1.6

The next morning, with her backpack on, Leeseo lingered at the corner of the alley, looking for an opportunity—a chance to sneak back home. She had no intention of going to school. Nothing terrible would happen if she skipped, after all.  

It was just as she turned the corner of the alley that she saw him.  

Startled, she froze when Mr. Gong suddenly appeared. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt, which was unusual for him. Mr. Gong always wore work clothes that covered his arms completely, so this was surprising. But what really shocked her was the massive tiger tattoo on his forearm. She hiccupped repeatedly as she stared at the tiger’s face, which seemed ready to roar, exuding an intimidating energy as it stretched down the curve of his arm.  

“You can’t keep skipping school.” 

Mr. Gong said firmly.  

At his insistence, Leeseo had no choice but to lower her head and head toward school. Mr. Gong followed her, walking behind her as if to keep an eye on her.  

Without even looking, she could feel the glances from people passing by.  

She thought he would turn back at the school gate, but Mr. Gong, apparently not trusting her, followed her through the gate, across the courtyard, and all the way to her classroom. He stood outside the classroom door, watching her until she sat down at her desk before finally leaving.  

About a month later, her desk mate asked, 

“Who’s that guy?”  

“My uncle.” 

She lied.  

The word “uncle” had a significant effect. After that, no one treated her the way they had before—not even the homeroom teacher. While the teacher wasn’t particularly kind, they no longer ignored her.  

Now, she understood. It hadn’t been the word “uncle” that brought her peace, but rather Mr. Gong’s imposing presence and the tiger tattoo that rivaled his size.  

***

“You’re here?”  

When Leeseo stepped into the living room after slipping on a pair of house slippers at the entrance, CEO Oh Soohyun’s hand slowed as she flipped through a catalog of artwork. It was a catalog sent from an exhibition that hadn’t even opened yet.  

As she waited for Oh Soohyun to make her selection, Leeseo’s gaze fell on the CEO’s crown of hair, streaked with gray.  

In her mid-sixties, Oh Soohyun wore her hair in a bob that reached her jawline and maintained the same weight she had in her youth. Her personality, however, was sharp and impatient. She claimed to be 160 centimeters tall, but that was with high heels on—her actual height was shorter.  

Still, her small stature and frame did not diminish her influence in the art world.  

Simply buying a piece of art could guarantee a young artist’s meteoric rise, and forgotten artists could find themselves in the spotlight again thanks to her.  

Her keen eye, the financial power she wielded, and her position as the youngest daughter-in-law of a chaebol family gave her immense sway.  

“There’s nothing that catches my eye. Why is everything so uninspired? This isn’t like this artist at all.”  

“It seems the artist’s style changed after they moved to Jeju Island.”  

“Is there anything you find appealing?”  

Oh Soohyun paused as she was about to close the catalog and asked. It was a kind of confirmation process—one word from Leeseo could decide whether or not a painting would be purchased.  

This was how they had been working for quite some time. It was also the ultimate reason why Leeseo, who had majored in art history and completed graduate school, was working as Oh Soohyun’s secretary.  

Quickly scanning the painting that had caught Oh Soohyun’s attention, Leeseo noted its dull colors and ambiguous message. It was significantly different from the artist’s previous works. Without saying a word, she offered a polite smile, signaling that she had finished her review.  

Observing her expression, Oh Soohyun snapped the catalog shut with a sharp sound and set it aside.  

“Let’s just send a congratulatory wreath for this one and move on.”  

“Yes, I’ll arrange for the wreath.”  

“By the way, you met Madam Hwang from the Geumoh Group, didn’t you?”  

It was a question laced with reprimand. It could be interpreted as a sign of her displeasure.  

“Yes.”  

“That woman had the audacity to praise you in front of me. She said you approach art with sincerity, even though she knows nothing about it. She claimed that if a piece of art truly resonates with you, it’s worth collecting. She even advised me not to let the trends of the art market dictate my decisions if I’m just trying to grow my wealth. Is that true?”  

“I ran into her at the Leon Gallery during the Emerging Artists Exhibition… Yes.”  

As Leeseo began explaining, she quickly admitted the truth. Even the brief flicker of Oh Soohyun’s sharp gaze sent chills down her spine, but she maintained her smile.  

“Do you know that those women call you ‘Oh’s Dog’?”  

How could she not?  

The other chaebol housewives, seeing how Oh Soohyun treated Leeseo like an extension of her own limbs, mockingly referred to her as “Oh’s Dog.” It was a childish nickname derived from her name. It also referenced the loyal dog from Imsil County in Jeollabuk-do, which had famously rolled its wet body through fire and water to save its drunken master from a burning house.  

