In Search of Our Destiny - Chapter 224

The instant Ji-Won heard those words, his heart gave a wild thump. It was almost impossible to stop the reddish tint that was spreading on his face and neck. So, he merely raised a hand to his lips and coughed. All this while his eyes were purposefully avoiding looking at Min-Jun.

At this time, there was a loud thud coming from upstairs. It seemed that Su-Jin had dropped something on the floor and was scrambling to pick it up. The sound was soon followed by the young woman’s voice. She sounded both vexed and embarrassed.

“Park Min-Jun, would you stop being silly? He is not ‘my’ Director Kang.”

“Oh, then prey tell me, what is he?” Min-Jun asked with the hint of tease laced in his tone.

He slowly pulled his eyes away from Ji-Won and instead looked up towards the first floor. Based on Su-Jin’s reply it was pretty clear that she hadn’t realized Kang Ji-Won was in their house right now. Otherwise, he was certain she would never have said that out loud.

So, Min-Jun watched as his oblivious sister finally came downstairs. He listened to her grumblings, while maintaining a light smile on his lips.

“What do you mean ‘what is he’? Of course, he is just my… Director Kang!” Su-Jin gasped.

She had just been about to say that Kang Ji-Won was simply her boss, but upon seeing the man himself, standing tall and proper in front of the entrance door, Su-Jin’s mind had gone blank. Her steps faltered and she nearly tripped and fell.

Sure enough, she had been too focused on something else and didn’t think for one second about who could be waiting for her downstairs.

Luckily, Su-Jin’s brother had expected that reaction from her. Therefore, as soon as he saw Su-Jin swaying on her feet, he swiftly caught hold of her arm.

“Look at the pace you are moving in, sis. By the time you finally arrive, your Director might become old and wrinkly.” he smiled and gestured with his chin towards the entrance. “Now go and have fun. Don’t stay out too late, though.”

Min-Jun spoke like an elderly father, seeing off his daughter as she went out for a date.

The so-called daughter wasn’t that thrilled, though. Her head snapped towards the young man, staring at him in disbelief.

With an eyebrow twitching on her forehead, Su-Jin quickly swatted Min-Jun’s hand away. Next, she threw a death glare in his direction and, to make sure her message got across, she also gave him a light shove.

“Stop being stupid.” She muttered through gritted teeth.

“And you stop being late.” Min-Jun said, pushing his sister in Ji-Won’s direction.

All throughout this short exchange he had been truly unperturbed by the combination of scowls and disbelieving stares he was receiving.

Just then, Su-Jin recalled something.

“Hey, where is Mi-Suk? Don’t tell me she’s still sleeping at this hour.”

Min-Jun stared at his sister for a second, then spat out a single word.

“Date.”

But, he must have thought that wasn’t enough of an explanation because only a moment later, he added with a deadpan expression.

“Apparently she and that guy went out to see an art exhibition.”

“That guy?”

Su-Jin thought for a moment, then quickly gasped in understanding.

“Ah, you mean Do-Yeong, right? And you say they went to an art gallery to see an exhibition?” Su-Jin looked impressed as she continued. “Wow, Do-Yeong really knows how to worm his way into Mi-Suk’s heart. This might actually be one of the best relationships she’s had so far.”

Su-Jin wasn’t aware of it but, as soon as her words fell, her brother’s complexion changed ever so slightly. His face darkened and his eyes flashed with a strange light.

But everything was gone just as quickly as it happened. In just a few seconds, Min-Jun’s deadpan expression returned and he looked calm, almost bored.

After this little ‘adventure’, Su-Jin and Ji-Won finally stepped out of the house under Min-Jun’s ‘fatherly’ gaze.

As they walked towards the car, Su-Jin kept fiddling with her hands, feeling embarrassed for the earlier events. At the same time, though, she didn’t know what to say. So, she chose the first thing that came to mind.

“I apologize for my brother’s conduct. Director Kang, please don’t take it to heart. He’s just young and doesn’t fear the old.” She finished with a nervous laugh.

Pleading to her boss like that, Su-Jin didn’t forget to look repentant. Meanwhile, though, she kept giving the man sideways glances in hopes to figure out what his mood was.

To her surprise, Su-Jin saw Ji-Won smiling.

When he noticed her looking at him, Ji-Won shook his head and gave a reply meant to appease the young woman’s troubled mind.

“It’s alright, Miss Park. Younger brothers tend to be troublesome at times. They would keep saying annoying things and, no matter how much you scold or threaten them, they simply won’t stop until they’ve had their fun.”

“Director Kang, how do you know that?” Su-Jin gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief. “Do you happen to have a younger brother as well?”

Ji-Won flinched at those words.

“No… There is no such person.” Ji-Won replied darkly.

He didn’t say anything more, but the chilly air that swiftly surrounded him was enough to deter Su-Jin from pursuing the matter further.

Since it was easy to see that Ji-Won didn’t want to talk about it, she quickly beat a retreat.

“I’m sorry for prying, Director Kang.” Su-Jin hurried to apologize. “It’s just that you explained everything so accurately, that it almost seemed as though you’ve experienced it yourself at least once.”

In the meantime, the two of them had already reached the car.

Just like the other day, Ji-Won opened the door for Su-Jin, waiting until she climbed inside before closing the door and walking towards the driver’s side of the car.

After finishing this sequence of movements, Ji-Won got inside and put on his seatbelt. He was just about to start the engine, when he happened to notice a peculiar object placed on Su-Jin’s lap.

“What is that?” he asked, gesturing with his chin towards the blue box Su-Jin had been carrying with her.

“Oh, you mean this?” She placed a palm over the box and smiled mysteriously. “It’s just a little something I found the other day. I hope it might help us today.”

Truth be told, even now, she was still hesitant to take the box with her.

Still, there was the matter of confirming what happened to the ‘Summer Triangle Villa’ in the first place. If the house was simply out of business, then she could employ any possible strategy to persuade them to return.

However, if something else happened to the two owners, making them unable to run the house, then the situation would become much more complicated.

So, in the end, Su-Jin decided to take that object with her.. Whatever the truth was, she felt determined to find out.