#67

Speaking in a voice filled with warmth, like the gentle breeze of spring, Rep. Oh Hahyun once again reached out to touch Lee Daon’s cheek. As the rejected hand once again approached his face, Lee Daon instinctively raised his hand to swat it away.

However, as if anticipating his reaction, Rep. Oh Hahyun twisted her outstretched hand the moment he raised his own, deliberately showing him her swollen, bruised hand.

How many children in this world could bring themselves to strike away the hand of a mother who was injured because of them? In the end, Lee Daon had no choice but to lower his raised hand, his face contorted in frustration. At that moment, Rep. Oh Hahyun smiled deeply and placed her hand on his cheek.

“That’s right. Good boy, my son. Yes, you mustn’t act out like that against your mother. You need to be obedient, gentle, and listen well. I’m the one who gave birth to you, after all.”

Though Rep. Oh Hahyun’s voice remained affectionate and warm, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it carried something sticky, dark, and indescribably unsettling.

I couldn’t just stand by and let this continue. The moment that thought crossed my mind, my frozen body finally moved. I quickly approached Lee Daon, grabbed his shoulders, and pulled him toward me. His body, similar in build to mine, was effortlessly drawn into my embrace.

Rep. Oh Hahyun, who had momentarily frozen in place with her hand still cupping Lee Daon’s cheek, blinked blankly at us. Then, lowering her hand into the air, she softly spoke.

“It seems my son has really caught the chairman’s interest.”

At the faint trace of amusement in Rep. Oh Hahyun’s voice, I felt Lee Daon’s shoulders tense beneath my palms. Sensing that his reaction was anything but ordinary, I looked at him with concern—only to be abruptly shoved.

Completely unprepared for the push, I stumbled backward, helplessly losing my grip on Lee Daon. Unable to regain my balance, I teetered dangerously—until Secretary Sung Yoojun swiftly caught me.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

In response to Secretary Sung Yoojun’s worried question, I nodded. After all, I wasn’t really hurt—just startled.

Leaning against Sung Yoojun’s steady arm supporting my waist, I slowly lifted my head. That was when I saw Lee Daon, frozen in place with his arm awkwardly outstretched toward me as if he had initially meant to catch me.

He pushed me away, only to try and catch me afterward? Was this what they called ‘giving the disease and then offering the cure’?

As that ridiculous thought crossed my mind, I let out a hollow chuckle. But then, a sharp voice pierced through the silence.

“Lee Daon! What do you think you’re doing? How dare you act so rudely toward the chairman?”

Rep. Oh Hahyun, now wearing a stern expression completely different from the gentle one she had just moments ago, was scolding Lee Daon harshly.

“Apologize at once!”

Saying this, Rep. Oh Hahyun grabbed Lee Daon’s wrist, attempting to drag him toward me. But Lee Daon refused to comply. With a rough motion, he shook off her grip and spat out his words bitterly before bolting out of the restaurant.

“Don’t make me laugh! This time, I won’t let things go your way!”

“Daon!!”

Lee Gaon, who had been holding his breath while anxiously observing the situation, called out his brother’s name in a panic. But Lee Daon never looked back.

Through the transparent glass doors, his figure grew smaller as he ran further away. Watching him disappear, Lee Gaon grew increasingly restless before turning to look at me, his eyes pleading.

“Uh, um, I have to go after Daon—”

“Yes, I understand. Go quickly.”

“Thank you! And I’m really sorry!”

At my permission, Lee Gaon bowed deeply, expressing both gratitude and apology, before hastily chasing after Lee Daon.

I followed him with my gaze for a moment, watching as his figure receded beyond the glass doors. Then, slowly, I turned my head to look at Rep. Oh Hahyun.

As if the strict expression from before had never existed, she was once again smiling at me, her face as warm as sunlight on a spring day.

“My son caused a scene. I’m sorry. He’s still young, so please be generous and overlook this just once, Chairman.”

Rep. Oh Hahyun spoke with a gentle curve in her eyes. But despite the smile on her face, there wasn’t a trace of warmth in her gaze. She was watching me with cold, calculating eyes, silently trying to figure something out. And even without her saying it, I had a feeling I already knew exactly what it was.

She was probably calculating exactly what Lee Daon meant to me. Wondering whether she could use my relationship with him to her advantage. Determining whether Lee Gaon was included in that equation as well.

