The Young Boss (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14

9 years ago.

Si Hyeon, at twenty-four, was heading to Tae Ha’s house with light steps. It wasn’t the semi-basement where Tae Ha had continued living alone after their maternal grandmother passed away in middle school, but in the direction of the most expensive apartment nearby.

Tae Ha, who became a high school student this year, had surprisingly found his biological father not long ago. His name was Leon Kennedy. He was an American, thirty-six years old in Korean age.

Leon had a face that resembled Tae Ha a lot. It was convincing enough even when he suddenly appeared and claimed to be Tae Ha’s real father.

Si Hyeon thought that all the parts of Tae Ha’s appearance that gave off a foreign vibe must have come from his father.

Leon was the head of a massive American hedge fund and had invested in several Korean companies, he said.

The circumstances he confessed to his son through an interpreter were like this.

When he was twenty in Korean age, Leon had briefly traveled to Korea and coincidentally met Tae Ha’s mother, who was the same age, and fell in love.

He promised marriage without knowing she was pregnant and returned to America, asking his parents to send someone to bring her over.

The person sent to Korea came back only with the news that she had died in an accident, so Leon had been completely unaware that she had given birth to a child until he recently found out.

[I never imagined I would have a child. I’m sorry, truly sorry.]

Caressing the face of his son who looked like him, the young father shed endless tears.

Leon had been married once after that but divorced after a few years and had no children. So he proposed to Tae Ha to come to America and live together. To graduate from university in America and inherit his business.

[No.]

Because Tae Ha flatly refused, Leon ended up staying in Korea for about a month before returning alone. However, he never let his son live as he had until now.

He prepared a new residence in the largest unit of the best apartment nearby and hired a secretary, a driver, and even a housekeeper to take care of Tae Ha’s life.

Just like that, Tae Ha became a young master of a wealthy family overnight.

Consequently, Si Hyeon also became a proper tutor.

Leon knew that Si Hyeon had raised Tae Ha until now and was anxious to repay her in some way.

At first, he offered to gift her a nice car, but after learning that Si Hyeon was living with her uncle, he proposed to buy her a house.

But Si Hyeon flatly refused.

[I didn’t raise Tae Ha for money until now.]

Tae Ha was no different from a real younger brother to her. It was natural for an older sister to take care of a younger sibling. There was no reason to accept a car or a house.

[But I hope Si Hyeon will continue to take care of our Tae Ha. As a father entrusting my child, I can’t pay nothing.]

Because Leon insisted, Si Hyeon eventually compromised. She understood his feelings about having to leave his underage son alone and return.

[If that’s the case, I’ll only take tutoring fees. Exactly as much as others receive.]

They clearly promised that, but what actually came in every month was a large sum approaching the salary of a new employee at a major corporation. Leon insisted that was the market rate in Korea and wouldn’t yield more than that.

Thanks to that, being able to focus only on job hunting without worrying about money was very grateful. Her aunt hadn’t given her a single penny besides university tuition, so throughout college, Si Hyeon had to live chasing part-time jobs.

When she pressed the doorbell, the housekeeper wearing a pure white apron quickly ran out and opened the door.

“Oh my, miss, you’ve arrived?”

It seemed the Korean secretary hired by Leon had firmly instructed her. To treat and serve Si Hyeon exactly like young master Tae Ha.

But Si Hyeon couldn’t quite adapt to being treated as a miss. Even the housekeeper at her uncle’s house where she lived had never called her that. She called A Hyeon miss, but Si Hyeon was always Si Hyeon.

“It’s hot, come in quickly, miss. What beverage shall I prepare?”

“Please just call me teacher, ajumma. Or you can call me by name.”

But no matter how many times she said it, perhaps because she had been firmly warned, the housekeeper was stubborn.

“Please sit for a moment, miss. It’s almost time for young master Tae Ha to arrive.”

Looking around Tae Ha’s room, which was easily four or five times larger than her room at her uncle’s house, Si Hyeon thought anew. People’s lives, you really never know.

While waiting for Tae Ha to return from school, Si Hyeon took out her phone to kill time.

With intense music, young men began dancing on the screen, showing off their muscular bodies. It was a performance by a male idol group at the peak of popularity, famously called ‘beast idols.’

She was deeply engrossed in watching when suddenly her hand felt empty.

Startled and looking up, Tae Ha in his school uniform had snatched her phone and was looking at it.

Now just a high school freshman. However, Tae Ha was already mature enough to feel awkward calling him a boy.

He was over 180 centimeters tall, and as his shoulders and chest broadened together, his frame was almost complete. Thinking of his father with an excellent physique, it was natural.

In appearance and build, he already overwhelmed adults, yet there were still traces of a boy’s unique feel here and there.

On his manly jaw, beard marks weren’t noticeable yet, and the neckline revealed above the pure white uniform collar somehow felt slender.

It was the fleeting beauty that could only be had at the boundary between boy and young man, exactly at that time.

Tae Ha stared intently at the phone and asked.

“You liked this kind of thing?”

There wasn’t particularly a teasing or blaming nuance, but feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, Si Hyeon snatched the phone from Tae Ha’s hand.

“Of course. Grab any woman on the street and ask, who dislikes it.”

Glancing down at his own slender birch-like body, Tae Ha quietly muttered.

“……Is that so.”

“But why can’t you look straight?”

When Tae Ha spread the fronts of his shower robe to both sides, the dazzling body hidden inside was revealed.

“Look straight. ……Whether I’m a man or not.”

At the bold provocation, Si Hyeon felt a surge of irritation.

What, if he says look, I can’t?

Even as a child, she hadn’t bathed him, but she had washed his hair several times. Naturally, she had seen his bare upper body countless times.

