CHAPTER 6 – Seo-yeon

Two days have passed.

Nothing has happened. No word from Sehyun, who broke up with her, and no word from Dojun, who bought a tie late at night.

She went to work, attended to customers, tidied up the store, and stopped by the head office. Time passed much like any other ordinary day, but Seo-yeon was vaguely aware of it. This peaceful time was nothing more than an intermission between acts.

“Three dacquoise.”

Seongmi, who had been looking in the display case next to her, picked up three dacquoises with tongs and placed them on a tray. Seo-yeon picked up three more and said to Seongmi,

“There are six of us, we should eat one each.”

“Hehe. Is that okay?”

“We have a generous budget, so feel free to choose.”

They were planning to have tea time for Jinyoung, who would be transferred to the head office starting in the new year. Since it was the end of the year, everyone had their own year-end gatherings and parties in the evening, so they decided to have a simple tea time before the store opened. They were currently preparing tea food from the hotel deli for the special occasion.

“Here comes the assistant manager.”

Seongmi waved her hand towards the entrance. With her long hair swaying, Jinyoung, the assistant manager, came running in

“Whoa. I’m not late, am I?”

“Did you finish all the dippy stuff?”

Seongmi asked her. Jinyoung had decided to do the storefront display as her last task before leaving.

“Yep. I’ve gathered all the momentum you sent and made a masterpiece!”

“Wow.”

“I wanted to make it! Hehe. But I hurried because I was thinking about choosing bread.”

Jinyoung looked around the deli with a twinkle in her eye. Of all the employees at Heritage, she was the one who loved bread and cake the most. She even mentioned wanting to have time to enjoy various desserts piled up on a three-tier tray with coffee during the farewell party.

“Take your pick, Ms. Jinyoung.”

At Seo-yeon’s words, Jinyoung leaned over to the cake display. She clapped her hands together and exclaimed.

“This is my heaven. If I go to the head office, I think I’ll miss the deli here the most. I’m going to leave them all behind? Huhu.”

Jinyoung said, hugging the entire display case. Seo-yeon laughed and turned around.

“Miss Jinyoung, I’ll also buy a pound cake…”

Seo-yeon, who was turning towards the showcase where whole cakes and pound cakes were displayed, stopped talking. Dojun, accompanied by his secretary and guards, was striding across the lobby with large steps, coming down from the elevator.

“There it is, another reason I’m going to miss this hotel. My very own General Carriage Brigade.”

Jinyoung watched the group of men crossing the hall, accentuating each step. Their synchronized movement resembled a German football team in suits, earning them the nickname. Seongmi, who was standing next to Jinyoung, whispered softly,

“Isn’t it fascinating how the lobby atmosphere changes instantly?”

Jinyoung nodded in agreement. Seo-yeon didn’t exactly know the interior concept of Hanseong Hotel’s lobby, but one thing was certain. It was not modest or simple.

To put it nicely, it was flashy, but frankly, it was a concept blatantly showing off wealth. It was classic but went beyond flashy to the point of being extravagant.

There was no sign of restraint anywhere. From the ceiling chandeliers to the marble floors, everything was overly flashy.

But the moment Hwang Dojun’s group entered, the atmosphere changed completely. Even the extremely opulent backdrop seemed to be subdued by his presence.

He had a towering height that seemed to reach 190cm. Arrogant features bordering on conceit. A well-made suit enveloped his sturdy frame. A wide stride. An entourage of assistants and bodyguards so impeccable you’d think they’d been chosen for their looks.

The sight of a group of men in suits moving in formation drew the attention of the crowd.

“It’s… um… how should I put it? It’s like they’re taking over the lobby.”

Jinyoung pursed her lips as if she wanted to explain something. Seongmi, following Hwang Dojun with her eyes, said,

“Right? It’s very masculine, but strangely, it blends well with the ostentatious background showing off wealth.”

“Exactly what I wanted to say. But Hwang Dojun is Hwang Dojun. For now, I’ll get eclairs and mille-feuille.”

As Jinyoung requested eclairs from a staff member, Hwang Dojun’s group passed through the front door. They could be seen getting into the line of cars that had been lined up.

“By the way, I heard he’s going to withdraw from the hotel soon.”

“Huh. Why?”

As they chose slices of cake, Jinyoung and Seongmi murmured to each other.

“I don’t know exactly, but I heard something the last time Mrs. Chung was here, that he might be moving.”

Chung Eun-hee, the wife of Chairman Chung Woo and the director of the Oreum Art Museum, often visited the store and chatted extensively, saying she came to the Hanseong Hotel branch because of Hwang Dojun. She was also famous for coveting Dojun for her second daughter’s match.

“Why? The hotel is doing so well. I heard he even acquired JP Duty-Free and is flying high.”

“I don’t know either.”

“Oh, by the way, did you hear? Designer Choi Jihoon is going to ‘Le Chant’?”

“I heard. They say he’s getting a huge sum to go.”

“Then Hwang Dojun’s wardrobe department will change too.”

“Wow. I’ll give it a try.”

Seongmi laughed at Jinyoung’s comment, suggesting they team up and do it together. Seo-yeon briefly glanced at the front door where Dojun had disappeared, then turned to the employee who had come to the front of the showcase.

“Please pack everything from here to here individually. Jinyoung, you can take this one later, it’s my gift.”

