CHAPTER 25 – I Will Do It (Part 2)

“Eat.”

A plate of green grapes and strawberries, neatly arranged, was placed on the sofa table with a clack. Seoyeon stared blankly at the carefully prepared fruit.

Dojun had taken her straight to the bathroom, saying he would wash her. He turned on the water and continued to ‘take care’ of her. As Seoyeon’s legs buckled, ready to collapse to the floor, Dojun sat her on the edge of the tub and thoroughly licked the swollen, reddened area.

Then he washed her, dressed her in a robe, and brought her back to the sofa.

“Eat this too.”

Dojun brought the snacks that had been on the island counter to the sofa table. Then, glancing at the clock, he said, 

“It’s 10 o’clock now, so let’s eat.”

A stunned sound burst out of Seoyeon’s mouth. Even if it were dawn, there would be nothing unusual about it, but it was just 10 o’clock. She let out a despondent sound and leaned her head on the armrest, gradually slumping to the side. Her body lay limp, exhausted.

“Just let me nap for a bit.”

“Sleep here. Where would you go in that condition anyway? You’re not even going to work tomorrow.”

“I need to do the laundry…”

Dojun looked at Seoyeon in disbelief. Seoyeon blinked her drowsy eyes and spoke in a disconnected manner.

“It’s the weekend, so I can rest… Don’t contact me.”

“Stay and rest in the morning.”

“I don’t want to. I’m leaving today. If I stay until morning… I’ll feel too empty…”

With those final words, Seoyeon closed her eyes. 

You don’t have to go. 

Swallowing the words that filled his throat to the brim, Dojun put only sour grapes in his mouth.

* * *

A melody drifted from the back veranda where the washing machine was located. Seoyeon, who had been cutting potatoes at the sink, wiped her hands with water and headed to the veranda.

Taking out the laundry from the machine and watching the people passing by behind the apartment, she thought that it wasn’t as cold as usual for winter. Most people wore coats despite the slightly warmer weather.

Should I just send the padded jackets to the dry cleaner’s?

Thinking that, she bent down again to take out the underwear from the washing machine. While she sent her work suits to dry cleaning, the towels and underwear accumulated over the week were quite a lot, so she had to do them on weekends.

Straightening her back, Seoyeon picked up the laundry basket and went to the front balcony, where the sunlight was good, hanging each piece of clothing on the drying rack. It was a typical Saturday noon morning. It seemed like a good idea to purposely get up and stand after having been lying down without any energy.

Although it bothered her a bit that she had reluctantly ridden Dojun’s car to come here, as he said he wouldn’t let her go if she drove as she was exhausted, she accepted it as an excuse.

She couldn’t even remember clearly what happened during the drive home, as she had fallen into a deep sleep.

‘Get some rest. I won’t contact you.’

When she woke up, Dojun had said that. She felt like she had slept in the car for about 30 more minutes after arriving.

I need to regulate myself.

Shaking out the laundry and hanging it, Seoyeon thought. She can’t keep being carted home unconscious every time. 

He’s not made of steel, so why does Dojun seem to have no signs of fatigue? 

Thinking about how her body would just sag with exhaustion after work, she felt a little resentful and envious.

I shouldn’t see him during the week, and only ask him to meet me on Friday nights, and even then, just once and I’ll leave at night. 

Ah, but next week is going to be busy, and there’s the Lunar New Year holiday, so we won’t be able to meet anyway.

Chuckling to herself, she looked up at the distant sky. 

What was I even thinking? It’ll be over before March anyway.

“Ah, the curry!”

Seoyeon picked up the laundry basket and went back inside. She’ll make the curry, go to the performance she likes, and clean up too. She needs to reorganize the closet and dust off the old dirt.

Keep your normal life steady, because that’s what’s going to get you through the stormy times.

* * *

The Royal Danish Orchestra and pianist Baek Seung-jin concert.

From a distance, a large banner could be seen. It featured an image of the Royal Danish Orchestra and pianist Baek Seung-jin, dressed in a suit, performing.

