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SERIES: An Impure Reunion
CHAPTER: An Impure Reunion Chapter 40
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40.
"I was told you're not Seol-ah's biological father."
At Taejun's words, Kang Jae flinched.
Seeing that reaction, Taejun pressed him further.
"Seol-ah was quite firm when she said it. That you, Lee Kang-jae, are her uncle."
When Taejun said the word 'uncle,' Kang Jae's expression visibly hardened.
"Considering what you said back then, don't I have the right to see some corresponding proof?"
Kang Jae's gaze met Taejun's for a moment.
His gaze seemed to hold a hint of resentment toward Taejun.
Taejun had no reason to care about such resentment.
After a tenacious exchange of glances, Kang Jae was the first to back down.
He briefly touched his hair, then held out a few strands to him.
"Will this do?"
"Yes, nice and clean."
Taejun then took a zipper bag from his coat and placed the DNA inside.
As he put the zipper bag back into his inner pocket, Kang Jae spoke.
"If you can't trust Jian enough that you need proof like this, why are you so desperate to keep her by your side?"
Taejun scoffed almost before Kang Jae finished his question.
"Whether I need proof or not is not a question for you to ask, Lee Kang-jae."
At Taejun's response, Kang Jae's gaze began to waver.
"A third party should just watch, no matter what I do."
"Hey!"
Just then, a sharp voice cut in between Taejun and Kang Jae.
At the end of their turned gazes, a woman who resembled Kang Jae was huffing as she came out of the kitchen.
Taejun stood up, his face expressionless.
"I've only ever met with President Lee Kang-jae, so this is the first time I'm meeting Manager Lee Kangji. It's a pleasure."
Taejun extended his hand to Kangji as if to shake it, but she glanced at it as if it were filthy and scoffed.
"A pleasure? You say that so easily. I, for one, am not pleased to meet you."
Despite Kangji's blunt words, not a flicker of change crossed Taejun's expression.
That seemed to provoke her even more.
Kangji said, huffing.
"And I've been avoiding you on purpose. That's why today is the first time you're seeing me."
"That's a shame."
Taejun's expression, as he said it was a shame, looked anything but.
That expression made Kangji's anger boil over.
Kangji did her best to compose herself, then looked Taejun up and down and said, "The shame is all on my end. I was curious what the bastard who made my friend suffer so much would look like in person, but now that I see you, you're nothing special."
"It seems Manager Lee has a lot of resentment toward me."
"Of course I do! You're the one who caused my friend so much heartache, and you're still causing it! You should be grateful I'm just standing here with my eyes open."
At Kangji's roar, Taejun's brow finally twitched slightly.
"Who does this nobody think she is...?"
Just then, Kangji's gaze fell on the zipper bag held in Taejun's other hand.
Seeing it, Kangji scoffed.
"Ah, so you're curious whose daughter Seol-ah is?"
The conversation she'd had with Jian last time flashed through her mind.
The one where Jian said Taejun didn't know Seol-ah was his child.
Could he really not know?
Even to Kangji's eyes, Seol-ah was a child who looked like a perfect mix of Taejun and Jian.
Why couldn't he see what was so obvious even to a third party like her?
"Wow, seriously. Do I really have to say it? Seol-ah is—!"
"Manager Lee, get a grip."
Just then, Kang Jae stood up and blocked the space between them, cutting Kangji off mid-sentence.
The sound of Kangji still huffing could be heard from behind Kang Jae's back.
"Whatever it may be, I hope you get the results you're looking for."
"Yes, I will."
"Regarding today's contract, I look forward to working with you."
"Yes, of course."
Without a backward glance, Taejun turned and left the restaurant.
Just as the tinkling of the bell on the door faded, a sharp smack echoed from Kang Jae's back.
Kangji had slapped him on the back.
"Why?"
Though he clearly felt the pain, Kang Jae answered listlessly.
"Hey, you damn fool of a brother."
The words that came from Kangji's mouth were rough.
As if this were a common occurrence, Kang Jae didn't react much.
"Why did you stop me? I was about to just blurt it all out!"
"Think about Jian."
Seeing Kangji about to explode and throw all caution to the wind, Kang Jae spoke firmly.
At his words, Kangji, who had been fuming and making a scene, paused and calmed her anger.
After calming down somewhat, she looked Kang Jae up and down mockingly and said, "Anyone would think you're Jian's friend, the way you're acting."
"Jian has her reasons for doing this. You know that, right?"
Having said his piece, Kang Jae started walking toward the kitchen.
For some reason, his retreating back looked pitiful.
It wasn't as if Kangji didn't know that Jian had her reasons.
It was something Jian had to bring up first, after all, since both she and Kang Jae were just third parties.
But this wasn't about looking at it from Jian's perspective.
