CHAPTER 54

“But why are you asking about that?”

“It just came to mind while I was organizing my things.”

“You still have it…?”

Ijun’s eyes widened slightly. He was surprised that Siyeon hadn’t thrown it away. After all, he had given it to her over twenty years ago, so it was understandable that he would be surprised.

Moreover, Siyeon hadn’t lived in one house all this time. From the Ichon-dong house to the apartment in Gangdong-gu, and even the house she lived in before getting married, Siyeon had diligently carried that hair comb with her.

“You told me to keep it safe.”

A faint crack appeared on his face at her calm reply. It wasn’t something he disliked or liked, but rather a strange expression.

“But honestly, it wasn’t something I should have kept. If it’s difficult for you to take it back, then I will find an opportunity to return it to your mother. Don’t worry, I won’t make things awkward.”

Regardless of the excuses she made, Ijun’s mother wouldn’t be greatly concerned as long as she found the hair comb. She would be happy enough just to know that she had found the lost item she had pitied losing.

So, Siyeon would keep it safe and pass it on when her son, Ijun, found a woman he loved. In that sense, it was an item she shouldn’t possess.

“I’m already married, so I don’t need it anymore?”

“It’s a meaningful item. Even if I didn’t know its significance, being aware of what it represents, I can’t, in good conscience, keep it.”

In truth, Siyeon hadn’t thought much about the hair comb until she heard her father’s words. She had kept it simply as a memento of her memories with Ijun.

But now that she knew everything, it wasn’t just an old item to her anymore. In the depths of her heart, heavy responsibility, deep sorrow, and cold anger were accumulating.

“If you don’t want to keep it, then throw it away.”

“Don’t say that.”

“…What?”

“Don’t treat it as something trivial. I’ll keep it well until you want me to return it to you…”

Siyeon stopped talking and held her breath. Even just imagining it made her heartache.

“… when you find a woman you truly love and propose to with sincerity…”.”

“…Right. I guess you can do that.”

Seeing Ijun biting his lip, Siyeon suddenly came to her senses. She had said something to him just now, even though they had promised to do well until the end of the year. She felt like a fool.

It seemed like she wasn’t the only one who had such thoughts as Ijun stared at her with a cold gaze.

“…What are you waiting for?”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t figure out what you want after spending a year by my side. Perhaps my lack of imagination is to blame.”

Ijun loudly closed the book he had in his hands and set it aside.

“Is it for money? No, even if you sold your stocks, you could still live comfortably. Or is it for the position of being an heir’s wife, the company’s daughter-in-law? Well, I suppose it’s that. As the daughter-in-law of Baekya Food, you did much more than play the role of a respectful daughter-in-law. You know that, don’t you? So, do you have any lingering attachment to me still? It’s a weak argument, but I’ve even thought about that. But then you told me that if you lived with me for a year and still felt the same, you would leave on your own.”

“…”

“So I thought maybe you had a terminal illness or something. But the doctor said you’re very healthy.”

He tilted his head and looked at Siyeon, demanding an answer.

“I can’t solve the problem you’ve presented. I surrender. So now, just tell me the answer.”

“Your premise is wrong, Mr. Ijun. From the beginning, you assumed that I had some lowly motive.”

“Is that so?”

He raised an eyebrow. It was quite an intriguing tone.

“When I was twenty, I went to Yeongjin by myself. While you were in the military, I worked at Yeongjin’s factory every weekend. I earned 60,000 won a day by traveling four hours round trip to work. But it wasn’t because I needed the money. It was to see my father. How does that sound to you?”

“I see. You’ve managed to deceive people without getting caught for a long time.”

Siyeon smiled faintly at his response. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“…Some people thought that way when they saw me. There must have been reasons for them to think so. But even if there were, how could I have known it alone without anyone to trust? Still, I spent hours on the streets every week looking for my birth parents because I wanted to see them. Even when it was heartbreaking when I saw the chairman and Eunhye together.”

Ijun’s face changed rapidly. At times, he had an indifferent expression as if he was not interested, but at other times, he listened intently to her story but hid his emotions under his poker face.

“…What are you trying to get from me? Sympathy?”

“I simply suggested a way to find a different answer if you change your perspective.”

“Perspective.”

“You asked me what I was waiting for. There are many things I’m waiting for, but if I had to choose, it would be the truth and peace.”

Ijun looked at her and tapped his temple with his fingers. It was impossible to know what he was thinking.

