When I Reach You (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
That afternoon.
Having wrapped up work slightly earlier than usual, Seon Woo headed to the main house.
Yoon Seok Hee—Seon Woo’s grandfather and the CEO of Yeonlim Hospital—placed great importance on familial harmony.
Thus, once a month, the entire family gathered at the main house for dinner, and unless there was a compelling reason, attendance was expected from everyone.
Because he remained vigorous and fully in command, no one dared defy his words, striving fiercely to avoid falling out of his favor.
The main house was a single-story mansion built with neat, light-gray bricks.
Behind it, two separate staircases led down to a garden as spacious as a playground, where two three-story mansions stood at the end.
These were the annexes where Yoon Seok Hee’s two sons and their families resided—three grand buildings enclosed together by a massive wall, forming a majestic estate.
The elder son, Yoon Kang—Seon Woo’s father—and his wife occupied the right-side building, while the second son, Yoon Cheong, and his wife lived in the left. Though appearing unified from the outside, each space was strictly independent.
Chairman Yoon Seok Hee, despite being well past eighty, still had such sharp eyesight that he read books without glasses, and his stamina remained strong enough to hike every morning without strain.
His intuition was uncanny.
Once, when Seon Woo and Tae Gyu had a minor heated exchange over a traffic-accident emergency patient at the hospital, Seok Hee sensed the tension immediately and excluded both of them from that evening’s dinner, saying their mood was ruining his appetite.
That was when Seon Woo realized:
His grandfather was absolutely *not* someone easily swayed—or fooled—by half-baked pretense or shallow deception.
But what if *that woman* tried? Could she manage tenderness—even if just an act? Might even someone like Grandfather be swayed, then?
“Sigh…”
Recalling that day, Seon Woo gathered his conflicted expression.
As he stepped into the dining room, his eyes swept over the busy housekeepers and instantly took in the entire space.
A dignified black dining table, crafted from volcanic stone, occupied more than half the vast room. Gold-framed chairs upholstered in black velvet were arranged in clean, understated symmetry.
The numerous pendant lights suspended from the high ceiling created the illusion of falling shooting stars.
At the center of the lavishly set table, a floral centerpiece—featuring soft lilac delphiniums, pink ranunculuses, and hyacinths prized for their long-lasting fragrance—commanded attention.
The hyacinth, herald of spring, was something Eun Jung—Seon Woo’s mother—always planted herself with bulbs she bought around this time each year.
With every breath, the delicate scent of hyacinth drifted to his nose.
“Our son is here—at long last!”
The moment Seon Woo entered, Eun Jung greeted him brightly, as if she’d been waiting.
“There’s a keychain lying around at home—have you visited recently?”
“No. Didn’t you tell Mrs. Jung not to come by for a while? Why?”
So it wasn’t Mother’s, nor Mrs. Jung’s. Then… it must belong to *that woman*.
As Seon Woo furrowed his brow in thought, Eun Jung gestured for him to hurry over and sit. He nodded respectfully toward Soo In—his aunt by marriage, seated across the table—and then took the chair Eun Jung pulled out for him.
“Is something wrong? What happened to your face?”
Seon Woo asked, still in his jacket, unbuttoned. Eun Jung fussed anxiously but refrained from touching his roughened cheeks.
“It’s nothing—I just haven’t slept well for a few days.”
“Why?”
Just then, Seok Hee entered the dining room, abruptly cutting off the mother-son exchange. Every person already seated—and everyone present—bowed their heads toward him in unison.
Seon Woo had no intention of mentioning he’d just ruined his twenty-fifth blind date a few days prior.
Privately, he was relieved by Seok Hee’s timely arrival.
That evening’s menu was *samgyetang*—ginseng chicken soup.
Rich, milky broth carried the subtle fragrance of wild ginseng—thirteen years matured, at that—while the rare scents of wild pine and neungi mushrooms teased the senses.
At the head of the table, Seok Hee picked up a piece of ginseng with his bare hands, popped it into his mouth, and chewed slowly for a long while. Following his lead, Yoon Kang’s household and Yoon Cheong’s household each lifted their spoons in turn.
“Are *both* of you still not ready?”
Though the subject was unstated, everyone at the table understood precisely what Grandfather meant.
The room fell deathly silent.
Tae Gyu, already chewing meat, couldn’t answer. Barely had he placed the ginseng in his mouth and sensed its aroma when Seon Woo answered first:
“Yes. Not yet.”
“Even after so many blind dates, still ‘not yet’?”
Seok Hee slowly raised his spoon, sipping a mouthful of the creamy, deeply simmered broth.
“Excess is as bad as deficiency.”
Watching this, Yoon Tae Gyu finally failed to suppress a snort of laughter—*Kup*.
A brief stillness settled over the room.
Seok Hee’s sharp gaze left Tae Gyu. With a soft *tch*, he tore off a chicken leg with his bare hands.
Soon, the clinking of utensils and light chatter about recent happenings resumed, quickly easing the earlier tension.
When seasonal fruit arrived as dessert, Seon Woo stood abruptly, citing work, and slipped his arms into his jacket. Eun Jung hastily popped an orange slice into her mouth and hurried after him.
She clung close behind him, brushing away nonexistent dust from his back.
“I ran into Hye Ji at the hospital recently.”
“Teacher Joo?”
Eun Jung lightly smacked his broad back as he walked ahead, indifferent and unresponsive.
“How long do you plan to keep calling her ‘Teacher Joo’?”
“If not ‘Teacher Joo,’ then what *should* I call her?”
The moment they stepped into the foyer, Eun Jung swiftly scanned both sides, then whispered conspiratorially, as if sharing a secret:
“I heard she still doesn’t have a boyfriend.”
