Lee Sung-hwan + Jung Eun-chae (Part 6)

Hearing the sound of a car engine coming from the yard, Jung Eun-chae quickly walked to the window. Standing behind the curtains, she turned slightly to look out and saw Jung Chang-ho getting out of the car.

However, the progress bar on the computer screen showed that it had only copied 67%. If she stopped now, she didn't know how long she would have to wait for such an opportunity again.

When all else failed, Jung Eun-chae could only take out her phone and text Lee Sung-hwan, hoping he would help her this time without asking why.

Zheng Changhao smiled and greeted Li Shenghuan, who was standing at the door waiting to welcome him, saying, "Oh, son-in-law Li is here."

Lee Sung-hwan also bowed respectfully to Jung Chang-ho: "Associate Jung."

Zheng Changhao held a yellow file folder in his hand and made as if to go upstairs. "Son-in-law Li, please sit for a while. I'll put the documents in the study and then come down."

Lee Sung-hwan quickly reached out to block Jung Chang-ho's path. "Congressman Jung, I have something to say."

Zheng Changhao turned his head in confusion. As a junior, Li Shenghuan's behavior was somewhat impolite.

“I’m sorry, Congressman, but Eun-chae is upstairs…” Lee Sung-hwan said, gesturing to Jung Chang-ho to invite him to the sofa for a more detailed discussion.

After the two sat down on the sofa, Lee Sung-hwan spoke again: "I want to discuss some things with the councilor that she shouldn't know before Eun-chae comes down."

Zheng Changhao placed the yellow file folder on the coffee table and smiled slightly. "What is it that she can't know?"

"I want to surprise her for the engagement ceremony, and I would appreciate the help of the congressman and his wife."

Lee Sung-hwan was discussing the engagement surprise with Jung Chang-ho in the living room, while Jung Eun-chae was anxiously waiting in Jung Chang-ho's study to finish copying the files from his computer.

Normally, Jung Chang-ho's study is locked, and Park Geun-hye stays at home. Today is the first time Jung Eun-chae has encountered a situation where Jung Chang-ho, Park Geun-hye, and Jung Eun-ah are not home since she came to the Jung family. So after going upstairs, she quickly went back to her room to get the key she had secretly made a copy of and opened the door to the study.

The progress displayed on the computer screen was still slowly increasing, while Zheng Encai bent over and placed her hands on the computer power switch and her USB drive respectively.

If Lee Sung-hwan hadn't helped her stall Jung Chang-ho, she would have pressed the power button and unplugged the USB drive at the same time Jung Chang-ho opened the study door.

Although she had prepared her explanation and knew Zheng Changhao wouldn't do anything to her, if she were discovered, she might not have another chance to enter the study.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Zheng Encai's forehead, and her heart was beating much faster than usual. In the quiet study, only her heavy breathing could be heard.

Finally, when the number on the computer screen jumped to 100%, she let out a long sigh of relief.

Zheng Encai unplugged the USB drive, turned off the computer, and quickly left the study.

After changing her clothes in her room, Jung Eun-chae came downstairs again and saw Lee Sung-hwan and Jung Chang-ho sitting on the sofa talking, with Jung Chang-ho laughing out loud.

"Brother Shenghuan, let's go."

Jung Chang-ho turned his head and saw Jung Eun-chae. He looked her up and down, noting her neat attire, before stopping his smile and asking, "Are you going out?"

"Yes, Brother Shenghuan is going to treat me to dinner."

"Then we'll take our leave." Lee Sung-hwan stood up, bowed to Jung Chang-ho, and then took Jung Eun-chae's hand and walked out.

Jung Eun-chae turned to look at Lee Sung-hwan, whose hands were covered in sweat. It seemed he was really nervous when he was trying to hold off Jung Chang-ho.

Lee Sung-hwan opened the car door for Jung Eun-chae, who whispered "thank you," and the two didn't speak again for the rest of the journey.

Dinner was at a French restaurant. The ambiance was tranquil, the food delicious, and the service attentive. The two ate their food quietly, with Lee Sung-hwan occasionally raising his glass to lightly clink it against Jung Eun-chae's.

