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SERIES: An Impure Reunion
CHAPTER: An Impure Reunion Chapter 18
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18.
In Taejun's office on the upper floor of the Geonan Group headquarters, Manager Ha and Taejun were once again busy in conversation.
Thanks to his trip to London for the past few days, Taejun's work had piled up mountain-high.
Today was no different.
One thing after another, the continuous stream of issues made Taejun frown.
“Let's take a break.”
The words finally left his lips.
Manager Ha gave a brief nod and left the office.
After he left, Taejun loosened his tie and let out a deep sigh.
A deep furrow was still etched between his brows.
Just as another sigh escaped him,
Bzzzz, a vibration came from the inner pocket of his jacket.
Taejun rubbed his brow as he pulled his phone from his pocket.
And when he checked the screen, a dry laugh escaped his lips.
“Heo Jian.”
He uttered the familiar name, but his voice was different from usual.
The palpable chill in his tone revealed just how angry he was.
[Driver Park: Madam is at the restaurant Plate right now.]
A text message had arrived on Taejun's phone.
The sender was none other than Driver Park, the man assigned to follow Jian.
Driver Park had just informed Taejun that Jian had gone to Kang Jae's restaurant.
Taejun irritably tossed his phone onto the desk.
He completely removed his tie, throwing it onto the desk as well, and muttered quietly.
“It seems my warning went in one ear and out the other.”
He was sure he had told her that Driver Park was his eyes and ears,
but Jian's complete disregard for his warning infuriated him.
In an instant, the frown vanished from his face, replaced by an icy smile.
“What will it take for her to take my warning seriously?”
How can I break Heo Jian's wings so she won't even dare to spread them and fly away?
The most effective method... what would that be?
A thought suddenly flashed through Taejun's mind.
“Manager Ha.”
He immediately called for Manager Ha, who was waiting outside.
As soon as Manager Ha stood before his desk, Taejun spoke.
“Find a place suitable for sending a young girl to study abroad alone.”
“A young girl studying abroad, you say…?”
As Manager Ha trailed off with a troubled expression, Taejun's lips moved.
“I have a very precious daughter, don't I, Manager Ha?”
A chilling smile still played on Taejun's lips as he replied.
Seeing his smile, Manager Ha simply said he understood and left Taejun's office without another word.
“Since she won't listen to my warning, I'll have to send her away quickly.”
I'll have to show her just how harsh the price is for ignoring a warning.
As Jian entered Plate, a woman ran toward her with a surprised expression.
And threw her arms around Jian.
“Jian-ah!”
“Lee Kangji, have you been well? Where's Kang Jae Oppa?”
“He just stepped out.”
The person hugging Jian was Lee Kangji, Kang Jae's younger sister and Jian's dearest friend.
Since they were too young to remember, Kangji, Jian, and Kang Jae had been childhood friends.
Jian's grandmother and Kangji's parents were as close as family, so it was only natural that the children became close.
Kangji let go of Jian and looked her up and down.
“Heo Jian, living abroad has done you good. You're glowing!”
“I guess it really suits me over there.”
Playful banter flowed effortlessly from Jian's lips.
Watching her, Kangji paused and sat Jian down.
Sitting across from her, she squeezed Jian's hand and asked.
“Are you really okay?”
'So this is what it feels like to be asked if I'm okay.'
Jian felt a pang in her heart and quickly bit her lip.
She felt like she might foolishly burst into tears.
“Why wouldn't I be?”
“I heard that man, Joo Taejun, came to see you.”
It seemed Kangji had already heard about Taejun from Kang Jae.
Jian's expression darkened ever so slightly.
“What? Did he demand you hand over Seol-ah right away?”
Noticing the subtle change, Kangji frowned and raised her voice.
Jian quickly shook her head and tried to calm Kangji down.
“He thinks Seol-ah is another man's child.”
“Ha, that's a joke. Anyone can see Seol-ah is the spitting image of you and Joo Taejun. How could he not recognize her?”
Kangji was right.
Seol-ah was the spitting image of Jian and Taejun.
That was why Jian had been so desperate to hide Seol-ah the day Taejun came to Grace.
After taking a moment to compose herself, Jian told Kangji everything that had happened with Taejun.
As the story went on, Kangji's expression grew increasingly grim.
“Kangji, I don't know what I should do.”
'I really don't know what to do.'
