TOIGC 99

“I’m going to marry her.”

Yoongi answered without a second of hesitation. At the same time, a warm smile spread across Gerster’s face.

“Reason?”

“Because I love Merrill. Even though I’m still young, I’ll propose to her the moment I become an adult.”

“You’re that fond of her?”

“Well, she did steal my first kiss, didn’t she?”

Gerster chuckled and nodded at Yoongi’s slightly playful response.

“Ah, yes. She did steal a ten-year-old’s lips, didn’t she?”

“Perhaps I had minor ulterior motives involving Merrill back then. But now, whether you’re backing me or not, I’m going to marry her—assuming she accepts my proposal, of course.”

“As if Merrill would ever turn you down.”

“Honestly, if you gave us your blessing, I’d want to promise marriage right this second.”

“Fine, you have my blessing. Get engaged to Merrill.”

“Are you serious?”

Gerster’s smile deepened at Yoongi’s genuine expression of joy.

“Of course. I admit I wondered how much I could trust you at first, but watching you over time proved you aren’t the kind of kid who easily breaks. If it’s you, I can trust Merrill with my eyes closed.”

At Gerster’s conviction-filled words, Yoongi bowed his head and upper body—a rare display of formal respect.

“Thank you. No matter what happens, I will never betray Merrill.”

“I’ll have Merrill come over here, and you two can get engaged right in front of me. Once you do, I’ll look at you as family and throw my full, unreserved weight behind this operation.”

“I’d want to marry her even if you didn’t help.”

Having confirmed each other’s genuine sincerity, a true sense of familial bond finally locked into place between them. It started as a transactional give-and-take, evolved into a deep comradeship, and had now crystallized into family. And there was no doubt that the level of backing Gerster would provide now that he viewed Yoongi as kin would skyrocket far beyond anything before.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, as if remembering something he’d forgotten, Yoongi let out a sharp gasp.

“W-What? Is there a problem?”

“I don’t have a ring. You need a ring to get engaged, but I don’t even know Merrill’s finger size, and given my age, my dating resume is completely blank outside of her…”

As Yoongi floundered in embarrassment, Gerster gave an awkward, sheepish smile and pulled a simple string from his back pocket—a string tied neatly into a small loop.

“What’s that…?”

“This circle is the exact thickness of Merrill’s left ring finger.”

“How on earth did you measure that?”

At Yoongi’s innocent question, Gerster’s sheepish expression deepened into a bright red flush.

“I sneaked into her room while she was sleeping and measured it.”

“Why would you—oh!”

Realizing what had happened, Yoongi let out an exclamation, prompting Gerster to clear his throat loudly and pivot the conversation.

“Go buy a ring, right now! That’s an order!”

“Yes, sir!”

Sharing easy banter now, Yoongi broke into a happy grin and sprinted toward a nearby department store.

“What is this all about? Dragging me all the way here so urgently? And Grandpa’s here too?”

Merrill fired off questions the moment she stepped into the suite, though a bright smile gave away how thrilled she was that Yoongi had called for her.

“How are your classes going that you could just drop everything and come over like this? It’s a weekday!”

“You called for me too, Grandpa!”

Gerster chuckled heartily as Merrill shot him a playful glare.

“Right, right. This old man knows when to gracefully make himself scarce.”

“Oh, come on, Grandpa…”

Part of her was happy, but another part deeply embarrassed, Merrill swatted lightly at her grandfather’s shoulder as he stepped out into the hallway.

A moment later, left completely alone in the suite with Yoongi, Merrill immediately closed the distance, throwing both arms around his neck.

“Yoon! I missed you!”

With Merrill pressing close, radiating an increasingly mature charm day by day, Yoongi felt his face flush and his breathing hitch.

“Merrill, w-wait a second.”

“Huh…? Why…?”

When Yoongi pulled back with a firm, halting grip, Merrill’s expression fell into genuine disappointment—especially since Yoongi had never reacted like this during their previous encounters.

“No, it’s just that…”

“Are you already sick of me…?”

“N-No! Absolutely not!”

