IWSF – Ch 210

Yang Hana looked closely at the other person.

It was a face she had never seen before. He had a plump build, short hair, and wore glasses. His outfit consisted of jeans, a hoodie, and a black puffer jacket.

It was completely inappropriate for this venue.

Since childhood, she had memorized the names and faces of prominent figures in the business world. No one fitting this description existed among the top 30 groups.

No, beyond that, he didn’t even seem like someone from the business sector. How on earth did he get in here?

‘Did he perhaps pick up an invitation from somewhere?’

Suppressing the urge to shout, Yang Hana calmly said,

“My grandfather is the chairman of CL Group. My father is the CEO of CL Chemicals.”

He would likely be startled, bow his head, and apologize. But she had no intention of letting it slide.

However, his reaction was completely different from what she expected.

“So?”

“…Huh?”

“I understand your grandfather is the chairman of CL Group and your father is the CEO of CL Chemicals, but what do you want me to do about it?”

She didn’t know it well, but he had a personality that didn’t care what others thought. He had even asked a sitting U.S. president, worried about declining approval ratings, “Isn’t there nowhere else for ratings to drop?”

The only person he paid attention to was his noona.

Yang Hana was astonished.

Everyone can make mistakes out of ignorance. But he couldn’t behave this way knowing who she was. Being the granddaughter of the fourth largest group in the business world meant something.

What was she supposed to do if he acted like this despite knowing?

Her dress was already a mess, and arguing or shouting in a setting like this wasn’t an option.

‘Why am I experiencing this?’

She felt frustrated and angry to the point of tears.

Fortunately, other men nearby stepped in.

“Hana, what’s wrong?”

“What’s going on?”

“Who is that person?”

These were individuals she frequently saw at social gatherings, and they all had a strong fondness for her.

Yang Hana wiped the tears welling in her eyes and said, “That person spilled food on my clothes… and asked me to apologize…”

At her words, five or six men surrounded the offender with grim expressions.

A tall young man with a strong physique stepped forward. He was Moon Seong-dong, the grandson of the chairman of the 18th largest conglomerate, the Beomun Group, which mainly deals in construction and rental.

“Is what Hana said true?”

He nodded.

“Surprisingly, there’s nothing incorrect about it.”

Though he omitted the part about bumping into her.

With an intimidating gaze, he scanned the offender from top to bottom. It was a face he had never seen before, and the attire looked as if it had been picked from a used clothing bin.

No matter how you looked at it, he was out of place.

“What brings you here?”

He answered candidly.

“I came to eat at the buffet and look for a friend.”

“……”

Everyone was at a loss for words.

There are people like this in the world. Just for a moment of fun, they mistakenly think they’re friends with a wealthy person.

Is he really not from the business world?

Cold glares poured down. Taek-gyu felt the weight of those gazes and pondered deeply.

“Is this what the protagonist commonly faces as a crisis?”

Having gone through various events while investing with Jin-ho, he felt confident that he could easily get past this level of crisis.

Moon Seong-dong asked in a cold voice, “Did you apologize to Hana?”

“No.”

“Then apologize right now.”

At those words, Taek-gyu bowed his head.

“Yes. I’m sorry. Well, I’ll take my leave now.”

Yang Hana was too stunned to comprehend.

“Is he really just leaving like that? I ruined the whole party.”

Tears welled up in her eyes without needing to act; she felt truly wronged.

“Waaah.”

Seeing her, Moon Seong-dong grabbed the offender’s shoulder.

“Let’s step outside for a moment and talk.”

Taek-gyu flatly refused.

“No, I don’t want to.”

His expression turned icy.

“Follow me while I’m still being nice.”

Taek-gyu smiled slyly. Then, crossing his arms, he sighed dramatically as if everyone was meant to hear him.

“Ha. I tried to let it go, but I guess it won’t work. This is why a protagonist shouldn’t hide their strength.”

“What are you talking about?”

Recalling the moment his friend revealed his true identity, Taek-gyu shouted confidently,

“I am the CEO of OTK Company!”

Everyone was taken aback.

Someone spoke up.

“The CEO is Kang Jin-ho.”

At those words, Taek-gyu nodded.

“Oh, right. He was the CEO. Then what was I? COT? COE?”

He could just say he was the vice president, but in a situation like this, he felt he should say it in English.

