Chapter 78

Minjae stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly held the secret letter her mother had given her.

The hostess who had come to meet her had a face full of worry.

Jeong Woohee tightly clasped her hands.

"Of course, you should. If I know the manager, he will regain his strength soon. Don't worry too much."

"Since you've come all the way here despite your busy schedule, there must be some improvement... "

"It will definitely be fine. I'll visit again soon. Go inside now."

"Yes, thank you. Really. Be careful going in."

After saying goodbye,

the lady waited for the elevator while making a phone call.

"I'm coming down."

[ Yes, Madam. I'll have the car waiting in front of the lobby on the 1st floor. ]

"Alright."

Even after the short call, she didn't put her phone down. There was something she wanted to check right away.

Tap, tap, tap tap.

How many times had she looked at it?

With quick movements, she instantly brought up the screen she wanted.

The luxury perfume brand, Cyril 1901, which recently opened a pop-up store at 'HN Yeouido'.

There, in front of the brand logo lighting,

was Min Chae-yeon, smiling brightly.

'...Our daughter is so beautiful today.'

Her only child, an only daughter.

On one hand, she was worried,

but on the other hand, she was proud of her being loved by people and wanted to give her everything she desired.

Do other parents of idols or aspiring actors feel the same way?

Still, the difference was that

she could provide unlimited support.

If her daughter really wanted it,

she could make her the exclusive model for any luxury brand in Korea, whether it was Louis Vuitton or Chanel.

'Really, I can give you everything, our daughter!'

She didn't have to worry about the opinions of the elders in the family.

Since she had voluntarily retired from the fierce succession battle,

she had only gained a department store subsidiary.

But for her husband, who was walking a tightrope at the prosecutor's office,

and for her daughter, who was forging her own path,

it was truly the best choice.

'Just trust this mom.'

She put her worries aside,

pressed the heart button, and left a comment.

[ Yum yum, Young-yum (heart) ]

A chuckle escaped her lips.

Her daughter would never imagine that this account belonged to her.

Ding—

As she stepped into the elevator, the clear window outside showed a bright blue Seoul Forest.

'Beautiful.'

She had felt it again today after visiting the hospital.

Among the five major buildings in Seongsu, Saint Han River Forest was the best in every aspect: age, view, structure, and facilities.

However, it was a place where no listings had been available for months.

She had heard that a listing had come up recently and immediately instructed to contact the seller,

but 'young people are really quick.'

The listing had vanished as soon as it appeared.

'If only I could get one here for her.'

Her daughter was about to start living independently.

If she could get her an apartment here, where she often sang about Seoul Forest, she wouldn't have to worry.

It would be a place where she could start a proper family.

But,

'Our daughter needs to be a bit more careful... '

She was worried that her innocent daughter might fall for a bad guy.

After all, the industry is the industry.

It wasn't easy for her daughter to avoid prejudices from the people she met while working.

'Still, I have to try.'

Biased views would hurt her daughter.

She steeled her resolve.

Ding—

Enough with the idle thoughts.

It was time to return to the pile of documents.

Jeong Woohee moved, thinking she was on the 1st floor.

But outside the elevator was not the lobby.

'37th floor?'

And then,

"Mom, Mom?"

"Daughter?"

Why was her only beautiful daughter

standing right in front of her, right here?

And there was a young man standing next to her?

"A, are you Chae-yeon's mother? Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Shin Yuwon!"

Why was he greeting her so confidently?

What had he done?

She had made up her mind, but when faced with the situation,

a mother's heart is uncontrollable.

Jeong Woohee felt her stomach boiling.

She had to listen to the end of the conversation in Korean.

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Shin Yuwon!"

Shin Yuwon bowed deeply,

"Sure. Nice to meet you."

Jeong Woohee responded with dignity.

Although her anger was rising inside, she had been trained from a very young age not to show her emotions.

Instead,

Jeong Woohee scanned Shin Yuwon with a quick glance.

'Shin Yuwon?'

He was tall and looked healthy.

