Chapter 51.1: I'll do it Properly (2)
Kang Chan and Kim Mi-Young were on the way to the beach in the direction of the airport, which Seok Kang-Ho had told him about. There was quite a lot of traffic, as it was a Saturday and the holiday season.
They weren’t in a hurry, though, so they just listened to music, bobbing their heads to the beat as they got onto the highway. Perhaps because there wasn't a lot of ‘Chiffres’ in Korea yet, the passengers of the passing cars on both sides of the road all looked alternately between Kang Chan, the car, and Kim Mi-Young as they drove by.
Kim Mi-Young looked happy while watching Kang Chan drive. She would sometimes do her peculiar “Huhuhu” laugh, causing the corners of her eyes to beautifully bend downward. It was such a great sight to see.
Around 11 am, they merged into the lane that exited to the airport. It seemed like they were going to arrive just in time for lunch.
Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—.
There was nothing that could do a better job of ruining the mood than a phone call, especially if Michelle was the caller, and he was in the middle of a date.
Kang Chan turned off the music and answered the phone in French.
“Ello.”
- Sir!!
Michelle sounded flustered and surprised.
“What’s wrong? What’s going on?”
Michelle was quick-witted. When Kang Chan spoke in French, she used the same language to match him.
- We just got a call from Yungs Ventures a moment ago! Even though today is a Saturday, the CFO of Yungs Ventures called our company himself!
Was receiving a single international call something to be this excited about? Kang Chan sighed slightly. He was worried that Sharlan had done something due to the surprise in her voice.
- Yungs will be investing one billion won in us for their first round of investment, boss! If needed, they said that they’ll invest more in the second round! The media outlets in Europe were the first to find out, and they’ve been calling us to confirm it! We're going crazy!! This is insane, sir!
From Kang Chan’s perspective, she clearly wasn’t in her right mind.
- What should I do? I think I’ve gone crazy! And all of the employees here feel the same way! What should we do?!
If they were alone, he would’ve quickly run over and slapped each of them once.
“It’s a Saturday. Don’t give the employees unnecessary trouble. Just clock out and go home.”
- No, sir! Today is on me. We all decided to go to Namsan Hotel together. The interior business operator will also be coming a bit later since we’ve signed a lease for the office! Kyaaa! I’m so happy I feel like my heart’s going to explode!
When Kang Chan moved the phone away from him while making a sour face, Kim Mi-Young looked at him in surprise.
“It went well, right?”
-Yesss! Sir!
Kang Chan quickly ended the call. He’d only suffer if he kept talking to such a crazy bitch.
His phone rang again.
“It’s hard for me to talk for a long time here, Michelle.”
- Mr. President, it’s Lim, the general manager.
They’re taking turns calling me?
- We’ll try our best to never miss or mess up this opportunity, which you’ve given us. The employees said they have something to say.
From far away, Kang Chan could hear someone saying, “One, two, three!” so he quickly distanced the phone from his ear.
- We’ll work hard, Mr. President! Thank you so so much! We love you! Kyyaaaa!
Kang Chan turned off his phone as he let out a feeble laugh. Kim Mi-Young looked really confused.
“Sorry if that bothered you,” Kang Chan told Kim Mi-Young.
“What’s going on? Who was that and why are they calling you Mr. President?”
Kang Chan gave Kim Mi-Young a subtle glance, then placed his phone down on the cup holder. He didn’t want to lie to Kim Mi-Young, Seok Kang-Ho, and his family unless the truth would require letting them know he was injured or putting them in danger. Even if that wasn’t the case, it was still difficult to tell them the truth without even the tiniest altercation.
“I’ve actually taken on the role of president for a company called D.I.” Kang Chan explained.
“A company? President?”
“Yeah. It’s a drama production company, but my parents don’t know yet. The person that had introduced Gong Te automobile to us is close to an investment company that mainly invests in drama production, so I decided to temporarily take the role until the investment is over.”
Once the company got on the right track, he actually planned on entrusting it to Michelle. That’s why it didn’t weigh that much on his mind.
“Your amazing foreign language skill is certainly bringing you a lot of great opportunities.”
