Yes, It’s Me. The Obsessive Side Top

#019 

“Ah… Ha Jin…”

Looking dumbfounded, I checked my lower region. A damp feeling. Covering my face with both hands, I let out a pained groan. What’s going on now? It’s embarrassing at this age, but… it was a wet dream. 

Why is Sun Woo appearing in my dreams? It was clear my body hadn’t cooled down from yesterday’s kiss. If I had known this would happen, I should have ran around the neighborhood or soaked in cold water for 30 minutes before going to bed.

“Ha Jin, get it together.”

Staggering up, I headed to the bathroom. Thank heavens the housekeeper doesn’t come on weekends. Standing at the sink trying to wash it off with my hands, I was filled with self-loathing. Another deep sigh escaped from within.

“Damn… are you going through puberty, Ha Jin?”  

After taking a cold shower, I tried to calm down a bit by drinking a glass of water in the kitchen. 

With no appetite, I just turned on the unintelligible TV and sat vacantly on the sofa.

As I was wasting meaningless time spending my weekend like this, I heard the sound of the door lock code being entered. The housekeeper? Secretary Kim? There shouldn’t be anyone visiting this house on the weekend. Feeling puzzled, I turned my head to the side.

Soon the heavy front door opened and the person who appeared was a noble and beautiful woman to the point of being speechless. The woman with lush, lightly-permed brown hair whose features could be clearly seen even from a distance had a face that greatly resembled mine.

The woman wearing a bright silk blouse and long skirt was expressionlessly taking off her shoes while fixing her gaze on me. Finding slippers with familiarity, she put them on and walked straight over to me.

“Ha Jin.”

I thought the dry voice didn’t suit her. She, who appeared to have not a shred of emotion towards me, was Ha Jin’s mother.

“I heard the chairman hit you. You look fine though.”

Chairman?

For a married couple, there was a strong sense of distance. What? In the webtoon, I only saw her smiling kindly, so I couldn’t even imagine her treating me with such an indifferent face. 

‘Starting with Ha Jin, there’s no normal person in this house? Jeez.’

“Get ready.”

“Get ready?”

“Why are you stupidly asking again? The thing we always do quarterly. Let’s go shopping.”

What kind of shopping do we do quarterly?

As I hesitated at the sudden situation, she sighed and said “Get ready and come out quickly” before sitting on the sofa. Immediately shifting her gaze to her phone, I had no choice but to awkwardly head to the dressing room without being able to say anything. 

I tilted my head as I took out clothes to wear. Now that I think about it, from the perspective of me who had been alone since childhood, there was something I didn’t know was strange because it seemed normal. There was absolutely no interaction with my parents. I was busy getting hit whenever I saw my father. Even though she must have heard her son got beaten by his father to the point his face was torn, there was not a single contact from my mother. I also didn’t think to contact her.

“It’s strange.”

Even now, the way she’s treating her son is really strange. Someone worse than others. Before, when I was in high school, two teachers had a really bad fight but since they worked at the same school they couldn’t avoid seeing each other, and whenever they met they would look at each other with eyes like that. It was an attitude of unavoidably knowing each other.

Recalling the outfit she was wearing, I also put on a suit to match. When I finished getting ready and went out, she was brightly smiling while talking on the phone. As soon as I came out, she hung up and I could see her expression harden again.

“Let’s go. I have a charity event in the afternoon so there’s no time.”

When we went outside, a high-end black sedan was waiting. Where should I sit? The passenger seat? Or next to Ha Jin’s mother? As I hesitated, the person wearing a black suit opened the back door. I got in and sat next to her.

“Did you gild your hand or something?”  

Clicking her tongue at me, she started the car.

The Ha Jin’s mother I know is the nation’s first love actress, Baek Su-ah. Receiving the public’s love, she suddenly announced her retirement at the peak of her popularity. And soon news that she became the daughter-in-law of the Eunha Group chaebol family decorated the front page of newspapers for days.

She was good at acting and digested any role perfectly, so in the brief moment many projects were coming in, her career ended abruptly as she got married. Some people congratulated her saying she only had happy days left, while others were disappointed they could no longer see her acting.

Looking at photos of Baek Su-ah’s acting days that I saw while searching, I could understand what it means for a person to sparkle and shine. Seeing how no actress has surpassed Baek Su-ah’s popularity even now shows how great her status was.

The Baek Su-ah who used to sparkle and be full of life was gone, and the woman next to me had dry, flavorless eyes. She seems like she would suit being under flashy spotlights rather than sitting still in a luxurious car…

Seeing it from the perspective of a third party rather than her son, I felt bad for her. I don’t know how she feels, but from what I see now, her life doesn’t look enjoyable.

‘Being a chaebol doesn’t mean everything is good.’

“You should know your face is your asset. I’m advising you not to needlessly cause injuries, so take it to heart. You know, right? The chairman hates damages to his possessions.”

With her flawless, smooth face, she furrowed her brow.

“Maintain the face I gave you well.”

“Yes.”

When I answered quietly, she glanced at me as if surprised.

“I heard you said you’re studying. It’s ridiculous, really. You think studying works just because you decide to? Even having a head full of only flowers needs to be in moderation. Don’t act up and do as you’ve always done. That suits you.”

This family… seems to need psychological treatment.

After moving like that, the place we arrived at was Pluie Department Store, where global luxury brands are said to fight each other to open stores. It was a world-famous department store headquartered in France.

