TO 45

Chapter 45

Seo-ah rushed down the commercial building hallway. Of all days, she had parked her car in the surface lot rather than the underground garage.

Su-bin kept her eyes glued to the playground as Seo-ah pulled her along by the hand.

“Can’t I just wear the clothes I already have? My jeans are fine, too.”

“No, tomorrow is an important occasion…”

“An important occasion? Where are we going?”

Seo-ah hesitated for a moment. This might be the first and last time.

Her main objective was to ask Jeong-hyeon to convince Taehyuk to sign the agreement waiving his parental rights, but it was still the very first time she would be presenting Su-bin to him.

She wanted to show him that she had raised the child well, bright and cheerful. Only then would Jeong-hyeon feel reassured leaving Su-bin in her care. It had been an absolute stroke of luck that his text arrived when it did.

When Jin-soo—having heard the situation from Jin-won—had handed her the waiver form, her mind had gone completely blank. If she presented that in front of Taehyuk, he would tear it to shreds on the spot.

That aside… was her father-in-law’s health really taking a turn for the worse?

He had never reached out to her first before. Since it broke his usual pattern, she wasn’t without her anxieties. Still, right now, Seo-ah was the one who needed to take the initiative to meet him anyway.

Perhaps his heart had softened after their phone call that day.

‘Taehyuk must be giving you a hard time, right? That’s why you called me.’

Even then, Jeong-hyeon had clearly still been on her side.

“Huh?”

It happened right then.

“It’s the mister!”

Before Seo-ah could even stop her, Taehyuk walked across the playground and crouched down. Su-bin sprinted over like an arrow and threw herself into his arms.

Seeing Su-bin fit so perfectly in his embrace made the child feel remarkably tiny.

“Have you been doing well, Su-bin?” Taehyuk asked, looking at her. The gentle smile touching his lips felt unfamiliar.

As Taehyuk lifted Su-bin into his arms, Seo-ah’s face crumpled into a deep frown.

“We’re on our way somewhere right now. So…”

“Where are you going? I’ll come along,” Taehyuk offered, cradling Su-bin with one arm.

“No. We can go by ourselves. Su-bin, come here.”

Seo-ah reached her hands out, but Su-bin just wrapped her arms tighter around Taehyuk’s neck.

“Can’t the mister come with us?”

“No. Lee Su-bin, are you not going to listen to Mom?”

Seo-ah put on a stern face and reached out to Su-bin again. Pouting, Su-bin slowly unclasped her hands from around Taehyuk’s neck. Taehyuk chimed in.

“I don’t know where you’re headed, but let’s go together. I’ll drive.”

“I can drive myself. Stop this and…”

“We’re going to buy clothes! We’re going to buy clothes for Su-bin!” Su-bin chattered excitedly. Seo-ah’s brow furrowed.

It was a blessing in disguise that Su-bin didn’t actually know the real reason they were buying new clothes.

“Clothes? Then I definitely need to come along.”

“I said I’m fine…”

“The princess is going shopping, so she’s going to need a porter to carry the bags.” Taehyuk gently teased Su-bin.

“Mom, can’t the mister come with us?” Su-bin asked Seo-ah, perched comfortably on Taehyuk’s arm.

Seeing how securely Su-bin was sitting, Seo-ah suddenly remembered something the child had said before.

‘He just scoops Su-bin up with one arm like it’s nothing! He’s super cool!’

It was hard to ignore the happy face Su-bin had made when she said those words.

“No. That’s…”

“He said he’d come and carry all the heavy stuff for us! Just like Choi Min-soo’s dad!”

“What?”

“Choi Min-soo’s dad always carries all the heavy things. So when Choi Min-soo’s mom goes to the grocery store, she never has to lift anything heavy at all!”

Su-bin put on a tearful face, seemingly quite upset about that memory.

“Haah…” Seo-ah parted her lips slightly, caught completely off guard.

“I’m strong, too. I’ll make sure your mom never has to lift a single heavy thing,” Taehyuk promised.

Only then did Su-bin flash a smile.

