Chapter 29

Chapter 29

I had expected something simple like spaghetti, but when I looked at the table, I was taken aback. It was covered with different varieties of tteokbokki.

“What is all this?”

“It’s tteokbokki. These two are the frozen kind, and I made this royal tteokbokki myself.”

He puffed up his chest proudly, as if he’d accomplished something great.

“You made this?”

“Of course. It’s our first venture into the international food business. As the CEO, I need to know what I’m doing. Take a seat.”

I sat down, still surprised.

“Why did you make the spicy red tteokbokki?”

“I wanted to see how it would taste. I don’t think we should assume foreigners will only go for the mild, white version.”

“But it’s too spicy.”

“True.”

Then, at the same time, we both exclaimed:

“Paprika powder!”

“Paprika powder!”

We laughed. It was amusing how we had the same thought.

“With paprika powder, we can get the color without overwhelming people with the heat,” I said.

“Exactly. When I was young, my mother used to make tteokbokki with paprika powder.”

“Shall we give it a try?”

We started with the royal tteokbokki. I took a bite and then paused. He was watching my expression closely, waiting for my reaction, but I could see the disappointment beginning to settle in his face.

“Is it not good?” he asked.

“It’s decent. I’m just a little picky when it comes to food.”

“I thought it was pretty good…”

Seeing him a little deflated was endearing.

“You did well. I’d give it 90 points.”

“Out of how many?”

“A hundred.”

Hearing that, he broke into a broad smile.

“Honestly, I practiced this for days.”

My eyes widened as I remembered him mentioning going out for tteokbokki the other day.

“Wait, so yesterday…?” I said.

“Yep,” he replied, smiling sheepishly.

“You were practicing?”

“I had to! I didn’t want to embarrass myself. Personally, I think it turned out great. For foreigners, the texture of tteok will be unfamiliar, so we’ll need to market it properly.”

“What’s your plan for promoting it?”

“Do you know Shorts?”

“I do.”

“That’s what we’ll use. We’re planning to launch a challenge, incorporating tteok into various recipes. These days, Shorts are widely used for promotion. If we can get foreigners involved, it’ll elevate the image of tteok,” he said.

“Do you have a detailed plan?”

“We’re in the process of recruiting YouTubers right now. Once they start promoting it, we’ll open the event to the public. It’ll be a kind of cooking competition, but only using Shorts to judge the recipes.”

“That’s a great idea.”

“We can get a lot of exposure for a small budget.”

“Maybe I should enter the competition too?”

“Employees are not allowed to participate.”

“Why not?”

“It wouldn’t be fair.”

“Lift the restriction. If we’re doing this, let’s go all out. Why not make it a full-on cooking contest with prize money?” I said. “But you can’t taste the food through Shorts though.”

“Then let’s drop the YouTuber promotion. Instead, use that money to hold a preliminary round through Shorts and invite the top qualifiers to a second-round cooking competition. A prize of 100 million won should be enough,” he said.

“But without YouTubers, the promotion towards foreigners might lose impact.”

“Leave that to me.”

“You have a plan?”

“Do you know Chef Greg Jones?”

“Of course.”

Greg Jones is a world-renowned chef with a YouTube channel boasting nearly 100 million subscribers.

“He’s a friend of mine,” he said.

This time, I was truly shocked. “Greg Jones is your friend?” I asked, incredulous.

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t have any friends?”

“When I was younger, yes. But I made quite a few friends through my business dealings.”

I knew his connections were vast, but I didn’t expect it to extend this far.

“I’m impressed. Between being a kingmaker for the president and now Greg Jones….”

“Falling for me all over again?”

I laughed. By now, I had grown accustomed to his humor and could easily brush it off. He furrowed his brow, glancing at the royal tteokbokki on the table.

“When will the break room construction be finished?” he asked.

“It should be done by the end of this week,” I replied.

“Then let’s try Master Han Yesook’s tteokbokki once it’s ready.”

“That’s the plan. First, we’ll finalize the deal with Walmart, then kick off the promotion.”

“Business talk is done, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s eat. I’m starving.”

Coincidentally, I was hungry too. We both dug in with enthusiasm. Once my hunger was sated, I set my chopsticks down, and he narrowed his eyes at me.

“Aren’t you going to eat more?”

“I’m full.”

“Just from that?”

“I don’t eat a lot.”

“You’re too thin….”

“I’m slowly getting better at eating more. Trust me, I’ve been eating more than usual lately.”

“Are you still walking in the early mornings?”

“Yes.”

“Still not running yet?”

