Chapter 241: A Bond from the Past (2)

Kang Ra-Eun unconsciously gulped from the reunion with her father. She had not been this nervous even when she had come face to face with her mortal enemy Kim Han-Gyo.

To Ra-Eun, her past father had not been someone whom she could compromise with. The two of them had a love-hate relationship; they were family, but Ra-Eun did not want to be closer to him. Park Chan-Gil, who had always forced Ra-Eun down the path that he himself had walked down, had appeared before her eyes.

Park Hee-Woo expressed surprise and belatedly introduced Chan-Gil to Ra-Eun.

“I’m sure you know who this man is, right, Ra-Eun? This is my father.”

Hee-Woo knew Ra-Eun as one who had great interest in the financial world since Ra-Eun even owned a business. There was no way that anyone with at least a little interest in business wouldn’t know Chan-Gil, the chairman of TP Group, one of the top three conglomerates of Korea.

Ra-Eun had known that Chan-Gil had been a regular at this restaurant in the past, but...

‘I’d never thought that Father would be here on their grand opening day.’

It was her first time learning this despite being father and ‘son’ since they rarely spoke to each other. Chan-Gil smiled and greeted Ra-Eun without knowing that his son was before his eyes as a woman.

“I am Park Chan-Gil. I’ve heard a lot about you from my daughter. You’re far more beautiful in person than on TV.”

“Th... Thank you very much,” Ra-Eun unintentionally stuttered.

She had no idea how to react to her former father calling her beautiful. Although she had never had to think about such a thing, there was one thing that she was sure about.

‘It’s not a good feeling.’

There was also something else that she shouldn’t overlook.

‘I’m not his child in this life.’

They were complete strangers; hence, she needed to act as such to avoid being suspected over anything from their very first meeting.

Hee-Woo mentioned something about her father to Ra-Eun, “My father watches every single drama, film and program that you’re in. Do you know what he said to me last time? He asked me if I could set up a meeting so that he could have a meal with you.”

Chan-Gil coughed several times after Hee-Woo’s sudden confession as if to tell her to stop talking. That meeting could have happened tonight, but Ra-Eun had unfortunately come with someone. Noticing that, Chan-Gil did not suggest they have dinner all together.

“Like Hee-Woo said, let us have a meal together when the opportunity arises next time. I’m sure my wife would also love it if she gets to meet you.”

Ra-Eun’s former mother was also a drama and film lover. It was no surprise that she was a fan of Ra-Eun, considering that Ra-Eun had been in many hit dramas and films.

Ra-Eun forcibly smiled and answered, “Yes, that sounds great. Will Geon-Woo also be joining us?”

Chan-Gil was momentarily bewildered because he had not expected Geon-Woo’s name to come out of Ra-Eun’s mouth, but soon regained his composure and nodded.

“If that is what you’d like, then of course. But I didn’t know that you knew my son.”

“I’d gone to Japan to promote a film before, and he had been one of the bodyguards in my security team.”

“Oh, I see.”

Chan-Gil seemed to be satisfied with the answer. Ra-Eun rode the momentum and mentioned more things regarding Geon-Woo.

“I’ve heard a few things about you from him.”

“About... Me?”

“Yes. He had mentioned that you may seem curt and cold on the outside, but he respects how persevering you are in pushing ahead with your own philosophy.”

Respect, my ass. Ra-Eun had never once respected her former father, but she had lied on purpose for one simple reason; she wished for her past self to remain in TP Group.

“Je-Woon sunbae is waiting for me, so I should get going. Please excuse me.”

Ra-Eun quickly left. Chan-Gil replayed Ra-Eun’s words in his head over and over again as if he had been entranced by them.

***

Geon-Woo had quit bodyguarding soon after So Ha-Jin had left their security team. He had been given courage from Ra-Eun’s words and returned to TP Group. He had decided to confront his father instead of running away from him forever, and was in an endless battle with the pile of paperwork on his desk like always.

An exhausted body also led to an exhausted mind. Geon-Woo had gallantly returned to TP Group, but he could feel his initial resolve growing weaker.

‘I feel sorry for Ra-Eun, but...’

Thoughts of going back to his old life and cutting ties with his family again were coming back to him like the whispers of the devil. Just then, the employees suddenly sprang up from their seats and nervously greeted someone.

“Good morning, Vice President!”

Hee-Woo slightly raised her hand to greet the energetic employees back. She did not come today because she had business with the employees.

“Park Geon-Woo. Why didn’t you come yesterday?”

Geon-Woo had skipped out on their family dinner due to one reason or another.

