Chapter 175. Will You Marry Me? (1)

He hadn’t considered the holiday traffic on the highway. Lee-Seob enviously eyed the exclusive bus lane running parallel to the endless line of cars. Maybe next time, he should take an express bus instead. He had planned to arrive early in the morning, but at this rate, he would be lucky to even set foot in Gongju by lunchtime.

Once his mind started racing, it was impossible to stop. He had been on the verge of booking a flight to Shanghai, but of all times, Kang Minkyung was on summer vacation. After confirming that she had gone to her family home in Gongju, he had debated before finally deciding to drive down. Officially visiting the China branch would have been a more effective and proper move in every way, but he couldn’t wait those few extra days. Besides, this was Korea—if it weren’t for the damn holiday traffic, he could have gotten there in an hour and a half.

It had already been well over an hour and thirty minutes since he left. Forced to stop at a rest area, he bought a cup of coffee and returned to his car. Just as he was about to start the engine, his phone rang. Lee-Seob frowned.

“This guy again…”

Muttering to himself, he still answered the call. There was always a chance it could be important information.

“Hey, Tae Joon-Seob. What’s up?”

— You’re in your car? I heard Deputy Director Kang Minkyung is on vacation. You on your way to Gongju?

“Wow… You’re still keeping tabs on me?”

— I’ve never done it.

Lee-Seob lowered the air conditioning temperature and spoke curtly.

“Just get to the point.”

— The chairman summoned me to Songbaekjae, I just got out.

“Ah.”

— You’re driving, so should I call you when you reach Gongju?

“I’m at a rest area.”

His shoulders stiffened with tension.

‘No way… has something already been done to Kang Minkyung?’

— No need to get all worked up.

‘This guy is irritatingly perceptive.’

Swallowing his irritation, Lee-Seob pressed him.

“Just tell me. What is it?”

— You told the president that, unlike me, you don’t have the money to take over a company, but you do have enough to start a makguksu restaurant chain. How passionate.

Lee-Seob bit back a curse.

‘Damn it, why did he have to tell this guy everything?’

His cheeks, already heated from the summer sun, burned even more.

“The chairman didn’t collapse or anything, did he? He was fine when I last spoke to him… But after the legendary mess you caused, he’s probably used to it by now. He had this ‘I’ve transcended all of this’ expression.”

There had been no clear response last night, but at least the chairman hadn’t outright forbidden him from starting a makguksu restaurant chain…

— He wants to meet with Kang Minkyung.

“What?”

— He says you seem to be the only one who’s madly in love, so he wants to check it out.

“No, what the hell—”

‘How could he think that? I’m not a lunatic.’

— Want me to quote him exactly?

“Go ahead.”

— I’ve seen Kang Minkyung several times. She’s got a good head for work, ambition, doesn’t get shaken over little things, and isn’t easily scared. But she ran away to China? I need to confirm whether she ran away because she found Lee-Seob burdensome.

Hearing the chairman’s words in Joon-Seob’s voice was… oddly amusing.

“Our dear director, you even do impressions now?”

— You have no idea how many times I’ve heard him say this kind of thing.

Lee-Seob chuckled.

— The chairman has always been weak when it comes to your mother. He still feels guilty about their marriage. She went to Songbaekjae early this morning.

“My mom?”

— The chairman said, ‘If I oppose Lee-Seob like I did Joon-Seob, his mother will leave home. And I don’t want to drive out the woman who has taken care of this family for decades.’

“Alright, enough with the impressions.”

Joon-Seob’s laughter rang through the speaker.

— I told him, “I don’t have parents or siblings, and I wasn’t even raised as your grandson. So he wanted to at least give me a safety net. Executive Director Tae Lee-Seob is his only real grandson, connected to CS Group through his maternal side, and even tied to Soojin’s in-laws.”

Lee-Seob let out a quiet hum, trying to suppress the emotion rising in his throat.

— I suggested that instead of looking at Kang Minkyung’s family background, he should evaluate her on her own merits.

“And?”

— Like I said, he still thinks you’re the only one who’s madly in love.

“Ah, seriously.”

— Drive safe. I’m busy.

With that, Joon-Seob abruptly hung up. Lee-Seob exhaled sharply and adjusted his sunglasses.

He had to get to Gongju.

To pick up Minkyung.

As he pressed down on the accelerator, his mood soared.

***

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