Constrained to Start (8 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 9
Ra Jin’s already large eyes widened like full moons. With a look that clearly said, “Why are you suddenly laughing?” she stared straight at Ji Ho.
Instead of explaining his laughter, Ji Ho turned his head away. Pressing his lips tightly together, he reached into the driver’s side door pocket and pulled out a bottle of water.
“Would you like some of this?”
Still staring straight ahead, he shook the water bottle with the gas station sticker on it and asked.
“Yes, please.”
He popped the cap off and thrust the bottle toward her in his right peripheral vision.
Only when he heard the gulping sounds did Ji Ho finally breathe a sigh of relief.
What on earth was there to laugh about in this situation? Scolding himself not to act so flippantly, Ji Ho quickly erased his flustered expression.
“Ha, I feel alive again.”
“Why don’t you say what you need to say first?”
As if to make up for his earlier misstep, he dove straight into the main point without even a simple greeting—after all, he’d carved out precious time just for this meeting.
“Should we handle things at the hotel first? Or at the hospital…?”
“Whichever you prefer.”
An almost imperceptible sigh escaped through Ra Jin’s lips, as if this choice was even more overwhelming. She seemed genuinely at a loss about where to even begin.
The parking lot was silent all around them, and the dark car fell still after their conversation paused.
Her fingers, idly tracing the surface of the half-empty water bottle, looked pale and slender.
Ji Ho watched her translucent, gleaming fingernails. Maybe it would be easier to break the ice if he nudged her gently.
“You don’t have to force yourself to clarify anything if it’s too difficult to talk about.”
Even as he added that she didn’t have to say anything she wasn’t ready to reveal, he waited for her to finally spill the words she’d been holding back in embarrassment. For a fleeting instant, just as he expected, she fluttered her hands nerv.
“No, it’s not that… It’s just that—I dragged you away from your busy schedule for something like this…?”
Muttering that it all sounded rather absurd, she met his eyes.
“But at the same time, I really want to explain myself. Honestly… I don’t even know what to do.”
A faint scent of roses drifted from her sigh.
“And I’d like everything we discuss today to be forgotten right here and now.”
“Agreed.”
He answered without hesitation, yet she remained hesitant, still unable to fully lower her guard.
Will this make her trust me?
Ji Ho suddenly held out his pinky finger.
“Would you believe me if I gave you a pinky promise?”
Her stiff expression instantly lifted. Whether from sheer absurdity or surprise, she let out a soft “pfft” and quickly covered her mouth.
“I actually have something to ask you too, Ms. Park Ra Jin—why don’t you go first?”
“Me?”
With a gesture suggesting “later,” Ji Ho politely deferred, allowing her to speak first. At his clear signal, Ra Jin spoke softly.
“Have you heard of Oh Jung Kyu, legal counsel at Myeong Jin?”
“I recall he was investigated alongside Chairman Kim Gi Tae during the probe into Myeong Jin’s financial oversight.”
Relieved, Ra Jin exhaled slowly, as if reassured.
“He’s passed away now, but he was my stepfather. That’s why I have deep ties to Myeong Jin.”
Ji Ho nodded for her to continue.
“I first met Senior Executive Kim Yu Jun back in high school.”
Kim Yu Jun already? Ji Ho’s gaze darkened instantly.
Though she hadn’t specified the exact timing, it was clear their relationship wasn’t superficial—was that why Kim Yu Jun called her by name so casually?
Ji Ho pieced together what he’d witnessed with what she was now revealing.
“I can’t tell you everything… but he… likes me.”
Was there a defining moment solid enough for her to confidently claim he “liked” her? Ji Ho watched Ra Jin clutching the water bottle, lost in thought.
He recalled both Kim Yu Jun’s famously cold-blooded reputation and the fiery anger he’d displayed at the hotel.
It didn’t quite add up—but if Kim Yu Jun only lost emotional control in front of her, then perhaps Park Ra Jin held far greater influence than he’d realized.
