Moonjeong - Chapter 3

“……”

Even though they were at a distance where a breath couldn’t be heard, the moment their eyes met, Chae-on instinctively tensed and held her breath, much like a herbivore freezing and hiding its presence when facing a predator.

The man’s gaze, languid and dry as if he were appraising an object, flowed down like water. Chae-on’s throat, which had stiffened, moved noticeably. While she forgot to breathe, his gaze slowly traveled from top to bottom, lingered briefly at her feet, and then neatly withdrew.

Did her toes curl slightly where his gaze had landed? Even though his gaze had moved on long ago, breathing felt a bit uncomfortable.

“I heard there was some sort of sit-in. I understand it’s been resolved well.”

The man responded to Mr. Kim’s question with a subtly amused expression.

“Yes, it was.”

“The chairman must have been quite displeased in many ways. There are always people causing unnecessary commotion wherever you go.”

“Well……”

The man’s jaw twitched momentarily, as if he had clenched his teeth tightly.

“Generally speaking, yes.”

“Pardon?”

“Noisy, slow to realize their place.”

His dry voice, as if reciting poetry, ruthlessly crushed some unspecified multitude. It was then that his gaze, which had paused, landed again at Chae-on’s feet.

“Pathetic.”

“……”

Startled, Chae-on looked down at her feet where his gaze had lingered. The worn-out ends of her old white socks were frayed, revealing her skin. It was impossible to hide, even if she tried.

Ah……. Only then did she understand why his gaze had lingered there a bit longer. When Chae-on bit her lip and looked up, the man was no longer looking at her, as if she was no longer worth his attention.

Her toes curled with a feeling quite different from a moment ago.

The first thing Chae-on did upon returning home was to immediately take off the socks that felt like they were squeezing her feet and shove them into the trash can. Feeling a bit ashamed and annoyed, she looked down at the white bundle stuffed in the trash can and, as if she didn’t even want to see it, pushed the trash can to the other side of the room.

Chae-on carelessly took off her school blouse and tossed it into the laundry basket before collapsing face down onto her bed.

‘Noisy, slow to realize their place. ……Pathetic.’

Whether he happened to look at her feet as he uttered those words, or if he said them with her feet in mind, she couldn’t tell, but either way, his disdainful gaze remained like a scar.

Chae-on’s face, staring at the white wall, sank deeply into the pillowcase. Remembering the cold gaze that had slowly scanned her, her mouth felt dry again, and her toes curled just like at the funeral. How should she describe this feeling? Those indifferent eyes, like black glass beads…….

He was an arrogant and overbearing man. It was the first time she had felt so uncomfortable without exchanging a single word. Was that why everyone seemed to bow and fawn over him as if their necks were broken?

With her face buried in the pillowcase, she let out a long sigh, while Hee-jung, who had said she would make a quick call and come up, was just finishing a conversation with someone as she entered the house.

“…Of course. I understand, ma’am. How could I not? You’ve been so good to us all this time.”

From the temperature, pitch, and tone of her voice, it was clear. The person Hee-jung was talking to was Im So-young.

“Oh, absolutely. For me, such a condition would be wonderful. It’s just that….”

As Hee-jung approached closer to Chae-on’s room, her voice trailed off, and she lowered it to a whisper.

“I need to tell Chae-on as well. The sooner, the better for me. Yes. Yes.”

After exchanging a few more words and ending the call, Hee-jung lightly knocked on Chae-on’s door.

“Chae-on. Mom’s coming in, okay?”

“Okay.”

When Chae-on sat up on the bed, Hee-jung gently opened the door and came in. She pulled a chair from the desk and sat down, offering a slightly awkward smile as she took Chae-on’s hand in hers. It was Hee-jung’s habit to do this when she had something difficult to say.

“Chae-on, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

As Chae-on looked at her with suspicion, Hee-jung bit her lip slightly and let out a small sigh.

“We…”

Why was she hesitating so much? Just as Chae-on was about to ask again what was going on, Hee-jung finally spoke.

“Let’s move.”

“…What?”

Holding Chae-on’s hand tightly, Hee-jung smiled, though her eyes showed a hint of sadness.

“Let’s move, the two of us.”

“…”

“Honestly, it’s been hard for me to stay in this house.”

It made sense. Not long ago, debt collectors had kicked the front door, came and went with threats, and slapped red seizure stickers on their few possessions. This house now held more difficult memories than good ones.

