CHAPTER 32

Five years later, in a small detached house on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.

On a scorching midday when cicadas were loudly chirping, Siyeon lay down on a flat surface in the yard with her eyes closed. She had come out to the yard after a simple breakfast and had dozed off right there.

Siyeon lay there with one arm under her head, half-asleep.

“Why is she sleeping outside again?”

“…”

“Honorary part-timer, can you get up right now?”

Someone shouted loudly from beyond the fence, jolting Siyeon awake. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Yoonsoo, who was standing outside the white fence, with a dazed expression.

“…What are you doing there?”

Siyeon asked, still dazed. Yoonsoo stood like a tree behind the fence.

Yoonsoo had graduated from college and eventually landed a job at a major corporation. He had tried to woo Eunhye to inherit Yeongjin, but she had a steady boyfriend for years.

His father’s factory would take at least fifty years to return to its former glory, so he had given up on it. Still, he showed up at Yeongjin in the evenings on weekdays and on weekends.

“Yang noona wants you to come and have a meal.”

“I’m not really hungry.”

“Shut up and get out of there, you’re ungrateful. Where else in the world can you get free meals from a part-time job that you quit a few years ago?”

“…Fine.”

Siyeon had no appetite but had no choice so she reluctantly went inside, washed her face quickly, and came back out with her phone in hand. She then got into Yoonsoo’s car, which was parked in front of the house.

“I could have gone by myself.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“I’m sorry for bothering you so many times.”

“You’re really lucky. You have a company that gives you free meals, and a big company employee who comes to pick you up.”

Saying so, Yoonsoo slowly drove the car towards Yeongjin, which was about a 3-minute drive away.

“Should we get some ice cream on the way? Deputy Yang, Team Leader, who else is there?”

“Enough! I have no intention of mooching ice cream off an unemployed person.”

“I’m not unemployed, I’m a freelancer.”

“Really? Every time I see you, you’re just lying around in the yard.”

“…”

Siyeon moved to a neighborhood close to Yeongjin last spring. There was a small housing estate close enough to reach Yeongjin in 20 minutes on foot, but it was a small bunkhouse at the entrance of the estate. It was far from apartment complexes and there weren’t many facilities nearby, so the price was relatively affordable.

She wasn’t sure about its investment value, but Siyeon liked the house because it had a reasonably spacious yard and even a rooftop.

Writing in the quiet night while listening to the sound of grasshoppers made her feel more productive and happy. Consequently, her daily routine had shifted, making her more of a night owl.

“I thought you were diligent when I first saw you, but somehow you’ve been getting lazier day by day. If I hadn’t come, you’d still be sleeping in the yard and only getting up in the evening. You live so close to home, why don’t you come out and get a job?”

“Oh, nagging again.”

Siyeon turned her head out the window, covering both ears as if she didn’t want to hear it.

She had quit her part-time job a long time ago. She had gained quite a reputation among her readers with the publication of her first novel, which she had serialized on the internet.

With a pre-contract from a publishing company, her second novel became a huge hit. Thanks to that work, she was able to sell her apartment and return the money that had been sitting in her bank account untouched to her Ichon-dong parents without regret.

“…What does this mean?”

When Siyeon visited her parents before leaving Seoul, they only looked at her with pale faces and barely moved their lips. Perhaps at that moment, they realized that Siyeon knew the truth.

“It means I can live independently.”

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and that was how she summarized her relationship with them.

She didn’t have enough time to write, much less work. She had to sort out her part-time jobs at the cafe and Yeongjin. Although she occasionally visited Yeongjin, her part-time work was a permanent farewell.

“Eunhye is getting married to the Vice President of Baekya Foods next spring.”

“How’s work going for her?”

“She opposed it from the beginning, but she eventually became a secretary for Vice President Jeong Gwihyeon. She had no choice but to work hard.”

Eunhye had joined Baekya Foods as the secretary for Jeong Gwihyeon, the Vice President, immediately after graduating. When she heard about it, Siyeon thought that her Ichondong mother must have had something to do with it.

Ironically, it was Gwihyeon who opposed Eunhye’s hiring, saying he couldn’t bear to see her struggle, but when she cried and became upset about it, he eventually accepted her.

“…If Eunhye gets married, won’t it be more convenient for CEO Choi?”

“The boss, who lives in the same house as her, said he hadn’t spoken to Eunhye in a while. She sticks to Vice President Jeong every morning and evening.”

“It’s passionate love.”

Despite this, Gwihyeon still hadn’t introduced Eunhye to his parents and grandfather in Suwon yet. It’s almost as if he’s planning to hold off on telling them until after the situation has been sorted out.

As long as the secret was still hidden, Gwihyeon’s grandfather still contacted Siyeon, and she even went to Suwon a few times to say hello.

Whenever she went to Suwon, her grandfather would tell her that their house was too lonely without Gwihyeon and Ijun.

“If you envy them, you should start dating someone.”

