Chapter 23

It felt as if he could hear his mother’s singing voice.

"On the birthday of Lord Tiger, the hero of the mountains, all the animals gathered in the park for a grand ball. Happy birthday to our Lord Tiger."

"Dad also wishes you a happy birthday."

With a cake set before them, his mother and father’s birthday song continued. Ho Rang, with a flushed face, basked in his parents' blessings.

"Ho Rang, make a wish and blow out the candles."

At his mother’s prompting, Ho Rang closed his eyes and made a wish. As he blew out the candles with his small lips, a round of applause followed as if on cue.

"Our Ho Rang, what did you wish for?"

"I wished that I could live happily with mom and dad."

At Ho Rang's answer, his parents wore expressions of pure happiness. Then, they swept Ho Rang up into their arms.

"Oh, look at you, so precious. Let’s give our Ho Rang a big hug."

As Jae Wook lifted Ho Rang high into the air, the laughter of the three people echoed without end.

.

.

.

"Mr. Baek Ho Rang, what are you doing? Make a wish and blow out the candles."

His parents' faces overlapped with Bo Bae's face.

Thanks to his parents, who sang 'The Mountain Hero' every time his birthday came around, Ho Rang had thought that the only birthday song in the world was 'The Mountain Hero' until he started kindergarten. But now, this woman was singing that very song to him. Thanks to that, the happy past he had buried deep in his heart came flooding back.

Behind the red candles, Bo Bae's face shimmered. Her appearance was so beautiful that it was hard to tell which was the candle and which was Bo Bae. She was so pretty that he wondered if a woman could still look this lovely even while wearing a stretched-out t-shirt and sweatpants with baggy knees.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to blow them out? The candles are going to melt away."

When Ho Rang simply stared at her blankly, Bo Bae urged him.

"Make sure you make a wish before you blow them out."

At her insistence, Ho Rang made a wish and blew out the candles. Then, Bo Bae smiled brightly and said.

"Happy birthday."

Happy birthday...

How many years had it been since he last heard those words? Perhaps twenty years ago?

After his parents passed away, he would receive expensive gifts from his grandfather's secretary and eat delicious food on his birthdays, but he had never received such a warm congratulations. To receive a birthday greeting from this woman was something he never could have imagined.

"Are you... crying right now?"

Lost in thought, Ho Rang was brought back to reality by Bo Bae's sudden question.

"Who’s crying?"

"Hey, your eyes look watery. Were you moved?"

"Moved? Hardly..."

"What did you wish for?"

"You don't need to know."

"How stingy. Just tell me."

"Why are you curious about my wish?"

"I’m just curious what kind of wishes people like you, who have everything in the world, make."

Ho Rang smiled bitterly at her remark about him having everything. Did this woman know that while he possessed everything in the world, he still couldn't have the one thing he wanted most?

"But how did you know it was my birthday?"

"That man from earlier mentioned it. He asked if we had a 'pre-party' last night because it was Mr. Baek Ho Rang's birthday."

"Who? Choi Do Yoon?"

If that word 'pre-party' came out of that jerk's mouth, it definitely had an impure meaning. He decided he’d have to take measures so that Do Yoon couldn't even mutter a word the next time they met. Why did he keep speaking so recklessly to this woman? Even Ho Rang himself couldn't treat her so carelessly.

"But, who is he? He seemed to say he’s your cousin."

"First cousin on my father's side."

Bo Bae nodded at the mention of him being a cousin.

Bo Bae knew the Tae Seong Group family tree roughly. If he was Ho Rang's cousin, he must be the son of President Baek Mi Kyung of Tae Seong Hotel.

Seeing them growl at each other like that, the struggle between potential successors was truly typical of a chaebol family. But, what a shame they were on such bad terms. Judging by Ho Rang's expression, the birthday party must have been quite grim.

Feeling worried for Ho Rang, Bo Bae watched him closely and asked.

"Do you have plans for this evening?"

"No."

"What? It's your birthday and you aren't even meeting friends?"

"I don't have any. Things like friends."

Bo Bae felt a pang of pity at his bitter response. For someone said to have everything in the world, his eyes were filled with nothing but loneliness. Come to think of it, seeing how he couldn't even tell his family about such a major surgery, she could roughly guess how cold and cutthroat his household must be.

"Why do you live such a boring life? Not even meeting a friend on your birthday."

"..."

"Oh, right!"

"What?"

"Mr. Baek Ho Rang doesn't have friends, but you do have a girlfriend."

"Girlfriend? Me?"

At Ho Rang's completely clueless face, Bo Bae gave him a playful, mock-hateful glare.

"Did you forget? That we're dating?"

Ah, right. We were dating. Us.

"Even though my lover is a chaebol, there isn't much I can do for him. Give me your wallet."

"Why the wallet?"

Despite asking why, Ho Rang obediently handed his wallet to Bo Bae.

"I’d like to treat you, but as you know, I didn't bring my wallet."

Bo Bae went into the convenience store with his wallet. After a moment, she returned with a bag full of canned beer and snacks and held it out to Ho Rang.

"Tada! Let’s have a birthday party."

"Birthday party?"

"A person who supposedly has a girlfriend shouldn't spend their birthday like this. Let's go."

"Where?"

"Let's go home and have a drink. And eat something delicious."

Ho Rang was led toward the house by Bo Bae’s hand as she pushed him along.

It was the first time he had ever heard the slang 'saeng-pa' (birthday party), and the first time he would spend his birthday with beer and chicken. Everything was unfamiliar and strange, but it didn't seem like a bad thing.

Meanwhile.

A car was parked at the corner of an alley where darkness had settled. The man inside the car rolled down the window as Bo Bae and Ho Rang moved away.

"Just who on earth is that woman?"