“How did you feel when you first found out that you weren’t the real daughter?”

“I felt devastated. It felt like my world had come to an end overnight.”

“You should have revealed it back then. Then, at least, we wouldn’t be sitting like this now.”

“I wanted to, but I couldn’t at the time.”

“Why? Because you didn’t want to ruin your position as Kim Donghan’s great-granddaughter?”

“Is being Kim Dong-han’s great-granddaughter that great?”

Siyeon twisted her lips in a clear mockery. Ijun squinted his eyes at her blatant sarcasm. The emotion he clearly felt from her was hostility.

“You’ve been living well all your life because of that fact. You can’t just say it doesn’t matter now.”

“It does matter. I became interested in Baekya to the point where it’s incomparable to before.”

“Baekya Kim Dong-han? Or Baekya Food?”

“The poem called Baekya.”

Ijun’s eyes followed her lips with an intrigued gaze.

“Who was Kim Donghan waiting for in Baekya? Anyone can answer this, the independence of the Korean Empire. It’s not strange to say that Kim Dong-han, who was a teacher at the time, was waiting for the independence of the Empire of Korea in Baekya. Then how about this? Waiting for independence from Baekya. This is strange to say. There’s only one letter difference between ‘in Baekya’ and ‘from Baekya,’ but the feeling and interpretation are so different.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t think Kim Dong-han wrote this poem.”

Ijun stared at Siyeon for a few seconds and burst into hollow laughter. He must have thought to himself that she was crazy.

“Oh, really? So you’re saying there’s a different original author, then do you know who that person is?”

“I do. My great-grandfather, Choi Deokgu. My great-grandfather actually wrote Baekya, but Kim Dong-han, who was his teacher at the time, stole it.”

“Do you have any evidence?”

“I plan to look for it from now on.”

“Choi Siyeon.”

He called her with a serious expression.

Ijun didn’t believe anything she said no matter what she said. Paradoxically, that’s why she could be so honest with him and reveal her secrets.

“Go see a doctor.”

“I’m not sick.”

“Yes, you are. I’ll make a reservation for you at the mental health clinic tomorrow morning, so go and get counseling.”

“I’m not crazy.”

“Even if you’re not crazy, why are you saying such things?”

Siyeon spoke in a cold voice as she watched him pick up his phone with a determined expression.

“Yes, it’s too absurd even without any likelihood. But what can I do if my life itself is so devoid of probability? How do I deal with all these absurd things that sound like lies but have all flowed into my life?”

“….”

Tears streamed down Siyeon’s eyes. Such a life with no coherence. She felt empathy for herself for the first time in her life, despite living through such nonsensical circumstances.

* * *

Siyeon went up to her room and lay on the bed, holding the mother-of-pearl box in her hand. Despite the argument with Ijun, there was something she gained from it. It was the fact that the grandmother in Hannam-dong had this mother-of-pearl box.

If she had known earlier, she would have done anything to get her hands on that box. The grandmother in Hanam-dong didn’t deserve to have it.

“Great-grandfather, was it you who sent me back ten years? Did you want me, the last descendant of the Choi family, your great-granddaughter, to resolve your injustice? But to do that, I need evidence. How can I handle things with just this mother-of-pearl box and a comb left behind?”

She held the mother-of-pearl box in the air and looked at it, pursing her lips. As she did, her chest tightened and tears streamed down her face. But since there was no one around to see her, she could cry as much as she wanted.

“Why are all of us Chois’s like this? Eunhye did terrible things but lived so well. Great-grandfather and grandfather suffered unfairly and passed away, and my father almost lost his ability to speak. And what about me? I’ve lived as someone else’s daughter for 25 years since the moment I was born.”

As she spoke, she realized how sad her life was. Meeting her birth parents again, fearing they might pass away, fearing becoming poor, she had lived tenaciously, and now, at the age of twenty-seven, she felt her life was so empty that it might as well end. If she were to die again without accomplishing anything, her life would be meaningless.

Her tears soaked the pillowcase. Sniffling sounds followed.

“And really… of all names, why did it have to be Deokgu? The name itself was already a problem. Kim Dong-han and Choi Deokgu. Anyone would think that Kim Dong-han is the owner of Baekya.”

After wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand, Siyeon spoke.

“Still… I’m so proud to have you as my great-grandfather.”

And after a few more sniffles, Siyeon placed the mother-of-pearl box gently by her bedside and fell asleep.

A moment later, the sensor lights on the second-floor staircase quietly turned on and off.