“I have plans too, you know.”

“Yeah, right.”

When Yoonsoo openly mocked her, Siyeon gave him a glare and then got out of the car that had just parked.

She pushed open the restaurant door like it was her own home and walked inside. Almost everyone was seated and eating, and there were a few people outside who had already finished their meals.

“Welcome, Siyeon! Are you hungry?”

Assistant Manager Yang, who had been promoted from a deputy position, and the still robust Team Leader greeted Siyeon happily, urging her to come over and shaking hands with her.

Siyeon filled her plate with food and sat down at their table.

“You should have come earlier. We were planning to wait until after we finished eating. And don’t forget to take the bag with the side dishes in the fridge when you go.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Siyeon nodded her thanks to the Team Leader. Since moving to this neighborhood, she had been giving Siyeon several containers of side dishes every week, even though she had refused several times.

“Is it because you think I’m worse off than you? I work here to stay healthy and earn pocket money, not because I don’t have enough to live on. And if an adult offers, just graciously accept it. Why are you making such a fuss?”

After the Team Leader sternly scolded her, Siyeon began accepting the side dishes obediently. Every single one of them was carefully prepared.

She had considered offering some remuneration, but the Team Leader was so emotional, even crying and saying that she was being ignored without Siyeon around, so she decided to give it up.

“Siyeon, if you’re not busy, drop by our office after eating.”

This time, it was Manager Yang. The two of them took turns taking care of Siyeon like older sisters or aunts. Siyeon had finally decided to accept their care gratefully.

“Okay, I will. But aren’t you busy, unnie?”

“Busy? Not really. It’s a problem that I’m not busy enough.”

“…”

Siyeon sensed that something was bothering Manager Yang, and she wondered if it was related to the challenges her workplace was facing. She decided to ask more about it when they met later.

There was a brief silence around the table. The size of Yeongjin’s business had shrunk noticeably recently and was now barely hanging on by a thread.

The boss had tried to keep the business going and hold on to his employees with every penny he had, but the workload had dwindled so much that he couldn’t hold on any longer.

Eventually, the employees with the shortest years of service retired with generous severance packages. Now, only the very old employees remained at Yeongjin.

“Eunhye is the daughter of our boss, and she’s not doing anything at a time like this. How about she sweet-talk her boyfriend and help us out a bit?”

Team Leader pursed her lips and said.

“How are we going to handle losing the bid? Thanks to Baekya Foods, we’ve lived well for a few years, and we haven’t really suffered any losses.”

“Why do you say there were no losses? We had to build more factories, buy new machinery, and hire more people just to meet the delivery quotas. Now, more than half of those machines are just sitting idle.”

Yeongjin had failed to secure a contract with Baekya Foods last spring. Baekya Foods had changed its supplier selection process to a transparent bidding competition, and although Yeongjin had participated, they ultimately failed to win the contract.

Siyeon initially suspected Gwihyeon, but seeing him also looking troubled when Yeongjin lost the bid, she couldn’t say anything more.

As far as he was concerned, there was no reason for him to deliberately make things difficult for Yeongjin now and disrupt the quiet peace.

“So the boss is working hard to find a new trading partner.”

“Since only one of the three factories is currently running, the damage is too great. It might be better to sell the two buildings, including the machinery, or at least one. After settling that, they could start with just one building and gradually expand again. Is there no wealthy conglomerate… Hey, Mansoo!”

Manager Yang, who had been talking with a resigned face, suddenly opened his eyes wide and then called Yoonsoo with an affectionate tone.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Don’t you have any plans for a business? This is an opportunity to partner with our CEO Choi. What do you think about you, the son of the CEO at Daesung Trading, pulling some strings here?”

“I’ll only talk to you if you say something that makes sense.”

When Yoonsoo made an incredulous face, Manager Yang let out a deep sigh.

“Ah, I’m so frustrated. Because I’m at a loss too. The truth is… CEO Choi sold the building and land he had, and he’s even putting up his house in Hannam-dong for sale now. With the money from selling the land and the building, he paid off part of the bank loans and the purchase price of the machinery, but if the current situation continues, it’s going to be really serious.”

“He’s putting his Hannam-dong house up for sale?”

Siyeon stopped eating and looked at Manager Yang’s face in surprise.

“Yes. But with the real estate market not doing so well, I don’t know how quickly it will sell.”

“Then where will they live?”

“If the house is sold, it seems like he’s planning to get a place around here. Eunhye has a boyfriend to marry in Hannam-dong, so I guess he’s less worried about that.”

Siyeon bit her lower lip. She knew that the scale of the business had shrunk, but she didn’t know that Yeongjin was facing such difficulties.

“How much is it?”

“What?”

“I mean, you said a moment ago that it would be good to sell the two factory buildings. Including the machinery, how much for one building…”

“Siyeon, stop talking nonsense and eat your food. This child must be suffering from the heat.”

Manager Yang gestured for Siyeon to eat quickly.