I shot him a look, feeling slightly annoyed.

“I’m already doing my best. Walking is a workout for me.”

He bit his lip, holding back a laugh. How irritating. After finishing the meal, we cleaned up. While drying his wet hands, he asked me:

“Have you never done any exercise before?”

“No.”

He looked me up and down, and I could feel my cheeks growing warm for no reason.

“Should I teach you a few exercises?”

“I can’t work out like you do, not even close.”

I spread my arms out, showing my scrawny limbs. Strength training seemed impossible for me.

“It won’t be hard. Just some simple exercises.”

“Should I give it a try if it’s simple?” I nodded.

“If it’s really simple.”

“Come over here.”

He led me to the wall.

“Try leaning your back against the wall.”

I leaned against it.

“Now take a step forward with both feet.”

“Like this?”

My body was at an angle.

“Now, lift your heels.”

“What?”

“Just lift your heels. You don’t need to go high.”

I barely lifted them, but my calves were already burning.

“Good. Now hold it for 30 seconds.”

“It hurts.”

“It will hurt at first. Like I said, without a start, there’s no result.”

“Ah….”

My legs began to tremble. I came here for tutoring, so why was I exercising? But I really wanted to last the full 30 seconds. I could feel sweat dripping down my neck, and my face growing red. Beep beep beep. The alarm went off.

“Well done.”

After just 30 seconds, I was out of breath, panting heavily.

“That was tough.”

“You’ll get better over time. Once you’re used to it, try adding 10 more seconds. You need strength in your legs to walk properly. Right now, you don’t have any muscle or strength. But with regular exercise, your appetite will improve, too.”

“Were you a fitness trainer as well?”

“Want to see my muscles?”

Even with his shirt on, I could tell he had well-defined muscles.

“No thanks.”

“Why not? I want to show you.”

I shot him a look. How much did he want to show off? He must have caught on to my expression because he chuckled.

“I’ll show you later then. Or how about this: we have dinner together and work out afterward? I’ll throw in some free lessons. Yeah, I’m feeling generous.”

His smug expression made me want to surprise him, to challenge him out of sheer stubbornness.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

His eyes widened.

“Really?”

“Really. I’ll even bring workout clothes tomorrow.”

A wide grin spread across his face. With his floppy ears, he looked just like a golden retriever.

“So, how about we get a head start on the workout?”

“Tomorrow. I’m not dressed for it today.”

He nodded in agreement.

“Then we’ll definitely start tomorrow.”

In the end, there was no tutoring session today.

—

As he drove me home, the clock neared 10 p.m.

“Is this time alright for you?”

“It’s okay if it’s a bit later.”

“I can’t do that. Try to sleep on time. If eight hours of sleep is tough, make sure you get at least six.”

This kind of conversation made me feel like we were really a couple. It was a bit embarrassing. As I got out of the car in front of the house, after passing through the front gate, he also stepped out.

He walked around the car to stand in front of me, and said, “Get a good night’s sleep. Don’t work.”

“Okay.”

Suddenly, he grabbed my hand firmly. Startled, I tried to pull it away, but he maintained his smile and said, “There are a lot of eyes around. Smile, too. You know, right? We’re a couple now.”

I lifted the corners of my lips just as the sound of a car came from behind. Turning my head, I saw it was my father-in-law’s car. Even as my father-in-law got out of the car and approached us, he didn’t release my hand.

“Good evening, Chairman.”

My father-in-law, who had recognized us, wore an unreadable, expressionless face, making it hard to know what he was thinking.

“Yes.”

As my father-in-law entered the house, he lightly hugged me and whispered, “Don’t mention our tutoring sessions to your grandfather.”

“Why not?”

As he released me from the hug, he smiled and said, “I think the Chairman already suspects the true purpose of our relationship. We have to fool everyone. That includes him. Understand?”

I nodded.

“Good night.”

He kissed my forehead before stepping back. It happened so quickly that at first, I didn’t fully register it. But once I realized, my face turned bright red.

“Now, go inside with that face just as it is. Whatever anyone says, let it go in one ear and out the other, and head straight to your room. Got it?”

I nodded. After he left, I walked into the house.

“Aren’t you a sight? No shame at all.”

When I looked up, my mother-in-law was standing on the stairs on the second floor, arms crossed, glaring at me harshly. Ignoring her, I simply gave a small nod and headed to my room—my face still flushed.

Once in my room, I instinctively touched my forehead. He kissed me. His intense gaze from earlier was imprinted in my mind.

What should I do now?

What if… at this rate, we really end up dating?