Despite not wanting to admit it, Lee Seung Oh was scared.
He had encountered Ryu Kyung Jun every time he went up to the representative’s office, but he had never thought much about him. All he knew about Kyung Jun was that he was always expressionless and polite to everyone.
“Why aren’t you answering? Aren’t you curious about what kind of relationship Yoon Seo Ha and I have, for her phone to be in that car?”
“W-what’s with you? Why are you talking like that?”
“Never mind the way I’m talking.”
Kyung Jun smiled again, straightened his back, and put both hands in his pockets.
“Rather, Lee Seung Oh. Let’s make a business deal.”
“A deal…?”
“Yes. I’m the son of the chairman of Taeyang Group.”
Lee Seung Oh, who had been staring blankly at Kyung Jun, finally burst into giggles.
“Ryu Secretary, you’re funnier than I thought. Did you want to play a prank since you won’t be seeing me for much longer anyway?”
“My predecessor, Secretary Choi, didn’t come back, right?”
Kyung Jun asked, still grinning.
“He received a lump sum of 1 billion won from my father. On the condition that he put me in this position and never approach again.”
Lee Seung Oh’s expression hardened again.
“The merger that my father personally proposed was rejected by CEO Kang here without even properly listening. How angry do you think that proud man was? Until now, there hasn’t been a single company that Taeyang Group couldn’t acquire.”
“You’re writing fiction.”
“Sure. That fictional opportunity has now come to you.”
Kyung Jun glanced at the curtain behind which Yoon Seo Ha was lying and continued.
“Let’s do this. You, as the interim representative, grow the company well for now. Then, at the right timing, I’ll propose a merger through Taeyang Group again. At that time, you pretend to give in, stamp the seal, and take either money or a high position in Taeyang Group. How about it?”
“…”
Could those words be true?
Lee Seung Oh blinked, completely overwhelmed by Ryu Kyung Jun.
It was true that Taeyang Group had grown its business by absorbing small companies. It was also true that this Kang Yoon Company was the only one that Taeyang Group couldn’t acquire, and that the chairman of Taeyang Group had the surname ‘Ryu’.
“What evidence do you have that what you’re saying is true?”
“Call Secretary Choi and ask him. If you’re still doubtful, talk to my father right now.”
Kyung Jun found a number labeled ‘Chairman Ryu’ on his phone and displayed it on the screen. He looked as if he might press the call button at any moment. However, Lee Seung Oh didn’t have the guts to directly talk with such a big shot.
“No, I get it!”
Lee Seung Oh hastily waved his hands.
“Let’s say you’re right. But why do you want to merge later, not now when CEO Kang has collapsed?”
“The CEO has collapsed. The only daughter is as good as dead. And in this situation, if the son-in-law quickly sells the company? You, Lee Seung Oh, can sell and run, but who will take responsibility for the image of Taeyang Group that bought the company?”
Listening to it, it was a very correct statement and one that could be made from Taeyang Group’s perspective.
This is an opportunity.
An incredible stroke of luck was right in front of him. Lee Seung Oh had to try hard to suppress his laughter while holding his swelling chest. Even Ryu Kyung Jun’s rudeness, which was initially unpleasant, now felt like the composure and style of someone who has made it.
“Well, it doesn’t sound bad when you put it that way.”
He pretended to be nonchalant and put on airs, not realizing that he had reverted to using polite speech again.
“What does Ryu Kyung Jun want while preparing for the merger? You must have something you want too, right?”
“As long as the merger is completed at the right time and under the right conditions, I don’t really want anything else.”
Kyung Jun smiled again.
“But I need to make sure the company is growing diligently until then, so it would be good if I continue as the head of the secretariat. Concurrently as an executive.”
It was a simple condition that couldn’t even be considered a condition. If he checked with Secretary Choi and found these words to be false, there would be enough reason to dismiss him. Could there be a sweeter opportunity than exchanging a company that’s too troublesome to keep leading for cash and honor?
“Ah, one more thing.”
Kyung Jun raised his index finger.
“Let’s keep all this talk between us. It’ll be a headache if it leaks out and people start opposing the merger and whatnot.”
This too was a condition that couldn’t be better.
“Alright. I look forward to working with you until the merger.”
“Likewise.”
Ryu Kyung Jun grasped the hand Lee Seung Oh extended and shook it once.
[This is the timeline separator]Three years had passed since Yoon Seo Ha’s tragic accident.
Lee Seung Oh managed the company with the title of interim representative as planned. Lee Ji Soo became a team leader just three months after joining as the youngest designer.
That promotion, far too generous and drastic for her skills, caused three talented designers to leave.
Kyung Jun, as the head of the secretariat and internal director, stuck close to Lee Seung Oh and watched every single part of that process without missing anything. Every time something that Kang Hae Sun and Yoon Seo Ha had created and protected was broken, he too swallowed his bitter feelings.
His determination for the target merger was still firm. Who in Korea could go against Chairman Ryu’s will?
But now he needed to buy time. He didn’t even want to imagine Yoon Seo Ha waking up one day and standing helplessly in front of a company that had already been sold.
It would be better to fight with Yoon Seo Ha over the merger, killing or saving each other, rather than stealing like a thief while CEO Kang and Yoon Seo Ha lay helplessly.
“I’ll go in now. You can go home if you’re uncomfortable.”
Lee Seung Oh said politely upon arriving at the hospital. If a stranger saw them, they might have thought Ryu Kyung Jun was the secretary, not Lee Seung Oh.
“No, it’s fine. Take your time.”