After thinking for a moment, Taek-gyu clapped his hands.

“That’s it. COO. Now I remember.”

However, no one was taking him seriously.

Moon Seong-dong reached out and grabbed the back of his neck tightly. The only reason he didn’t grab him by the collar was the eyes of those around them.

“Come with me.”

“No, seriously! Why don’t you believe me? Jin-ho! Kang Jin-ho!”

As he was being dragged by the nape of his neck, someone stepped in front of them. It was none other than Kang Jin-ho.

“What’s going on?”

Moon Seong-dong smiled and said, “Ah! CEO Kang Jin-ho. You don’t need to worry. This strange person was causing a ruckus, and I’m just escorting him out.”

Then Taek-gyu waved his hands and said, “Hey, you came at the right time. Can you tell them I’m the COO?”

Everyone, including Yang Hana, had the same thought at once.

‘Could it be that he really knows him?’

Kang Jin-ho subtly turned his head.

“I don’t know him.”

Everyone except Oh Taek-gyu let out a sigh of relief.

“My friend!”

Then Kang Jin-ho spoke again.

“It’s a joke, and he is the COO of OTK Company.”

At those words, Moon Seong-dong froze, and Yang Hana looked at Taek-gyu in shock.

“Th-that’s impossible…”

This scruffy-looking guy is the one who built the current OTK Company with Kang Jin-ho?

One man muttered in surprise, “He looks like a convenience store part-timer.”

Taek-gyu, filled with anger, retorted, “Are you looking down on convenience store part-timers right now?”

“Well, it seems like I’m just dismissing you…”

Ignoring the man, Taek-gyu continued shouting.

“Thanks to their efforts, my noona can smoke 24 hours a day!”

Then Oh Hyun-joo appeared, speaking in a cold voice.

“Let go of my brother.”

“Y-yes!”

Caught off guard by her authority, Moon Seong-dong quickly responded and let go.

With a show of bravado, Taek-gyu approached Kang Jin-ho, resting his arm on his shoulder, then pointed at Yang Hana and Moon Seong-dong, as if to tattle.

“Jin-ho, these people… they are…”

***

Hearing Taek-gyu’s story, I nodded and asked,

“So you were just standing still, and then bumped into each other, leading to this situation?”

“Exactly.”

“So it’s not your fault?”

“I’m innocent!”

“Got it.”

I looked at Hyun-joo. On the surface, her expression didn’t seem to change much, but in reality, she was extremely angry.

Her expression seemed to say, “Anyone who messes with my brother becomes an enemy immediately.”

Hyun-joo turned to the man who had just tried to drag Taek-gyu away.

“Didn’t we just greet each other? Moon Seong-dong, Executive Director of Beomun Construction.”

From the side, Taek-gyu muttered as if to be heard,

“Hmm, Moon Seong-dong from Beomun Construction. I should note that down.”

His face turned pale, as if he had heard the phrase about names being written in a Death Note. He probably didn’t expect that the person grabbing him by the neck was the Vice President of OTK Company.

Hyun-joo then turned to Yang Hana.

“Did you come over and bump into him first?”

“I… I didn’t mean to…”

Perhaps overwhelmed by the pressure, she couldn’t even form a proper excuse. She just looked around, unsure of what to do.

At that moment, Chairman Im Jin-yong, President Im Soo-mi, and Yang Hana’s father, President Yang Ho-young, appeared together.

Having heard a bit about the situation, President Yang looked shocked, while Chairman Im smiled and said,

“Accidental bumps can happen. Since Vice President Oh Taek-gyu has already apologized, you two should also apologize and make up.”

In a party, whatever happens is the host’s responsibility. Conversely, it means guests should be careful not to cause any issues that would embarrass the host. Even if a problem arises, they should usually try to let it go.

In the end, Yang Hana and Moon Seong Dong resolved the situation by apologizing to Taek-gyu.

Perhaps due to the surrounding gazes, Yang Hana looked on the verge of collapsing. Fortunately, CEO Im Soo-mi extended a helping hand.

“You were quite surprised, weren’t you? You need to change your dress. There should be a spare dress at the hotel; will you follow me?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Yang Hana followed CEO Im Soo-mi, while the staff cleared away the spilled food.

The men who had sided with Yang Hana earlier slowly backed away.

Taek-gyu spoke to them.

