HDITYFM 25

Chapter 25

“Oh, by the way, I heard your mother’s hospital situation was taken care of.”

Although he used a light tone, as if to show there was no hidden intention behind the question, Ro Woon’s eyes had become much sharper.

“Ah, yes. Thanks to your concern, it was taken care of well…”

Ro Woon caught the end of Jaehee’s fading words.

“Can I ask how you solved it?”

Ro Woon had guessed that Do Kangjun and Han Jaehee might have a deep relationship.

The man who had come to her house late at night, and the way the woman had been shaken by his appearance.

More than anything, the fact that DK Group had directly stepped in to stop Han Jaehee’s mother, Jeong Hyeyeon, from being discharged from the hospital strengthened Ro Woon’s guess.

But there was one thing he could not understand.

Why was DK Group the one that had pressured the hospital to discharge her?

And it was said that the order had come directly from the secretarial office under the head of the Strategic Planning Division at DK Group.

Had the head of the secretarial office personally gone there?

That was what the head of the administration department at Chamsarang Hospital had said.

“It’s nothing special. I’m just asking because I’m curious.”

Why had Do Kangjun tried to throw the woman’s mother out of the hospital?

And then, why had he changed his mind?

In fact, what was happening now was even stranger.

It made no sense that he had kept the woman standing in a corner throughout the entire party for such a ridiculous reason as styling work.

Before the party, he could have simply finished setting up her clothes and sent her home. Why had he gone to such lengths…?

It wasn’t as if he had invited her as a guest, either.

Watching Jaehee hesitate over her answer, Ro Woon smiled slightly.

“I wanted to step in and solve it for you, but it was taken care of so neatly that I became curious. I was a little disappointed, too.”

Jaehee felt strangely sorry toward Ro Woon.

After all, he had taken time out of his schedule to look into the matter for her, only to end up getting nowhere.

But if she told him that Division Head Do Kangjun had stepped in and solved it, it would sound strange.

Jaehee was choosing her words and was just about to open her mouth when it happened.

A long shadow came between the two of them and approached.

Jaehee’s eyes widened when she recognized the owner of the shadow.

Ro Woon also turned his head toward the same place as Jaehee.

At the end of their gazes stood a man with a cold expression.

The man who would one day become the owner of DK Group and this magnificent Cheongunjae stopped in front of them.

The three people who had met again stood there silently for a moment.

A tense feeling that did not fit the soft classical music quickly filled the air around them.

Just when the weight of that silence began to feel too heavy—

Once again, Ro Woon was the first to break the silence.

Unlike when they had met in front of Jaehee’s house, this time he spoke directly to Do Kangjun.

“We meet again. Division Head Do Kangjun.”

“I see. Attorney Lee Rowoon.”

“How did you know I was an attorney?”

Ro Woon smiled warmly, his eyes narrowing at the corners, but the end of his words was short and sharp.

“It seems you even had my background investigated.”

Did I become a threat to you?

Just because I was with this woman?

Why don’t you tell me, Division Head Do Kangjun?

I’m so curious that I could hardly stand it.

Ro Woon’s curious eyes seemed to say exactly that.

Kangjun raised his chin lazily and stared straight at Ro Woon.

Was it because of his intimidating gaze?

Or because of his uniquely indifferent expression?

There was no emotion that could be read from Do Kangjun’s face.

After a slight pause, Do Kangjun opened his mouth.

“The DK Chemical Huayang Plant suffocation accident.”

“……”

“I simply remembered the report that you were representing the victims.”

“……”

“And I also heard Han Jaehee call you that.”

A dry laugh escaped Ro Woon’s lips.

He had not expected this man to get out of it so easily.

Ro Woon lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“I guess I misunderstood. I apologize for my rudeness.”

Despite saying that he had been rude, there was not the slightest sign of regret on his face.

What an annoying bastard.

Kangjun swallowed the low curse in his throat and gave Ro Woon a relaxed smile.

“Not at all.”

Then, like the host of tonight’s party, he smoothly added,

“I hope you enjoy the party, Attorney Lee Rowoon.”

Kangjun quickly took his eyes off Ro Woon and looked at Jaehee.

“Han Jaehee, come with me for a moment.”

Jaehee, who had been listening to the sharp conversation between the two men from the side, quickly came to her senses.

“Yes, Division Head.”

Then she gave Ro Woon an apologetic look, silently telling him that she was sorry to leave first.

Kangjun turned his body and was about to walk away when Ro Woon stopped him.

“You seem to be on your way to change into an evening dress or something for the second part of the event.”

What is he talking about?

When Kangjun turned his head toward Ro Woon, a crooked gaze immediately met his.

The light smile that had remained around Ro Woon’s lips throughout their conversation had disappeared without a trace.

“The reason you kept Han Jaehee standing in a corner throughout the party.”

“……”

“I suddenly became curious about the reason. It’s not as if you were punishing her.”

“……”

“Ah! Is this workplace harassment or something?”

For a provocation, it was very clumsy.

It was childish enough that it was obvious he was doing it on purpose.

At this point, it almost felt wrong not to give him a reaction.

