The Problematic Helper (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3
Kang Do Um.
There are largely two types of people who call my name loudly.
Those who deliberately call it out loud and then giggle, or those who call it quite secretly as if they’ve committed a sin.
Neither type was welcome, so my troubles with my name continued throughout my twenty-five years of life.
Do Um-ie is the world’s greatest helper.
“What should I help with the most, Kang Do-Helper?”
“This jerk, does he start smirking every time Kang Do Um comes up? This pervert jerk.”
I had blushed more than once or twice from the teasing pranks of the opposite sex, and a considerable number of men who approached me saying they were interested also hesitated to call my name.
Not being in a position to help anyone,
The feeling that I had to help others and live more kindly than anyone else was utterly shitty.
If I ran into someone I knew on the street and they were about to call my name,
In this day and age, they’d say things like, what’s with calling someone a helper, or what’s so great about being called that so confidently.
The prejudiced gazes from those who looked down on the profession of “helper” were commonplace.
“Your dad gave you that name hoping you’d live a life helpful to others. A dad who had nothing to leave you because he was poor—at least he left you your name. If you throw even that away, what do you have left?”
If he wanted to show loyalty to Dad, I swallowed the question of whether Mom’s chastity would have been far better than my name.
Mom had said that for someone who couldn’t live without love, holding on for years after Dad died was already a long time.
“So your profession isn’t a helper, your actual name is Do Um?”
Woo Seok asked the same question several times.
The situation was like this.
From the hotel coffee shop, Ji Wan had kept mistaking the name “Do Um” that the man at the next table was calling as “helper,” and the woman had kept hearing Ji Wan calling “helper” as her actual name, “Do Um.”
It was an unintentionally hilarious situation born from mutual misunderstanding.
If he wanted me to help others, he should have made me born in circumstances where I could help, not just give me the name—resentment surged like irritation.
“Yes, pure Korean name, Kang Do Um.”
“No, when I asked if you were a helper, why did you say yes then?”
A flustered Woo Seok shot back.
“Because my name is, after all, Do Um.”
That’s right, Do Um is help.
“In the neighborhood and at school, that’s what they call me—the world’s greatest helper, Kang Do Um.”
“No, even so, that’s a bit much.”
“You both misunderstood. I carry this lifelong misunderstanding like a stigma.”
Ji Wan, who had been listening with arms crossed, leaning leisurely against the back of the sofa, frowned.
“What should we do now, CEO-nim.”
The man with thick eyebrows lowered checked the time by lifting his left wrist.
Above the rolled-up shirt cuff, a silver luxury L-brand watch revealed its noble presence.
“Enough, let’s get up.”
The man who hadn’t said a word picked up the jacket from the seat next to him.
“Why, is it okay if my job is a helper, but not okay if my name is ‘Do Um’? If that’s the case, I’ll change my name soon. As soon as I get married.”
Do Um, who had scooted her hips to the edge of the sofa, anxious that he might pretend nothing happened, asked.
Ji Wan, who had taken a few steps, stopped and turned around.
“If you hated your own name that much, you could have just applied to change it long ago.”
When I became an adult and looked into name change permissions,
I found out I had tens of millions of won in debt under my name.
The day I got my first ID,
My mother Hee Suk, who said she’d make me an instant millionaire with the information she’d gathered through legwork, hadn’t gathered info—she had sold her newly adult daughter to take out private loans.
Needless to say, I became a debtor instead of a millionaire.
That’s when I also learned that if you have credit issues or debt, getting a name change approved is difficult.
“…There were circumstances. So the name, I can definitely change it.”
Once the debt was paid off, changing my name wouldn’t be hard.
“I don’t care, it’s just a name.”
The man’s touch as he stroked his chin with his right hand was endlessly slow.
I was about to ask what the problem was then, but clinging desperately somehow felt pathetic, so Do Um took a step back.
“Fine, then. Let’s take some time to think. I need time to look into you too. We have to live as husband and wife for at least six months to a year, so don’t I need to know what kind of person my husband is?”
At the bold words that she would investigate what kind of person he was, the man who had been stroking his chin smirked.
“Well, do whatever you want.”
With that short reply, Ji Wan resumed his paused steps.
“You’re not even asking for my contact info?”
Do Um, who had stood up after him, asked urgently.
Him not asking for contact felt like he had no intention of contacting her, which made her anxious.
Was there a better offer to clear her debt all at once?
“As you look into me, you’ll find out naturally. Even without something like contact info, finding one person is no big deal.”
He was a man brimming with confidence from the bottom up.
The type who could get whatever he wanted with a flick of his finger.
A few conversations were enough to know it wasn’t empty vanity.
Like a tiger that had boldly entered a rabbit hole, exuding arrogance that no matter how hungry, “someone like you couldn’t fill my stomach.”
Perhaps,
Do Um thought, this might be jumping from sewage into another mud pit.
[This is the timeline separator]“Name: Kang Do Um. Age twenty-five. Heungseo-dong Sinro 11. A soon-to-be-demolished slum area. Not owned, so no real compensation expected upon demolition. Stepfather’s private loans of 240 million and mother’s 20 million debt under her name—all paid off. Biological mother left home long ago; currently working part-time jobs to pay off stepfather’s debt. Fourth-year business major at Korea University. Took a year off for living expenses and debt repayment, but a genius who never misses top of the department and receives scholarships every semester—graduation no issue.”
