Prey - Chapter 49
“In the UK. I’ve been to a few places in Europe.”
“Not long ago, you were in Russia, right?”
“Yes. Tomorrow I’m heading to the US.”
“Wow, all the way to the US.”
After tasting the dishes next to him following the initial conversation, Ma Taewoo continued speaking.
“You’re really busy now. Back in the old days, you didn’t travel much, but why are you sweeping across the world now?”
Knock, knock.
With the sound of a knock, an employee brought a bottle of water and a new cup.
“Ah, thank you.”
Ma Taewoo, receiving it, smiled kindly. After the employee, who smiled back, left, it became quiet again.
“……”
While pouring the water, Ma Taewoo suddenly caught sight of Jeonghan’s face. There was fatigue around Jeonghan’s eyes.
Ma Taewoo observed Jeonghan’s face. Given his monstrous stamina, it didn’t seem like it was just because of work…
Gently lifting the cup, Ma Taewoo took a sip of water and initiated a conversation with Jeonghan.
“Do you have any worries these days?”
Jeonghan looked up. Their eyes met, and Ma Taewoo spoke with certainty.
“Right. You look troubled, are you?”
With a smirk, Jeonghan picked up his chopsticks again. Ma Taewoo stared at Jeonghan, who was quietly eating without responding, and said,
“Is it because of that woman? Seol Suhyeon.”
“……”
Jeonghan looked at him again. Ma Taewoo smiled slyly.
“Hey, even though I look like this, I have a job, and I know at least that much.
I’ve seen you for a while. Is there anything other than Seol Suhyeon that’s troubling you? No matter how complicated work is, you shouldn’t put that expression on your face.”
“……”
Jeonghan, not denying it, lowered his gaze.
Seeing Jeonghan’s eyes fixed on the table, Ma Taewoo’s expression suddenly turned troubled.
“Your life is really… sigh. Let’s not talk about it. Let’s just eat.”
With a sigh, Ma Taewoo picked up his chopsticks again and started indulging in the delicious food.
While quietly eating, Jeonghan asked,
“How is Jia?”
“She’s doing well, of course. She’s grown a lot; do you want to see a picture?”
Suddenly, Ma Taewoo’s face lit up like a father’s as he took out his phone from his pocket and showed Jeonghan a photo of his daughter.
As Ma Taewoo continued to chat about his daughter, the meal came to an end.
While Ma Taewoo was eating pretty-shaped yakgwa (Honey cookie) for dessert, he suddenly called out to Jeonghan.
“Do Jeonghan.”
Jeonghan looked at Ma Taewoo. Ma Taewoo furrowed his brows and, after a moment of contemplation, crossed his arms over his chest.
“Sometimes, you know,”
Ma Taewoou opened his mouth with a rather serious expression.
“Sometimes just go with what your heart wants. Don’t feel guilty.”
“……”
Jeonghan’s eyes deepened with thought.
“What can you do? It’s already happened, right? People’s hearts don’t always follow their intentions.”
“……”
Listening quietly, Jeonghan let out a faint smile. Ma Taewoo frowned.
“Save that smile for the woman, not for me. What good does it do for a man to charm me as well?”
Jeonghan’s smile grew brighter.
Ma Taewoou knew who that smile resembled.
‘She was such a beautiful person…’
Ma Taewoou recalled the face of a beautiful woman who wore a similar smile to Do Jeonghan’s.
Even if it was only from a memorial photograph.
Ah, come to think of it, it must have been the anniversary not long ago.
Recalling the anniversary of Domiran, Ma Taewoo looked at Jeonghan again with a troubled expression.
‘Why do I feel so sorry for him even though he’s smiling?’
Ma Taewoou gazed at Jeonghan with eyes filled with pity, inwardly clicking his tongue.
He didn’t want to feel sorry for someone much taller than himself, but Jeonghan had never once seemed anything but pitiable since the moment they first met.
This was the same even after he rose to the position of the effective head of Cheonkyung.
In that role, he seemed far removed from happiness.
Lee Suho, living under the new name of Do Jeonghan, appeared to be merely acting out a role he had been assigned.
‘Becoming the heir of a conglomerate with a secret birthright that seems like it’s from a movie.’
At that time, Ma Taewoo himself had felt a bit dumbfounded and somewhat envious.
But then he saw Jeonghan’s face and understood.
Ah, it has nothing to do with that.
For someone who lost their parents, there was no happiness left in this world.
No matter how powerful the wealth that suddenly fell from the sky, he felt not a shred of joy having lost his family.
‘Well, perhaps I would feel the same way.’
Although there was some nagging, thinking about his beloved wife, who could die for him, and his daughter, Jia, whom he wouldn’t even feel pain of if he put her in his eyes, Ma Taewoo could somewhat understand Jeonghan’s feelings of emptiness.
‘If it’s Seol Suhyeon, at least…’
Ma Taewoou knew that Jeonghan had changed since meeting Seol Suhyeon. It wasn’t obvious on the surface, so most people wouldn’t notice, but Ma Taewoo did.
Chairman Do Pil-yong probably knew as well.
He might not have known the nature of their relationship, though.
‘Maybe it’s a blessing he didn’t know.’
He probably thought it was a relief that Jeonghan had gotten married and had shown some emotion.
In that sense, Jeonghan, who waited until Chairman Do’s death, was just doing his duty in a way.
