance.
“Don’t you think you got a grandson thanks to your beastly son’s slyness?”
“Oh my, he really has no filter!”
Now even Yeon-sook, her face beet red, repeatedly smacked Kang-joon’s back. Sehee admitted that Kang-joon was a hundred, a thousand times wrong for embarrassing not only her but also his own mother. Yet, her heart ached to see Kang-joon being hit, and she was about to cautiously speak when,
“Daughter-in-law, stop hitting my precious grandson-in-law.”
Sehee looked at Mija, who had spoken before her, with surprised eyes.
“There’s nowhere left to hit him, yet you keep hitting him.”
He’s tall, well-built, and has such a broad back, and there’s nowhere to hit him? Yeon-sook looked at Mija with disagreeing eyes.
“I’m very grateful that you cherish our Sehee, but I also cherish my grandson-in-law very much. It doesn’t sit well with me to see him being hit.”
“Ah... yes.”
“Thank you. For listening to an old woman.”
Only then did Mija continue her conversation with Chairman Seo as if nothing had happened. Yeon-sook, glancing at Mija, lowered her voice and asked Kang-joon,
“Seo Kang-joon, how on earth did you earn points with the elder daughter-in-law’s family?”
“I don’t know about points, but I did pick some vegetables in the field.”
At Kang-joon’s reply, Sehee let out a small giggle. She could imagine Kang-joon, with his visual appeal, squatting in the field picking vegetables. She even felt a little regretful that she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes. Whether he was picking vegetables or watermelons, he was a man whose every move was like a pictorial, but... Unlike Sehee, Yeon-sook, who didn’t know Kang-joon had gone down to Hwasun where Mija lived, glared.
“What are you talking about? Anyway, Kang-joon! Sehee isn’t alone anymore, so don’t bother her too much. Understand?”
Still, after giving him one more scolding, as Yeon-sook was about to turn around, Kang-joon casually asked the back of her head,
“Are you satisfied with just one grandson?”
“...What?”
Yeon-sook turned back as if asking what he meant.
“Our thoughtful Sehee is considering a second and even a third child for Grandfather and Mother, despite her delicate body. The goal is to have a daughter.”
At Kang-joon’s words, this time Chairman Seo and Yeon-sook simultaneously retorted with the same question.
“A daughter?”
“A daughter?”
As if expecting their reaction, Kang-joon continued,
“As you can see, I’m completely helpless against Sehee. Wouldn’t the probability of a daughter being born in the Hanshin family be statistically high?”
That’s true. That guy is indeed completely helpless against his daughter-in-law. Chairman Seo and Yeon-sook looked at Sehee with eyes that fully agreed. Then Kang-joon also looked at Sehee and continued with shameless nonchalance,
“For that to happen, the couple’s relationship needs to be good first, wouldn’t you agree, Sehee?”
Who really wanted a daughter? Dumbfounded, yet again, she could only marvel at the man, Seo Kang-joon. Should she call this meticulous, or opportunistic? Kang-joon was essentially declaring that he would openly show affection even in front of the adults. However, instead of disliking Kang-joon’s shamelessness and audacity, she found it even more attractive. She loved this man, who was so different from her timid, worried, and cautious self, to the point of madness. So, Sehee smiled softly and opened her mouth.
“Because I grew up lonely, and Kang-joon also had no siblings. I’d love to have a daughter, but I’ll try to have as many children as I can. If parenting gets too hard, I can get help from Mother, can’t I?”
It was also Sehee’s sincere desire. Rather than specifically wanting a daughter, she simply wanted Pré to have siblings so he wouldn’t be lonely like his parents. She wanted to give Kang-joon a bustling home filled with children, even if it was difficult for her.
“Oh my goodness! Of course, you can! Why wouldn’t you? Nowadays, daughters-in-law worry about their appearance and say they’ll only have one child, which worries everyone. Father-in-law, how did such a blessing enter our home?”
Yeon-sook looked utterly moved.
“Haha, indeed. It seems we are blessed with a daughter-in-law.”
Chairman Seo, laughing heartily with a benevolent expression, gently held Mija’s hand and said,
“Daughter-in-law, thank you. To raise such a precious granddaughter and give her to us.”
Mija looked down at Chairman Seo’s large, firm hand holding her wrinkled one and remained silent. Why is she like this? In the strangely solemn atmosphere, even Kang-joon and Sehee held their breath and looked at Mija. After a long moment, Mija raised her head and said softly, with a trembling voice,
“I am more grateful. To see our Sehee cherished like this, I can die without regrets... sniff sniff.”
Finally, Mija, unable to continue, had tears streaming down her face. Yeon-sook quickly approached, offered her a handkerchief, and patted Mija’s back.
“Cry all you want. Aren’t tears of joy meant to be shed freely?”
Watching the scene, Sehee’s eyes also grew warm, and she burrowed into Kang-joon’s embrace. In Kang-joon’s arms, who willingly held her and patted her back as if to say it was okay, Sehee also silently swallowed her tears. As Yeon-sook had said, they were tears of joy, not sorrow.
________________________________________
After dinner, the limousine carrying Mija finally departed for Hwasun. Of course, she was unaware of how expensive the gifts Yeon-sook had packed, filling the back seat and trunk, were. In the car heading home, Sehee unconsciously fell asleep. It was clearly a comfortable and happy time, but she was strangely tired. Click, clank. At the sound of the door opening and closing, she lifted her heavy eyelids to find herself in Kang-joon’s arms, in the entrance hallway.
