Chapter 122
“You know, I was really surprised when I first saw Jerome. How could his eyes be so identical to McRae’s? I almost made a ridiculous misunderstanding.”
Ashley’s voice, which had been giggling about how pathetic it was, quickly changed to a whining tone.
“Talking about McRae makes me miss him. I wonder when he’ll be back.”
“…Coming back?”
When Hyeon-woo asked, Ashley gestured in surprise and questioned back.
“Ian, don’t tell me you didn’t know? He’s on a long-term trip to the Northeast for the current season! He’ll probably be back by the end of December?”
“December?”
“The North American Continental University League finals are in December. He’s a regular customer who comes almost every day and boosts our sales, but you really have no interest in McRae at all. McRae would be hurt if he knew!”
“……”
On a long-term trip? He had no idea. So that’s why he hadn’t been seen at the cafe lately. He had been harboring unnecessary misunderstandings.
As Hyeon-woo kept quiet, Ashley, as if she had become one with McRae, couldn’t hide her disappointment and pouted.
“That’s too much. I’m really hurt!”
“……”
“People are already criticizing him because his performance has been poor recently for some reason. The East is in winter now, so it must be hard to maintain his condition. His matches aren’t going well either. How hard and lonely must he be in an unfamiliar place.”
Every word Ashley uttered felt stinging. Though he didn’t know exactly how McRae’s performance had worsened, he couldn’t say his own influence wasn’t a factor. He remembered the last night when he and McRae parted on bad terms. He hadn’t known McRae had a big match coming up.
“Should I send him a picture?!”
As if she had come up with a brilliant idea, Ashley clapped her hands lightly.
“You know that seasonal iced tea Danny always drinks at this time? Let’s take a picture of that and send it to him. We’ll write, ‘For Danny, hang in there!'”
Hyeon-woo grimaced at the embarrassing suggestion and shook his head, saying no.
“You’re really too much. Can’t you even do this much for our store’s regular customer who’s gone for an away game? Well, you didn’t even know he was competing. I guess you wouldn’t care whether McRae wins or loses?”
Losing words to that, Hyeon-woo remained silent with an awkward face. Sensing an opportunity, Ashley quickly started preparing the drink without giving him a chance to stop her.
“If I could, I’d want to make a cup every day and send it to the stadium. I’ll make the iced tea, so you just take a nice picture and send it. I don’t have McRae’s number.”
Before he knew it, a Golden Apple Iced Tea with rosemary on top was completed. The sight of the iced tea with honey-soaked apples and square ice cubes looked so delicious that it made his mouth water just by looking at it.
“Hurry up and take the picture, what are you doing?!”
“……”
“The cup will get water droplets and won’t look pretty, hurry up and take the picture, hurry!”
Giving in to Ashley’s pestering, even putting the phone in his hand, Hyeon-woo finally took a few pictures. He chose the best one and sent it to McRae as Ashley instructed. That was it. He just couldn’t bring himself to write “For Danny, hang in there!”
Ashley, who had been pushing him for a while, finding his blushing face and shaking head amusing, sighed when Hyeon-woo turned off the screen.
“The message was more crucial than the picture, tsk…”
Ashley, clicking her tongue in disappointment, started badgering Hyeon-woo again, asking if there was any reply. Soon after, a mark appeared next to the sent message indicating that the recipient had seen it. Ashley made a fuss and slapped Hyeon-woo’s shoulder repeatedly.
Although there was no reply, a few days later, when Ashley proudly said that McRae’s performance had noticeably improved and that their efforts had paid off, Hyeon-woo’s heart also felt lighter.
He had many things to be grateful for and sorry about to McRae. That night, he shouldn’t have impulsively proposed a relationship. It was too rude and irresponsible to someone who had shown sincerity to him. If McRae hadn’t stopped him in time, he would probably be suffering from even greater regret and self-loathing now.
Hyeon-woo thought that when McRae returned, he should sincerely apologize and express his gratitude.
*
Father came back. Despite his gaunt appearance, his expression seemed brighter than ever.
The three family members gathered for dinner for the first time in a while. As Hyeon-woo was putting smoked salmon on a toasted whole wheat bread, his father spoke to him in a gentle voice.
“Hyeon-woo, there’s something I haven’t told you. Your mother and I have been keeping it to ourselves to avoid worrying you, but now that it’s been resolved well, I think there’s no need to hide it anymore.”
Although he had roughly guessed the situation, Hyeon-woo pretended not to know and listened carefully to his father’s story. As he had suspected, there had indeed been a problem with the investment process for obtaining the immigration visa.
His father had invested in a new concept of office construction that incorporated premium hotel services such as concierge, housekeeping, and VIP protocol into office facilities. Although thorough verification had confirmed that there were no issues with stability or business potential, after construction began, there were problems with the supply of raw materials, and the project was once driven to the brink of suspension due to various conflicts.
To secure the most urgent additional budget, his father and other existing investors gathered together and put all their efforts into recruiting additional investors. During this process, an anonymous tycoon who showed interest in the business potential promised full support and paid a large down payment, and the project that had been stalled for about two months resumed.
With their entire fortune invested in the project and the family’s permanent residency at stake, it was no wonder his father’s blood had run cold.
“We were really lucky.”
His mother tightly held his father’s hand as he shook his head, still seemingly getting a headache just thinking about that time.
“You’ve been through a lot, honey.”
“Really! I’m so glad. That it’s been resolved well.”
Hyeon-woo deliberately brightened the atmosphere with a cheerful voice.
“I feel like only good things will happen from now on. Come to think of it, I remember you saying that heaven helped us when we first rented this house and when we contracted Blue Door. Although there were twists and turns, everything is turning out as we hoped. I feel like everything will go well from now on.”
His father couldn’t hide his pride in Hyeon-woo’s brave words. Smiling happily, his father took out a green envelope from his inside pocket and handed it to Hyeon-woo.
“What’s this?”
“Open it and see.”
Opening the green envelope about the size of a wedding invitation, there were three cards inside. Hyeon-woo scanned the contents of the cards with curious eyes. The place, date, time, and a detailed menu of unfamiliar course dishes from appetizers to desserts were written on them.
“Is this a dinner invitation?”
When Hyeon-woo asked, his father nodded.
“Who sent this?”
He carefully examined the invitation front and back, but the sender’s name was nowhere to be seen. Only the recipient’s information was written in handwriting in the corner of the envelope: ‘Han family’.
“It’s from him, the one who helped our business this time.”
“You mean… that tycoon?”
“Yes, he wants to have a meal with all the business associates. It’s in a week, so keep that day free.”
Heeding his father’s request, he checked the date and time written on the invitation again. 11 AM. He had naturally assumed it was a dinner invitation, but it was for lunch.
No matter how wealthy the tycoon was, he wasn’t even the project manager, so why would he, as a fellow investor, have a reason to treat them to a meal?
Something felt off, but Hyeon-woo obediently nodded to keep the schedule free, thinking that his father, with more experience and a better sense of business than himself who had never worked in society, would know better.
The scheduled day approached quickly, and Hyeon-woo faced that day in the worst condition.
