Chapter 95
Sangho began to speak ill of Hyunwoo.
The heart of the matter was his relationship with Minhye Park. Sangho said it wasn’t Minhye but Hyunwoo who was trying to tempt the other party, and that Hyunwoo’s ultimate goal was to marry Minhye and take over Aurum.
Mrs. Kong was stunned to hear that, “Really? Is he that kind of person?”
“Of course, I’m not saying he is a bad man. He could be greedy, but the thing is he is eting other girls.”
“Other girls?”
“Yea, it seems he has a mistress. He is good in every way, but his relationship with won is not that clean.”
Sangho let out a sigh as if he felt regret about Hyunwoo’ relationship with won.
Mrs. Kong hung up the phone, expressing thanks to Sangho for such a tip about Hyunwoo.
After the call, Sangho felt all the more resentful towards Hyunwoo.
In fact, Minhye was too good for such a high-school graduate like Hyunwoo. And now he was trying to win Suji’s heart, Sangho thought.
“This kind of jerk will get his own head screwed on only after he gets his fingers burned.”
***
The next morning, dressed up, Mrs. Kong and Suji waited for Hyunwoo’s minivan to arrive. They were ready to go out, tid with the arrival of his van.
While waiting quietly, Mrs. Kong suddenly asked, “Suji. Don’t you have a relationship with Hyunwoo? I suspect you like him.”
“No way, mom. Don’t you trust your daughter?” asked Suji, leering at her cutely.
Mrs. Kong let out a sigh of relief and said, “I’m relieved to hear that. I hear he has a good relationship with the daughter of the president of your company.”
Suji’s eyes opened wider at that. Actually, she knew sothing about it when Sangho told her the other day. Initially, she felt it was not true, but Sangho ntioned it so confidently and the way Hyunwoo and Minhye interacted at the recent picnic gave such an impression.
What’s more surprising was her mother’s ntion of the rumor about Hyunwoo. She only ntioned Hyunwoo to her mother for the first ti yesterday, but her mother already knew about the rumor about Hyunwoo’s relationship with Minhye in one day.
Suddenly she recalled soone, asking her mother, “Did you call brother Sangho last night?”
Mrs. Kong was stunned by Suji’s asking, but imdiately cald down and said, “What? No, I didn’t. Why should I call him about that? I know soone who’s familiar with the situation of Aurum, so I asked him, who told about Hyunwoo and Minhye.”
Suji nodded her head, but she felt sothing doubtful. She wanted to ask her who that person her mother said she knew was, but at that mont, Hyunwoo called her.
“He just got here. Let’s go out.”
Helped by her daughter, Mrs. Kong went out and found Hyunwoo’s van waiting outside.
Inside the van were the seniors they went together to the outing yesterday.
The grannies were voluble, as expected. They were busy chattering about everything. When soone brought up a certain topic, everyone competed to gossip about it.
Then soone casually ntioned Hyunwoo. In fact, when they were in the van, they often said appreciative words about Hyunwoo, and that there was a beautiful lady Suji in the van. So, they naturally began to talk about both of them, expressing wishes of making a good couple.
“Looks like they would make a handso couple. Excellent match!”
“I totally agree. What a fantastic occasion it is! Hey, try to hit it off together.”
Hyunwoo and Suji neither confird nor denied. If they showed any reaction, that would invite more gossip from them, so they just smiled.
When Hyunwoo and Suji didn’t show any reaction, they then turned to Jisuk, Hyunwoo’s mother and Mrs. Kong, but Jisukshowed a similar reaction by saying, “Well, that’s what they have to decide for themselves. These days, we parents don’t have any say.”
“Do you like her as your daughter-in-law?” asked one granny.
“Of course. Where could I find such a kind-hearted candidate as my daughter-in-law?” said Jisuk.
Satisfied with her reply, the grannies began asking Mrs. Kong, but she didn’t feel easy. She didn’t want to have Suji tangled in Hyunwoo’s complicated relationship with won, but she could not speak ill of Hyunwoo in front of them. So, she changed the atmosphere by changing the topic to Hyunwoo himself.
“Don’t press on like that. I hear Hyunwoo has a good relationship with the daughter of the president of Aurum.”
“Really?”
“Oh my god! I didn’t know that.”
The grannies showed explosive reaction to Mrs. Kong’s reply.
Hyunwoo was also surprised a bit. Aurum employees could misunderstand the situation, but it was really sothing unexpected that even Mrs. Kong talked about such groundless rumors.
“What happened? Are you dating?”
“Did you et her parents?”
“You should have told us about it earlier. I wasted my ti spreading the word that I knew a very suitable bridegroom.”
The old won in the van were gossiping about the rumor about Hyunwoo and Minhye. Now, checking out the atmosphere, Hyunwoo could not sit idle because there might spread further groundless rumors that he’s going to get married to Minhye next month.
“That’s not true. I have no relationship with her. They misunderstood and spread false rumors about and her,” said Hyunwoo.
Nonetheless, they didn’t believe him. They just thought Hyunwoo said so just to avoid the awkward situation. Even Hyunwoo’s parents looked suspiciously at him.
