Illusion Blind Date - Chapter 54

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#54

Eun Gyeong suddenly recalled something her husband had said in passing not long ago — words she’d let go in one ear and out the other.

“I have a feeling our Tae Moon has taken a liking to some girl. My intuition tells me so. Could it be that girl who lives in that house?”

If her husband’s instinct — honed by a certain fondness for romance — proved accurate, then that girl might very well be Boyeon.
If a woman like Boyeon came into Tae Moon’s life, a man who knew nothing but work, she would welcome it with open arms.
Hadn’t she always been the type to see beauty in everything — golden hair just as lovely as crimson?
Eun Gyeong rose from her seat and pressed the intercom once more.
She’d see for herself. If they were together, she’d know something for certain.
Eun Gyeong exhaled, her heart light with anticipation.
Now it was her turn to summon her son.

***

“Professor?”
Boyeon stepped out of the elevator just as Tae Moon exited from the one beside it, and she gave a startled gasp.
“Boyeon.”
Tae Moon approached with evident pleasure at the unexpected meeting, and gently wrapped one arm around her shoulders.
The sudden closeness sent heat rushing to Boyeon’s face.
“What brings you here?”
He studied her expression with narrowed eyes.
“The Director called for me. I was on my way to see her. What about you, Professor?”
He was dressed impeccably in a tailored suit, clearly on his way out from work.
“Your mother?”
“Yes.”
Boyeon found herself entranced by the way his dark brows arched upward in surprise.
Then he let out a soft laugh and tapped her cheek with one finger — the way one might touch something unbearably adorable.
Each time he did such things, her heart seemed on the verge of collapse.
“Shall we go?”
Returning to his usual arrogant and unbridled demeanor, he took her hand and headed toward the Director’s Office.
“Did the Director call you too?”
“I got a call and was heading there as well.”
“Oh no — we’ve been found out, haven’t we?”
Boyeon stopped in her tracks, covering her mouth with one hand and shifting her weight nervously.
Tae Moon, stopping alongside her, pulled her hand down and met her gaze.
His dark eyes betrayed not a shred of anxiety — only a glimmer of amusement, as if he were enjoying her distress.
This isn’t the time for this, she thought desperately.
“Why do you insist on being so cute?”
“Oh, no. That’s not what I—”
“What are you worried about? What does it matter if they know or don’t? Let’s meet with her first and talk after.”
“But you’re sure they don’t know yet, right? I’m not ready for this yet… You don’t think she’ll throw a cup of coffee at me, do you?”
Perhaps it was the influence of dramas, but reality had a way of being more dramatic than any fiction.
And given that Tae Moon would become the next Director, such a scenario seemed all too plausible.
Or maybe an envelope of money would come flying instead.
Since the Director was known to give cash gifts, that seemed even more likely.
“What? Ha ha ha.”
Tae Moon let out a hearty laugh, affectionately stroking the crown of her head as if she were impossibly endearing.
This is no laughing matter, she thought.
Why had she called them both in?
She was certain — absolutely certain — that they’d been exposed.