Finally, Jung Eun-chae spoke first: "Don't you want to ask me, Seong-hwan oppa?"

"If you want to talk, I can listen."

Jung Eun-chae picked up her cup, took a sip of water, and then gave a faint smile.

"Shall I tell you a story?"

Li Shenghuan nodded. "Okay."

"A man from a commoner background married the only daughter of a wealthy family. After their marriage, they only had one daughter. Due to health reasons, the daughter could no longer have children, but the man was determined to have a son. So he set his sights on a young girl who had just graduated from university and was working as a secretary in a large company."

He lied and claimed to be unmarried, pursuing the girl relentlessly until she started dating him. Soon after, the girl became pregnant, and the man said he was worried about the stress of arranging the wedding and advised her to give birth first and then hold the ceremony.

However, it wasn't until after the girl gave birth to her daughter that she discovered her boyfriend, who had always doted on her, already had a family. Furthermore, the man was extremely unhappy that she had given birth to a daughter and never visited her again.

The girl, with her newborn child, went to the man's house to demand justice, but the man hid and refused to see her. His wife then publicly humiliated her and kicked her out. Finally, unable to bear the inner torment and the strange looks from others, the girl chose to commit suicide.

But even after the girl's suicide, her family didn't intend to let her child go. Several times, people broke into their home, trying to take the newborn baby away. Fortunately, the girl's sister held onto the child tightly, and neighbors came to help, preventing them from succeeding.

Later, the girl's younger sister, having no other choice, quit her job, sold the house, and fled to the United States with her child to live under assumed names.

Jung Eun-chae's story was told simply and plainly, but Lee Sung-hwan saw boundless sorrow in her eyes.

He asked, "The young girl who committed suicide..."

Jung Eun-chae said, "She is my mother. I am the child who was taken to America by my aunt."

Lee Sung-hwan finally understood. He had sensed something was amiss before. Jung Chang-ho and Park Geun-hye had repeatedly claimed that Jung Eun-chae was their most beloved youngest daughter, but when he visited the Jung family several times, their attitude towards Jung Eun-chae was extremely cold. When Jung Eun-ah violently attacked Jung Eun-chae, Park Geun-hye showed no concern whatsoever.

Li Shenghuan asked, "Do you hate them very much?"

"I didn't hate them at first, because my aunt never mentioned them to me. If they hadn't kept provoking me, my aunt might never have let me know about these things."

Jung Eun-chae opened her Twitter account and handed her phone to Lee Sung-hwan.

“Since I was fifteen, people have been constantly insulting me on my account. At first, I was upset, but I ignored it after my aunt comforted me.”

Later, some people were misled by those abusive comments and thought that my aunt and I were the bad guys. Some people even found my uncle's coffee shop through my account.

My uncle was shot while trying to stop them from vandalizing the coffee shop. My aunt only told me about it after his funeral. And I, too, had someone investigate the account that had been constantly insulting me.

What a wonderful man my uncle was! He loved her like his own daughter. Although the family wasn't wealthy and she had to work part-time while studying to help support the family since she was a teenager, she felt very happy.

If those people hadn't killed her uncle, she could have continued to live happily with her aunt, uncle, and cousin.

Why is it that a man like Jung Chang-ho can live a good life, become a member of parliament, and possess power and wealth, while a good man like her uncle left them so early?

She was determined to avenge this.

Li Shenghuan asked, "Who is the person who has been insulting you?"

“Jung Eun-ah. This account comes from the same IP address as Jung Eun-ah's account, and even the same phone.”

Jung Eun-chae looked up and met Lee Sung-hwan's gaze, her eyes filled with a coldness that was completely out of character for her age.

“Ever since I found out it was Jung Eun-ah who was behind this, I’ve been posting pictures of myself on Twitter all the time. I want them to remember what I look like. So that when I finally show up in front of them, they’ll recognize me at a glance,” Jung Eun-chae said, giving a cold laugh. “That tactic really worked. You didn’t see how shocked Jung Chang-ho was when he saw me on his birthday.”

Lee Sung-hwan had actually seen it, but he only now realized why Jung Chang-ho had such a shocked expression back then.

