This work is fiction

Taehyun was seriously looking at the personal information and photos on the desk that Haewon hadn’t been able to clear away because she was too busy losing her mind

watching them. Then, whatever he saw made his brows furrow. The reason was

they were photos of Soobin and the female lead. The two seemed pretty close, sticking together wherever they went

and even the occasional sight of Beomgyu. Soobin was someone he had seen at the terminal a few days ago.

Name: Choi Soobin, age 28, assistant manager in the ad planning team. He was friends with the female lead

since childhood. Taehyun let out a sigh, then saw the profile of Beomgyu, who had been with the female lead at the hotel.

Age 26, joined the company right after being discharged from the military. Two years ago

he joined the female lead’s company, and he could tell that the female lead was his supervisor too. It felt like he’d opened Pandora’s box for no reason, and the unease sat heavily in his chest. Then Haewon came in after finishing the meeting and

sighed the moment she saw Taehyun.

"Hey, Kang Taehyun, why are you here?"

"What are these photos? Don’t you know it’s illegal?"

"If you’re going to say useless stuff, get out."

Haewon sat on the sofa, holding her forehead as if her head were pounding, and continued speaking.

"Seo Yeoju and Choi Soobin may be friends, but they seem like more than that.

Even from the photos, isn’t it obvious? They look pretty affectionate, don’t they?"
"So what’s the point of this? Are you trying to justify it with this?"

"As expected, you’re smart. Yeojun-ssi and Seo Yeoju were always together.

Anyone would misunderstand, right? And Choi Soobin loves Seo Yeoju.
So I’m the one who broke them apart, not Choi Soobin. How’s that?
Isn’t it a pretty perfect scenario?"
The real fool wasn’t me, it was my older sister Kang Haewon. Taehyun gave a dumbfounded laugh.

"You expect me to believe this? No, unnie, why are you going this far?

You’re about to marry the Choi Yeojun you wanted so badly, so what are you even worried about?"
"I’m worried because he isn’t completely mine. We broke up, but he still misses Seo Yeoju.

So I want to send her somewhere Yeojun-ssi can’t see her.
His heart belongs to Seo Yeoju, not me. He even told me he’d play dad to the kid.
What does that mean? Isn’t that just a show-window couple?"
"So you want everyone to feel sorry for unnie? What is this?

You don’t even have a good image to begin with."
He’d tried not to get irritated in front of the pregnant woman, but the frustration eventually burst out of Taehyun.

Seeing that, Haewon was a little startled.

"Why do you freak out every time Seo Yeoju comes up? Do you think she’s pitiful?"

"Ask anyone passing by whether it was a good thing to break up a couple that was preparing for marriage."

"Taehyun, that story is already over. Please don’t pity someone you don’t know."

"This isn’t pity."

"Don’t tell me... you mean Seo Yeoju?"

"Put those useless thoughts away, unnie."

Looking at Haewon’s fairly obvious belly, he let out a sigh. He wanted to snap at her more, but he couldn’t, so Taehyun got up from the sofa and said he should get going. As he left the assistant manager’s office,

his gaze grew sharper and sharper. Meanwhile, Yeoju, holding an umbrella engraved with the initials KTH,

was at the hotel to meet Taehyun. She sat in the seat she’d been shown at the hotel café lounge,

waiting for him. The view of the night skyline gave off a strangely calming feeling.

Taehyun, who hurried into the lounge entrance, saw Yeoju before he saw the night view.

She really did give off an ethereal vibe. He walked up to Yeoju, who was looking at the night view with her long hair tucked behind one ear and her chin resting on her hand.

When he saw Taehyun in his neat suit, he looked quite different from the image he’d had at the terminal. Until he heard his age,

he’d thought he was a college student. After the awkward greeting, Taehyun sat down in front of Yeoju.

"This umbrella must be special. It even has your initials on it."

"No, it’s nothing special. I just lose umbrellas all the time, so my mom

had it engraved, but it doesn’t matter either way. I’ve lost a lot of things.

But this time, luckily, I found it."

At Taehyun’s words, she gave an awkward eye-smile and drank the iced Americano in front of her.
"I see. I thought it was special because it had your initials on it."
"You can use the umbrella, Yeoju-ssi."

"How could I do that? I met the owner, so I should give it back."

Just looking at Yeoju made his heart pound like crazy. It had been a long time since he’d felt this kind of emotion, since Shin Jua.

Taehyun cleared his throat, then spoke nervously but with courage.

"Since this seems like fate, if it’s not too rude, would you be my friend?"

"...Friends?"

"Yes. I’d like to be friends with Yeoju-ssi. Would that be okay..?"

Honestly, right after graduating high school, I kind of lived a wandering life.