He was trying this hard, so Kangjun should at least show him some courtesy.

Without taking his eyes off Ro Woon, Kangjun moved only one finger and called over a server nearby.

When the server approached with a tray, Kangjun casually lifted one glass filled with champagne.

Then, as if deliberately showing Ro Woon, he slowly poured the champagne over his own chest.

“Divi…sion Head.”

The one who was shocked to see his expensive suit becoming soaked was Jaehee.

As her clear eyes widened in confusion, Kangjun spoke to Ro Woon with a completely calm expression and voice.

“She is the person I need when something like this happens. Han Jaehee.”

“……”

Kangjun curved his dark, sharp eyes and gave Ro Woon a quiet smile.

Then he turned around.

The smile that had remained on his lips had already disappeared without leaving even a trace.

Kangjun gave Jaehee a small nod.

“Follow me.”

Kangjun strode ahead, and Jaehee hurriedly moved her legs to follow behind him.

Watching the backs of the two people as they moved farther away, a hollow laugh escaped between Ro Woon’s lips.

In truth, he had not expected this much of a reaction.

He had intentionally provoked Do Kangjun, but considering the man’s social position, Ro Woon had thought he would merely turn a little red in the face and let it go.

Should he call it unexpected?

Or an expression of confidence?

Or, if not that, should he call it obsession with Han Jaehee?

Do Kangjun had faced Ro Woon’s blatant provocation without the slightest sign of wavering and had clearly revealed his strong obsession with the woman.

Yes.

It was definitely obsession.

Even though this was a situation that could have been handled with a few words, Do Kangjun had deliberately poured champagne over his own clothes.

Right in front of Ro Woon.

It was by no means a normal thing to do.

Especially not for a man in Do Kangjun’s position.

Maybe that was why.

Ro Woon felt that Do Kangjun’s obsession with the woman did not seem to come from good feelings.

The reason was that whenever Do Kangjun looked at the woman, his expression and eyes remained dry and cold. There was something about them that made it difficult to call it affection.

So, perhaps, he was a little worried.

The woman’s white, clear face kept appearing before Ro Woon’s eyes.

Han Jaehee had repeatedly looked embarrassed and uncomfortable between him and Do Kangjun.

For a moment, he thought he had seen a resentful look in her eyes toward him.

It also seemed as if she were asking why he had acted that way.

Of course, from her point of view, it must have looked as though he had picked a fight with Do Kangjun for no reason.

Thinking about that made Ro Woon feel strangely wronged.

It wasn’t a provocation without a reason.

But he could not exactly grab her and say, I did it for you.

‘She must be angry, right?’

If the woman became angry and showed it openly, she might be scary.

People who normally looked gentle could be frightening when they finally lost their temper.

I should apologize first when I see her again.

Though I don’t know if she will even agree to meet me.

While Ro Woon was deep in thought, a face suddenly appeared in his field of vision.

“What are you thinking about so seriously?”

It was his younger sister, Roha.

Roha was looking at her older brother with her eyes slightly narrowed.

They looked completely comfortable with each other, just like any other siblings.

At his sister’s appearance, Ro Woon relaxed his stiff expression and shrugged his shoulders.

“I was just thinking about how I should apologize to that person… Just random things like that.”

“Apologize? Did you make some mistake with someone?”

Lee Rowoon… made a mistake?

Not just because he was her older brother, but as a person, Lee Rowoon was actually a pretty decent man.

He was warm-hearted, had a strong sense of justice, and was considerate.

At the same time, unless something was truly wrong, he knew how to compromise at the right point. He was flexible and smart.

For such a brother to make a mistake?

“It’s just one of those things. You’re too young to understand.”

Ro Woon brushed it off and naturally changed the subject.

“Anyway, what did you think of Do Kangjun after seeing him in person? Dad was practically beside himself. He wants to make that man his son-in-law.”

“Don’t even mention it. You have no idea how embarrassed I was because of Dad.”

Roha shuddered as if she were disgusted by her father’s behavior.

“Why? Did he yell at Do Kangjun?”

The siblings’ father, Assemblyman Lee Seunggyun, had quite a hot temper.

He was impatient and had little patience.

On top of that, his voice was loud, so he always looked as if he were angry.

When he had been a judge, he had been expected to be fair and serious, and his personality had often been a weakness.

But after becoming a politician, he had instead steadily gained popularity through his image as the “yelling judge.”

Politics was ultimately a battle of image-making.

And in that sense, Lee Seunggyun had succeeded.

An image that was exaggerated far beyond the qualities he actually possessed.

The siblings knew their father’s abilities and limitations very well, but because they were family, they simply followed him quietly.

They were quite grateful that they had inherited their personalities from their mother’s side.

“Yell at him? No. Dad asked Do Kangjun why he was pretending to be busy, and instead, he got thoroughly put in his place.”

Even without seeing it, Ro Woon could roughly imagine what had happened.

He had just been verbally defeated by Do Kangjun himself a little while ago.

Ro Woon asked in a bored voice,

“So, what did you think of Do Kangjun?”

Roha’s expression became strangely complicated as she heard the question.