His smile was gentle and sincere, a good-looking guy...

But she had been burned too many times by judging people based on their appearance.

Moreover, she didn't have the luxury to make a calm judgment right now. Her mind was full of questions.

'What's their relationship? Why are they coming out together at this time, in this place? What does this guy do?'

But Jeong Woohee desperately held her tongue.

If she were a typical chaebol, she would have despised it.

The things she had experienced growing up still made her shudder.

It was right for her daughter too.

She could see that her daughter was fidgeting, unable to step into the elevator.

Jeong Woohee simply said,

"Why aren't you getting in? Hurry up."

"Uh-huh..."

Her daughter moved with a very flustered face,

and Shin Yuwon, who had been pressing the button outside, also walked into the elevator.

Whoosh—

The elevator started moving again.

With her in the middle, the two stood on either side.

Jeong Woohee turned her gaze away from them and stared at the LED display.

In fact, she was scolding herself.

'Oh, really...'

Why could she only do this as a mother?

She had never imagined that her daughter would meet someone.

If they were like other mother-daughter pairs, chatting about trivial things, she might have known.

'Chae-yeon used to be like that too.'

Her daughter had become much quieter since last year.

These days, they hardly had any conversations beyond simple greetings.

They were both busy, the house was unnecessarily large, so they rarely met, and she didn't come out for meals on her own, and there was no proper topic to discuss.

But would she get a satisfying answer if she asked now?

'She'll just get upset.'

For now, she would let it go coolly.

She would have to set aside some time in the evening to talk.

However,

"Madam."

Shin Yuwon spoke first.

"You must have been surprised to see me with your daughter?"

Jeong Woohee's lips twitched.

Half of her was boiling with anger,

and the other half felt a strange sense of comfort from Shin Yuwon's calm voice.

When she looked at him, she thought,

'Oh.'

He was looking at her with the warmest smile. She almost smiled back.

"Don't worry too much, Madam. Chae-yeon said she likes Seoul Forest, so we came up to see the view. We just had coffee and talked. We were here for about 20 minutes, right, Chae-yeon?"

Min Chae-yeon nodded slightly,

and Jeong Woohee looked at Shin Yuwon silently.

Her eyes said, 'Tell me more.'

"And, ha-ha... I'm moving in soon. I heard the previous tenant had moved out, so I came up to check the condition. There's no furniture. No sofa to sit on, no TV to watch Netflix."

What?

Jeong Woohee immediately asked,

"You're moving in soon?"

"Yes, in about two weeks."

"Then the apartment that was listed here a couple of weeks ago?"

Jeong Woohee remembered.

It was on the 30-something floor.

"Yes, that's right."

"Oh, I see? Congratulations."

"No, I was just lucky, ha-ha."

Jeong Woohee scanned Shin Yuwon again.

At first, she thought he was someone from the SNS world because of his good looks.

'If he's buying a place here, he must be something special.'

But now, he was dressed neatly in a suit with no flashy accessories.

A completely different vibe from the influencers and chaebol heirs she had met.

She was starting to understand the situation.

'Hmm, I see.'

A sparrow wouldn't just pass by a granary.

If her daughter loved Seoul Forest so much, she might have come to see what the place and the view were like.

'Right. That makes sense.'

She noticed that when they got into the elevator,

they weren't hugging or holding hands, but stood at a proper distance.

Ding—

As soon as they reached the ground floor,

her complicated mind was much clearer.

Shin Yuwon quickly pressed the button and politely extended his arm, and Jeong Woohee nodded in response.

Clack, clack—

And as she turned around, she said,

"Daughter."

"Uh, yeah."

Her daughter still couldn't hide her tension.

"Do you have any plans later?"

"I do, but I can change the date."

"Then how about we have a nice dinner together? I know a good pasta place nearby."

Her daughter's eyelashes fluttered rapidly without a word.

Jeong Woohee couldn't understand why she was hesitating.

Then, Shin Yuwon approached and spoke warmly.

