Chapter 313 - The Beam in her Eyes

"I'm sorry?" Mirae was confused. "Who is this person you're talking about?"

"You didn't know?" Jungshin asked in astonishment. "I thought Sohee knew about this too. In fact, both of them were sponsoring a child from an orphanage. They were paying for his needs and education. Taewon even took the boy on occasional trips with him to meet with potential clients. It was like he was grooming that child to take over his companies someday."

"Who is this boy?" Mirae demanded. "Do you know his name?"

"Uh…" Junshin racked his brains to remember. "It was such a long time ago," he said sheepishly. "I don't recall his name. All I remember is that he once borrowed my book. He was very interested in the 'Count of Monte Cristo' and never got the chance to return it. You see, Taewon died right after that and the boy disappeared. He was quite a bright child. I sometimes wished what had happened to him."

Mirae frowned. Her father and mother never mentioned a boy they were sponsoring. Why did they hide this from her?

"I honestly can't recall them sponsoring anyone," Mirae said truthfully. "They never told me."

"That's strange!" Jungshin exclaimed. "How come they never mentioned that boy to you? He was quite a smart kid! Taewon used to joke that the kid might end up marrying you someday!"

He laughed heartily but Mirae was visibly uncomfortable by the revelation. Why did her parents hide such a big thing from her?

"It was nice to meet you again, my dear," Jungshin said. "I have to run. The missus is waiting for me at home. See you later."

"Bye uncle," Mirae said. She watched the old man walk away. Her thoughts were muddled by what the man had just said. Why did her parents hide such a big thing from her?

The ringing of her phone brought her out of her reverie. She saw the caller ID. It was Riggs.

"Yes Riggs," she said. "What happened?"

"Madam, Ms. Sunye had a meeting with the Cartel's CEO today," he informed her. "Mr. Kwon and I were outside, listening in to their discussions through a microphone. Mr. Kwon is with his sister now and he instructed me to email you the transcribed doc.u.ments."

"What did they discuss?" she asked.

"It seems that our suspicions were right," Riggs replied. "The President indeed had killed Mr. Kwon's parents himself. Ms. Sunye just confirmed it."

Mirae was not surprised by it. After all, it was only a matter of days that they found out. 

"How is Sunye?" she asked.

"A little shaken but good. She will be fine. Song Tamlin is already discussing the next course of action with Mr. Kwon and Hyun Jung. We'll let you know once we come up with a plan."

"Alright," she said. "Keep me informed of everything."

She was about to hang up when she paused. "Riggs, there's one more thing I want you to do," she said. "I need you to look into my father's old acquaintance."

"Who is it, CEO?"

"A boy," she replied. "Apparently, my parents were sponsoring a child and I want to know who he is. Give me all the details as soon as you find it. Where is he now and what is he up to? Why were my parents sponsoring him? Everything."

"Yes madam," he said. Mirae bid him goodbye and hung up. 

She thought for a while. Maybe she was thinking too much into it. The boy was perhaps someone her father saw potential in and decided to take under his wing. Her parents were into a lot of charity works so perhaps they picked him up from one of their social organizations.

Dismissing the thought for now, she concentrated on her own works which needed to be completed. Putting on a face mask, she turned around and entered the baby shop. An elderly storekeeper came up to her and bowed.

"Good evening miss!" she greeted. "How may I assist you?"

"I…" Mirae was not sure how to explain it to her. It was all too new for her and the sight of the shop overwhelmed her. There were so many things!

Her eyes scanned the items. There were baby skin care products, clothes, toys, shoes and blankets but there were also things like nursery room items such as wallpapers, cots, chewable items, feeders, baby pots, diapers and so many other things which Mirae did not even know baies used. 

How many things does a baby need? She wondered in dismay. The sheer amount of responsibility was starting to frighten her. What if she was bad at parenting?

The elderly lady read the dilemma in her eyes. 

"I'm guessing you are quite overwhelmed by all this," she chuckled. "Are you a first time mother?"

"Uh…"

"It's very obvious," the woman said wisely. "You have that glow. Here, let me help you pick out the initial things. You don't need everything at once. What you really need at first are these."

She pointed at a shelf full of books on parenting. "These will give you an idea of how you want to take care of your newborn," the woman stated with a smile.

"Which book would you recommend?" Mirae asked. 

"Ahh...this one!" The woman said, picking up a book called 'Parenting tips for first timers'. She handed it to Mirae who was looking at it with interest. The woman was sharing some of her own experience when she was a new mother. Mirae marveled at her knowledge.

"Don't forget to go to the gynae every week," the shopkeeper advised. "And drink plenty of water! Double your intake. Also carry a bunch of snacks around so that you can munch on it. But no nuts. Keep things like carrots or cuc.u.mbers to keep yourself satisfied."

Mirae was noting everything with apt attention, vowing to follow whatever she could.

Unbeknownst to her, someone was watching her from afar. He was noting the glow on her face even though she was wearing a mask. Her eyes were still as striking as ever and she was beaming with joy. In fact, she looked much happier than she was when she was with him.

"Sir?"

Ash turned around to see his assistant had arrived. "The car is ready," the assistant informed him.

"Hmm…" he said absentmindedly. His eyes darted back to Mirae who was looking around the shop.

He observed her for a while before turning away to leave.