When Your Pain Becomes Mine

Chapter 18: Chapter 18.

 

“It’s Sun!”

The door of the room opened, and a stunned Eunyoung jumped in.

“… You are here!” Sun said with a grin.

“I heard that you were unconscious? What happened?”

Eunyoung tried to ask in the calmest tone.

“It seems I rolled down the stairs.”

“It seems? You’re talking like it is someone else’s story. Let me look at you.”

“I’m okay, really.”

Eunyoung breathed a sigh of relief only after looking directly at Sun’s face and head.

“Luckily, I didn’t get hurt much.”

“You said you were okay.”

She smiled, pretending to be okay. Eunyoung pondered for a moment when she looked at her and then slowly opened her lips.

“But… Mr. Woo brought you here?”

“Oh, yes…”

“Hah. Aren’t you dizzy?”

“… No, I’m sorry for all this especially since you’re busy.”

“No, don’t be. I’m sorry because I didn’t even know that you were sick.”

Eunyoung seemed sad as she held Sun’s hand tightly.

“But how did you know that I’d be here?”

“The assistant who gave me a bag of medicine, the man that looks like a squid, he contacted me.”

“Oh…”

Sun understood at once as Eunyoung likened him to a squid.

Then knocking was heard. A short time later, the door opened and Ojae stepped in.

“Excuse me.”

“The squid came to us when we talked about him.”

Eunyoung looked at Ojae and said, “What’s up, now?”

“Sorry?”

Ojae didn’t understand what Eunyoung was saying; he looked behind to see if something was behind him.

“What’s going on now?”

Instead of explaining, Eunyoung asked in a disgusting tone.

“Oh, I’m here because of this.”

Ojae carefully approached Eunyoung and handed back Sun’s phone.

“Isn’t this yours?”

Eun-young asked when she had noticed Sun’s cell phone.

“When she collapsed, I accidently took it, so I’m here to give it back. Ahem.”

Ojae smiled awkwardly.

“Well, I’ll leave you alone.”

Ojae, feeling out of place, tried to leave quickly.

“Excuse me.”

At that time, Eunyoung stopped Ojae in a sharp voice.

“Yes?”

“Why does Gyeonhui keep ending up with Sun?”

“Hey Eunyoung…”

In an embarrassing way, Sun tried to stop her.

“Stay still. I don’t believe he is being up front with us. Is he?” Eunyoung seemed doubtful and once again asked Ojae.

“Well… It’s hard for me to understand him, either. I’m so sorry.” Ojae was drenched in cold sweat, pressed by Eunyoung’s bossiness.

“Please tell him not to confuse her and to act right.”

“Certainly, yes, please get some needed rest.”

Ojae departed politely.

“They’re strange people, the CEO and the assistant.”

Eunyoung crossed her arms and fidgeted her tongue around in her mouth.

Sun sighed shallowly and turned the phone on, which was turned off.

“What?”

As she checked her missed calls and messages, she saw a message from the veterinary clinic.

‘Miss. Sun, Labong is waiting for you.’

She quickly checked the time, and it was already pass dinner time.

“Hey, I have to go.”

“What? What’s going on? They said you have to rest.”

“I have to pick up Labong.”

“Labong? Who is that?”

“That’s… I’ll explain it later. I’m sorry Eunyoung.”

Sun got from her bed and hurried out of the room.

“Hey, hey! Sun! I’ll take you!”

Eunyoung urgently called her and followed after.

***

General meeting of shareholders.

“… Consencio’s operating profit margin slumped down for the first time in the first quarter.”

There was a rumble after the announcement of the planning team leader.

Then a large monitor displayed a line graph showing the steep fall.

“Uh oh. This is not good.”

“There is a problem as I expected.”

“How important the CEO position really is. Such a punk kid.”

The shareholders who checked the monitor spoke under their breath.

“How are you going to handle this?”

At that time, one of the shareholders asked for Gyeonhui.

“Yes. If you have to say something, go ahead.”

Angry shareholders complained to him.

Gyeonhui rose from his seat as he laid down the fountain pen he was holding in his hand silently.

He straightened the slightly crooked fountain pen into place right way, and looked up at the shareholders one by one.

“So, are you all telling me that this is my fault?”