She was gauging the depth of my connection with the twins, consumed with these meticulous and cold calculations.

Lee Gaon’s desperate cry—asking what she had sold them for this time—echoed relentlessly in my head. To suppress the nausea and the pounding headache that surged up in response, I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek. I must have bitten too hard because the taste of blood spread through my mouth, metallic and bitter.

“Are you very worried about them? If so, you can go after them. We can postpone our meeting.”

Rep. Oh Hahyun feigned concern while subtly probing my thoughts.

For a moment, I wavered. Even knowing she was testing me, I wanted to drop everything and chase after them. I was deeply worried about Lee Daon and Lee Gaon.

But unfortunately, there was something more pressing that I had to take care of first. I had to ensure that Rep. Oh Hahyun could not use her own children as tools to get what she wanted from me.

“No, that won’t be necessary. Secretary Sung will take care of it.”

With those words, I turned to look at Sung Yoojun, who had been supporting me but was now standing upright by my side.

“Secretary Sung, could you make sure they get home safely? After that, you’re free to clock out for the day.”

“Understood. I’ll also send another secretary to accompany you, President.”

“Oh, no need. There’s no point in calling someone in this late when they’re already off duty. I’ll manage on my own.”

Under normal circumstances, he would have objected immediately. But perhaps because of Rep. Oh Hahyun’s presence, Secretary Sung simply bowed deeply without a word.

Leaving him behind, I stepped forward and approached Rep. Oh Hahyun.

“Let’s go inside. We’ve already wasted enough time running into all sorts of people.”

Even with the subtle irritation laced in my voice, Rep. Oh Hahyun only smiled radiantly.

“Oh dear, it seems I’ve greatly displeased you, Chairman.”

“I’m not exactly the type to take being used as a tool by someone else lightly.”

As I pointedly called out the fact that she had orchestrated my meeting with the party leader, Rep. Oh Hahyun raised her eyebrows into an exaggerated arch, as if caught off guard. Her lips parted slightly as if to say something, but she quickly pressed them shut again when a restaurant staff member approached to guide us to our table.

It wasn’t until we were seated in a private room, with the table already set, that Rep. Oh Hahyun finally spoke again.

“First of all, let me apologize once more. As I mentioned earlier, I was in a bit of a rush. I needed a bit of the chairman’s glow, you see.”

“I don’t recall ever agreeing to lend you something like that, Rep. Oh.”

“But didn’t you once tell me to use whatever I could, however I could? Two years ago, if I remember correctly.”

I frowned in irritation at her words.

Wasn’t that statement meant as a warning, telling her not to even think about it? Anyone with common sense would have interpreted it that way. How was she managing to twist it into this ridiculous interpretation?

Rep. Oh Hahyun must have noticed the way I was looking at her—like she was a complete lunatic—because she let out a light chuckle and said.

“Words take on different meanings depending on how the listener chooses to interpret them. I simply understood your words in my own way.”

“That’s sophistry.”

“Even sophistry can be quite useful when applied properly.”

……Ah, this conversation was going to be exhausting. I picked up the glass of water in front of me and took a sip, silently offering condolences to both my present and future self.

“Besides, I didn’t just take advantage of your influence for free, did I? Wouldn’t you say we came out even in the end?”

Even?

I set my glass back down on the table and looked at Rep. Oh Hahyun, who had just dropped those loaded words so casually. Still smiling, she continued in a slow, deliberate tone.

“After all, you made excellent use of the gift I sent you. Isn’t it a bit too cold-hearted to act this way toward the person who gave it to you, Chairman?”

Gift? What gift? I had no memory of ever receiving a gift from Rep. Oh Hahyun. The only connection we had was that brief entanglement during President Lee Yongjun’s mess…… 

My thoughts trailed off, and then—suddenly—an unsettling realization flashed through my mind.

Wait a minute. Could it be that the so-called ‘gift’ was—?

“Are you saying that pushing President Lee Yongjun into action was your idea of a gift?”

“Of course. You seemed quite eager to get rid of him, so I gave him a little nudge. He really is someone who moves exactly as you expect him to, isn’t he? That’s one thing I actually appreciate about him. Everything else about him is the absolute worst, though.”