TCBW C39

Chapter 39

“What are you to that man?”

“…….”

What were they?

How was he supposed to explain, as an aegbaji, being raised to bear the man’s child? Seo‑jun, who had lived an ordinary life, would never believe it if he told him outright. Their relationship was so hard to explain that he didn’t know how much of it, or in what way, he could speak — and so Suhoe kept his mouth shut.

“Are you dating him?”

Hearing no answer, Seo‑jun pinned it down with a blunt question. Suhoe shook his head. Dating? There was no way they stood on equal footing like that.

“Then what? Do you… like him? What exactly are you to each other?”

It was an uncharacteristically sharp tone from Seo‑jun, pressing Suhoe into a corner. Meeting his harsh look, Suhoe took a long time deciding how to answer — cutting away the bizarre parts like the wedding and the aegbaji arrangement, and keeping only what wouldn’t be a lie.

“I’ve been living on his help my whole life. I haven’t known him long face‑to‑face, so I really don’t know what kind of person he is.”

“Help?”

“Yeah. I never told him I was working here, and I didn’t know he worked… here either. I knew he was important, but I had no idea he was the president of this company.”

He didn’t want to lie to Seo‑jun, so he offered only the facts he’d sifted carefully. His lowered eyes carried a faint resignation.

I’ve lived knowing nothing but what he’s given me, and all I’ve ever asked for was to be spared from the curse.

His life felt like a deep pit. Seo‑jun was just someone standing on the level, sun‑lit ground above it — with a light that could never reach the bottom.

“Jun‑ah, I’m sorry. I must’ve startled you.”

Suhoe had no intention of climbing out of that pit. He had no intention of fighting the fate he’d been given, and no wish to reveal that truth here and now.

“…The way that man looks at you — it’s not normal.”

Seo‑jun didn’t believe all of it. That wasn’t the look you gave just some kid you helped. With his few dating experiences, he knew that look.

And from what the public said, Yongseong’s eldest son wasn’t the kind of man to stride up and grab the arm of a mere “child he helped” just because they met somewhere unexpected.

But when he saw Suhoe’s expression — that sad look that seemed to rot in his heart — Seo‑jun couldn’t push him anymore. Right now, what he needed to do was take in only what the other offered, and nothing more.

He scratched his head and let out a long sigh.

“Never mind. By the way — he grabbed your arm pretty hard. You okay?”

Suhoe lifted the slim limb.

“Yeah, it’s nothing. Let’s just get back to work.”

The calm on his face was unruffled; his fate felt so self‑evident to him now that it barely stirred the surface.

Seo‑jun didn’t ask further, but after a pause he said:

“If something ever… makes you miserable, will you tell me? Don’t just suffer in silence.”

“Huh?”

Suhoe stopped and turned.

“I never meddle. Just… this once, I will.”

He stepped in, pulling Suhoe into his arms.

“Uh?”

“If that man hassles you, you tell me. Don’t let it just go as if it’s fine.”

Startled, Suhoe pushed him off.

“I won’t ask for the details. I’ll wait until you can tell me on your own.”

With that, Seo‑jun took the lead down the stairs. Suhoe watched his back with a strange expression.

He’d thought Suhoe would quit in a day — but several days later, he was still working. And then today, of all days, Dowoon had sought him out personally. The combination sparked a huge aftershock.

That night, late, Hae‑eon went alone to the Balhwa‑dong residence. When Suhoe opened the door, he apologized sincerely for not telling him.

Suhoe reassured him again and again.

“I knew from the start that there were only so many places I could go without any skills. And if I’d known it was Dowoon‑ssi’s company, I wouldn’t have been able to work in peace with that fact hanging over me every day.”

His deep understanding made Hae‑eon murmur, without thinking, “Madam…”

“What did Dowoon‑ssi say?”

“Well… as soon as he stepped into his office, I told him…”

Hae‑eon recounted the flimsy excuse he had given: “Sir, as you know Madam has limits to the work he can do, but he specifically requested janitorial work. I thought that way I could be nearby in case anything happened — so I had him work here. And I didn’t report it sooner because I thought it would trouble you unnecessarily.”

Dowoon’s only response had been silence.

“…He’s angry, isn’t he?”

“Yes. I believe so.”

Suhoe hesitated, voice trembling.

“He’s busy today, but… tomorrow, maybe I can see him? I’ll tell him myself. I was the one who insisted on doing janitorial work, after all.”

Resolved to take all the responsibility on himself, he left Hae‑eon without words.

“Ah… tomorrow, he’s scheduled for a business trip.”

“Huh? Then when will he be back?”

Pressed, Hae‑eon’s answer faltered.

“That might be… for a while…”

“Really?”

The vague answer promised that the guilt Suhoe thought he’d soon be rid of would cling to his ankles for quite some time.

The next day, as forewarned, Dowoon departed on his overseas trip.

Life at Yongseong Finance in his absence was blissfully peaceful.

But for Suhoe, mind and body were anything but.

“Achoo.”

“Again? A cold?”

“No… maybe it never quite went away.”

“Shouldn’t you see a doctor?”

By now, Seo‑jun had all but appointed himself his protector. He reached up to feel his forehead.

But Suhoe, lost in his own thoughts, barely noticed the touch.

It was strange — after his last time with Dowoon, it felt like the cold had broken entirely, but the moment he left, the fever and chills had returned. Almost as if Dowoon’s very presence were a kind of medicine.

“Medicine?”

Jolted from his thoughts, Suhoe nodded.

“I’m fine. I took it this morning.”

Kim had insisted he take it — the suppressant — before going out, and he had.

In fact, both the driver who brought him to work and Kim seemed to have been told by Dowoon not to allow him to go out.

But Suhoe still came to work on the days he was gone — worried that when he returned, he might forbid it entirely.

He was thinking of Dowoon when the door to the department opened and Gyubeom wrote a new assignment on the whiteboard.

“You two will be working separately from today. Suhoe, you’re on another location for now.”

“I thought you wanted me to train him — it’s only been a few days.”

“Shh. Just do as you’re told.”

The sharp tone had Seo‑jun frowning, glancing between Suhoe and the board.

[… Suhoe / Building B, 40th Floor]

… Building B, 40th floor?

Yongseong Finance had two towers. And the 40th floor of Tower B was one Suhoe had already cleaned before — the president’s office.

“Ha…”

Seo‑jun’s laugh was incredulous.

“Just the president’s office?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll go with him. That’s a lot of work.”

But Gyubeom’s reply was firm.

“No. He’ll go alone.”

It was the first time he’d been given such a sudden solo assignment — but the person who had ordered it wasn’t someone he could question.

Seo‑jun ground his teeth unconsciously.

It wasn’t about making him quit; this was a summons — to his own office.

It felt like Dowoon’s belated answer to their confrontation in the stairwell a few days before. “A mere janitor,” Seo‑jun had said — and now it was as if Dowoon were replying, Then I’ll use my position just as bluntly.

Petty or not, it was an assertion of power.

As everyone dispersed, Gyubeom approached Suhoe.

“And go up right away, Suhoe. The president says he has… something to say to you. Wants you right now.”

“Today? And… ‘something to say’?”

He’d thought the business trip was still underway.

Puzzled, Suhoe looked to Seo‑jun, who also stared at Gyubeom in disbelief.