LIGHTNOVELONLINE Ch22 - Out of Control
Upon hearing that Lee Jeong-o and Jeong Ji-heon had left to entertain the clients, Eun-bi hurriedly wrapped up her work and headed to the gathering place.
At the spacious table in the pub, five people were present: two clients, the responsible AE, Jeong Ji-heon, and Lee Jeong-o.
Eun-bi frowned when she recognized Jeong-o’s voice.
“What’s with that jingle? Why is he making such a racket?”
She was displeased with Jeong-o, who was incessantly cracking jokes for the clients. Not to mention Ji-heon, who was quietly smiling while observing.
“Sorry we’re late. Work suddenly piled up on us.”
Eun-bi interjected and took a seat between Jeong-o and Ji-heon, greeting the clients.
As the empty seats gradually filled up, Jeong-o silently distanced himself from the center and took a seat at the edge. Only then did Eun-bi feel relieved.
The client, whom she had briefly encountered at the company, was quite talkative. Moreover, she couldn’t believe how many dull jokes he was throwing around. After a few forced laughs, Eun-bi could no longer bear it and slipped away to the restroom.
“I need to get out of here.”
Ji-heon, who disliked dullness, must have been feeling frustrated after staying there for so long.
“Should I call Oppa?”
She recalled that her older brother, Chae Eun-yeob, mentioned he would be nearby today.
Eun-yeob and Ji-heon were long-time friends. If she casually suggested going out, Ji-heon might refuse, but using Eun-yeob as an excuse would likely work.
Eun-bi was glad that Ji-heon was a friend of her brother. This connection was not something that could be easily severed.
Eun-bi sent a text to Eun-yeob, asking him to meet with Ji-heon nearby.
Eun-yeob quickly picked up on her intention and replied that he would contact Ji-heon.
With a satisfied expression, Eun-bi emerged from the restroom.
However, Ji-heon’s seat was empty.
“Where did the Director go?” she asked the employee sitting next to her.
“He went outside a little while ago.”
A chill ran down her spine. The voice that had been so grating just moments ago was now absent. Eun-bi quickly turned her head.
Jeong-o’s seat was also empty.
Jeong Ji-heon and Lee Jeong-o had both disappeared.
***
In front of the convenience store.
As she approached, her hands touching him felt like they were massaging his heart rather than his cheeks.
Her fingertips, brushing against his cheeks, were warm.
Lee Jeong-o was quite drunk.
Although it had started as a joke on his part, Ji-heon no longer found it amusing.
His chest felt tight.
It was pitiful to see her with such longing eyes, as if she truly believed he was her father’s spirit.
He wanted to empathize with her plight, but his body rejected it. He didn’t want to be swept away by her feelings for her father or that noble sentiment.
Even in this moment he wanted to resist, her coming closer and revealing her feelings through her tears made her look so stunning that it infuriated him.
The urge to pull her in for a hug and kiss her was pushing his reason aside.
He wanted to shatter the existence of her father… to take his place.
Ji-heon needed to quickly end the game.
“Lee Jeong-o. Get a grip.”
It was ridiculous to be the one who started the joke and then suddenly become serious.
“Your father has passed away.”
“……”
“If you lead her on like this, she’ll fall for just anyone, won’t she?”
At his remark, the color drained from her face.
Her hand slowly fell away. She looked so shocked that she seemed to forget what to say.
Her eyes trembled painfully, like a leaf clinging to a branch in the wind.
“……What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong? You’re Lee Jeong-o’s superior, aren’t you?”
Ji-heon felt he had to be a bit bolder.
“He’s not your father; he’s just a man. A living person. Jeong Ji-heon.”
“……Did you just joke with me?”
“Isn’t it even more ridiculous to believe that?”
He had managed to instill feelings of shock and disgust in the woman he had liked for the first time in his life.
Still, his heart raced uncontrollably, like a car with broken brakes.
