That Fox of a Man
Kang-hyun leaned back in his chair, burying himself in the leather as he held the phone to his ear.
"I've been calling frequently, but I still haven't managed to reach Chief of Staff Jin Jae-hwan. I've tried at night and in the morning by American time, yet some local-sounding person always answers in English and simply says no such person exists. The number is definitely correct, but Chief Jin has never picked up even once."
"A precautionary ruse, then? Maybe he deliberately has someone else answer so he won't take any call that isn't from his daughter."
Kang-hyun considered the various possibilities. Or had the number been sent from the beginning just to test him? Not to contact his daughter at all, but simply to see who would call.
Thinking about it, that made sense. Jin Jae-hwan had always been a mild-mannered man, yet he also possessed a will of iron—strong enough to have spent years quietly catering to the infamous whims of the Museong family.
From Chairman Do down through his sons, spanning two generations, Jin had served without once letting his expression change in front of those inhuman owners of the Museong Group.
In that light, Jin Jae-hwan himself was quite the formidable breed of tough customer. Yoon Tae-seok, who had succeeded him, was useful enough, but he had never quite measured up to that standard.
"That fox of a man…"
"And Executive Director. The area code for that phone number wasn't Rochester."
Kang-hyun's brow twitched. That, too, was unexpected.
Jin Jae-hwan had wanted to meet with a particular medical team for his wife's treatment. Even before this whole affair began, he had seemed eager to head to Rochester.
"Then where was it?"
"When I looked it up, it was a Maryland area code."
Baltimore, then? That was possible enough.
As Kang-hyun ran through the American cities famous for their hospitals, another possibility suddenly occurred to him. Or… if that number was merely bait, the couple might actually be in Rochester after all.
With ten billion won now in hand, arranging a house and people in another city would have been nothing.
Kang-hyun was silent for a moment, then finally answered.
"Understood. Let me know the moment you make contact."
"Yes, Executive Director. I'll report back as soon as I have news."
After hanging up, Kang-hyun rose from his seat as though nothing were amiss. If they failed to reach him within a few days, he would simply send people to America. Rochester or Baltimore—it hardly mattered. A focused search of the hospitals would turn them up soon enough.
Even among the American hospitals that were supposedly conducting the deepest research into the rare disease plaguing Jin Jae-hwan's wife, the doctors who actually treated it were limited in number.
"All right, then. Let's see what you've got, Chief of Staff Jin Jae-hwan."
After the morning's external meeting ended and they climbed into the car, it was already 11:20. With the road ahead looking somewhat congested, Deputy General Manager Yoon Tae-seok checked the time and made a suggestion to Executive Director Do Kang-hyun.
"Executive Director. It looks like the return trip will take a while. How about having lunch somewhere nearby?"
"Fine."
The three of them—Do Kang-hyun, Yoon Tae-seok, and Jin Ye-seo—had never shared a lunch together before.
Ye-seo let out a quiet sigh they couldn't hear. Ever since hearing that unbelievable claim from Do Kang-hyun—that her father wanted to abandon his daughter—she had been doing everything she could to avoid him, and yet here they were, even outside the office.
Even when it wasn't a meal with important guests but simply a lunch with his secretaries, the Executive Director's midday break took place at a high-end restaurant.
Do Kang-hyun had chosen the place himself, and Yoon had quickly phoned ahead to reserve a table before their arrival. It was a restaurant that served a full course menu.
Despite it being lunch hour and fairly busy, the tables were spaced far enough apart that the atmosphere remained quiet. While the fine-dining courses arrived one after another, conversation all but vanished.
They ate at a leisurely pace, yet all three remained in a near-silent state, focused only on their food. It stayed that way until they finished the main course.
Still, Ye-seo found even the silence preferable. Although the Executive Director kept his gaze mostly on her throughout, that intense staring of his was nothing new.
All she hoped was that he wouldn't suddenly spit out something else that made her uncomfortable. A quiet meal like this was better by far.
