CHAPTER 3 – Crazy Bastard (Part 2)

‘Chairman, you’re here.’

Her deep resonant voice remained the same. Along with it came the social mask that had been added over time. Yoon Seo-yeon, a young college student, had grown up perfectly.

Her smile is tight, but not overbearing, and her kindness is not overdone. A gentle voice and upright posture. A natural-born talent. That’s what Dojun had thought.

Since then, they hadn’t exchanged greetings. Whether at the hotel or at home, they rarely crossed paths. It had been about three or four times only over the years.

Whenever they passed by each other, Seo-yeon always politely bowed her head. It wasn’t a grand gesture, nor was it so small that it went unnoticed; it was always a precise angle of greeting.

There was never a time when he returned her greeting. He simply passed by without acknowledging it. 

Once.

There was a time when he gazed at Seo-yeon for a long moment. It was when he entered the Yeonwoo Mansion to meet his grandfather about the duty-free business.

‘Please wait a moment. Heritage has sent some clothes.’

The housekeeper who took care of the household affairs said. Dojun asked for a cup of tea and sat in the parlor off the living room.

The door to the living room, decorated in traditional Korean style, was a sliding door with hanji attached, and the housekeeper who brought the tea didn’t realize that the door wasn’t completely closed as she stepped back.

‘Chairman, how have you been?’ 

He heard the voice, and through the slightly ajar folding door, Seo-yeon passed by. 

‘I brought the suit you’ll wear for Friday’s formal dinner.’

A portable clothes rack followed behind. Garments hung on it, some of which were turned inside out. The view through the gap of the open door, about 1-2 centimeters wide, was partial. He could see Seo-yeon’s hand passing garments one by one to the housekeeper. There was also a glimpse of her back as she adjusted a tie on a suit.

‘I think you’ve lost a little weight. I’ll readjust it for you. But Chairman, you need to stay healthy. You have to eat well too.’

Dojun remembered his grandfather’s laughter in response to Seo-yeon’s words. Even at his age, Chairman Hwang had a good physique and lively eyes. Although he had lost some weight after being ill for a few days, it wasn’t noticeable outwardly.

‘Manager Yoon has a good eye. You worry about this old man and I’m thankful for it.’

The grandfather treated Seo-yeon as if she were his favorite granddaughter, and she maintained a professional demeanor, but in moments she showed her heart, just as a granddaughter does for her grandfather.

‘I heard you met Sehyun not long ago?’

‘Yes.’

The grandfather asked, and Seo-yeon replied.

‘He’s the son of President Lee Jang-soo, right?’

‘Yes. The Vice Chairman was kind enough to introduce us.’

Dojun listened to the conversation unfolding beyond the door.

‘How is he? Is he alright?’

‘Well, he’s a nice guy.’

‘I hope you get along well.’

‘I’ve been meeting him with good intentions.’

He remembered the faint scent of licorice that lingered in his mouth. As the subtle fragrance passed through his mouth and down his throat, the image of Seo-yeon behind the door and her soft voice echoing in the space beyond came to mind.

Not too much. Not too little. Always neat and tidy. Not a flaw for others to pick on. A woman steadily climbing the stairs.

Seo-yeon had caught his eye a few times, but he hadn’t paid much attention. He had to remain indifferent, so he lived indifferently.

Still…….

He suddenly wanted to try snatching it once.

What expression would be revealed beneath that composed mask? What face would be there when kindness is stripped away? Would she cry? Get angry? Turn cold?

As he imagined the expression behind her composed gaze, he felt a stiffness in his bottom.

Dojun picked up his mobile phone and opened the message window.

[I’ll get the file myself].

Without waiting for a response, he turned off the screen. She had said she was going to Yangpyeong. Thinking of the flustered Seo-yeon while driving made him feel better.

You should have been more careful.

Dojun chuckled briefly.

* * *

After receiving a cake with a stay voucher and setting off, the road was almost indistinguishable from the parking lot. The red taillights drew dotted lines along the road shape. When the car in front braked, the red lights shone brightly. At those times, Seo-yeon also mechanically pressed on the brake.