Do Yoon furrowed his brows as he watched Bo Bae leading Ho Rang by the hand.

She was too arrogant to be a secretary, and too pure to be someone whose night was bought. She didn't look like the typical woman who approached for money.

Furthermore...

Do Yoon opened his hand, the one he had gripped Bo Bae's with earlier. The moment he held her hand, a thrilling electric current had surged through his entire body. He had met countless women, but she was the first to give him such an instant thrill.

"She’s on my mind."

Do Yoon watched Bo Bae heading toward Ho Rang's house, unable to understand why such irritation was rising within him.

Do Yoon persistently followed Bo Bae's retreating figure with his eyes until she completely disappeared, then he made a phone call.

"It's me."

The spy he had planted near Ho Rang.

"Have there been any unusual developments regarding that bastard Baek Ho Rang lately?"

He hadn't received reports for a while because nothing special was happening, but he needed to start receiving them again.

Especially regarding his relationships with women.

~~~~

"Why is there so much food left? Do chaebols not eat much?"

Arriving back at the house, Bo Bae’s jaw dropped at the sight of the food spread out on the dining table. From Korean beef ribs to steamed sea bream, soy-marinated crab, and abalone rice. All sorts of high-end dishes were laid out in a way that truly made the table legs seem to bend.

"You haven't eaten a single meal today, have you? Eat."

Ho Rang, feeling guilty for his family's sudden intrusion, had asked the housekeeper to set the table again so that Bo Bae could eat.

"What about you, Mr. Baek Ho Rang?"

"I’m fine. I’ll just have a beer."

Perhaps because he ate high-end cuisine often, Ho Rang sat across from Bo Bae, saying he would only drink beer.

"I’ll enjoy the food."

As she put a mouthful of glistening white rice and a piece of rib into her mouth, the juices exploded like fireworks. The sweet grains of rice, the salty ribs, and the meat that melted tenderly in her mouth, it tasted so good that she wondered if this was heaven. She was eating so deliciously when...

Growl...

A thunderous sound came from Ho Rang's stomach. As Bo Bae's eyes widened in surprise, Ho Rang turned his face away, pretending to be preoccupied.

"What was that? Did you not eat?"

"I... I did. I ate, but..."

Seeing Ho Rang even stuttering his words, Bo Bae thought back to the people she had seen earlier that afternoon.

When Bo Bae had left the house to avoid Do Yoon, she had seen a black car entering Ho Rang's driveway. Her jaw had dropped when she saw the person getting out of the car.

The most prominent figure was Chairman Baek Man Seok. He was the man who founded Tae Seong Group and was Ho Rang's grandfather. Though she had seen him often on TV and in newspapers, seeing him in person, she could feel his charisma even from a distance. Seeing the secretaries following him and two beautiful middle-aged women, she felt an inexplicable sense of suffocation.

'Is Mr. Baek Ho Rang on such bad terms with his family? To the point where he doesn't even want to eat with them?'

She had expected they weren't on great terms through her conversation with Do Yoon, but seeing him did not eat to the point where his stomach growled despite having such delicious food in front of him, it seemed they were on even worse terms than she thought.

"Mr. Baek Ho Rang. Shall I make you something delicious?"

When Bo Bae asked, Ho Rang looked at her as if wondering what she meant.

"Despite how I look, I have ten years of experience living on my own. I can cook almost anything."

"Forget it. What's the point when there's so much food here already?"

"What's the use of having a lot of food? Not a single thing here suits your taste."

She didn't know if he hadn't eaten because of a chilling atmosphere or because there was no food that suited his palate, but it was certain that he was hungry right now.

"Tell me quickly. Opportunities like this don't come often."

"..."

"If you don't speak by the time I count to three, it's over. One. Two..."

"Kimchi fried rice..."

As Bo Bae was about to count to three, Ho Rang answered quickly as if afraid to miss the chance. She wondered why he looked so shy, that image, so different from his usual self, looked quite cute. Usually, he was a total jerk, but today, he was a cute jerk.

"Do you know how to make kimchi fried rice?"

"Of course. For someone living alone, kimchi fried rice is a menu you can make with your eyes closed."

"Look at you bragging."

"It's true. Want me to show you?"

"Show me."

"Okay, just wait. I'll make it so delicious you won't even notice if the person sitting next to you dies."

As Bo Bae got up in the middle of her meal, Ho Rang watched her with an indifferent expression. Bo Bae rummaged through the refrigerator looking for kimchi.

"Is there no kimchi?"

"It's in the fridge."

"Here?"

"Not there."

"Then here?"

"No, not there, here."

Ho Rang eventually stood up and volunteered to be Bo Bae's assistant. After ten minutes of finding and prepping ingredients...

"Tada!"

A delicious-looking kimchi fried rice topped with a sunny-side-up egg was completed, and Ho Rang instinctively salivated.

"Try it. Hurry, before it gets cold."

At Bo Bae's urging, Ho Rang poked the yolk and took a large spoonful into his mouth.

It was delicious.

It was a taste that reminded him of his mother. Ho Rang had loved the kimchi fried rice his mother made ever since he was a child. His mother used to make it for him often.

However, after his mother passed away, he could never taste that flavor again. Sometimes, remembering that taste, he had asked the housekeeper to make it, but it never tasted the same.

But, the kimchi fried rice Bo Bae made had that very taste. The taste his mother used to make.

"How is it? Is it good?"

Bo Bae asked, but Ho Rang didn't even answer and ate the rice ravenously.

Sashimi made from longtooth grouper delivered straight from the source, Korean beef ribeye, and wild pine mushrooms, known for being difficult to obtain, were all waiting for his touch, but Ho Rang didn't even glance at them.

To him right now, kimchi fried rice was more delicious than any other dish. Bo Bae's kimchi fried rice, which so closely resembled his mother's.