"What are your plans after you return to China?"

“I want to prevent Jung Chang-ho from being elected as a member of parliament, to ruin his reputation, and to make the entire Jung family pay the price for what they have done.”

She knew that neither her mother's suicide nor her uncle's shooting were committed by Jung Chang-ho, and therefore he could not be convicted. So, she had no choice but to return at this time.

Li Shenghuan then asked, "Aren't you afraid they'll hurt you again since you're all alone?"

"I was scared. That's why I announced to the public at the party that day that I was Jung Chang-ho's daughter. Jung Chang-ho wanted to be re-elected as a member of parliament, so he couldn't afford a scandal at this time. No matter how unwilling he and Park Geun-hye were, they had no choice but to admit that I was their daughter."

Later, I attended every event Jung Chang-ho participated in. Of course, not by his invitation; I sneaked off on my own. I wanted the whole country to know that I was Jung Chang-ho's daughter.

That way, they won't dare hurt me. Because if anything happens to me, they won't get away unscathed either.

At Jung Chang-ho's birthday party, after he publicly acknowledged that Jung Eun-chae was his daughter, Park Geun-hye took her upstairs under the pretext of missing Jung Eun-chae and wanting to catch up with her.

Before she could speak, Park Geun-hye slapped her across the face. Luckily, Jung Eun-chae knew this would happen and had taken precautions.

She raised her hand and brushed Park Geun-hye's hand away, and said provocatively, "If the youngest daughter of the Jung family, who is the most beloved daughter of the family, went upstairs with her mother and talked for only two minutes, and then ran downstairs with a swollen and red face, what do you think everyone would think?"

Park Geun-hye did not attack her again, but coldly asked her, "What do you want to do?"

“I’ve suffered a lot in America these past few years, and I want to take back what’s rightfully mine.” Meeting Park Geun-hye’s angry gaze, Jung Eun-chae still smiled calmly. “Don’t be nervous, I have no interest in the Jung family’s wealth. As for me, I’ve set my sights on Mr. Lee Sung-hwan; I want to be the daughter-in-law of the ST Group.”

"Stop dreaming. Li Shenghuan and Enya are getting engaged soon. ST Group wouldn't want a wild girl like you as their daughter-in-law."

“We’re not engaged yet, how do you know Mr. Lee Sung-hwan doesn’t like me? Besides, I’m a daughter of the Jung family. In the eyes of ST Group, I’m no different from Jung Eun-ah.” After saying that, Jung Eun-chae added as if she had just realized something, “Speaking of daughters of the Jung family, hasn’t that Jung Eun-ah been out of the public eye for a long time?”

"Eun-ah?" Park Geun-hye finally reacted. "What did you do to Eun-ah? Where is she?"

"Nothing much, I just thought she was too tired, so I let her go back to her room to rest for a while."

No sooner had Jung Eun-chae finished speaking than Park Geun-hye rushed into Jung Eun-ah's room.

"Is what you told Mrs. Zheng true?" Li Shenghuan asked about Zheng Encai's claim that she wanted to become the daughter-in-law of ST Group.

"It's fake. Of course I have to come up with an excuse; I can't exactly tell her my real intentions, can I?"

Jung Eun-chae's casual "It's fake" made Lee Sung-hwan suddenly feel a little disappointed.

He picked up his glass, took a sip of white wine, and asked again, "Did you know me before you went back to Korea?"

“Yes.” Jung Eun-chae nodded. “I had someone investigate the Jung family and people related to the Jung family, so I know you are Jung Eun-ah’s fiancé, and I’ve also seen your photo.”

"Did you deliberately run into me at the airport that day?"

“No. I was also quite surprised to run into you at the airport that day,” Jung Eun-chae said with a laugh. “However, even though Seong-hwan had swollen, red eyes, I recognized you at a glance.”

Li Shenghuan smiled too. Not only did she recognize him, she also put sunglasses on him to cover up his embarrassing appearance.

Lee Sung-hwan let out a deep breath and looked at Jung Eun-chae again. "Eun-chae, if you don't want to continue living in the Jung family, why don't you move in with me?"