The meeting room rumbled again when Gyeonhui came up with a word.

“If not, who is supposed to be responsible for it? The operating profit growth rate that had been continuously increasing slumped as soon as the CEO changed.”

“Tchick, Tchick. I can’t believe that you are the CEO.”

“Don’t stir up the mud to cloud the issue. This was due to impractical dividends. That’s why we had bad articles about us all over the newspaper, and we had hit a headwind. Who pressured the new CEO to give the profit away to you without giving actual results? Don’t you remember? It was you.”

“Hmm.”

Some of the shareholders felt bad and coughed.

“Let’s say it’s our responsibility. So what are you going to do now? If you’re the CEO, you have to have solutions for this.”

“Don’t worry.”

After stopping for a moment, Gyeonhui glanced inside the meeting room and caught the attention of the shareholders.

“Now, I’ll fill your pockets up.”

The shareholders rumbled and were surprised over his confident words.

“We’re going to make your pockets thick through actual growth, not through impractical dividends. The process we are going through now is necessary for us to improve our current situation which stems from the old ways of doing business. I’ll show you the first results soon, rest easy.”

He responded with a bold statement before exiting the meeting room.

“Full of idiots.”

He muttered to himself in dissatisfaction.

At that time, Madam Shin in high-class attire approached him and asked, “When exactly is your plan going to happen?”

Her tone was cold, as opposed to her gentle smile.

“… It’s the acquisition of DNBM.”

“It doesn’t look like it’s going to be easy. Are you confident?”

“Of course,” he bluntly replied in a clerical tone.

“If you don’t make it, it’s going to be a disappointment. I’m worried about this as a parent.”

He laughed hysterically at Mrs. Shin’s words.

“Why? We’re little more than strangers at this point.”

“Well, there might be some families like that.”

“You make it sound like we’re not.”

“You might think that.” Mrs. Shin smiled and said, staying calm.

“Stop this meaningless conversation.”

“Yes. Indeed. Chaekyeong will be coming to Korea today.”

He scowled at Madam Shin’s words.

“I really don’t care about her.”

“She’s going to be your wife. You should care.”

“Who are you to tell me?”

“Well, let’s just say it’s a parent’s way.”

“Hah.”

He laughed out loud, outraged.

“Do your best anyway because the miserable moment comes sooner than you think.”

After speaking, Madam Shin turned and started walking. He bit his lower lip and watched her leave from behind.

***

“Huh…”

As he got in the car, he breathed a long sigh toward the ceiling. He tried to cool himself down, but it wasn’t easy.

‘One day, I’ll make you regret this.’

In his eyes, there was once again fury. With a serious face, he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“Did you find DNBM’s CEO?”

“I’ve just come back from the hospital after retuning her cell phone.”

“Did it really take you such a long time?”

“I did it as fast as I could.”

“Did you? So you mean you’re not capable even when you work your hardest. I get it.”

“No, it was because I also was looking for the director of the veterinary hospital.”

After receiving Ojae’s report, Gyeonhui paused for a moment and recalled a text from the director of the vet clinic. He remembered in every single text that the doctor affectionately called her as Miss Sun.

“… Who the hell is this man?”

“He just returned to Korea from the United States a few months ago and opened the hospital. Sun’s place is near there.”

Gyeonhui scowled and thought for a moment.

“Are you listening?”

“… Send the address.”

“What? Oh, okay.”

After a while, he hung up the phone, and the address arrived as a message.

After checking the address, he headed to the parking lot with a serious face.

1. Awkward Air

A unique layout for a bar, it had a duplex in the basement.

Up front, there were six foot tall shelves with a beautiful display of various whiskies and a long wooden table with crude brick supports.

In the middle of the table, Gyeonhui inhaled a series of liquors.

Glasses of liquor were emptied quickly.

“Auh.”

With a sigh, he checked the message on his cell phone.

It was the address of the veterinary hospital that Ojae gave him.

He thought about going there for a while, but he didn’t take action.

He thought it was unbecoming of him and wasn’t professional. However, every nerve in his body was on edge thinking about the director without even knowing his face.

“Hey. Who is this?”

At that time, he heard a slender tone of voice.

“Isn’t this the CEO of Consencio?”