"Chae-yeon, that's great. You said you were really hungry, right? Enjoy a good meal and have a nice time with your mom!"

"Okay, Oppa..."

Ah, Jeong Woohee finally realized their prior arrangement, but Min Chae-yeon had already made up her mind.

"Mom, let's go have dinner."

"Is that okay?"

The question was directed at Min Chae-yeon, but Shin Yuwon, standing next to her, was nodding frantically.

"Sure, I'm really happy too. It's been a long time since we had dinner together, just the two of us."

"Okay."

Jeong Woohee felt embarrassed. She felt like a parent who had intruded on their children's playtime.

'Oh, how awkward.'

Meanwhile, Shin Yuwon bowed again.

"Then I'll go first. It was an honor to meet you, Madam. Have a nice evening!"

As he turned to leave,

Jeong Woohee stopped him.

"Wait a moment."

"Yes?"

"Back in the elevator... it wasn't easy for you to speak up first, but thank you for explaining."

Jeong Woohee clasped her hands lightly and bowed. Shin Yuwon was surprised and bowed deeply in response.

"No, it's natural to be worried. I had to explain."

"Thanks to you, I feel much better. But..."

The biggest reason to always listen to the end of a conversation in Korean: the 'but' attack.

"Are you and Chae-yeon... in a serious relationship?"

"Ah..."

This was the question Jeong Woohee had been curious about from the start but had held back.

"I was going to let it go, but you seem like a good person, so I'm asking."

"Mom..."

Min Chae-yeon quickly approached and grabbed Jeong Woohee's elbow, but Jeong Woohee shook her off with a short, firm movement.

"Just stay quiet."

Then she smiled at Shin Yuwon.

Give it a try, her silent message said.

Shin Yuwon looked between the two and answered.

"We're not in a formal relationship yet."

Jeong Woohee's eyebrows twitched,

but,

"However..."

The second 'but' attack.

Always listen to the end of a conversation in Korean.

"However, we like each other."

Was this a satisfactory answer?

Jeong Woohee pulled her head back and smiled contentedly.

What she saw next was

"..."

"..."

A young couple, their faces flushed,

looking away from each other.

*

In front of the Saint Han River Forest lobby,

a top-of-the-line sedan awaited the two women.

"Mr. Park, please take us to Castello del Fiore."

"Yes, Madam."

The flagship car of HN Motors smoothly pulled out of the entrance.

Jeong Woohee turned her head and stared at Min Chae-yeon. The girl's cheeks were still flushed.

"Daughter."

"Yes."

"Do you need a car?"

"Car?"

"You always take the subway and taxis, don't you?"

"Yes, it's still fine."

"Isn't it inconvenient?"

"It's not."

"Okay? But having a car would make dating easier, right? It's fine here because it's near the subway station."

"Mom!"

Min Chae-yeon's voice grew louder.

Jeong Woohee was secretly pleased by her daughter's reaction.

"Hehehe, what about a house? Oh, you don't need a house, right?"

"Mom! Really, stop it!"

That evening,

the two had something to talk about.

*

On a four-lane road lined with small shops,

I stopped the car and checked the address again.

"This is the right place..."

I thought <Seongsu Pictures> would be near Seongsu Station, as Yu-yeol had clearly said.

But when I entered the address into the navigation, it turned out to be about a 20-minute drive from Seongsu.

Even though I was in the right place, I couldn't see the sign for <Seongsu Pictures>.

'Should I get out and look?'

There was no proper place to park, so I slowly drove around the area. During this time, the foxes were making a fuss.

—Pew! Pew! Pewpewpew!

—Cororororo! Cororororo!

It was as if someone had secretly given them a drug.

Tamcoco was flying around wildly, twisting her body.

The mention of a children's safety zone seemed to have worked.

The foxes quietly settled on the passenger seat and my lap.

'Oh, who would have thought they'd act like this just because I mentioned a safety zone.'

They were covering their mouths and giggling.

Especially Tam, who was wagging her thick tail excitedly.

I felt like I was being teased by these brats.

"Guys... control yourselves."