“Please let me through. I need to go in.”

As Seol Ah tried to pass by Seung Jun, he stood still and spoke.

“I never intended to take the child from the beginning.”

Seol Ah stopped in her tracks.

That was the reason Seol Ah had been afraid of Seung Jun all along. It was also what Seung Jun had wielded like a weapon.

And now, Seung Jun was putting it down himself.

“I’m not the type to do the cruel thing of separating a child from their mother.”

“Then why.”

Why did he keep appearing and turning people’s insides out. Seol Ah spat out the rest of the question with her eyes.

“It’s just that I never had the chance to be a father.”

Seol Ah’s pupils wavered.

She had only thought about protecting the child from Seung Jun, without considering his position at all.

Because he was the man who nonchalantly announced his marriage while sharing love with her. Without giving her any indication at all.

Because to him, she amounted to no more than that.

But even so, not even giving him a chance to be a father. Was that really the right thing to do?

“If you really want to be a true father.”

Seol Ah continued, looking at Seung Jun.

“Put in the effort. Don’t even think about taking the child away. Being a mother or father doesn’t happen automatically. The child has to open their heart to you.”

Seung Jun bit his lip.

The words telling him to put in effort pierced his lungs. Come to think of it, he had treated Yu Min badly from the beginning.

He carelessly threw out harsh words knowing they would hurt.

Until now, it hadn’t mattered if he treated people around him that way.

He was always in the superior position, lording over others, and people would cater to his whims.

But Yu Min was different.

He sharply retorted to what Seung Jun said, pushed him away telling him to leave, and even told his mom the report number before exiting. If that’s how he was when he didn’t know Seung Jun was his father, then once he finds out…

“I won’t be your son, mister. I hate it.”

It was very likely he would answer that way.

– He was clever. Spoke well too. A kid who could even one-up adults, so he often got scolded by me. At kindergarten too, if he thought something was wrong, he would speak frankly to the teacher, so I often got calls saying it was troublesome.

Suddenly, that image of Yu Min overlapped with his own childhood self that he had heard about from Hye Won.

“Damn it.”

It was hard to see that personality as taking after Seol Ah at all.

“You have to give me a chance to put in effort or whatever first.”

At Seung Jun’s words, Seol Ah closed her mouth.

Did I say something unnecessary? Now that he’s asking for a real chance, she had nothing to say. After pondering for a moment, she opened her mouth again.

“It has to be what Yu Min wants first, whether it’s a chance or whatever.”

Seol Ah turned her body.

“It’s too late so I’m going in.”

“You’re going to leave like this?”

“Yu Min might wake up and be startled. I just left him for a bit to come out here.”

As he watched Seol Ah turn and walk away, Seung Jun lowered his gaze.

Now he wasn’t even sure what he wanted anymore.

Why did he come here today – did he want to see Seol Ah, or Yu Min, or was it the real memories of his lost childhood.

*

“What do you think about marriage?”

It was only 5 minutes after they first met.

The earrings on the woman’s ears fluttered softly.

“You must be thinking of marriage if you came out here, right? A busy person like you wouldn’t have come out just to hang out.”

She seemed lively and bold. Seung Jun narrowed his eyes.

Yes, I didn’t come out to play.

It was because of Grandfather’s will.

The will, read out loud in front of everyone, stated that for Seung Jun to inherit the group’s shares, he first had to get married.

– I will not pass on what’s mine to a guy who doesn’t even have his own seed. You need to get married.

Chairman Han was someone who went as far as conducting a nonsensical adoption just because of the principle that the chairman position must be passed on to the eldest son. So such a preposterous will was also possible coming from him.

Seung Jun thought that if he wasn’t careful, all his efforts up until now could turn to bubble.

What had he done for the sake of those damn shares. He had to part ways with his own mother and father for life, and received harsh discipline from the woman who became his stepmother.

But if he were to lose those shares at the last minute because of marriage…

With Seung Jun’s personality of perfectly executing anything he set out to do, that was unacceptable.

“That’s right, I do need to get married.”

At Seung Jun’s words, the woman tilted her head.

“What do you think about me?”

Seung Jun didn’t say anything for a moment.

It wasn’t a bad prospect.

In terms of family background, wealth, education – all those conditions. And above all, it seemed like they would be able to communicate clearly.

– Do I have to say it out loud? Marriage? Don’t make me laugh.

At least compared to her.

“Sounds good.”

Seung Jun shrugged.

“Really? Looks like we’re on the same page.”

The woman smiled brightly. Seung Jun was about to say something to her but paused for a moment.

“By the way, your name is…”

“It’s Yoon Jung Ah. I told you earlier.”

“I’m sorry. My head has been all over the place lately because of work.”

As Seung Jun winked, the woman who said her name was Jung Ah nodded.

“I understand. You’re a very busy person. But please remember the name of the person you’re going to marry from now on. I’m a woman with pride too.”

Jung Ah seemed confident and dignified. A well-educated woman from a good family. A woman who had never been disliked by others.

In many ways, she was the opposite of a certain woman Seung Jun knew.