As Seo-yeon spoke, pointing to the end of the showcase, Jinyoung looked at her with wide eyes.

“Really?”

“Do you want anything else?”

“You can pick anything you want, I’ll buy it all.”

Seo-yeon joked, prompting Jinyoung to raise both thumbs up.

“You’re the best. I wouldn’t trade you for even ten Hwang Dojuns.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t?”

Seo-yeon asked, squinting her eyes, and Jinyoung chuckled as she replied.

“CEO Hwang won’t be coming anyway, so you’re the best.”

Seo-yeon chuckled and handed her card to the employee. After receiving the shopping bag full of cakes, Jinyoung said to Seo-yeon,

“Team leader, I love you.”

“Let’s hurry inside. We need to rush if we want to finish all of this.”

Seo-yeon also held shopping bags in both hands. She quickened her pace, leaving the hotel and heading towards the annex. The chilly and damp wind brushed against her neck. Somehow, it felt like the wind was bringing rain.

* * *

It rained on the way home from work. Traffic began to build up from the entrance of Namsan Tunnel. Seo-yeon watched the wipers pushing away the raindrops and turned on the radio.

“It would have been nice if it was a snowy Christmas Eve, unfortunately, it’s raining. Ms. Kang Eunjoo sent a story saying that her eight-year-old son at home is crying because he’s disappointed. Aww, how cute. We’ll send him a cultural gift voucher so he doesn’t cry. But still, we should listen to our carol, right? I’ll see you after one song.”

After the DJ’s voice faded, music started playing. Blessings for Christmas and sweet melodies filled the air.

Same at this moment.

On a snowy Christmas Eve, Seo-yeon met Sehyun for the first time.

Her father’s boss, the president of Hanseong Mart, and the vice chairman of Hanseong Group had set up a meeting. It was a difficult position to decline, so she decided to meet him at least once.

Lee Sehyun is the eldest son of Hanseong Department Store President Lee Jang-soo. He told her he was working as a supervisor at Hanseong Department Store. He said that young people these days meet each other on their own and that Sehyun would contact her in a few days.

The first contact came on a Sunday evening. A message popped up in her inbox saying, “Hello, this is Lee Sehyun.” She didn’t think much of it during the correspondence until they met in person.

Even though she explained she was busy, he insisted on meeting on Christmas Eve because he didn’t want to spend it alone. Also, he picked a restaurant that would take a long time to get to from the hotel, no matter how famous the restaurant was, it was tiresome.

On the day they agreed to meet, the store was incredibly busy. She didn’t think it would be possible to get to the restaurant in time after work, and coincidentally, Sehyun was just returning from a business trip to Hong Kong, so she called to suggest postponing the appointment.

‘I’m fine. Oh, let’s change the meeting place. I’ll come straight to the Hanseong Hotel. Then, all you have to do is walk a few steps, Miss Yoon Seo-yeon.’

Sehyun said in a cheerful voice as if it was no problem. It was the moment Seo-yeon first thought that Lee Sehyun might be okay.

‘Actually, I was planning to meet without much expectation. I’m so busy, what’s the point? You know, that kind of feeling? But on the way from the airport, I searched for Heritage and your name without thinking, and you were so beautiful.’

That’s what Sehyun said after they met for the first time. Sehyun smiled broadly as he mentioned an interview she had done at the company.

‘I wanted to meet you in person as soon as possible, so I even canceled the reservation but ran all the way to the hotel. But haven’t we met somewhere before?’

After the first meeting, they met for dinner about three times. Sehyun showed a willingness to start dating right away, but Seo-yeon felt that Se-hyun was overwhelming her – too quick to take a liking to her, and too aggressive in his approach.

Seo-yeon felt that it wasn’t the time to meet someone with marriage in mind yet. She declined but he suggested that they could date without the pressure of marriage. She also declined with the explanation that it was a setup by household elders, so there was no way not to feel burdened.

He then suggested that they just become friends who meet occasionally to eat and drink tea. She couldn’t bring herself to refuse and agreed formally. Sehyun contacted her about once a month, saying that he had suddenly remembered, and he would pick her up and drop her off, telling her not to feel any pressure.

Occasionally, bouquets of flowers would be delivered to the store, and after business trips, he would bring small gifts like lipstick or hand cream. Seeing this consistent affection over almost a year, Seo-yeon began to think that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad with someone who was so sincere.

One autumn day, Sehyun officially confessed that he really liked her. He said he couldn’t hide his feelings anymore and wanted to get serious if Seo-yeon would let him.

Though she appreciated his sincerity, Seo-yeon found Sehyun burdensome. He was someone from a similar background, introduced by none other than the vice chairman of Hanseong Group. If it became known that they were dating, marriage was expected to follow.

As she was about to refuse, she noticed Sehyun’s hand trembling slightly as he reached for a water cup. She couldn’t help but chuckle at his attempt to feign composure with a forced smile.

Similar environment. Similar family background. Neither lacking nor surpassing each other.

If you put the pieces together, Sehyun was the perfect person for her. After much hesitation, Seo-yeon agreed that they should slowly get to know each other. She never imagined that she would have an affair with Haewon within a month.

The sweet song ended. Seo-yeon snapped out of her reverie. 

What would I do if I had to go back? It’s already happened. 

Feeling a bit down, she thought maybe a drink with her friend Pyo Danmi would lift her spirits, so she slightly increased the speed of her car.