She wondered when it started and where it all went wrong.

She habitually reflected on the past and laughed bitterly. She sighed at her paranoid personality. She was tired of not being able to let things go. Even now, inside the dashboard, there were pieces of evidence collected meticulously over the past month.

Their communication became sparse, their calls shorter, and even when they met, his mind seemed elsewhere. 

Could it really happen just a month after agreeing to his proposal? 

She tried to think he must just be tired, but doubts grew steadily.

So, with a heart full of “could it be,” while Sehyun briefly got out of the car to get coffee, she pressed the recent destinations on the navigation.

Geoje. Busan. Yangpyeong.

As she scanned the list, a sudden thought came to mind. The list she was looking at was Haewon’s hometown, Haewon’s school, and where Haewon currently lived. She also remembered her father saying that he sent Haewon to a department store to gain experience as an intern before graduation.

Even though she thought it was an excessive leap, she couldn’t stop imagining it. Wanting to believe it wasn’t true, she went down to the main house and checked Haewon’s laptop when she wasn’t there.

She opened an SNS private account that hadn’t been logged out and saw the two of them there. With trembling hands, she took a picture. And in the end, she even touched Sehyun’s black box memory.

She hated herself for being so insistent on confirming the truth. She also hated herself for waiting, pretending not to know until Sehyun confessed first. She wondered if Sehyun had noticed this tiresome personality of hers and if he could sense it subliminally.

Seo-yeon recalled the moment she first met Sehyun.

‘I’m sorry. You must have waited a lot, right?’

‘It’s okay. I can wait as long as you need, but haven’t we met before?’

He had smiled broadly at Seo-yeon’s apology for being late.

He said he must have seen her somewhere, that she felt familiar, that there was no way he wouldn’t have known such a beautiful person. Middle school, high school, university, graduate school, studying abroad. She tried to trace back and find the link.

‘Oh, right. We must have met at our New Year’s party. You came to Yeonwoo Mansion, right?’

Chairman Hwang held a New Year’s party on the first Sunday of every year. It was an annual event where the group executives and their families were invited to the ancestral home, a tradition of the Hanseong Group’s New Year’s party. In the year her father was inaugurated as the vice president of Hanseong Mart, Seo-yeon, a college student at the time, stood in front of Yeonwoo Mansion for the first time.

Although Sehyun must have come with his father at that time, she had no memory of meeting him. Yeonwoo Mansion was vast, and there were many invitees.

Oddly enough, what stood out in her memory was Hwang Dojun. The man who had always been by Chairman Hwang’s side. The eldest grandson of Hanseong who returned after studying abroad. A man whose presence was more striking than anyone else’s by just standing there.

Ding-dong. A short message popped up on her mobile phone screen with a notification sound. She stared at the phone screen absentmindedly and then stiffened her face. It was from Hwang Dojun. 

[I’ll get the file myself].

What a crazy guy. Did you leave it to me? You come and take it.

Though her mental response was something like that, Seo-yeon pressed the mic button and responded verbally.

“All right. I’ll contact you.”

After confirming that there were no typos and everything was written correctly, she pressed the send button. It was amusing how Hwang Dojun was obsessed with a file that Seo-yeon had, a file that her fiancé cheated on her.

What did he mean by saying he would come and get it himself?

There’s inevitably no decent guy among those who give orders over trivial matters like this. Not only does he look irritatingly scratchy, but he’s also capricious, speaking in a commanding tone. He’s a man with nothing pleasing about him.

[I’ll contact you.]

She felt a lump in her throat as the text came back.

“Oh, yeah, sure.”

Although it was a response she couldn’t send, Seo-yeon decided to be a bit petty. Then, hesitating for a moment, she added one more thing.

“Crazy bastard.”

Suddenly, she burst into laughter. It was just a trivial curse, but after saying it out loud, she felt a little relieved.