CHAPTER 59

Since returning from Suwon, Ijun has changed. Even in the morning, he used to talk to her, but now he didn’t speak to her at all. He doesn’t even look at Siyeon’s face, let alone talk to her. Whenever she asked him something, he replaced all his answers with a simple “yes” or “no.”

She thought they had gotten a little closer, but now he has distanced himself even more. It seemed like he was angry, perhaps because of something he heard from his grandfather about her.

He also forgot the fact that he promised to visit Siyeon’s parents. Whether he forgot or ignored it, it was unclear, but the two of them went straight back to their house in Samseong-dong from Suwon. Thanks to that, Siyeon’s mood was at its lowest.

“Where are you going?”

She didn’t want to talk to Ijun, but she had no choice. As soon as they returned to their house in Samseong-dong, he changed his clothes and immediately started getting ready to go out.

“Work.”

He once again left the house, speaking only the necessary words. While doing so, he left a message to the helper, not to Siyeon, that he would eat dinner before coming back.

Siyeon’s heart felt heavy, but she comforted herself by thinking that he must have had something urgent to attend to and that her parents would have another chance to see her in a hanbok.

She had dinner alone. Ijun did not return even until all the helpers had finished work after dinner.

It felt really bad to be left alone in a big house. Ijun’s change of attitude since returning from Suwon had been constantly bothering her.

After finishing dinner, Siyeon went upstairs and tried hard to concentrate on her work, constantly trying to clear her clouded mind. She felt that if she relaxed even a little, loneliness and sadness would overwhelm her like waves.

Ding-dong – a text message alert sounded. Siyeon, who had been tapping on the keyboard while looking at the laptop screen, stopped her actions momentarily. Checking the message, she had a strange premonition that her mood would plummet if she read it.

Ding-dong – Messages arrived one after another. The sound felt like a challenge, as if daring her to ignore it.

Siyeon quickly picked up her phone and checked the messages that had been sent.

<We’re having dinner at home with my family and Oppa! The wine Oppa brought is delicious.>

“……”

The kindly attached photo was taken in the background of her grandmother’s house in Hannam-dong. Ijun, who had said he was leaving for work, was actually having dinner there with Eunhye’s family.

<Oppa says he wants to annul the marriage with you and marry again. If you don’t believe it, ask him directly.>

“……”

Siyeon immediately called Ijun. Despite the prolonged sound of the dial tone, he did not answer the call.

<I know you’re in Hannam-dong. Answer the phone.>

After sending the text, she called again. This time, after several beeps, he answered the call.

“Are you having dinner?”

Siyeon asked abruptly. A certain feeling that had been lingering in her chest was gradually taking shape.

[Yes.]

He didn’t deny it. His voice was chillingly cold.

“You canceled our meeting with my parents to have dinner with your Eunhye’s Family?” “

[I’m busy right now. We’ll talk later.]

“…Ijun, do you want me to leave on my own? It’s because of Eunhye, right? If I endure it, you can’t be a couple with Eunhye.”

[Choi Siyeon.]

“If the two of you are so desperate, there’s no need to wait until the end of the year. I lost, again.”

With that, Siyeon hung up the phone. She felt out of breath, as if she had just finished running a hundred meters.

Revenge? There’s no such thing in the world. Just by looking at Eunhye’s family and ancestors, who have lived well despite committing terrible deeds, makes it clear.

In her past life, she had to yielded Gwihyeon to Eunhye, just as her great-grandfather had his writings stolen by Eunhye’s great-grandfather. In this life, she had to yield Ijun to Eunhye. It was the same no matter how many times she lived.

Siyeon closed her laptop, got up from her seat, and started packing her belongings into her suitcase. Playing the role of the obstacle in the love they had to overcome was absolutely out of the question.

‘…You will come to regret this.’

Ijun’s words were right. Siyeon regretted marrying him, the man who had run away because he didn’t want to marry her. This marriage only caused trouble with Eunhye and eventually made both Ijun and herself unhappy.

Even though she clearly knew how she felt about Eunhye, Siyeon had decided to let go of Ijun, who had come to her house.

It seemed like a real ordeal for Ijun to have to see a person so dreadful that he didn’t even want to make eye contact with her every day. The fact that the person who had been kind to her in her previous life had become the one who found her most dreadful was ultimately her own fault..

‘Let’s leave this behind.’

Siyeon was about to put her most precious treasure, the mother-of-pearl box, into her bag but took out a hair comb from inside and placed it on the desk. It was a gift from Ijun. The two combs looked alike, but it was easy to distinguish them as Ijun’s had a more worn feel of the passage of time.

A while later, Siyeon loaded her suitcase into her car and left Samseong-dong. She wanted to go to her parents’ house, but the thought of how they would react to her showing up alone with a suitcase at night made her hesitate.

In the end, Siyeon checked into a hotel in the city and unpacked her belongings. She went straight to the bathroom, leaving the suitcase standing, filled the tub with warm water, and immersed herself.

‘I need to focus.’

Sitting in the water, Siyeon calmly organized her thoughts. She needed to write, but in this situation, she couldn’t bring herself to work. Being next to Ijun consumed too much of her emotions.

