RM 11

Chapter 11

Charge Me Up

She had expected him to say no.

She thought he would say, “What are we to each other that I’d worry about you?” But to hear him say he was worrying about her—that he was actually keeping an eye out for her…

Looking at him standing under the streetlamp and gazing at her, Bo-bae’s heart thudded gently in her chest.

It was a different kind of flutter from when she had been pinned under him on the hospital bed a few days ago. Back then, her whole body felt like it was scorching hot; right now, her heart churned gently, as if floating across an open sea. It was a pleasant flutter.

When Bo-bae blinked her large eyes in shock at his unexpected answer, he spoke up in a dry, indifferent voice.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“…?”

“You’re my portable battery.”

“…!”

“So of course I have no choice but to worry. If something happens to you, it means something happens to me too, doesn’t it?”

He was speaking the absolute truth. A truth that deserved a punch to the face.

When Na-yeon mentioned that honey was dripping from his eyes whenever he looked at her, Bo-bae had secretly hoped that this man might actually have a tiny bit of genuine interest in her.

Even if she denied it in words, the truth was that she had been shaken by him ever since the moment they first met. Yet reality was always bitter. The faint hope she held onto was met with a predictable response, turning her fluttering heart into pure disappointment.

“Figures. I’m the idiot for expecting anything.”

“Expectations? What expectations? Don’t tell me you expected me to worry about you as a man?”

“Forget it! If you’re charged enough, you can leave now!”

Thoroughly offended, Bo-bae turned on her heel and strode up the stairs without looking back once. A mixture of embarrassment and mortification flushed her face bright red, making it impossible to look him straight in the eye. She needed to hide away inside her pitch-black rooftop room as fast as possible.

“Where are you going? I’m not even fully charged yet!”

Ugh. That clueless bastard.

Ho-rang called after her, completely oblivious to her inner turmoil, but Bo-bae kept walking without glancing back. Right now, soothing her bruised pride was far more important than his charging status.

“This stupid building always loses power! Old, shabby, and ruining my mood!”

Bo-bae kicked the air in frustration as she entered the dark building. The moment she stepped inside, the flickering, broken light suddenly turned on bright and clear, as if acting like a motion-sensor light.

Reaching the rooftop, Bo-bae collapsed onto the wooden bench. The more she thought about it, the more absurd and embarrassing it felt—she wanted to die of humiliation.

To think she had expected anything from a guy who had cold-heartedly rejected her proposal for a contract relationship, even while facing a life-or-death crisis! Had she lived her life in utter innocence, was she just foolish, or was she a complete fool?

No matter how inexperienced she was at romance—never having even held a man’s hand—how could a romance writer be this clueless about a man’s heart?

“You idiot, why did your heart have to flutter over that?”

Muttering as she stared up at the night sky, Bo-bae suddenly sat bolt upright on the bench.

“Wait. Don’t tell me… I’m actually serious about that arrogant jerk?”

Her cheeks were still burning hot, her heart was pounding like crazy, and she felt a crushing wave of disappointment at Ho-rang’s icy response—a disappointment that felt as if her entire world were collapsing.

“Nah, no way.”

Even as she said it, she caught herself missing that man.

“Nah, it can’t be.”

Even as she said it, she found herself looking forward to tomorrow.

“No! There’s no way I have feelings for that arrogant prick. It’s just because he’s the first man whose hand I’ve held. It was my first time with physical contact and my first kiss, so I’m just a bit confused, that’s all. How could a jerk like that ever enter my heart? No way! Absolutely not!”

While Bo-bae was trying to pull herself together, Ho-rang was scanning the surroundings outside her rooftop room.

He truly disliked everything about it. He hated how old the building was, but worse, the surrounding area was packed with drinking establishments. He also deeply disliked that everyone passing through was drunk. If things stayed like this…

‘She’s in far too much danger.’

He disliked that her house was located on a steep, carved-out hill, he disliked how far her home was from the cafe, and he hated the shattered glass bottles scattered in front of the building. Ultimately, Bo-bae being in danger offered zero benefit to him.

‘Should I get an officetel apartment for her?’

No. Knowing her personality, she would never meekly accept it.

‘Should I just buy up this entire lot and build a brand-new building instead?’

While various thoughts raced through his mind, he spotted the flasher from earlier lurking around as if searching for a new target.

Ho-rang approached him without hesitation.

“Hey, pervert.”

When a well-built, imposing man called out to him, the flasher froze in terror, tightly clutching his coat around his chest.

“A-A-Are you calling me a pervert?! I-I-I’m not a pervert!”

Terrified by Ho-rang’s razor-sharp, piercing glare, the flasher stammered over his words. He looked just like a panicked weasel standing before a fierce tiger.

“People usually call someone who wanders around exposing their pathetic goods to random women for self-satisfaction a pervert.”

Unable to refute the truth, the flasher kept his mouth shut and looked up at Ho-rang nervously.

“I don’t give a damn about your twisted taste—actually, I don’t even want to know.”

“…”

“But if anything happens to that woman because of you, know that you’ll die by my hands.”

“E-Eek…!”

In that split second, the flasher felt an undeniable murder intent in Ho-rang’s eyes. No, that spine-chilling, terrifying aura wasn’t just emanating from his eyes; a suffocating, deadly presence radiated from his entire body.

