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Just then, Yoonji came looking for the room and was startled.
She stepped back from the door, avoiding Dojun who was sharply telling her off.
“Don’t drive Haejoo to extremes.”
After warning Jinhan, Dojun left the room with Haejoo.
Jinhan, reeling from the continuous shock, grabbed a beer and gulped it down.
“Haa!”
The words Dojun had left behind pierced his heart painfully.
He had cherished Haejoo more than anyone, so he had expected her to lower her head and come back to him eventually.
But his method was wrong.
He had so vehemently called for a clean and fair film industry, but in reality, he was blocked.
“Director, how did President Park Dojun get here?”
The other colleagues were still busy having fun.
Yoonji, who had closed the door and approached, handed Jinhan a glass of ice water.
“He must have known Haejoo-ssi was here.”
“I suppose so.”
“Hong Yoonji, did you force Haejoo-ssi to drink?”
“It wasn’t me. I ordered a non-alcoholic cocktail, but Seonyoung secretly...”
“Call Seonyoung.”
“Director, please bear with it today. She already got scolded by me.”
Jinhan pushed away his glass and sipped the ice water.
His almost drunken mind was jolted awake by Dojun’s appearance.
“Why did you call Haejoo-ssi?”
“I asked her to come. I wanted her to talk to the director.”
Yoonji, sulking, sipped the whiskey with melted ice.
She bit her lip under Jinhan’s piercing gaze.
“Don’t do this again. You scared me.”
“Okay.”
Yoonji had been docile lately.
She didn’t talk back like before and looked dejected.
So Jinhan couldn’t scold her any further.
“Did you look into Park Dojun?”
“Do you want to talk about that here?”
No sooner had she finished speaking than the others who had left their seats rushed back in.
Quite some time had passed, and it was already approaching midnight.
Jinhan took the watch Haejoo had given him and got up.
“I have to go to work tomorrow, so let’s call it a night.”
“Director, it’s just getting started!”
“I’ll take care of the bill here, so those who want to play more can gather separately.”
Everyone gathered their bags.
Then, noticing that Haejoo was nowhere to be seen, Seonyoung asked.
“Where did Haejoo go?”
Having done something wrong, she seemed worried as she asked.
Jinhan glared sharply at Seonyoung, causing Yoonji to quickly make an excuse.
“She was drunk, so I sent her home.”
“Ah, that’s a relief.”
People left the room one by one.
As he came out after paying, he received friendly farewells.
When the group left the club, Yoonji made an excuse to go to the restroom, came out late, and made a call.
“Director, where are you going?”
At Jinhan’s words that he was at a bar across the street, Yoonji moved her feet.
At the bar, he was alone, sipping a Faust.
“What will you have?”
“Gin and tonic.”
A glass containing gin and tonic was placed in front of Yoonji.
When the cocktail was about half empty, Jinhan opened his mouth with a sigh.
“Now, tell me.”
Yoonji felt a headache coming on as she was about to talk about Dojun.
He was such a villain-like yet not villain-like character that she was cautious in front of Jinhan.
“That person is very strange.”
“In what way?”
“A few years ago, my friend had a stomachache and went to the emergency room.”
“What does that have to do with Haejoo-ssi?”
“Listen to the end.”
Whenever someone passed by, they both stopped talking. Yoonji, lowering her voice as much as possible, recounted what she had heard.
“She said that while she was getting an IV drip in the emergency room, a man carried a collapsed Haejoo in.”
“Was that man Park Dojun?”
“My friend didn’t know his name, but she knew him as President Park’s second son.”
“So why did Haejoo-ssi collapse?”
“She apparently tried to jump off the roof of a building.”
Jinhan felt all the nerves in his body stiffen.
Haejoo’s tearful outburst in the room earlier tore at his heart.
“It seems President Park Dojun somehow saved Haejoo from jumping.”
“What did she say was the reason for such a choice?”
“Since there were bruises on Haejoo’s body and signs of her hair being pulled out, the medical staff reported it to the police.”
“Good heavens!”
Yoonji had also heard this story yesterday.
While listening to the abuse Haejoo had endured, beyond just competition, it was so horrific that she had covered her ears.
Recounting it again was painful.
“Her mother came and was rambling, but to summarize, it was this: her daughter stole 30,000 won from her wallet!”
