CHAPTER 53

Loss of trust in humanity, and a sharp wariness of strangers.

When Jinwoo found the dark contempt and anger wrapped in resignation in the emptiness surrounding Taegyeom, he felt the strange sensation of his heart pounding. And he thought, Kwon Taegyeom must achieve what he desires. And he himself will be there with him.

Staring at Taegyeom with unfamiliar eyes, Jinwoo suddenly asked,

“Are you dating these days?”

The red lips that sucked on the cigarette parted slightly, then closed again. That was the only sign of agitation Jinwoo could detect.

With a calm face, now checking the newly turned green signal, Taegyeom leisurely started the car. The car vibrated gently and he felt his body sink into the leather seats. Slowly turning the wheel, Taegyeom spoke.

“You’re supposed to be the one doing the dating, Yoo Jinwoo.”

“Who, me?”                                                                                                  

Jinwoo gave a dumbfounded look as the arrow suddenly flew in his direction. He had no intention of settling down here because he would return to the United States once he was done with what he had planned. But dating? That was absolutely unexpected.

“Who am I dating?”

Jinwoo asked in disbelief, and Kwon Taegyeom seemed to fumble with his memory.

“Her name was Han Miso, right?”

“You’re crazy.”

Jinwoo’s face contorted harshly. He swung his arm around to grab Taegyeom’s collar and screamed at an unusually loud volume. His veins stood out on his neck, and his face contorted.

“You’re saying things that don’t make sense, and if Han Miso hears you, she’ll kill you.”

Twisting his shoulders to lightly evade Jinwoo’s hand, Taegyeom only responded with a faint, lifeless smile. A lukewarm breeze, carrying the heat of midsummer, blew in through the open window.

** ** **

Leeseo opened the window that she had kept closed all night for ventilation. The sound of cicadas buzzed loudly. Although the heat still prevailed during the day, mornings and evenings brought a considerably refreshing breeze.

The morning air, which felt cool, was strangely disorienting in its sensation of time. Midsummer is coming to an end.

Inhaling a deep breath of fresh air, Leeseo’s gaze suddenly lingered on the silent annex. It had been six or maybe seven days now. The owner of the annex had been absent for almost a week.

Kwon Taegyeom, who worked at the company but seemed to be leading a carefree and whimsical life, with an unclear position and vague responsibilities, noticeably became busier after his recent business trip to the United States.

She had noticed that his work hours were getting later, in other words, the time he summoned her to the annex, gradually became later at night too, but she hadn’t noticed it as much as she had when they had continued their secret meetings in the annex. But with each repeated day of Taegyeom’s absence due to his long business trip, his absence became more distinct. Somehow, the nights felt unbearably long.

However, there was something a little different than before.

The heavy shopping bag with the name of a famous bakery in Busan that an employee, who traveled with him on a business trip to Busan, nonchalantly offered to her, and the short text message he sent just before he boarded a plane to Singapore, saying he was going on a business trip for a few days.

Feeling a vague unease for no apparent reason, Leeseo took a deep breath. Despite Taegyeom’s absence, Mrs. Seo visited the annex every day to ventilate and manage it meticulously, ensuring that not a speck of dust accumulated. However, today, the annex, wrapped in a mysterious atmosphere, seemed somewhat neglected.

Turning away from the window, Leeseo sat down on the bed, which had been roughly made up, and turned on her phone. As she opened an internet browser, a headline related to GK Group caught her eye at the top of the portal site’s default screen. When she clicked on the article, the screen was filled with Taegyeom’s picture.

She stared at the photo with unfamiliar eyes for a moment. Hair neatly combed without a strand out of place, a sophisticated suit that seemed tailored to fit perfectly. A handsome face skillfully concealing weariness and boredom beneath a neat smile.

Although she had seen Taegyeom’s appearance countless times, seeing him in the media made him seem oddly unfamiliar. It made her acutely aware of how distant he was, that he was someone living in a completely different world than her.

Lost in thought, her phone vibrated in her hand. The popup message displayed the sender’s name. It was a text from Taegyeom.

Startled, as if caught stealing a glance at his article photos, she was surprised. Hesitatingly, she clicked on the message to check its contents.

[Let’s meet tonight.]

Leeseo thought it was so typical of Kwon Taegyeom to get straight to the point without no explanation. There was nothing to say in response to this one-sided notification. She scrolled more with her index finger and read the stack of text messages one by one.

[Come over. To the annex.]

[Please come over.]

** ** **

Most of his messages were similar enough that she wondered if he was just copying and pasting them. Traces of explicit invitations with the clear purpose of s*x. The scroll went on for a long time.