“I-I-I won’t ever do it again!”

“Get lost.”

Crushed by Ho-rang’s mere glare, the flasher bowed repeatedly, promising never to come near the area again, before scurrying away into the darkness.

Once the flasher vanished, Ho-rang turned his gaze back toward Bo-bae’s rooftop room. The lights inside her room turned off, indicating she had finished getting ready for bed. It seemed safe enough for him to head back now.

Ho-rang turned away with heavy footsteps.

The next day.

Ho-rang arrived at work with hollow, exhausted eyes. Last night, he had ultimately been unable to go home and had stayed up all night guarding Bo-bae’s house.

Just as he was about to leave, a group of loud, intoxicated men had surged into Bo-bae’s building. Even though they were residents of the building, the sight of thoroughly drunk men left Ho-rang feeling too anxious to leave, forcing him to spend a long night outside her doorstep.

In the end, he had only watched the sun rise, taken a quick shower, and headed straight to work.

“Good morning, CEO Baek.”

“Get me a cup of coffee. Extra strong.”

Hoping to chase away his drowsiness, he ordered coffee and was about to enter his office when Secretary Yoon called out to him.

“Um, CEO Baek.”

“What is it?”

“The Chairman is waiting inside.”

At the mention of the Chairman, tension gripped Ho-rang’s face. The one person in this world capable of making Ho-rang nervous: Chairman Baek Man-seok.

Maintaining his tight composure, Ho-rang asked, “When did he arrive?”

“Just a moment ago, sir.”

“Right. Got it.”

Ho-rang straightened his attire and adjusted his expression. Stepping inside, he maintained a flawless, composed posture.

As the door opened, Chairman Baek was seated in the primary chair. Despite being over seventy years old, his large frame exuded robust health and an aura of overwhelming, untouchable charisma.

Having built the current Taeseong Group from scratch with nothing but tenacity and hard work from an impoverished background, he was famous as a legendary business figure who created something out of nothing—a powerful man ranked among the wealthiest not just in South Korea, but globally.

“Welcome, Chairman.”

Ho-rang bowed deeply to Man-seok. Though he was his grandfather, he was a man who had never once permitted the title of “Grandfather.” He was notoriously cold and uncompromising toward his children and grandchildren alike.

“Loosen up. I simply dropped by on my way elsewhere.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

Though the Chairman told him to relax, Ho-rang did not let his guard down. Words like that were always followed by something unexpected.

“Are the preparations for the shopping center opening proceeding smoothly?”

“Yes. Preparations are nearly complete. A drama is currently filming there, and scenes shot at our department store are scheduled to air to match our opening day.”

“Hmph. If the drama does well, it should draw plenty of attention.”

“I’m expecting good results.”

“I have high expectations as well.”

Chairman Baek set down his teacup and looked up at Ho-rang. It was a fierce, piercing gaze, but Ho-rang met his grandfather’s eyes directly without flinching. The two shared identical, razor-sharp eyes.

“Everyone around us is causing a fuss. They’re gossiping about whether the shopping center, rather than Taeseong Construction, will be feeding Taeseong Group from now on.”

Taeseong Group, which originated in construction and automobiles, had expanded into hotels and resorts worldwide, and this was its very first shopping center launch. Planned personally by Ho-rang—who had previously managed the resort business—every single detail had passed through his hands from start to finish.

Because Ho-rang was the project lead chosen by Chairman Baek—who hadn’t expanded into new business sectors for decades—expectations, concerns, and jealous gazes lurked both inside and outside Taeseong Group.

“You know everyone opposed this project, correct?”

“I am well aware.”

“I will judge based on the first year’s revenue—whether you are useful, or useless.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Show me that my choice was not wrong.”

“Do not worry. Just as I did before, I will prove that your choice was correct.”

“Good. Hahaha, that’s how it should be!”

Accompanied by Chairman Baek’s booming laughter, Ho-rang’s memories drifted back to a night twenty years ago.

. . .

On a night when rain poured down as if the heavens had ruptured, Ho-rang lost his parents.

The family of three had gone out together and were returning home. The terrifying, howling typhoon swallowed the car carrying Ho-rang’s family whole, and his mother passed away into the sky without ever letting go of the hands tightly embracing him.

Before he could even process the grief of losing his parents, young Ho-rang had to fear for his own life. Ho-rang hadn’t known back then—he hadn’t known that his grandfather was fabulously wealthy, nor that his rich grandfather had left an astronomical fortune to his father.

However, there were new things he came to realize. He learned that he had a very pretty aunt and a cousin of the same age, and that his aunt and uncle-in-law were coveting his father’s inheritance. He also realized that he himself was a massive obstacle in their path.

“I want to live with Grandfather! Please let me live with Grandfather! I’ll only eat a little food. I’ll do everything you ask!”

As young Ho-rang pleaded, his body trembled violently. The reason he begged to live with a grandfather who looked scarier than a goblin was simple: he held a strong belief that, at the very least, his grandfather wouldn’t kill him.

“Do you truly wish to live with me?”

“Yes. I’ll live with Grandfather. I want to live with Grandfather.”

Man-seok patted the terrified boy’s head and spoke.

“Very well. Then from now on, call me Chairman.”

That was the first and last time he ever called Chairman Baek Man-seok “Grandfather.”