A strange mix of concern and unexpected hope flickered through Ji Ho’s mind.
Unaware of his inner turmoil, Ra Jin cautiously began recounting what had happened at the hotel.
How she’d been tricked by a manager into going to the French restaurant, how overjoyed she’d felt when Kim Yu Jun said he was meeting the Deputy Chief Prosecutor, and even how he’d vaguely made an offer she’d glossed over.
“Have you ever been physically threatened by Senior Executive Kim Yu Jun?”
“No.”
“What about verbal threats?”
“I know why you’re asking. His bodyguard chased after me that day. And…”
She bit her lower lip, and her sentence trailed off into silence.
After only a brief pause, she continued.
“To say something so embarrassing to a man who already has a fiancée… ugh.”
“If you just said no, it’d be simple, wouldn’t it?”
“If it weren’t for complicated circumstances, I’d do exactly that.”
Her eyes shimmered intensely as she emphasized the truth of her words.
“The person who was with me at the hospital that day—he’s the CEO of my agency and also my stepbrother.”
Ji Ho already seemed to know the answer to this puzzle, as if he’d memorized Oh Jong Hyuk’s profile long ago.
“You can think of Oh Jong Hyuk and Kim Yu Jun as one and the same.”
“So they work closely together, then.”
Recalling what he’d heard at the hospital, Ji Ho spoke quietly.
“Though he holds no official title at the agency, Kim Yu Jun’s influence there is absolute.”
She then poured out everything: the absence of her stepfather who should’ve protected her, her critically ill mother, the threats from her stepbrother who was also her agency head, and how deeply entangled she’d been with Myeong Jin for years.
Ji Ho kept nodding as she spoke—yet he couldn’t help but admire how remarkably she’d endured all this.
“The reason I felt I had to explain myself like this to a prosecutor who has nothing to do with any of it…”
“…”
“…was because I didn’t want to be tied to Kim Yu Jun, even by misunderstanding.”
The hidden side of the brilliant moon.
She, who shone so brightly, was now reluctantly exposing her darkest secrets.
He wanted to tell her it was enough—that he didn’t think any less of her, that she could stop now. Not out of shallow pity or misplaced sympathy, but from genuine sincerity.
But knowing he couldn’t let his emotions dictate his response, Ji Ho chose the plainest words he could find.
“Are you all right?”
“No.”
She let out a wry chuckle, seemingly annoyed even at herself for saying it.
In that instant, her rigid defenses softened slightly. She no longer avoided his gaze or hunched her shoulders tensely.
As she shared this difficult story, she occasionally smiled—almost like someone recounting a quarrel with a close friend.
“My stepfather’s death became a debt I have to repay.”
“That must’ve been incredibly hard.”
Ra Jin answered only with silence.
Where her carefully calm tone and intermittent sighs had been, a heavy stillness now settled. It was time to get to his own request, yet Ji Ho found himself staring only at her fingertips.
‘Is this really okay?’
One thought refused to leave his mind.
If Ra Jin helped him, it could mean tremendous relief for the victims in the fund case. But was it right to appeal to her conscience and burden her like this? Ji Ho gripped the steering wheel tightly. They were in no position to be picky—hot or cold leftovers didn’t matter now.
Gathering his resolve, Ji Ho turned toward her.
“May I tell you what I need from you?”
“Is it something serious?”
He studied her wide, questioning eyes before speaking with difficulty.
“You can hear it and still refuse—!”
Knock knock—
Someone deliberately rapped on the trunk.
Startled by the unexpected presence, Ji Ho quickly pulled Ra Jin’s hoodie over her head.
“Keep your head down.”
[This is the timeline separator]As his large hand covered her with the hood, Ra Jin tugged the brim down to her eyebrows. Still uneasy, he pointed to her mask.
“Pull it up.”
She lifted her black mask and tugged the hood even farther forward.
