#86

No, I’m not his girlfriend, and we’re just two men who happened to fall asleep next to each other—why would he be jealous? And for someone claiming to be jealous, Sung Yoojun’s face looked too calm. I stared at him with narrowed eyes, unsure whether I should believe him or not. He gave a slight smile and said.

“I’m being serious.”

“That doesn’t seem very sincere, though.”

“It’s just me pretending for the sake of adult dignity.”

Jealousy over pushing a 10-year-younger kid into a bed? And now he’s talking about adult dignity? I shook my head with a somewhat sour expression.

“I don’t know what you’re jealous of, but they’re still kids.”

“As I mentioned before, sir, you tend to see them as too young.”

His words implied that I should be more lenient because they’re still kids. I immediately countered.

It’s not that I see them as too young; they are just young, aren’t they? Lee Gaon and Lee Daon are 22, Yoo Euiseo is 23, and Nam Yisol and Jung Hosu are 24. The age difference between them and me ranges from 6 to 8 years, so it’s natural to think of them as younger.

As I tilted my head thinking this, I heard a deep sigh. Of course, the owner of that sigh was Sung Yoojun.

“You’ll run into trouble someday if you keep seeing them as too young.”

Trouble? Would that really happen? Seeing my confusion, Sung Yoojun shook his head and looked at me as though he were looking at a very young and inexperienced person.

……What’s with that look? It felt strange to be looked at like that, as I hadn’t received a look like that since I was very young. I was about to ask him why he was looking at me like that, but at that moment, Sung Yoojun’s phone rang.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

I nodded slowly at his polite request, signaling that it was fine. I figured I could ask him later, once the call was finished. Sung Yoojun put on his Bluetooth earphones and began his call.

While Secretary Sung Yoojun was on the phone, I turned my head, intending to look out the window. However, I couldn’t help but turn back when I heard his cold voice fill the car.

“Who did you just say?”

Sung Yoojun, with a low and cold voice, had an unmistakable look of discomfort on his face. He furrowed his brows, tapping the steering wheel with his index finger before glancing at me through the rearview mirror. When our eyes met through the mirror, I silently asked him what was going on. He sighed deeply before ending the call.

“Understood. I’ll report to the president and get back to you.”

“Is something wrong?”

I asked with a confused tone once I confirmed that the call had ended. Sung Yoojun then began to quietly explain the situation.

“President, we just received a call from President Go Woonjae of Korea University. He asked if he could meet with you today.”

Go Woonjae? Who is that? I felt puzzled at the unfamiliar name, and seeing my confusion, Sung Yoojun added an explanation with a slightly regretful expression.

“He is the president of Korea University. He’s been in the position even when you were attending, so you may know him.”

Someone with a connection to the past, huh? That’s troublesome.

“Could it be that I have a closer relationship with him?”

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure. This happened before I started working for you. During the time I’ve been with you, there haven’t been any meetings or contact, but……”

“How long have you been working with Goo Won and the company?”

“This year marks my fourth year.”

At Sung Yoojun’s response, I tapped my thigh with my index finger, deep in thought. If there had been no contact for nearly four years, then it wouldn’t have been a close relationship. The fact that he contacted the company instead of me directly was evidence of that.

“Well, he probably doesn’t have my number, so he contacted the company. If it’s that kind of relationship, there’s not much to worry about. But what could he want to meet about? Has anything happened recently that would make him want to contact me?”

At my seemingly casual question, a strange silence fell. Feeling an odd sense of unease, I turned my gaze to the side of Sung Yoojun’s face, who was driving. Feeling my stare, he glanced at me through the rearview mirror and quietly began to speak.

“There’s no direct connection between you two. He comes from a long line of educators and is solely interested in the field of education, so his connections with the business world are minimal. However……”

“However?”

“……He’s Yoo Euiseo-ssi’s grandfather.”

Grandfather? Go Woonjae, the president, is Yoo Euiseo’s grandfather? I processed the new information in my mind and said.

“Then, it’s almost certainly something related to Euiseo-ssi.”

This wasn’t just a guess, it was a certainty. If it weren’t related to Yoo Euiseo, there wouldn’t be any reason for him to contact me, especially after so many years since graduation and with no personal connection.

“What could this be about?”

I muttered softly, filled with frustration. I didn’t know why President Go Woonjae wanted to meet with me, but I had a nagging, ominous feeling. It felt like something troublesome was about to happen. I pressed my nose down with that thought when Sung Yoojun called out to me.

“Sir.”

“Yes?”

I removed my hand from my nose and lifted my head to look at Sung Yoojun. His face, as usual, exuded a chilly atmosphere, but this time, there was a strange sense of discomfort written across his features. I could immediately tell that he knew something about this situation.

“Just tell me.”

At my request to share whatever he knew, Sung Yoojun sighed quietly and began to speak.

“The reason he wants to meet with you is likely due to an issue between Euiseo-ssi and the Go family.”

“What? An issue within the family?”

I raised my voice, startled by the completely unexpected statement.

What do you mean, a family issue? I’m not related to Yoo Euiseo, so why would they come to me about that? Completely confused, I frowned, and Sung Yoojun quickly continued.

“To be precise, he’ll likely ask you to help persuade Yoo Euiseo-ssi regarding the matter.”

I blinked at Sung Yoojun’s words and tilted my head slightly.

“Is there really a problem big enough that they need help persuading him? In that family?”

“Yes. Well, you could say that.”

“Hmmm……”

Secretary Sung Yoojun’s uncomfortable response made me quietly hum and lose myself in thought. No matter how much we say that no family is without problems, having to ask for help from a complete stranger, someone who’s not even a lawyer…… It sounded like something I really didn’t want to get involved with.

But I probably couldn’t avoid it. It was one of the kids I was taking care of, after all, so in the end, I’d be dragged into it somehow.

……If that’s the case, it’s better to get involved sooner rather than later.

“……Can you explain more in detail?”

I said it with a tone that was half resigned, and in response, I heard a calm explanation.

“As I mentioned earlier, President Go Woonjae’s family has been a prestigious family of educators for generations. If you look into history, it goes back as far as the Joseon Dynasty, but that’s not particularly important, so I’ll leave it at that. Anyway, because it’s such a family, the Go family is well-known for having a very strict family tradition.”

Strict family tradition? At those words, I instinctively thought of Yoo Euiseo.

Hmm…… It might be rude to say this, but he doesn’t seem like someone who was raised in a family with such strict traditions.

“I know what you’re thinking. You probably think Yoo Euiseo-ssi doesn’t fit in that kind of family.”

“Haha……”

At his remark, I awkwardly smiled. Sung Yoojun, in turn, smiled gently as he continued.

“It’s only natural to think that way. After all, Yoo Euiseo-ssi didn’t grow up in the Go family, so he wouldn’t carry that family atmosphere.”

“He didn’t grow up in the Go family?”

Why not? Wasn’t he supposed to be from that family?

I couldn’t hide my confusion as I looked at Sung Yoojun. He responded, as though understanding my curiosity.

“Yoo Euiseo-ssi was never accepted by the Go family.”

Secretary Sung Yoojun’s casual remark felt like a giant dagger piercing my heart. Immediately, a flood of possible reasons why Yoo Euiseo wouldn’t be accepted into the Go family flashed through my mind. They were all unpleasant reasons, and I desperately hoped that none of them would turn out to be true.

“Not accepted? What do you mean……?”

“President, do you know what Yoo Euiseo-ssi’s mother’s profession was?”

I shook my head at Sung Yoojun’s question.

“She was a singer. Not very famous, though. And the Go family looks down on that kind of profession, calling it the work of clowns or vulgar entertainers.”