Side Story 1.2

“Goodbye!”  

Suji cheerfully bid farewell to the last customer leaving the pharmacy, only to let out a tired sigh as soon as the automatic door fully closed. The end of a long workday always brought a mix of pride and exhaustion.  

Leeseo stretched her stiff shoulders and said, 

“Good job today, Suji.”  

“You worked hard too, Pharmacist!” 

Suji replied, stretching her arms wide before quickly getting up to head toward the area where the cleaning supplies were stored. Leeseo grabbed her shoulder and gently turned her around, urging her to leave for the day.  

“Go home early today.”  

“Okay, I’ll just tidy up my desk and head out.”  

“I’ll take care of the tidying—”  

At that moment, the phone on the counter rang loudly, cutting off Leeseo mid-sentence. Both women’s gazes simultaneously turned toward the phone. A glance at the display showed a long string of numbers flashing on the screen. There was only one person who would call the pharmacy from such a number.  

“It must be Jieun. You should answer it, Pharmacist.”  

Recognizing the number, Suji gestured toward Leeseo with a grin before opening the cleaning cabinet. Even as she pulled out the vacuum cleaner, Suji hummed a cheerful tune, clearly in high spirits. Leeseo walked over to the counter and picked up the loudly ringing phone.  

“Hello, this is Delbit Pharmacy.”  

– You’ve worked so hard today, Pharmacist! I really love you, Leeseo!  

The energetic voice on the other end pierced her ears with its exuberance. The person showering her with praise and affection was none other than Jieun, the owner and pharmacist of Delbit Pharmacy. Listening to her playful antics, Leeseo couldn’t help but let out a short laugh.  

“What’s this… You say the same thing every time…”  

Jieun was currently traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Every day, around the same time—when the pharmacy’s business hours ended—she would call to serenade Leeseo with words of love and gratitude for taking care of the pharmacy in her absence.  

A year ago, when Jieun first opened her pharmacy, she worked tirelessly without holidays, day and night, to establish herself in a city where she had no connections. Watching her friend pour all her passion into building her business, Leeseo couldn’t help but feel proud and impressed.  

Seeing Delbit Pharmacy grow into a prominent local establishment filled her with a sense of satisfaction, almost as if it were her own achievement. So, when Jieun mentioned planning a trip to celebrate the pharmacy’s first anniversary and needing someone to fill in temporarily, Leeseo volunteered without hesitation.  

Initially, Jieun had protested, saying, “Why would a chaebol’s wife work at a pharmacy?” But after failing to find another pharmacist willing to work short-term, she reluctantly accepted Leeseo’s offer. Even during the handover before her trip, Jieun had repeatedly expressed concern about whether Leeseo’s husband would be okay with it.  

Contrary to Jieun’s worries, when Leeseo told her husband, Kwon Taegyeom, about her plans, he was more enthusiastic than anyone else, ready to support her in any way possible.  

‘Did you want to own a pharmacy?

‘No, it’s not that. I just think I should help Jieun with her pharmacy for a while.  

‘Then you should. Do you need anything?  

‘Not really, but since the pharmacy is far from home, maybe some help with transportation…  

‘That’s a given. By the way, Jieun’s going to Russia, right? It might be dangerous. I’ll assign her a bodyguard.  

‘What? She’s traveling alone, so having a bodyguard might make her uncomfortable.  

‘Then we’ll assign one without her knowing.  

Always looking for opportunities to spoil his wife, Taegyeom seemed genuinely delighted. In hindsight, it seemed like the mere fact that she expressed a desire to do something excited him.  

After their marriage, Leeseo had chosen a quiet life. Although GK Group was officially run by professional managers, the gradual transfer of management rights to the next generation was well underway behind the scenes. The generational shift in leadership within the Chairman’s family was an open secret, and the media closely scrutinized every move Taegyeom made.  

Rebuilding the company’s reputation, tarnished by past scandals involving Chairman Kwon and the family’s illegal activities, was no easy task. Even though her father, Gyucheol, had been coerced into involvement in Jingyeom’s drunk driving incident years ago, Leeseo wanted to avoid stirring up any issues.  

