NOVEL WEB Chapter 114
Chapter 114:
As soon as she arrived home, Hyoyoung immediately went to her castle. She turned on her favorite song and closed her eyes as she laid down in the middle of the room. She let the song play over and over again.
She had her arms spread wide, which was the most comfortable position for her.
Whenever she laid down like this with her arms out, it didn’t take long before she felt like she was sleeping on top of a cloud. She could relax like this, and she felt like she could think more clearly. Words came more easily to her and her complicated situation unraveled in her mind.
This was what Hyoyoung did whenever she felt like she needed to sort things out.
But today…
‘It’s not working.’
After an hour of meditating, Hyoyoung sat up finally.
‘This isn’t something I can figure out on my own.’
After contemplating, Hyoyoung made a call.
“Oppa.”
“What do you want?”
“I want to see you.”
“Hmm… it must be really bad if you are asking to see me.”
“Come to my castle.”
“… I’ll be there in half an hour.”
Hyojun hung up bluntly. When he glanced at Kiwook, Kiwook answered, “Go ahead.”
Kiwook smiled and continued, “She must need you more than me right now.”
“Ha. So I have to take on the hard problems, eh?”
“She obviously wants to ask someone whom she depends on the most.”
“Are you jealous?”
“Yup, I am jealous of you, but I think in this case, you are the right person to talk to her. Go ahead and help her figure it out.”
“Alright. I’ll be back.”
Watching Hyojun leave, Kiwook smiled and looked at the text Hyoyoung sent him a few minutes ago.
-Kiwook Oppa. I need to discuss with Hyojun Oppa first about this. No matter what decision I come to, I know Purple M will support me, which means you will be no help to me in making this decision!
-You are correct. I will support you no matter what, so talk it out with Hyojun and call me when you are done.
Kiwook leaned back and turned on the music to relax.
When Hyojun entered the castle, he sighed deeply and complained, “Hey, did you call me here to help you clean up?”
The basement was a mess and Hyoyoung was sweating heavily as she moved around the furniture. She replied, “Well, this wasn’t planned… But while I was waiting, I got bored so I started to move things around… and one thing led to another, and here we are… Hahaha.”
“Gosh, you are so annoying!”
Even as he grumbled, he pulled up his sleeves and started to move the large furniture easily. Hyoyoung exclaimed, “Wow! That is the exact place I wanted that chair to be! How did you know?”
Hyojun continued to move things around easily and replied, “Because you are so simple-minded. I can tell exactly how you want things to be arranged. You are so obvious.”
Hyojun worked quickly and within 20 minutes, the basement had a completely different look.
He was sweating heavily.
“Dammit. I just took a shower, but now I’m covered in sweat again.”
“Then take another shower!”
“Fine. This is so annoying. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Alright…”
Hyoyoung was looking around her castle when Hyojun returned and announced, “You are not that smart, so you need to stop trying to figure everything out by yourself. Just ask. Saying it out loud will make it easier to organize your thoughts.”
He dried his hair with a towel and walked up to her and continued, “You want to try running the agency, don’t you?”
“…”
“But you are worried that you might not do a good job.”
“…”
“Just say something.”
“Oppa.”
“What?”
“Am I that obvious? Can you really read my thoughts that easily?”
“Yup.”
“This is a problem. If I am that obvious, then how an I become a good businesswoman?”
“Well, everyone has a different style of working so it should be fine.”
“So how did you know how I felt? Tell me the truth.”
“If you didn’t want to do it, you would’ve just said no. But you haven’t, which means that you do want to do it, but you are just worried.”
“Wow…”
“You were probably wondering about how you can do this when you are so young. You didn’t even go to university yet. You also don’t speak any Chinese. You are probably worried that you might not survive in this harsh business world. You are also most likely wondering why Hyunsuk asked you to take this position.”
“OMG!!!!”
“Stop screaming!”
“But…”
“Was I too accurate?”
“Yes.”
“Hyoyoung Ahn.”
“Yeah?”
