abcnovels
Chapter 42 - Would You Like to Have Dinner Together?
Chapter 42 - Would You Like to Have Dinner Together?
Chapter 42: Would You Like to Have Dinner Together?
TL: Aniea
“It’s been a while.”
“Oh my, Vice Chairman-nim!”
After finishing her conversation with Park Ji-hoon, Kim Eun-ha encountered Park Ki-tae at the end of the hallway as she was exiting the room.
Although the gaze scanning her up and down was not very pleasant, Kim Eun-ha, accustomed to it wherever she went, smiled without showing any sign of discomfort.
“What brings you here?”
“I had a small errand to run.”
“What kind of errand?”
“It’s a personal matter, so it’s a bit embarrassing to share.”
Even when persistently questioned, Kim Eun-ha deftly dodged the inquiries like a slippery eel. Seeing this, Park Ki-tae furrowed his brows.
Despite being much younger, her exceptional skills were recognized both inside and outside the group.
It was fortunate that Kim Eun-ha was a woman. Chairman Kim Seok-ho was quite old-fashioned, after all.
If she were a man, she would have received even more attention from Kim Seok-ho, and she would have become a truly bothersome competitor.
‘…Still, I can’t stand her.’
A fox-like woman.
That was Park Ki-tae’s honest feeling.
Mirae Group and Daehan Group. Under the leadership of the two chairmen, they had seen each other often since childhood, but she always seemed extraordinary.
Even at a young age, she had an uncanny aura that made her difficult to approach, and after her parents died, she became even more ruthless.
On the contrary, this made him believe without a doubt that she would become a reliable ally if she married into his family. At least, until he started competing with Park Ji-hoon for the chairman position.
‘Could she be planning to join forces with Ji-hoon?’
Although he was often considered inferior to his siblings and even to his own son, it did not mean that Park Ki-tae was incompetent.
Having experienced countless ups and downs under the chairman’s protection, he was not to be underestimated by any ordinary person.
‘Recently, the atmosphere in Mirae Group has been unusual.’
The fight over the successor position was fiercely intense. Kim Eun-ha, standing before him, was also one of the contenders.
However, compared to others, she lacked internal support within the group, and Chairman Kim Seok-ho had assigned her the independently oriented department store.
‘If she has given up on the successor competition…’
The highest position she could aim for next was not hard to guess.
If she offered a helping hand to Park Ji-hoon, who had many enemies both inside and outside, she could easily secure the position of Daehan Group’s chairwoman.
Although there seemed to be rumors about her having a scandal with a rookie actor, such matters were mere amusements to chaebols.
‘It’s good that I hurried.’
He had heard earlier that Park Ji-hoon was trying to meet Kim Eun-ha upon returning to the country, but felt relieved upon hearing that he had been flatly rejected.
However, there was an inexplicable feeling in the back of his mind. As expected, news came that the two were meeting today, and so Park Ki-tae postponed his meeting and rushed over.
The best timing would have been to interrupt their conversation directly, but these cunning people had already noticed and left. He almost missed seeing them.
“It’s been a while since we last met. How about a cup of tea?”
“Unfortunately, I have another appointment.”
“Oh dear. I’m asking so nicely…”
“I’m sorry. Please excuse me.”
Drawing a firm line, Kim Eun-ha lightly bowed her head, a farewell filled with determination not to continue the conversation.
As she passed by Park Ki-tae, he roughly grabbed her wrist.
“You’ve become quite insolent. What could be more important than talking with the future chairman of Daehan Group?”
“…..”
Saaah-
Silently looking down at her wrist held by Park Ki-tae, a chilling aura emanated from Kim Eun-ha’s eyes.
Even the great Park Ki-tae felt something was wrong, sensing a hint of subtle murderous intent beyond her emotionless gaze.
Of course, it was only a fleeting moment. Taking advantage of the brief moment Park Ki-tae was stunned, Kim Eun-ha naturally withdrew her wrist and spoke with a fresh smile on her face.
“Isn’t it also been a while since you’ve had a face-to-face conversation with your son? I wouldn’t be so tactless as to interrupt the bonding opportunity between father and son.”
“……”
“I’ll formally greet you again next time. Goodbye then.”
Ttok-ttok-ttok-
After bowing her head again to finish her farewell, Kim Eun-ha turned and walked away. Park Ki-tae watched her back intently.
The phrase she used at the end, “I’ll formally greet you again”, bothered him immensely.
He wanted to grab her by the hair right then and there, but the last thread of his rationality barely held him back.
“Father.”
At that moment, he saw his son running towards him in a hurry, fearing he might be making a move on Kim Eun-ha.
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
“What brings you here?”
“Does a father need many reasons to see his son? You seemed very busy, so I came to see you myself.”
“…I’m sorry. I should have visited you first, but I’ve been swamped with various matters. By the way, what did you talk about with Eun-ha?”
“Nothing much.”
The returned answer made Park Ji-hoon’s eyebrow twitch slightly in dissatisfaction. He wondered if Kim Eun-ha had hinted at anything about ‘business’ to his father.
“Is that really true?”
Park Ki-tae felt equally uneasy. In a situation where he needed to thoroughly isolate Park Ji-hoon, Kim Eun-ha was too significant a variable.
The fact that they were having a secret meeting indicated that their relationship wasn’t bad. If they got engaged, it would be troublesome for his side.