“You shouldn’t have carried me in when I was heavy. And woken me up. I’m not a child.”
At the mumbled words from within his embrace, Kang-joon lowered his gaze. Her eyes, hazy with sleep, her voice like a faint sigh, and her small body squirming in his arms. He felt so sorry for her, yet she was also adorable.
“I just wanted to.”
It was also a moment when Kang-joon, who always gave clear answers, was overcome with an indescribable feeling. Because of this woman, who was still light as a feather despite carrying his child. He wanted to crush her in his arms to feel her presence, yet he worried she might be hurt. Now she was his woman, the mother of his child, and would be his wife. Why was he still so restless and anxious? Looking at the only person who made him unlike himself, Kang-joon said,
“I wonder if you’d dislike it if I said we should shower together.”
“It’s more comfortable to shower alone.”
Kang-joon wanted to ask Sehee, whose face was flushed and eyes downcast as if recalling the process, if she truly didn’t realize that her innocent reaction made him even more aroused. So, Kang-joon asked in a different way,
“Then, you look tired, so I’ll wash you.”
“That means the same thing.”
When Sehee retorted, her sleepiness completely gone from her eyes, Kang-joon chuckled softly. It was also the moment his temptation to somehow sneak something in while Sehee was hazy with sleep failed.
________________________________________
Now, Sehee showered in the bedroom bathroom, and Kang-joon showered in the living room bathroom. After finishing his shower, Kang-joon, dressed in a bathrobe, was sitting propped up on the bed.
“I’m scheduled to meet with the Inno Group chairman this week.”
Kang-joon was indirectly asking Sehee, who sat next to him, if she truly intended to leave Vice Chairman Yoo Young-guk alone.
“Will forming an agreement with Inno Group benefit Hanshin?”
“Inno Chemical recently announced its ‘Three New Growth Engines’ project, and it seems quite good. Especially the eco-friendly business and e-Mobility centered on battery materials, while not immediate, have sufficient value for additional agreements and investment if we look at the long term.”
Sehee’s intention in asking was one: Should they maintain a friendly relationship with Inno Group or not? Currently, Chairman Yoo is trying to abandon his incompetent eldest son and push his second son as successor. However, if Hanshin pushes Vice Chairman Yoo as a condition for the agreement, it might be seen as interfering with Inno Group’s management succession.
“I don’t want Hanshin to enter into a disadvantageous agreement because of me. But promises must be kept, regardless of who the other party is.”
Sehee paused, and Kang-joon wore an amused expression. As if curious how shrewdly Joo Sehee would handle it this time.
“Tell him to let the eldest son keep the vice chairman position until he wants to step down. On the condition that he completely withdraws from all management. And tell him to bring the second son to that meeting as well.”
The fact that the second son was mentioned during the dinner with Young-guk that day was Kang-joon’s scheme. That way, Young-guk, who had an inferiority complex about his younger brother, would get angry and accept Sehee’s conditions. Sehee was once again realizing how well she had done by asking Kang-joon for help. He was comfortable, reliable, and trustworthy. She didn’t have to rack her brains alone or feel anxious. Whatever this man did would be perfect.
“You’re going to make Vice Chairman Yoo a puppet vice chairman?”
“Yes. There’s no rule that says the vice chairman must be in charge of management. If he has any pride, he’ll hold out for a bit and then step down on his own. If he still doesn’t step down and holds out, we can find another way to make him resign later.”
Sehee hoped to be a cheat key in the relationship between Hanshin and Inno. Even if she was an illegitimate child, as long as her biological father was the eldest son of Inno Group, she could be the link connecting the two groups. By requesting the second son be present, it showed agreement with Chairman Yoo’s desired management succession. As she was organizing her thoughts piece by piece, her cheek stung. She turned her head and Kang-joon smiled, saying,
“My fiancée seems to have become a meticulous schemer.”
“I learned it from my meticulous schemer fiancé, didn’t I?”
When the teacher is good, the student can’t help but be excellent. Step by step, not looking only at the immediate future but looking ahead, enduring and waiting. Kang-joon was the one who taught Sehee all of that.
“So you admit you’re a schemer.”
“You said a villainess and a vixen were your ideal type. Isn’t a schemer your ideal type?”
Sehee, asking with an annoyingly elegant face and calm voice, was cunning and provocative. At least, that’s how Kang-joon saw her.
“What kind of appearance wouldn’t be my ideal type?”
Kang-joon chuckled, muttering, then lifted Sehee and placed her on his body. To Sehee, who was sitting facing him in a daze, Kang-joon smiled and said,
“Grandmother went back safely, we set the wedding date, and today was well concluded. Now it’s night and it’s bedtime.”
“...”
“I think I said I’d prove it.”
Kang-joon looked at Sehee with burning eyes and slowly let his hands fall onto the bed. It was a silent expression of his willingness to let her do whatever she wanted, as the time when he succumbed the most to Joo Sehee had returned. Sehee, who was incredibly perceptive, couldn’t possibly not know. Sehee, blinking in surprise, then burst into laughter and brought her face closer.
“Will you really lie down quietly and give in completely? No matter what I do?”
Her hair flowed down, tickling Kang-joon’s face, and her sweet breath, exhaled like a whisper, seeped into his mouth.
________________________________________
She hadn’t done anything, but just that alone made her dizzy, and her body heated up.
“Anything.”
Sehee wrapped her hands around Kang-joon’s face, who answered submissively in a husky voice, and pressed her lips against his. Do you think I can’t do it if you tell me to? Her last whisper melted into Kang-joon’s mouth.
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