“The lady in Hannam-dong introduced me to a really good job.”

The lady in Hannam-dong referred to Im So-young.

“What kind of job?”

“They’re looking for someone to work at the Jun Gwang family residence in Moonjeong.”

“…”

“Since it’s such a large mansion, they’re looking for someone to stay there and help with the work. It’s not just me; I’ll be working in shifts with someone else.”

“…”

“They said they’d provide a place for us to stay.”

Hee-jung looked somewhat desperate. As Chae-on looked down at the hand her mother held, she wrapped her own hand around Hee-jung’s and asked.

“Mom, are you okay with this?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you really okay with leaving?”

Hee-jung’s eyes widened slightly at the sudden question, and Chae-on met her gaze and asked again.

“I honestly don’t care whether we move or not.”

“Then?”

“I respected you because I knew how hard you tried to hold onto this place.”

“You…”

“I thought you felt the same way… I didn’t realize how you truly felt.”

As if by magic, Hee-jung’s eyes turned red at that one sentence. Feeling her own eyes grow warm, Chae-on held back her tears and squeezed her mother’s hand tighter.

“If you’re okay with it and you want to go, then I’ll go. As long as we can live together, nothing else matters.”

Once again, Hee-jung’s hand covered Chae-on’s. The gentle and warm touch, as if cradling something precious and dear, was incredibly tender.

“My goodness. My daughter, you’ve grown up…”

With her eyes moist, Hee-jung pulled Chae-on into a tight embrace.

A few days later, Chae-on left the home where she had spent nineteen long years and headed to Moonjeong City with Hee-jung. Since they had always lived modestly, they didn’t have much to pack for the two of them.

An album filled with moments of the three of them together was placed on top of the neatly folded clothes, Chae-on’s books, and small household items in the moving boxes. Looking at it with mixed emotions, Chae-on let out a long sigh and reluctantly closed the lid of the box.

A truck arrived to load the few moving boxes, and Chae-on, along with her mother, slowly took one last look around the empty house. The familiar scent of the home lingered in the air, a smell that would likely fade from memory soon.

The small elephant drawing that Chae-on had sketched on the wall as a child had faded over time. Even the moment when her father praised that drawing as if it were a masterpiece felt distant now. In retrospect, there had been small, happy moments like that, but they were fleeting. Misfortune always seemed to easily dilute happiness.

After gazing at it for a while, Chae-on quietly closed the door to the house she would never open again.

* * *

A thick mist enveloped everything.

The journey from Seoul to Moonjeong took less time than expected. After leaving their home in Eunpyeong-gu and driving for about 30 minutes, they passed a sign marking the entrance to Moonjeong City, positioned in the middle of the road.

“Wow. Every time I come here, the mist is just…”

The taxi driver muttered to himself as he slowed down the vehicle.

“Is it usually this misty around here?”

Hee-jung, who was leaning against the backseat window with a bored expression, heard him and asked. The driver met her eyes through the rearview mirror and nodded, as if it was a familiar occurrence.

“Yes. Just a bit further is Geumso-dong, and there’s a huge lake in that area. It’s called Geumso-dong because it was built on a gold vein. You know that, right?”

“Really?”

“You didn’t know? This whole area used to be gold mining land. Over time, it closed down, filled with water, and then towns started to develop.”

The driver, eager to show off his knowledge, continued, glancing around at the mist-covered surroundings.

“The mist from that lake drifts down here. Normally, it only happens at dawn or early morning, but maybe it’s because it rained.”

“Living here must be inconvenient with all this mist…”

“Well, people just think it’s temporary. Especially since there’s a village around the lake, the scenery here is stunning. The land prices are ridiculously high, but for the view alone, people consider living here as some kind of trophy.”

The driver, seemingly pleased to have someone to talk to, rambled on, though he didn’t seem to hold the residents of this area in high regard. The slight clicking of his tongue or the tone of his voice hinted at that. It seemed like a passive-aggressive jab at those living lives he could never touch, or perhaps a hint of envy.

“But this address is within Chairman Jun Gwang’s private estate. I’ve been around the area a lot, but I’ve never been inside. If they’ve given you permission, you must be working for them.”

“Yes.”

“Wow. That’s a house everyone wants to see even just once…”

Hee-jung only smiled awkwardly, and the driver focused on navigating through the mist, bringing the conversation to a close.