“Yes. I got it.”

Seung Jun looked at his watch.

“Then I should get going now.”

“What?”

Jung Ah was looking at him dumbfounded, this man who said let’s get married but was leaving after just thirty minutes.

“I have a meeting. They said it has to be today. And I have a golf appointment in the evening. I’m sorry.”

With a face that didn’t look sorry at all, Seung Jun stood up from his seat.

“Ah, I see. Well, there will be more days for us to meet.”

As Jung Ah smiled and stood up as well, Seung Jun took an incoming call.

“Yes, please have them wait. I’m leaving now.”

After hanging up, Seung Jun looked at Jung Ah again.

“I likely won’t see you separately until the wedding. Wedding preparations will proceed through my secretary and planner, and choose the dress you like the most. Don’t mind the price. Well then, see you at the wedding hall.”

Nodding his head as if there was nothing more to say, Seung Jun turned and walked out.

‘What the.’

Behind him, Jung Ah could only look at Seung Jun’s back with a bewildered expression.

Just then, Jung Ah got a call as well. It was her mother.

[How did it go?]

The one who wanted Jung Ah’s marriage more than herself was her parents. Her father was a former prosecutor general and was being considered as a candidate for Minister of Justice. But his ambition was great, and he was aiming for the next presidency as well.

To do that, he needed a place to stably secure political funds above all else, and in that sense, Han Seung Jun was the best son-in-law.

Other chaebol companies had a lot of unsavory rumors going around regarding succession issues, but Seung Jun had been flawless in terms of both ability and personal life.

[How did it go? Why aren’t you saying anything?]

“Oh, umm. It went well. He said let’s get married.”

[Really? Oh my, did Han Seung Jun the vice chairman really say that? Well done, wow, our daughter is so capable.]

As she heard her mother shouting in excitement, Jung Ah was overcome with a bitter feeling. It was clearly a good thing, but why didn’t it feel good? Why did it feel so iffy?

*

“Don’t worry. Yu Min can sleep at our house.”

Seol Ah really didn’t want to, but since it might be difficult to get off work at all the day before the evaluation, she swallowed her pride and asked In Sook to watch Yu Min.

When Yu Min was younger, In Sook used to watch him more often. But that was also something she shouldn’t have done. As Yu Min attended daycare, she tried not to do that, but sometimes these unavoidable situations came up.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say that. I told you, you can leave Yu Min with me anytime. Is it easy living as a working mom?”

“No, if you take good care of him just this once, this won’t happen again for a while.”

Seol Ah bowed her head feeling apologetic.

“Hurry and go. Then shall I pick him up from kindergarten on time?”

Seol Ah said goodbye to the brightly smiling In Sook and left for work. Jin Cheol, who was just waking up and coming out of his room, glanced at Seol Ah and spoke.

“Seol Ah noona, you’re leaving for work early.”

“Yeah, work is always busy. Oh, you don’t have anything to do today, right? Yu Min is coming over, so you take care of him, feed him, and play with him. Can you do that?”

In Sook was also running a convenience store, so she wasn’t free either. Jin Cheol smiled happily at In Sook’s request.

“Yu Min is coming to our house?”

“Woohoo. Is your friend coming over to hang out? I guess your mental age is pretty similar. Don’t feed him stuff like instant ramen, give him a proper meal. There’s meat and side dishes in the fridge, so take them out and eat.”

“Yes, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Yu Min.”

Jin Cheol was grinning ear to ear for some reason.

These days, he had forgotten that he was a job-seeker, busy working on a new project with Yu Min. After the ambitious plan he had prepared before failed, Jin Cheol and Yu Min put their heads together whenever they met.

‘How can I become a man to Seol Ah noona.’

A man should be strong, solid, never lose to anything, and be cool. Just like that man who appeared in front of Yu Min that day.

That man seemed perfect to Jin Cheol in every way. Not only his tall height and sturdy build, but his strong-looking personality too. His voice was also a cool baritone and his style was top-notch like he stepped out of a magazine.

Jin Cheol shook his head.

He could never become that man even if he was born again. Not only the height and fit body, but the overwhelming aura felt from his eyes was something not just anyone could imitate.

But just what was that man’s relationship with Seol Ah?

If that man made a move on Seol Ah in earnest, someone like himself wouldn’t even be in the game. Thinking about it made him depressed.

“What’s wrong?”

In Sook asked, seeing Jin Cheol shake his head by himself, then look crestfallen.

“Nothing, I just feel like I don’t have any charm as a man.”

“What?”

In Sook approached Jin Cheol and fiercely smacked his back. Jin Cheol flinched in surprise and avoided her.

“Why did you hit me!”

“Goodness. It upsets me to hear my son say such a thing. What charm does my son lack? Being gentle and kind is charming too. These days, men like you are the trend, the trend.”

“The trend?”

Jin Cheol rubbed his hit back and made a puzzled face.

“Of course, instead of envying someone else’s charm, try appealing with what you have. I believe our son has a good chance.”

Seeing In Sook give a thumbs up, Jin Cheol finally lifted the corners of his mouth again.