Perfect Possession - Episode 67

Jaehoon wasn’t home, the house completely empty, so Chairman Han summoned his closest aides. Sung-joon and Hyun-shik had also submitted their resignations and weren’t at the company.

 

Normally, they would have had to go through the resignation process, but given the circumstances, they simply submitted their letters and stopped going to work. However, having been summoned by Chairman Han, Hyun-shik and Sung-joon found themselves facing him.

 

“Where is he?”

 

“We don’t know either.”

 

Sung-joon answered first. Chairman Han had always disregarded Sung-joon more than his own family, treating him like a stranger. Even though he was half his brother’s blood, a nephew in all but name, he treated him like an invisible man, excluding him from family events.

 

When Jaehoon appointed Sung-joon as head of the division, he was the one who vehemently opposed it, saying that he couldn’t put a bastard in such a position.

 

“You expect me to believe that? Tell me right now!”

 

Chairman Han roared, glaring at Sung-joon.

 

“We can’t get in touch with him either.”

 

Hyun-shik quickly stepped forward, afraid that Chairman Han would grab Sung-joon by the collar any second.

 

“You, who are practically Jaehoon’s right-hand men, are telling me you don’t know? That makes no sense!”

 

Hyun-shik found the text message Jaehoon had sent and held it out to Chairman Han.

 

“This message came this morning at dawn.”

 

Chairman Han snatched the phone roughly.

 

[Rest until I contact you.]

 

It was a simple message.

 

“We’re also looking for his whereabouts.”

 

“He’s turned Do-young upside down and gone into hiding! If I catch that bastard, I’ll take away all his shares and kick him out.”

 

Chairman Han trembled, grinding his teeth. Watching him, Sung-joon couldn’t stand it any longer and pushed Hyun-shik aside, standing face to face with the Chairman.

 

“Do you have the right to do that, Chairman? You isolated and cornered the Vice Chairman. What right do you have to take away his shares!”

 

Chairman Han couldn’t immediately speak, seemingly unable to believe that Sung-joon was the one glaring at him and arguing back. Then, regaining his senses, he grabbed the cigarette pack from his desk and threw it.

 

Caught off guard, Sung-joon was hit on the forehead by the cigarette pack. It fell to the carpet with a dull thud.

 

Sung-joon stared blankly at it, only then realizing that blood was flowing from his forehead.

 

“Chairman, what are you doing?”

 

Hyun-shik took out a towel and pressed it against Sung-joon’s forehead, raising his voice at Chairman Han. Enraged that a mere secretary and a half-blooded nephew were rebuking him, Chairman Han’s fury reached its peak.

 

“What! Are you bastards all dying to be locked up? Bring Jaehoon back here right now before I throw you all in jail!”

 

“Chairman, please calm down. Both of you, get out. Now!”

 

Seeing Chairman Han shouting as if he was about to collapse, Chief Jo stopped him and forced the two men out of the room.

 

As they left the Do-young residence, Sung-joon cursed violently.

 

“That damn old man! He must be senile to say such awful things.”

 

“We’re still in the Do-young parking lot.”

 

Hyun-shik grabbed Sung-joon’s hand to keep him pressing the towel to his forehead and got behind the wheel. Neither of them knew where Jaehoon had gone. At first, they thought he was on Jeju Island and checked, but he wasn’t there.

 

“Let’s go to the hospital first.”

 

“Damn it, I hope this doesn’t leave a scar.”

 

Sung-joon was so angry that he didn’t even feel the pain from his injured forehead. How could they put incompetent Director Park in charge of the project he had prepared so carefully, just because Jaehoon didn’t do as he was told? The more he thought about it, the angrier Sung-joon became.

 

“What are you going to do if it leaves a scar?”

 

“I’m going to sue.”

 

Sung-joon shouted, glaring at the Do-young residence as they drove away.

 

“But Hyun-shik, don’t you really have any idea where he might be?”

 

“There’s one place.”

 

“Where?”

 

“Geoje Island. He has a villa there that he bought to spend time with the Madam.”

 

“Then why didn’t he tell us he was going?”

 

“He probably knew this would happen. He knows we can’t keep secrets. He probably thought it would be better for us to be summoned by the Chairman without knowing anything.”

 

“Of course. Our Hyung sees not just one move ahead, but a hundred. Oh? Unemployed? Come to think of it, we’re unemployed! Haha, ouch, it’s starting to hurt now.”

 

Sung-joon screamed as the cut on his forehead throbbed with pain. Hyun-shik frowned and scolded him.

 

“Either be in pain or laugh, pick one.”

 

“It really hurts.”

 

The two headed to Jae-moon’s hospital to take care of the cut on Sung-joon’s forehead first.

 

 

Jaehoon’s expression grew increasingly grim as he stared at the laptop. He knew this would happen, but seeing the numbers with his own eyes made it harder to remain calm than he had expected.

 

It didn’t even take a day for the news of Jaehoon’s departure from the Do-young Group to spread like wildfire around the world. The Do-young Group’s secretary office was probably in a state of virtual paralysis by now.

 

Without Hyun-shik, he worried about how they were handling the calls from all over the world to confirm the facts.

 

He knew he couldn’t gain anything without losing something, so he had prepared himself for the pain. But seeing Do-young, which his grandfather had loved, faltering due to the stock crash, Jaehoon wasn’t sure how long he could endure it.

 

However, he wasn’t going to make any rash moves before Chairman Han raised the white flag. It was not only about Seo-yeon and Tae-yul, but also about the future of Do-young.