“She’s insane.”
“My friend said that Haejoo’s older sister had a bad habit of stealing even usually.”
“She framed her?”
“My friend said it seemed that way.”
“This is maddening.”
Jinhan rubbed his dry face and leaned back in his chair.
Feeling the strength leaving his limbs, he took a deep breath.
“Anything else?”
“After that, for some reason, President Park Dojun apparently got into fights all the time.”
“To what extent?”
“If people in the neighborhood were calling him a madman and a good-for-nothing, that says it all.”
“Did that happen after he met Haejoo-ssi?”
“Yes.”
Jinhan ordered another beer and drank it.
He wondered if Haejoo’s words, “Dojun fought for me,” were about this.
Then, Jinhan brought up a question he had almost overlooked.
“Do you know how the marriage registration happened?”
“Marriage registration?”
“Haejoo-ssi apparently registered her marriage with the president’s sick son.”
“Really?”
“She only found out recently that it was registered with the second son, Park Dojun.”
“They look different, how is that possible?”
“Apparently, they were twin brothers.”
This time, Yoonji was surprised and her mouth fell open.
“So the marriage registration was under the younger brother’s name!”
“It was a forced and fraudulent marriage involving money.”
“......!”
“I asked a lawyer, and it seems that would be grounds for annulment.”
“Is Haejoo going to do that?”
“Not yet.”
Everything depended on Haejoo’s will.
Jinhan recalled Dojun’s last words before leaving the room.
His words, that he had tried to save Haejoo while Jinhan had tried to kill her, particularly stung.
“I don’t know what I should do.”
“If this is how it was going to be, you should have been honest from the start. You gave an explanation that was almost like a novel, and it would be ridiculous to get a divorce overnight.”
It was Yoonji’s honest answer.
In response, Jinhan decided to slightly let go of his stubbornness, which had been close to unreasonable.
________________________________________
Ignoring the gazes upon them, Dojun supported Haejoo and left the club.
As soon as they got into the car parked on the street, he drove off quickly.
They were just about to enter the main road when Haejoo grabbed Dojun’s arm that was on the steering wheel.
“I think I’m going to throw up.”
Eventually, he stopped the car in front of a large shopping mall.
He took Haejoo to the women’s restroom, but Dojun couldn’t go in.
“I’ll go buy some water. Don’t go anywhere.”
Dojun ran out to the convenience store.
After buying water, he also stopped by a pharmacy that was open late.
He bought medicine for hangovers as well and went to the shopping mall’s restroom.
Inside, Haejoo threw up for a long time.
“Lee Haejoo, let’s go to the hospital right now.”
The bathroom door opened shortly after.
Haejoo walked out with a surprisingly refreshed look.
She rinsed her mouth at the sink and then drank the bottled water Dojun offered.
“It feels so much better after throwing up.”
“How’s your head?”
“It hurts a little, but it’s not too bad.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
Haejoo nodded.
Then, she took the hangover medication and headed to the car.
“How did that happen?”
“Sunbae Yoonji ordered a non-alcoholic cocktail for me, but I think someone poured whiskey into it.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“At first, the director was treating me like I was invisible, so I spoke up to him while I was drunk.”
Dojun stood facing Haejoo, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“The director was the one who crossed the line, so why should I be the one to be careful?”
“That’s right.”
“But what did you say to the director earlier, Dojun-ssi?”
“It’s nothing.”
Haejoo fell asleep on the way home.
She knew she would have a terrible hangover tomorrow, but she put off worrying about it.
That didn’t mean the alcohol had completely worn off. A pleasant tingling sensation remained, making her wonder if this was why people drank.
Some time later, it was late at night when they finally arrived home.
“Thank you for picking me up.”
Unlike usual, Haejoo gave a bright, eye-crinkling smile.
Dojun’s heart fluttered at the crescent moon eyes he had unexpectedly seen.
“Are you drunk?”
Haejoo’s steps faltered before she could even take a few.
Dojun sighed and grabbed her.
As soon as they entered the house, the lights turned on due to the automatic sensor.
Haejoo tried to run up the stairs by herself, so he grabbed her and ended up carrying her on his back.
“Let go of me.”
“I can’t watch you, I’m too worried. Stay like this.”
After reaching the second floor and putting her down, she found her room just fine.
