Lights Don't Go Out in the Annex - Chapter 10
CHAPTER 10
Her voice, no longer refined, seemed as if it would tear through the eardrums.
“Do you have any idea how tired I am of having to bring your messy ass all the way from the United States just to try and get you married before it’s too late? But still, even when you’re here now, you keep engaging in reckless behavior every night. I’m so exhausted from trying to cover it up and hush it all down!”
Tae-gyeom narrowed one eye and plugged his ears with his fingers to drown out the noise. Lady Shin’s spiteful outburst had no effect on him. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it.
Behind the restless Joo-ah, In-cheol looked bewildered, unsure of what to do as he wavered back and forth. Tae-gyeom, seeing In-cheol’s confusion, gestured towards the passenger seat as if asking why he wasn’t sitting there.
Not sure if he should appease the hostess or get in the car, In-cheol eventually gave Mr. Gong a look that told him to do something later and reluctantly climbed into the passenger seat.
Vroom. As In-cheol got in, a heavy exhaust sound rang out. Joo-ah, unable to control her temper, kicked the car’s wheel with her foot.
“Since you’ve been living in the U.S. with the money the Chairman sends you, flirting and being a troublemaker, wouldn’t you have grown tired of fooling around with women by now?”
Zing. The backseat window rolled down about an inch, his eyes only visible through the gap, Tae-gyeom grinned playfully at Joo-ah.
“Yeah, that’s right. I’m not tired of it at all. Something so good never gets boring.”
“What? You’re such a shameless……. At least don’t let the rumors get out!”
Joo-ah’s pale cheeks turning red with anger and she shouted at Tae-gyeom, who calmly glanced at her.
“Just find a discreet woman to take care of your urges, but don’t disgrace the Kwon family’s reputation publicly. Act like a decent person. Can’t you even understand that much?”
“My mother is such a good woman. Let’s go, I don’t need to hear more.”
Tae-gyeom said to the driver. The sedan sped away and drove out of the garage. The only sound left in the garage was Shin Joo-ah’s venting as she yelled her frustrations against the back of the car.
“If you had behaved decently, Chairman Kwon would have brought you back to Korea a long time ago! Who’s to blame here? It’s not anyone else’s fault but your own stupidity!”
* * *
“But you know, because of his actions, Madam had to worry and suffer! Really!”
“Yeah, the atmosphere has been so tense, like walking on thin ice, and it finally exploded. It exploded.”
In the kitchen of the quarter’s wing, the employees sat comfortably, spreading themselves out, whispering in hushed voices, as if they didn’t want anyone to hear them. For several days now, whenever two or more people crossed paths with each other inside the mansion, the topic of conversation inevitably revolved around something that sparked their curiosity.
“I heard that the Chairman found out and called the young master to the main house that evening, where he scolded him and gave him a severe beating, is that true?”
“Is that really true? Beating someone so valuable just by witnessing it?”
“I don’t know if it’s true or not. But what I do know is that the eldest son went into the Chairman’s study, and not long after, this guy saw Manager Gong rushing in with a golf club. If they weren’t going to practice golf together in there, what else could it be?”
“But does Chairman Kwon still have enough strength to beat the huge young master to death? What if his blood pressure rises and he collapses again…”
“Well, maybe the eldest son just took the beating without fighting back. After all, he wouldn’t have dared to fight back against his father who’s past sixty, right?”
The rumor about a heated argument between Lady Shin Joo-ah and Kwon Tae-gyeom, which had started when she had him off on his first day at work, spread like wildfire, and unsubstantiated details were added to it day by day.
“I’m not sure about the extent of the beating, but from what I saw when the eldest son got out of the car earlier, his skin didn’t seem to be injured. He looks quite well-built that I thought he would make a perfect match for our daughter’s future husband.”
“Wow? He sounds like trouble.”
The employees, seated in a circle around a pile of stacked plum baskets, burst into laughter. Chef Kim picked up a plum from the basket and poked a hole in it with a toothpick, saying.
“But still, I can’t believe Chairman Kwon would go as far as hitting the young master.”
In the kitchen, under the guidance of the head cook, they were busy preparing plum syrup, thoroughly washing and prepping the plums. Chef Kim tossed the plums he had finished prepping into a nearby basket. While instinctively removing the stems of the plums, Leeseo absentmindedly thought of Kwon Tae-gyeom.