“I’m thinking of saving the money that I earned from this so I won’t have to ask my parents for help when I study abroad in France later.”
Kim Mi-Young’s face grew radiantly bright but darkened much quicker.
“What’s wrong?” asked Kang Chan.
“You’ll be earning that money laboriously. But you’re a full, government-paid scholarship student, so you don’t have to pay tuition. I don’t like that.”
“Phuhu.”
Kim Mi-Young glanced at Kang chan with an upset expression.
“In the past, my mother got chosen as a government-paid scholarship student as well, but she gave all of that up while waiting for my father, who had to do his mandatory military service. Hearing about it made me jealous, but you probably won’t be able to do something like that, right?” Kang Chan asked Kim Mi-Young.
“Why not? If you serve in the military, then I’m just going to study hard while waiting for you.”
Seeing her sincerity made Kang Chan happy.
“I feel the same way. But for now, let’s do our best so no one will have to make any sacrifices. That way, I'll become a husband of a diplomat or something like that. And later, when you do an interview, say that your husband paid for your tuition fees. That would make me look really cool.”
The nickname Simpleton, which he had forgotten about, suddenly popped into his mind when he noticed Kim Mi-Young’s moist eyes and flushed cheeks.
“You can do that, right?” Kang Chan asked.
“Of course.”
He stroked her hair. Kang Chan liked seeing her smile brightly.
She was like a younger sister sometimes, but he also saw her as a woman every now and then.. If they kept seeing each other little by little like this and she didn’t change aside from maturing a bit more, then living together wouldn’t seem like such a bad move.
Kang Chan felt the same way about studying abroad. He felt like she’d really become a diplomat and a wife if he told her to do so.
The effect of talking about studying abroad together and being a diplomat wife was surprisingly good. It cheered Kim Mi-Young up enough to clasp her hand with Kang Chan’s and sway it around while humming to herself.
They arrived at the beach at around 1:30 pm. When they got off the road and passed a narrow alley, the sea unfolded before their eyes. There were so many restaurants lined up along the sea that it was impossible to find an empty spot.
The merchants clung onto Kang Chan’s car like a swarm of bees, offering grilled clams and lodgings, then gestured with their hands that they were selling delicious raw fish. Kang Chan parked the car at the innermost house in the alley that Seok Kang-Ho had told him about, then went into a restaurant.
The old lady told them to get out of the car and gave Kang Chan and Kim Mi-Young an awkward smile.
“You young folks look really good together. Please come in. Let us serve you well.”
She seemed to be ignoring their identities with great effort despite having gotten out of a foreign car she had never seen before.
Kang Chan sat down on a terrace by the seaside.
“Wow! This is really nice!” Kim Mi-Young exclaimed.
“What would you guys like?”
The old lady that owned the restaurant used the menu to suddenly put a stop to Kim Mi-Young’s admiration.
“Please give us raw flatfish,” Kang Chan said.
“Raw flatfish! What about alcohol?”
When the old lady noticed Kim Mi-Young’s face had hardened, she skillfully ignored her and turned her attention to Kang Chan.
“It’s okay. Please just serve us raw fish.”
“Okay!”
If he came here with Seok Kang-Ho, he would’ve already ordered a bottle of soju, a bottle of beer, and had a glass with him. He thought about ordering them but decided against it, thinking it could surprise Kim Mi-Young.
Kim Mi-Young smiled as her gaze alternated between Kang Chan and the sea.
The seawater came up to the front of the restaurant, so they were able to see families led by children, lovers, and friends playing right in front of their eyes.
“Your grades can’t drop,” Kang Chan told Kim Mi-Young.
The sea had caught Kim Mi-Young’s eyes, but she smiled brightly after she looked at Kang Chan.
A moment later, the owner brought a lot of food to their table, but the raw fish honestly wasn’t that good. Kang Chan wondered if they had caught a flatfish that had starved, as the raw fish itself was very thin and dry.
Was it only two days ago? The expensive raw fish that he had at Namsan Hotel came into his mind, which made him feel sorry for Kim Mi-Young, Kang Dae-Kyung, and Yoo Hye-Sook.
