Chapter Text
Kang Hui Ju always thought Han Tae Oh was a smart man, but seeing that he was now lying on the hospital bed, passed out, after his attempt to run away from the very place that could help him get better, she may need to rescind that judgment.
What he did was stupid. No other way she could say it.
A groan from the bed made Hui Ju look up from her phone, just in time to see his eyes blinking open.
He looked confused for a moment before he suddenly sat up. Another groan came out of his mouth as he clutched his head in pain.
She winced in sympathy, but honestly, he brought that upon himself.
"Stay put," she said as she walked to his bedside and helped him lay down. "You are still hurt,"
"Hui Ju?" he asked, eyes blinking repeatedly as if trying to make sure it was really her that stood there. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, someone decided that hospital isn't a good place to recover from a head wound, so he ran away and ended up passing out on the street. Luckily – she pointed to herself — a good Samaritan is there to help him," she sarcastically said, still a little miffed that he was so reckless with his own life. "But, seriously Oppa, what the hell are you thinking? You could have died,"
He looked sheepish, an expression she had never seen in his face. Combine that with how he looked, lying there in the hospital bed, looking frail, she couldn't help but want to protect him from the mess that is Kang's family. This gave her more reason to help him.
"Ah, never mind. I know the answer already," she let out a sigh while pressing the button to call the nurse. "Let the doctor examine you first, then we talk,"
He was about to protest, but the nurse had already come and soon after, the doctor began to examine his head.
After confirming that Tae Oh Oppa is fine and only needs to rest to speed up his recovery, the doctor and nurse excused themselves from the room.
"You hear the doctor. No strenuous activity until you recover. So no running away again, understand?"
"I know," he replied, his eyes a little bit clearer than before. "Now - he looked questioningly at her - what exactly your reason to be here, Kang Hui Ju?"
"I came to give you this," she smiled, as she pulled a flash drive from her sling bag and giving it to him. "A gift,"
"Gift?"
"Han river, Jamwon district, May 11th, 11 pm," she rattled information that wouldn't be meaningful to anyone but him.
"What did you know about that?" he asked. Grimacing, as he tried to sit. Beads of sweat started to gather on his brow.
"Here," she adjusted his hospital bed, so he could lean comfortably on the bed while sitting up. "Is it that hard to ask for help? I'm here, Oppa,"
"How did you know I was looking for it?" he said after a while. His sharp gaze seemed to try to seek answers from her eyes. Yeah, good luck with that. She wasn't the sole daughter of Kang Joong Mo for nothing.
"It doesn't matter how I know that, Tae Oh Oppa. The important thing is inside there - she pointed at the flash drive in his hand - is information about who attacked you,"
"Alright, I'm off," she continued, giving him time to process the information. "See you later, Oppa,"
"Why did you help me?" his words stop her in her tracks and she turn to look back at him.
"Why else?" she shrugged, her lips curled up into a smile before she sent a wink his way. "I like you, that's why,"
She didn't wait for his response, as she spun on her heels and walked out of his hospital room.
A week passed, and she didn't see him again until they met in his old neighborhood, on his way to ruin his plan (and life).
“For someone so smart, you sure make a lot of harsh and half-assed decisions, Oppa,” Hui Ju quipped from where she was waiting in the dark. While her black leather jacket, black tank and black jeans make perfect camouflage, it didn’t help much to ward off the cold of the night.
“Kang Hui Ju,” he said plainly, no emotion detected in his voice and, if he was surprised, he didn’t let it show on his face. “What are you doing here?”
“And what are you doing here, Oppa?” she retorted, subtly rubbing her hands together to get some warmth back to her ice-cold fingers. Why is it so cold tonight? “Going to see Helen of Troy?” she crinkles her nose in disgust. Just when she thought that woman couldn't get any lower, she proven her otherwise.
“She wasn’t Helen of Troy,” he let out an exasperated sigh.
“Well, not yet,” she remarked, rolling her eyes for good measure. “But she’s about to be and both of you meeting at night in the place like this didn’t really help your case. She is In Ha Oppa’s fiance. This is just inappropriate, Tae Oh Oppa,”
“This is none of your business,” he bit out. Ah, feeling defensive, aren’t you? Didn’t like that I told you the truth? “Just go home, Hui Ju-yah,” he continued, before walking away from her, as usual.
But, not this time. She had something that would make him think twice before doing that.
“Didn’t you want to know why he attacked you?”
He stopped walking, just as predicted. He took a deep breath and turned to face her. “And why is that?”
“We can’t talk here. Let’s - a particular cold gush of wind makes her shiver.
Ah, this darn wind.
Han Tae Oh always thinks he got Kang Hui Ju all figured out. He always thought she was too soft and naive to survive the snake pit that is her family. She didn’t possess a ruthlessness that everyone in her family seemed to have.
But, the Kang Hui Ju he met in the hospital, the one who gave him the information about the man who attacked him, something about her felt different. There is a hint of ruthlessness beneath her smile and sharp gaze. He almost thought he was imagining it. Yet, he saw it again when he talked to her just now.