The twisted desire to erase the word “father” from her mind would not subside.
He clenched his fists tightly and then abruptly turned around.
“I sympathize with your situation, but be careful. It’s a world where soft-hearted people like Lee Jeong-o get taken advantage of.”
That should do it. This was enough.
He had awakened her to how cruel the real world could be.
He was thankful for the convenient excuse of “advice.”
“Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”
He slowly moved his feet, but there were no sounds of footsteps following him.
After just two steps, he turned around to see her figure striding away in the opposite direction.
“Lee Jeong….”
Before he could even finish calling her name, she had already hailed a taxi and left.
***
Eun-bi hurried out of the pub and called Ji-heon. He didn’t pick up.
Just in case, she found Jeong-o’s phone number and called him as well.
All she got was a message saying that neither of them was available.
Eun-bi felt anxious.
“Chae Eun-bi.”
Eun-yeob approached from a distance, calling out his sister’s name.
As promised, her older brother had arrived.
“Did you come out alone? Ji-heon isn’t answering his phone.”
Eun-yeob, unaware of the situation, asked Eun-bi.
“Uh… Ji-heon oppa is missing.”
“What? You called me without checking properly?”
“No, I came out of the restroom, and he was gone.”
“He just vanished without saying a word to you?”
Eun-yeob pressed, crumpling his face in annoyance. Eun-bi couldn’t say anything in response.
As he took out a cigarette, Eun-yeob exhaled a rough sigh in Eun-bi’s direction.
“Chae Eun-bi. Can’t you do just one thing?”
“……”
“It’s been years, and you still haven’t secured Jeong Ji-heon’s heart? I set everything up for you.”
Eun-bi’s fixation on Ji-heon was largely influenced by Eun-yeob. He wanted Eun-bi and Ji-heon to be together and spared no effort in supporting them.
Seven years ago, it was Eun-yeob who suggested Eun-bi transfer to a university in the U.S., and he had bought the officetel where Ji-heon lived.
Eun-yeob invested more into Eun-bi’s relationship with Ji-heon than she did concerning Ji-heon’s parents.
He was someone with clear ideals and objectives.
“Father will be preparing for the general elections next year. You need to get married before that. That way, he’ll feel more at ease.”
“……”
“You should contribute to him in some way, even if it’s just that. Right?”
With the implication that she wasn’t good at anything, Eun-yeob’s words tightened the grip around Eun-bi’s heart.
The only thing she could do, having struggled academically and not contributing to the family in any way, was to marry.
Thus, Eun-bi found herself even more obsessed.
She would marry him. She absolutely had to marry Jeong Ji-heon.
Eun-bi clenched her fist tightly.
“That’s the only thing we’re counting on from you. Let’s do well, Chae Eun-bi. Okay?”
After the harsh words came a note of encouragement, and Eun-bi nodded, holding back tears.
***
“What a jerk.”
Returning home without even packing her bag, Jeong-o lay down next to the asleep Yena, suppressing his anger.
Who was lecturing him? They didn’t even know.
What a jerk, what a jerk.
He almost got tricked by him, and if he hadn’t laughed it off so quickly, he might have ended up spilling everything, even the story about Yena.
Still, how could he imitate a father when he said his dad had passed away?
How could he make a joke out of that? What kind of person does that?
Disappointment kept piling up.
Could I really show my daughter to a man like this? Isn’t it better to pretend that she doesn’t have a father, just like now?
Jeong-o counted silently in his head, like counting sheep, and repeated “bad guy” about a thousand times before falling asleep.
***
The next morning.
Jeong-o dragged his heavy body into the kitchen.
After running around in the rain and drinking various kinds of alcohol the previous day, it felt like he was hit by both a hangover and a cold.
“Did you drink a lot? Sit down quickly.”
Guk-soon said.
The smell of clear abalone soup wafted toward him, but Jeong-o didn’t have the strength to lift a spoon. Guk-soon took a spoonful of the soup and fed it to the wobbling Jeong-o like he was a baby.