I only just settled in Seoul, so I don’t have many friends."

Right after graduating high school, a wandering life?..What must have happened? He must have had a really hard time.
Yeoju had seriously misunderstood Taehyun. At first it was awkward, but gradually the mood
turned comfortable, and Taehyun said he worked part-time at a convenience store near Gangnam Station.

Actually, things like that didn’t matter to Yeoju. Taehyun just desperately wanted to die without ever

finding out that she was the child of T Company and the younger sibling of Kang Haewon, but unfortunately

God didn’t listen to Taehyun.

"We can see each other again, right?"

"Yes, anytime. If you ever have worries, I’ll listen to them.

And uh, I’m not great with alcohol, but I can eat the snacks well."

She was a woman with a kinder heart than he’d expected. Seeing Yeoju answer positively without hesitation,

his feelings grew even stronger. Taehyun was serious. It wasn’t a joke, it was genuine.
Being with Yeoju felt comfortable and reassuring, like he’d known her for a long time. After being hurt by love,

I guess it’s possible for me to sincerely like someone again after so long.

The moment Taehyun took the umbrella, he looked at Yeoju and smiled brightly. Seeing that,

the guard he’d kept in one corner of his heart collapsed all at once. Before he knew it, Taehyun had driven her all the way to Yeoju’s house.

"I had a great time today, unnie."

"Me too. Next time, please make sure to take good care of your umbrella."

"Yes. Then, please go inside."

After saying goodbye to Taehyun, Yeoju went into the house and somehow felt like she’d gained a younger brother,

which made her happy. Taehyun seemed pleased with his meeting with Yeoju too, smiling as he headed back to the main house with the umbrella. The two of them were feeling different emotions.

/

For once, the four members of Taehyun’s family gathered for tea time. With a stern expression,

Taehyun’s father, Chairman Kang Chanhee, lifted his teacup, drank, then opened his mouth toward Taehyun,

who was standing there.

"Taehyun, how long are you going to wander around? This father of yours is ready."

"I told you not to wait. I’m not joining the company."

"I know you’re working part-time at a convenience store."

"...You investigated me?"

"Taehyun, you’re working part-time at a convenience store?" — mom

"What’s wrong with working part-time at a convenience store? It feels really rewarding. Don’t talk about it carelessly."

At the mention of convenience-store part-time work, his mother clutched the back of her neck and Haewon snickered.

"Hey, Kang Taehyun, are you pretending to be a commoner? What are you going to do if one of the employees recognizes you?"

"Why would that matter? I’m going to live doing what I want."

Taehyun’s bold words made Chairman Kang’s brows knit, and he shouted while his mother

let out a sigh. On the other hand, Haewon smiled with her eyes curved, took a sip of tea, and then said,

"Taehyun doesn’t want to inherit it, so should we pass it on to Choi seobang, Dad?"

"...."

"Oh my, look at this one! Yeojun will inherit the construction business too, so what are you worried about?"

"There’s no rule saying he can’t work in the company. He’s going to be our son-in-law."

"Fine, hand it over to Yeojun-hyung then. I’m not interested. I’m going in now."

"Taehyun, you’re the only son, so you have to follow in your father’s footsteps." — mom

"Seriously, when have you ever thought of me as your son?"

"Kang Taehyun!"

At his father’s call, Taehyun kicked back his chair and stormed out. Once in the yard, he

put a cigarette between his lips, flicked on his lighter, took a deep drag, and exhaled the smoke.

"Hey, you’re amazing, huh? Talking back to Dad."

As Haewon approached, Taehyun hurriedly threw the cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his foot.

"It’s cold. Why did you come out here?"

"What do you actually want to do? Are you really not interested in company work?"

"Yeah. Convenience-store work actually suits me."

"Fine, then spend your whole life just working part-time at a convenience store and don’t get in my way."

"...."

Seeing Taehyun lost in thought, Haewon’s mouth twitched as if she were about to bring up something amusing.

"Taehyun, did you know? Your biological parents are looking for you."

Or are they trying to take away a full-grown adult? Why are they looking for you now?"

"!!"

"Ah~ it looks like the money Dad gave them already ran out, so now they’re hunting you down with their eyes burning."

"...."

"So maybe they want to take you back and squeeze money out of you?

Taehyun, being poor is a crime. Hide well."

Crossing her arms, Haewon whispered into Taehyun’s ear, then with a look of amusement

patted his shoulder a couple of times before going inside. Taehyun had never seen Haewon’s
chilling smile before, and goosebumps rose all over him. His body trembled slightly.

—

So irritated, so irritated, so freaking irritated 🥲

Soobin! Taehyun is added too 😦

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