Chapter 16
16.
“Ah, really, you don't have to go this far for me….”
After we finished the consultation and measurements, Seong Ji-hoon said with an awkward expression as we left the tailor shop.
“Don't make me repeat myself.”
“Yes… Thank you.”
There wasn't much of a reason I was getting him a high-end custom suit.
It was a kind of badge of recognition.
It meant I recognized him as my closest bodyguard.
And more than anything, I figured that if he was going to be my bodyguard, Jeong Ha-won, he had to dress this well so he wouldn't detract from my own dignity.
Since I'd had clothes made here a few times myself, I blurted out all sorts of things I knew. I even got a little flustered when the tailor asked, surprised, how I knew so much.
I didn't say exactly which family or company I belonged to, but he must've guessed anyway.
“All right, shall we go pick up my secretary?”
“Understood.”
We headed straight to Seo Geon-woo's house.
I hadn't contacted him today, so he probably had no idea I was coming.
Though I called him my errand boy, I'd never made any unfair or unreasonable demands of him.
Naturally, I never called him over unless I actually needed something, and I never got in his way if he had personal matters to deal with.
Since I hadn't contacted him today either, he'd probably assumed it was his day off.
I pressed the intercom at Seo Geon-woo's front gate.
It was called an intercom, but it was really just a doorbell.
Without any response, the gate opened at once with a loud beeping.
I went up to his front door and knocked.
“Who is it?”
I was a little surprised by the familiar but unexpected voice.
The door opened, and Seo Ha-yoon was standing there.
The moment she saw me, she pulled a face.
“What?”
Honestly, was that really how you greeted a woman four years older than you?
Anyone watching would think I was here to collect a debt.
“Hi, Ha-yoon. But shouldn't you be at school right now?”
“That's none of your business.”
She tried to shut the door, so I quickly stuck my foot underneath it.
When the door caught on my shoe and slammed with a loud bang, Seo Ha-yoon's eyes widened and she flinched, apparently startled too.
“Oh, seriously, what are you trying to do?”
What was I supposed to do with this ill-mannered brat?
Even if I wanted to knock some sense into her, physical discipline wasn't an option for me now.
I had no choice but to put up with it.
“Isn't it a bit much to turn away a guest at the door?”
“Who said you were a guest? Move your foot!”
As we struggled over the door, Seo Geon-woo appeared behind Seo Ha-yoon, apparently having heard the noise.
“What's going on, Ha-yoon… Huh? Ha-won.”
At the sight of her brother, Seo Ha-yoon's expression worsened. Now she'd have no choice but to let me in.
“You sure know how to welcome a guest.”
I said it with a smile, but Seo Geon-woo knew me well enough to know what that smile meant.
He quickly moved his sister behind him and opened the door for me.
“Sorry. Come on in, Ha-won.”
“Ugh, why do you keep letting this old lady into the house!”
Snap.
Being called ‘that person’ hadn't done much damage, but ‘old lady’ crossed the line a little.
“Seo Ha-yoon, are you going to keep this up!?”
Seo Geon-woo shouted at her.
Maybe she couldn't bring herself to beat up her own brother, because she glared at him like she wanted to eat him alive, then went into her room.
She shut the door so hard it was a wonder it hadn't broken.
“Haah, seriously, that girl….”
Was I like that when I was seventeen, too?
No. If nothing else, I'd never been as rude to my elders as Seo Ha-yoon was.
“Anyway, is something going on? You came all the way to my house….”
“Nothing in particular. I need you for a few things, so I came to pick you up.”
“You could've just called me. Why come all the way here?”
“Is this somewhere I'm not allowed to come?”
“That's not it, but it's not exactly a nice neighborhood….”
“Enough. Get ready to go.”
“Okay. Just give me a minute.”
As expected, he got moving right away without even asking why.
I liked that about Seo Geon-woo.
He never questioned me, at least. He never doubted me.
It made me happy to feel that he trusted me that much.
‘It'd be nice if that girl came with us, too.’
I thought as I glanced at Seo Ha-yoon's closed bedroom door.
I took Seo Geon-woo, who was ready, and left the house right away.
Even under the blazing midday sun, Seo Geon-woo's face was bright.
He didn't even know where we were going or what we were doing, yet he had such an innocent look on his face.
Just then, I heard something unfold, and a shadow fell over me.
When I looked back, I saw Seo Geon-woo holding a large parasol—no, an umbrella, I guess—and holding it over me.
“Ha-won can't get sunburned.”
“Y-you're doing something pointless.”
“Haha, either way, you're a woman now. Taking care of your skin is a woman's lifeblood.”
Damn, maybe it really was hot out.
It felt like my face was burning.
I fanned myself with my hand and abruptly turned away.
“If you're going to shield me, get me a nice parasol. What's with an umbrella, an umbrella!”
“Okay, I'll buy one.”
Good grief, you big dummy.
We walked down the alley toward the car parked nearby.
Seong Ji-hoon, who'd been waiting beside the car, looked momentarily surprised, then hurried over to me.
“I'm sorry. I failed to take the sunlight into consideration.”
“It's fine. You don't need to worry about things like that. He's just a little over the top.”
As expected, I could sense a strange tension between Seo Geon-woo and Seong Ji-hoon.
It felt like sparks were flying between them as their eyes met.
“What are you doing? Hurry up, start the car and turn on the AC.”
“Y-yes!”
I sat in the back seat with Seo Geon-woo.
Come to think of it, I couldn't even remember the last time we'd sat side by side in a car like this.
He'd always been diagonally in front of me.
Whether on the bus during a school trip back in our school days or when he drove my car after graduation, he was always diagonally in front of me.
Maybe that's why sitting next to him now felt so awkward.
It felt strangely embarrassing even to turn my head and look at him, so I stared out the window the whole way.
