Dry Monsoon

Chapter 17.2

Chapter 17 Part 2

Translated by Raven

Chapter 17 Part 2

“What do you mean? We have to prepare for the wedding. Soo-Yeon—ah, I mean the chairman is here to help us. Did you think you have one or two things to prepare before you get married?”

I frowned slightly and looked at Soo-Yeon, who was sitting opposite me.

A few days ago, Soo-Yeon had visited Lee-Hyun’s house and informed him that she would be keeping a close eye on Kim Hee-Joo. They had given me a chance to become their daughter-in-law, but they did not seem to trust Kim Hee-Joo. Mrs Yang, who had told her son not to regret his choice, and Kwon Soo-Yeon, who was going this far, were not very normal.

Soo-Yeon smiled and said while stroking the surface of her well-groomed nails.

“Have we met before?”

“This is the first time we’ve met,” I replied.

“But why do you look so familiar? Well, I’m sorry for suddenly asking you to meet me here today. My brother has no sense when it comes to things like this, so I decided to step up.”

When I blinked my eyes with curiosity, Soo-Yeon let out a small laugh and handed over the file she brought. On the front of the light pink file, a sticker titled <Kwon Lee-Hyun’s Marriage Project> was playfully pasted on. Her personality was totally different from Kwon Lee Hyun’s, she had a very pleasant and cheerful aura to herself.

“I’m sorry to tell you, but we need to work on your image. First of all, there are four events planned before the engagement ceremony. We have to fool my father well. Of course, my brother will come along too, but my father believes in Royal Blood from the bottom of his heart. Neither I nor my mom is picky about people’s backgrounds, but the people my dad hates the most are the self-made people. If you don’t change your current image, it will be quite hard to handle things that will happen in the future. Well, not that I can understand my father’s mindset.”

I accepted the file but left it unopened. Kim Hee-Joo quietly listened to Soo-Yeon’s words. Why did it seem like dealing with Kwon Soo-Yeon would be more difficult than with Mrs Yang? I involuntarily drew up an image of a food chain in my mind. At the top of the pyramid sat President Yang, marked by a question mark and Kwon Lee-Hyun beneath him, followed by the rest of the family, including Kwon Soo-Yeon and Mrs Yang.

“We haven’t yet discussed anything with Kwon Lee-Hyun.”

“We don’t need his opinion. He has a woman. Ah! Let me just make this clear. He doesn’t have much experience with women. In fact, people even thought he was gay because he was so uninterested in women. But he’s been acting really strange lately. Even though you two are not yet married, I think the reason why he keeps delaying the schedule is because of this woman he has on the side. So, we need to bring you up to his level and make sure that he settles down as soon as possible. Comparing you to a woman who wears a pair of Louboutins with scraped fronts…”

Soo-Yeon, who seemed unamused by my sudden laugh, glanced down at the shoes I was wearing. Me on the other hand, let out a small snort. Kwon Soo-Yeon had managed to notice that the front of my shoes was scraped in such a brief time. Soo-Yeon, without finishing her sentence, met my eyes with a funny look.

Kim Hee-Joo, who was unaware of the story, turned red when she heard that Lee-Hyun had a woman and fidgeted with her phone nervously. Sooyeon was enjoying the situation.

Because Kwon Soo-Yeon had said those words on purpose after all.

I held back my laughter and accepted the drink that was served.

“Is Hee-Joo joining us for the shopping trip as well?”

I asked while placing my lips on the paper straw. Soo-Yeon, who stared at me, smiled mischievously.

“Of course not. Once we’ve chosen, she’ll just be there to pay afterwards.”

Hee-Joo couldn’t protest. She simply finished her drink and made a phone call. Before I met Kwon Lee-Hyun, my most dangerous enemy was Kim Hee-Joo. Hee-Joo appeared to be a good person in all manners, but she was a woman who took advantage of other people’s weaknesses more than anyone else. But now, the tables have turned.

After my world was forced to expand, I discovered how dangerous people could really be.

“Then, shall we go?”

Soo-Yeon smiled and stood up from her seat.

In particular, the brother and sister duo of the Kwon family were terrifyingly lethal.

***

[Hae-inah…]

Lee-Hyun’s expression was severe as he held his phone against his ear. He had delayed the meeting because he received a call from Samcheong-dong, but the other person turned out to be Yoon Jae-sun. His eyes sank darkly at the voice that deliberately called him Hae-in.

(T/N: Just a small reminder, Yoon Jae-sun is Lee-Hyun’s late twin brother’s wife.)

“You dialled the wrong number.”

When he attempted to hang up, a dry voice drifted over the phone.

[I went to the hospital today. They said my child is underweight, so I have to hold onto him for as long as I can. But I don’t think I can last any longer because my stomach keeps acting up. Last night, I got a bad cramp.]

“I’ll send Mr. Ahn.”

[Mr. Ahn doesn’t know anything. You come instead. You…come and stay with me. I won’t call you Hae-in.]

Lee-Hyun, who was staring straight ahead, hung up the call. His mother and Soo-Yeon suspected she was suffering from a mental illness, but he thought differently. For some reason, Yoon Jae-sun played herself to appear as someone crazy. Acting like that wouldn’t have been difficult for her. The woman had endured 13 years in theatre and eight years in musicals. Lee-Hyun glanced at the name on his screen.

Hae-in would have somehow tried to get Yoon Jae-sun to be recognized by their parents. Their mother had concluded that Yoon Jae-sun’s child was Hae-in’s without any DNA tests as evidence.

It was proof that his mother had known about the existence of Yoon Jae-sun for a long time.

“Secretary Kim, skip any calls from Samcheong-dong. And clear my schedule for this evening. I’ll be heading over to Gapyeong.”

Lee-Hyun turned his phone’s screen down and handed over the document clipboard.

“Shall I have the driver on standby?”

“No, I’ll drive myself. I’m going to check the site. Lee Ji-Eun—can you find out where she is?”

“I will find out.”

Lee-Hyun leaned against the back of the chair and raised his head with a tired face. A few hours ago, Soo-Yeon sent him a message with a photo. The person in the photo was none other than Lee Ji-Eun. Standing in front of a handbag showcase, she was photographed reaching out to the camera with an annoyed expression. Lee-Hyun stared at the screen and rubbed his chin with a small smirk.

The important thing here was not the dissatisfied expression but why she was with Kwon Soo-Yeon. Lee Ji-Eun and Kwon Soo-Yeon.

Lee-Hyun stared intently at Ji-Eun’s face as if couldn’t take his eyes off the photo.