He answered his older sister sourly, “As you can see, I was busy.”

“They’re nothing urgent.”

“They are, since I’ll be behind on my work if I don’t get them done in a timely manner.”

Geon-Woo wasn’t wrong, but Hee-Woo could only hear his reason as an excuse for not wanting to have dinner with his family.

“What’s going on with you all of a sudden? What happened to the Geon-Woo who boldly returned to the company?”

“It’s not sudden. I’ve always been like this.”

Geon-Woo had simply put his mind to something else thanks to Ra-Eun. He had always strived to live his life in his own way since a long time ago.

Hee-Woo sighed and mentioned what had happened last night, “We met Ra-Eun at the restaurant. She did her best to talk you up to Father.”

“How?”

“She told him that you’ve always respected him a lot.”

Hee-Woo had obviously realized that Ra-Eun had been lying the moment that she had heard it, but she had kept quiet in hopes that Geon-Woo would be acknowledged by Chan-Gil and stay in TP Group.

“Make sure to thank Ra-Eun when you see her next time, okay?” Hee-Woo remarked.

“But I don’t even know her contact information,” Geon-Woo replied.

“You don’t? Weren’t you close with her?”

He Woo had expected them to be close because there was no way that Ra-Eun would go this far to help Geon-Woo if they weren’t. But contrary to her expectations, Geon-Woo and Ra-Eun weren’t that close; rather, they had barely talked to each other. Hee-Woo couldn’t understand why Ra-Eun was helping Geon-Woo to such an extent despite that.

“Noona. You know Ra-Eun’s phone number, right?”

“Yeah, but why?”

“Because I want to meet her.”

Geon-Woo was determined to get some answers from Ra-Eun.

***

Ra-Eun had expected to get a call from Hee-Woo that Geon-Woo wanted to meet her.

‘It’s no wonder, since I blatantly took my past self’s side.’

There was no way that Hee-Woo wouldn’t find it strange; Ra-Eun would think so as well in her shoes.

‘I ended up doing that at the restaurant before I had realized it.’

Ra-Eun had two main reasons to keep Geon-Woo at TP Group; first was to prevent her past self from working for Kim Han-Gyo, and second was to consolidate her relationship with TP Group as her supporter. However, Ra-Eun herself knew more than anyone else that it would be extremely difficult to pull off.

‘Because Park Geon-Woo is me.’

Ra-Eu could say this because she knew how she was better than anyone else. She expected Geon-Woo to have a lot on his mind at this time, so she had purposefully talked him up to Chan-Gil to push him a bit more forward.

***

Director Do Hye-Yeong knocked on the door of Ra-Eun’s office late in the evening.

“Chairwoman. You have a guest.”

“Let him in,” Ra-Eun quickly answered without even asking who it was.

Moments later, Geon-Woo entered her office.

Ra-Eun looked to Hye-Yeong, who was standing behind Geon-Woo, and remarked, “You can go, Director Do.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Ra-Eun had come face to face with her past self yet again. She smiled and asked why Geon-Woo had come to see her.

“I’ve heard that you wanted to meet me.”

“Yes. I’ve been curious about something for a while now,” Geon-Woo expressed.

“Go ahead.”

There was only one thing that Geon-Woo wanted to ask Ra-Eun.

“Why are you caring for me this much?”

To Geon-Woo, Ra-Eun had been nothing more than someone that he happened to meet, but her attitude toward him had been far too affectionate despite that. Excessive kindness occasionally led to doubt, just like now.

Ra-Eun maintained her smile; it was like a mask to conceal her disturbed mental state from confronting her past self.

“Vice President Park had a lot on her mind regarding you, her little brother, so I simply decided to help out.”

That was the reason out of formality, but the real reason was something else.

“Are you having trouble staying in TP Group?” Ra-Eun asked.

“To be honest with you... I am.”

“There’s no such thing as an easy job. I’m sure you’ll be fine once you get used to it, so just hold on a little longer.”

Just then, Geon-Woo asked, “What do you think will happen if I decide to go back to my old life?”

Ra-Eun answered firmly, “You’ll meet the worst possible end.”

“And how would you know that?”

“Because I can see the future.”

Ra-Eun was not joking, and this was not a recommendation, but a warning. If Geon-Woo were to return to being a bodyguard and ended up getting in her way like Park Eun-Soo currently was, she would consider even her past self an enemy. In a sense, TP Group was a fenced-off garden to keep Geon-Woo safe.

“It’d be good for you to stay there.”

It would also be good for Ra-Eun, considering how serious she was about her revenge.