The Returned Father of My Child (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
“Managing Director Do Jae Kyung?”
Bo Mi’s voice cracked, an octave higher, and her face flushed as if set ablaze.
Why is he here?
“It’s okay.”
“It’s fine.”
Although she’d have to walk quite a distance to reach the nearest bus stop or subway station, Bo Mi’s heart pounded anxiously—afraid someone might suspect something between her and CEO Hwang Min Jun.
What would she say if he asked why she was here?
Could he have seen her leaving CEO Hwang Min Jun’s house?
Should she say she was out doing cat rescue volunteer work?
“You’ll have to walk quite a bit.”
“Thank you for your concern, but I actually prefer walking to riding in a car.”
Bo Mi bowed briefly and quickened her pace.
“CEO Han Bo Mi.”
Hah. When did you cling to me with teary eyes, only to throw up walls now?
Jae Kyung followed her slowly in his car.
“I’m not asking a favor.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
While Jae Kyung and Bo Mi were arguing, a yellow sports car roared up the hill from the opposite direction, blasting loud music.
Yeon Ga Jin—the nephew of CEO Hwang Min Jun and son of Madam Hwang.
The driver turned his head, glanced briefly at Jae Kyung’s car, then spotted Bo Mi beyond it.
Screeeech!
“Hah! Shit!”
An expletive slipped from Ga Jin’s lips.
“Han Bo Mi! You!”
The moment the yellow sports car came to a halt, the rear door of Jae Kyung’s car swung open.
“Managing Director… please.”
Though Jae Kyung had clearly told her to get in—
“Just… please go already.”
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
Bo Mi’s desperate plea left Jae Kyung baffled.
What exactly is this woman? One minute she refuses me outright, the next she treats me like a chauffeur?
From the very first meeting, this woman has been utterly unpredictable.
The instant Ga Jin stepped out of his car, Jae Kyung instinctively pressed the accelerator and drove off.
“CEO Han Bo Mi. What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry. Just drop me off anywhere.”
When she finally saw a bus stop, Bo Mi placed a hand over her chest and let out a long sigh, as if only now calming down.
“Where do you live?”
“Ah… just drop me here, and I’ll take the bus.”
“Then I’ll have to accept fare payment.”
“Uh… well…”
Bo Mi stammered, flustered.
“You weren’t seriously planning to ride for free, were you?”
“No! Of course not!”
As Bo Mi shook her head, her short hair swayed gently.
“I’ll treat you to a meal next time.”
“When exactly is ‘next time’?”
“You’re always busy, and we rarely cross paths at the office… Would offering a meal be overdoing it? How about I just buy you a takeaway coffee instead?”
Her chattering was surprisingly…
Jae Kyung raised an eyebrow.
What’s wrong with me?
It must be because of that business card.
He’d become so absorbed in her voice that he’d forgotten the headache that had felt like a hammer pounding his skull.
‘…So, everyone who watched till the end—please shout “Narae Tory” whenever you meet Han Bo Mi! I’ll treat you to a nice iced Americano!’
Coffee she offers to just anyone… Jae Kyung felt distinctly irritated.
“You must really like treating people to coffee.”
That irritation clearly stemmed from whatever connection existed between CEO Hwang Min Jun and CEO Han Bo Mi.
He needed to clarify what kind of relationship they actually had.
“Ah… yes. Do you… not like coffee by any chance?”
Bo Mi asked nervously, wondering if he’d just let it slide.
“I’d prefer a meal over coffee.”
Bo Mi’s mind went into a frenzy at Jae Kyung’s response. He’d seemed clearly uninterested in her—so why? Why this?
“A meal sounds good.”
She’d lost her mind. Even though she was in a hurry, she now felt as if she’d fled a fox only to enter a tiger’s den.
“Then… when would be a good time?”
“I just happen to be free now—let’s go eat.”
“Now? With me?”
A meal right now? Good grief. She’d just finished a silent, hour-long dinner with Min Jun, barely glancing at his face, only at their rice bowls—and now another one?
“Then who else would I eat with?”
Jae Kyung turned his body to look back at Bo Mi seated in the rear.
Fine, I get it—just stop looking at me like that.
It made her uncomfortable… like a rabbit cornered by a predator.
In this relationship, Do Jae Kyung was unquestionably the dominant one—just as it had always been with Hwang Min Jun.
“Right. Since I’ll be treating you, we should definitely have a meal together. Especially after I’ve gone so far as to occupy your backseat like this…”
She absolutely shouldn’t get personally entangled with Do Jae Kyung—especially considering her ties to CEO Hwang Min Jun. Yet how had things ended up like this?
If only Yeon Ga Jin hadn’t shown up…
He was one of the very people Bo Mi wished she’d never have to meet in her life.
While Bo Mi hesitated over her reply, the car had steadily driven on and pulled into the parking lot of a traditional Korean restaurant. A few luxury sedans, as refined as Jae Kyung’s car, were parked near the entrance.
Bo Mi hurried after Jae Kyung as he opened the door and strode in with familiarity—like a duckling trailing its mother. Nak Won would’ve matched his pace to hers.