‘Ah, here…’

It was the department store that frequently appeared in the webtoon.

We were soon guided by a personal shopper to a private room. The room was wider than I thought, and the floor was covered with a luxurious carpet so not a single footstep could be heard. There was a spacious sofa and table where we sat. The personal shopper who guided me seemed to be talking with my mother and selecting clothes while looking at a lookbook on a tablet. Sitting down, a wave of fatigue hit me. After hearing my mother’s sarcastic words disguised as advice, my mental state was in tatters. My father hits me with an ashtray while my mother lashes out with sharp words.

“That’s enough for my clothes, bring a few outfits for Ha Jin too.”

“Understood.”

She meticulously picked out her own clothes, then just glossed over mine as just clothes. Well, any clothes were fine with me, so I just stayed still, but I could feel her glancing at me again.

“Are you hurting somewhere?”

She seemed to find my silence strange.

“No.”

“Okay.”

Mother didn’t ask anymore and lost interest.

This is a blood-related family, right? Seeing how her face resembles mine, we’re clearly related by blood. But our relationship seemed worse than that of strangers, so it felt weird.

I endured the heavy silence while drinking the beverage placed on the table. She seemed to be exchanging messages with someone as she only looked at her phone for a while. Seeing her smile occasionally, it must be someone she’s quite close with.

– Knock knock

Someone knocked and entered. It was a middle-aged woman I had never seen before, but she was dressed neatly and looked high-class, likely wearing luxury brands.

“I heard you were here, Madam, so I came to greet you.”  

The woman greeting from the doorway had a smile, but it was trembling slightly as if it was forced.

“Ah, is that so? Why come all the way to greet me? You don’t need to do that.”

Mother spoke kindly while sitting, but it felt like she found the woman who came to greet her annoying.

The woman standing and greeting versus Baek Su-ah sitting and receiving the greeting. Even without nitpicking, the hierarchy was evident. Mother looked at me and let out a small sigh before asking the woman.

“Is your child doing well?”

“Thanks to help from the Eunha Group side, he recovered quickly. I’m only now expressing my gratitude.”  

“That’s fortunate.”

“Jung Woo is a bit, you know. His jokes go too far…”

Jung Woo? At the appearance of the familiar name, I soon realized it was the name of the bastard who had passed out in front of me when I first possessed this body. So we’re talking about that now?

But Ha Jin was the one who hit him, so why is Jung Woo’s mother coming in with her head bowed?

“Why bring up things that have passed? We were both about to become uncomfortable, so it’s fortunate it was resolved well.”

“Right?”

Then the door opened again and the personal shopper entered, with other employees pulling in hangers with several outfits. As they came in, Jung Woo’s mother looked awkward and bowed her head again.

“I’ll get going then. Have a good time. Madam.”

“Okay.”

She looked at me bowing my head without a word and just left the room without saying anything. Her pride must have been quite hurt to greet me who put her son in that state. I would have felt uncomfortable receiving her greeting too, so it was rather fortunate.  

“Ha Jin.”

As soon as Jung Woo’s mother left, Baek Su-ah called for me with a frown. Seeing negative emotions on her dry face, I automatically checked if there was anything around me she could throw.

‘Ah, that glass with the drink… a bit scary.’

Does Baek Su-ah also have violent tendencies like father? I automatically shrank back.

“I find these things burdensome and hate it. I don’t care if you meet women here and there or do whatever, but refrain from using violence.”  

Baek Su-ah spoke in a warning tone and started examining the clothes that were brought in.

‘Ah, Ha Jin, even the shit you stirred up is shitty. The family members are also awful.’

Feeling suffocated for no reason, I got up from my seat saying I would use the restroom and left the room. I want to just go home like this. What bullshit quarterly shopping. It’s not like forcing people who don’t get along to shake hands. It was a really strange family culture.  

I was walking down the hallway to go to the restroom an employee guided me to when I bumped into someone coming from around the corner. I said someone, but it felt like running into a telephone pole.

“I’m sorry.”

Apologizing, I immediately picked up the clothes the other person dropped on the floor. The clothes looked expensive at a glance, so I lightly dusted them off with my hand, concerned I might have gotten dust on them. Then I held out the clothes I picked up to the person I bumped into. Seeing the person wearing a black suit, likely an employee, I couldn’t help but be startled.

‘Sun Woo? This is where he works on weekends?’

He was standing there coldly without saying anything, looking more gloomy than usual.

‘Wait. What… is this fate? That Sun Woo is working at Pluie Department Store?’

I newly admired how solid the webtoon’s narrative was. Sun Woo suddenly appeared and intently stared at me who bumped into him with a cold expression, hardening his face. I don’t know if it’s because the webtoon world is small, but half of me was glad to meet him here while the other half was flustered by his chilly gaze. Sun Woo wordlessly took the clothes from me.

‘His stare is piercing…’

I awkwardly rubbed my face with my hand. I was going to greet Sun Woo but didn’t because the atmosphere felt like he would kill me if I spoke. It was piercingly embarrassing that I did this and that with him who appeared in my dream last night. If I have any conscience, I shouldn’t pretend to know him now…

Without a word, I passed by Sun Woo and headed to the restroom.  

There was no one in the restroom, likely because it was a VIP-only one and still morning. Since I was here, I thought I should take care of simple business and went to the urinal, but suddenly someone pushed me and I ended up facing the wall in the corner of the restroom against my will.

Turning around at the sudden situation… there was Sun Woo with an ominous air.