Side Story 1

Winter has come. And today was Siyeon’s twenty-seventh birthday. She ate the seaweed soup prepared by the maid this morning and saw Ijun off, who was leaving for work, at the front door.

“I’ll come pick you up later.” 

“Don’t rush on purpose, just come after work.” 

“Okay.” 

With a faint smile, Ijun gently held Siyeon’s hair and kissed her lips. Since he proposed with a hairbrush, Siyeon sometimes wondered if Ijun had developed a fetish for her hair, as he liked to play with it so much.

Sometimes, as Siyeon sat in front of the dressing table, he would walk past her and then stop to comb her hair. Eventually, they would end up tangled even more as they headed to bed. 

“Don’t just give me a dry answer, come for real after finishing work. Got it?” 

Having been promoted last fall, he became a bit busier than before. Chairman Jeong retired from the front line, passing the position to his son, Ijun’s father, and Ijun moved up to the position of president.

Except for when Chairman Jeong occasionally came to Seoul to meet Siyeon, he mostly stayed at Jongtaek’s place, where Gwihyeon was staying for the time being. The lawsuit between Eunhye and Gwihyeon was still ongoing, and Gwihyeon was waiting for things to calm down there. 

“I don’t want to. I’ll do as I please.” 

“Tsk, hurry up and just go.” 

Siyeon, who glanced at Ijun’s curt response,  waved her right hand with a smile. Then, a smile resembling hers appeared on Ijun’s face as well. After seeing him off, she began to prepare to go out to her parents’ house. 

Today, a simple birthday party for her was planned at her parents’ house. Siyeon’s parents wanted to prepare the birthday table themselves and invited the factory workers and her friend Eunkyung to their home. Since Siyeon decided to spend the evening alone with Ijun, they scheduled the appointment for lunchtime.

After getting ready, she rode in the car driven by the driver and went to her parents’ house. Even though her father’s business was doing well, her parents continued to live there without moving to a better house. It was because it was the first house she lived in together with them, so they couldn’t leave for that reason.  

The house where Siyeon once lived alone naturally became her parents’ house. Despite Siyeon’s objections, her father was paying back the amount she had invested.

***

“Happy birthday! Happy birthday! Beloved Drumstick, happy birthday!” 

“I told you not to call me that.” 

Sitting among the people in front of the table filled with food, Siyeon glanced at Director Yang after blowing out the candles. Every time people called her that way in a crowded place, those around her naturally glanced at Siyeon’s calves. It was truly embarrassing. 

“Hey hey, even my nieces and nephews know about Drumstick. They treat me so well because I’m best friends with Drumstick! I even saved your phone number as Drumstick.” 

“Me too! But everyone around me thinks it’s a chicken restaurant’s number.” 

Eunkyung laughed along with Director Yang’s words. Yoonsoo and the team leader chuckled as well. 

“Oh right, Siyeon. What birthday present did you get from your husband? I’m curious what conglomerate husbands give as gifts to their wives.” 

“Oh my, Team Leader. Haven’t you noticed how Siyeon’s accessories change every time we see her? It’s her birthday, and President Ijun, who often gives her gifts,  wouldn’t just sit idly by, would he?” 

Director Yang had a sharp eye. Sometimes Ijun would buy accessories for Siyeon, and every time she wore them, Director Yang noticed the change in Siyeon immediately. Reflecting Siyeon’s preference for subtle and simple designs, even though the designs might seem similar at first glance, Director Yang could spot those small differences very well. 

“So, what did you get?” 

Curiosity seemed to grip Director Yang too, as she eagerly asked. 

“A hairbrush.” 

“Brush? A hairbrush?” 

“Yes.” 

“A brush with rubies, emeralds, or diamonds embedded all over it?” 

“No. Just a wooden brush.” 

Seeing her disappointed expression, Siyeon couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“You’re kidding… right?” 

“No, I’m serious.” 

“Why? Is it made from… some rare species of wood that’s almost extinct in the world?” 

“No. Just bamboo.” 

Seeing her looking incredulous, Siyeon finally burst out laughing. For the sake of the team leader and Eunkyung, who were also wearing expressions of incomprehension like Director Yang, Siyeon provided an additional explanation. 

“Ijun made it himself.” 

“He made the brush himself?” 

“Yes. He learned from an expert and made it himself. He even carved a design on the handle.”

As Siyeon replied, she felt her cheeks flush slightly. Despite being busy, Ijun found time to visit the artisan and secretly made a brush to give to Siyeon. The brush, with Ijun’s fingerprints and full of love and care, was more precious to her than anything else. 

“Yeah. While our memories together are precious, I still prefer gifts that have some value.” 

Saying so, Eunkyung boldly tore into the braised short ribs with both hands. Siyeon was about to say that there were Alexandrite cat’s eyes (a rare gemstone that is part of the Chrysoberyl family and has the ability to change color) embedded in the handle of the hairbrush, but she just smiled instead. 

