Chapter 240: A Bond from the Past (1)
Kang Ra-Eun had broken a sweat at the fitness center yet again today. Je-Woon, who had been working out with her, was astonished as he checked what time it was.
“Time flies by so fast.”
“What time is it?” Ra-Eun asked.
“10 PM.”
Two hours had passed before they had realized it. Time certainly flew by faster when working out with a partner compared to working out alone.
“We should go home before it gets any later,” Je-Woon said.
“We should.”
Neither of them were busy tomorrow; Ra-Eun had no shoots scheduled, and neither did Je-Woon since he would be focusing on his album production for a while.
Not wanting to part like this, Je-Woon suggested, “Ra-Eun. You’re free tomorrow, right?”
“Yes, probably.”
She did not have anything in particular planned.
“Then why don’t we grab a meal together tomorrow? My older cousin opened a restaurant and I was gonna go tomorrow, but I have no one to go with.”
Even if it was a restaurant that a relative owned, it was a bit awkward to go to a restaurant by oneself. Ra-Eun nodded and happily agreed.
“Okay. Tell me where it is and I’ll be there.”
“No. I’m the one inviting you, so I can’t let you go through any trouble. I’ll come pick you up, so all you need to do is make time.”
Je-Woon’s heart was already racing with excitement. Ra-Eun giggled inside her head from seeing Je-Woon’s expression that one could never see through a screen.
***
As soon as Ra-Eun came back home, Seo Yi-Seo, who had been sitting on the couch with Seo Yi-Jun, quickly called out to her.
“Ra-Eun. The Great Escape is on. Aren’t you gonna come watch?”
The episode that Ra-Eun and Yi-Jun had appeared on just happened to be airing. At first, Ra-Eun had almost always watched every film, drama and variety show that she had appeared on, but she had no time nowadays. After missing a few, she ended up no longer watching any of them live. However, she believed that she probably should whenever she had time, just in case she was edited in a bad way.
“Gimme a sec. I’ll just put this away,” Ra-Eun remarked.
She put the sports bag that she always brought with her to the fitness center back in her room and went back out to the living room.
‘This is when we were divided into teams of three.’
The camera filmed Yi-Jun and Hye-Ryeong in thinking mode.
[Maybe we solve it like this?]
[Hmm. I’m not sure...]
Unlike the two of them who were having a hard time, Ra-Eun was as calm as she could be.
paw?ead.com ].
Yi-Jun explained to his older sister what would happen next, “Later, Ra-Eun noona’s gonna solve the clues like magic! You see the arrows on the keypad? If you follow the arrows, they make four numbers.”
Yi-Seo slightly frowned because of her little brother’s unnecessary explanation.
“Why are you spoiling from right next to me?” she asked.
“Sorry. It just came out.”
Yi-Jun had been so excited that he couldn’t help himself. Ra-Eun smirked. She also had times when she blurted out things because it felt so surreal to see herself on TV. She couldn’t help but laugh from Yi-Jun’s TMI remark that reminded herself of her initial days as an actress.
‘I don’t blame him for being so excited.’
The screen also showed Hye-Ryeong sticking awfully close to Yi-Jun after escaping from the prison cell. Ra-Eun raised her foot and poked Yi-Jun’s back with it.
“Did you like that an idol was sticking so close to you?”
“How could I, when you were staring daggers at me?”
“I don’t recall doing anything like that,” Ra-Eun said as she poked Yi-Jun harder with her foot.
She was swept over with both irritation and embarrassment. Yi-Jun did not falter much despite Hye-Ryeong’s advancements because Ra-Eun had already stolen his heart.
“Noona. Why don’t we go on another program together next time?”
Ra-Eun reacted coldly to Yi-Jun’s suggestion, “Well, if I feel like it.”
***
Ra-Eun went with Yi-Jun to Levanche before her dinner plans with Je-Woon. Park Seol-Hun's mouth bloomed into a smile the moment he saw Yi-Jun.
“Welcome, Yi-Jun. I felt my heart crumbling when I heard from Chairwoman Kang that you were hesitant to sign the contract. Thank you so much for choosing us.”
“Not at all, hyung. Rather, I should be the one to say sorry. I should have signed it the moment Ra-Eun noona showed me the contract.”
“Was there a company that had offered you better conditions?”
“No, it’s not that...”
Yi-Jun couldn’t tell them the reason because it was personal. Meanwhile, Ra-Eun, who had been listening to them, had something that she couldn’t understand.
“You’re calling him ‘hyung’, not ‘mister’[1]?” Ra-Eun asked Yi-Jun.
Seol-Hun remarked while smiling awkwardly, “What’s wrong with that? I like being called ‘hyung’ better.”
“Really? Then should I start calling you that too?”
“No, you should be calling me ‘oppa’.”
Ra-Eun narrowed her eyes. “Are you saying that because you want a beating?”
“It’s just a joke, jeez.”
