“Well, I meet people here and there all the time, so it could just be my imagination.”
“I see…”
Yeongeun nodded, and an awkward silence fell between them. Fortunately, the food was served just in time.
Yeongeun was clearly hungry. Even though she obviously found Seongjo difficult to deal with, she emptied almost all her plates before long. Watching Yeongeun drink her beverage with a satisfied look, Seongjo leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
“Now, shall we talk about your oppa?”
“…”
At those words, Yeongeun’s expression instantly turned gloomy. After hesitating for a moment, Yeongeun carefully opened her mouth to ask.
“Um, by any chance… did you fight with my oppa?”
He hadn’t expected to be asked such a question in return. It seemed the problem was what he’d said at school earlier—something like ‘We’re not friends.’ Seongjo was lost in thought for a moment before answering honestly. Though he couldn’t explain in detail, it seemed Yeongeun should at least know that Yeongbeom and Seongjo had now grown distant.
“Yeah, something like that. We did something close to cutting ties.”
“Did oppa do something wrong…?”
Yeongeun muttered in a dejected voice. Both the fact that she immediately assumed her oppa had done something wrong and that gloomy expression were quite amusing. Seongjo burst out laughing—”Pfft”—without realizing it, then fell into thought again. Was Yeongbeom someone who Yeongeun naturally thought must have done something wrong? To say it was just because they were siblings who normally bickered with each other… there was something unsettling about it.
“Since when have you not been able to contact him?”
So without answering clearly, he threw the question back at her. After worrying, Yeongeun answered in a small, stumbling voice.
“Contact completely cut off… I think it’s been over a month. He’s been busy for months… He stopped answering calls like before and stopped coming home… Yes, it’s been about a month since we’ve had any contact at all. I haven’t asked her properly, but it seems like he’s not calling mom either…”
“Before that, did he say anything strange?”
“He just kept saying he was busy and acted really annoyed, but other than that… Ah!”
Yeongeun, who had been answering carefully, suddenly exclaimed.
“Was it the last time? Or second to last…? When I got through to oppa on the phone, we talked a little about school, and he acted kind of strange then. He told me not to tell Seongjo oppa or anyone else, no matter what happened…”
“Not to tell me?”
“Yes, he said not to tell other people, but honestly I think he just meant not to tell Seongjo oppa. In my opinion…”
He told her not to let Lee Seongjo know… What was he thinking? After announcing their breakup, did he at least know it would look ridiculous if his family members contacted Seongjo?
‘But then, you bastard, you should’ve made sure they wouldn’t contact me.’
Instead of leaving the kid without a guardian. Meanwhile, Yeongeun continued speaking in a voice mature for her age.
“Back then I just thought he was worried about bothering you, Seongjo oppa, and I wasn’t planning to call anyway, so I just said okay… But now that you say you fought, I wonder if that’s why oppa… I suddenly remembered.”
“A few months… Yeah, that’s quite a while.”
He knew. Marriage wasn’t something decided overnight. Even if it was an arranged marriage rushed through quickly, it would need some time. Moreover, it wouldn’t be a case where Yeongbeom was forced to marry through an arranged marriage. Although he’d recently started gaining recognition from his father, Yeongbeom’s conditions were far inferior compared to Oh Seyeong’s. There’s no way Oh Seyeong’s side would have targeted someone like Yeongbeom as an arranged marriage partner…
‘It must be a love marriage.’
And that timing, as Yeongeun just said, must have been at least a few months ago.
He was annoyed, but it didn’t hurt or sadden him as much as he’d thought it would. It even felt like he was hearing someone else’s story.
After breaking up with Yeongbeom, Seongjo finally realized that he might be a completely different person from the one he knew. That fact was disheartening. Because the person he knew and loved now felt like they didn’t exist at all.
But it was something that couldn’t be undone. After letting out a small sigh, Seongjo lightly waved his hand to shake off his thoughts and changed the subject.
“Now tell me about yourself too.”
* * *
After that, Seongjo returned to his daily routine. It was far from his expectation that he would suffer from post-breakup aftereffects for a while longer. Perhaps because he consciously distanced himself from news of Oh Seyeong and Jo Yeongbeom’s marriage, his work efficiency actually improved compared to before. If there was a change, it was that he’d come to exchange messages with Yeongeun frequently like a guardian.
