A Real Married Couple - Chapter 29

In fact, Kang Woo could not hide his disgust as he watched Chairman Seong, who did not conceal his ambition to sell off his daughter.

Of course, he couldn’t openly express his emotions since he was Hee Won’s biological father, but sometimes the emotions that welled up were so unrestrained that even he was taken aback.

He had already noticed it before Hee Won said anything.

Though he had only observed their father-daughter relationship for a very short time, it was very easy for him to see that Chairman Seong seemed to lack affection to the point where one would think Hee Won wasn’t his biological daughter.

“Hee Won.”

Hee Won barely managed to answer, as if exhaling a sigh.

“…Yes.”

“Can you look at me?”

Hee Won raised her head from Kang Woo’s arms and met his gaze.

“If you want to go greet your family at home, we can go tomorrow. However, if you don’t want to, I’ll cut it off at my level. I’ll be the excuse. So you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do forcefully.”

Her eyes trembled slightly at his response.

The moments she had contemplated whether to talk about Chairman Seong seemed meaningless, as she had the illusion that Kang Woo knew everything.

Hee Won felt her face burning under Kang Woo’s intense gaze that was fixed on her. She rolled her eyes to avoid his gaze.

Somehow, she felt like her heart was about to burst.

“Ah, didn’t you say you had something to tell me?”

Hee Won quickly changed the subject.

When she heard a chuckle near her ear, her earlobes turned as red as the setting sun.

“Look at me.”

Hee Won barely turned her head to meet his eyes.

“This is sudden, but do you have any plans tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes, there’s somewhere I’d like to go together…”

“Where?”

It was because Kang Woo was making an expression she had never seen before. Seeing him showing signs of difficulty, Hee Won tilted her head. And she became curious about where he wanted to go that made him hesitate like that.

“Kang Woo?”

And when she called his name again, he opened his mouth.

“Actually, the guys I lived with in America arrived yesterday.”

“Your friends?”

“Yes. They came for the wedding but they say they didn’t get to greet properly that day.”

Come to think of it, the reception after the wedding ended very quickly. It was because Kang Woo had only made eye contact with his guests.

There wasn’t even simple conversation.

He had brief conversations with Hee Won’s guests, so he felt even more apologetic.

Of course, thanks to his consideration, she was able to go to America with some semblance of sanity, but it had been on her mind the whole time.

And she remembered the expressions of Kang Woo’s friends who attended the wedding as they looked at her.

“We should see them.”

At Hee Won’s positive response, Kang Woo looked even more perplexed.

“Actually, I refused when they asked to see you. But they said they’d barge into our home…”

“Into our home?”

She couldn’t help but be surprised at the mention of coming to their home.

“Is it a housewarming party?”

“It’s not that grand, but.”

“…I see.”

“It’s something similar. When those guys say they’ll do something… Hah. I’m sorry. I should have cut it off at my level.”

Kang Woo stopped mid-sentence and rubbed his face with his dry hands.

“…Are they close friends?”

Hee Won asked, as she had never heard much about Kang Woo’s friends before.

“We are close. They’re guys I knew in America. We’ve seen each other at our worst.”

To introduce me to such people, in what sense, is it simply because I’m his wife?

Hee Won’s heart swelled as she looked at Kang Woo, who wanted to introduce her to his friends.

“…Why me?”

She actually knew.

What Kang Woo was going to say.

Even knowing the answer that would come, she wanted to ask.

“Because you’re my wife, Hee Won.”

She wanted to keep confirming it.

She didn’t know if it was because she lacked confidence in herself that she wanted to hear him confirm that she was his wife.

Even while thinking it was cowardly, she couldn’t stop wanting to be reassured.

“Some of them you saw at the wedding, but there are also those who couldn’t come due to circumstances. If by any chance you feel uncomfortable, there’s no need to force yourself, so feel free to tell me. I’ll be the excuse. So you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

Kang Woo bit his lower lip hard as he spoke. He opened his mouth, looking straight into Hee Won’s eyes.

“May I speak honestly?”

Hee Won nodded instead of answering.

“Actually, I want to formally introduce you.”

“…”

“They came to the wedding, but I didn’t formally introduce you, so.”

Hee Won’s eyes trembled slightly at Kang Woo’s words.

“Since it’s come to this, would you allow me to introduce you to my friends?”

“Me?”

Hee Won’s eyes grew hot at Kang Woo’s words. If she opened her mouth, she felt like she would reveal the emotions welling up inside.

“Will you give me that opportunity?”

Instead of answering, she nodded at Kang Woo’s firm voice and the warmth of his hand holding hers.

It was a moment when she realized once again how fortunate she was to love him.

* * *

A few mornings later.