Yoongi’s vehement denial only left Merrill looking even more bewildered.

“Then why? Do you hate me hugging you?”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“Then what on earth is it…”

Yoongi had zero trouble keeping his cool around any other woman. He could effortlessly lead and navigate interactions with anyone in the world. But Merrill—once someone he could manage with ease—had become profoundly precious to him, and given the massive weight of the moment, he couldn’t easily steady his racing pulse.

Dropping to one knee right in front of Merrill, Yoongi reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet ring box.

“Merrill!”

The moment she saw the box, Merrill froze, her train of thought screeching to a complete halt.

“Merrill! Will you—”

Yoongi popped the box open with a flourish. Unfortunately, the ring inside suddenly bounced loose and began rolling across the floor.

“Whoops!”

Panicking, Yoongi scrambled after it, nearly diving onto the carpet before finally managing to snatch the runaway ring off the floor.

“Got it!”

Covered in stray lint and dust from the hotel rug, Yoongi looked up at her in a comical mess. Seeing him like that broke Merrill’s stunned paralysis, and she burst into bright, pealing laughter.

“Ahahaha!”

At first, Yoongi looked sheepish holding his pose, but seeing how genuinely happy Merrill looked, a soft, satisfied smile spread across his face as he reset his stance and knelt back down on one knee.

“Merrill.”

This time, Merrill didn’t freeze up. Instead, she stopped laughing, her eyes shimmering with sudden unshed tears as she looked down at him.

“On the day I become an adult, will you marry me?”

No fancy speech was needed. Just a steady, dead-serious gaze and an open box containing a ring. With misty eyes, Merrill extended her left hand.

“It’s the greatest gift of my life.”

Yoongi slipped the ring onto her left ring finger, then slid his own matching band out for her to take. A moment later, ruby-set rings gleamed on both of their left ring fingers.

“I actually debated getting a diamond, but when I looked up the symbolism of rubies, I felt like this fit us better. Do you mind…?”

Sitting perched together on the edge of the bed, Yoongi asked the question with cautious care. Merrill smiled gently and shook her head.

“Not at all. We’re in a position where we could buy mountains of diamonds if we wanted to. I would’ve been happy even if you gave me a candy ring.”

And she wasn’t exaggerating. Diamonds were dime-a-dozen in Merrill’s world.

“The meaning behind the ruby is ‘a single ray of strength that illuminates the hardest times of life.’ There are other meanings like burning love and wisdom, but I liked that first one best.”

“That meaning… I love it too.”

Had she never met Yoongi, Merrill likely would have given up modeling altogether, leaving her agoraphobia virtually insurmountable. The ordeal at Hermès had served as the turning point that sparked her fierce passion for the craft, ultimately helping her conquer most of her social anxiety.

In the same vein, Merrill was Yoongi’s own personal beacon of light. In his past forty-three years of life devoid of any genuine romance, and even in his current wealthy second-life, there was only one woman who had ever offered him blind, unconditional support: Merrill. While plenty of girls had shown superficial interest, no other romantic partner had ever backed him with such pure devotion.

“I’ll spend the rest of my life treating you like my light. And I’ll be your light, giving you strength whenever you need it.”

Yoongi took her hand, and Merrill interlaced her fingers tightly with his. Their lips met in a lingering, tender kiss.

A short while later, both of them pulled back with glowing, flushed cheeks. As their body heat settled, they shared a happy laugh and stood up together.

“Shall we go find your grandfather?”

“Lead the way.”

Heading back out, the two returned to the hotel lobby where Gerster was likely waiting. Seated in a quiet corner sipping coffee and scanning a newspaper, Gerster lowered the broad sheet as he spotted the pair walking over, wearing a puzzled expression.

“Wait, why are you two back already…?”

Confused by Gerster’s reaction, both Yoongi and Merrill blinked in unison.

“Is something wrong?”

“Grandpa, why would there be?”

At their completely clueless response, Gerster clicked his tongue in mock disappointment.

“Well, I was rather hoping you two would create a fait accompli today.”

