The Chaebol Family’s Youngest Daughter Doesn’t Hide Her Acting Skills - Chapter 56
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 56
“Thank you for your hard work!”
The hellish outdoor filming had ended. I buried my exhausted body into the seat. The fever had subsided a little, but my whole body still ached.
‘Oh, right. Ryu Dokyung.’
If I didn’t reply, he really seemed ready to chase after me. I sighed and pressed the call button. It was before the ringtone could even sound once.
-Yeah.
A low, subdued voice. As soon as he answered the phone, he started rattling off words.
-What were you doing all this time.
“…I just finished filming. I didn’t have time to check my phone…”
-Excuses.
Instead of questioning me gently, Ryu Dokyung spat out sarcastically. What a brat…
-The video. Did you check it?
“Earlier, once…”
-Watch it properly later. More than that, you.
He paused for a moment, then asked in an indifferent tone.
-How’s your body. Did the fever go down?
A dry voice that seemed devoid of any concern. I could faintly sense the anxiety underlying it.
“…It’s just a mild cold. Don’t make a fuss.”
-Who’s making a fuss? As an advertiser, I’m checking your condition. If you collapse, we’re the only ones who lose out.
We already finished filming the advertisement, so what loss is he talking about? Even he himself would probably be puzzled by his own logic right now.
-Did you take your medicine?
“I took it earlier.”
-Food.
“I’m going to eat when I get home.”
At Ryu Dokyung’s suffocating checklist, I pressed my throbbing temples. Suddenly, there was something I wanted to ask him.
“…But.”
-What.
“Are we… the kind of relationship that contacts each other this often?”
Thud. The breathing on the other end of the phone stopped.
Regardless, I continued speaking.
“It’s too personal for a professional relationship. And to call it the old brother-sister relationship, we’ve lived like strangers for almost 10 years.”
Because this was the truth.
In the past, it would have been fine for him to worry about me unusually, but hasn’t the situation changed a bit now? Ryu Dokyung isn’t even in a position to care about me in the first place.
Anyway.
“I don’t think I have an obligation to report when I’m sick…”
-…
A long silence flowed. It would be better if he got angry instead.
The heavy silence felt exactly like the biggest expression of dissatisfaction Ryu Dokyung could show. I had just blurted it out, but I was starting to feel conscious of his reaction. Did I hit too close to home?
“…Hello.”
-…
“Can’t you hear me?”
-…Why.
“Are you sulking by any chance?”
Only then did I hear the sound of air escaping from Ryu Dokyung’s mouth.
-…Ha.
A deep sigh as if he was dumbfounded.
Right, as if Ryu Dokyung would sulk over words like this. I had underestimated my opponent too much.
-Whatever.
He avoided answering and coldly changed the subject.
-Keep this weekend free.
“Why the weekend?”
-Because I’m coming.
“Where to?”
-Jaedamjae.
It was a sudden announcement that he was coming to our house. My eyes widened.
Before I could ask why, Ryu Dokyung continued with his purpose for visiting.
-To discipline your mouth.
“…Huh?”
Even after hearing the purpose, I still didn’t understand. Why discipline my mouth? Did I learn some industry secrets? Due to my confusion, stupid words tumbled out of my mouth.
-About running into me at the columbarium.
Ryu Dokyung added stiffly, as if he was going to handle a troublesome matter.
-I’m anxious you might go around blabbing about it everywhere. I need to go directly and get a written pledge or something.
“…”
-So don’t leak it anywhere else and stay home. I’ll bring… no.
Oops. Ryu Dokyung’s words slipped for a split second.
-…Documents. I’ll bring documents.
Click, the phone hung up.
I stared blankly down at the turned-off phone. Mouth discipline? A written pledge? He’s coming all the way to Jaedamjae just to get that?
It seemed like my first love had become a bit strange.
***
Saturday morning dawned, but my condition was still at its worst.
The cold I caught from the filming set stubbornly wouldn’t go away. My fever rose again, and my throat was so swollen it was hard to swallow saliva.
Ryu Dokyung said he was coming today, but if I met him in this state, it seemed like I’d only get scolded instead of writing any pledge.
I struggled to compose a message with my aching fingers.
