Ch 72

“Seems like there’s nothing more to say. I hope we don’t run into each other again, even by chance. And if we do, let’s just pretend we don’t know each other. Kim Jungwoon, you saw everything that happened, so think for yourself. It’s not like we were ever inseparable friends anyway. Whether you call me a b**t**d behind my back or say I’m a cunning j**k who stole a friend’s lover, that’s all up to you. And this—thanks for it.”

Ji-an folded the towel Jungwoon had given him, placed it on the table, and slowly stood up. He had gone out for once, and yet it was another disaster. How upsetting… If not today, when would he get another chance to buy a watch? Even when he had dressed as neatly as possible, the store employees had looked down on him—so there was no doubt he would receive the same treatment if he walked into another store looking like this.

In the past, Haneul’s words would have wounded him, but now, he could only feel pity for his desperate outburst. More than anything, today’s conversation made it clear that Haneul’s feelings for Ideun were not love. What was it, then? It seemed more like the tantrum of a spoiled child who couldn’t get the toy he wanted.

“Hah… Look at that. Running away because he has no excuse. That’s just the kind of person he is. So low-class, seriously.”

Ji-an, who had been staring at Haneul as he hurled curses and insults until the very end, turned away. The store employee who had ignored him from the beginning now had a gleam in his eye, desperate to catch every bit of the commotion. That only made Ji-an feel even worse.

Haneul kept talking, but with just a few steps away, his voice became a muffled mumble, barely distinguishable.

“Mr. Ji-an?”

Ji-an had stepped out of the inner section alone, taking off his jacket soaked with sticky, cold orange juice and practically tossing it into the employee’s arms. At the sound of someone calling him, he lifted his head.

“Oh, what is this… Are you okay?”

“Huh? I…”

Seeing Secretary Lee rushing toward him in surprise, Ji-an hurriedly scanned his surroundings. Grandmother was nowhere in sight, and neither were the other people he had seen at her house. He let out a small sigh of relief. Not that it was anything worth showing to them… What a ridiculous sight to be caught in.

“It’s nothing. Nothing at all. I just spilled some juice… Secretary Lee, this is a secret. Seeing me here—don’t tell Grandmother or Ahjussi about it, okay?”

Noticing the way Secretary Lee’s eyes glinted with curiosity, as if trying to grasp the situation, Ji-an quickly grabbed her hand and whispered urgently.

“Secretary Lee, come here for a moment.”

At a voice that should have been impossible to hear in a place like this, Ji-an’s body stiffened.

Wrapped in a soft, warm cashmere shawl, Ji-an pressed his lips together tightly as he accepted the warm towel someone handed him. He wanted nothing more than to scrub his face, hair, and neck with it, but in this setting, the most he could do was wipe his hands.

***

“Play it.”

Unlike himself, who was barely perching on the edge of the sofa in discomfort, his grandmother sat at ease. At her words, a CCTV recording appeared on the laptop screen on the table.

The footage showed him walking in, standing in line outside the store, and the events that followed after he entered. Fortunately, there was no audio due to security policies. But the visuals alone were enough—how the employee had ignored him, how they had taken all the items they had suggested to him and instead offered them to Haneul.

“Hmm.”

At his grandmother’s quiet hum, the general manager immediately fell to his knees, saying, “Madam Chairman, I sincerely apologize. This was entirely my negligence.”

Then, another recording played—this time showing the space where Ji-an and Haneul had been.

It showed the three of them sitting down, then Haneul suddenly rising and pouring his drink over Ji-an. While Jungwoon frantically tried to wipe Ji-an’s clothes, an employee stood idly near the entrance. The footage then showed Ji-an handing his soaked jacket to the employee before stepping out and meeting Secretary Lee. The video froze on that frame.

“…Enough.”

“Madam Chairman.”

As his grandmother stood, all the employees knelt before her in unison, creating a scene straight out of a movie.

Ji-an glanced at Jungwoon, who had unknowingly ended up sitting beside him. Seeing his fingers twitch in anxiety, Ji-an gently placed his hand over Jungwoon’s. It wasn’t like Jungwoon was at fault. If anything, the only “sin” he had committed was tagging along with Haneul for shopping.