Si Hyeon smiled confidently and looked straight at Tae Ha.

“Where, shall we see how much our Tae Ha has grown?”

Tae Ha spread his chest wide as if to show off.

It was a body tightly packed with muscles. Well-developed pectorals and clearly shaped abs asserted their presence between the shower robe.

“Oh, Yoon Tae Ha. Your body is no joke?”

Staring intently at Tae Ha’s body, Si Hyeon pursed her lips and lightly whistled. Casually, she even reached out and lightly touched his chest.

“That’s all?”

As if dissatisfied with Si Hyeon’s brazen reaction, Tae Ha frowned.

“Then what, should I bring laundry to do?”

After firmly closing the open fronts of the shower robe, Si Hyeon lightly pushed Tae Ha’s chest away.

“You enjoyed the view. But it’s not my style. I like lean muscles.”

Shaking her head, Si Hyeon glanced at Tae Ha anew.

“By the way, you. How did you know our house password?”

“You always used the same password, from long ago.”

“Even so, next time ring the doorbell and come in.”

But without answering, Tae Ha turned his back and left Si Hyeon’s house just like that.

As soon as the front door closed, Si Hyeon plopped down on the bed.

“……What was that, that kid.”

Her heart was pounding as if it would jump out of her mouth.

It wasn’t the body of the child in her memory. Nor the slender body she had seen until before he went to the military.

It was a perfectly beautiful and strong man’s body.

She had to force strength into her eyes to hide her wavering gaze. Her jaw hurt from holding back swallowing the saliva in her mouth. She was out of breath from pretending to be nonchalant, brazen.

She had somewhat expected it seeing how much his physique had improved unrecognizably compared to the last time they met, but to that extent……

The feel of the elastic muscles vividly revived at her fingertips, making her face suddenly hot. It felt like a lie that she had rubbed his stomach not long ago. How could she have touched such a body so calmly.

It was absurd to herself blushing over none other than Tae Ha, but her heated face wouldn’t cool down easily.

“You must be crazy, Kang Si Hyeon……”

Si Hyeon muttered, covering her bright red face.

Tae Ha returned bitterly and plopped down on the bed, muttering.

“Did her taste change in that time?”

She clearly said she liked those beast idols or whatever back then.

During high school, he had no time because of studying and app development, so he started building his body in earnest from the military. After that, no matter how busy work was, he maintained it desperately like his life depended on exercise……

Si Hyeon stared intently as if it was nothing and shrugged her shoulders.

[You enjoyed the view. But it’s not my style. I like lean muscles.]

He resented the fickle woman, but on the other hand, he couldn’t help his heart pounding.

Just lightly touched with fingertips. That was all.

In that moment, Tae Ha felt a thrilling current flow through his whole body. The blood starting to heat from where Si Hyeon’s hand touched his chest soon made his entire body burn.

Tae Ha sighed, got up, and changed into workout clothes.

If he didn’t go out for a run, it seemed hard to fall asleep tonight.

The next morning, what woke Si Hyeon was the doorbell.

Rubbing sleepy eyes and looking at the clock, it was seven. She could sleep another thirty minutes……

Staggering up and opening the front door, Tae Ha was standing there. The moment she saw his face, yesterday’s events came to mind, and half her sleep flew away.

“What’s up, this early in the morning.”

Afraid her face would heat up again, she deliberately yawned and asked, and Tae Ha wearing an apron replied.

“Come eat breakfast.”

“Breakfast?”

“You skip breakfast. Come eat and then go to work.”

Saying only that, Tae Ha went back.

Si Hyeon roughly washed her face and headed next door.

On the small table, breakfast was already neatly set. Freshly cooked rice glistening with steam, bubbling doenjang jjigae, steamed eggs. Seeing her favorite myeongranjeot placed there too, she swallowed saliva.

Tasting a spoonful of doenjang jjigae, Si Hyeon opened her eyes wide.

“What. Since when did you become Jang Geum?”

“If it’s okay, come eat every day. I always eat breakfast properly.”

“No thanks. People have shame, how can I eat for free every day? Brazenly.”

“Do you know how many years you’ve cooked for me?”

Placing myeongranjeot on Si Hyeon’s rice, Tae Ha said firmly.

“Kang Si Hyeon, you’re someone who can be completely brazen with me.”

Something suddenly came to mind.

[How can you so brazenly ask for money?] [Giving up full scholarship to go to a good school? I’ll pay tuition of course? You’re really brazen.]

From when Si Hyeon was young, her aunt always had the word brazen on her lips.

To be told she can be completely brazen, it was the first time in her life.

Unnecessarily choked up, Si Hyeon deliberately moved her spoon more vigorously. The slightly cooked myeongranjeot on hot rice melted softly in her mouth.

“I ate well, Tae Ha. I’ll do the dishes.”

As Si Hyeon stood up with the bowls, Tae Ha stopped her with a gesture.

“No need, go prepare for work and come out. Makeup takes time, right?”

“Huh?”

“Anyway, since it’s on the way, I’ll carpool.”

Not only preparing breakfast but even offering a ride. She was about to decline out of shame, but remembering what Tae Ha said earlier, Si Hyeon closed her mouth.

How wonderful to have someone she can be completely brazen with.

“Then I’ll prepare quickly and come out.”

Hurrying out of Tae Ha’s house, Si Hyeon suddenly felt her blood freeze all over.

Woo Jin holding a bouquet was standing in front of Si Hyeon’s house door.

“What.”

The moment their eyes met, Woo Jin with a surprised face dropped the hand holding the bouquet.

“Why are you coming out of the next door?”