“Listen carefully. What I am about to say to you right now is something I will never repeat.”
“W-what are you going to say?”
“Just listen, ok?”
“Alright.”
“There are many crazy smart women around me.”
“…Ok…”
“I have a friend who became the youngest professor in a university, and I know a girl who can speak seven languages. One of my acquaintances was offered a full scholarship to many of the IVY league schools.”
“Gosh… there are so many smart and amazing people in the world… not fair.”
“And those girls ask me out all the time.”
“… Are you trying to brag about how popular you are?”
“No, just listen till I finish.”
“Fine…”
“And to be honest, I did date a few of them. But the funny thing is, whenever I am with them, I always compare them to you.”
“WWHAT?”
“I kept thinking about how YOU would act in a situation, what YOU would say for instance…”
“OMG…”
“At first, I thought it was because you were the girl I’d known the longest. I thought that was why I used you as a standard, but as time passed by, I realized that wasn’t the case.”
“Then why?”
“It was because you have a talent. A special ability.”
“Me?”
“Yes. It’s really hard to explain it, but you were born with a certain instinct. It’s not something you can learn or acquire. The instinct to assess the situation quickly. A talent to overcome and survive difficult situations. Intuition to figure out the priorities in complicated circumstances.”
“M-me…?”
“And you are selfless. All the decisions you made so far have never been for your own good, but for the rest of us.”
“R-really? I did?”
“To be altruistic and fair, to instinctively and quickly find solutions… These things are true gifts, and…”
“And?”
“That is what makes you so irresistible. Attractive… and lovable.”
“…”
“Hyunsuk saw that.”
“…”
“And Kiwook saw that as well.”
“…”
“And because I saw that as well… that was why I couldn’t help but compare the girls I dated to you.”
“Wow… I can’t believe you are saying such nice things to me.”
“And that is why I told you to listen carefully. I will never repeat these words again.”
“Oppa…”
“What?”
“I am getting goosebumps because you are being too corny… I’m feeling embarrassed for both of us.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“But… I feel better. I feel like I can always depend on you, Oppa.”
“Whatever. This corny session is over.”
“Oh, come on….”
Hyoyoung grinned and hugged Hyojun tightly. Hyojun flinched, “Hey! Stop that!”
“I might never ever hug you again, so just stay still. This might be the last time I ever do this. I feel embarrassed, but I feel like I need to do this.”
Hyojun remained quiet and slowly, he hugged her back. Hyojun murmured, “Hey Sis…”
“What’s up, Bro?”
“You can do this. I know you will do a good job.”
“Ok…”
“I will always be there for you.”
“Oh?”
“I promised you that I will always be by your side, remember? So do whatever you want to do, ok?”
“Ok. Thanks.”
“And to mom and dad…”
“I need to organize my thoughts first. I will explain to them later.”
“Alright.”
“Oppa…”
“What?”
“I love you.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“I do really love you. I mean it. I will never say it again though.”
“…Fine. I got it.”
“Aren’t you going to answer me?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
“…”
“You are such a grump.”
Hyojun refused to answer and with a frown, Hyoyoung let him go.
Hyojun replied, “I’ve gotta go now. Do you need anything?”
“Nope, I’m fine. By the way, how long are you guys going to stay in that hotel?”
“Probably just still tonight. The reporters are quieter than we expected.”
“Haha, they must be in shock. And what about President Shim?”
“He’s probably being questioned by the police by now.”
“What? The police? Why?”
“He was making a scene in front of our office building, so we reported him. Myunghee and President Kim aren’t around, so he has no one to help him now.”
“What about Myunghee’s mom?”
“Oh…! I forgot about her.”
“Hmm… Well, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, let’s all have dinner together tomorrow.”
“Alright. Gotta go.”
“See ya.”
When the front door closed behind him, Hyojun sighed deeply.
‘I love you too, Hyoyoung Ahn… My little sister… I… just can’t say it.’
Hyojun started to walk when suddenly, he noticed two people in the nearby playground.
“Huh?”
It was Jiwoo and Mikyung.