A small mole on the nape of his neck—short as it was—the exact spot where Bo Mi used to press her lips. Even the mole’s placement was the same… No. Don’t make connections.
His back looked just like Nak Won’s—but he wasn’t Nak Won.
Nak Won had never worn a suit… Surely, even if he’d worn a rented suit from a photo studio, he would’ve shone brighter than anyone else.
She was still haunted by Nak Won’s presence, endlessly recalling someone already gone.
“Welcome.”
Though slightly early for dinner, the restaurant owner greeted Jae Kyung warmly. The savory aroma of cooking wafted out from the kitchen.
She had eaten something earlier—perhaps just a nibble—but Bo Mi absently rubbed her stomach, unaware of her own hunger.
They were led into a small private room.
“They have excellent naengmyeon here.”
Jae Kyung handed the menu across the table to Bo Mi.
“Ah… I love naengmyeon, but I had no idea a place like this existed.”
Though she’d lived in this neighborhood for over ten years until entering university, Bo Mi had never had freedom. Dining at such upscale restaurants only happened when Min Jun summoned her.
“Pork ribs and naengmyeon.”
“Uh… um…”
At Jae Kyung’s words, Bo Mi’s face slowly turned as red as spilled paint.
“You saw my business card?”
“Yes. As CEO Han mentioned, it was quite intriguing.”
“Ah… I… really…”
Bo Mi’s ears flushed crimson as she nervously brushed her fingers over her neck. He almost regretted not being able to see her face clearly behind the strands of hair that had fallen forward.
“I thought no one would listen until the end… I went on too long introducing my company. Everyone kept telling me to cut it short…”
Bo Mi began rambling excuses nervously.
“My staff said my self-introduction was too boring, so they told me to at least mention my favorite food—and that’s why I added it.”
Jae Kyung forgot his original purpose for this meal—to uncover any collusion between Chairman Hwang and Han Bo Mi—and let her pointless chatter continue uninterrupted.
Her tone of voice sounded incredibly pleasant to him.
Her ever-changing expressions and gentle, chatty manner gave him a refreshing, cool sensation—as if walking through a pine forest…
“Excuse me.”
A server entered, carrying sizzling charcoal-grilled pork ribs and a bowl of naengmyeon, and laid out an appetizing spread before them.
As their conversation paused, silence filled the room, permeated only by the rich, glossy aroma of the pork ribs.
Bo Mi unconsciously swallowed. But I just ate earlier…
Seeing Bo Mi’s expression soften as she looked at the food, Jae Kyung couldn’t help but smile.
“I’ll enjoy this. CEO Han Bo Mi.”
“Ah… yes. Please eat plenty.”
So she really intends to freeload off me.
Well, since it’s come to this, maybe I should aim for a good partnership. Being overlooked might even turn out to be a good thing.
“If you say the last keyword, I’ll buy you that iced Americano too—separate from the ride fare.”
“Who actually says things like that out loud without embarrassment?”
At Jae Kyung’s remark, the corners of Bo Mi’s eyes curved upward, and her nostrils flared slightly. He didn’t know what she found so amusing, but her smile was undeniably cute.
“Among men, only CEO Ha Su Young asks for coffee by shouting a keyword.”
CEO Ha Su Young. The instant Su Young’s name left Bo Mi’s lips, Jae Kyung’s eyebrows twitched.
Ha Su Young was the co-CEO of Narae Creative and Bo Mi’s university classmate. Four years ago, they and a group of fellow alumni had founded a startup together.
‘With so few employees, they still wanted every possible title. That’s today’s youth for you—tsk. Two CEOs, really?’
He recalled a manager once nitpicking over Narae Creative’s documents.
According to the files Jae Kyung had reviewed, the company appeared to be a group of clueless amateurs who’d founded a development firm relying solely on technical skill. It was probably sheer luck they’d survived four years without collapsing—like children set loose near a riverbank.
Could this seemingly naive woman truly be CEO Hwang Min Jun’s pawn, sent to deceive him?
“So I ended up making CEO Ha a coffee coupon. She kept imitating the mascot and dancing around.”
Remembering Su Young’s antics, Bo Mi covered her mouth and shook with suppressed laughter.
“So you treat just anyone, then?”
“Ah… no, not at all. I’m not that easy.”
Had she accidentally offended him?
“Only special people get treated.”
Special, huh? If Ha Su Young is special…
“Then I must be special too.”
A dimple appeared on Jae Kyung’s cheek as the corners of his eyes crinkled.
Only now did Bo Mi realize he’d been teasing her.
“Yes. You are special.”
“How am I special?”
“Well… for starters…”
Flustered, Bo Mi trailed off.
“Because of my face?”
“So that’s why you’re staring so intensely?”
“No! I… I didn’t mean—”
Interesting. One thing’s for sure—whenever I see this woman, she’s so strange I can’t take my eyes off her.
“CEO Han Bo Mi.”
Jae Kyung leaned toward her, his voice sweet as temptation but his eyes gleaming with an intensity that suggested he might bite her at any moment.
“How about we become truly special to each other?”
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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Ga Jin is such an interesting character. If FL had been friends with him, she might have had an even more terrible childhood because of Mrs. Hwang. But he’s exactly the type of person who could be a friend or family member.