Ch 25

Ideun sat in an impeccably neat posture, holding a teacup.

“You didn’t even pretend to listen when I told you to drop by, yet now that it’s the year’s end, you’ve finally come around.”

“If I don’t come, it would be a hassle for others. And that can only last for so long.”

“So you do worry about your wife. Good enough, then.”

“Who are you referring to as my ‘wife’?”

Ideun, intending to just take a sip, drained his cup in one go, placing it back on the table with a jarring sound.

“I’ve told you countless times; that’s not how tea is meant to be drunk. Let’s get to the reason you’ve come here. Is it because of that amusing incident from earlier today?”

“It’s time you stop interfering in my business.”

The reason Ideun began distancing himself from his grandmother, Yoon Eunsook, stemmed from one particular incident. Or rather, it was because he had come to learn of a truth she had kept hidden—the real circumstances surrounding his parents’ strange deaths.

It turned out that Yoon Eunsook, his mother’s own mother, had murdered her only daughter, Ideun’s mother. Her reason? His mother had refused to show her newborn alpha son to her.

All his life, he had believed his parents died in a car accident. But Yoon Eunsook had been the very one who’d tried to ruin her daughter, an omega who fell in love with an alpha without wealth. She had even attempted to kidnap his mother, who was pregnant with him, and marry her off elsewhere. Eventually, his parents fled to the United States, where he was born.

When she learned her grandson was a dominant alpha, Yoon Eunsook stopped at nothing to get her way. Staging a car accident, she killed his parents and took in a clueless Ideun.

He grew up cherished by his grandmother, experiencing her full support and even studying abroad, living a privileged life. But one day in college, he uncovered the whole truth. Though he knew the facts, it was too late to act on them with rebellion or resentment.

Using her capital, he founded a startup, threw himself into his work, and built a company everyone knew by name. And earlier that morning, he’d finally repaid the initial investment she’d lent him. He had now created a small sphere she couldn’t easily influence.

“I heard you’re expanding into robotics. Let me know anytime if you need support. Born as a man, you should live without limits.”

“I can manage on my own, so please refrain from helping further.”

“So stubborn. I managed to raise quite the tiger. Well, there’s nothing for an old woman like me to gain from holding you here longer, so go on. Take a day off after the New Year.”

Without responding, Ideun refilled his teacup.

“You don’t like Haneul? Fine. I’ll look for someone else.”

“There’s no need for that.”

“They say CEO Kim’s firstborn is an omega. Not dominant, but they seem decent. And not too much younger than you.”

Ideun watched her, gracefully sipping her tea. Her room was elegant and ancient. Behind her, a folding screen embroidered with the Ten Symbols of Longevity stood tall. The golden and red silk cushion she sat on and even the tea table between them felt like something out of a historical scene. Her hand, adorned with jade rings, held her hair in a traditional bun. In contrast, Ideun’s suit felt starkly out of place here.

“I haven’t started looking yet, but I saw someone here recently who seemed suitable.”

It was unsettling how she knew every detail of his life. What was invisible in his youth had become glaringly clear as he grew. For Yoon Eunsook, a wealthy woman known to those in the know, information was undoubtedly her lifeline.

“Are you planning to cast them aside?”

Ideun lifted his refilled cup again.

“Why would I? If my grandson cherishes someone, I’ll make sure they’re treated accordingly.”

“Whether you keep them or not, that’s my decision. I ask you to look the other way with a generous heart.”

Though he hadn’t expected her to remain unaware, it was surprising just how much she had learned in such a short time.

“Well then, perhaps CEO Kim’s firstborn is a good choice. When spring comes, I’ll see if I can arrange a meeting.”

“I haven’t been able to reach Secretary Baek.”

Recalling Baek Sanghoon, who always lurked behind her like a snake, Ideun took another sip of tea before setting the cup down. Had Baek been around, he’d have already delivered all of Ji-an’s details to her.

“He’s tied up with some matters and may be hard to reach for a while. But Assistant Cha is available if you need anything.”

Though the time he spent with his grandmother wasn’t long, Ideun sat in his car, parked in front of the grand hanok, lost in thought.

Late at night, as he drove along an empty road, he tapped the steering wheel rhythmically. While one thing had been resolved, another problem had surfaced.

CEO Kim’s firstborn… who were they again? Someone more grounded than Haneul, who didn’t rush in impulsively, would be ideal. That would make it easy to pull the wool over the old woman’s eyes.

The dilemma lay in whether he should conceal it or lay his cards on the table. But all his planning had proven pointless, as the cards had already been exposed.

When the traffic light turned red, Ideun checked his phone and, upon reading a new message, clicked his tongue and turned the car around. It seemed that the problem he’d left undefined was causing trouble again.

As soon as he heard from the caretaker that Ji-an was injured, he turned his car around, but it still took about twenty minutes to arrive due to the distance. He should have changed the door code ages ago…

By the time the caretaker opened the door, Ideun had already made his way to the living room, where he found Ji-an without much difficulty.

Ji-an, dressed in a navy-blue bathrobe, was seated on the sofa, with Taemin crouched in front of him, holding his ankle. He hadn’t heard that Taemin would be here.

“Oh, you’re here?” Taemin barely looked up to greet him, quickly returning his attention to Ji-an’s foot. On the other hand, Ji-an, running a hand through his still-damp hair, awkwardly bowed his head to Ideun, then reached out hesitantly to tap Taemin on the shoulder. “I’m fine now,” he muttered.

“Fine, my foot, new hire. It may feel okay now, but if you don’t want it swelling up by tomorrow morning, this is for the best. You said you didn’t want to go to the hospital.”