 

Jaehoon sighed deeply without realizing it. Unaware that Seo-yeon was watching him, he closed the laptop, unable to bear watching any longer.

 

Seo-yeon had been watching Jaehoon through the open study door. She held her phone in her hand. Seo-yeon had been the secretary to the Vice Chairman of Do-young Group for a year.

 

It would have been stranger if she hadn’t anticipated this situation. She knew very well what kind of repercussions Jaehoon’s resignation would cause. When Do-young’s stock plummeted, Seo-yeon became worried about Jaehoon and went to find him.

 

Seo-yeon deliberately took a few steps back and took a slow, deep breath. Then, she smiled brightly and called out to Jaehoon loudly.

 

“Jaehoon, where are you? Jaehoon?”

 

“I’m here,” Jaehoon’s voice came from the study, and he appeared. Seo-yeon narrowed her eyes as if she had just passed by and teased Jaehoon.

 

“What’s this? Were you hiding in the study because you’re having a hard time with childcare?”

 

Seo-yeon walked up to Jaehoon and poked him lightly in the side with her finger.

 

“Ouch, your hands are surprisingly rough.”

 

“This man! My fingerprints are worn off from covering Tae-yul with his blanket. Look.”

 

She held out her finger to Jaehoon, showing him her fingerprint. Jaehoon quickly grabbed it, grinned, and kissed her palm.

 

“What’s this? Is this a signal to hurry up while our son is napping?”

 

“Huh?”

 

Truly surprised, Seo-yeon stared at Jaehoon in disbelief and then laughed.

 

“Listen, Han Jaehoon. Are you saying that because you think I’ll be satisfied with that short amount of time?”

 

This time, Jaehoon’s gaze narrowed. He had thrown out a joke, wanting to see her slightly flustered face, but instead of falling for it, he was excited by her bold statement.

 

“Damn it, what should I do?”

 

“I really can’t say.”

 

Seo-yeon smiled as she looked at Jaehoon, who was speaking seriously, and quickly crossed her arms.

 

“Let’s just go for a walk. I wanted to stroll along the beach, so I came to get you.”

 

“Oh, is that all?”

 

Seo-yeon glared lovingly at Jaehoon, who looked genuinely disappointed. Jaehoon, who was playfully pretending to be scared and trembling, took Seo-yeon’s hand and went out to the beach.

 

A gentle breeze swept between them. As her long hair fluttered, Jaehoon looked at her smooth hair.

 

“I always thought your hair was beautiful.”

 

“Oh, just my hair?”

 

“It was the first thing I noticed. Everyone else curls it and dyes it. But when I first saw you walk into my office, I was really surprised by your natural, smooth hair.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah, but I immediately thought, ‘She must spend a lot of money on her hair.’ I couldn’t imagine that someone could have naturally smooth hair like that.”

 

“That’s ridiculous.”

 

Seo-yeon had enjoyed walking on the beach with Tae-yul, but it felt different to be walking alone with Jaehoon after so long.

 

It was nice just to walk in silence, but when Jaehoon told her about their first meeting, her heart fluttered and raced.

 

“Honestly, if you hadn’t introduced yourself with that sexy voice, I would have touched it.”

 

“Too bad.”

 

“What is?”

 

“Well, I had just spent a full day being trained on how difficult it is to be the secretary of some impressive but perfect man who wouldn’t let a needle in, and suddenly you touched my hair. What would I have thought?”

 

“I wasn’t that unapproachable, was I?”

 

Jaehoon frowned, wondering if he had seemed that way to others.

 

“That’s how you look to other people. Anyway, I probably would have thought, ‘What a pervert.'”

 

“Seo-yeon.”

 

Jaehoon called her name in surprise.

 

“No, I’m saying that’s what I would have thought if you had touched it. You didn’t touch it. Why are you making such a fuss about it?”

 

Seo-yeon looked up at Jaehoon, blinked, and smiled brightly.

 

“Damn it, you’re too lovely for me to get angry.”

 

“Not bad, is it?”

 

She leaned on Jaehoon and strolled along the sandy beach, enjoying the breeze for a moment. The subtle warmth and scent of Jaehoon made her feel at peace.

 

“Jaehoon.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“That’s enough. Chairman Han probably knows now too. How much you’re needed at Do-young, and how scary you can be if he messes with you.”

 

Jaehoon didn’t say anything.

 

“You can go back now. I’m really okay.”

 

“I have a promise to get back. Just until then.”

 

Jaehoon put his arm around Seo-yeon’s shoulders and stopped walking. The deserted beach was peaceful, with only the birds and the wind enjoying their world.

 

“This is nice.”

 

“It is nice.”

 

The two whispered softly, leaning on each other and looking out at the sea. After a while, they heard a child crying from somewhere. Without a word, they turned around and ran, smiling brightly.

 

Tae-yul, who had woken up from his nap, was crying in Kim’s arms. When Tae-yul found his mom and dad, he cried even louder, and Seo-yeon burst out laughing.

 

“I think he’s getting more and more spoiled.”

 

“It’s okay. It’s just a phase. I’ll accept it all during that time, Tae-yul.”

 

Jaehoon raised his arm high and waved it. Tae-yul, still crying, waved his little arm and called out to Jaehoon.

 

“Daddy, Tanewoo no.”

 

Jaehoon, who picked up Tae-yul, who was protesting to his mom and dad, “Don’t leave Tae-yul alone,” hugged Seo-yeon tightly with his other arm. Jaehoon realized once again that these two people were the reason he breathed.