Bad Relationship 137

But this time, it’s not his own phone.

As the ringtone sounded from Director Jang’s phone, Junghyun gestured for her to answer comfortably while he continued drinking his cocoa, and she began the call.

“Yes. Yes… Yes. Yes…”

Repeatedly saying only “yes,” she suddenly turned to look at Junghyun.

Then, nodding her head, she continued the call.

“I didn’t know. It’s a matter between the couple. I think the Director probably didn’t know either.”

Pausing the conversation at that point, she looked down at Junghyun again and asked:

“The Honorary Chairman is asking for evidence.”

“Evidence?”

“Yes. He says he can’t believe it until he sees something definitive.”

That meant he wanted something that looked convincing…

“That won’t work. Even Jaehyuk hasn’t seen it yet. He’ll see it first, so tell him to ask Jaehyuk to show him.”

At Junghyun’s firm attitude that he wouldn’t compromise on that order if nothing else, she continued the call.

“As you’ve heard. There’s an order to everything, so see it later through the Director.”

At that moment, harsh words poured out from the other end, but she let them slide with an unfazed face as she opened the steamer to check on the kimchi-braised mackerel.

“It’s unsightly enough when parents interfere in a marital relationship, but it’s even more unseemly when a grandfather gets involved. Neither the Director nor Junghyun are the type to listen to others, so give up. Well, I’m in the middle of preparing dinner, so I’ll hang up now.”

Along with her greeting, she ended the call mercilessly and immediately switched her phone to silent mode, then placed it face down on the counter.

Junghyun had roughly sensed that she was a hidden power in that household, but even so, her gesture of refusing to receive calls at all was quite surprising.

“Is that okay? Your phone?”

“I’ve received all the calls I need to, so I don’t need to answer anymore. It interferes with my work.”

“Ah… you report directly to the Chairman.”

Seeing her smile without either confirming or denying this statement, Junghyun looked down at his phone again as the screen lit up.

At the signal of an incoming message, he quickly picked up his phone, but again, it wasn’t who he expected.

It was Yoonho hyung.

[Yoonho hyung] This is working better than expected? When we mentioned lawsuits, the comments disappeared right away.

Seeing that they seemed to be continuing to work on their end as well, Junghyun immediately replied.

[Of course. Because I’m really going to sue.]

The article Junghyun had published today wasn’t some trivial paparazzi photo, but an outright interview that laid everything on the table.

He had contacted a journalist from a major magazine he had worked with a few times before, requesting an interview about his private life, and conducted a written interview where he publicly announced it.

The fact of his pregnancy.

And while subtly emphasizing that he was a law school graduate, he said that after staying secluded for several months due to his pregnancy, it seemed some strange misunderstandings had arisen. While outwardly appearing to target divorce rumors, he applied pressure by saying he was preparing lawsuits due to various rumors, and the internet suddenly went quiet.

There were no fools willing to engage in legal battles against Hanju.

Of course, the pregnancy issue did cause noise among those close to them, but unnecessary chatter disappeared.

Since it was unusual for a chaebol family to announce a pregnancy, people’s attention was completely drawn to that aspect, and thanks to this, the opponent’s attacks also stopped.

In addition, regarding the leak of his medical records, he smiled and said he had vaguely heard such a story but how could that be possible, and casually concluded by saying he felt sorry for whoever had their medical records leaked, whoever they might be.

At first, there were comments saying he was making preemptive strikes because he felt guilty, but those were quickly deleted by administrators.

Because he had let it be known that he would sue the administrators as well.

In any case, the noise cancellation was definitely successful.

“It seems things are working out well for you.”

“Yes. For now at least.”

“The Chairman also said he likes how you handled the situation. That you tied things up well so there’s no escape.”

“Even people who dislike me tend to like my work.”

“Except that it would have been better if you had contacted us beforehand so Hanju could have responded together.”

“I didn’t think you would happily accept my call.”

In any other situation, it might have been different, but if he had contacted them asking to spread some articles, he would have been lucky to escape with just verbal abuse over the phone.

He could have dealt with the abuse, but he didn’t want to waste time on that.

“That’s true. The Chairman was quite angry too.”

“Exactly.”

“The issue seems mostly resolved… now only the real matter between you two remains.”

“That’s right.”

“Then I’ll prepare dinner and leave right away. I do hope there will be plenty of dishes to wash tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll at least do the dishes.”

When he said not to be too surprised if there were no dishes to wash, she turned off the induction stove, neatly arranged the side dishes on plates, and immediately went to the dining room to begin setting up.

Finally, she covered the table with a large tablecloth and untied her apron.

“Just heat up the braised fish and transfer it to a plate when the Director arrives.”

“Yes. Take care on your way home. Drive safely.”

“Junghyun, finish things well.”

“I will.”

After sending her off with a final farewell, Junghyun trudged to the kitchen with his phone and sat in what had now become his designated seat, putting a piece of crispy seaweed in his mouth.

Then he chewed the seaweed somewhat aggressively.

“He should be sending a message by now, angry…”

He wondered if perhaps Jaehyuk hadn’t seen the article yet, but that couldn’t be.

The article had already been negotiated with Hanju and had come out after being checked line by line.

And yet, if there was this little reaction…

Is he really that angry?

With a bit of tension, he was about to bite his fingertips instead of the seaweed when, as if on cue, a message notification sound rang.

Startled by the sound, he checked his phone and found the message he had been waiting for most.

[Mountain Ginseng] On my way in.

This meant he wanted to talk in person.

[Okay.]

Since he was coming, Junghyun thought they should eat, so he started heating the kimchi stew on low heat.

The table was already set, so he just needed to put out the rice and the kimchi stew, but strangely, his mind was in disarray.

And his movements were even more restless.

Somehow feeling fidgety, he went back and forth between the kitchen and dining room for a while, touching and fiddling with various things, until the intercom in the kitchen sounded an alarm indicating that the door had opened.

He instinctively stopped at that sound.

After turning off the induction stove, he hurried toward the entrance.

At the front door, the security guards who had escorted him home with Yuran earlier today were preparing to leave.

After acknowledging them with a nod, he put his hands in his pockets and waited anxiously, soon seeing him enter as the inner door opened.

Fortunately, he was smiling.

The only problem was the twitch at the corner of his eye.

“Thank you for your work today. You may go home now.”

As he greeted the security guards in his usual calm tone, they responded with a light bow and immediately left the house.

And after a moment.

As the inner door closed, he slowly turned toward Junghyun.

He wasn’t smiling anymore.

He was definitely angry.

He was just waiting until the house was completely empty.

In the tense atmosphere, Junghyun also remained silent and waiting, until soon the sound of the front door closing was heard from a distance.

The moment that sound confirmed they had completely left the house, Jaehyuk’s expression changed.

Very fiercely.

Like an uncle rolling up his sleeves when he had reached the unicorn level of his career, marking a milestone in his history.

With a look that said, “You really need to be severely punished this time.”

And the bad premonition came true without fail.

“That hurts!”

Fortunately, he wasn’t bitten, but when Junghyun raised his voice as his ear was suddenly grabbed, this time Jaehyuk twisted it completely.

“It’s supposed to hurt. Now, tell me. How are you going to resolve this situation?”

“What is there to resolve? Everything’s already over.”

“Where is it over?”

“All of it.”

“Not at all. Even if you live only for today, there are things a person should do and things they shouldn’t. Why would you tell such a lie? How are you going to deal with the aftermath?”

At his reprimand, like disciplining a child who absolutely refuses to listen, Junghyun finally realized that something was wrong.

Jaehyuk was under a very big misunderstanding.

“Wait, wait! Just a moment!”