Chapter 7

There was no expression on his pale face.

The kids, whose tempers were thoroughly flared up, swore that he was some kind of psycho and pushed Ju-shin.

The reason he calmly endured that wasn’t because he was relying on Driver Jung, who was hurrying over.

“Hey!!”

It was because he spotted Jung Woojung, who had clenched both fists and sprinted past him.

“Do you guys wanna die?!”

A booming shout echoed through the playground. Even so, the voice of a ten-year-old girl wasn’t particularly threatening. Whether due to Jung Woojung’s momentum or the adult following closely behind, the boys ran off as if fleeing.

“Young Master! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Helping himself up from where he had fallen, Ju-shin merely shook his head. The worry Jung Woojung showed him felt quite nice, whereas other people’s overprotection left him entirely cold.

He wasn’t even embarrassed about showing a weak side. He was simply curious. What kind of comfort she was going to offer.

And right at that moment.

“Jung Woojung! You!”

Suddenly, Jung Youngwon called out in fluster. At the same time, Ju-shin’s body tilted and fell backward. The person who had ruthlessly pushed him by the chest and knocked him down was Jung Woojung.

“Dad, just stay still for a second. This is a kids’ matter.”

Having firmly outstretched one palm to stop her dad, Princess Woojung pushed the young master, who was silently getting back up, all over again. When the young master fell without resistance, he got back up again.

“Hey! Are you an idiot? You’re supposed to get angry, why do you just stand there and take it!”

Ah. Was he supposed to get angry?

Up until now, Kim Ju-shin had grown up without ever needing to get angry or dirtying his own fists to strike someone. Barring any major upheaval, it would likely be the same in the future. Because everything surrounding him would substitute for those things without any shortage.

As he just stared blankly, Woojung let out a deep sigh that shook her small chest and brushed off Ju-shin’s trousers.

“From now on, if someone hits you, you hit them back, too. Understand? It’s fine even if you do.”

“……”

“Answer me.”

“……Yeah.”

Only after hearing his answer did the strict expression that had formed on her clear face soften.

Jung Woojung was tall for her age. The faint freckles embedded on her white skin and her slightly flushed cheeks gave her an appearance that looked like she might stir up plenty of trouble. Ju-shin’s eye level didn’t even reach Woojung’s chin. The hand he glanced at also looked bigger than his own.

Ju-shin suddenly wanted to grow up quickly. So he wanted to be bigger than Princess Woojung in every way.

They said height was genetic. Thinking that Kim Sangho was shorter than Driver Jung anyway, he figured he needed to rely on postnatal factors and put in some extra effort.

“Friends are supposed to get along nicely. But you don’t need to be friendly with the ones who bully you. Right, Dad?”

Was the way parents looked at their children naturally like that? Driver Jung, gazing at her with affectionate and warm eyes as if she were terribly clever, nodded his head broadly and stroked his daughter’s hair.

“Still, Woojung-ah. When it’s three against one, rather than standing your ground, running away…”

“Didn’t you say you once fought seventeen-on-one and won, Dad?”

“That’s… well, but…”

“My dad’s awesome, right? Is the young master’s dad this strong, too?”

Since she wasn’t the type to answer when asked, he hadn’t expected an answer and asked without anticipation, but seeing her roll her eyes, it looked like she had some intention of speaking.

Hmm…….

“Probably weak.”

A brief silence flowed at the flatly dropped young voice. Jung Youngwon soon let out a booming laugh, baring his Adam’s apple. Jung Woojung giggled, saying her dad won. Then Kim Ju-shin, turning his head away, smiled faintly as well. It was a very subtle smile, like that of a child who would get scolded if their laughter were caught.

On the way back to the car, the sun, which had settled by now, cast long shadows. Behind the adult walking ahead, two children walked side by side.

“Here. Take this.”

Woojung abruptly grabbed Ju-shin’s wrist. Then she transferred what had been in her own hand. It was a slender string bracelet made by twisting colorful threads together.

“It’s an item that gives you courage. Having it increases your bravery.”

Saying she already had courage and strength so she was giving it up to him, she bared her teeth and grinned.

Ju-shin stared blankly down at the thing resting in his palm. It was his very first gift received from someone outside his family.

He reflected on how he had foolishly and impurely thought for a brief moment that her kindness in taking off her jacket for him was suspicious.

Jung Woojung was simply a kid who did whatever she wanted. Seeing her shower him—someone who had far more than she did—with things and take care of him, yet smile like an absolute dork, perhaps she had a brain structure that made calculating and weighing things impossible.

Even after returning home, Ju-shin kept fiddling with the bracelet Woojung had given him. A smile spread across the young master’s lips as he lay alone inside the dark room. He genuinely felt as though a formless bravery was welling up from within.