When I think about Seol-ah, it seems better to keep Taejun in the dark.
But seeing Taejun in agony, reacting so sensitively to her every move, it felt like she should correct the misunderstanding.
Jian had lost sleep at night, thinking over and over about which of her actions had been right.
Just as her thoughts began to spiral again, Kangji's voice cut through.
“If you think it's wrong, then it's wrong.”
Kangji held Jian's hand tightly and spoke firmly again.
“I don't want Seol-ah to suffer in that house.”
“Right, I don't want that either.”
“I still remember when you came to our house, a complete wreck with nothing but the clothes on your back.”
Kangji could never forget that day.
The day her brother Kang Jae brought Jian home five years ago, the day Jian was a complete wreck.
Seeing her smile with that pale, bloodless face at dawn, Kangji had burst into tears.
“I swear, if I could have, I would have ripped that man, Joo Taejun, to shreds for what he did to you.”
If only she could, she truly wanted to rip Taejun to shreds.
“To make you, who was always so bright and cheerful, break down like that… I don't know what he was thinking…”
As a child, Jian had been a girl who knew how to smile brightly.
For that girl to lose her smile, and even herself, was no small matter.
That was why Kangji understood Jian's feelings so completely.
Jian looked at Kangji for a moment.
No matter the story, Kangji had always been on her side, always listened.
After becoming Taejun's wife, she hadn't been able to meet her for two years, unable to bear the scrutiny of those around them.
'If Kangji had been by my side back then, would things have been different?'
But she had no intention of regretting the past now.
She knew now that there was nothing more foolish.
Kangji pulled Jian's hand, capturing her gaze.
“Whatever you choose, remember that it's for you, not just for Seol-ah.”
“Kangji.”
“And Heo Jian, you need to get out of there right now.”
At Kangji's firm voice, Jian's eyes trembled.
“Snap out of it, you fool. Do you want to go through that again?”
At the words 'go through that again,' Jian's heart began to pound violently.
Seeing the change in Jian's expression, Kangji shot up from her seat and went to her.
As she hugged Jian, she felt her trembling, and Kangji's heart sank.
'Her fragile friend still hadn't escaped the pain of five years ago.'
'What had she thought when Kang Jae told her that this friend had gone back to that house?'
She had wanted to run over right then and there and pull Jian and Seol-ah out.
But she didn't believe Jian would have gone back to that house without a reason.
She had hoped to hear the reason from Jian, who had shown up so suddenly today, but sadly, her friend's lips remained sealed.
'What in the world is making things so hard for you?'
Kangji's heart ached with the sorrow of being unable to do anything.
The more she felt it, the more one thought surfaced in her mind.
‘That idiot, Joo Taejun.’
'He really is an idiot.'
'To not even recognize his own daughter, and to stand by as a mere spectator while Jian ended up in this state.'
Kangji let out a sigh that Jian, who was calming her startled emotions, couldn't hear, and patted her on the back.
Just as Jian's emotions had settled and she pulled away from Kangji's embrace,
“Jian's here?”
Kang Jae had returned from his outing.
He spotted Jian as soon as he opened the door and walked over to them.
Jian's face lit up when she saw him too.
“Ah, Oppa. You're back.”
“So you're back in Korea.”
“Ah, Kangji. I need to talk to Oppa for a minute…”
“Okay. Heo Jian, make sure you eat before you go, alright?”
Kangji immediately excused herself, saying she would go prepare some food.
“What is it?”
Kang Jae took the seat Kangji had been in and asked.
“I was too flustered to say it last time, but I think I need to make it clear.”
In truth, Jian hadn't come all this way just to meet and talk with Kangji.
There was a good reason she had come, even knowing that Driver Park was Taejun's eyes.
Driver Park would have probably already told Taejun she was here.
Hearing that, Taejun might show up today and demand an explanation for this situation.
That was why there was something she needed to make clear to Kang Jae.
“Oppa, from now on, don't say things like Seol-ah is your daughter in front of him.”
Author: Donggeurami (Son Yoon-seo)
Publisher: Toonplus
Email: [email protected]
ISBN: 9791157738274
© Donggeurami (Son Yoon-seo), 2022
※ This e-book is published by <Toonplus> under contract with the copyright holder. Unauthorized reproduction and distribution are prohibited. Violation of this may result in legal action.
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