The day to formally greet Kang Woo’s friends had arrived. In the end, coming to their home was not pursued due to Kang Woo’s strong opposition, and as a compromise, a hotel restaurant was set as the meeting place.

Hee Won wanted to make a good impression on Kang Woo’s friends.

Just as she had given Joo Ah a honeymoon gift, she wanted to do something for his friends as well.

She hadn’t managed to bring anything for them from the travel destination, and after a few days of contemplation, Hee Won headed to the department store.

Of course, his friends would probably not be lacking in anything, but she wanted to prepare small gifts for them.

“Director, how about this?”

The gift that was decided on was a fountain pen.

Except for the friend who runs a restaurant, everyone was in business, so a fountain pen seemed to be the most suitable.

“Are you giving fountain pens to everyone?”

“Yes, I heard they use fountain pens. And this one has a voice recording function, which should be good for businesspeople. Is it strange?”

“No, it’s very nice. It’s practical.”

Encouraged by Secretary Ha’s words, Hee Won felt even more confident.

She spent the entire morning choosing gifts. She selected different designs for each, and chose ribbons and wrapping paper one by one.

On the way to the elevator, Hee Won and Secretary Ha’s hands were full of small shopping bags.

The 10th floor with the restaurant was where they headed together to have a late lunch.

Her mouth watered as a bowl of bibimbap with a savory sesame oil aroma was placed in front of her. After finishing the meal in silence, when dessert arrived, Hee Won spoke.

“We’ve chosen everything. It’s a shame we couldn’t get them engraved, it would have taken too long.”

“I think the fountain pen gift alone is enough. And when you meet them, madam, you’ll probably find that those men might not even notice if there was an engraving.”

Secretary Ha said she was acquainted with his friends as she had lived with Kang Woo in America.

So in fact, she had received a lot of help from her when choosing the fountain pen designs.

“Still, it’s a shame. I wanted to give them something memorable.”

“It’s alright, madam. It’s more than enough of a gift for them.”

As they were talking, Hee Won suddenly remembered something and clapped her hands together.

“Ah, can I go look at cosmetics?”

“Cosmetics? Do you need something? Shall I go buy it?”

“No. I want to see and choose myself.”

“Then, go ahead. I’ll bring the car while you look. Come out to the main entrance after you’re done choosing.”

“Okay. I’ll do that.”

After eating, Hee Won headed to the first floor while Secretary Ha went to the parking lot. As Hee Won was browsing the cosmetics counter alone, a familiar voice was heard from behind her.

“Elder sister.”

Hee Won’s face turned pale as she turned around.

“…Seong Yu Na, you.”

In contrast, Yu Na, her stepsister, came towards Hee Won and hugged her.

As they were not on good terms, Hee Won’s face showed clear signs of bewilderment when Yu Na acted affectionately.

Seeing her flustered, Yu Na gritted her teeth and whispered in her ear.

“Don’t embarrass me in front of my friends, you should hug me back, elder sister.”

Hee Won’s face hardened at Yu Na’s brazen attitude.

“You.”

Hee Won firmly pushed Yu Na away, who had been hugging her.

“What brings you here?”

This was the first time Hee Won had openly rejected Yu Na. Yu Na’s face showed confusion at Hee Won’s actions of drawing a line.

She had always been the one being pushed around and manipulated.

Chairman Seong favored Yu Na, his stepdaughter, more than her, his biological daughter.

Knowing this well, Choo Hyun Jung cleverly took advantage of it, and so did Yu Na.

In the past, Hee Won couldn’t say anything even when Yu Na acted arbitrarily towards her.

But now the situation has changed. The time of only being cautious in that household was over.

“…What? Have you gone crazy, elder sister?”

Yu Na glared at Hee Won and spoke in a very low voice that others couldn’t hear.

“No.”

Yu Na’s face distorted as she glared at Hee Won. Hee Won calmly accepted her gaze.

“Elder sister.”

But that was only for a moment.

Yu Na quickly composed her expression under the gaze of her friends who were watching her and Hee Won.

“What do you mean what brings me here, I came shopping at the department store. What about you?”

Yu Na said, linking arms with Hee Won.

“I’m sorry, but.”

Hee Won, who had been quietly looking down at the linked arms, unlinked them.

“Go on your way.”

“…”

Yu Na failed to manage her expression at Hee Won’s continued cold responses. She felt even more flustered as she sensed the blatant stares of her friends behind her.

Apart from the fact that Kang Woo was her type, the fact that her elder sister Hee Won was the daughter-in-law of the LS Group, that they were in-laws with a chaebol family, was an enormous privilege.

While it was frustrating that Hee Won had married into such a prestigious family, receiving envious looks from her friends was a separate matter.