Although she sighed at the thought of worrying about the manuscript even in this situation, at the same time, she felt fortunate to have something to concentrate on.

Coming out of the bathroom, Siyeon turned on her laptop and sat at the table. She then sent a message to her parents, telling them not to be alarmed if they couldn’t reach her for a while, as she needed to focus on work.

Her parents, who knew exactly what she was doing, replied, ‘Don’t worry about us and focus on your work.’ After reading the message, Siyeon turned off her phone.

* * *

Ijun returned home late at night. The lights in the living room on the first floor were on, but the second floor was dim, and the house was filled with silence. Siyeon seemed to be asleep.

He set down the mother-of-pearl box he had been holding in his hand on the side table next to the bed and headed to the bathroom. As he turned the lever, hot water poured over his head. Ijun organized his thoughts as the water splashed over him

What Siyeon had said was true, and the grandmother in Hannam-dong still carefully preserved the mother-of-pearl box containing the hair comb.

When Ijun brought up the desire to remarry, Professor Kim’s family hesitated. When he mentioned the hair comb and expressed a wish to see it, the grandmother immediately showed it to him.

‘Our two families have maintained such a deep friendship over three generations, and now to think about this…’

She couldn’t continue speaking and tears welled up in her eyes. But soon she collected herself and began to explain about the hair comb.

She said that the mother-of-pearl box and hair comb were originally a set, a gift from a student of Kim Donghan, who, due to financial constraints, missed the opportunity to study during the period of enlightenment. The student, who was good with his hands, gathered young men who missed the chance to learn due to a lack of money and taught them. As a sign of respect for his teacher, he presented the set as a gift.

In response to Ijun’s question about the person’s name, she said it was Choi Deokgu and that his name was engraved on the bottom of the mother-of-pearl box. When he flipped the bottom, he indeed found the name engraved in a small corner.

‘…Could you give this to me?’

At Ijun’s request for the mother-of-pearl box, she was taken aback and widened her eyes in surprise. Seeing her bewildered expression, Ijun said that he wanted to put the hair comb in it when he proposed later.

Although he hadn’t mentioned to whom he would give it,  she smiled brightly as if she knew the answer. She then handed the mother-of-pearl box to Ijun, saying in a subtle voice that if that was his intention, he could take it.

Ijun managed to hold back a string of curses and smiled at her.

He planned to entrust the hair comb and mother-of-pearl box he gave to Siyeon to an expert appraiser of antique art when the day broke. 

He thought of considering the connection with the poem Baekya by looking into the fact that Kim Donghan was a disciple of Baekya. If he couldn’t find any evidence, he would have to conduct a broad investigation. It wouldn’t be easy to find evidence from an event that happened 100 years ago, but if he focused on Siyeon’s great-grandfather and Kim Dong-han’s surroundings, he might come up with something.

Drying his wet hair with a towel, Ijun emerged from the bathroom. Looking at the mother-of-pearl box, he remembered how Siyeon had lain on the bed and cried a few days ago.

“……”

Ijun sat on the edge of the bed and lifted the lid of the mother-of-pearl box upward. His face appeared faintly in the mirror attached to the inside of the lid.

The moment he realized that Siyeon’s words were all true, his mind went blank, and he couldn’t think of anything. Then suddenly, the thought of finding the mother-of-pearl box for Siyeon came to mind.

After that, thoughts about why Siyeon didn’t talk to him, why she had to listen to Gwihyeon’s words one after another, came to mind. 

Ijun didn’t believe everything that Jeongseon said, but it was true that Professor Kim’s mother intentionally switched Eunhye and Siyeon. If that was the case, could it be that while extending Eunhye’s life, Siyeon’s life was shortened? When such a thought crossed his mind, it felt like blood was flowing back throughout his body.

“It’s ridiculous.”

Ijun spat out coldly as he closed the lid of the mother-of-pearl box and placed it back on the table. It’s an absurd thought. Why on earth would Siyeon die?

According to her claim, Siyeon’s biological parents passed away early in the past, but currently, they are living very healthy. Although her father is still having a bit of difficulty speaking, he was gradually improving. Ijun had even recommended and arranged for a specialist in that field through the attending physician for a faster recovery.

As Ijun walked into the living room, he glanced at the stairs leading to the second floor. He wanted to see Siyeon, but at the same time, he didn’t want to. It was frustrating and hateful to have lived with this big secret all alone, and yet, when he saw her expressionless face, he felt queasy as if his insides were churning.

‘Siyeon said she liked you, not Gwihyeon.’

After calming his agitated heart once again, Ijun slowly started to climb the stairs to the second floor. He intended to tell her that he had come for the hair comb.

The second-floor corridor was dark, and there was barely any light seeping out from the rooms. Suddenly, he had a strange thought. She wouldn’t be sleeping at this hour.

“Choi Siyeon.”

Ijun called her name. When there was no response, he knocked on the door. Then, he abruptly opened the door and turned on the wall-mounted light switch.

“……”

There was no one in the room.