I’m Not a Regressor - Chapter 247

Chapter 247: Celebratory Party (3)

She wanted to throw a party to celebrate his becoming one of the Seven Stars? “Alright. Then should we order some food for dinner?” Ohjin asked. He didn’t really care, but he planned to treat Isabella to a nice dinner in commemoration of their reunion after a few weeks of separation. Calling it a ‘celebration’ of his success would be killing two birds with one stone.

“…What are you talking about, Ohjin?” Isabella asked.

“Huh? What’s wrong? Oh, you said you didn’t like delivery food before, right?” He remembered her yelling about how bad the food was.

“That’s not the problem!” Isabella jumped out of her seat and put her hands on her waist. “First, I booked a five-star hotel on Jeju Island. I rented it for the whole day and invited famous chefs…”

“Wait, what?” Ohjin disdainfully shook his head at the growing scale of the party. What did she mean she rented a whole five-star hotel for a party?

“C’mon. Ohjin doesn’t like such grandiose things,” Ha-eun tutted with a shake of her head.

Isabella’s eyes narrowed at Ha-eun’s mocking tone, and she asked, “Isn’t it simply because he has never experienced such things before?” She also knew that Ohjin had lived in extreme poverty in the past and had heard that there were times he and Ha-eun wore used clothes from a collection box and ate cheap calorie bars.

“I want to give Ohjin a life he hasn’t experienced before,” she proudly said. Ohjin had been out of poverty for some time and even had enough money to be considered wealthy. Maybe it was because habits were hard to break, but he still never spent much more than he used to. Isabella, who was born into an aristocratic family and enjoyed all kinds of luxury, felt sorry for him.

“Hmm.” Ohjin awkwardly smiled at Isabella’s enthusiasm—she was acting like she would offer her heart and liver to him if she could. “I appreciate it, but as Ha-eun said, such grand things don’t suit me.”

“But…” Isabella tried to argue.

“Let’s keep the party simple at home,” Ohjin said. Whether it suited him or not, there was also the problem with his image. Korea was still in chaos following the First Star’s death, so what would the public think if he rented a five-star hotel for a party after joining the Seven Stars?

‘The kind of reaction I’d get is obvious.’ There’d always been negative opinions about those who flaunted their wealth. Whether the money was justly earned or not, showing off money was a good way to get criticism from the public. There was a reason why politicians went to the market for food and used the subway around election season, after all.

“Hmm… I see.” Isabella’s shoulders drooped. She bit her lips as if she were upset, but she knew they were right. “Can I at least prepare the food?”

Looking at her like that, Ha-eun shrugged. “I’d be happy if you did. Will you be okay? You just got here. Aren’t you tired?”

“I’m alright.” Isabella rolled up her sleeves. Though she was tired after working day and night for the past few weeks, she felt energized at the thought of Ohjin eating food she’d personally cooked.

“I’ll help…” Ha-eun said.

“You’ll be helping by staying still.”

“So mean!” Though Ha-eun sounded upset, she only knew how to cook roasted coal meat and deep-fried squid, neither of which Ohjin would want to eat during his celebratory party.

“How many guests are we inviting?” Ohjin asked.

“Let’s see…” Ha-eun mumbled. Definitely Vega and Riak. “Let’s call Mr. Gorilla, too.”

“You mean Manager Han?” Ohjin asked.

“Yeah. He worked hard to guide you.”

“You’re right.” He owed a lot to Manager Han. ‘Maybe Lee Woohyuk…’ Though he was reluctant to approach Woohyuk recently due to Lee Shinhyuk’s memories, he felt it was necessary to maintain a proper friendship with the man, regardless of his personal feelings. ‘I should still invite him.’ Hating Shinhyuk didn’t mean he also had to hate Woohyuk just because they were related by blood.

“Should we invite Allen and that cheeky kid, too?” Ha-eun said.

“Cheeky kid?” Isabella asked.

“A woman named Rebecca.”

“Rebecca…” Isabella muttered. “Are you talking about the Star of Celestial Shining Pearl?”

“Yeah.”

“…” She was speechless that Ha-eun was calling the Third Star a kid.

“Let’s keep it to those people for now,” Ohjin said.

“Okay, then should I prepare nine servings?” Isabella asked.

“You should make a little more.” Considering Riak and Manager Han’s appetites, nine servings wouldn’t be enough. “Then, I’ll go contact everyone.” Ohjin took out his phone and headed to the room.

* * *

-I’m sorry. I have an engagement with Deneb today, so I won’t be able to attend.

“Oh, I see.”

-I’ll visit you another time. Congratulations on receiving your title as the Star of Twinkling Brilliance.

“Yes, then I’ll see you around.” Allen had said he wouldn’t be able to make it due to other business. ‘Now’s a busy time, after all.’ In the end, everyone else expressed their willingness to attend.

“Shall we go grocery shopping first?” he asked Isabella upon returning to the kitchen.

“Oh. It’s fine. I already told Roberto to prepare the ingredients.”

Ding dong—

As if on cue, the doorbell rang, and Isabella opened the door to see Roberto and Melissa holding boxes of ingredients.

