“That is… my wife isn’t exactly ordinary. Sigh. I feel confident enough to take on all the childcare!”
Director Jung looked at the tent once with a regretful look and then turned his gaze away.
The two families’ tents were now completely quiet, with only the faint sound of breathing coming intermittently.
Suddenly, Director Jung lowered his voice even more.
Then he hesitated oddly, and finally, he brought up a difficult topic.
“You asked my father to investigate the case of the young lady, didn’t you?”
“Ah, at the time, Secretary Jung was the closest to this side. She also had a good relationship with my wife.”
“I’ve heard that things aren’t going well.”
Upon hearing the melancholic voice, Chae Ha responded indifferently.
“You’re right. Things are not progressing as expected. It was a long time ago, and at that time, we simply perceived it as an accident.”
“Ah…”
“It’s all my fault. I should have been more suspicious and thoroughly investigated.”
“Didn’t you, the vice president, drown in sorrow at that time? And you never gave up searching for the young lady.”
“No, I was greatly lacking.”
Chae Ha shook his head as if he couldn’t forgive himself.
The veins on the back of his hand, holding the glass, were prominently visible, catching the eyes of Chief Jung.
“I’ve been hesitant to tell you this, but…”
“…?”
“Do you know I have a younger sister?”
Instead of answering, Chae Ha simply nodded his head.
Secretary Jung had lived her entire life carrying the pain of losing her daughter at a young age.
Naturally, her older brother, Chief Jung, must have borne the same pain.
With a heavy voice, he continued.
“Nobody knows, but the reason my sister ended up like that is related to Baek Yeong.”
“What… What do you mean?”
Surprised, Chae Ha turned towards Chief Jung.
There was an indescribable anguish on his usually bright profile.
“To be precise, it’s related to Baek Yeong’s eldest son, Baek Jae Yeong.”
“…”
From those words, Chae Ha could roughly guess some sort of situation.
As he knew, Secretary Jung’s daughter had briefly worked at the Baek Yeong Group.
“My sister was pregnant with Baek Jae Yeong’s child.”
“…!”
Chae Ha was hit by a huge shock from this unexpected truth.
As if deciding to reveal everything, Chief Jung told Chae Ha the facts of the past without any embellishment.
It was natural for her to have caught the eye of Baek Jae Yeong, who was irresistible to women, and they ended up meeting.
She, who naturally believed it was love, informed Baek Jae Yeong of her pregnancy and expressed her desire to marry.
What returned to her confession was a cold rejection and a lukewarm response.
She was left with a few cheques that summed up the time they had spent together.
He told her not to hold him back and get rid of the baby immediately.
But still, she couldn’t bear to lose the baby.
Even though it was Baek Jae Yeong’s child, to her, it was a precious life.
However, as if the child knew it was being denied, it left her as emptily as sand slipping through her fingers.
Having lost all reason to live, she threw herself into the waves.
“My father didn’t want to reveal the truth to the world. So, we covered it up as an accident. Both to protect my daughter’s honor, and also……”
Director Jeong hesitated for a moment, then looked at Chae Ha.
His gaze seemed infinitely desolate.
“At the time, there was an undercurrent of rumors that you, Vice President, might be engaged with Baek Young.”
“That was nothing but baseless gossip.”
“I understand. But my father was different. He had dedicated his life to Chaeun. He was also a close friend of Chairman Kwon.”
“You don’t mean……”
“Yes. My father was concerned that this incident could bring harm to Chaeun, so he kept his mouth shut. It’s the same now.”
There was silence between them.
It was for this reason that the information they had been receiving from Secretary Jeong always seemed to circle around, never quite hitting the mark.
Chae Ha, with effort, started speaking again.
“……Why are you telling me this? Secretary Jeong wouldn’t like it.”
“I am different from my father.”
Director Jeong’s voice, which had seemed to be fading away, suddenly gained strength.
“I don’t want the truth to be buried. Baek Jae Young deserves punishment.”
Understanding his feelings, Chae Ha quietly nodded.
Then Director Jeong said something even more unexpected.
“Vice President, don’t just dig into the matter of the young lady, Baek Sa Ra. You’ll never get to the bottom of it that way.”
“What do you mean……”
“Yes. The real tail is probably Baek Jae Young. You should start over from there.”
It was indeed unexpected.
Baek Jae Young, Baek Sa Ra. The two siblings were widely known in the industry for their bad relationship.
Just recently, there were many troubles heard, including the issue of establishing Sa Ra Cosmetics, the resort site, and so on.
As if seeing into Chae Ha’s heart, Director Jeong threw out an even bigger hint.
“Think about it. What if those siblings were actually operating on a strictly advantageous relationship?”
“……I see.”
Only now was Chae Ha beginning to see the shape of things.
If there was some kind of deal between them, not just common sibling affection.
The fact that he couldn’t even guess their point of contact because their relationship was so bad was, in its own way, a hole in his understanding.
Maybe this was why there was not much when he chased after Baek Sa Ra and Heo Young Joo.
Recalling the trivial figure of Baek Jae Young he had met a long time ago, a flame rose in Chae Ha’s chest.
He was the jerk who commented on Seol Won’s face and figure back then.
As a person shunned even by parents who have daughters, Chae Ha had ignored him and moved on.
If that rascal had something to do with Seol Won’s accident, he was determined to never forgive him.
He was going to grind him down to the last bit.
lu lu lo la ▪️ net (lululola.net)
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