[How was today]
[Nobody bullied you]
<Jo Yeongeun>
[No ㅠㅠ]
[The kids keep asking what the bodyguard ahjussis are]
[ㅎㅎ But I made friends too]
[(Smiling rabbit emoticon)]
Unlike Seongjo’s bleak messages, Yeongeun sent cute emoticons fitting for her age. It really felt like he was raising a child, so Seongjo looked down at the screen and smiled lightly.
That day, while talking with Yeongeun, he learned that the conflict with the male student he’d seen in the staff room and his friends wasn’t the first time. Calling it a conflict was misleading—it was actually bullying directed at Yeongeun. And yet they’d picked on her for accidentally pushing someone while trying to avoid the bullying. If Yeongeun had been left alone without a guardian that day, things would have become quite unfair.
Of course, there was no longer any reason to worry about Yeongeun. However, according to what he’d roughly looked into, Yeongeun’s mother—that is, Yeongbeom’s biological mother—had recently been so busy with work that she didn’t have a moment to breathe.
The problem was he thought he knew the reason why.
Seongjo had originally supported Yeongbeom since he was a poor student working his way through school, a poor young professional entering society. Not just Yeongbeom, but his family members as well.
Recently, Yeongbeom had reached a position where he lacked nothing, so he didn’t really need Seongjo’s help, but the support hadn’t stopped. There were two reasons. First, because he wanted his lover to be in a state of ‘not envying others’ rather than simply ‘not lacking anything.’ Second, because if Yeongbeom, who had only recently begun interacting with his biological father, visibly supported his mother and younger sister with his own money, there was a possibility he’d fall out of favor with his biological father.
That Yeongbeom broke up with Seongjo. And cut off contact with his family. Now his mother went to work day and night. What this situation indicated was obvious.
That’s why he couldn’t simply turn away from Yeongeun.
“Executive Director, the President is asking for you.”
“…Ah, okay.”
It was at that point when Seongjo’s father, President Lee, called Seongjo out.
“I heard the news.”
As soon as he opened the door and entered the president’s office, his father stubbed out the cigarette he’d been smoking in the ashtray. Why did he bother calling Seongjo to the company when they lived under the same roof anyway? Was it to add official weight to what he was about to say?
Seongjo didn’t show the thoughts in his head, and instead smiled lightly and bowed silently.
“It’s outrageously audacious, but it’s actually for the best. I was frustrated watching what you were doing anyway. Take this opportunity to get married.”
What news was it? It seemed the rumor that Seongjo and Yeongbeom had broken up had reached his father’s ears. It was a natural result since Yeongbeom had announced his marriage to Oh Seyeong so loudly.
He’d already expected his father would know since he’d never particularly hidden the fact that he’d been dating a man named Jo Yeongbeom. For the past eight years, while showing his displeasure, his father had never outright said things like ‘Break up with Jo Yeongbeom.’ But hearing his father’s firm tone now, it seemed like he’d been waiting for this moment.
“What was so frustrating? As I recall, it never interfered with work.”
“As if work is the problem!”
His father snapped at Seongjo’s lightly thrown answer with a smile. He seemed displeased, clicking his tongue as if holding back what he wanted to say. Seeing him choose his words carefully, it seemed he was being considerate of Seongjo’s feelings.
“I have no intention of getting married.”
So Seongjo spoke in a firm yet calm voice. He didn’t want to get angry at his father in return, but he also didn’t want to comply with his words.
“I don’t want to have children, and I don’t have the confidence to take responsibility. Especially if it means building a family with someone I don’t even love.”
“Haah…”
“Isn’t the reason you haven’t pressured me about marriage until now because you’re worried too, Father?”
His father seemed at a loss for words and didn’t answer immediately. For a moment, a complicated expression flashed across his face. Seongjo didn’t press for an answer and just silently looked at his father’s face.
Originally, President Lee wasn’t someone open-minded enough to generously understand his son dating a man. Nevertheless, the reason he hadn’t forcibly married Seongjo off or pressured him until now was probably because he was that cautious.
Because President Lee’s own married life had gone in a direction close to failure…