Knock knock—the driver’s window was tapped again. Ra Jin kept her head down but rolled her eyes toward the sound.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes? What’s the matter?”
He rolled down the window with a whirr and asked.
“Just doing a patrol—we noticed people inside a parked car.”
The middle-aged security guard’s voice was accompanied by static crackles from his walkie-talkie.
“Everything alright in there?”
“Why would you assume there’s a problem?”
Prosecutor Kang Ji Ho’s voice cut off sharply, clearly on guard.
Ra Jin caught sight of his back blocking the guard’s view into the car from her left peripheral vision.
She wanted to lift her head and see what was happening—but even with her hood and mask, she worried about being recognized and stayed still.
“There was an unpleasant incident here recently.”
“Oh, really?”
“On the hospital director’s special orders—if you’re not getting out right now, please move your car to B1.”
Given how firm the guard sounded, something serious must have happened.
“We were just about to leave anyway.”
Without further discussion, Ji Ho started the engine. As the headlights turned on, Ra Jin’s view brightened as if it were daytime.
“Then, take care.”
He rolled up the window with a whirr and gave a polite bow, then instantly reversed and sped toward the exit.
“Were you startled?”
“A little.”
“We hadn’t even started talking, and now it looks like we’re getting kicked out.”
As they climbed the steep parking ramp, Ji Ho muttered.
“B1 will be crowded with people coming and going. Do you think it’s safe enough?”
Ra Jin had the same thought.
Staff finishing their shifts might pass by, and the open space wasn’t ideal for a private conversation.
“Do you know somewhere else we could go?”
“I do, but…”
Prosecutor Kang Ji Ho tapped the steering wheel lightly and let his sentence hang.
“Let’s grab something to eat. It’s still before dinner, and I’m feeling a bit empty.”
It was nearly 11 p.m.
She’d held him back from his clearly busy schedule—so busy he hadn’t even eaten dinner—just to explain herself.
Since he was driving his own car, she couldn’t buy him anything, yet their relationship wasn’t close enough to ask warmly if he was very hungry.
Still, it felt acceptable to at least ask where they were headed, so she cleared her throat.
“I feel bad that you missed dinner because of me.”
“I came out because I had something to ask you too—it’s fine.”
But what exactly was this “request” he kept mentioning? Unable to guess, Ra Jin glanced sideways at him, then tilted her head in confusion.
The ten-lane road lay dark under the night sky.
Had she ever gone on a drive—no, not even a proper drive—with a stranger this late at night? No matter how far back she searched her memory, it felt completely unfamiliar.
“Do you like hamburgers?”
“Not particularly…”
“Then I’ll order something else for you.”
The words “I’m fine” rose to Ra Jin’s throat, but she couldn’t just sit there watching someone else eat, so she reluctantly nodded.
‘There’s actually a burger place open at this hour?’
Truthfully, Ra Jin’s daily life wasn’t just routine—it was nearly identical every day.
Film set, home, hospital, office—and occasionally overseas.
Some called her the entertainment industry’s quintessential homebody; others jokingly asked if she was hiding a boyfriend at home.
Having debuted before adulthood, this was actually the first time she’d been out this late for something other than filming—and with a stranger, no less.
Just as she marveled at the unfamiliar night scenery, the world before her suddenly lit up.
A drive-thru for a fast-food chain with a “24” sign.
“I’ll take care of ordering.”
“Oh… okay.”
He slowed down gradually and spoke several menu items into the speaker.
Was she really supposed to eat all that at this hour? Ra Jin glanced at the surprisingly large order.
He returned with two large shopping bags after slowly circling the big building.
‘Why so much?’
Her eyes widened—but the savory aroma of fries drifting through the yellow paper bags made her mouth water without her noticing.
“It’s not far from here.”
“Where are we going?”
As he merged onto the main road, the corners of his mouth lifted gently.
“We’re heading to an empty garage.”
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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