Chasing You | Wooyoung ✓

Chapter 36

Yesterday...

Mr. Park is a dedicated business man despite his childish and mischievous personality. Not even taking a day off after a 16-hour flight from Seattle, he proceeded to go to the Choi's estate to finalize the decision of the attempted merge.

"Uncle! You're too early!" Yeonjun chuckled as he opened the door. He hugged him and motioned him to come in. "Mom and Dad are still at the Company until lunch."

He chuckled back as he tapped the younger's back softly. "It's okay. I just arrived from the airport, and lunch is in the next two hours, so I don't mind waiting here."

Yeonjun sat on the couch with a slight pout. "Well, you should utilize those two hours for sleeping. I'll let you use the guest bedroom. You might be exhausted from your flight."

Mr. Park shook his head as he waved him off. "No need, Junie. I slept on the plane. I need coffee first." He sat down beside him and leaned his back with a satisfied sigh. Damn, what a soft couch. I wonder how much this is?

He sighed as he closed his eyes. He had to talk to the Chois today to talk about the merge that wasn't happening. He's a bit stressed out from the jetlag and the meeting but he tried to remember that all of these are for his daughter. Even though he is a business man, he would sacrifice the potential growth of his company over the happiness of his family.

Especially for Soojin. The kid went through a lot since she was young. He would do everything to make her happy as she deserved it.

"Darling~ The controller broke!" 

A high-pitched laugh erupted from the floor above, making the older man open his eyes and quirk his brow as he stared at Yeonjun. 

Did he just call Yeonjun darling? That voice clearly came from a man. Oh my God. Is my godson gay? Is that also why he doesn't want to get married to my Soojin? Mr. Park thought to himself.

The voice owner appeared at the staircase, slowly walking down to where Yeonjun and Mr. Park were. He stopped abruptly as he recognized the older gentleman.

"And who might that be?" Mr. Park asked, with curiosity in his mind. Yeonjun chuckled as he gestured the boy to come nearer.

"Ah, Uncle." He raised his palm in front of the guy and gave him a soft smile. "This is my best friend, Wooyoung."

Wooyoung sheepishly smiled as he avoided Mr. Park's eyes. He slightly bowed and reached his hands to greet him. "Hello, sir. I'm Jung Wooyoung; nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you."

He shook his hand and chuckled. "Good things, I suppose?" He asked in a playful tone as he tapped his index finger on his chin.

Wooyoung relaxed at it and chuckled. "Oh, of course, sir. Lots of good things."

Yeonjun leaned over to Mr. Park's ear and whispered, "He's the one Soojin likes, Uncle."

"I see." He mumbled back as he nodded with an amused smile, silently examining the younger from top to bottom.

Handsome. He has a good sense of fashion even though he's just wearing casual clothing. Neat hair. Confident posture. It looks like he's strong. Boyish smile. I could've sworn he wasn't her type, so I wonder what's so special about him. Mr. Park thought to himself.

He smiled at him and placed his arms around his shoulders. "So, Wooyoung, would you like to sit down and have coffee with me?"

Wooyoung widened his eyes and frantically stared at Yeonjun with a desperate look. He ignored his best friend's plea, feigning innocence at him.

"I'll get you both coffee. I will be right back." Yeonjun said to the both of them and raised two thumbs up secretly at the oldest as if he was saying I got you, Uncle!

He motioned him to sit down beside him. Wooyoung slowly complied, awkwardly looking around the living room. "Did you finish college already, kid?" The older asked.

He shook his head. "Not yet, sir. I still have one semester left since I took some time off because of my military enlistment."

"No need to be formal with me. You can call me Uncle. You're Yeonjunie's best friend after all." He chuckled. "I also heard a lot of things about you."

"Really? Good things, I suppose?" He mimicked Mr. Park's action earlier, then chuckled after doing it.

He turned to Yeonjun in the kitchen with an amused expression, saying I like this kid. Yeonjun proudly smiled at the older man's recognition of his best friend.

He cleared his throat and crossed his legs. "Let's be serious for a bit, Wooyoung." He glanced at him and saw the younger changed his expression to a serious one.

Wooyoung sat straight and placed his hands over his knees. He stared at the older, focusing on what he was about to say.

"I heard your relationship with my daughter." He started, making the younger purse his lips to a thin line. "Do you know what's wrong with her?"

What's wrong with her? He thought to himself. Wooyoung creased his brow in confusion. The question asked by the older irritated him a bit. How could people treat her like something is wrong with her?

"Nothing is wrong with her, sir." He huffed with an evident frown on his face. He raised his palm before Mr. Park could say anything back to him. "And before you say anything, if you mean about her alexithymia and how she got it, yes, I knew about it. I first thought that it was none sense but I did my research."

Mr. Park held back a smile and cleared his throat silently as he kept a straight face. Cheeky. He decided to keep quiet as Wooyoung seemed like he had a lot to say.

"But that doesn't mean something's wrong with her. She's just a little different than most of us, and I don't see it as a problem. Aren't we all unique in our own way?"

Headstrong. I like it.

"I love your daughter Mr. Park. I've been meaning to tell you this right after I realized it. With or without alexithymia, I love her." He smiled to himself, remembering all the times they spent together in the past. "She's stubborn, but she knows her limits. She's clingy, but she respects me. She's strong, and she's not afraid of showing how different she is or saying what she wants. She's confident because she knows that she is trying her best. I love that all about her, sir. Other than that, even though some people say that she's heartless, she's not. She's very caring and lovable. I even find her cute when she's doing the bare minimum. Despite her cold exterior, she's the warmest person I've ever met besides my sister."

Honest. He's interesting.

"Okay, damn. I only asked one question, and you answered me in paragraphs." He let out a hearty laugh as he leaned back on the couch.

Wooyoung widened his eyes and perked up. He didn't mean to get too engrossed in the question. He's been bottling it up all these years, and this is the first time he actually confessed what he felt for her. "I'm sorry, sir—"

"Uncle." He started sternly but gave him a gentle smile a few seconds later. I see why my Soojin likes him. He knows how superficial his daughter was before. He thought that Soojin only liked him because of his looks. But I guess, this type of guy was already a dead give away that she had other reasons why she liked him.

"I'm sorry, uh, Uncle." He sheepishly chuckled as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Don't be. I wouldn't want you to answer less." He chuckled and tapped the younger's back. "Going back to the topic. Did you know Soojin returned to Korea last week?"

"Yeah, I met her." He let out a small smile but frowned after less than a second. "She didn't seem happy to see me. She ran away from me."

"Well, Wooyoung, I'd like to offer you a job."