A/N: I took New Year's Eve to spend time with family and ring in the new year. Quietly of course. I hope everyone had a great holiday. I loved watching the fireworks from all over the world.
"Is this how you felt talking to my father?" Woo Bin asked.
Do Hwan laughed as they sat in traffic on their way to dinner with her father. A few days had passed since they had seen Song Dong Woo at their home, and it had been a little tense since then. Woo Bin had been very careful with what he had said and when he came home. She had barely seen much of him. If they needed to pass messages to each other, Mrs. Hwang was like a carrier pigeon. They had perfectly good phones but seemed to prefer to write notes instead.
Work on finding anything useful on the virus had all but stopped. Jun Pyo's inquiries hadn't gotten very far, and they were at a dead end at his facilities. So instead of trying to follow dead leads, the group had decided to go forward with the nonprofit's proposal. Il Sim Construction had donated three buildings so they could be used to help move some patients from the overpopulated hospitals. Three full staffs had been transferred from Ji Hoo's medical foundation to help circumvent the spread of infection.
Of the three buildings, the largest one held those who had a 95% chance of recovery. They were transferred there to get the best care possible without any cost to their families. The second largest was an ICU ward of sorts for patients who were 50/50 of not making it. They were held on the basis that anything could happen. The last one was a testing facility. If anyone had the symptoms of either coronavirus or the new virus, they were able to go get tested there instead of going to a hospital. It was a way to help keep the cross contamination to a minimum and to free up beds.
Cases had been on the decline. Now there were barely one hundred cases a day where they used to range in the thousands. But that didn't mean they could sit back and relax. Anything could happen with a virus. It could easily mutate and go after something completely different like the brain or the blood. They needed a good start on containing the first strain before they even thought about going after a second one.
Do Hwan's company had finally started making headway with treatments. One of the scientists from Shinhwa Group had paired with KwangSan and they had attempted to grow their own virus. It was at that stage they found the virus was unlike any other they had ever seen. The scientist from Shinhwa had been very confident that the virus was man made. With that thought in mind, they had started trying to replicate it. That was the step they were currently stuck on.
Do Hwan had been working late when her father had called for an update. She had told him exactly what she had learned and the time frame she had been given. Up until this point, she hadn't been too confident on them finding out anything, but now that the largest pharmaceutical company and Korea's largest company were working together, there was a high possibility of something coming of it.
She had taken the time to tell her father she had some news for him that she'd like to tell him in person. He had joyfully agreed, then went on a rambling rant about where they should eat. She had listened to him talk to himself about something super fancy or something more down to earth. She had reminded him that she didn't need anything fancy to talk to him. So he had agreed they would meet at her childhood home for a home cooked meal. That meant Mrs. Yook would be cooking.
"At least you get a head's up before you meet him," she said. "I was making coffee when your father showed up."
Woo Bin nodded his head absently. "Sorry about that. I should have answered his calls." He crossed his ankles and wiggled his feet. "When's your next appointment?"
"Next week. The doctor said after this one we should be able to find out the gender," she said. She stared at her hands for a moment. "I'm worried that my father will act cold towards you. He doesn't have a very good track record of being nice to men he doesn't know."
"Have you taken many men home?"
"Only once. It was a college boyfriend. We were on holidays and he came back with me. My dad didn't really greet him properly so when he stayed at the house he was kind of standoffish. The guy said some things about our culture that my dad didn't like, and he put his two cents in. When we returned to England, our relationship ended. And I've never taken anyone home since then."
Woo Bin took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. "Is there anything I should know before we get there?"
She squeezed his hand in return. "I have an older brother. He's three years older than me but you would never know by the way he acts."
"Was he born with mental disabilities?"
She shook her head. "No, not at all. He was number one in his class straight into college. He had a bright future ahead of him, but an accident while he was in Paris left him brain damaged. He doesn't remember it, and we've never pushed him to remember. He only remembers coming home. He walks with crutches and has a permanent stutter where the accident screwed up the speech portion of his brain. He has the mind of a teenager, and it will never progress anymore. But we're grateful he's alive."
The way she spoke about her brother told Woo Bin she was very close to him. As an only child, he didn't have the luxury of knowing what it meant to have a sibling. He had cousins but over the years they had grown apart as they had gone on to do different things. He couldn't imagine having someone go through something as traumatic as a wreck that left him or her brain damaged.
It made him think of his unborn child. Would there be a chance they would have to raise a special needs child? Would they have to have specialized equipment to help it get around? He already knew how Do Hwan would do, but he was a different story.
"If you're thinking what I think you are, it's too soon to tell," she told him. "Also, it's not that different. So don't get ahead of yourself."
"Are you just good at reading people or is it just me?" he asked. More like blurted. It wasn't the first time she had called him out on something that he hadn't said out loud.
She smiled. "You seem outgoing, and you are when it comes to your friends, but when you're quiet, your face is very open. Contemplative and curious all it once. It's obvious when you're thinking about something."
