Chapter 7.2

Chapter 7.2

“He had dinner at the hotel for about two hours and then returned straight to the company.”

“Only two hours?”

“Yes, it seems they simply discussed work over dinner and then parted ways.”

“…I see, good work.”

“He seems to be more patient than he looks.”

“He does. The kid is impulsive and self-centered in everything he does, but he unusually hides his true self only in front of that girl.”

“Are you really okay with this?”

Worry deepened the lines on CEO Kim Minseok’s face at Executive Director Park’s concerned words.

Indeed, was this really okay? A guy who, if he’d wanted to, would have gone straight from the hotel restaurant to a room, truly just ate dinner?

Even though it was his own son, he truly couldn’t understand him.

His wife might faint if she knew this fact.

He had deliberately assigned Shin Yeonsu to Hajun. He knew Hajun’s nature, how he would obsessively dig into one thing once he was engrossed in it.

Perhaps due to the Beom Ihan Family curse, which claimed sons born into the family died young, his wife had always been anxious.

From the moment Hajun started speaking and walking, she began to protect him excessively, always assigning bodyguards or even three nannies.

As a side effect, Hajun became increasingly willful.

During his adolescence, the two argued constantly, so much so that harsh words often escaped his elegant wife’s lips.

For his wife, who had dedicated her entire life to science, academia, and education, it must have been difficult to understand Hajun, who kept going astray.

He would often skip school or stay out all night without a word. Around that time, Hajun struggled to distance himself from the controlling atmosphere of his home, often sleeping over at a classmate’s house.

His wife had also opposed Hajun playing sports due to frequent injuries and the danger, but he ultimately joined the high school ice hockey team.

That winter, Hajun didn’t take the college entrance exam. For a while, he didn’t come out of his room, causing immense worry.

Yet, Hajun returned to normal after a few months, and the following year, he entered the prestigious university his wife had so desired.

Even now, his heart aches when he thinks about what his son must have felt attending university every day during that time.

And then.

Around the time he was due to enlist in the military, he realized his son was deeply infatuated with a certain girl.

With his personality, he could have charmed anyone if he put his mind to it, but Hajun had maintained his distance from that girl to an unusual degree, never confessing his feelings.

For CEO Kim Minseok, their relationship had always been a source of pure curiosity.

They still weren’t dating?

He had actually wished they would get together when they were younger. Perhaps he had wanted them to experience how love, intensely steeped in youth, would fade with time.

He wanted them to love without restraint, break up without regret, and then, upon reaching their current age, realize that it was perfectly natural to meet and marry someone chosen by their family.

Hajun must have already learned that his life was quite different from what was considered normal for others. At nearly thirty, he believed it was time for him to accept the reality of stepping into the life of a business executive.

Was it too much to hope for the brilliant future of Seomyeon Group to unfold through Hajun’s fingertips?

The son he knew was clearly intelligent and sharp. He had only distanced himself from studies due to his wife’s control.

He was convinced that if Hajun put his mind to it, he would be more dedicated to the company than anyone else.

“Where did you say you went?”

“…Jeju-do.”

“Didn’t you say you were in Jeju-do last week? Why this time?”

“He said he was just getting some fresh air, and that Jeju-do was a good place to spend time on weekends.”

“Understood, Secretary Kang. Bring Hajun home as soon as he returns to Seoul.”

“Yes, I understand.”

He had certainly thought their feelings were fading. Until he received that call.

When Executive Director Park belatedly informed him that the girl Hajun liked was now in Jeju-do, he let out a dry laugh, as if to say, ‘How could he like her so much yet never confess?’ What on earth was he thinking?

His wife worried that Hajun seemed to constantly change women and date casually, but he thought differently.

On the contrary, having his eyes only on one woman for nearly a decade was a bigger problem.

That girl was an excellent person in every aspect: education, appearance, personality, and reputation.

However, the fact that she was born out of wedlock, a love child, always bothered him. It would be a major weakness, something his wife would never allow if she knew.

Nevertheless, CEO Kim Minseok had assigned Shin Yeonsu to Hajun this time out of a desire to first ensure the success of the current project.

Since Chairman Kim had entrusted Hajun with a major contract, he had to return having successfully completed it.

To do that, that girl was necessary. His son, no matter what, would act like a professional in front of her.

Wasn’t he spending so much time going down to Jeju-do every week? Such an uncharacteristic display of pure devotion.

A soft chuckle escaped him.