Taemin, wrapping Ji-an’s delicate ankle with one hand, carefully rotated Ji-an’s foot with the other. Ideun’s jawline tightened as he observed Ji-an’s slightly flushed cheeks and his expression briefly flinching with discomfort.

“Why are you here at this hour?”

Ideun handed his coat and jacket to the attendant standing a step behind him, then briefly glanced down at Bobo, who was rubbing its small body against his leg.

“I left my laptop behind. New hire, do some more cold compress, and I’ll tape it up for you in a bit. We’ll decide about the hospital in the morning based on how it looks. OK?”

Taemin, who had been fiddling with Ji-an’s foot the whole time, placed an ice pack on his ankle and loosely wrapped it with a bandage.

“What happened?”

Having also handed over his necktie to the attendant, Ideun undid a couple of shirt buttons. 

Ji-an, who had been hiding his face with one hand while offering his left foot to Taemin, slowly lowered his hand at the sound of Ideun’s voice, which was clearly directed at him. 

Now, about what happened…

Today was one of those chaotic days. In the morning, he had somehow seen Taemin and Ideun off to work. Afterward, he had looked up information on imprints, only to discover it was hopeless. Then, people suddenly arrived and turned the place upside down, and in the meantime, he ate the meal the attendant had prepared for him before stepping out.

He spent the afternoon going around local real estate agencies, checking out prices, and leaving his contact information to be notified of any suitable listings. To live happily with Bobo, he needed a stable job. Right now, he was just a trainee working four hours a day, but becoming a full-time employee after the training period was his ideal scenario.

For that, he needed to focus on the design work he had put aside. He stopped by an electronics store to buy a tablet and a high-performance laptop for design work. He also visited a department store for a mid-range suit, shirt, and shoes, and arranged for delivery to the officetel.

After briefly stopping by his old studio apartment to check if he’d forgotten anything, he told his landlord about the broken boiler, which turned into a full-blown argument. Why should I fix this boiler? I’m a tenant! It’s the landlord’s job! After fighting with the landlord, he threatened to leave immediately and demanded his deposit back, which only led to another fight.

Once he returned home, Ji-an was already worn out. The afternoon had passed, but people still kept coming in and out of the house.

He couldn’t help but be surprised by Ideun’s generosity again when he noticed air purifiers and humidifiers in every room. This man has money and wants to spend it; who am I to stop him? As long as Bobo and I stay comfortable here for a while, it’s fine. 

While cuddling and playing with Bobo, who had been whining for attention, he set up his tablet and laptop, then had dinner prepared by the attendant. He spent the rest of the evening installing the necessary programs.

Only when the attendant assured him that all the visitors had left for the day could Ji-an finally relax. You can’t exactly bathe with people coming and going constantly. With the attendant mentioning they’d be finishing up and going home soon, Ji-an went into the master bedroom’s bathroom.

Spotting the bathtub, he thought, This would be perfect for a warm soak while enjoying the city lights. Being in such a complete place, even with bath bombs, left no room for hesitation. Immersed in the white, frothy, warm water, he felt as though he owned the entire world.

Bobo, who seemed to dislike water, followed him into the bathroom and trotted around the edge of the tub, pawing at the bubbles. When Ji-an held a handful of bubbles out to Bobo, who sniffed them and batted at them with a paw, the cat soon lost interest and scampered off. Ji-an relaxed, sinking deeper into the water until only his shoulders remained above it.

The bath bomb smelled wonderful, the warm water was blissful, and the night view was breathtaking. The relaxation made him yawn. He never thought he’d spend New Year’s Eve like this, taking a bubble bath in a luxurious officetel with a panoramic view. If only there was a glass of wine, it’d be like a scene from a movie. Not that he was into wine, but even a beer…

With that thought, he suddenly craved a cold beer. All he needed was to grab one from the fridge, just for a moment… He finally stepped out of the tub, hastily drying himself off and reaching for a shower gown hanging on the bathroom wall.

Though it wasn’t his, Ideun probably wouldn’t mind him borrowing it for a bit. Ji-an, clad in the oversized shower gown and cinching it tightly around his waist, stepped out of the bathroom—only to be struck by a wave of dizziness and, unplanned, fell over.

The fall itself would have been minor, but he hit his left foot against the vanity table outside the bathroom, and that was the real issue. The attendant, who was still at work, rushed in, panicked when he saw Ji-an’s quickly swelling ankle. All this over a simple bump, though. With the attendant’s help, Ji-an made it to the living room, where he sat with his ankle turning redder by the second while the attendant anxiously fussed over him.

Left in the living room with just an ice pack on his foot and unable to change into his clothes, Ji-an soon found himself in utter chaos when Taemin showed up unexpectedly.

After a brief explanation from the attendant, Taemin, who claimed to know all about twisted ankles due to his love for basketball, promptly sat down in front of Ji-an and began examining his ankle before he could protest.

So now there was the attendant, who still hadn’t left work, Taemin, who had shown up out of the blue, and Ideun, who had just arrived too.

Ji-an, who had merely slipped in the bath and hurt his ankle, now felt completely misunderstood, as if he had done something terribly wrong and Ideun had caught him in the act.

I’m the one in pain here. My foot hurts, my hip hurts, and I’m sitting here in nothing but a bathrobe. Surrounded by all this attention, he was ready to die of embarrassment.

Can I please just go in and change into some proper clothes? CEO Ha, take your laptop and go, Taemin, who said he wouldn’t even be here, finish whatever it is and go, attendant, it’s late, so please go home. I just want to be alone.

“I slipped while taking a bath. I wanted a beer and tried stepping out for a moment, but I fell and hit my foot on the vanity,” Ji-an said, giving a brief explanation of what had happened.