Since he had received courage as a gift, he wanted to do something for her in return. Something much grander and more remarkable.

Should he give her money? She liked snacks, so giving her some along with it would be nice. Mulling over such thoughts, he eventually drifted off to sleep. For the first time in a while, even a dream visited him. It was a very bizarre dream where Jung Woojung, riding a five-colored dragon resembling the string bracelet, flew around before abruptly plunging deep into a lake.

And a few days later, Driver Jung quit his job. He could no longer see Jung Woojung, either.

Back then, he probably cried a little out of sheer frustration. No, did he bawl his eyes out?

Just as Jung Woojung had climbed into the car without any warning, she vanished without any warning, too. Time flowed on all the same. He lived as if he had forgotten the existence of that kid, too.

Then, the time he finally pressed Princess Woojung’s phone number was the early summer of the year he turned fourteen.

The Friday evening food alley was packed to the brim with office workers in suits.

The Jaeyang Food PR Team and Sales Team had also commandeered an entire restaurant. Smoke from grilling meat drifted thickly around each circular table where people sat clustered together.

A joint company dinner between two teams that shared the same floor in the office but experienced frequent friction over work matters was an exceptional occurrence. That was the official justification, anyway: promoting harmony for flexible work cooperation between departments.

They called it harmony, but in reality, it was no different from a drinking battle between the team heads.

“The Sales Team folks have rather modest drinking capacities—?”

When the PR team leader provoked them by holding up his glass into the air,

“Our kids are just exercising restraint. Would you burn down an entire cottage just to catch a bedbug, now?”

The Sales Team head counterattacked without yielding. Due to the turf war between the alpha bosses, the rate at which empty soju bottles piled up was faster than usual.

Around the time the bosses were depleting liquor bottles and flexing their strength, the women of both teams kicked off a league of their own.

“At this hour, with a face like that? One hundred percent a lover.”

“Oh, I frequently act like that with friends, though? It might even be family.”

The protagonist of this speculation was Kim Ju-shin, making a phone call outside the restaurant beyond the glass wall. Dozens of eyes observed his movements just like tracking a soccer ball on the pitch.

With his back turned against the billboard lights, he smiled throughout the entire phone call. He smiled lightly, and sometimes even laughed out loud. The assumption that the other person was a lover wasn’t groundless.

The overheated debate eventually snowed into a bet.

The representative of the “No Lover” faction, Sales Team rookie Yang Soyoung, even pressed her hands together and prayed. Kang Jin-sung, finding that sight displeasing, clicked his tongue.

“Tsk. That bastard goes around flashing smiles anytime, anywhere. Who does he think he is, some big-shot celebrity.”

“Well, he is handsome, though.”

“So what if he is? His utility value is trash. If he’s planning to make a living off his face, he should just quit his job.”

At Manager Kang’s derision, Department Head Go defended the intern. What cut off their conversation was Jung Woojung returning from the team leaders’ table.

“They’re here~ They’ve arrived! Officer Jung’s signature somaek¹ is here!”

Pop! With a brisk sound, the cap of a beer bottle flew off. When Manager Kang snatched it up and shouted “Nice catch!”, she cackled with laughter. Recognized by all as a golden-ratio somaek mixing machine, Jung Woojung was already quite flushed and tipsy.

“You’ve had a tough time working overtime lately. Thanks to Officer Jung backing me up, I survived. You’re going to shake off whatever you felt about me mentioning annual leave, right?”

“Isn’t that all just cleaning up after Kim Ju-shin anyway? How is it that your very first subordinate turned out like that?”

“Is Officer Jung’s subordinate really that terrible?”

A third party’s voice thrust itself into the conversation. It was Ha Yun-sang, whose overtime had been unavoidable due to business trip duties. Having joined belatedly, he set down his bag and sat right next to Woojung.

“The PR team’s ace! Welcome, welcome!”

“Oh my, I’m late.”

To Department Head Go’s enthusiastic welcome, Yun-sang made a witty remark as he raised his glass. Even in her drunken state, Woojung quickly readied utensils and handed them over.

At the same moment, Kim Ju-shin, having finished his phone call, returned. The bettors, who had been waiting solely for this moment, hurriedly gestured.

“Ju-shin-ssi! Come over here quickly!”

“Hurry, hurry!”

Responding with a smile to the calls, Ju-shin walked toward his seat while scanning the adjacent table.

Among the pack of people swarming like wild dogs, Jung Woojung was the only one who didn’t even cast a single glance his way. With a face reddened all over as if she had drunk all the alcohol by herself, she affectionately doted on Ha Yun-sang.

She giggled at trivial remarks, smiled shyly, and even laughed while swaying her upper body.

Wiping the corner of his mouth, Kim Ju-shin smiled coldly.

She really likes that guy.