“So let’s go together! Pretty please, Mom~”

“That’s…”

“I promise I won’t be a bother,” Taehyuk said.

Seo-ah grimaced and checked the watch on her wrist. “Even if we wanted to go, we can’t. It’s already too late.”

“What do you mean?”

“The department store is about to close. Even if we leave right now, we won’t make it in time.”

“Then I can’t get new clothes?” Su-bin’s face fell into a whine. It was painfully obvious she wasn’t upset about missing out on new clothes, but rather disappointed that her chance to spend time with Taehyuk was falling apart.

“There’s nothing we can do. Let’s just pick something nice from what you already have at home. Now come down, let’s go.”

Su-bin pouted and tried to climb out of Taehyuk’s arms, but Taehyuk spoke up.

“If it’s the department store, I can guide the way. I know a place that stays open late.”

“Pardon?” Seo-ah asked back.

At the same time, Su-bin’s face lit up completely. “Really?!”

“Yeah.” Taehyuk smiled down at Su-bin before looking over at Seo-ah. “Let’s take my car.”

“Whoa, Mister, your car is so cool! It’s super huge, Mom!”

Seo-ah offered an awkward smile at Su-bin’s exclamation. Sitting inside Taehyuk’s luxury sedan, Su-bin’s eyes were wide with endless wonder.

“Mom, look at this! If I do this, the seat moves all by itself! There’s even a window on the ceiling!”

As Su-bin chattered away endlessly, Seo-ah gently patted the child’s thigh to settle her down.

“Su-bin, do you like my car?” Taehyuk asked from the driver’s seat.

“Yes! It’s the best!” Su-bin replied with a bright smile.

“Shall we go for a drive together next time?”

“Really?!”

“Yeah. Come to think of it, I should buy a car seat for you and keep it installed in the back.”

“No, there’s no need for…”

“Yay! I can’t wait!” Su-bin bounced up and down in her seat.

“Su-bin,” Seo-ah scolded gently, looking flustered.

“I wish Choi Min-soo could see this! He always bragged about how big his dad’s car was!” Su-bin declared, holding her chin high in the air as if Min-soo were standing right in front of her.

Watching Su-bin through the rearview mirror, Taehyuk let out a soft laugh. His gaze met Seo-ah’s in the mirror. With his smile still lingering, Taehyuk kept his eyes fixed on her, but Seo-ah quickly looked away.

Her mind was a tangled mess. If Taehyuk ever found out the real reason they were buying Su-bin new clothes right now…

Seo-ah bit down hard on her lip.

“It’s closed.”

The shutters at the main entrance of the department store were all pulled down. Seo-ah asked him, looking utterly bewildered. Taehyuk simply shrugged and smoothly navigated the car toward the back entrance.

As Taehyuk’s car approached the rear gate, where the vehicle control bar was lowered, the barrier lifted as if it had been waiting for him. A team of staff members was standing by right in front of the door.

A startled Seo-ah looked at Taehyuk. He parked the car with an unbothered expression.

“When did you… arrange something like…”

“It was cutting it a bit close,” Taehyuk said with a quiet chuckle.

Only then did Seo-ah recall Taehyuk making a phone call right before they left.

So… with just that one phone call… he rented out the entire department store?

Seo-ah stared at Taehyuk, her eyes wide with disbelief. Taehyuk had already stepped out of the vehicle. When an employee stepped forward to open the rear door where Seo-ah and Su-bin were sitting, Taehyuk raised a hand to signal that he would handle it himself.

He opened the back door himself and flashed a gentle smile at Su-bin.

“Shall we step out, Princess?”

With exaggerated grace, Taehyuk helped Su-bin out of the car. Though Su-bin looked a little caught off guard, her cheeks flushed red, clearly enjoying the royal treatment.

After helping Su-bin down, Taehyuk offered his hand to Seo-ah as well. Seo-ah didn’t take it.

“I can get out on my own.”

At her blunt response, Taehyuk curled his outstretched hand into a fist and let out a light laugh.

“Right this way, please.”