Dojun was relieved and was about to go to his own room when Haejoo came out, her eyes lowered.
“Why didn’t you take the present I gave you?”
“Present?”
He remembered the conversation they had on chat yesterday.
“What did you buy?”
“I’m disappointed.”
Dojun grabbed Haejoo, who turned away, pouting.
“How can you go like this?”
“My sincerity was ignored, so I’m going to throw away the present.”
“Where’s the present?”
The corners of Haejoo’s eyes, which had become sulky, lifted slightly.
“Don’t you know I put it on your bed yesterday?”
“I didn’t sleep in my room yesterday. I was tired, so I lay down on the sofa and just fell asleep.”
“Ah!”
In that case, she decided to forgive him.
“Give me the present.”
“You disappointed me all day, so it’s not free.”
Dojun abruptly pulled out his wallet.
Haejoo, frowning, snatched his wallet and threw it away.
“Why?”
“Follow me.”
Dojun nervously followed her as she went to her room. Only then did he see the gift box and was dumbfounded.
“Take a shower and wear everything I gave you and come out.”
“What is this?”
“You’ll know when you see it.”
Dojun awkwardly took the entire gift box.
Since she wouldn’t tell him what was inside, he just carried it and went to the first-floor bathroom.
He took off his clothes and stood under the shower, soaking his entire body.
On a whim, he filled the bathtub with water and leaned back comfortably.
Feeling drowsy, he dozed off for a moment before hurriedly finishing his shower.
“I feel alive now.”
Dojun, having just dried himself, naturally reached for his bathrobe.
Wearing the robe over his bare body, he opened the present Haejoo had given him.
“What is this!”
Unexpected presents were inside the box.
The watch was fine, but the underwear...
At a glance, the briefs looked a little small. And when he unfolded the matching pajamas, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“This is a complete honeymoon set.”
Since she told him to wear it, he had to.
However, Haejoo had to wear these pajamas too.
Dojun went to the dressing room and put away the briefs that didn’t fit.
He didn’t know why she had bought this... but anyway.
He quickly put on the well-laundered underwear first. Then, he put on the silk pajamas, top and bottom.
But the pajamas made for women weren’t simple.
He was certain that if Haejoo wore this, a new history would be written tonight.
He headed to the second floor.
Haejoo seemed to be showering, so he quietly knocked on the bathroom door first.
“Yes?”
“You wear this too.”
“Oh, right!”
“You didn’t even know it was a couple’s pajama set.”
“I’m okay!”
“I’ll wait in the room, so put it on and come.”
Dojun placed the women’s pajamas by the bathroom door and turned around.
He went to Haejoo’s room and took out the watch he had only briefly looked at earlier, putting it on his wrist.
“Like this, it really looks like a wedding keepsake.”
Unexpectedly, he really liked the watch.
More than anything, it was the first present Haejoo had bought him, so his heart swelled.
________________________________________
At that time, Haejoo sobered up completely in the bathroom.
Seeing the reality of the couple’s pajamas, which she hadn’t noticed when buying them, made her dizzy.
“How can I wear this?”
The women’s pajamas weren’t the pajama type.
Delicate lace was subtly embroidered along the thin straps that started at the shoulders of the flimsy silk.
It was a short slip and a matching robe that was as good as not wearing anything.
The heat that had lingered on her face returned. Her ears turned bright red and soon felt hot.
“What to do?”
Haejoo reluctantly took out the slip.
She put it on clumsily, looked in the mirror, and then hid against the wall.
The person in the mirror wasn’t her.
Embarrassed, she couldn’t bear to look with her eyes open and put on the fluttering robe.
“This can’t be happening.”
She definitely had to change into other pajamas.
Haejoo was about to leave the bathroom quietly when her way was blocked.
Standing right in front of her was Dojun, wearing the pajamas with the buttons undone, looking imposing.
“Are you all dressed?”
“These pajamas don’t suit me.”
“That’s just your opinion.”
Dojun gave a triumphant smile.
It was worth the wait, so he pushed the bathroom doorknob hard.
Then, Haejoo appeared, wearing a slip and a robe barely covering her shoulders.
Following the scent of a woman, the woman herself blurred Dojun’s vision.
Before he knew it, his mouth hung open.
Even the gap between his panting breaths opened, revealing his true colors.
“Let’s date tonight.”
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