After finishing the call with my father-in-law… no, the chairman, Ryu Tae-jin, I was drenched in cold sweat.
Just a brief conversation of about three minutes left me feeling completely drained, and I collapsed onto the living room sofa like a half-dead body.
“I’m sorry, Dad spoke so suddenly… I must have caused a nuisance, right?”
As I was wallowing in my self-pity, Seo-ha, my older sister, came over with a worried expression, grabbing my arm and offering her apologies. I waved my hand dismissively, shaking my head.
“What are you talking about? I was just a little surprised; it’s not like it was a nuisance.”
From her father’s perspective, it was natural to want to see the guy dating his precious daughter, who was raised like a treasure, even if it was just some guy rolling around from who knows where.
I smiled wryly, understanding her father’s sentiments.
Still, Seo-ha didn’t seem able to hide her guilt.
“Hmm… My dad is usually not that impulsive, but he must have wanted to see you a lot. I’ve mentioned you a few times.”
“About me?”
I was a bit flustered, taken aback that she had talked about me to her family. I thought her father had only found out after watching my broadcast yesterday.
“Yeah. I said I have a guy I like and that I’m even thinking about marriage. Though at that time, we weren’t even dating yet, so it was just wishful thinking…”
“Oh…”
That made sense. If Seo-ha had said that much, it was understandable that her father wanted to meet me so quickly.
Still, it wasn’t like we were actually dating, so there hadn’t been a reason to meet until yesterday’s incident gave him the perfect excuse.
“Let’s just take a break now that dinner is over and think about it slowly. If it’s too much pressure, we can always push it back.”
“No, I’ll try to set a date as soon as possible. Plus, I really want to meet him at least once.”
Truth be told, it was daunting, but the desire to meet her father was growing stronger.
At least as long as I was seriously considering marriage with Seo-ha, I had to face the big mountain sooner or later. So I figured it wouldn’t hurt to get spanked a little early.
“Thank you. I’ll have a talk with Dad later.”
“Please don’t do that, Noona.”
I urgently tried to stop her with a sincere plea.
Imagining Chairman Ryu being scolded by his precious daughter made me feel bad, and if this was miscommunicated, he might think I was uncomfortable with the upcoming meeting.
Fortunately, Seo-ha seemed to understand my feelings and nodded her head in agreement.
Phew, finally I could breathe a little easier.
“By the way, didn’t you say that your family contacted you today? Shouldn’t you give them a call or something?”
“…Ah, right. I completely forgot for a moment.”
Just as I was about to take a break, Seo-ha casually reminded me, prompting me to recall the 32 missed calls I had received earlier.
Ah, head hurts again. I could already imagine Mom flipping out the moment I answered.
“If she asks too many questions, just hand the phone to me. I’ll explain everything well.”
“Even that might complicate things… But okay, I’ll do that.”
I was worried Mom would faint upon learning she was talking to the daughter of the chairman of Changseong Group, but I nodded anyway, thinking we’d have to deal with that if it came up.
I quickly grabbed my phone, pulled up the call log, and dialed Mom’s number.
Beep beep. Beep beep.
As I held my breath, waiting for the boring connection tone, I suddenly heard:
– Kang Woo-joo! What on earth have you gotten into!?
“…….”
As expected, the moment she picked up, I was greeted with a loud, angry voice.
Ah, I just wanted to hang up right now.
“…Mom, please calm down and let me explain first. I’ll tell you everything.”
– Calm down? How can I calm down!? You’re dating the daughter of Changseong Group! What’s that about!?
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. I told you I have a girl I like, right? We started dating the day before yesterday, and she is the daughter of Chairman Ryu Tae-jin of Changseong Group.”
– You’re telling a story, right? No way that’s true!
I couldn’t argue back. Even I thought this was so unreal, it could only be a figment of my imagination.
The problem was I couldn’t just ignore this reality, and I had to somehow persuade my mom.
The bigger issue was that I couldn’t think of anything that might convince her in this situation.
“Woo-joo, wait. Can you hand the phone to that girl?”
“Uh? Oh, okay…”
As I racked my brain for a way to convince Mom, Seo-ha gently tapped my shoulder, signaling to take the phone.
Reluctantly, I handed over my phone as my last resort, and Seo-ha cleared her throat before speaking in a sultry voice.
“Hello, Ma’am. I’m Ryu Seo-ha, and I’ve started dating Woo-joo. I’m sorry for introducing myself like this.”
– Oh? My son… you say you are his girlfriend?