“Why, is there something you’re hiding from your father?”
“What could I possibly hide from my father?”
“That’s not incorrect.”
Unable to accurately grasp what kind of relationship the other had with Kim Eun-ha, their conversation grew more confusing.
The one common thought both of them had was: ‘I’m in a better relationship with Kim Eun-ha than you are’.
‘…That cunning woman. Now that I think about it, it was Eun-ha who leaked information about the meeting. Is she weighing me against others?’
‘…I’ve been played thoroughly.’
As they conversed, both realized they had been played by Kim Eun-ha’s scheme.
However, it was a swamp they couldn’t escape. Park Ji-hoon needed to silence Kim Eun-ha, and Park Ki-tae needed to prevent their marriage.
Unable to fully understand each other’s exact situations and entangled in various complex circumstances, it was a headache-inducing situation.
“Shall we go inside and continue the conversation?”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Even as they moved towards the reception room, they ground their teeth thinking about Kim Eun-ha.
In a situation where they couldn’t join forces, the weight of Kim Eun-ha, who could tilt the scales instantly, was not something they could easily give up.
Moreover, excluding her completely was nearly impossible unless the father and son teamed up.
‘…For now, I’ll have to endure it knowingly.’
The father and son began devising plans to win over Kim Eun-ha.
*
Meanwhile, after finishing her meeting with Park Ji-hoon and his father, Kim Eun-ha returned to the department store and headed straight to the washbasin.
She scrubbed the wrist that Park Ki-tae had grabbed. She washed it so many times with soap that her delicate skin became chapped.
‘…Disgusting.’
She clearly remembered Park Ki-tae’s eyes as he looked her up and down while grabbing her wrist. The more she remembered, the harder she scrubbed.
Although she didn’t want to see the two of them ever again, she knew that was not an option considering the future.
Of course, this time she had acted somewhat impulsively, unlike herself, but she had gained a lot from it.
‘That side will be quiet for a while.’
The possibility of the two people fighting for the same position joining forces was very low. They wouldn’t have the luxury to worry about this side for a while.
‘The problem is Baek…’
Upon thinking about it calmly, there didn’t seem to be any major issues there either. After all, it was Baek Do-young who had provided information about marijuana in the first place.
– Why did you suddenly change your mind?
– ……
Baek Do-young didn’t answer her question. He simply handed her a USB containing the relevant information and quietly left.
Though it was unclear what his intentions were, she had a few guesses.
‘…Did Grandfather intervene?’
Regardless of the reason, Director Baek had tried to join hands with a strong contender for Daehan Group’s succession.
If that had irked Chairman Kim Seok-ho, it wasn’t hard to understand his actions.
However, if this hypothesis was correct, much more troublesome situations would arise in the future—problems far greater than the current one.
“…Phew.”
After washing her hands for nearly thirty minutes, Kim Eun-ha straightened up and sighed deeply before returning to her office.
“Huh?”
There, she locked eyes with Kang Woo-ju, who was sitting on the guest sofa, waiting for her.
As their gazes met in mid-air, Kang Woo-ju flashed a soft smile and stood up to approach her.
“Woo-ju ssi, what brings you here…?”
“What is this injury?”
Grabbing—!
Kang Woo-ju interrupted her, grabbing her wrist. The smile he had shown earlier vanished, replaced by a cold, stern expression.
His gaze was fixed on the area around her wrist, which had been grabbed by Park Ki-tae. It seemed she had washed it so excessively that it had gotten injured.
“It… it’s nothing! I just scratched it after a bug bit me…”
Embarrassed by the sudden and inexplicable shame, Kim Eun-ha even stuttered. She tried to pull her wrist away quickly.
“Hold still.”
“……”
Kang Woo-ju’s voice was firm. He examined her injury with the care of someone handling an ancient artifact.
His brows furrowed and his mouth slightly parted in concentration. Kim Eun-ha stared at him blankly, as if spellbound.
“The wound is worse than I thought. Does it still itch? Could it be an allergic reaction? Did a mite bite you? Or maybe…”
“Wait, wait, wait!”
Overwhelmed by his barrage of questions, Kim Eun-ha hurriedly stopped him. Though his mouth stopped moving, he stared at her with a highly dissatisfied expression.
“Let’s go to the hospital first.”
“It’s just a small wound. There’s no need for the hospital.”
“That’s neglecting your health. Haven’t you heard of killer mites? Ignoring it could lead to serious trouble. With this kind of allergic reaction…”
Pfft—
Watching him nag so seriously, she couldn’t help but laugh.
He then pouted, looking even more annoyed, but it was somehow cute.
Although she hadn’t taken any medicine, the unpleasant feeling that had been choking her just moments ago disappeared like a lie. She felt refreshingly light-hearted.
“Just in case…”
“Woo-ju ssi.”
“Yes?”
“I’m hungry. Would you like to have dinner together?”
“……”
Understanding that she was asking him to stop nagging, Kang Woo-ju stopped talking and stared at her.
When Kim Eun-ha didn’t back down and stared back, Kang Woo-ju eventually sighed deeply and took a step back.
“At least put some ointment on it.”
“Okay.”
Later, Kang Woo-ju indeed went to the pharmacy and bought a bunch of ointments and anti-inflammatory creams. He even applied them to Kim Eun-ha’s wound himself.
Kim Eun-ha, who willingly offered her hand, had a deep smile on her face.
******
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