We arrived at a lounge restaurant on the 50th floor, overlooking the Han River and all of Seoul.
Neither Seong Ji-hoon nor Seo Geon-woo had expected me to come here, judging by how surprised they looked.
Normally, the place was fully booked and had a long line of people waiting, but today it was completely empty, without a single customer.
“I'm sorry, ma'am. We aren't open for lunch today. We ask for your understanding.”
“I'm Jeong Ha-won.”
I walked up to the employee asking for our understanding and said so.
The employee's eyes widened when they heard my name, and they bowed again.
“Ah, I'm sorry. I'll show you to your table.”
I turned to the two men, who looked confused and unsure what was going on, and smiled.
“Let's go in. I rented out the whole place for today.”
They both looked surprised.
Seong Ji-hoon was probably surprised because this was his first time providing VIP security, while Seo Geon-woo had never seen me rent out an entire restaurant for a meal like this.
We sat at the best table, with all of Seoul spread out below us.
Seo Geon-woo looked awkward too, but he sat down rather stiffly across from me, while Seong Ji-hoon stood ramrod straight.
I looked up at him and said,
“What are you doing? Sit down.”
“Pardon?”
“I said sit down. Are you going to eat standing up?”
He blinked and pointed at himself with a finger.
“M-me too…?”
“I told you not to make me say it twice, didn't I?”
“Y-yes!”
At least he wasn't giving me a stiff response like ‘That's not allowed’ as before, and was listening right away. It seemed Secretary Shin's instructions had gotten through to him.
As expected, unless I spoke first, an awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere settled between the two men.
I knew there was reason for their relationship to be like that, but it was so uncomfortable even for me that I'd have trouble swallowing my food.
As the food began arriving, I slowly brought up the main point.
“I set up this meal so suddenly today because of you two.”
I began, looking between Seong Ji-hoon and Seo Geon-woo.
“Both of you are going to be together for a while, though I don't know how long. But if you're going to be this uncomfortable around each other, how am I supposed to live with all that stress? Otherwise, one of you can cut ties with me.”
Seo Geon-woo, greatly flustered by my words, abruptly turned to Seong Ji-hoon and held out his hand.
“I'm sorry about what happened then. You seem older than me, but I got a little carried away and was rude to you.”
An immediate apology, without a moment's hesitation.
Seong Ji-hoon looked a little taken aback too, but he soon took Seo Geon-woo's hand.
“No. I was the one who committed the greater discourtesy without thinking things through. I'm sorry.”
Click.
I captured the two of them shaking hands and bowing to each other with my phone camera.
Startled by the sound, both of them looked at me at the same time.
“Hehe, evidence collected. Now you two can't fight anymore. Got it?”
The two men quickly let go of each other's hands and looked embarrassed.
Watching them like that was so funny and entertaining.
The table was soon filled with delicious food.
“You must be hungry. Go ahead and eat.”
They seemed to be waiting to see what I'd do, but after taking a few bites, they began eating with gusto as if nothing had happened.
After we finished the meal, Seong Ji-hoon and I ordered coffee for dessert, while Seo Geon-woo ordered ice cream.
“Are you a kid? You're eating ice cream.”
“Hehe, bitter coffee still isn't to my taste. You should try a bite too, Ha-won. The ice cream here is really good.”
“No thanks.”
“Come on, just try one bite.”
He said, pushing a spoonful of ice cream toward my face.
I leaned my head away to refuse, but the spoon kept coming closer.
I had no choice but to open my mouth.
Seo Geon-woo fed me the ice cream like a mother bird feeding her chick, then waited eagerly for my reaction.
“I-it's good.”
“Right? I guess it's not premade. Do they make it themselves?”
No, you idiot, this restaurant's ice cream is store-bought.
I know the ingredients this restaurant uses are from Guwon Foods.
“How was the meal?”
I turned to Seong Ji-hoon and asked.
“It was excellent.”
“Excellent, my foot… You'll be eating plenty of even better food from now on. Don't be impressed already.”
“Ah, is that so?”
I gazed out at the view of Seoul for a moment, then abruptly turned to Seo Geon-woo and called him.
“Geon.”
“Huh, what?”
I hesitated briefly, but I'd already made up my mind, so I decided not to take it back.
“Apart from Woo Da-yeon, are there any other people from high school you still keep in touch with?”
“Huh?”
The question was unexpected, and he was taken aback for a moment, but he soon collected himself.
“Y-yeah, a few….”
“Really? Who?”
He seemed to think for a moment, then began naming them one by one, folding down his fingers.
I'd forgotten most of the people I'd been close to back in high school, but hearing their names brought their faces back to me vaguely.
“I see.”
“But why are you asking about our classmates?”
“I was thinking of meeting a few of them.”
“Huh? Why? Do you need something?”
That was part of it, of course.
I needed people who could help me learn the things I needed now that I'd become a woman.
Since Seo Geon-woo was the only friend I'd been close to, I'd have to meet them again through him, as if making new connections.
‘I'm practically a new person, so it makes sense to start over.’
I steeled my resolve once more.
I was aware that my emotions, words, and actions were becoming more feminine, but even so, after more than a decade of being accustomed to acting like a man, I needed someone to help me adjust.
“Hong Ye-na. What is she doing these days?”
Among the names Seo Geon-woo mentioned, one girl suddenly came to mind.
“Oh, Ye-na… She's studying at Baekgeum Arts University now.”
“What's her major?”
“Last I heard, it was something in beauty makeup.”
Just as I expected.
“Good. Then Hong Ye-na is the first person I'll meet.”
I said as I stood up.
The two men's eyes rose to follow me.
They just blinked, looking like they had no idea what was going on.
“What are you doing? We're going right now. Get up.”