“This is fate that we met like this, so before you leave, please tell me your names.”

Upon hearing that, their faces turned pale.

What a disgusting guy.

“Just go.”

As soon as I said that, they hurriedly left their seats, looking like they were fleeing.

“I remember all your faces.”

For some of them, tonight will be a sleepless night.

Hyun-joo pressed her forehead with her fingers, looking troubled.

I quietly said to Ellie, “It seems like our noona has a headache coming on in her forehead. I usually get pain on the side of my head.”

Ellie smiled and lowered her voice. “That’s true, but she’s worried about getting wrinkles. Frowning quickly causes forehead wrinkles, you know? So she pulls her forehead up with her fingers.”

“Ah….”

So that was the reason?

Hyun-joo sighed and said, “I’m going to have a smoke.”

The indoor area is non-smoking, so if you want to smoke, you have to go outside.

“Let’s go together.”

I wanted to get some fresh air and avoid the attention of those around us.

We all went outside.

The weather was quite chilly. The men wore suits or tuxedos, but the women were in thin dresses. Henry quickly took off his outer jacket and draped it over Hyun-joo’s shoulders.

“Thank you.”

It was a heartwarming sight.

I also removed my jacket and covered Ellie with it. It was definitely cold without a jacket. Taek-gyu zipped up his coat and said.

“Ah, it’s cold.”

“…….”

What’s he talking about being cold when he’s the only one wearing a thick padded coat?

Hyun-joo shot a glare at Taek-gyu while smoking a cigarette.

“You should have at least said you were coming.”

“I just wanted to surprise you, noona.”

I was genuinely surprised. I can’t believe he caused trouble right after arriving.

Noticing the atmosphere seemed to suggest he might get scolded, Taek-gyu quickly raised both of his thumbs and said.

“Wow! Noona, you look amazing today. I almost didn’t recognize you. Dress up like this more often.”

“Shut up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Hyun-joo turned to me.

“What do you think about being at a place like this?”

“Well, it’s not as fun as dining with Warren Buffett.”

Everyone seemed to agree with my comment, showing expressions of understanding.

“Still, you’re going to have more opportunities to come to events like this in the future. You as well as Taek-gyu.”

Hyun-joo glared at Taek-gyu again.

“You’ll talk to me later.”

It’s not easy to get scolded after coming all this way.

I handed a tissue to Taek-gyu, who was making a sad face.

“You haven’t cried yet.”

“No, it’s to wipe the jam off your shoulder.”

He had cleaned up earlier, but it seems he missed his shoulder.

“I was saving it to dip my bread later.”

Even though he said that, he diligently wiped it anyway.

After that, the party continued. There was a simple performance on stage, and everyone applauded when CEO Im Soo-mi gave her speech.

I had a brief greeting with Vice Chairman Shin Byeong-doo as well.

Yuri said to me, “I’m going to head out first.”

“Already? It seemed like those guys were trying to talk to you earlier.”

Yuri pouted and replied, “Tch, I’m not interested in guys like that.”

“Then what kind of guy are you interested in?”

“I won’t tell you about the seniors.”

Her sulky expression was cute, for some reason.

“Aren’t you curious why Seon-ah isn’t here?”

“Huh?”

Now that I think about it, people from GH Group were present, but Seon-ah and Go Jun-hyung were nowhere to be seen.

I hadn’t even thought about it until I heard.

“Why didn’t she come?”

“She said she’s pregnant.”

“Really?”

So it was indeed an unexpected pregnancy?

Yuri said with a smile.

“Well, see you next time, senior.”

“Take care.”

***

The opening party ended around midnight.

In front, large sedans were lined up, and people exchanged greetings as they each got into their cars.

Sang-yeop and Gi-hong were together.

“We’re going for one more drink.”

“What about the woman you came with?”

“She said she was tired and left early,” Gi-hong said.

“It seems like she left because you didn’t look after her.”

“Is that so?”

After greeting Chairman Im Jin-yong and President Im Soo-mi, I got into the car with Ellie.

Perhaps due to the alcohol, Ellie’s face was slightly flushed. She wore a figure-hugging evening dress, her long white legs beautifully exposed, and black patent leather high heels.

She is charming as usual, but today feels completely different.

Ellie held my hand and said, “Shall we go to Jinhoo’s house? Is that okay?”

I nodded.

“Of course.”