After scrolling down to the recently received message, she thought for a moment before replying.

[Are you coming to Korea?]

After sending the message, she realized that its content felt quite awkward. It was too bad she couldn’t cancel the message after it had already been sent.

[On the evening flight.]

Taegyeom’s response arrived quickly, as if he had checked immediately. Ah. A meaningless sigh escaped from her lips. Then, a next message came in succession.

[What should I get you? A necklace?]

Leeseo burst out laughing at the absurdity of the joke. It seemed like he was trying to tease her again after their back-and-forth banter about his gift last time. But who in the world would wear a necklace willingly?

She fiddled with the pendant of the necklace, feeling it through her T-shirt, and pushed herself out of bed. Standing in front of the mirror, she smeared sunscreen on her face, then pulled out a tissue to wipe her hands. Then she picked up her phone again and wrote a message.

[See you tonight].

She sent the message, preventing any teasing anymore, and turned off her phone, putting it in her pocket. After checking her appearance in the mirror, she opened the door and stepped out.

The warmth of the early morning sun poured overhead. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

It was going to be a day to look forward to.

***

A plump, white chicken leg was placed on Leeseo’s plate. Sitting next to her, Chef Kim, who was tearing apart chicken br*asts, wrinkled his nose at her and spoke.

“Grab a chicken leg and tear into it, Leeseo.”

“What’s with the samgyetang this morning?”

The gardener, who entered the kitchen after opening the front door, grumbled while walking towards them. He commuted from Paju in Gyeonggi Province, and because he left home so early, he usually had breakfast at the mansion.

“It’s an important day today. I have to go over to the main house for lunch, so I don’t have much time, but I got up at dawn to make sure you have a good breakfast.”

“Oh, the chicken leg seems firm. Is it a native chicken? I’ll take a bowl too.”

“Scoop as much as you want from that pot over there. You always beg me to scoop for more for you.”

Chef Kim pointed toward the kitchen with his chin. The gardener smiled and headed toward the kitchen.

Sitting across from the gardener, who had poured out a generous serving of samgyetang, Leeseo emptied her bowl. By the time she had finished, she was too full to move, as Chef Kim, who was sitting next to her shredding chicken br*asts, kept adding more meat to her bowl.

It seemed like she needed to move her body a bit to digest the meal. Instead of Chef Kim, who was waving her hands and clapping, Leeseo decided to wash the piled-up dishes in the sink and run the vacuum cleaner in the communal space of the house. By the time she finished, quite some time had passed.

“Ms. Ko has arrived.”

Answering the call on his cell phone, the gardener manipulated the wall pad on the wall to open the garage door, then opened the side door and hurried out. Leeseo followed him out.

Ms. Ko was a professional florist contracted by the mansion. Whenever they had an important guest or a special event, they would bring her in to decorate the interior of the mansion.

During Chairman Kwon’s healthy days, he often held lavish events at the mansion two or three times a year. On days like his birthday, year-end party, or New Year’s party, sedans would line up under the mansion’s walls, carrying guests from the political and business world.

On such occasions, in addition to the mansion’s own staff, there would be countless outside hires for floral arrangements and catering service. Flower arrangements, in particular, required a lot of time and effort, so they usually started setting up early in the morning on the day of the event.

“Park the car over here! Come in. More! More!”

The gardener shouted, waving his arms to ensure that the refrigerated truck that entered the garage could park smoothly. From the driver’s seat of the now-parked car, a woman with her hair tied up high leaned down and greeted energetically.

“Hello! It’s been a while.”

Since Chairman Kwon was diagnosed with a stroke and was in the process of recovery, annual events had been on hold, making the atmosphere in the mansion today busy and a bit excited, in anticipation to a special event.

Leeseo helped the florist unload her belongings. As she and Ms. Ko walked through the front door of the main house, carrying heavy boxes, Ms. Yoon, who had been carefully cleaning the top of the decorative cabinet in the living room, turned her head.

“Oh my. Ms. Ko, you were called too.”

“Of course. We can’t be without flowers on a day like this. Do you know how important flowers are to create an atmosphere?”

Carrying a bunch of fresh flowers in her arms, Ms. Ko smiled brightly as she crossed the entrance hallway. Mrs. Seo, who overheard the conversation between Ms. Yoon and Ms. Ko, was chopping ingredients in the kitchen and raised her voice to chime in.

“Wait, what’s going on exactly? Everyone seems to know, but why isn’t anyone telling me, just giving me tasks?”

Manager Yoon exchanged meaningful glances with Ms. Ko and chuckled.