A tall, impeccably dressed man with a sharp posture stepped forward to lead the way. Taehyuk scooped Su-bin up into his arms, and Su-bin naturally clung to his neck as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Seo-ah followed closely behind them, feeling slightly intimidated.

Though the shutters were drawn on the outside, the interior of the department store was brightly lit. Every single staff member stood at attention, bowing deeply as Taehyuk and Seo-ah walked past.

Seo-ah could catch the quiet whispers of the employees drifting into her ears.

“Oh my gosh, is the branch president himself personally escorting them right now?”

“The branch president is nothing. Look at those guests—they’re not even listed on the VVIP registry.”

“The branch president stepped out personally for someone who isn’t even a VVIP?”

“Of course! Don’t you know who that is? Why would he ever need to put his own name on a customer list? That’s Jang Taehyuk from K-Asset Management. They say whenever the wife of K-Asset Management’s chairman sets foot in any department store, the whole place shuts down for the day.”

“Why?”

“Because she fills almost an entire month’s sales quota in a single day.”

Listening to the employees’ hushed chatter, Seo-ah creased her brow slightly. Being treated like this under everyone’s watchful eyes made her deeply uncomfortable.

“W-What is the meaning of this?” Seo-ah whispered quietly to Taehyuk.

“It makes it much easier to shop comfortably, doesn’t it?”

“Even so… keeping all these people from going home just because of us…” Seo-ah glanced around at the staff members.

“That’s true. So I told them I’d be paying extra allowance for their time.”

“Extra… allowance?”

Seo-ah felt utterly appalled by the sheer scale of Taehyuk paying separate allowances to this huge crowd of people. But Taehyuk simply looked at her with an unbothered expression.

“Pick out some things for yourself while we’re here, too.”

Seo-ah shook her head. “I’m fine. Let’s just buy Su-bin’s clothes quickly and…”

“I want to buy them for you.”

Taehyuk’s words made Seo-ah stop dead in her tracks. He was a man who had never once bought her clothes or jewelry in the past.

As if reading her innermost thoughts, Taehyuk added softly, “Because from now on, I want to start doing things like this for you.”

Chapter 45

Seo-ah rushed down the commercial building hallway. Of all days, she had parked her car in the surface lot rather than the underground garage.

Su-bin kept her eyes glued to the playground as Seo-ah pulled her along by the hand.

“Can’t I just wear the clothes I already have? My jeans are fine, too.”

“No, tomorrow is an important occasion…”

“An important occasion? Where are we going?”

Seo-ah hesitated for a moment. This might be the first and last time.

Her main objective was to ask Jeong-hyeon to convince Taehyuk to sign the agreement waiving his parental rights, but it was still the very first time she would be presenting Su-bin to him.

She wanted to show him that she had raised the child well, bright and cheerful. Only then would Jeong-hyeon feel reassured leaving Su-bin in her care. It had been an absolute stroke of luck that his text arrived when it did.

When Jin-soo—having heard the situation from Jin-won—had handed her the waiver form, her mind had gone completely blank. If she presented that in front of Taehyuk, he would tear it to shreds on the spot.

That aside… was her father-in-law’s health really taking a turn for the worse?

He had never reached out to her first before. Since it broke his usual pattern, she wasn’t without her anxieties. Still, right now, Seo-ah was the one who needed to take the initiative to meet him anyway.

Perhaps his heart had softened after their phone call that day.

‘Taehyuk must be giving you a hard time, right? That’s why you called me.’

Even then, Jeong-hyeon had clearly still been on her side.

“Huh?”

It happened right then.

“It’s the mister!”

Before Seo-ah could even stop her, Taehyuk walked across the playground and crouched down. Su-bin sprinted over like an arrow and threw herself into his arms.

Seeing Su-bin fit so perfectly in his embrace made the child feel remarkably tiny.

“Have you been doing well, Su-bin?” Taehyuk asked, looking at her. The gentle smile touching his lips felt unfamiliar.

As Taehyuk lifted Su-bin into his arms, Seo-ah’s face crumpled into a deep frown.

“We’re on our way somewhere right now. So…”

“Where are you going? I’ll come along,” Taehyuk offered, cradling Su-bin with one arm.