17th floor, Bando Construction Review Tower, Samsung-dong.
Tap, tap-tap, tap.
Ji Wan’s fingertips drummed rhythmically on the mahogany desk as he listened to the report.
Woo Seok immediately recognized it as the man’s longtime habit when deep in thought.
He had been assisting Ji Wan since he first entered management practice in the U.S.—eight years now.
Having been by his side for every move, Woo Seok could read his boss’s mood from a single eyebrow twitch.
A man of few words whose expressions rarely betrayed his thoughts, making his intentions hard to read.
Even without coaching, he carried himself with the grace and etiquette befitting the royal family while never revealing he was part of it.
Until Mrs. Jang summoned him back to Korea, no one knew he was from the Bando family—he was that cautious and composed in everything.
Yet right now, that man was visibly nervous.
“Are you worried?”
“Don’t I have no choice?”
If there was no choice, there should be even less reason to hesitate, yet he clearly was.
“I was born and raised this way. I’m used to the contempt I receive now. But I wonder if this woman could handle that contempt by my side.”
“If you’re concerned about Miss Do Um…”
“My nose is three inches high, why would I be concerned.”
Though he said that, his feelings would differ from when he didn’t know her situation versus now that he knew everything.
It was worry that he might add more pain to a life already scarred.
The three syllables of Kang Do Um deepened the man’s thoughts.
What kind of parents name their child something like that, he first thought,
But then considering the kind meaning of the word “help,” it made some sense.
“It’s a name her late father gave her, wishing she would become someone helpful to the world.”
As if reading Ji Wan’s mind, Woo Seok added.
After all, helping someone with what you’re good at could be considered help too.
“This is ridiculous.”
Under the sleeve brushing his face, a red pyramid D-brand cuff button gleamed.
“I looked into it in case it becomes an issue later—her relationships with men are completely clean. Quite a few confessed, but she turned them all down because her circumstances weren’t easy.”
Spin—Ji Wan turned his office chair and shifted his gaze to the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city.
She wasn’t ugly.
Not stunningly beautiful either, but how to put it.
An unadorned, clear, and pure feeling.
That kind of purity tends to disappear first in a harsh society.
He found it fascinating that “purity” remained in a woman who had likely lived more harshly than anyone.
“Seems she’s done every money-making job possible. Tutoring, of course, plus demolition assistance to move-in helpers. Paying off 20 million as a student probably wasn’t easy.”
There were certainly easier ways to make money without overworking the body.
People chased by money are usually most vulnerable to such temptations.
She’d do anything if paid—cleaning, manual labor, even marriage—but absolutely nothing beyond that.
In a tough life, she might let go of pride and everything else, but there was one thing she absolutely had to protect.
Not bad at all.
In this proposal where he was clearly the one with power, her scratching at him with words because she wasn’t his type, and her boldness in saying she’d investigate what kind of man her future husband was—quite refreshing.
“From Director Han’s perspective, is she capable of fulfilling this role properly?”
Setting down the documents, Woo Seok replied.
“If it’s an emotionless marriage to be dissolved in a few months, compared to the women I’ve escorted these past two months, she is by far the most outstanding.”
Ji Wan, who had been gazing at the bustling city, spun his chair and stood up.
“Let’s go. To meet the bride.”
*****
“Even without contact info, finding one person is no big deal—you’re letting me know that in this way.”
Do Um placed two cups of coffee on the white plastic table with a thud.
“I told you to look into me yourself.”
“I did, and wow, I didn’t recognize such an amazing person. You’re so amazing that even without saying ‘this is who I am,’ did you really have to come dressed like this, bringing an entourage?”
Korea University student union main building cafeteria and coffee shop.
Countless students’ eyes scanned the model-like man draped head-to-toe in luxury brands and the black-rimmed glasses man closely following behind.
They probably think he’s a celebrity—I thought so too.
A man who wouldn’t get a speck of sand on his shoes coming to a cafeteria coffee shop where a cup costs 2,000 won? Absurd.
“Miss Do Um’s next schedule is cleaning the swimming pool shower room, so I had no choice but to come here.”
Han Woo Seok, who added the explanation for Ji Wan, said only what he needed and stepped back a couple of paces.
“You already investigated my background?”
“Investigating the woman who will become my wife is only natural, isn’t it?”
After saying that, Ji Wan watched her flustered expression and added,
“You look like someone who did some investigating on me too.”
“Hmm, yes, of course.”
“So, do you like what you found?”
With a relaxed gesture of spreading his arms over the chair backrests, low gasps came from the surrounding female students.
“Like? It’s a marriage that’ll end in a year at most anyway.”
Under the burdensome stares that looked ready to rush for an autograph any second, Do Um added,
“Let’s go by car—my shift ends in 10 minutes. If you wait in the car…”
“I’ll wait here. It’s only 10 minutes.”
The expressionless man gently pushed the paper cup in front of him far away.
The meaning was clear: you’re telling me to drink this crap?
“Well, suit yourself.”
The annoyed Do Um stood up from her seat.
On the blue apron that read “Bean Café,” Ji Wan’s brow lightly furrowed.
Bean Café, really.
A man whose entire outfit combined would cost millions sitting on a cheap plastic chair looked utterly out of place.
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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