“This is amazing,” Kim Mi-Young said.
She placed and wrapped the raw fish into one of the very few pieces of lettuce they were served with, then deliciously placed it into her mouth.
“What?” Kim Mi-Young asked, finding him staring.
“You’re gorgeous.”
“Hmhmhm.”
Her laugh sounded weird due to the food in her mouth.
With his arm hanging on the rail of the terrace, Kang Chan talked to her while occasionally having raw fish to keep pace with her.
Would it be about five years or seven years until she became a diplomat?
The answer was going to come out as he nurtured her while diligently feeding her raw fish, Tteokbokki pork cutlets, and other dishes.?The outcome could disappoint him, but he was sure he wouldn’t regret it even if Kim Mi-Young changed her mind halfway through.
They were served Maeun-tang?after they finished eating the raw fish.
Like the name, it tasted like they just added ramen seasoning to a few vegetables and the fish that had just bones left. Even though Kim Mi-Young said that it was good, she didn’t eat a lot of it.
“Do you want to walk by the beach?” Kang Chan asked.
“Yeah! Yeah!”
Fool.
The people at the table next to them glanced at them, but it didn’t matter to Kang Chan. To him, she was beautiful.
‘She’s the top student in our school, even though she might not look like it.’
He got up from his spot while having the same thoughts as the older ladies in the apartment. He paid for the meal by card, then they went out to the seaside.
“Wow!”
They ran away from the seawater that rushed toward them, then ran into the sea, following the retreating wave. Kim Mi-Young jumped around the beach for about 30 minutes, which eventually got her shoes and ankles completely wet.
They then sat down on top of the cement wall that separated the sandy beach and the road and looked at the sea.
‘I wish I could smoke a cigarette!’ Kang Chan thought to himself. Kim Mi-Young then leaned her head against his shoulder.
It was a peaceful time.
He had good parents, Seok Kang-Ho, with whom he could reminisce about his past life, Kim Mi-Young, and Kim Tae-Jin, whom he got along with just recently. He was surrounded by quite a lot of good people.
It was a shame that the only way to protect them was to catch Sharlan, but he had to do it for the people that were still with him and to avenge those he had lost.
Their clothes had dried up after another 30 minutes had passed, but Kim Mi-Young’s shoes were still wet. Moreover, a lot of sand was smeared onto it.
They went into the restaurant and got their car key, but the older lady brought a hose and abruptly doused her feet with water.
“You’ll ruin your car if you get in it in that state.”
Though she was startled, Kim Mi-Young dusted off the dirt all over her shoes while looking apologetic at Kang Chan.
“What are you doing? Carry her on your back.” The older lady gestured at Kim Mi-Young with her gaze.
It would embarrass Kim Mi-Young if he said he didn’t want to do that here. Hence, he happily lowered his stance in front of her.
“I’ll get your car out, so just dust off the sand inside her shoes, then come back after you guys walk to the beach. This is what everyone does when they come here,” the older lady told Kang Chan.
Kang Chan actually felt sorry for treating the wrong bitches to expensive raw fish and treating Kim Mi-Young to dried ones. He carried her on his back and walked the path that led to the beach.
“Chan.”
“Yeah?”
He turned his head without thinking, and Kim Mi-Young kissed his cheek.
Her body felt hotter than Michelle’s.
“I really like you, Chan! Thank you”
Though he heard Kim Mi-Young’s confession from behind him, he couldn’t respond. It was still too early. He wanted to give her the choice until more time had passed—until it would be okay to disclose their relationship to others.
The beach wasn’t that long, which was good because if it was a little bit longer, then Kim Mi-Young could’ve been burnt.
1. In Chapter 10, Kang Chan thought he should change her nickname.
2.? Soju is a popular clear Korean distilled alcoholic beverage
3. Tteokbokki is a popular Korean food made out of rice cakes with sweet and spicy sauce
4. Maeun-tang is also known as spicy fish stew. As its name suggests, it’s a hot spicy Korean dish with fish and various vegetables
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