“I saw everything with my own eyes—what excuse could you possibly make? You had your chance to explain when I asked.”

“I apologize. We failed to recognize the chairman’s guest. It won’t happen again. We will compensate as much as you wish.”

Even more than the general manager, the sight of the department store president bowing at a full ninety-degree angle was beyond mortifying.

After getting drenched in a drink, meeting grandmother, and then dealing with the general manager’s frantic attempts at damage control, now even the department store president and his staff had rushed over. They had been preparing to escort grandmother personally to the showroom, not expecting her to come herself. Now, they were all stuck in this awkward situation together.

“If you’re going to apologize, it should be to this child, not to me. I will think carefully about how to handle this. Secretary Lee, let’s leave now. Ji-an, get up.”

At his grandmother’s words, Ji-an stood immediately—he had no intention of staying in this uncomfortable situation any longer.

“Grandmother! Do you know what Ji-an said to me back there? You’re all being deceived—Grandmother, Hyung, all of you!”

Only one person in the room still hadn’t grasped the situation. Where was this ridiculous confidence coming from? Ji-an found himself questioning whether this was truly the Haneul he had read about—the kindhearted, universally beloved protagonist from the novel.

How many times did he have to say it? Why couldn’t Haneul just accept the reality of the situation?

“…”

“He’s using his situation to act pitiful and innocent! Pretending to be a hardworking, sincere part-timer, but in truth, he takes money and finds partners. He doesn’t belong with Hyung, and he’s just a burden to your household!”

Wow. So he wasn’t just being reckless—he had no sense of self-preservation at all.

Ji-an stared at Haneul in disbelief. Even if his claims were true, who would ever blurt them out like this? Especially in front of the very person he was trying to persuade?

And yet, Haneul was doing it with absolute confidence, as if he were on some noble crusade. Like he believed that everything he was saying was right, that he was fighting for justice, that he was throwing himself into the flames to keep Hyung from going astray.

The department store president, who had just been bowing deeply, suddenly lifted his head. One by one, every person in the room turned their eyes to Haneul.

“At the very least, he’s not the right one.”

And there it was—the tears that came right on cue. How could someone cry so perfectly on demand?

Watching Haneul’s face twist in an expression of sadness and frustration, Ji-an felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu—like he was the villain in some drama.

“I must be blind. I had no idea my judgment of people was this poor. Do you even understand what you’re saying right now?”

“Grandmother, your grandson is precious, isn’t he? He’s a recessive omega, and on top of that, he’s been so careless with his body that he can’t even have chil—”

“Enough!”

Haneul’s relentless rant was abruptly cut off by the chairman’s sharp voice.

“You need to know the truth—”

“I told you to stop.”

Hiccup.

He had never been this scared in his life. Even Haneul, who always had something to say despite Grandmother’s sighs or sharp clicks of her tongue, had shut his mouth, as if sensing something. The sudden hiccup that drew everyone’s attention was bad enough, but then—someone placed a hand on his back.

Hiccup.

The quiet room now echoed with Ji-an’s hiccups.

“I startled the child for no reason. Take slow, deep breaths.”

The hand that continued to rub his back belonged to Grandmother. Realizing this, Ji-an forced an awkward smile. In the stillness, her voice carried through the space.

“Secretary Lee, from today onward, switch our primary department store. If any money has been sent out, retrieve it within the deadline. And as for you… I may have looked upon you kindly for a moment, but relationships don’t always work out just because you wish for them to. I assumed things had been settled with CEO Noh, but tsk, tsk. Go home this instant, kneel before your father, and beg him to save you. Whether he even has the ability to do so, well, that’s another matter.”

Ji-an, who had been pressing both hands over his mouth to stifle his hiccups, looked toward Secretary Lee at Grandmother’s words. Changing department stores? That was understandable. But kneeling and begging for his life?

“Call Attorney Ahn and have him clean up the situation. We’re leaving. If you stay in these w** clothes, your cold will only get worse.”

Hiccup.