“No. We can go by ourselves. Su-bin, come here.”

Seo-ah reached her hands out, but Su-bin just wrapped her arms tighter around Taehyuk’s neck.

“Can’t the mister come with us?”

“No. Lee Su-bin, are you not going to listen to Mom?”

Seo-ah put on a stern face and reached out to Su-bin again. Pouting, Su-bin slowly unclasped her hands from around Taehyuk’s neck. Taehyuk chimed in.

“I don’t know where you’re headed, but let’s go together. I’ll drive.”

“I can drive myself. Stop this and…”

“We’re going to buy clothes! We’re going to buy clothes for Su-bin!” Su-bin chattered excitedly. Seo-ah’s brow furrowed.

It was a blessing in disguise that Su-bin didn’t actually know the real reason they were buying new clothes.

“Clothes? Then I definitely need to come along.”

“I said I’m fine…”

“The princess is going shopping, so she’s going to need a porter to carry the bags.” Taehyuk gently teased Su-bin.

“Mom, can’t the mister come with us?” Su-bin asked Seo-ah, perched comfortably on Taehyuk’s arm.

Seeing how securely Su-bin was sitting, Seo-ah suddenly remembered something the child had said before.

‘He just scoops Su-bin up with one arm like it’s nothing! He’s super cool!’

It was hard to ignore the happy face Su-bin had made when she said those words.

“No. That’s…”

“He said he’d come and carry all the heavy stuff for us! Just like Choi Min-soo’s dad!”

“What?”

“Choi Min-soo’s dad always carries all the heavy things. So when Choi Min-soo’s mom goes to the grocery store, she never has to lift anything heavy at all!”

Su-bin put on a tearful face, seemingly quite upset about that memory.

“Haah…” Seo-ah parted her lips slightly, caught completely off guard.

“I’m strong, too. I’ll make sure your mom never has to lift a single heavy thing,” Taehyuk promised.

Only then did Su-bin flash a smile.

“So let’s go together! Pretty please, Mom~”

“That’s…”

“I promise I won’t be a bother,” Taehyuk said.

Seo-ah grimaced and checked the watch on her wrist. “Even if we wanted to go, we can’t. It’s already too late.”

“What do you mean?”

“The department store is about to close. Even if we leave right now, we won’t make it in time.”

“Then I can’t get new clothes?” Su-bin’s face fell into a whine. It was painfully obvious she wasn’t upset about missing out on new clothes, but rather disappointed that her chance to spend time with Taehyuk was falling apart.

“There’s nothing we can do. Let’s just pick something nice from what you already have at home. Now come down, let’s go.”

Su-bin pouted and tried to climb out of Taehyuk’s arms, but Taehyuk spoke up.

“If it’s the department store, I can guide the way. I know a place that stays open late.”

“Pardon?” Seo-ah asked back.

At the same time, Su-bin’s face lit up completely. “Really?!”

“Yeah.” Taehyuk smiled down at Su-bin before looking over at Seo-ah. “Let’s take my car.”

“Whoa, Mister, your car is so cool! It’s super huge, Mom!”

Seo-ah offered an awkward smile at Su-bin’s exclamation. Sitting inside Taehyuk’s luxury sedan, Su-bin’s eyes were wide with endless wonder.

“Mom, look at this! If I do this, the seat moves all by itself! There’s even a window on the ceiling!”

As Su-bin chattered away endlessly, Seo-ah gently patted the child’s thigh to settle her down.

“Su-bin, do you like my car?” Taehyuk asked from the driver’s seat.

“Yes! It’s the best!” Su-bin replied with a bright smile.

“Shall we go for a drive together next time?”

“Really?!”

“Yeah. Come to think of it, I should buy a car seat for you and keep it installed in the back.”

“No, there’s no need for…”

“Yay! I can’t wait!” Su-bin bounced up and down in her seat.

“Su-bin,” Seo-ah scolded gently, looking flustered.

“I wish Choi Min-soo could see this! He always bragged about how big his dad’s car was!” Su-bin declared, holding her chin high in the air as if Min-soo were standing right in front of her.

