Affectionate Obsession - Chapter 49

Taekwang pushed his phone screen towards Jin.

After staring intently at Taekwang for a long time, Jin glanced at the phone screen.

There were so many numbers, she couldn’t take it all in at a glance.

Her gaze, scanning from the top, only understood the meaning of what she saw on the screen when it reached the very bottom.

She could somewhat understand why Taekwang had yelled this much.

However, she couldn’t understand why he had yelled during a call, embarrassing his friend.

Jin crossed her arms and looked at Taekwang triumphantly.

“What is this?”

“What is this? You’re asking what this is? Huh?? I’ll smack you with this!!”

Unable to contain his rage, Taekwang raised his hand, as if by instinct or habit.

“Aack!!”

Startled, Jin let out a scream and hunched over.

She felt no pain. But her racing heart didn’t calm down easily.

Jin opened her tightly shut eyes and looked at Taekwang through her hands covering her face.

Taekwang’s thick hand was still raised above her head. Startled once more by this, she fell backward.

Only after seeing Jin fall over in surprise did Taekwang lower his hand. Then, clutching his waist, he unleashed his uncontainable anger.

“Are you out of your mind? One hundred million? I told you to do some shopping, and you go and spend a hundred million? Do you have any sense?!”

“O, o, o-oppa, you told me to spend it…!!”

“Are you calling that a valid excuse!!”

At Jin’s pathetic excuse, Taekwang grabbed the back of his neck, which felt stiffly tight.

“Hey, don’t you know the company’s in trouble and I could be out any day? I told you clearly, go with your friends! Then you should have spent moderately and made your friends spend money! Haven’t you been doing this job for more than a day? Huh?!”

Tears streamed down Jin’s face as she bit the soft flesh inside her mouth hard.

She stayed by Taekwang’s side for money, but it was always dirty and humiliating.

When Taekwang gave her a card under the guise of shopping, it was merely a plausible pretense.

If she bought more than one bag she liked, Taekwang would nag her, and the moment she argued back, his hand would come up.

Shopping was the only joy in her life, but she could never feel at ease.

For him, shopping was just a business tool.

It was a way to get kickbacks under the pretense of boosting department store sales.

But in reality, Jin was the one who had to move to achieve the sales figures in exchange for the kickbacks.

She didn’t hold back sweet words towards the wives of chaebol families, and she would somehow become friendly with women her age to make them spend at luxury boutiques.

Strictly speaking, one bag bought with Taekwang’s card was about the compensation for the emotional labor she exerted dealing with her social circle that day.

It was dirty and humiliating, but she was happy to be able to get a luxury bag in her hands, even if it was like this.

Even if it was hard, if she just played along a little, she’d get an expensive luxury bag; compared to when she had to pour drinks and offer her body to dirty hands, this was nothing.

But when Taekwang raised his hand like this, she felt doubt, wondering if enduring it like this was the right thing to do.

What had allowed her to endure this far was being able to buy bags she liked, but now he was displeased even with the one bag she bought, making Jin feel like she could die of injustice.

Still, she didn’t argue back. Seeing the wild, turbulent look in Taekwang’s eyes, she had a premonition that she might actually get hit today.

Jin leaned against the corner of the wall, hugging her knees.

She wished for this hellish time to pass quickly.

Just then, Taekwang’s silent phone began to ring loudly.

“Ha, really. What time is it for this old man?”

Taekwang scowled the moment he saw the name on the screen.

He took several deep breaths that felt like sighs filling his mouth.

Just as the call was about to end, he brought the phone to his ear.

“What is it at this hour?”

—Such manners for answering the phone, tsk tsk.

At Sookhee’s voice, which came immediately, Taekwang squeezed his eyes shut.

His temper was already boiling, and hearing Sookhee’s words, which belittled him at every turn, made him feel like his insides were on fire.

“Ah, fuck! Did you call just to piss me off?”

He knew Sookhee hated profanity the most, but Taekwang couldn’t stand it any longer.

His stress was already overflowing, to the point of bursting.

The company’s stock price had been falling daily, and rumors of the CEO’s dismissal due to competence issues were circulating.

No matter how he thought about it, there was no way he could fix it himself, and even Chairman Choi, whom he had relied on, remained silent instead of offering a solution, making him feel like his insides were about to explode.

—You remember what I told you last time, right?

Taekwang’s eyes flashed.

He hadn’t held back his curses knowing he’d be yelled at, but surprisingly, Chairman Choi’s voice was gentle.

Taekwang instinctively felt it.

Chairman Choi’s words were the lifeline he needed to grab right now.

He rummaged through every corner of his mind.

What had Chairman Choi said last time?

Then, Chairman Choi’s voice flashed like lightning in his ear, bringing it back to memory.

‘There’s a child you need to handle.’

Right. Chairman Choi had definitely said that.

That there was a child he needed to handle.

Taekwang’s lips curved into a smile, as if his anger had vanished.

It seemed the time had finally come.

Taekwang felt nothing but joy at the current situation.

Chairman Choi was a tiring person to deal with, but he was a man of definite calculations.

This task, though more unpleasant and dirty to handle directly than anything before, would surely come with a more substantial reward given its complexity.

Taekwang’s eyes gleamed as he moved his lips.

“When should I move?”

—The sooner the better. You choose the appropriate time, and any method is fine, as long as you handle it properly.

Taekwang’s lips twisted into a grotesque smile.

This was the first time Chairman Choi hadn’t specified a concrete time or method when giving an order.

It must mean he was that desperate.

And just as much, he would be able to strongly demand what he wanted.

“Understood. I’ll contact you once it’s decided.”

—You shouldn’t dally.

“I’m a reliable person when it comes to that, so don’t worry. Chairman, you should be ready to give me whatever I want.”

Taekwang hung up the phone.

Finally, he felt like he could escape the fear of losing RM Foods, which he had worked so hard to obtain.

After a moment of calculating in his head, he suddenly remembered something and looked at his phone.

It had been so long since he’d looked up the contact that he couldn’t even remember how it was saved.

He had no choice but to check his phone book one by one when something caught his eye at the edge of his vision.

Taekwang looked up. Then he saw Jin, still huddled in a ball.

Forgetting his fiery anger, Taekwang approached Jin. Jin flinched.

Realizing belatedly that Jin was thoroughly scared, he stopped and spoke.

“You, the materials I told you to keep safe, you kept them well, right?”

With a very meaningful tone, Jin, who had buried her face, slowly raised her head.

“…Materials?”

“The USB and photos I gave you to put in the safe.”

“Ah, yes. I kept them safe.”

“Good. If there’s a bag you want to buy, go tomorrow. Keep an eye on those materials, as they might be useful.”

“…Huh?”

Jin looked at Taekwang with a bewildered expression.

She wondered what this sudden turn of events was.

Just moments ago, he was furious about the credit card bill, and now he was suddenly telling her to buy a bag.

Before she could even ask why he was acting like this, Taekwang turned his back. In Jin’s surprised eyes, she saw him bring his phone to his ear.

“Ah, it’s me. Have you been well? I have something to discuss after a long time.”

Taekwang spoke into the phone, focused on the person on the other end, and left the room.

Only then did Jin awkwardly get up.

She still didn’t understand what was happening, but the prospect of being told to buy a bag made her gloomy mood disappear.

She happened to have a bag she liked.

It was quite expensive, so she had only been looking at it, but since he readily told her to buy it, she thought it would be a good opportunity.

Her tear-stained face was quickly illuminated by a bright light.

As if she hadn’t been sad at all, Jin held her phone in her hand again.

Then, she busily moved her fingers to find someone to go shopping with tomorrow.

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