“…”
“Her grandmother seems to be screening potential sons-in-law. Hye Ji’s been going on *tons* of blind dates lately.”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
Annoyed by her persistence, Seon Woo quickened his pace, deliberately stepping on each basalt stepping stone across the garden path.
“Aww…”
He halted mid-step, standing alone amid the lush green lawn, as if finally grasping her intent.
“That’s *your* opinion, Mother. To me, Teacher Joo is *just* Teacher Joo—nothing more, nothing less.”
Smiling gently, he smoothed Eun Jung’s shoulders, as if to reassure her: *Don’t worry—I’ll handle it.*
Watching her son stride steadily away, Eun Jung let out a long, disappointed sigh.
Above, the sky had already filled with orange twilight.
[This is the timeline separator]Two days passed.
As scheduled, Seon Woo attended his twenty-sixth blind date.
From the moment they exchanged greetings and shook hands, the outcome had been sealed.
Boredom spread plainly across Seon Woo’s face.
As the meal neared its end, the woman—who’d nibbled at nearly every dish—barely managed one bite of the hallabong sorbet served for dessert before setting her spoon down gently.
This sorbet was renowned; some claimed they came to the hotel *just* to taste it.
He recalled the face of the woman who’d eagerly devoured it, delighted by the burst of hallabong fragrance in her mouth.
The way she enjoyed everything served—without complaint, with genuine appetite.
“Seon Woo, I had a lovely time today. Next time—”
“Was the meal unpleasant?”
“Huh?”
Irritation tinged Seon Woo’s voice. The woman’s forehead, previously smooth from constant smiling, furrowed.
“Or… do you normally eat this little?”
“Oh, the food was truly delicious.”
“And after eating like that—you could still *taste* it?”
Seon Woo set down his napkin and, with deliberate slowness, began buttoning his jacket from top to bottom.
“My only pleasure in life is dining here. Watching my companion take one bite and lay down her spoon makes even my appetite vanish—*poof*.”
“Excuse me?”
“Extreme dieting isn’t good for your health. If you don’t want to suffer later in life, start by fixing your eating habits.”
As if to prove he *was* a doctor after all.
The woman felt as though she’d mistakenly wandered not into a restaurant, but into a clinic—receiving a diagnosis instead of dessert.
No—this felt even *worse* than being a patient, and she bristled with offense.
“You barely ate anything, so I’ll cover the bill.”
As Seon Woo stormed off toward the front desk with the bill, the woman watched his flawless retreating figure for a moment, lapsed into brief reflection, then let out a hollow chuckle at herself.
“What *was* that lunatic?”
Just as he reached the front desk, a familiar figure approached from afar.
He double-checked, skeptical he’d seen correctly—and sure enough: it was Yoon Tae Gyu.
“Why the hell is *that guy* crawling out here again?”
Clenching his teeth, Seon Woo muttered quietly—just loud enough for himself to hear.
As always, Tae Gyu was accompanied by an unfamiliar woman. Their eyes met, and Seon Woo’s expression soured instantly.
Seriously, what’s so urgent that you show up here in broad daylight?
Just walk past me, pretend you didn’t see me—don’t pick a pointless fight and lose even more.
Though he’d surely already been spotted, Seon Woo turned abruptly, half-covering his face with his large hand.
“Still haven’t met *The One*, huh?”
Of course—you never just walk on by.
“Drop it.”
Amused by Seon Woo’s reaction, Tae Gyu’s lips curled into a sly smirk.
“Hyung, how many rooms does this hotel even have? Aren’t you tired of coming *just* for dinner?”
“You should talk—you’re about to break *all* the room seals here yourself.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected phrasing, Tae Gyu’s expression froze mid-smirk. Seon Woo gave his shoulder two sharp, pointed taps—then returned the same sly smile he’d just received.
“Rein it in—you’re making my bones ache.”
“I’ll assist with payment, sir.”
Seon Woo handed his card to the staff member standing at the front desk.
As he waited for the transaction to process, his grandfather’s voice echoed relentlessly in his head:
“I’ll give it to whichever of you two marries first.”
For months now, it played like a recording—switching on randomly, day or night.
At first, he’d assumed it was just a tactic to quell unrest—so he’d paid it little mind.
But precisely three days later—
At a family dinner, without the slightest warning, Grandfather appeared with a lawyer and revised his will.
“The one who shows me a proper, healthy grandchild? To him I’ll hand over *everything* I own—not just the hospital. You’d all do well to remember that.”
He drove the point home, leaving no doubt it wasn’t an idle threat. And what followed was even more brutal:
“All effort, no reward. I’m leaving this world empty-handed anyway—better to donate it all to society than leave it to those pathetic, marriage-incompetent failures.”
After Grandfather’s ultimatum, the fire landed squarely on *Seon Woo’s* feet.
Ironically, Yoon Tae Gyu—who could meet women anytime he pleased—remained remarkably calm.
The real issue was how often he swapped women—like changing meals.
Once the will was finalized, Tae Gyu, legs crossed on the sofa, looked up at Seon Woo and smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth. The sight was maddening—intolerably so.
As if *he* already owned the next hospital directorship, *he* already owned Yeonlim—knowing Seon Woo’s weakness, taunting him openly like a cunning snake.
*‘I’ll never let you have it.’*
Perhaps because of how things stood now, Seon Woo’s mind was completely filled with *her* face.
“Sir, here’s your card.”
Actually—if he was honest—it hadn’t left his thoughts *once* since the day he first met her.
“Sir?”
A woman whose very existence seemed precarious.
A woman who’d reached out to him with a slender, desperate hand—*Help me*.
Her eyes cold as ice, yet her hand burning—maddeningly so.
“I’m going to lose my mind.”
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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