As she climbed the stairs, the bright, illuminated concert hall of the Seoul Arts Center was bustling with people. People were gathered in small groups, chatting with each other, or couples holding hands and heading to the ticket booth.

Seoyeon went to the ticket booth and gave her name and phone number. She had quickly made the reservation on the day the tickets went on sale for this performance.

Seoyeon first saw pianist Baek Seung-jin’s performance in an online video. From the moment Baek Seung-jin, born into a family of traditional Korean musicians, gently placed his hands on the piano after taking a light breath, Seoyeon became his fan.

When she received her ticket, she proudly checked her seat and put it in her handbag. It wasn’t the best seat in the house, but it was still a good seat for an individual. The company had also given out invitation tickets, but she had purposefully not taken the one because it was a corner seat on the second floor.

Having some time to spare, she bought a cup of coffee and went out to the courtyard at the back. Despite the cold winter, people were sitting at the tables scattered around. Seoyeon also sat at an empty table. With the wind chill, she pulled up her scarf to cover her face and sipped the warm coffee.

At the announcement that the performance would start in 10 minutes, she got up with her half-finished coffee and headed towards the entrance, when her gaze fell on someone coming out from the inside.

A small sound, “Ah,” escaped Seoyeon’s throat. If it hadn’t been for the scarf, the sound might have been audible to the other person. Dojun and a man who seemed to be his companion were opening the door and coming outside.

So this was the concert schedule.

The schedule provided by his office simply said “concert.” Seoyeon froze, and Dojun raised his eyes. Their gazes met in the air, he stopped walking, and there was a moment of silence.

“CEO, do you know this person?”

The middle-aged man next to Dojun asked him. He lightly nodded his head and said, 

“This is UMS Deputy Director Lee Jang-woo, and this is Heritage Manager Yoon Seoyeon.”

UMS was the organization that planned the performance. The man standing next to Dojun was holding a cigarette, seemingly on his way to smoke before the performance began. Seoyeon greeted him lightly with a slight bow.

“Hello, I’m Yoon Seoyeon.”

“I’m Lee Jang-woo. So you’re from Heritage?”

“Yes.”

As Seoyeon smiled in response, the man briefly mentioned that he had recently bought a coat from Heritage. He asked which branch, and when Seoyeon replied the one at the Hanseong Hotel, they exchanged some meaningless small talk about him needing to visit that branch next time.

“Well, we’ll go in now.”

Seoyeon bowed her head lightly again in greeting. Dojun nodded, and the man was already walking towards the smoking area.

As theu stepped inside through the open door, Seoyeon exhaled briefly. Glancing back, she saw Dojun outside the glass door, lighting a cigarette and looking at her obliquely.

Standing at the railing of the box seat, Dojun scanned the area below. He slowly checked from the front row, searching for Seoyeon’s appearance.

With people moving around trying to find their seats just before the performance started, the sea of black heads all looked similar, and Dojun was about to get irritated when he finally saw Seoyeon’s profile looking at the program.

Dojun took out his phone and sent her a message without taking his eyes off her.

[Did the laundry go well?]

He saw Seoyeon picking up her phone. She might have been tempted to glance around, but she didn’t. After typing a reply, she put her phone back in her bag.

[Yes.]

As expected, a straightforward answer that didn’t disappoint him. Dojun moved his long fingers again.

[The seat next to me is empty, would you like to come?]

Seoyeon took out her phone again. After reading the message, she tucked her long hair behind her ear. Dojun could almost see her sigh, and he smiled faintly.

[No, thank you.]

Before Seoyeon put her phone back in her bag, Dojun sent another message.

[It’s a box seat, you know?]

Seoyeon briefly looked up. Dojun waited for their eyes to meet, but she quickly lowered her head again without properly looking.

[It’s fine. I hope you have an enjoyable performance.]

[Shall I switch seats with you then?]

[I’ll turn off my phone.]

How resolute. 

Dojun chuckled and put his phone back in his jacket. The lights went out, and after the announcement, the sound of tuning instruments could be heard.

The performance held no interest or fascination for him. He usually closed his eyes and fell asleep, but this time he didn’t doze off even for a moment. Even in the darkness, Seoyeon remained clearly visible.