Chapter 103: The Biological Father and the Ticking Bomb

I’d planned to apologize properly to Doyoon, but the next day was the weekend—no chance of running into him at work. Even more frustrating. I fired off a few texts and spent Saturday afternoon glaring at my phone like it owed me money.

What if he suddenly goes on a business trip?

Bad vibe. Déjà vu—like I’d been ghosted before…

Wait—did he vanish last time because I messed up?

No, no, no. I shook my head wildly. Guilt makes you think crazy things.

Trying to play it cool, I clasped my hands behind my head and leaned back on the sofa. Then unclasped, curled into a ball, flipped upside-down in a headstand. Nothing helped. I rolled around for minutes.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed loudly. I sprang off the sofa like a jack-in-the-box. Not Doyoon—an unknown number.

“Scared the crap outta me!”

I vented at the stranger and hung up. It rang again. And again. Spam, die. As I moved to block, a text popped in.

[This is Noh Jae-sik.]

“……?”

I froze, phone in hand, mouth agape. More texts followed.

[I believe we met years ago.]

[Sorry for the sudden contact—any way to reach Chairman Shin?]

“…What the hell?”

I whipped around like someone might be watching, even though I was alone. Noh Jae-sik? Hidden camera prank?

Alarms blared in my head.

He appeared briefly years ago, then vanished—why now?

Not sudden.

I slapped my cheeks hard.

Of course—male and female leads are thriving. Perfect timing for him to spill to Doyoon.

Panic hit harder than my sofa gymnastics.

I paced the huge house aimlessly, phone in hand, but called him in under a minute. Mentioning Mother—couldn’t ignore that. He picked up instantly.

<Young master?>

“…Hello.”

<Hello—this is Noh Jae-sik, we met briefly years ago. Remember?>

Voice urgent, tense. I swallowed hard.

“Of course. You doing well, ahjussi? Was bummed you left the country so fast last time—back now?”

<Yes, recently.>

Damn, really?!

Fist clenched, nails digging into my palm, I played it cool.

“Great… So why Mother?”

Brief silence. My heart pounded like I’d sprinted 100m. Then:

<It’s… hard to explain over the phone. Any direct way to contact the chairman?>

Deep breath. “She’s been unwell. What’s this about?”

Mouth dry as sand, but voice steady.

He hesitated. <I see… She asked me to deliver a painting. Could you receive it instead?>

Huh?

I’d braced for I AM YOUR FATHER or Pay up—a painting?

“…You checked the gallery?”

<Yes. But she hasn’t come in days. Insisted I hand it to her personally, not staff. My schedule’s tight—can’t stay in Korea long.>

Business partners? I frowned. Suspicious.

“Why not drop it at the main house?”

<Haewon security’s too tight… And this painting—can’t discuss on the phone. Need to meet. Spare some time?>

Eyes darting. Didn’t want to go, but ignoring him felt wrong. His role was barely in the original—pure judgment call.

He added, <If it’s difficult, I can contact the young miss or little young master…>

“No!”

I yelled, then fake-coughed. “Just… thinking about timing.”

His voice brightened. <I’m not in Seoul now—evening work? Won’t take long.>

“Yes. I’ll pick the place and send it.”

<Understood.>

Call ended. My hand trembled. I picked a café 30 minutes away by car—just in case Doyoon suddenly showed up at my place in a good mood and ran into him. Never.

Human nature’s funny: minutes ago, I was desperate to reconcile with Doyoon; now I was relieved he wasn’t responding. Noh Jae-sik and Choi Doyoon? Absolute no-meet #1.

I sent the café address. He replied: 9 p.m. good? I agreed, then collapsed on the sofa.

“Mother hasn’t been to work…”

I stared at her contact. Business partners with Noh Jae-sik?

Mother’s personality: zero lingering feelings for him. Even if she did, she’d never keep a time bomb like him close. Lie—high probability.

So why invoke her?

“…”

My mind went ice-cold.

If I called Mother—“Did you ask Noh Jae-sik for a painting?”—she’d panic that he’d contacted me. Specifically, how much he might tell me.

Painting’s a smokescreen. He knew I’d verify with her.

I’d nearly called minutes ago.

I flipped the phone face-down.

What now?

Police? Absurd. The call was perfectly normal. Even if it worked, Mother couldn’t explain the “threat” without revealing the secret.

This is why hidden weaknesses are the worst…

I paced, arms crossed. Under the condition of keeping Mother’s secret, I had to play along.

Screw it. What if Mother decided to come clean?

Could I agree?

I froze.

The moment Grandfather learned I wasn’t blood, he’d despise me. Seunghee—robbed of resources and love by a fraud—would feel betrayal and rage. Just imagining their cold stares chilled me.

The second I’m exposed as illegitimate, I’m exiled from Haewon. No more family. No more Doyoon.

Don’t want that…

Fist clenched. Noh Jae-sik was my problem—eventually.

My biological father was already at the meeting spot.

Years later, he looked even more haggard—exhausted, worn. But behind his glasses, his eyes glinted like a honed blade. I greeted him brightly, playing dumb.

“Sorry, little late.”

“No, I arrived early.”

“Ah, drop the formalities.”

He hesitated, nodded. “…Alright?”

“Yes, ahjussi. Like before.”

Zero memory, but building rapport. 0.1% chance he just wanted his son. Honestly, my best-case scenario—and why I came.

Plan: if he had any affection for me, I’d reveal I knew the “secret,” the family had forgiven Mother, beg him to leave her alone and disappear. Clean, stress-free bomb defusal for both of us.