"Idiot. Lee Kang-jae, you idiot."
Just before Kang Jae entered the kitchen, Kangji said it loud enough for him to hear.
Kang Jae didn't even flinch at her words.
After he went into the kitchen, Kangji slumped into a chair.
The reason Kangji was angry was because of Kang Jae.
"That idiot, really..."
She felt sorry for Kang Jae.
Kangji's concern for Jian was just as great as Kang Jae's.
But she felt just as sorry for her brother.
Because he was her foolish brother, who liked Jian but couldn't even properly show his feelings.
"He should at least try to confess."
Knowing that Kang Jae's feelings would end without him ever confessing, Kangji's heart ached.
The place Taejun went to immediately after leaving the restaurant was a DNA testing center.
It was where his acquaintance, Hoonseok, worked as a researcher.
The previous DNA test for Seol-ah and Taejun had also been conducted here.
Taejun had rushed here right after meeting Seol-ah in England.
The test results came out not long after, and as soon as they were ready, Hoonseok had personally sent them over by courier.
As Taejun waited for a moment in front of the lab, a man approached from a distance.
"What on earth are you doing that you're always coming here asking for DNA tests?"
Hoonseok grumbled as he approached Taejun.
In response, Taejun silently handed him the DNA.
"So it's 'shut up and do it,' is it?"
Hoonseok said, playfully threatening Taejun with his fist.
Although his voice was gruff, Hoonseok immediately took the DNA he was offered.
"Who is it this time?"
"What do you mean, who?"
"Joo Taejun, you hated women so much back in school. Was that all just for show?"
Hoonseok playfully tapped Taejun's arm.
A deep furrow began to form between Taejun's brows, but Hoonseok seemed to have no intention of stopping.
The two, who had spent their school days together in America, were very close friends.
Hoonseok was perhaps the only person who had managed to stay by the side of Taejun, who was known for not letting people get close.
"Just what woman did you slip up with?"
"You're taking the joke too far, Choi Hoonseok."
Even seeing Taejun flare up in anger, Hoonseok didn't bat an eye.
"You can't be doing this now that you have a wife and a lovely daughter."
"..."
"Not after you went through all that trouble to find your daughter."
Instead of answering, Taejun loosened his tie and let out a deep sigh.
"Hey, man, you'd better treat your wife well from now on. For someone with your garbage personality genes to have produced such a lovely child, you should be worshiping the ground she walks on."
"What?"
At Hoonseok's following words, Taejun narrowed his eyes and stared at him.
Seeing Taejun's expression turn frightening, a look of bewilderment crossed Hoonseok's face.
"What do you mean, 'what'? Why are you pretending not to know something you know?"
Hoonseok had thought this was just their usual meaningless banter, but seeing Taejun's expression, he sensed the gravity of the situation.
He too frowned and began to speak.
"That DNA test you asked for last time, wasn't that a test between you and your daughter, the one who was in the news recently?"
"It was."
"Right, so... Technically, the rule is that no one besides the client should see the results, but I accidentally saw the report for the test you requested."
"..."
"It was clearly a paternal match, so I was wondering what was up. Wasn't that how you found your daughter?"
As Hoonseok continued, Taejun's frown deepened.
"The results I received were different from that."
Taejun once again recalled the results on the report he had received.
[Paternal relationship not established.]
What was written on the last page was clearly that a paternal relationship was not established.
It felt like just yesterday that he'd read those words and felt his blood boil.
Wasn't it he who, just a few days ago, had pushed Jian to the brink over that one sentence?
Taejun said, studying Hoonseok's expression.
"Choi Hoonseok, speak clearly."
"What more is there to say? I'm telling you the truth!"
Seeing the genuine frustration on Hoonseok's face, Taejun felt his heart drop.
He had never once considered it.
He had never imagined that there might have been a problem with the DNA test results.
He had flown to England himself to get the DNA, handed it to his closest acquaintance, and since he had received the results through him, he never thought there could be an issue.
And yet.
It seemed there had been a problem with those results.
"You sent it by courier that day."
"No, Manager Ha came and picked it up."
Manager Ha. At those words, Taejun's face hardened even more.
Taejun quickly grabbed a lock of his own hair, pressed it into Hoonseok's hand, and said, "Run the test again."
"Hey, Joo Taejun, why are you being so scary?"
"When the results are out, you check them yourself and call me. Got it?"
Hoonseok just nodded wordlessly.
Author: Donggeurami (Son Yoon-seo)
Publisher: Toonplus
Email: [email protected]
ISBN: 9791157738274
© Donggeurami (Son Yoon-seo), 2022
※ This e-book is published by <Toonplus> in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder. Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution are prohibited. Violators may be held legally responsible.
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