FIVE MEANINGS OF THE WEALTHY FAMILY

--- THE WEALTHY FAMILY Chapter 6: "Five Minutes" ~ The bar smelled like soju and grilled meat. "Pregnant girl! You’re back?" Boss Kim wiped a glass and stared. "Where you been? You just disappeared last year!" Ha-rin’s face burned. "Boss-nim, I don’t work here anymore." She kept her voice low. "I’m just... talking." Tae-joon stood up from the corner booth. He’d ordered nothing. Just waited. In his black suit he looked completely out of place. Too clean. Too expensive. "Give us 5 minutes," Tae-joon said to Boss Kim. He slid 500,000 won on the counter. Boss Kim’s eyes went wide. "Ah. VIP room. Yes yes. 5 minutes." He disappeared fast. Now it was just them. Tae-joon gestured to the seat across from him. "Sit." Ha-rin didn’t sit. "Say what you need to say." Her arms were crossed. Protective. Tae-joon sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The perfect CEO mask was gone. "I saw the press conference, Ha-rin. CEO Fu’s wife. And that baby..." He looked up. His eyes were red. "Ji-woo. He’s one year old. Same age as..." "Don’t." Ha-rin cut him off. "Don’t say it." "Is he mine?" Tae-joon’s voice cracked. "Ha-rin please. I deserve to know. I looked for you for 8 months." Ha-rin laughed. It came out bitter. "You deserve? You left. With Soo-ah. Remember? 'It’s better this way' you said." "I was stupid. I was scared of my family." Tae-joon stood up too. "But I’m not scared now. JH Group is mine. I can take care of you. Both of you." "Both of us?" Ha-rin shook her head. "Ji-woo is not yours. He’s CEO Fu’s son." The lie tasted like ash. "We are done don't you get it. One year. So don’t make this harder." Tae-joon stepped closer. "We are done just because of a divorce we can still start over "and he cannot be CEO Fu son. His jaw clenched. "So that’s why you disappeared. You sold yourself." SLAP. Ha-rin didn’t even realize she did it. Her hand was stinging. "Don’t you dare talk about me like that. You don’t know anything." Tears were falling now. "I’m doing this to keep him safe. From people like you. From people like Soo-ah." The door opened. Min-seo stood there. In a black suit. Face blank. "Miss Yoon. CEO-nim sent me." Both of them froze. Min-seo looked at Tae-joon, then at Ha-rin’s wet face. "Car is waiting," he said simply. "Now." Ha-rin grabbed her bag. She didn’t look at Tae-joon again. As she passed him, he whispered: "He has my eyes, Ha-rin. Don’t lie to me." --- In the car. Ji-woo was asleep in the car seat. Ji-hoon was in the passenger seat this time. He didn’t turn around. "Did he touch you?" Ji-hoon asked. Voice low. Dangerous. "No, CEO-nim." "Did you tell him anything?" "No." Ha-rin whispered. "I said Ji-woo is your son." Silence. Then Ji-hoon reached back and squeezed her hand once. Quick. "Good girl." Ha-rin stared out the window. One year contract. Was off is he going to throw me out of his house her heart was beating way too fast for a contract. --- END OF CHAPTER 6