“We can’t talk here. Let’s - she stopped talking as she shivered, and suddenly she was back being Kang Hui Ju that he knew.
He contemplated for a moment before he walked up to her and grasped her hand. It was ice-cold. He bit back a curse and pulled her to his car.
"Get in," he said as he opened his car for her.
Quickly, he turned on the heater and sat on the driver's seat. "Where is your car? How long have you been waiting there? Are you crazy? And how could you still be cold in this weather?"
"You are the one who is crazy. Do you know how many people want to catch you with that Helen of Troy?" she retorted. "And it's not my fault that I easily get cold,"
"Could you stop calling her that?"
"No -
"Okay, okay," he stopped her before she could go full rant. "Let's not talk about that. Tell me what you know,"
She shook her head stubbornly. "Not here. I have something to show you in my studio," she looked at him and smiled. "So drive. The sooner we go, the sooner you find your answer,"
He stared at her, at the way she smiled like the cat that got the cream, and wondered if he just willingly walked into her trap.
At a moment he later chalked up as insanity, he drive.
It doesn't take long for them to arrive at her studio. A quaint little building on the outskirts of the city. It suit her somehow.
"Sit," she said, as she waved her hand to the cozy sofa in the corner of her studio. "Tea, coffee, or water?"
"No need for that," he told her. "Just tell me the reason now,"
"Right to business, alright... " she sat down on the sofa and went to pull out an envelope from her bag. The bag she had on her since the moment they met earlier.
He snorted. "Well played, Kang Hui Ju,"
"Surviving Kangoh. That was your advice for me," she suddenly said, her gaze sharp as she met his eyes. "It was good advice. But – she smiled, but this smile felt a little colder than what he used to. Her playful demeanor is nowhere to be found – you failed your own advice, Han Tae Oh,"
She pulled out a couple of photographs from the envelope and spread them on the coffee table between them.
"April 14th," her fingers pointed at the photo of battered Mo Gi Jun, swollen eyes and dried blood on his face. "Amazing what one golf club and one rich man-child with a temper could do right?"
"This is Kang In Ju's work," he guessed.
"That's right,"
"March 23rd, March 5th, February 17th and so on," she continued, her fingers pointed at each picture. "Every time he got upset, his secretary paid the price. Tell me, Oppa, what kind of dog still be loyal to the owner that do this to them?"
"So, it's not Kang In Ju," he mused. "Then who is his owner now?"
"Couldn't you guess?" she asked, while she pulled another photograph from the envelope. "There is someone who really wants you gone," she flipped the photograph, and he couldn't say he was surprised that In Ha was the one photographed there. He was a bit disappointed though, that his investment turned out to be a bad one.
"March 15th, April 2nd, April 27th and May 10th, the day before Mo Gi Jun attacked you,"
"Can't say I'm surprised," he said, as he raked his fingers through his hair. All of his plans need to be rearranged, it is definitely going to give him a headache.
"I'm not surprised either. You know too much and In Ha Oppa is an insecure man. Of course, he doesn't like someone having power over him,"
He gazed at her unreadable eyes, wondering how he could get so wrong about her, and as much as he was grateful that she gave him useful information, he knew this kind of thing didn't come free.
"Why did you help me, Hui Ju? What do you want?"
"If I said I wanted you, would you give yourself to me?"
"Hui Ju...
She laughed and waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry Oppa, I don't want what was forced,"
"Then, what do you want?"
"Do you want Kangoh, Oppa?" she asked instead.
He blinked and did a double-take. "What?"
"I'm serious, if you want it. It yours," she shrugged like it was no big deal. "I like you enough to make it happen,"
"I don't - her statement caught him off guard, he had a hard time processing it.
"What do you think my role in Kangoh? Do you think I'm only a daughter? To be shipped off to the highest bidder?" she scoffed, a bitter smile on her lips. "I get it. People underestimated me. My mother, my brothers, my sisters-in-law, all the people who think they know me, and you. But, let me tell you a secret – her voice turned into a whisper as she gestured him to come closer – Whoever I choose would own Kangoh, it was a given, and I choose you, Han Tae Oh-ssi,"
"Why me?" he couldn't help but asked, half in doubt, half in curiosity.
"Like I said before, I like you. Anyone in your position will use my affection to climb up to the top, to raise their class, just like what Na Hye Won does. But you don't, Ah – she chuckles – it was a test by the way, my confession, and you always passed it with flying colours. I like that you are competent enough to raise up on your own, when none of my brothers could be in their position now if they were not born as my father's son. They are not qualified to lead Kangoh," she stated, as she extended her hand towards him. "So, what do you say about being the impossible heir, Han Tae Oh-ssi? Interested?"
She smiled, looking like Hui Ju he knew, but the hard glint in her eyes ruined that illusion. If possible, her eyes looked even colder up close like this. She had never looked more like her father than she did now.
Seeing her like this, he suddenly realized the reason she always got away with things many couldn't and the reason Kang Joong Mo seemed to adore her.
The one who inherited Kang Joong Mo's intelligence and cunning is not one of his sons, it was his only daughter, Kang Hui Ju, the princess of Kang oh... the Kingmaker.