22.3

Seonho saw it right. Others see her as a model student. In a way, it’s a mask that Chaeyoon has worked hard to create over the years.

Chaeyoon was inherently bold and had always seized the life she wanted.

This time would be no different. Having decided to marry Seonho, she’ll do whatever it takes to solidify her position.

That’s why she had acted so accommodatingly and without reluctance to lie when meeting Seonkyung.

By then, Chaeyoon had decided to live her life as Seonho had proposed.

“It’s time to go now. I’m looking forward to the spoils.”

Chaeyoon smiled. It was the kind of smile that made you want to come back victorious.

***

The air was filled with the heat and humidity of the man and Seonkyung’s lovemaking. After catching her breath from the love-making they had just finished, Seonkyung got out of bed.

She picked up a delicate silk slip from the floor and slipped it on, then went to the couch and poured herself a glass of her favorite sake.

The man was lazily propped up on the bed, his head propped up on his arm, staring at her with a languid gaze.

“You seem to age backward, you don’t seem to be getting older. How do you look so young? I saw a photo of you with your eldest son, and you looked like his sister.”

“You’re one to talk.”

Seonkyung gave him a twisted smile. Despite being forty, the man had a physique that belied his age.

As he grew older, his mature charm had only increased, allowing him to play lead roles against actresses much younger than him in dramas, overshadowing young, fresh-faced actors.

“I have to keep in shape since I make my living with my body. You taught me that.”

Their relationship went back 16 years, to a time when idols were popping up everywhere and the man had signed with a ruthless agency that required him to cater to the whims of wealthy women at night.

That’s when he met Seonkyung, who became his sponsor and helped him reach his current position.

“I have money, you know. Technology has advanced so much that I can reverse the effects of aging without much effort.”

“But you still need a good foundation to start with.”

The man smiled that gorgeous smile that made women squeal, eyeing Seonkyung lustfully. His eyes were full of desire.

“Why did you come here today? You’re not at this level anymore.”

“Are you disregarding me because I’m old?”

“Can’t you understand even at your age? The time when you could be bought has long passed.”

Indeed, the man was now recognized not only for his looks but also his acting skills, and he had amassed a considerable fortune. He no longer needed a sponsor.

Seonkyung cared for him more than her other s*xual partners, but she congratulated him on his success and let him go amicably.

“I came because I wanted to see you.”

Just when she was about to forget him, he would often find his way into her bedroom.

“Your vigor isn’t what it used to be. Or perhaps you’re less stressed? It’s been a while since I told the secretary to call me if you needed a man, and seeing that you’re calling now…”

The man smirked. As someone who had known Seonkyung for a long time, he was well aware of her nuances. As they grew older, even the rims of their lives seemed to improve.

“Aren’t you going to get married?”

“Do you think I’ll ever get married?”

“Why couldn’t you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe my heart is broken. There’s no woman who excites me, and even if there were, I feel too filthy to go through with it.”

The man lay back, staring up at the ceiling, enveloped in a profound emptiness.

“Guilt? If that’s the problem, why not be with someone who’s equally dirty?”

Seonkyung scoffed as if to dismiss the issue.

“Will you marry me?”

“What? Are you implying that I am filthy?”

She wasn’t angry. If s*xual promiscuity equated to filthiness, then she belonged to that category too.

However, unlike the man, Seonkyung didn’t consider herself dirty. She believed she was just enjoying what she could have.

“No. It’s because you seem like someone whose heart is also broken, like mine.”

Seonkyung’s eyebrows twitched. His words had touched a nerve.

“Broken? Me?”

“Don’t you feel empty? Even though you have everything, haven’t you ever felt like you have nothing?”

“No. Because there’s nothing I don’t have.”

Seonkyung spoke definitively.

“You are more broken than I am.”

The man turned to look directly at Seonkyung again.

“Stop talking nonsense and go. I’m done with you here.”

Seonkyung spoke with a cold voice, clearly offended.

“Want to go on a trip?”

The man launched his charming smile like a missile.

“What?”

“I want to experience love.”

His words weren’t a declaration of love for Seonkyung. And the word ‘love’ made her think of Seonho.

“What’s so great about love? You’re plagued by emptiness despite having fame and money because you don’t have it?”

Seonkyung spoke mockingly.

“Love might not be the answer. It’s just that in searching for what I lack, I found I lacked love. So I thought maybe if I experienced love, I could escape this overwhelming emptiness.”

Seonkyung felt an odd sensation as if the man might crumble and vanish at any moment.

“Get your sh*t together. There are people out there who would sell their bodies and souls for what you have.”

“Come here, Noona. Hold me. Fill me up.”

The man reached out his hand towards Seonkyung.

Initially determined to shake him off and leave, Seonkyung changed her mind and headed back to bed. Then, they passionately made love, as if to affirm his existence.

She felt that if she didn’t, he might really disappear.

***

Seonkyung read an economic article on her tablet PC.

The articles were full of glowing praise for Seonho’s ability to turn around an affiliate that had been under his leadership by boldly implementing the sharing economy when it was still too early. Some articles even speculated that he might be earmarked as the successor. 

“Articles are easy to write.”

It’s easy to comment when it’s not your business. Writers of such articles aren’t responsible for them and if their predictions fail, they simply write another article about that.

The outcomes in management change from moment to moment, and one cannot fully understand them by looking at just one point in time.

“Still, it will be a big help to Team Leader Yoon. What we know among ourselves and what everyone knows are different.”

Secretary Jang responded in a gentle voice to Seonkyung’s cynical attitude.

“Well, it’s better than nothing. Some people perform their whole life without getting good articles written about them, and are lucky if they aren’t criticized.”

She was referring to her husband and her eldest son.

“The Honorary Chairman just sent a dinner date.”

“It’s not our turn this time.”

“Perhaps he wants to acknowledge Team Leader Yoon’s hard work?”

“That could be.”

Not only had the subsidiary’s situation improved, but the stock prices of the main company had also risen significantly. Seonho had clearly demonstrated his abilities, turning around a nearly failing subsidiary with tangible results, not just saying empty words.

“Is Seonho here?”

“Yes. Should I call him?”

“Yes.”

When the secretary left, Seonkyung stared at the Mughal emerald brooch in its case for a long time. She couldn’t help it. When she thought of Chaeyoon, she thought of the brooch, and when she thought of the brooch, she thought of Chaeyoon.

She could have simply put the brooch away, but she was quite fond of it. It seemed it would take quite some time before she could get it out of her sight, out of her mind.