THE WEALTHY FAMILY

THE WEALTHY FAMILY A Korean Drama Romance Chapter 1: "The IVF Lie" ~ 1700 words The Seoul Fertility Center smelled like disinfectant and winte Ha-rin. sat on the examination bed, her thin hospital gown doing nothing against the cold. She was 24. Her fingers trembled as she held the consent form. Across from her, park Tae-joon smiled. It was the same smile that made her fall for him in university 3 years ago. "Ha-rin," he said softly, taking her cold hands. "This is the only way. The doctor said IVF has the highest chance. Then we can get married. Our own family." Ha-rin looked down. Her shoes were from the market. 15,000 won. Tae-joon coat was Burberry. Her grandmother was in the hospital. The bill was 30 million won. Tae-joon promised to help. "But you said we’d wait," she whispered. "Naturally." Tae-joon jaw ticked. For a second his mask slipped. Then he was smiling again. "We’ve tried for almost a year," he said. "Don’t you want a baby? Don’t you want to be Mrs. Park?" She wanted it so badly. A home. Stability. To stop working 2 jobs. "Okay," ha-rin nodded, tears falling. "I’ll do it." She didn’t see Tae-joon’s phone light up in his pocket. A KakaoTalk from Choi soo-ah : Park Tae-joon, when are you telling her? My father wants to announce the engagement next month. Tae-joon deleted it. He didn’t love ha-rin anymore. Not since he met soo-ah. Daughter of a CEO JH group. Beautiful. Connected. She could save his father’s failing company, JH Group. But soo-ah had one condition. "I won’t marry a man with no heir," she’d said over wine in Gangnam. "I’m 28. I don’t have time to wait 9 months. Get one first. Then we’ll marry." So Tae-joon lied. At the clinic, the nurse asked, "Will you be using your sperm, Mr. Park?" Tae-joon glanced at the donor list. Anonymous Donor #0047. Height 187cm. Ivy League. CEO. "Yes," he lied. "That’s mine." Donor #0047 was FU ji-hoon . 29. CEO of Kang Group. Korea’s top chaebol. He donated sperm 2 years ago during a company charity event and forgot about it. He was single, cold, and focused only on work. He had no idea his DNA was about to change everything. Three weeks later: Positive. Tae-joon hugged Ha-rin and cried crocodile tears. "We’re going to be parents." 48 hours later he posted on i********:: Proposal coming soon @soo-ah_choi_official 💍 with a picture of a 5-carat ring. Ha-rin didn’t have i********:. She was too busy. --- Part 2: "Two Jobs and a Broken Heart" ~ Month 4: ha-rin’s uniform didn’t fit anymore. Month 5: Tae-joon blocked her number. Ha-rin worked two jobs to feed herself and her unborn baby. Morning: 7am-3pm. Janitor at Kang Group Tower, 63rd floor. She mopped the marble floors and emptied CEO Fu ji-hoon trash can every day. She never looked up. She didn’t know the man whose child she carried walked past her with black coffee every morning. Night: 5pm-12am. Waitress at "Mama Kim’s Soju Bar" in Mapo-gu. Boss Kim was terrible. "Ya! Pregnant girl! Move! Table 8 is waiting!" she’d yell. Drunk ajusshis would grab her arm. "Aigo, you’re so pretty even with the baby bump. Who’s the father?" One night a man threw soju in her face because the kimchi was late. Ha-rin bowed 90 degrees. "Jeongmal mianhamnida, sir." Then she went to the bathroom and threw up. Not from pregnancy. From shame. Rent: 800,000 won. Hospital: 20 million won. Grandma’s bill: still unpaid. Only Aunt Kim, her 50-year-old neighbor, was kind. She’d bring her seaweed soup. "Ha-rin, where is the father of this baby?" "Business trip ," ha-rin lied, clutching her belly. At 2am she’d check Tae-joon’s i********: on the library computer. Photo: Tae-joon in a tuxedo. Photo: soo-ah in a white dress, diamond on her finger. Caption: December wedding. My love, my future. #ChaebolWedding #Blessed Ha-rin was 8 months pregnant. The post went up at 9:03pm. At 9:04pm, her stomach twisted. At 9:05pm, her water broke all over the sticky floor of Mama Kim’s Bar. "Boss Kim!" Ha-rin screamed, holding the counter. "My water broke!" Boss Kim looked at the 3 full tables and said, "Finish serving first. Do you want me to pay you for doing nothing?" --- Part 3: "The Chaebol Heir" ~ Aunt Kim heard the crash from downstairs. She ran in with an umbrella. "Ha-rin!!" Ha-rin was on the floor, gasping. "Auntie... the baby... it’s too early..." "Don’t speak." Aunt Kim called 119. "Ambulance! Now!" Ha-rin gave birth at 1:17am at Seoul National University Hospital. 8 months. The baby was small. 2.2kg. But he wailed. Strong. "It’s a boy," the nurse said in English. "Premature, but he’s a fighter. NICU for 2 weeks." Ha-rin touched his tiny hand through the glass. "Ji-woo," she whispered. "Your name is Ji-woo." Hospital bill: 45,000,000 won. Ha-rin had 2,300,000 won in her account. Tae-joon blocked her. Soo-ah posted photos from their pre-wedding shoot in Jeju Island. Two weeks later, Seo-yeon was discharged with Ji-woo wrapped in a blanket Aunt Kim knitted. She went to Tae-joon’s apartment in Apgujeong to get her things. Just one duffel bag. Baby clothes. Her degree certificate. Ji-woo in a carrier. That’s when the black Genesis stopped. The back window rolled down. Rain. A man. 187cm. Black coat. Cold eyes. He looked at the baby, then at her. "Mrs ha-rin," he said. His voice was ice. "Who... who are you?" Ha-rin pulled Ji-woo closer. "I’m Fu ji-hoon," he said. "CEO of Kang Group." He paused. The rain dripped from his umbrella. "And that child... is my son." Ha-rin’s legs gave out. 3 days ago, the fertility clinic called FU ji-hoon. "CEO-nim, there was an error. Donor #0047 was used without authorization." Ji-hoon did a secret DNA test using a strand of hair from Ji-woo’s hospital blanket. 99.99% match. He had been tracking her for 2 days. Hospital. Bar. Tae-joon’s apartment. Now he stood in the rain with 4 bodyguards and a lawyer holding a thick contract. "You have two options, Ms. Ha," ji-hoon said. His eyes never blinked. "Sign this contract. Become my wife on paper. Raise my son as a Fu. Or I take my heir, and you walk away with nothing." Thunder. Ha-rin looked down at Ji-woo. Then up at the coldest, richest man in Korea. "The Wealthy Family," she thought, "just found me." TO BE CONTINUED...