Lee Hyun-woo’s voice was not quiet.
Fortunately, the after-party was held in the banquet hall of the lodging where they were staying, so it didn’t spread widely, but even so, it was loud enough for the people around to hear clearly.
If it weren’t for that, would Kim Ah-young have openly shown her happiness?
Probably not. She would have struggled with her soft yet intense emotions, which would have shown on her face, causing her to keep her head down.
Unaware of this, Choi Sun-hwa whispered beside her.
“Hey, you must be really happy. I’m envious.”
Choi Sun-hwa, known for her honesty, said it so openly that Kim Ah-young couldn’t even respond.
Should she just say she wanted to leave?
She couldn’t help but resent Lee Hyun-woo.
‘He’s usually not this bold, so why is he acting like this today?’
But her resentment was fleeting; she just wanted to enjoy the sudden rush of emotions.
People’s hearts are indeed fickle.
Now, she wished Lee Hyun-woo would loudly declare that she was his girlfriend.
But was Lee Hyun-woo really a master of push-and-pull?
“Did I ruin the mood? Let’s talk about something else.”
“Oh, um… sure.”
“You said Yoo Duk-hwan is coming to your Hong Kong concert, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. Yoo Duk-hwan hyung is coming. Alan Tang hyung too.”
“Wow, all the nostalgic singers are coming out.”
“Nostalgic singers?”
“No, no. My mistake. I mean, the singers from the Hong Kong movies I watched when I was young are all coming.”
“Ah… haha, right. I felt really strange seeing them while traveling between Taiwan and Hong Kong too.”
“I can understand. Being a fan and then sharing the stage with them.”
“Yeah, yeah. Exactly.”
The conversation shifted to the concert in Hong Kong.
‘What a shame.’
Come to think of it, Lee Hyun-woo is quite stingy.
He never expressed his feelings of liking her, and then in Taiwan, he casually mentioned, ‘I can’t even tell the woman I like that I like her.’
What kind of person is she to be so happy with those words?
‘Am I an easy woman?’
Park Min-sook, who was beside her, had always advised her not to show her emotions easily, but it seemed she had become an easy woman.
However,
‘I just want to be an easy woman.’
Calculating in front of Lee Hyun-woo seemed like it would make their relationship difficult.
The reason was simple.
Kim Ah-young was the eldest daughter of Guseong Group.
No matter how promising a young entrepreneur Lee Hyun-woo was in leading the future, the gap between them was not easily bridged.
A little later, back at the lodging, Kim Ah-young clearly heard the story.
“There’s a big problem. Many people heard about the relationship between the director and CEO Lee Hyun-woo. They are not people we can silence. It would have been better if more time had passed…”
This came directly from Park Min-sook.
“Isn’t it okay now?”
“……”
“Even my father and oppa seem to have a rough idea.”
To be precise, Kim Tae-hyun had already often acknowledged their relationship.
“Director, you shouldn’t underestimate the chairman. And there’s also the madam. Perhaps, the madam might not accept it even more.”
Park Min-sook’s words were true.
Kim Ah-young’s mother was more concerned about family background.
Her father wasn’t easy either, but lately, her mother had repeatedly said,
- Marriage is a union of families…
That probably meant that Lee Hyun-woo’s family was somewhat lacking.
“Then what should we do?”
“Well, it won’t make the news immediately, but rumors will spread rapidly. Moreover, celebrities are close to the media, so we’ll have to find a way to keep the reporters silent.”
“Ah, okay…”
Conversations like these were always repetitive for Kim Ah-young.
Even when she went to Jungle to see Lee Hyun-woo, it was the same—trying to keep the reporters’ mouths shut.
Park Min-sook always took care of it.
“Then I’ll leave it to you again this time.”
“Yes, Director. I’ll take care of it.”
Perhaps due to such conversations, her heart, which had been pounding earlier, no longer raced.
A sigh escaped just before she fell asleep.
“Sigh…”
However, the next morning, Lee Hyun-woo seemed determined as he sat in front of Kim Ah-young during breakfast.
“I announced that you are my girlfriend. It would be strange to eat separately.”
“Oh… th-that’s right…”
Kim Ah-young couldn’t help but be conscious of Park Min-sook sitting next to her.
At the same time, this thought occurred to her.
‘Is he planning to be bold from now on?’
She was half-excited, half-scared about how bold he might become.
Of course, Park Min-sook, who glanced at her, had a worried expression, making it hard to tell if she was eating her food or just putting it in her mouth.
While eating absent-mindedly, Lee Hyun-woo suddenly asked,
“Where should we go today?”
“Huh?”
Even though she understood, she asked again.
Lee Hyun-woo, smiling, seemed to have already decided.
“Let’s just go wherever our feet take us.”
Then he spoke to Park Min-sook,
“We can’t help but have bodyguards follow us, but we want to have a proper date too. Last time, it was a bit frustrating talking with Ah-young. Wearing sunglasses and masks, it felt like our relationship wasn’t confident enough, and it made me feel down.”
Once he started, his words and actions flowed unhesitatingly like a broken dam.
