New Normal - Chapter 28

Just imagining how flustered she’d be when they met again made Juwon grin.

This time, he was definitely going to shake her up. He’d return her little insult with something far worse.

Humming to himself, Juwon walked into the shower room connected to the fitness area and turned on the hot water. The damp heat gradually relaxed his entire body—but along with the relaxation came a very different kind of tension, pooling low in his stomach.

“It’s so big… and thick…”

“…It’s seriously… huge.”

Those teary eyes of hers popped into his head out of nowhere, and immediately, his lower half reacted. The water streaming down his abs shifted course.

“Damn thing gets hard whenever it wants…”

Annoyed at his body’s random reaction, Juwon let out a frustrated breath and switched the water to freezing cold. As icy water poured down, he scrubbed at his scalp with rough hands. Somewhere along the way, shampoo stung his eyes.

“Sh1t…” He cursed under his breath, but didn’t let up on the scrubbing.

He was starting to get it now.

He really wanted to sleep with her. Whether it started with emotions or just physical attraction, he couldn’t tell anymore. Didn’t matter.

When the shower, now longer than expected thanks to the cold rinse, finally ended, Juwon roughly threw on some clothes and stepped in front of the elevator. He needed to stop by and greet his grandpa before heading to the office.

He tapped his access card and pressed the button. As the elevator sped upward, Juwon scratched his ear with his pinky. The pressure made his ears feel stuffy. He frowned and checked his phone—he had several missed calls from Kwon Jungsook.

Probably nagging me to eat again…

Kwon Jungsook, aka Geumsan-daek, had been the housekeeper for the Chae family for most of her life. She practically raised Juwon from the time he moved into the Pyeongchang-dong house at eight years old.

Whenever he visited his grandpa, she’d go overboard preparing every meal like it was a banquet.

“Ugh… I don’t even want to eat…”

Grumbling like a moody teenager, he was about to sigh again when the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. With his gaze lowered, a familiar silhouette entered his view. He looked up slightly and locked eyes with the person pressing the button.

“Chief Kim?”

Juwon greeted him with a confused face. Kim Heegyo, his grandpa’s trusted right hand, smiled warmly.

“Long time no see, young master. You weren’t picking up your phone, so I was just coming down to get you.”

“Uh… Why are you here at this hour?”

“Chairman wants to have lunch with you today.”

“…Right now?”

As Juwon raised a brow, Chief Kim nodded once.

***

In the dining room on the first floor of the duplex penthouse, afternoon sunlight poured through the living room and hit the chandelier above the table, making it glimmer softly.

“What’s this all about? You know I don’t eat lunch,” Juwon muttered, fully dressed now and entering the dining room with a scowl.

“Just sit your ass down.”

Across the long marble table, already fully set with lunch, sat his grandpa, Chae Heejung, quietly reading the newspaper.

“Come on, young master. Your soup’s getting cold,” said Kwon Jungsook as she placed down a bubbling hot pot and nodded toward the seat opposite the chairman.

“Ah… ma’am, what is all this?”

On the table were two bowls of multigrain rice and abalone seaweed soup. Around them were perfectly filleted grilled yellow croaker, three kinds of seasoned vegetables, mung bean jelly salad, mustard kimchi, white kimchi, and individual plates of soy-braised beef—all arranged with precision and care.

Every dish, likely prepared by her, was not only beautifully presented but obviously full of love and effort.

Juwon honestly wasn’t hungry. He had planned to just drink a protein shake, but… home-cooked food like this—it made his mouth water before he even realized. He gave a reluctant shrug.

“Kinda over the top, no?”

Still, he sat down, and Chae Heejung let out a snort.

“Shut up and eat.”

As his grandpa folded the newspaper and picked up his spoon, Juwon quickly followed suit.

He took a spoonful of the beef and soybean paste stew. It was rich and clean, without any excessive saltiness—classic Kwon Jung-sook’s cooking.

As he silently devoured his food, Chae Heejung casually dropped a comment.

“So… I hear you’re dating someone behind our backs?”

Juwon glanced up mid-bite, puzzled. Then a printed photo was tossed across the table. His chewing halted.

It was a photo of him and Shin Jisoo in a hotel lounge.

He started coughing violently. The worst part? The picture captured the exact moment he had Jisoo in his arms with his tongue in her mouth—close-up and crystal clear.

Kwon Jungsook peeked at the photo on the table and, smirking, brought him a glass of water.

“Still bold as ever, our young master.”

She disappeared into the kitchen, and Juwon gave her retreating figure a look that was more amused than annoyed. Meanwhile, his grandpa chuckled nastily.

“What the hell, kid? Even if you’re horny, don’t do that in public!”

No matter how old he got, being caught like this was never something he could get used to. The tips of his ears, which rarely blushed, turned red.

“Planning to file that marriage license soon, huh?”

Juwon stared at his grandpa and, after a moment’s hesitation, went for the bold move.

“Didn’t you say that if I wanted that house in Myeongnyun, I needed a girlfriend? Well, I showed you one. Now hand over the house.”

“That’s only if you actually get married, dumbass.”

Juwon casually picked out a shiitake mushroom from his stew and looked away.

“Whatever. Just don’t go back on your word.”

“That girl… she’s the one you met in Gangcheon, right?”

“Wow, you really did your homework, huh?”

“Now I have to. Curious, aren’t you? I might even tell you.”

“Pass.”

Heejung stared at the photo for a moment, his expression unreadable.

“Are you seriously dating her?”

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.”

Juwon’s vague reply made his grandpa raise his spoon again.

“You stick your tongue down her throat, and now you’re acting coy? Back in my day, holding hands meant marriage. You’re shameless.”

“I got that from you.”

Heejung narrowed his eyes at the unflinching grandson, then let out a dry laugh.

“Then make your mind up. If you’re serious about her, clear the rest out.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m talking about Professor Choi’s kid. No need to keep stringing her along.”

Juwon’s chopsticks paused in mid-air.

He had recently run into Professor Choi Taekyung while participating in an H University architecture summer workshop at his request.

The workshop had been predictably dull—models, presentations, uninspired concepts. He tried to be polite, but honestly, it was a waste of time. What could you really expect from undergrads?

Juwon had planned to head back right after his perfunctory feedback, but Professor Choi stopped him.

“Director Chae, let’s grab a drink later. I have something important to discuss.”

Juwon already had a good guess at what this was about. Professor Choi being extra clingy was no surprise.

The reason was obvious—he wanted to marry off his daughter, Choi Seyeon, to Juwon. She had already stood him up twice.

Juwon hadn’t cut ties with Professor Choi completely out of a kind of respect, after learning of the late connection between the professor and his own father.

Nothing major, apparently. They’d shared drinks once in a while as college buddies.

Still, having lost both parents at a young age, anything to do with them was a soft spot for Juwon.

His parents were his only real weakness—and no one could touch that line.

But he had no intention of enduring any more discomfort. As always, Juwon remained polite but chilly as he turned the conversation away.

Lost in those thoughts for a moment, Juwon looked up slowly.

Across the table, Chae Heejung watched him with a serious expression.

“That match with the professor’s daughter—yeah, it was mostly for show. But your grandmother already approved of it, you know. Everyone knows. It’s been talked about since before your dad, Kangmoon, passed away.”

At the mention of his father, Juwon’s brow twitched.