A beating from Ra-Eun really hurt. The damage to a regular person like Seol-Hun would be devastating when a beating from her was enough to make the massive Ma Yeong-Jun or the ferocious Park Du-Chil crawl in pain. Hence, Seol-Hun wanted to avoid workplace violence at all costs.
Seol-Hun guided Ra-Eun and Yi-Jun to a certain area.
“This will be your work space. Do you like it?” Seol-Hun asked.
“Yes, it’s nice,” Yi-Jun replied.
One could see the city view through the massive window if they lifted their head up a little. It was a very satisfying space for Yi-Jun, who prioritized openness.
“We even got you a brand new desktop and monitor for your personal use. They were expensive, so we’ll be expecting great things from you.”
“That’s some pressure you’re putting on me.”
“We did all this so you would feel at least some pressure. You’ll have to work hard so that our company’s sales increase. Right, Chairwoman Kang?”
Ra-Eun decided to take Seol-Hun’s side this time and nodded in succession. Considering that Yi-Jun’s hands could generate hundreds of millions of won worth of profits, the money they had spent on this equipment was nothing. Besides, Levanche was not short on money.
“You’d better work hard from now on, Yi-Jun,” Seol-Hun said.
“Understood. Oh, and noona,” Yi-Jun stated as he took out a small plastic bag from his bag, “Here’s a gift.”
“A gift? What is it?” Ra-Eun asked.
“Take a look.”
Ra-Eun looked inside and was surprised to see what it was.
“Did you make these pants yourself?”
“Yes. Please wear that if you have nothing else to wear on upcoming shoots.”
Ra-Eun first liked the fact that they were pants and not a skirt. Second, they were a mix of her two favorite colors, black and blue. In other words...
“They reflect all of my preferences,” she expressed.
“That’s right.”
There only existed one of them in the entire world, only for Ra-Eun.
“Thanks. I’ll treasure it.”
Ra-Eun liked the gift more than she had expected to.
***
The Levanche employees decided to have a dinner party to celebrate Yi-Jun’s entrance into their company, but Ra-Eun had to leave early because she had already made plans with Je-Woon.
She lightly patted Yi-Jun on the back before leaving the restaurant and advised, “You’ll make your sister worry, so don’t drink too much and go back home early. Got it?”
“Don’t worry, noona. I wasn’t planning on drinking a lot anyway.”
Ra-Eun headed to the meeting place she had decided on with Je-Woon after getting a clear answer from Yi-Jun. A loud exhaust sound from afar caught her attention. The luxury sports car looked familiar; it was the one that Je-Woon drove often.
“Sorry. Did you wait long?” he asked.
“No. I just arrived.”
“Get in. The restaurant isn’t far, so it won’t take long.”
Like Je-Woon had said, the GPS announced their arrival not even fifteen minutes after Ra-Eun had gotten in the car.
“Is that the place, sunbae?”
“Yup.”
Illeni Steak located at Cheongdam ward. As if it was a twist of fate, Ra-Eun was very familiar with the place.
‘This place is extremely famous.’
Although it was still too early for it to become famous since it had only just opened, it would soon become the #1 restaurant in Cheongdam Ward. Ra-Eun was sure of it since she knew the future. She had also eaten here a few times in her past life. Although the food was absolutely superb, she did not have fond memories of the place because of the people that she had been with at the time.
‘Father loved this place.’
Park Chan-Gil, the chairman of TP Group as well as the father of Ra-Eun’s past self, Park Geon-Woo, had occasionally eaten dinner here with his family. Such memories prevented Ra-Eun from having a good impression of Illeni Steak.
‘But well... I’m not with my father tonight.’
Ra-Eu decided to shake off her past memories and purely enjoy this restaurant for its food. The restaurant was already bustling with people because today was their very first day of service. Everyone in the restaurant focused their attention on Je-Woon and Ra-Eun as soon as they arrived.
“My, my, look at that!”
“It’s Je-Woon and Kang Ra-Eun!”
The customers were confused about their presence. Hearing that Je-Woon had arrived, the restaurant owner Hwang Do-Hyun dashed out to greet him.
“Je-Chang! Thanks for coming.”
Je-Chang was Je-Woon’s real name; everyone who had even a little interest in him knew that much about him. Ra-Eun also knew Je-Woon’s real name, so she was not confused about who the restaurant owner had been referring to.
The two men lightly hugged. Ra-Eun also greeted Do-Hyun and walked over to their reserved seats. While they were heading there, someone called out to Ra-Eun.
“My, is that you, Ra-Eun?”
A familiar voice stopped Ra-Eun in her tracks. It was Park Hee-Woo, who was staring at Ra-Eun in astonishment. Ra-Eun tried to happily greet Hee-Woo, but her face froze because of the man standing behind her.
Park Chan-Gil.
1. This term in Korean is ‘Ahjussi’, which is how Koreans address men that are around their parents’ age, or people that the individual considers ‘old’. 👈
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