[Sorry, but my cold got worse so I don’t think I can meet today.]
[That… mouth discipline? I’ll write the pledge if you send it by courier or next time at school.]
I pressed the send button and burrowed into the blankets.
Given Ryu Dokyung’s personality, it would be better not to see him at all rather than let him see a sick person being contagious.
There was no reply. I wondered if he was ignoring me because he was angry, but I didn’t have the energy to care and fell asleep again.
How much time had passed?
“Sae-i, there’s a visitor.”
At Father’s voice coming from outside the room, I opened my eyes with a start.
A visitor? On a rainy day, who would come all the way to the annex to see me, not even the main house of Jaedamjae where Grandfather is?
I grabbed onto my hazy consciousness and staggered to open the room door. As soon as I passed through the hallway and entered the living room, I was breathless at the familiar silhouette I saw.
“…Huh?”
It was Ryu Dokyung.
I had definitely sent a text telling him not to come, but he was calmly standing in our living room.
Neat attire. In both hands, he held things that didn’t suit him at all.
In one hand was a large shopping bag as if he had ransacked a pharmacy. In the other hand, I could see a food container wrapped in luxurious cloth. A delicious smell wafted through the air.
“I sent a text telling you not to come…”
My voice, hoarse from just waking up, came out in a mumble. Then Ryu Dokyung frowned and looked me up and down.
Disheveled hair and a pale face. Even without looking, it was obvious I looked terrible.
“Yeah, you sent it. Telling me not to come.”
“But why…”
Ryu Dokyung replied curtly as if asking why I’d ask something so obvious.
“How could I not come when you’re sick. If you were to suffer alone and die, what would happen to our company’s image.”
He really speaks hatefully.
Sorry, but I live with Father so I’m not suffering alone. Besides, I won’t die from a cold like this.
While I was mentally retorting, Ryu Dokyung strode toward where I was standing.
He brazenly placed the back of his hand on my forehead. When his cold touch made contact, I involuntarily shivered.
“…You have a fever. What about medicine?”
“I was sleeping, so not yet…”
“Hah.”
He clicked his tongue briefly and set down the shopping bag he’d brought on the floor. Even at a glance, it was packed with everything from comprehensive cold medicine to fever reducers, vitamins, and even ssanghwatang by category. Did he buy out an entire pharmacy?
And the cloth bundle he was holding.
“Eat this. I asked our house’s kitchen chef to make it for you.”
By “our house,” he probably meant Jukseonjae.
The kitchen chef would be the master chef that Chairman Ryu hired…
If my memory serves me right, that person would later appear on a cooking program called ‘Black Stone White Stone Chef’ and win first place.
To think such a person had to cook porridge for me.
“…You brought this here personally?”
“What, should I have sent it by quick delivery? It tastes bad when it gets cold.”
He added indifferently as if it was nothing special.
“Don’t just shove medicine into an empty stomach, eat this first.”
He said he came to keep me quiet, but there wasn’t even a bag with a written agreement in sight. It was obvious he’d rushed over with the sole intention of feeding me.
I stared at the medicine bottles Ryu Dokyung was laying out with a dazed expression. My head was foggy and it didn’t feel real.
Just then, Father, who had been watching this scene with his hands behind his back and taking a step back, burst into laughter.
“Haha, Dokyung is still the same. Taking care of our Sae-i like this.”
…Father?
“Even when you were little, if Sae-i even scraped her knee, you’d carry her on your back.”
Father’s eyes sparkled mischievously.
“You ran here holding it close to your chest so the porridge wouldn’t get cold – such devoted care.”
“Ah, seriously!”
“Still, I can’t easily hand over our princess, you know?”
“Father, go inside quickly!”
I couldn’t stand it anymore and pushed Father’s back, shoving him into the room.
Hand over what! Even if you gave me away with a truck, Ryu Dokyung wouldn’t take me!
Ah, I just want to scream and slam the door shut and go inside too…
If I were really eighteen-year-old Ju Sae-i, I really would have done that. It’s just that my soul is an adult, so I’m trying to endure it.
“Pfft, princess…”
Ryu Dokyung held back his laughter as he savored Father’s “princess” comment.
You think that’s funny right now? I don’t find it funny at all…
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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