Kyung Jun also maintained superficial courtesy towards Lee Seung Oh.
Lee Ji Soo, who had followed, clung tightly to Lee Seung Oh’s arm as they walked towards the hospital entrance.
Kyung Jun watched them with cold eyes before parking the car and getting into the elevator. His destination was Yoon Seo Ha’s hospital room, which he had visited dozens, hundreds of times.
“S-stop it. What if the caregiver auntie comes?”
“She went to eat. She won’t be back for at least an hour.”
“Still… Kyaa!”
Disgusting conversations flowed through the closed door.
Kyung Jun clenched his fist. His nails dug into the tender flesh inside his whitened knuckles.
Doctors and nurses holding charts appeared. Kyung Jun, thinking it was fortunate, slightly bowed his head in greeting and headed to the upper floor.
−Knock knock.
After knocking on the door, a response was heard after a moment.
“Come in.”
Kang Hae Sun, sitting by the window in a patient gown, looked no different from before at first glance. Physically, she was very healthy and her demeanor was neat.
“How are you feeling today?”
“Very good. But…”
Hae Sun smiled slightly, as if apologetic.
“I’m sorry, but who are you?”
It had already been three years since Yoon Seo Ha’s accident.
Kang Hae Sun was no longer the woman who used to lead the company single-handedly and command the executives. Due to the unbearable shock, she had locked herself in a time more than twenty years ago, when her precious daughter was just learning to toddle.
“I’m Ryu Kyung Jun, the newly hired secretary. It’s a pleasure to meet you, CEO.”
Kyung Jun gave the same greeting he had given hundreds of times over the past three years.
“Ah. Our company has gained a young talent. I look forward to working with you too, Secretary Ryu.”
Hae Sun smiled brightly, then suddenly looked at the clock on the wall and was startled.
“It’s already this late. Secretary Ryu, please tell Secretary Choi that I’m leaving early. I promised to leave early today because it’s our daughter’s birthday.”
The reason for leaving early to meet Seo Ha changed every day. Because it was her birthday, because the weather was nice, because it was raining, because she wanted to buy her ice cream.
“Ms. Yoon Seo Ha has gone to ballet class. I’ll take care of her and bring her later.”
But Hae Sun didn’t meet Seo Ha today either.
“Then I have some time. What’s the next schedule?”
“There’s a meeting in an hour. Please rest.”
“Thank you, Secretary Ryu.”
Kyung Jun bowed deeply and went outside. Ok Soon, who was talking about something with reporters in the corridor in front of the hospital room, quickly approached him when she saw him.
“Secretary Ryu. Where did Representative Lee go? The reporters are waiting, but I can’t reach him at all.”
“He’s in Ms. Yoon Seo Ha’s room.”
“Then I should go there… No. Ji Soo is with him too, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’d better go. Thank you!”
There were no security guards visible now, just as there weren’t any when he came in. How on earth were they managing things?
“I’ll have to fire them all and get new ones.”
Kyung Jun muttered to himself, standing firmly in front of the door with his arms crossed. The reporters who had been trying to peek into the room slyly looked away when they met his glaring eyes.
[This is the timeline separator]Everything in sight was pure white. Seo Ha slowly closed her eyes and opened them again. As she blinked three or four times, her consciousness gradually returned.
Hospital?
The white that had filled her vision was none other than the hospital ceiling. She could also hear quiet murmuring voices and the sound of people coming and going.
She wanted to move her body, but strength wouldn’t come easily. It felt as if her body and thoughts were moving separately.
“Ugh…”
An unfamiliar voice flowed from her lips, which she had managed to move slightly. Still, she was able to make eye contact with a nurse who had turned around after hearing that sound.
“Oh my!”
The nurse rushed over in surprise.
“Patient, are you conscious? Can you understand what I’m saying?”
Seo Ha nodded weakly. Soon, about ten medical staff, including a doctor, rushed in and surrounded the bed. She didn’t notice when she first woke up, but seeing that she even had an oxygen mask on her face, it seemed to have been quite a serious situation.
“Why am I here?”
Seo Ha asked as soon as the medical staff carefully removed the oxygen mask.
“You were brought in due to a traffic accident. You’ve been in a coma for over three years, but you’ve miraculously woken up. Do you have any family or relatives we should contact?”
“Family…?”
Family, family.
Seo Ha blankly repeated that word. However, only the dry repetition of the text ‘family’ occurred, and nothing came to mind.
“I can’t remember. Family…”
“It’s common to temporarily lose memories after a major accident or coma. Especially in Jo Seo Ha’s case.”
“Jo Seo Ha?”
“That’s your name. Do you remember?”
It wasn’t clearly remembered, but it wasn’t an unfamiliar name. The sound of ‘Seo Ha’ felt like a perfectly fitting outfit on her body.
“I think it’s my name. Seo Ha.”
Seo Ha.
As she uttered that name, a faint buzzing of voices echoed in her head.
−’The really scary thing is, you know, … sitting up straight with eyes wide open like this.’
−’Then saying, What happened to the divorce papers? Is the alimony ready?’
−’That car was too sturdy. How could it be fine after being hit by a truck?’
“Aaargh!”
A pain like her brain twisting inside her eyeballs washed over her. The medical staff, startled by the sudden scream, grabbed Seo Ha.
“Patient!”
Seo Ha clutched her head and breathed roughly. The headache disappeared quickly, but the cold, unpleasant feeling remained.
‘What was that?’
Was it a real memory? Or a delusion created by her brain? Everything was uncertain.
__________
“Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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