Mom was clearly caught off guard, not imagining Seo-ha would be right next to me. Her voice was full of fluster, and it seemed like she was trying to gather her composure.
But Mom, the jig is already up. Just give it up and roll with it.
“Yes, Ma’am. I’m sure yesterday’s broadcast surprised you a lot. I should’ve called ahead, and I’m really sorry.”
– No, it’s not a matter of being surprised…
If she hadn’t collapsed backward, it’d be a miracle; she must have been finding it hard to swallow the lies she was spewing.
If she wasn’t surprised, then why did you flip out at me about it?
– But, but really, you are the daughter of Chairman Ryu Tae-jin of Changseong Group?
“Yes, my father is Chairman Ryu Tae-jin of Changseong Group. But I’m sure even that is hard to believe, right?”
– Uhh… yeah…
As if she understood that feeling, Seo-ha smiled gently as if no one was there.
“Well, Ma’am, if it’s alright with you, could we come over to meet you in the near future?”
“…Noona?”
– Meet us… at our house?
The problem was that her casual phrasing was like a bomb dropped on both Mom and me.
“Yes. I thought that might reassure you. Is that too sudden?”
– N-no…! We can do that any time!
“Good to hear. And please feel free to speak freely when we do meet next. You can call me ‘New Daughter-in-law’ if you want.”
– New daughter-in-law…?
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Wow. I’d never seen my mom get manhandled like that by anyone.
But of course, that would happen. The moment a girl calling herself the youngest daughter of Changseong Group says, “I’m dating your son,” it’s game over.
Add to that “I’d like to come visit soon,” or “Please call me ‘New Daughter-in-law’,” it’d be absurd for Mom to think straight after that.
“Well, Ma’am, please take care and I’ll greet you again when we visit together with Woo-joo. Yes, Ma’am. Yes, take care.”
As the matter seemed to be wrapping up, Seo-ha politely handed the phone back to me.
“Hello?”
– Uh… uh, could you bring ‘New Daughter-in-law’ home sometime? I’ll tell your dad to clear his schedule.
“Sure, I’ll do that.”
Mom’s voice was half dazed, still unable to adapt to the term “New Daughter-in-law” she just heard.
– Right then, let’s talk more when we meet.
Just as I was about to hang up, I suddenly felt a surge of curiosity about how Mom learned this news, even when she didn’t watch my broadcasts, and I shouted, “Wait!” as I asked her.
“Mom, you said you don’t watch my broadcasts, so how did you find that out? Were you watching yesterday?”
– What are you talking about? You haven’t checked the internet yet?
“What internet?”
What could be on the internet?
– Oh my goodness! Hurry up and get online! This news has spread so much that every Tom, Dick, and Harry knows about it!
“News?”
Just as she lashed out, my real mom showed up, scolding me before abruptly hanging up.
“Wait? What did Mom say?”
“Yeah, she said I should check the internet.”
“Internet?”
Seo-ha seemed puzzled too and leaned in closer to me as I opened the internet app on my phone to see what was up.
The first article that caught my eye on the portal site had a rather ominous title.
【Director Ryu Seo-ha of Changseong Corporation reveals she is dating a popular streamer…】
– On August 3rd, a shocking news broke out during a live broadcast of a male streamer on a real-time streaming platform called CHEEZE, operated by Aiver.
This particular streamer, who goes by the nickname Cosmo, revealed he has been dating someone while continuing a short interview with her without showing their faces.
However, it turned out that the girl he was dating is none other than the youngest daughter of Chairman Ryu Tae-jin of Changseong Group, stirring up a massive uproar.
Also, it was revealed that Director Ryu Seo-ha had been a ‘real fan’ since before this streamer gained immense popularity, raising even more eyebrows.
According to Director Ryu Seo-ha…
.
.
.
The content of the article was so dizzying that I reflexively rubbed my forehead.
Seo-ha, the architect of this whole situation, remained surprisingly unbothered and said, “So, now you’re a public figure? Thanks to this, there won’t be anyone who’d dare mess with our Woo-joo, right?”
She crossed her arms, beamed a smile that seemed to come from nowhere, showing an uncharacteristic sense of rivalry.
In a state of bemusement, I could only chuckle in resignation without a reply, when suddenly,
♬~
The phone chimed again.
This time, the caller was none other than Park Jae-seong.
Thud.
At that moment, I abandoned my train of thought and fell limp onto the sofa.
I could already guess what hell would unleash the moment I answered that call.
Oh, and speaking of which, even if I dodged Park Jae-seong, the viewers would surely erupt in chaos during today’s broadcast.
Maybe it’s best to lay low for a while.
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