After finishing his main dish, Deputy General Manager Yoon rose slowly before dessert arrived. Only then did he speak, glancing at Ye-seo.
"I'm just going to the restroom for a moment."
"Yes."
Once Yoon disappeared, the table left with only Kang-hyun and Ye-seo felt even quieter. Ye-seo, who ate more slowly than the men, was still carefully chewing the remaining food on her plate.
The atmosphere was awkward, yet the food itself was excellent. Delicious enough that, had it been a pleasant meeting with pleasant company, she could have thoroughly enjoyed it—the salmon appetizer, the onion soup, the steak.
But these days Ye-seo could get indigestion from even the softest foods, so she made sure to chew thoroughly before swallowing. The terrifying man who wanted to possess her had already left her stomach unsettled even when she ate alone; with him staring at her like this, it was worse.
"Secretary Jin, you're eating quite a bit today, at least."
The man suddenly spoke.
"I noticed when you eat at home that you seem to like menus like this, so I brought us here."
Ye-seo, mid-chew on her steak, froze. So the choice of restaurant…
"You came here because of me?"
"What, did you think I came for Deputy Manager Yoon?"
Well. For a meal with secretaries he saw every day, fine dining wasn't exactly a common choice.
"Anyway, I'm glad you're eating well. Make sure you don't lose any more weight from here. I don't like women who are too skinny, you know."
Ye-seo unconsciously lowered her eyes to survey her own figure. Watching her, the man gave a short laugh and delivered his next line.
"Especially when it comes to bare skin."
In that instant Ye-seo swallowed the chunk of meat with an audible gulp. At the words "bare skin," her legs instinctively pressed together and she couldn't lift her head.
If she raised her eyes now and met his gaze, she felt certain she would end up imagining their bare skin touching. Why did it always turn out like this whenever they were left alone?
While Ye-seo sat frozen, unable to find a response, Deputy General Manager Yoon Tae-seok returned to the table.
He had no idea that his brief absence had left the meal's atmosphere so thoroughly soiled; he simply looked puzzled at Ye-seo's troubled expression.
Figuring that the Executive Director had once again been teasing without regard for time or place, he quietly took his seat, gauging the mood between the two of them.
Dessert arrived at just the right moment. Kang-hyun, who had been watching Ye-seo until then, turned his eyes to Yoon Tae-seok.
"Deputy General Manager Yoon."
"Yes, Executive Director."
"Today makes it five days already. I'm done waiting. Proceed to the next stage."
Yoon could guess what he meant. He hadn't expected the matter to be brought up in front of Jin Ye-seo, however, and was more than a little flustered.
"Send some people to Rochester and Baltimore."
"Ah—yes! Understood."
Startled for a moment, Yoon flicked a glance at Ye-seo's face before quickly recovering his composed expression and offering his loyalty to Kang-hyun.
"I'll scout people immediately and dispatch them, Executive Director."
For days they had been working through Korean and American contacts, trying to find the name of Jin Jae-hwan's wife among Korean patients currently receiving treatment at major American hospitals. They had yet to locate it.
Had they used someone else's name?
"How long will it take?"
Now they would have to send people to do the legwork themselves if they wanted results. The hospitals, at least, would definitely be in use.
"If we're lucky, perhaps next week."
Ye-seo, who had no inkling that Rochester or Baltimore could have anything to do with her, merely blinked with indifferent eyes.
More talk she couldn't follow. Caught between the two men's strange conversation, she wore the isolated expression of someone left completely out.
Like it or not, she had been glued to Executive Director Do Kang-hyun's side as his secretary for well over a month. She still didn't understand every conversation, but she had acquired a fair amount of knowledge about his various business dealings and could at least grasp the general situation as it unfolded.
America, though, was entirely new. And looking at the two men talking, she could sense a distinctly urgent atmosphere hanging over them.
Spending time with Do Kang-hyun and Yoon Tae-seok seemed to be sharpening her instincts and intuition by the day. Something serious was clearly afoot, and Ye-seo suddenly felt the urge to ask.
"Is something… going on in America?"