To Guk-soon, Jeong-o was a thirty-year-old baby.
After accepting a spoonful like a fledgling bird, Jeong-o finally lifted the spoon himself.
“How much did you drink?”
“Just enough.”
“You must have drunk quite a bit then.”
“Mom, be quiet. Yena will hear you.”
“Are you ashamed in front of your daughter? Oh dear.”
Guk-soon raised one side of her lips in a teasing manner.
“Eat more! How else are you going to recover?”
“No, it’s not a hangover; it’s a cold.”
“What kind of cold in June?”
“It rained yesterday. I got caught a little.”
“Ugh! Serves you right!”
“…….”
“You loved getting pampered so much, and now you come back with a cold? Ugh!”
He didn’t even have the energy to retort against his mother’s nagging.
Seeing his lethargic state, Guk-soon’s voice quickly softened.
“Take a day off work and just lie down for a bit.”
“How long has it been since you started a new job that you want to take sick leave?”
“Then should I just quit my job?”
“It’s almost the weekend anyway.”
“Ugh!”
Guk-soon sighed heavily, as if she were about to burst with frustration, and stood up from her seat.
***
Jeong-o lowered his head like a sinner and continued to eat the abalone soup.
Thanks to the soup filled with his mother’s love, his queasy stomach calmed down significantly.
As his stomach settled, memories of the previous night flooded back.
Jeong Ji-heon had tricked him. That bad guy.
As the memories resurfaced, anger surged up alongside them.
A moment later, he found himself hiccuping.
“There was a couple who loved each other.”
Oh my god… What a mistake I made.
He had lost his temper and ended up saying such nonsense after Ji-heon had scolded him about some limits.
He wanted to tell the mother of the child that there were no limits for her! He had spilled out his story in the third person!
I must be crazy!
As morning arrived, and the light pouring in washed away the darkness, the past remained untouched, unable to be cleansed.
Having to carry this past into work today was terrifying.
Jeong-o roared internally.
Ah! I don’t want to go to work!
***
Ji-heon, who arrived early, quickly scanned the office. Confirming that Jeong-o hadn’t come in yet, he headed straight down to the first floor.
After waiting for a while, he finally saw Jeong-o. Before he knew it, Ji-heon had become someone who could recognize her from a distance.
When Jeong-o spotted him approaching, she froze for a moment, then averted her gaze and hurriedly walked away. But her gait and expression seemed somehow precarious.
‘Did she overdrink yesterday and is struggling?’
That was about all he could guess.
He followed her and got on the elevator, but he couldn’t get close. The elevator was packed, and Jeong-o found himself trapped at the very back. Ji-heon was equally stuck and unable to move.
The elevator stopped on the 9th floor.
He thought that once he got off the elevator, he could talk to her for a moment, but she showed no intention of coming out.
After a moment, a hand waved slightly from among the crowd, revealing her presence. She had been sluggishly squirming at the back. For some reason, she seemed a bit off her game compared to usual.
The crowd wasn’t cooperating either, so Ji-heon had to grab Jeong-o’s hand firmly and pull her out of the elevator.
It was an action that broke free from reason. It always happened this way. Every time he faced Jeong-o, Ji-heon found himself acting unexpectedly, as if under a spell.
Just then, a small scream escaped, and the elevator door slammed shut with a violent thud.
Eek!
Poof.
The Jeong-o he had hastily pulled out was now in his arms.
She was small, fragile, and somewhere soft… her warm body leaned against him, swaying slightly.
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.
His heart also felt out of control.
An unknown emotion began to seep through him, like ink spreading.
It was a strange excitement, yet somehow it felt like a longing for something vague…
‘Is it because of that dream from back then?’
She tilted her head up while leaning against him, looking at him with a flushed face.
He felt he knew this hot, contorted expression. He, too, felt a pang somewhere within him. Every part of him grew warm.