The media, while happily showcasing GK’s young and charismatic heir as a marketing asset, was also constantly on the lookout for scandals to exploit. If Gyucheol’s past involvement came to light, it would undoubtedly become prime fodder for sensational headlines.  

While every moment with Taegyeom was filled with happiness and bliss, stepping outside their home felt like walking on thin ice. Unlike Taegyeom, whose photos and videos frequently adorned news portals, Leeseo’s existence remained shrouded in mystery. Reporters, always hungry for information about her, were met with Taegyeom’s extreme caution in protecting her privacy.  

On one occasion, while heading to a restaurant together for her birthday, a reporter, desperate for an exclusive, had followed them. Taegyeom, who usually drove when it was just the two of them, immediately noticed the reporter tailing them as soon as they left the residential area and entered a main road.  

Despite the situation, Taegyeom remained calm and composed throughout their dinner at the restaurant and their return home, leaving Leeseo completely unaware of the incident. Not long after, the media company the reporter worked for was abruptly sold to a foreign corporation, leading to restructuring that left no room for its operations in Korea.  

If Taegyeom hadn’t later shown her the photos the reporter had secretly taken, claiming they came out well, Leeseo would never have known what had transpired. The pictures captured her tightly embraced in Taegyeom’s arms as they left the restaurant.  

Looking at the candidly taken photos, which resembled a celebrity scandal, left her with mixed feelings. It was moments like these that drove home the reality of how precarious and elevated Taegyeom’s position truly was.  

– Aren’t you tired? Today, I bought you a heartfelt gift to show my gratitude. You know I’m a thoughtful friend who never forgets to appreciate you, right?  

“I know. I can’t wait to see what it is.”  

Leeseo chuckled, playing along with Jieun’s playful tone. She knew that her ability to freely work at the pharmacy and enjoy outings was thanks to Taegyeom’s unseen efforts. Without him, there might have been reporters lurking outside the pharmacy, cameras in hand.  

– Oh, by the way, did you hear the news?  

“What news?”  

– That Joo Minhu’s family is completely ruined.  

Jieun’s disdain for Joo Minhu, who had tormented Leeseo throughout their university years, ran so deep that she would grind her teeth even in her sleep. No longer even calling him “Senior,” she kept tabs on his downfall with a mix of contempt and satisfaction.  

– Didn’t his father fail to win a third term last year? There were bad rumors about him too.  

“Were there…?”  

– It must’ve been so disgusting that your brain erased it automatically. Anyway, after that, they left Seoul and moved back to their hometown. Minhu’s pharmacy went bankrupt after a large chain opened next door. Honestly, it’s karma.  

“……”  

Even when Jieun had first shared updates about Minhu, Leeseo had felt an odd sense of unease. She found it hard to believe that Taegyeom, busy with corporate succession and image restoration, would meddle in such trivial matters. Yet, once suspicion arose, it was hard to dismiss.  

After all, he did have a relentless and obsessive streak…  

– They opened an entire building in Andong for a hospital and pharmacy, building it on a massive scale. Joo Minhu’s older brother and sister are doctors, so maybe they were planning to run it as a family business. But guess what? It shut down in just a year.  

“Ah…”  

– It’s not easy for such a large hospital to fail so quickly, but considering they’re borrowing money all over the place these days, it seems like there was some issue with the funds they used to build it.  

“I see… But how do you, being abroad, know all this so well?”  

– Me? I’ve got nothing else to do on the train, so I’m glued to my phone. I actually talk to our friends more now than when I was in Korea. Sometimes, when I’m on my phone, I can’t even tell if I’m in Korea or Russia!  

Jieun laughed brightly as she shared updates about their mutual acquaintances. After discussing a few matters regarding the pharmacy, she hung up.  

In the meantime, Suji had left, and Leeseo finally began closing up the pharmacy.  

She took off her lab coat, placed it in the garment care device, and started the machine. As the low hum of the device filled the room, she turned around, only to pause and look toward the entrance.  

Standing there, with a bright smile on his face, was Dr. Lee, stepping into the pharmacy.