“I have the best ingredients,” Roberto said.

“Well done, Roberto.”

“Is he the Star of Twinkling Brilliance?” Melissa asked as she placed a large box in the living room.

Isabella stepped up and introduced Melissa when she saw Ohjin giving her a confused look. “Her name is Melissa, and she’s one of my family’s employees.”

Melissa bowed deeply at the waist. “Nice to meet you! I’m Melissa, Miss Isabella’s personal maid!”

“Nice to meet you,” Ohjin said.

“Hehe. Please speak casually!”

“Oh, um… alright.” Ohjin nodded at Melissa’s cheerful attitude. She seemed to be about the age of a high school student and was as fresh and innocent as a dandelion.

“I’ll help with the preparations, Miss Isabella!” she exclaimed.

“Oh, would you?” Isabella and Melissa headed to the kitchen with the boxes of ingredients.

Roberto looked at Isabella’s bright and calm smile and watched the two prepare food for a bit before turning to Ohjin. “I’m Roberto, the head butler of the Cologrande family.”

“Oh, yes. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you in person.” Roberto bowed.

“Oh! Aren’t you the grandpa who sent me the Cuban cigars?” Ha-eun exclaimed.

A pale blood vessel appeared on Roberto’s wrinkled forehead. “Haha. That’s right. I sent you my collection that I worked on for years.”

“Oh…” Ha-eun’s shoulders trembled at the gloomy energy emanating from the old gentleman. “D-don’t worry! I didn’t smoke that many of them! I’ll give them back to you, gramps!”

Roberto shook his head. “More importantly…” The old gentleman’s gaze turned to Ohjin. “Thank you.” He bowed deeply to Ohjin again.

Ohjin was rather embarrassed by his extremely polite attitude. “I don’t think I did anything to deserve such thanks…”

“I’ve never seen Isabella smile so sincerely from the bottom of her heart in my years of serving her…” The old gentleman continued with a bitter smile, “Until she met you, Ohjin.”

“…” Ohjin was speechless.

“You’re the reason she’s able to smile so happily.”

“Well, she also helped me a lot.”

“Haha. I’m glad.” Roberto looked over at Isabella as if looking at a beloved granddaughter. “Please continue to look after her.”

“Yes.”

“Oh, and let me tell you one thing.” Roberto approached and whispered, “The miss… has been ‘growing’ recently.”

“…” Growing what?

“Hahaha! We’ll have to order her new clothes soon!” Roberto happily twirled his mustache. “Oh, and do you know…?”

“What else…?” Ohjin asked.

Roberto patted Ohjin on the shoulder and winked. “It’s still common among Italian aristocrats to have more than one wife.”

“…” Ohjin raised a hand to his forehead as he suddenly felt a headache from his image of Roberto being shattered.

Around 30 minutes later, Melissa and Isabella finished preparing the food and returned to the living room.

“Then we’ll be leaving now,” Roberto said.

Ha-eun, who had been chatting with him for the past 30 minutes about cigars, tilted her head. “Huh? Why don’t you stay and eat with us?”

“Hoho. This isn’t something the maid and I can partake in.”

“But still…” Ha-eun tried to argue.

“At least have a cup of coffee before you leave,” Ohjin insisted.

“Well, that should be fine.” Roberto and Melissa took their seats with a nod.

Ohjin took a couple of Maxim coffee sticks out of the cupboard. ‘I don’t know if this will suit the tastes of people who work for a noble family, but…’ He added hot water and stirred with the wrapper—five cups of coffee were done in the blink of an eye.

“Huh? This is good!” Melissa exclaimed as soon as she tried it.

“It’s one of the best inventions in Korea,” Ohjin proudly stated.

“Huh, I can’t believe you can make coffee so easily…”

“I’ll give you a few boxes as a gift, so take them.”

“Really?” Melissa smiled.

Ohjin nodded and gave her a couple of boxes of Maxim coffee stacked in the cupboard.

“Hehe. The Star of Twinkling Brilliance is such a kind person.”

“Just for this?” Ohjin asked with a smirk.

Melissa wiggled her fingers and carefully said, “Um… would it be alright if I asked you a question?”

“What is it?”

“How did you two get together?”

“Huh?” Ohjin’s eyes met Ha-eun’s.

Ha-eun scratched her cheek with an embarrassed look. “Ohjin and I have…”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Melissa tilted her head and gave Ha-eun a puzzled look, as if she were unable to understand why she was the one answering the question.

“…Ack!” Isabella’s eyes widened as if she’d just remembered something. “M-Melissa!” She hurriedly tried to stop Melissa.

It was too late, though… “Isn’t Ohjin dating Isabella?” Melissa asked with an innocent look. “I’m curious as to how you two ended up together!”

“What?” Ha-eun asked.

Silence filled the living room. Ohjin and Ha-eun turned to Isabella.

Isabella restlessly looked around before closing her eyes and pointing at Ohjin. “O-Ohjin! Ohjin confessed first!” she stuttered.

“What…?” Ohjin asked. ‘I did?’

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