Ijun mentioned that he also set gemstones on the hairbrush for when Siyeon would pass it down to their children in the future. He hoped that not only emotions but also the power of capitalism would be passed down to their descendants. 

“What kind of valuable gift?” 

Yoonsoo reacted to Eunkyung’s words. Since spending time with them a few times, he treated Eunkyung just as casually as he treated Siyeon. 

“Expensive ones.” 

“How much is expensive in your opinion?” 

“Over a million won?” 

“Really, Yoonsoo, sometimes I wonder how you’re Siyeon’s friend.” 

Yoonsoo responded with a wry smile and shook his head. 

“Then, can I start cutting the cake now?” 

As the noisy atmosphere briefly settled down, Siyeon held up a plastic knife and looked around. 

“Yes, go ahead and cut it quickly! Do you know how sincerely I picked it out? Even when I entered the bakery, every step was filled with devout intention!” 

“Of course, I know.” 

Responding to Director Yang’s jest with a smile, Siyeon cut the cake and placed slices on empty plates. Each of them, including her parents, had a slice of the cake in front of them.

As they reminisced about the past and shared updates with each other, the doorbell rang. Their gazes shifted to the monitor screen mounted on the wall simultaneously.  

“Uh….” 

“Isn’t that Eunhye?” 

While everyone exchanged bewildered glances, Yoonsoo was the first to speak up. Siyeon’s parents stood up from their seats, and Siyeon followed suit. 

“What’s she doing here? And on a day like today, of all days.”

Siyeon felt uneasy hearing Director Yang’s blunt words. It reminded her of the memory of her 27th birthday when she visited her parents in Ichon-dong in her original life. 

“Siyeon, you stay here. We’ll go out.” 

“No, I’ll go out.”

Although her parents looked uncomfortable, Siyeon nodded calmly. There was no reason to avoid Eunhye, and she didn’t want to. Besides, Eunhye was someone she would inevitably run into because of her parents. 

Siyeon went out to the yard and opened the gate. Through the half-open iron gate, she saw Eunhye’s face. She seemed on the verge of tears, but as soon as her eyes met Siyeon’s, she quickly composed herself. 

“Why are you here?” 

She scanned Siyeon up and down. 

“This is my house. Do I need your permission to come see Mom and Dad?” 

“Your parents are in Ichon-dong.”

She vaguely heard rumors lately that things weren’t going well between Eunhye and her parents in Ichon-dong. It started after Eunhye revealed the secrets surrounding Baekya to put Gwihyeon in a difficult situation, and even pushed her grandmother into a corner. Since then, the atmosphere in the house has been quite tense.

“Choi Siyeon. How dare you act so arrogant towards me, your sister-in-law? I was practically engaged with Gwihyeon.” 

“But that’s all in the past.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous. If I can’t marry Gwihyeon, I’ll make sure he never marries anyone else.” 

Looking into Eunhye’s eyes full of resentment and determination, Siyeon couldn’t help but think that Gwihyeon was destined to never leave Jongtaek and live as a keeper there, with neither his parents nor his grandparents accepting Eunhye. Until she gave up, this fight wouldn’t end. 

“Sure. If you have a wedding ceremony with Gwihyeon and file for marriage, I’ll treat you as my sister-in-law from then on.” 

“That’s ridiculous. You haven’t filed for marriage either!” 

“I don’t know why I have to discuss this with you, but I’m legally married to Ijun.” 

Eunhye’s lips twitched with anger. She only remembered the time right after Siyeon and Ijun held their wedding ceremony when their relationship wasn’t so good, but Siyeon and Ijun had filed their marriage registration right after they came up to Seoul following their proposal in the buckwheat fields. The two of them decided to consider that day, not their wedding day, as their anniversary. 

“Do you think your happiness will last forever now? Did you think Ijun would stay the same forever? Gwihyeon was someone I loved so much for five years that I felt like I couldn’t live without him. You too will have a day when you’ll be shattered to pieces just like me, so don’t be complacent with your life.”

“Well, I don’t know if such a day will come, but I don’t think I’ll deteriorate into despair because of someone else. I believe I’m the most important person to myself.” 

She loves Ijun deeply, but that doesn’t mean he is her everything. Besides Ijun, there are other important things in her life, such as family and friends. It might hurt Ijun’s feelings to hear this, but even if she had to cut him out of her life, she wouldn’t be deeply wounded or broken; she would survive. 

“I don’t want to hear it. Go inside and tell Mom and Dad to come out.” 

“Don’t order the adults around. Come in. There are people from the factory inside that you know.” 

“People from the factory? Ha! Were you having a birthday party inside with a bunch of insignificant people?” 

“If you’re going to act like that inside as well, you might as well just leave.” 

Eunhye twisted her lips in frustration, but Siyeon remained stoic without any change in expression. 

“Move aside.” 

Pushing her aside as if shoving her, Eunhye entered through the gate.