Uh, Grandmother… This all seems a bit much—was what Ji-an wanted to say, but another hiccup came first. Instead, he awkwardly stood up, following her lead as she guided him out of the store.

The lights turned on in the hall, which had been cleared of all customers upon the department store president’s arrival. The president and the general manager followed them out, offering apologies.

“Secretary Lee.”

As if calling his name alone could resolve everything, Grandmother spoke while walking alongside him, handing Ji-an a small paper cup.

Instead of responding, Ji-an took a sip of water and trailed behind her, his thoughts drifting back to his original reason for coming out.

He needed to buy a watch!

So much had happened, but with the wedding approaching, he couldn’t put it off any longer. And more than anything, for Ideun—who clung to his side like a child with separation anxiety—he had to buy it to solidify his own resolve.

After all this chaos, sneaking out freely again was out of the question. The house staff were likely trusting him to return soon, but Grandmother? No way.

“Why? Do you think I was too harsh?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just… the watch…”

“Does it have to be that specific one?”

“No, not necessarily. It’s just that… Ahjussi proposed to me before, and… I wanted to secretly buy him a watch as a gift. That’s actually why I came here today. I even made them promise not to tell him. But if I go straight home now, I won’t get another chance to shop freely.”

With a few more sips of warm water, Ji-an’s hiccups finally subsided, and he spoke honestly.

“Then, of course, we should go buy it.”

Rather than heading to the parking lot, they walked toward the department store’s main entrance. The sound of several footsteps followed behind, but Ji-an didn’t bother looking back. It was probably the department store president and his people. Not only was Grandmother, a top-tier VVIP, leaving for a competitor’s store, but she had also cut off their financial ties.

Ji-an felt a little bad, but he decided not to dwell on it. He didn’t have the energy to worry about every passerby. Besides, they had made plenty of money thanks to Grandmother. That should be enough.

Without needing a car, they simply crossed the street to another department store. Walking beside Grandmother, Ji-an pursed his lips when he saw a group of aides already waiting at the entrance.

How was information this fast?

With a group of stiff-suited men behind him and another group of sharply dressed staff in front of him, all smiling in earnest rather than with business politeness, Ji-an felt a shiver run down his spine.

There was no scarier world than this one.

“But Grandmother, what brings you out here today?”

Without answering, Grandmother walked straight into the luxury watch store. The door was immediately locked behind them, and the blinds were drawn shut.

“I came to see what young people like these days. If I want to give something, I need to know what to give. I’ve entrusted people before, only for problems to keep happening. How can I trust anyone else now? Especially since it’s for you—I have to see for myself.”

As Ji-an watched rows of high-end watches being displayed, his lips jutted out.

He really was a frog in a well.

Looking up luxury watches on his phone at home was nothing compared to seeing them in person. There were unfamiliar brands he had never even heard of, some of which were even more elegant and luxurious than the well-known ones. He also discovered that the so-called “top-tier” lines had even higher, more exclusive collections.

“Oh, right. Grandmother, about that thing you gave me…”

Though they had come to buy a watch, as soon as the store closed for them, Ji-an was handed new clothes by Secretary Lee. He quickly changed into them, used the provided dry shampoo to tidy his hair, and emerged. The moment he saw Grandmother again, he brought up what was on his mind.

“I’ll take my time sorting through the rest.”

“…What?”

“I can’t take it with me to the grave, can I? There’s no point in keeping it all. I finally have someone to give it to, so I should give it away. It won’t erase what you went through, but it’s all I have to offer, so just accept it.”

“What about Ahjussi…?”

“That brat? He’ll make his own fortune. Don’t worry about him.”

Uh… Grandmother? He’s still your grandson, you know?

Ji-an swallowed the words before they left his mouth.

He had come to buy a watch for Ideun, but somehow, luxury timepieces were now being fastened onto his own wrist. When he hesitated, Grandmother, sipping tea elegantly, simply declared:

“You might as well pick out the wedding watch while we’re here.”

Ji-an hesitated again. “But… shouldn’t Ahjussi also—”

“What does he matter? As long as you like it, that’s all that matters.”