For a split second, neither of them understood what “fait accompli” implied in this context. Once the subtext clicked in their heads, their faces flared bright red.

“Grandpa!”

“What? A man can hope, can’t he? I don’t know how much time I have left, and if a grandchild happened to pop out of this arrangement…”

This time, Yoongi jumped in.

“I’m still a minor, sir. In some U.S. states, simply consummating this relationship would get Merrill locked up in federal prison.”

“Ah, well, the state Merrill resides in allows marriage at thirteen.”

While U.S. laws regarding marriage ages would undergo major revisions toward 16 to 18 later in the 2010s, marrying at thirteen was technically permissible in certain jurisdictions during this period, meaning Gerster’s suggestion wasn’t technically absurd by the rigid standards of the era. Though it was certainly shocking for the teenagers on the receiving end.

Still, a strange, contemplative look crossed Yoongi’s face. He crossed his arms, propped a hand against his chin, and sank into deep, serious thought.

“Yoon?”

At Merrill’s prompt, Yoongi answered with a completely deadpan expression.

“Now that I think about it, it actually sounds like a pretty solid idea. What do you think? Shall we go ahead and—”

“Yoon!”

Merrill began raining light, rapid-fire punches onto Yoongi’s back and shoulders, prompting him to feign theatrical agony.

“Ow! Ouch!”

Though he was exaggerating his screams to make her laugh, Merrill’s face was flushed bright as she kept hitting him, though a wide smile gave her away.

A moment later, once Merrill calmed down, Yoongi turned a warm, respectful smile toward Gerster.

“You need to live a very long time, sir. After all, I plan on letting you enjoy perks that dwarf anything you had back in your active-duty days.”

“The mere thought puts me in a good mood. And it’d be even better if our entire family gets to enjoy those perks together.”

“You’ll experience privileges beyond your wildest imagination. Anyway, shall we head back inside the suite?”

“Let’s.”

Given the late hour, the already quiet lobby slipped back into a tranquil hush once the three of them departed, leaving only a lone desk clerk nodding off at the front counter.

The time had finally come for Ryu Geun-tae to make his move.

He could have tagged along to Japan from the very beginning, but Geun-tae’s schedule was packed so tightly that he used the interim waiting period to plow through pending operations at Yaikai Department Store. That frantic legwork had successfully carved out a clear window for him to fly over now.

His prime target: Park Ki-soo, the eldest son of Seth Group.

Before boarding his flight, Geun-tae had called Seth Holdings to set up an appointment. Thanks to the heavyweight prestige of holding the title of president of Yaikai Department Store, he successfully managed to secure a sit-down meeting. Naturally, given that the head of the retail phenomenon currently sweeping South Korea was reaching out to meet, Seth had little choice but to take the bait.

“Welcome. I am Jeong Dong-yoon, Managing Director at Seth Holdings.”

He looked to be in his early fifties with a remarkably full head of hair. Though his skin tone had a warm, brownish tint, his fluent Korean confirmed he was ethnically Korean.

“Thank you for coming all the way out to the airport to greet me.”

“Not at all. It’s the least I could do.”

A managing director showing up at the arrivals gate with a welcome placard. That single gesture spoke volumes about how desperate Park Ki-soo was for this meeting.

“Shall we head out?”

A waiting limousine idled at the curb. Geun-tae, flanked by two corporate bodyguards he had brought with him from Korea, piled into the vehicle and headed straight for Seth Holdings’ headquarters.

“Welcome.”

Despite their best efforts to project professional calm, the faint, palpable sense of urgency leaking through their demeanor confirmed all the intelligence Geun-tae had gathered beforehand.

As Geun-tae mentally organized his talking points, Park Ki-soo initiated polite small talk about the weather, smoothly transitioning from casual pleasantries to broader topics like current macroeconomic trends in South Korea. Neither side brought up the real reason for the meeting; a cautious, silent sparring match of mutual probing was underway.

Once the atmosphere warmed up comfortably, Geun-tae unsheathed his first blade.

“By the way, Seth’s market standing in Korea these days is truly formidable.”