He looked back and saw Choi Chunduk, who had cunning eyes fit for a con man but without the intelligence to pull off the job.

He was the son of Gyeonhui’s aunt, a relative, but he suffered from an inferiority complex after having stood in Gyeonhui’s shadow so long. He couldn’t match him for ability, appearance, or school performance.

“No, why are you drinking so much? Oh, yes. I understand why you feel terrible. I’ve heard your company’s operating profit dropped to the floor? The graph showed it dramatically bent.”

Chunduk did not hide his opinions.

Gyeonhui was already bothered by Sun’s cold symptoms, but now he wanted so badly to swat Chunduk like the irritating fly that he was, but he could only scowl.

“So are you excited?”

Gyeonhui asked without changing his expression.

“Of course, I’m excited. Except for the chairman, I’m actually the top man in the group.”

Chunduk responded aloud, as if he was trying to draw attention from his surroundings.

“Well, I’m sure the kids who are always second their whole lifetime would so relish to sit in first place at least once, of course, not knowing when they’re going to be pushed away again.”

“What did you say?”

“Was it too specific?

“… Don’t be a fool. I’m number one and you’re second now.”

Chunduk struggled to smile nonchalantly.

“No. That’s not true. ”

He shook his head and looked at Chunduk.

“You can’t compare the second in the entire school with the first in his class. There’s a qualitative difference.”

“Oh!”

“Wow!”

The third generation of rich families, who were watching the two fight, cheered on Gyeonhui’s response.

He smiled as he swiped his cup, seemingly not a big deal. Chunduk’s expression became more heated by Gyeonhui’s actions.

“I’ll wait till the day you can brag about yourself like that.”

Chunduk, whose face was swollen, said, “Don’t worry. I won’t need to see you ever again.”

“Hah.”

Chunduk, speechless, stared at Gyeonhui.

“That’s my man, Woo, Gyeonhui.”

Then a clear and ringing woman’s voice echoed through the bar.

The woman, with her slightly waved short hair, approached him with a fresh smile.

“Chaekyeong? What’s up? When did you come to Korea?” Chunduk, who recognized Chaekyeong, opened his eyes wide and asked.

“Just now. Hi, Chunduk. Hi, my man.”

She sat next to Gyeonhui and greeted the two men.

“Hah.”

Gyeonhui sprang up from his seat, seemingly annoyed, without even making eye contact with her.

“Where are you going?”

“Any place where you’re not.”

He walked out of the bar with these last words.

“Oh my, how can he be so handsome even when he is angry?” she said as she watched his backside.

“I’m going after him.”

“Don’t do that. It’s been 10 years since Gyeonhui dumped you.”

“Hey, that’s…hah. Why do you follow a wanker guy like him?” Chunduk asked, seemingly incomprehensible.

“He’s handsome, and yes, he’s a wanker, but so cool.”

Chaekyeong’s face was already smiling.

“Hah. Don’t do that. How about dating me? I’ve ranked up to No. 1 recently…”

“No, I don’t want you because you’re ugly.”

“Wait, what?”

Chaekyeong ignored Chunduk’s question and knocked back the two cups left by Gyeonhui.

‘Kuuuu.’

She made a bitter face for a moment from the hard liquor.

Even doing this was cute for Chunduk, and he swallowed his dry saliva.

“Now, why don’t I chase him again?”

“Chae, Chaekyeong!”

She hurried chasing Gyeonhui, leaving behind the embarrassed Chunduk.

***

“We’re leaving now.”

On the driver’s word, Gyeonhui, who was sitting in the back seat, nodded silently.

“Wait a minute!”

Then, all of a sudden, the door opened and Chaekyeong jumped in the car. Gyeonhui frowned.

“What’s this? Get out!”

“No, I don’t want to. It’s in the same direction anyway. Let me go with you.”

“How about your car?”

“I’ve been drinking. Are you telling me to drink and drive?”

“Then take a taxi cab.”

Despite his cold tone, she was not concerned.

“Isn’t it dangerous for a drunk woman to take a taxi cab alone?”

“Hah.”

He pressed his temple with his eyes closed as if he were in trouble.

“Please, let’s go,” Chaekyeong said.

“Sir, May I start?”

The driver asked in embarrassment, knowing not what to do.