But that reality never materialized. Instead, something entirely unexpected unfolded.
“…Aunt?”
“Boyeon, darling! How have you been? And this must be Eun Gyeong’s son? My goodness, what a striking young man. He’s the spitting image of his father.”
The Aunt’s words tumbled out in a cascade.
Aunt… the Director knew her?
Boyeon’s eyes rolled playfully as she glanced up at Cha Tae Moon, who stood pressed against her side.
Cha Tae Moon, looking slightly taken aback, observed the situation for a moment before meeting Boyeon’s gaze warmly and stepping forward.
“Good afternoon. I’m Cha Tae Moon.”
He greeted her aunt with careful courtesy, his voice and expression radiating the kind of trustworthiness that commanded respect.
Her aunt’s eyes sparkled as she studied him—a glint that was unmistakably shrewd.
‘Why is she looking at him like she’s just spotted her prey?’
Boyeon had the unsettling thought that something even more terrifying than a coffee in the face might be about to happen.
“I’m Boyeon’s aunt. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Her aunt’s lips curved upward as she deployed her characteristic intensity, extending a firm hand for a handshake.
Cha Tae Moon readily accepted, clasping her hand.
Watching the two of them, Boyeon quickly turned to offer a greeting to Eun Gyeong.
“Good afternoon, Director.”
Anxious about what her aunt might do next, Boyeon fidgeted nervously.
“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
“Yes, Director.”
“I only found out today that Jeong-ae was her aunt. It’s strange seeing her again—brings back memories. You do know I’m Tae Moon’s mother, don’t you?”
Cha Tae Moon’s mother.
Well, it would make sense that the professor had a mother too.
Boyeon answered while stealing a sideways glance at him, marveling that someone so flawlessly composed could have come from anywhere.
“Ah, yes.”
Thank goodness for that.
So her aunt was the reason she’d been summoned.
The tension that had knotted her shoulders began to ease.
Judging from the way they addressed each other by name, the Director and her aunt appeared to be old friends.
But why had her aunt come to the Director’s Office in the first place?
When Boyeon had mentioned going to YJ University Hospital, her aunt hadn’t said a word about it.
It all felt vague and contradictory—maybe they weren’t as close as all that.
“Jeong-ae, don’t stand there. Come, sit. All of you, please sit.”
At Eun Gyeong’s invitation, everyone moved to the sofa and took their places.
Boyeon and Cha Tae Moon sat side by side while her aunt settled across from them. Director Eun Gyeong took the seat of honor, observing them all with a calm, measured gaze.
Her aunt broke the silence first.
“I’d already asked Eun Gyeong for a favor, but now that I’ve met you in person, I’ll say it directly: please take good care of our Boyeon going forward.”
“Aunt…….”
‘I’m managing fine on my own!’
Even if she still made mistakes, she was pulling her weight without anyone’s help.
“Of course. I’ll make sure to look after her well.”
Cha Tae Moon turned his head to look at Boyeon, meeting her eyes steadily and offering a faint smile.
Boyeon quickly looked away, pretending to focus on something else entirely.
This was mortifying.
The whole scene felt like she was introducing her boyfriend to her aunt.
“She’s quite shy like this. Clever, quick-witted—but hopelessly naive about practical things. I worry about her. If only she’d stop being so self-sacrificing and look after herself better. Takes after her mother that way—a complete scatterbrain.”
‘That doesn’t sound like a compliment at all, Aunt.’
When Boyeon lifted her eyes to glare silently at her aunt, the older woman found it so endearing she burst out laughing.
“Look at that! She won’t say a word to anyone else, but I’m her favorite target. Just like a flower left by the water’s edge—so fragile, so uncertain.”
“……Aunt, please…….”
Her face was burning.
“Even at her age, still a child. Don’t you think so, Eun Gyeong?”
Eun Gyeong, who had been watching them with a soft smile, finally spoke.
“She’s the spitting image of Boyeon.”
Boyeon was her mother’s name.
‘Does the Director know my mother that well?’
Boyeon’s eyes widened slightly.
She lifted her gaze to meet Eun Gyeong’s, and the Director nodded with a warm smile.
“The three of us were friends in university. We’ve been too busy with life to keep in close touch, but that’s how friendships are—it doesn’t matter how long it’s been. It’s always good to see each other. You’ve truly grown into such a beautiful young woman.”
“Th-thank you so much.”
Hearing her mother’s name brought a small surge of emotion, but Boyeon managed to smile and offer her thanks.
“Oh, that’s right. You’re living at Tae Moon’s place now, aren’t you?”
As her aunt gestured toward Cha Tae Moon and asked the question, Eun Gyeong gently corrected her.
“Why are you being so formal with him? If you’d married young like I did, you’d have a son his age by now. Just think of him as my son and speak comfortably.”
“Understood. I’ll speak more freely.”
Cha Tae Moon readily agreed with Eun Gyeong’s words. His sharp eyes lingered briefly on her face before falling away.
It was as though he had seen straight through to the director’s innermost thoughts.
“Hm, is that so?”
Her Aunt covered her lips with her hand as she laughed.
Today she had applied her makeup more heavily and dressed with refined elegance, yet watching her, Boyeon felt a sudden tightness in her chest—when had her aunt grown so old?
“In any case, thanks to you I’ve been able to rest easy. Being separated from her in Seoul like that, my heart wouldn’t settle. I even considered moving the hospital to Seoul.”
“It’s never simple to uproot one’s life.”
“Exactly.”
“Aunt, I’ll look after her. Please don’t worry too much.”
Watching Cha Tae Moon call her Aunt with such natural ease, his gentle smile never wavering, her heart fluttered with a ticklish warmth.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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