Watching Su-bin through the rearview mirror, Taehyuk let out a soft laugh. His gaze met Seo-ah’s in the mirror. With his smile still lingering, Taehyuk kept his eyes fixed on her, but Seo-ah quickly looked away.

Her mind was a tangled mess. If Taehyuk ever found out the real reason they were buying Su-bin new clothes right now…

Seo-ah bit down hard on her lip.

“It’s closed.”

The shutters at the main entrance of the department store were all pulled down. Seo-ah asked him, looking utterly bewildered. Taehyuk simply shrugged and smoothly navigated the car toward the back entrance.

As Taehyuk’s car approached the rear gate, where the vehicle control bar was lowered, the barrier lifted as if it had been waiting for him. A team of staff members was standing by right in front of the door.

A startled Seo-ah looked at Taehyuk. He parked the car with an unbothered expression.

“When did you… arrange something like…”

“It was cutting it a bit close,” Taehyuk said with a quiet chuckle.

Only then did Seo-ah recall Taehyuk making a phone call right before they left.

So… with just that one phone call… he rented out the entire department store?

Seo-ah stared at Taehyuk, her eyes wide with disbelief. Taehyuk had already stepped out of the vehicle. When an employee stepped forward to open the rear door where Seo-ah and Su-bin were sitting, Taehyuk raised a hand to signal that he would handle it himself.

He opened the back door himself and flashed a gentle smile at Su-bin.

“Shall we step out, Princess?”

With exaggerated grace, Taehyuk helped Su-bin out of the car. Though Su-bin looked a little caught off guard, her cheeks flushed red, clearly enjoying the royal treatment.

After helping Su-bin down, Taehyuk offered his hand to Seo-ah as well. Seo-ah didn’t take it.

“I can get out on my own.”

At her blunt response, Taehyuk curled his outstretched hand into a fist and let out a light laugh.

“Right this way, please.”

A tall, impeccably dressed man with a sharp posture stepped forward to lead the way. Taehyuk scooped Su-bin up into his arms, and Su-bin naturally clung to his neck as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Seo-ah followed closely behind them, feeling slightly intimidated.

Though the shutters were drawn on the outside, the interior of the department store was brightly lit. Every single staff member stood at attention, bowing deeply as Taehyuk and Seo-ah walked past.

Seo-ah could catch the quiet whispers of the employees drifting into her ears.

“Oh my gosh, is the branch president himself personally escorting them right now?”

“The branch president is nothing. Look at those guests—they’re not even listed on the VVIP registry.”

“The branch president stepped out personally for someone who isn’t even a VVIP?”

“Of course! Don’t you know who that is? Why would he ever need to put his own name on a customer list? That’s Jang Taehyuk from K-Asset Management. They say whenever the wife of K-Asset Management’s chairman sets foot in any department store, the whole place shuts down for the day.”

“Why?”

“Because she fills almost an entire month’s sales quota in a single day.”

Listening to the employees’ hushed chatter, Seo-ah creased her brow slightly. Being treated like this under everyone’s watchful eyes made her deeply uncomfortable.

“W-What is the meaning of this?” Seo-ah whispered quietly to Taehyuk.

“It makes it much easier to shop comfortably, doesn’t it?”

“Even so… keeping all these people from going home just because of us…” Seo-ah glanced around at the staff members.

“That’s true. So I told them I’d be paying extra allowance for their time.”

“Extra… allowance?”

Seo-ah felt utterly appalled by the sheer scale of Taehyuk paying separate allowances to this huge crowd of people. But Taehyuk simply looked at her with an unbothered expression.

“Pick out some things for yourself while we’re here, too.”

Seo-ah shook her head. “I’m fine. Let’s just buy Su-bin’s clothes quickly and…”

“I want to buy them for you.”

Taehyuk’s words made Seo-ah stop dead in her tracks. He was a man who had never once bought her clothes or jewelry in the past.

As if reading her innermost thoughts, Taehyuk added softly, “Because from now on, I want to start doing things like this for you.”