Was he planning to charge past the finish line without stopping?
Meanwhile, Park Min-sook remained composed.
“I’m worried that you two might feel uncomfortable.”
“We are uncomfortable. But we have to endure it. Both Ah-young and I are in the public eye.”
Park Min-sook responded with a faint smile.
“Understood.”
Listening to their conversation, Kim Ah-young was at a loss.
‘Is this really the Hyun-woo I know?’
Suddenly, he felt like a tough guy rather than the gentle man she knew.
In reality, Lee Hyun-woo was not a tough guy, neither in his past life nor in the present.
He had just made up his mind in the past few days.
‘I shouldn’t hide anymore.’
Hiding their relationship only led to unnecessary misunderstandings and awkward situations.
Hadn’t Clones already tried to arrange a meeting between him and Wang Ji-hyun?
He had also heard about matchmakers before.
He didn’t want to end up explaining and reassuring Kim Ah-young in such situations.
Moreover, this was contrary to the goals he had set for himself in this life.
In his past life, he hadn’t experienced a passionate love, but he wanted to achieve that in this life.
So Lee Hyun-woo made a firm decision.
From now on, he would reveal their relationship openly to people instead of hiding it.
With a smile, he said to Kim Ah-young,
“Let’s go to the market. I think it would be fun to snack around. What do you think?”
Though the suggestion was far from being charismatic, Kim Ah-young, drawn to Lee Hyun-woo, couldn’t help but nod.
“Sounds good.”
Finally, their first date in Taiwan began.
The destination was a nearby market.
“I shouldn’t have suggested coming now. Maybe the night market would have been better.”
“No, I like it now too.”
Today, Kim Ah-young was completely overwhelmed by Lee Hyun-woo, only saying that everything was okay and that she liked it.
Meanwhile, Park Min-sook and the bodyguards following behind didn’t think the situation was bad.
“It’s fortunate we chose the market.”
“Indeed. There wouldn’t be any reporters here.”
If they had gone to a department store, someone might have recognized them.
But here, no one saw Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young as more than just tourists.
“Maybe CEO Lee pretended not to think while actually planning this?”
“Well…”
Park Min-sook didn’t think so.
However, it was somewhat amusing that bodyguard Jung Jin-sung kept saying such things.
‘The chairman must have given him a task again.’
Park Min-sook had noticed that whenever they went abroad, Jung Jin-sung was the one who reported to the chairman separately.
‘So now the chairman will know that Lee Hyun-woo is switching to an open relationship.’
She didn’t like it.
Park Min-sook wanted to give the initiative to Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young.
So she said to Jung Jin-sung,
“You won’t report everything that happened here exactly as it is, right?”
“Sorry?”
“Otherwise, both you and I will get scolded for not doing our jobs. Let’s just let this one slide. Anyway, CEO Lee will tell the chairman once we’re back in Korea.”
It was a weak persuasion, but Jung Jin-sung nodded with a smile.
“Okay.”
“Really? You’ll help?”
“Yes, of course. I just… I really like seeing the young lady smile like that.”
Park Min-sook followed Jung Jin-sung’s gaze.
They say a woman in love looks more beautiful, and the smile of a blooming rose came into view.
It was Kim Ah-young’s smile.
“I don’t want to see that face worrying or frowning. I’ll follow your lead.”
“Thanks.”
She should have handled the bodyguards this way all along.
That would have allowed her to control what reached the chairman’s ears.
‘Well, no matter what anyone says, Lee Hyun-woo is the perfect match for the young lady.’
Right now, the gap between the two families made it seem like Kim Ah-young was getting the short end of the stick, but in Park Min-sook’s eyes, Lee Hyun-woo was sure to grow into a major figure who would command the world.
Then people would say she made the right choice.
However, there was something Park Min-sook didn’t know, which soon came out of Lee Hyun-woo’s mouth during the date.
“I might retire early.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Our company’s executives are performing better than I expected.”
Through their conversation, they shared their daily lives, which often included business matters.
Thus, it was easy to understand that by executives, he meant people like Woo Sang-won or Lee Jung-woo.
The problem was the next question.
“After early retirement, I’m thinking of setting a new goal.”
“What is it?”
“Being a househusband?”
“Househusband?”
“Yeah, the wife works, and I take care of the house. How about that?”
“Sounds good. So the wife earns and supports the husband.”
When talking with Lee Hyun-woo, she didn’t need to think about her answers.
Even though she wasn’t originally like that.
However, it was hard to tell where the sincerity ended and the jokes began.
But whether he became a househusband, they worked together, or they both lived without jobs, she wanted to be with him in everything.
Interestingly, today Lee Hyun-woo kept envisioning the future.
“Oh, and I have one really bad flaw.”
“What is it?”
“I have an old-fashioned sense of humor, often making corny jokes, and I’m not very expressive in showing affection. I can’t easily tell the person I like that I like them.”
It felt like he was asking, ‘Can you handle a guy like this?’
Kim Ah-young smiled softly.
“It’s enough as it is.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and if it’s not enough, I can do it.”
This time, a satisfied smile spread across Lee Hyun-woo’s face.
