Dad’s sigh, like a muttered complaint, flowed out of one ear like background music. Mom continued the conversation calmly.
“From the perspective of parents with children, it’s natural to worry, so we’re asking.”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“Do you two have thoughts about marriage?”
“Yes.”
“But that’s still.”
The answers from the two differed. This time, Jun-hwi sent a perplexed glance first. Yeon-woo pressed his lips together firmly.
“…”
“Ah, Mom.”
Oh dear. Mom gently touched her forehead.
“Why are your answers different? You came to our house, and yet you’re not in a deep relationship?”
“No, no, Mom. Um, we’re still discussing it!”
Yeon-woo earnestly explained, and Jun-hwi also nodded earnestly.
“Are you playing around with marriage? Doing it without telling the parents?!”
“Dad. We’re adults too! We’ll handle it ourselves.”
Jun-hwi comforted Yeon-woo’s tense shoulders. Huh, my, oh my. This is getting a bit overwhelming. Dad, who was muttering to himself, now looked straight at Jun-hwi.
“As for you.”
“I’m Kwon Jun-hwi.”
“Oh my. Yes, yes. Lawyer Kwon Jun-hwi. What do your parents think? Do they have any thoughts about marrying our daughter?”
Slightly stiffened, Jun-hwi put down the fork and adjusted his posture.
“Father is no longer with us, and Mother probably won’t strongly object. She tends to be indifferent.”
Dad’s gaze shook intensely.
“You’re saying you don’t care about your children getting married?”
“Why do you speak that way, Dad?”
“Both of you, be quiet!”
Even Mom was about to speak loudly. Nevertheless, the calm Mom, who was still calm, continued the conversation, facing Jun-hwi.
“We retired and live on the outskirts, engaging in farming and small jobs. Excuse me, what does your mother do?”
“She has a business, but she’s not actively involved in its operation. She just owns shares.”
“So, saying, ‘I don’t have a job’ sounds elegant.”
Dad intervened again, expressing dissatisfaction.
“Dad, it’s not like that······.”
Judging by Dad’s irritated expression, it was evident that he considered it no more than a small neighborhood store. Yeon-woo closed his eyes tightly.
Should I step in or not?
However, Jun-hwi was not sure how much of his story he wanted to reveal, so Yeon-woo couldn’t intervene in the situation just yet.
“Shares? Oh, it sounds like a massive business empire! Seems like that kind of place.”
“It’s not as big as you think. As of last year, the sales were 1.6 trillion won, and the operating profit was 90 billion won.”
“90 won? No, 90 billion won?”
Ah, he seems to want to spill everything. Yeon-woo took a deep breath, preparing to intervene.
“Units, what are they? Billion? ······ How many employees do you have?”
“I remember there were about 2,300 employees as of the last disclosure.”
Dad’s jaw gradually dropped. Mom, with round eyes resembling Yeon-woo’s, widened them even more.
“Business management, then.”
“…It’s Ju Sung Group, Mom.”
“What? Where? What did you say?”
“Mother mainly holds shares in Ju Sung Apparel.”
Dad fumbled with the logo part of the shirt he was unconsciously wearing. It was a Ju Sung Apparel product.
“Well, uh, if it’s Ju Sung, Han Jung-ho, the chairman······?”
“He is our uncle.”
“Uncle. Ah, uncle!”
Dad’s bewildered gaze turned to the side. There was a Ju Sung Electronics refrigerator. In the distance, busy air conditioners were also Ju Sung Electronics products.
The air in the room became much heavier than when Jun-hwi and Yeon-woo first encountered each other at the entrance.
“Well, then it might be difficult for us. With you guys.”
Mom broke the silence and uttered heavy words.
“Uh, Mom······.”
The relatively mild face of Mom suddenly hardened in an instant.
Mom, who had been relatively friendly, now showed a cold attitude. Jun-hwi and Yeon-woo froze like people facing genuine horror.
“The gap is too significant. Since you’re not children, saying this much is enough for you to understand, right?”
This time, Jun-hwi couldn’t hide his bewilderment. Yeon-woo, who was glaring at him as white as ice, couldn’t find the next words to continue.
“It was nice meeting you today.”
Mom, creating a chilly breeze, left the dining table first. Following suit, Dad hesitated and followed Mom.
“Mom, Mom?”
“Yeon-woo. Let’s talk.”
Just us.
Emphasizing decisively, those words pushed Jun-hwi’s back. It was time to step aside for outsiders and give time for family only.
Jun-hwi picked up his car keys and phone, stood up abruptly, and headed towards the entrance. He politely bowed his waist to Yeon-woo’s parents, who were sitting on the living room sofa with their fists clenched.
“I’m truly sorry for causing concern. I’ll take my leave now.”
“Um, Lawyer.”
“Don’t come out.”
Jun-hwi closed the entrance door, his face expressionless as usual, visible through the gap.
⭐⭐⭐
The static-like weekend that felt like a storm had swept through came to an end, and Monday arrived.
17th floor. The Lo&Yul elevator door opened on the way to work, but no one was getting off. A few people inside the elevator glanced at Jun-hwi, who stood at the back.
Ah, the 17th floor. I need to get off.
Jun-hwi, standing still for a moment, stepped out of the elevator a beat late, walking with his usual straight posture towards the office.
No, in fact, his mind was empty. Jun-hwi left his soul at the house where he met Yeon-woo’s parents over the weekend.
“Hello, Lawyer Kwon.”
As Jun-hwi passed by, Manager Kang, who was in the secretary’s seat, stood up and greeted him, bowing slightly.
Normally, Manager Kang, sitting instead of Yeon-woo, would be extremely annoying, but Jun-hwi didn’t even notice it.
[Are you coming to work?]As soon as he entered the office, he checked his phone. There was still no reply to the message he sent to Yeon-woo in the morning.
Sighing deeply, he shook his tie to shake off the dry sigh. Knock, knock, a knocking sound echoed. Jun-hwi urgently glanced around the office.
“Lawyer, good morning.”
It couldn’t be Yeon-woo. Lawyer Kim Seung-ho came in with a smile, presenting a document for approval.
“I’ve been analyzing Supreme Court precedents all weekend. I’m sorry for being late.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“…Aren’t you going to look at it?”
Normally, Jun-hwi would have eagerly rushed over to check with a red pen as soon as he received the approval form.
But today, he didn’t even open it, and strangely, Kim Seung-ho, who noticed this, urged him even more urgently.
“By the way, Lawyer Kwon, you don’t look well. Are you tired?”
“Why. What.”
Kim Seung-ho was quick to catch on. How did he sense that Jun-hwi had been suffering from severe insomnia over the weekend, spending nights at the fitness club for the first time in a long time?
Jun-hwi wiped his cheek and frowned silently. Then, when he pretended to open the approval form while wearing glasses, there was a short vibration sound.
He accidentally covered the approval form, which he was about to open, with a firm tap sound.
“I’m a bit busy right now.”
“Ah, okay.”
With a nod, he ushered Kim Seung-ho out and quickly picked up his phone. It was Yeon-woo’s response that he had been waiting for.
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.”