Woo Bin watched her for the rest of the ride. He never let go of her hand, and she never tugged on it to have it back. He was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable she was already. It was either that or she just didn't mind being near him.
It was hard to believe they were actually in this situation. Never in a million years had he imagined his life turning out like this. He had always thought he would fall in love, get married, then have kids. But he'd done some of that backwards. He was expecting a child with a woman he had taken home from a bar when he'd been drunk. Somehow he'd persuaded her to marry him for the sake of the child. But he barely knew anything about her, and yet here he was going to her family home to tell her father she was married.
He was certain he was going to die.
The car pulled up in front of a very respectable house. It wasn't a rambling mansion like Jun Pyo's, but it was definitely larger than Woo Bin's. The gate opened silently and the car slid through. As they drove up the drive, he saw things that told him a happy family had lived here. A tire swing on the big tree out front and a huge play set to the side showed happy children had played there. Even now, he saw children playing. They were obviously children of the staff, but they looked happy just the same.
When they pulled in front of the main entrance, instead of the butler Do Hwan's father stood there. He was as tall as Woo Bin and he had an air of refinement about him. As they neared, he saw a twinkle in the older man's eye that told him he loved his family dearly and would do anything for them.
Do Hwan was barely out of the car when he scooped her up in a hug. She laughed giddily and hugged him back just as hard. They babbled nonsense at each other until one let the other go. He pushed her back and looked her up and down. Even in jeans and a button up plaid shirt, her father looked proud. Woo Bin wondered how long that will last.
"Oh, my dear girl. It is always good to see you since you don't come home very often," he said.
"Appa, you asked me to take care of business while you take care of Kang Joohwan. That's what I've been doing," she replied. She had a little pout on her face that Woo Bin hadn't seen ever.
"That I did, my girl, that I did. And you have done well with it." He held out his hand to her. "Come, my girl. It's getting chilly out here, and I'd hate for you to catch a cold."
Do Hwan smiled over her shoulder at Woo Bin as she allowed her father to pull her in the house. He followed slowly and quietly, nodding politely to the help as they held the door open for him.
He looked around the foyer. Yi Jeong's house had prestigious works of art in their foyer, Woo Bin's had pictures of the world's largest buildings, and Jun Pyo's was just bland. But this foyer showed a parent's love for his children. Pictures of two kids, a boy and a girl, lined the walls. There were a few pictures of a family of four, but the majority of them were of a family of three.
"What do you see, young master?" the elder woman asked as he followed the father-daughter duo.
"A whole lot of love," he answered.
"Master Kang has done his best to make sure his children had been taken care of, especially the young master. Madame Do Hwan has done her best to help, and I know that has taken a load off Master Kang." She paused for a moment. "This is the first family I have worked for where love has power over money."
She smiled then escorted him to the dining room. A medium sized dinner was spread out on the table. Do Hwan was sampling every dish, making pleased noises. They were obviously her favorite foods.
"Now, my girl, would you care to introduce me officially to this nice young man?" her father asked.
"Appa, this is Song Woo Bin of Il Sim Construction. Woo Bin, this is my father Kang Hyun Min," she introduced.
"And what have I done to deserve a meeting by Song Dong Woo's only child?"
Do Hwan caught the glint in his eyes. "You already know, don't you?"
Hyun Min nodded. "Dong Woo called me last night and congratulated me. He said we should meet as a family to celebrate." He looked at them, scrutinizing them slowly. He noted their matching wedding bands and nodded. "What kind of trouble did you get into?"
Before she could stop him, Woo Bin stepped in front of Do Hwan and bowed deeply. "It's my fault. Please forgive me. I did what I thought was best to protect the reputations of both families."
His father-in-law understood. "How far along are you, my girl?"
"Almost three months," she replied. "We met that night I went out for a drink with Mrs. Yook's grandson, and I went home with him." She squared her shoulders. "We've both taken responsibility and have entered into marriage to keep from bringing anything ill to our families."
Woo Bin heard the older man sigh. He saw his shoes the next moment then he was being lifted by his shoulders. He looked straight into the older man's eyes. He felt as if his soul was being searched, as if he was being laid bare.
"I wish you two would have told me sooner. I would have helped get things ready," Hyun Min said. There was a twinkle in his eye, and the young couple looked at each other. "How did you think your brother was born?"
"You're not angry?" Do Hwan asked.
He shook his head. "I'm not pleased but you two clearly understand the repercussions of your choices. I do hope that you will think a little harder next time. Things could have been very bad, especially in the climate we're in right now."
Woo Bin looked at Do Hwan and nearly laughed at her face. She was making a face a two year old would when they were trying not to cry. She walked into her father's arms with her arms out and wrapped him up again. They blubbered some more nonsense before they were finally able to sit down for dinner.
They settled into a pleasant discussion of a mixture of work and when they would all get together. Hyun Min wanted to get to know Song Dong Woo better than he did and probably see how well they would work together. Woo Bin was curious as to who would come out with the upper hand; Kang Hyun Min or Song Dong Woo.