Hyunwoo was sweating in agony because of their queries.
Watching Hyunwoo struggling to answer, Mrs. Kong beca more convinced, determined to protect her daughter.
Hummm.. I won’t allow Suji to follow next ti.
It was easy. If Suji insisted on following her, she would not join the outing group.
Actually, she was determined to do so. Though it was pleasant to go to the outing with the seniors, she didn’t want to destroy her daughter’s life because of that.
In the anti, Hyunwoo drove his van toward a large supermarket, so that he could buy lots of snacks for them. He also bought so flowers and chocolates as gifts.
The exhibition at Seoul Imaging College that Hyunwoo and the senior visited before was hosted by its students as an annual event, so the students prepared the event very well, including their reception of the guests. However, the exhibition at the School of Dream, the alternative school they were now visiting was hosted by middle school students, and the preparation was poor. That’s why Hyunwoo stopped by the supermarket to buy the necessary stuff for the event.
After the purchase, Hyunwoo got back on the bus and drove the van to the campus of Dongansan University.
There were lots of guests already at the exhibition, about 70 including the students and their parents. As Hyunwoo, Suji and the seniors visited the exhibition as a large group, many others on the campus gathered, making the event a great success.
Hyunwoo took out lots of snacks including cookies and chocolates worth about 300,000 won. Each of the seniors grabbed one or two snacks they liked and sat on the grass comfortably.
“Wow~ The grass is so soft!”
“The weather is warm, and I’m glad I’ve co here!”
Hyunwoo’s parents didn’t pay much attention to the exhibition. Instead, Hyunwoo’s mother looked around the beautiful campus, pushing her husband’s wheelchair here and there.
Hyunwoo montarily thought of following them, but stopped.
At that mont, Byungwon found Hyunwoo and said hi, “Hey, I’m here, Hyunwoo. Oh, Suji is here too.”
When Hyunwoo turned to him, Byungwon was with Mingyu, his son.
Stroking his head, Hyunwoo said, “Looking good, Mingyu. How are you these days?”
“Well, I haven’t gone to a hospital since then,” replied Mingyu with a bright smile.
Excited and spritely, Byungwon said, “Mingyu has beco very healthy. I owe it all to you, Hyunwoo.”
Byungwon grabbed his hands firmly. Then, he found Suji following behind.
Suddenly, Byungwon felt sothing strange. Why were they spending ti together during the weekend when they work at the sa office every day? And when he looked at soone next to Suji, he noticed a middle-aged woman looking like Suji. Obviously, she was Suji’s mother.
Looking at Hyunwoo and Suji alternately, Byungwon smiled in satisfaction as if he knew about their relationship.
Hyunwoo also noticed Byungwon’s smile and seed to know why he was smiling. At that mont, Hyunwoo thought about asking him not to misunderstand but stopped. Whether he denied his relationship with her or not, it would invite more speculation and gossip.
Instead, Hyunwoo located a place for the seniors to watch the exhibition taking place in one corner of the campus. Suji moved with him as if it was only natural she did so, but Mrs. Kong held Suji’s hand and followed her. As she was really physically uncomfortable, Hyunwoo didn’t feel strange about Mrs. Kong’s act.
Byungwon and Mingyu guided them around the works with a detailed explanation about each of the works. At that mont, Suji, walking in comfort along with Hyunwoo, stopped on the spot as if her body froze. Standing right next to her, Hyunwoo turned to her side. She was looking at sobody, much surprised, and then murmured to herself, “Oh, daddy.”
“Your Dad?” Hyunwoo’s eyes opened wide. Suddenly, Hyunwoo turned his head to the place Suji was pointing to. There he found a handso middle-aged gentleman, who hadn’t yet discovered Suji. Folding his hands behind his back, he was looking at each of the works carefully.
Sotis he massaged and swung his neck, and kept pressing on the middle of the forehead as if his vision was blurry. His clothes were shabby, his hair untidy and beard thick. It looked as if he took a brief rest after several days of working day and night.
And he cast a glance at Suji unintentionally and found Suji and his wife.
Opening his eyes wide, he called them, “Suji! Honey!”
He strode toward them and wrapped Suji’s face with both hands.
“When did you get here? I wish you had called .”
“Mom didn’t want to. You’re so busy all the ti.”
“No matter how busy I am I have ti to see you, my princess. How is your condition, honey? Why didn’t you call ?”
“Well, I didn’t call you on purpose because it might disturb your research.”
The middle-aged man caressed both Suji and his wife continuously, which clearly showed he was glad to see their unexpected visit to the campus on an occasion like this.
“What brought you here?”
“We’re here to see the exhibition.”
“I didn’t know they were holding an exhibition. How did you know it? Did you co here in a taxi?”
Every ti he asked, Kong answered in a slow but awkward tone.
And naturally, the na Hyunwoo ca out of their lips. Fortunately, Suji’s father ca to know about Hyunwoo and realized that all of them ca here in Hyunwoo’s van, and that all of the seniors sitting on the grass were Hyunwoo’s group. Mrs. Kong also told him she was going on outings with them sotis, but he didn’t seem to know she went to a picnic sotis.
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