With his large, solid physique which seemed like no one could easily touch, it was hard to imagine that such man, who probably have never bowed to anyone in his life, getting beaten up by someone else.
“Oh my, get a grip on yourself. It’s already this late when we promised to sit only until ten.”
At that moment, Mrs. Seo, after quickly checking the time on the wall clock, got up from her seat. The eyes of the employees sitting around the table, all turned to her.
“You’re checking the annex, aren’t you? While cleaning there, see where he was hit by Chairman Kwon. If he swung a golf club, there should be visible marks.”
“I go in and out of that place every day, but I rarely see his face. And even if he was really hit, do you think he would show it to me? He has his pride.”
Mrs. Seo unfolded the apron she had neatly folded inside her pocket and tied it around her waist as she stuck out her tongue. Leeseo finished tossing the prepped plums into the basket and stood up, following her.
“I’ll go and help too.”
“Right. Yesterday, he seemed to have invited his friends and partied, singing all night long. How can I manage to clean up all of that alone? I mean, for someone who’s lived in America for twenty years, how does he have so many friends in Korea?”
“It’s all because of their parents’ connections. But it’s not like having a lot of friends here makes a big difference. In the end, they won’t be any different from their group’s sons and daughters. They grow up playing together, and when it’s time for marriage, they match their family backgrounds. Leeseo, do your best to help Mrs. Seo today.”
The employees thanked Leeseo for her hard work and went back to their plum-picking duties. Their conversation had now shifted to another topic. They engaged in a lively discussion about how long Lady Shin would maintain her position.
Mrs. Seo, followed by Leeseo, gesture her towards where the chattering employees were sitting in a circle.
“I can handle it alone now since I’ve got the hang of it. Leeseo, you just help with the plum prepping here.”
“But it’s faster when two people do it.”
“Oh, never mind. There’s a lot you shouldn’t see over there. It’s chaotic in many ways. I’ll handle it alone.”
Mrs. Seo frowned and shook her head. It seemed that the incident from the last time they cleaned the annex, where traces of a sexual activities were found near the jacuzzi, still bothered her.
“I don’t really care about that stuff.”
Leeseo said, smiling casually. However, Mrs. Seo gave her a look that said she was being ridiculous.
“Why don’t you care? Why do you willingly put yourself in such a situation where you have to see such things? Forget it. You stay here. They said garlic will be delivered from Uiseong later, so you can help with peeling garlic when it arrives.”
“I’ll help with both the annex cleaning and peeling garlic.”
“How much do they pay you for you to do anything, no matter what it is?”
“They pay me well. Though Manager Gong said it was a secret to others because he took care of me more than the regular employees.”
Leeseo said as she opened the side door and followed the old auntie outside. Suddenly, Mrs. Seo stopped dead in her tracks.
Looking back at Leeseo, the auntie’s face showed embarrassment. She hesitated for a moment, uncertain about what to say, then finally blurted out.
“Well, the thing is… The other day, the young master called me in quietly and said that he didn’t want anyone else to come in and out of the annex except for the designated people.”
“…What?”
“I guess he dislikes having many unfamiliar people wandering around his territory. Even if it’s just to drop in, clean up, and leave.”
“……Ah.”
“He’s got a weird personality. He invites all sorts of people in, and they do all sorts of mischief in there, but he’d singled out the working staff and criticized them, no matter who they were.”
Mrs. Seo lowered her voice and whispered..
“What do they call that? Something about control? What do you call someone who can’t stand it if every little thing isn’t under their control?”
She frowned, as if trying to recall an unfamiliar word, but then clicked her tongue.
“Anyway, he’s a weirdo, a total weirdo. I think he grew up in an unusual environment, so it’s no wonder his mind isn’t quite normal.”
She extended her index finger and twirled it near her temple as she spoke.
“Being born as the impressive eldest son of a prestigious family, with nothing to fear in the world and a life of luxury ahead, he suddenly got driven away to a distant foreign country, losing his mother in the process. Just thinking about the abrupt turn of events, one could go insane from the heartache… I guess it’s possible he’s not in his right mind considering the harsh circumstances he’s been through…”
“…….”
“Perhaps he just doesn’t want to reveal his harsh circumstances. Maybe he doesn’t want people to see him in a bad light. After all, who would want to be a subject of gossip and scrutiny?”