Chapter 61. Mission

Three days after the incident, everything seemed to fall into place but Joohyun was unhappy somewhere inside her and she knew the reason for that unhappiness. Her life lately had become a routine. She regularly picked up Euna from school, brought her to her academy then drive her home after they would spend an hour or more at the park or somewhere else. The best thing about it was that Joohyun was able to evade the father, although she guessed that Yonghwa was just giving her time and space.

So the we-still-need-to-talk hadn’t happened yet.

She really wanted it that way focusing solely on Euna making sure that the little girl understood that she was there to stay. But it was different for Yonghwa. She longed to see him, be with him the way they were before but she just pushed herself to the limit of not falling into his arms. Joohyun had been buying herself time especially now that things were slowly moving towards that direction she was foreseeing. The stage was set ever since she came back and she worked on it as much as she could. It was a promise she made for her mother and she was willing to do everything to keep it.

Yonghwa came to her life as a distraction. Having him diverted her attention, not to mention her sanity, and for a while all her energy was focused on him. She did not regret a single thing though but right now she needed to focus on her family. With that thought in mind, Joohyun focused on Changmin’s instructions to his lawyer. The car came into a halt and only then she realized that they pulled up in front of her father’s building. All of a sudden, Joohyun could feel her heart race and she knew exactly why. Being in the office offered a bigger chance she would see him.

“Are you sure about this?” Changmin turned to her holding her hand.

“Yes, this is the original plan, right?” She replied pushing her discomfort aside. Giving her oppa a nervous smile, she added, “I’m excited and happy, Oppa.”

“Are you sure you are?” He chuckled when Joohyun rolled her eyes, “It doesn’t look like it.”

“Oppa…” she grumbled.

Changmin squeezed her hand and spoke seriously, “If you’re not sure of this we could both back out now…”

“It was my mom and your mom’s plan before.” Joohyun replied although there was still this hesitation behind all these, she knew that this was the right thing to do, “We can’t withdraw now and you promised me that you will forget everything and go through this…”

He could only sigh watching the determination in her eyes. With a resigned nod, he announced softly, “Joohyun… you are changing the way I planned my life to be.”

“No, I am not.” She gave giggled resting her head on his shoulder for a second then winked at him, “This is fate.”

~~~

It may be an exaggeration but it seemed like the whole company was in a buzz when he arrived. Yonghwa could see some of his staff gathering about and talking but silently dispersed when he passed by. It was indeed an odd morning. Before sealing himself inside his office, he asked Hyoyeon for the day’s agenda and everything else that he needed to know. After she was done with her report, Yonghwa casually asked her as he was finishing signing some documents, “Set up an appointment for me with the Chairman, please. There are a few things I need to discuss with him regarding with the Anderson Proposal.”

“Today, Director?”

Yonghwa looked up from the papers in front of him only to find that confused expression the woman was wearing, “Yes, it’s urgent. What’s wrong?”

“Uhm, there is a closed door meeting happening right now,” Hyoyeon spoke carefully, “I thought you’re aware of that. It’s scheduled for the rest of the day.”

“For the rest of the day?” He repeated almost to himself, curious of what was happening especially since he was the Director of Finance. Clearly if it was something related to the company he should have been part of it or simply just aware of it. “Do you have any information about that?”

Hyoyeon shook her head, “It’s confidential, I’ve heard.”

“Oh?” Yonghwa lounged on his chair in deep thought until Hyoyeon mumbled softly.

“Uhm, there’s a rumor going around that Chairman Seo is retiring and…” she sighed. It was a rumor and she shouldn’t say it but with Director Jung’s relationship with Joohyun, she decided to speak out. Hyoyeon softly continued, “They are talking about a wedding engagement and business merging.”

Yonghwa almost choked on his own breath.

Joohyun.

The rest of what his secretary said was a blur and he only noticed that he was finally alone in his office when the door shut close. All his thought surged into Joohyun. He should have realized something was going on when the chairman questioned him about his relationship with his daughter that day in their house. It must have been an oversight on his part to think that his boss wanted Joohyun for him.

Did she know about this before? Yonghwa ran his hands through his hair then loosened his tie. He was simply unprepared for this. In retrospect, Joohyun shouldn’t have known about this because if this was a case of an arranged marriage, she wouldn’t have agreed.

Or would she?

She would if she was to marry—

It couldn’t be.

Only when he was at the lobby that he realized he had really nowhere to go. Maybe he needed to go walk somewhere, clear his head, try to understand what was happening. Yonghwa was a few steps to the main door when he caught a glimpse of that woman— his woman, walking towards the exit with an arm wrapped to that man he suddenly despised. His jaw clenched as his steps caught up with them.

Forgetting where they were or even civility, Yonghwa deliberately grabbed her arm that she was spun to him and her expression was nothing short of appalled.

“O-oppa…” Joohyun could only mumble as she stood between Yonghwa and Changmin.

“Can we talk?” Yonghwa’s tone was more of a demand as he watched her eyes widened. He knew that she was going to protest but before she could say anything, Changmin stepped in.

“I’ll wait for you in the car,” he gave Joohyun a comforting smile before slightly bowing at the other man.

She was obviously taken by surprise with what her oppa just did, like he just shoved her inside the lion’s den.

“Are you sure you want to marry him?”

Joohyun couldn’t help herself but roll her eyes as she crossed her arms to her chest, “And what is it to you?”

“I love you.”

Just that. As simple as that. opened. Then closed. She just realized that they were in the middle of the lobby where people were coming and going. They must have been the view of the day.

“Seriously,” she scoffed stubbornly.

“I mean it.” Yonghwa saw her surprise and the way her eyes roamed around them. Now that she was aware of their surroundings, he was even more encouraged to let the world know. “And I know that you love me too,” keeping his voice low, he added despite how tongue-tied she became, “I can see it in your eyes, Joohyun-ssi.”

Joohyun told herself to be calm, that he was just provoking her. Thankfully, his voice was too soft for the people around them to hear. Although they seemed to ignore them, it was easy to tell that the two of them were getting second and stealthy glances from their curious audience. Her impatience was getting the best of her so she declared as she started walking away, “This is going nowhere.”

“Seo Joohyun-ssi,” Yonghwa called back when she was a few steps away from the door. Then, w