“Yes, I know.”  

“Ugh. Why would you say good things about people who speak ill of you? You’re so naive. You know, don’t you? I never let my collection go out into the world. I abhor sharing anything of mine. Do you think you’d be any different?”  

Leeseo didn’t respond.  

If self-love, madness, and obsession were the hallmarks of an artist, then Oh Soohyun had certainly reached the pinnacle.  

But there was something else on Leeseo’s mind: Had she seen the resignation letter? She had left it on top of the catalog, so surely she had seen it. Yet, she avoided addressing the matter directly, as if pretending it didn’t exist.  

“What kind of person calls someone a dog, honestly?”  

Lost in thought, Leeseo turned her head toward the staircase at the sound of a voice.  

Gu Junmo, dressed in a tracksuit, was walking down the stairs slowly. She blinked several times, unable to believe what she was seeing.  

Her first thought was: Why is Junmo in this house?  

It was obvious he had spent the night here rather than at his own home. The unexpected sight of him caught her so off guard that she struggled to compose her expression.  

Junmo, on the other hand, didn’t even glance in her direction, despite knowing she was watching him.  

“Don’t get so worked up. That’s not what I meant, is it?”  

Oh Soohyun’s tone was unusually soft, as if trying to hide her irritation. It was a side of her that had become rare in recent days, and it was clear that Junmo’s words had struck a nerve.  

“You left room for interpretation, so of course people are saying things like that.”  

“This boy, this boy! Watch your mouth.”  

“Am I wrong?”  

“When did I ever—”  

“Even now…”  

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Junmo raised his wrist and looked pointedly at his watch.  

“It’s not even 7 a.m. yet.”  

 He tapped the watch with his fingertip and gave Oh Soohyun a meaningful look.  

“With no set start time, how could there possibly be an end time? Running over whenever you call—that’s her daily routine, isn’t it? No wonder people call her a dog.”  

“Just today. It’s just today.”  

Junmo didn’t bother responding.  

He casually walked toward the dining room, where Mrs. Kim was setting the table. ‘How much longer until breakfast?’ he asked.  

A sigh came from the dining room, followed by a delayed reply.  

“Goodness, your temper… It’s all ready. I just need to bring out the soup.”  

Raising his eyebrows, Junmo glanced back at Oh Soohyun.  

“At least feed her breakfast before you work her to death.”  

Shooting her son a glare, Oh Soohyun reluctantly rose from the sofa.  

“Fine, let’s eat first. Leeseo, what are you doing? Come on.”  

“Yes.”  

Even after Oh Soohyun disappeared into the dining room, Leeseo remained standing in place.  

Junmo gestured toward the dining room with a nod of his head, then exhaled sharply, as if blowing out cigarette smoke, and looked at her with an incredulous expression.  

“‘Oh’s Dog’? Really… Why on earth do you keep working under my mother, even while being called that?”  

His expression was so intimidating that even starting a conversation with him felt daunting. Lowering her gaze, Leeseo spoke in a quiet voice, changing the subject.  

“I moved… recently.”  

“You said you would, so I assumed you did.”  

“Are you avoiding me?”  

“Ha, me? Avoiding you? Stop talking nonsense and go eat.”  

Junmo leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice as he spoke. His demeanor suggested he was deliberately ignoring the fact that Oh Soohyun, sitting in the dining room, was likely listening intently to their conversation.  

Leeseo felt her tension ease slightly at this trivial display of consideration.  

“What about breakfast?”

“Work.”

That was all he said.  

Though his tracksuit hardly seemed appropriate for work attire, Leeseo didn’t argue and headed toward the dining room. A faint smile lingered on her lips, one she hadn’t yet managed to erase.  

“That Junmo… He doesn’t see me as a mother or anything else. Look at him, leaving without even saying goodbye. He came back from the U.S. and only had one dinner outside the house. And that’s not all. Even when his older brother was hospitalized, he didn’t show any concern or even say a word. Would it hurt him to drop by and check on his brother in between work?”  

As soon as Leeseo approached the dining table, Oh Soohyun pulled a bowl of soup closer to herself and began voicing her frustrations about Junmo.  

It explained why Junmo, who rarely visited the family home, had made this sudden appearance.  

“Don’t just stand there. Sit down. But more importantly, Leeseo…”  

“Yes, CEO.”  

Leeseo pulled out a chair and sat across from her, answering politely.  

“That thing… It’s still not dealt with?”  

“That thing?”  

Not understanding what she meant, Leeseo furrowed her brow in thought.  

“I’m talking about that girl clinging to Junhyung like a barnacle. With talks of marriage coming up for him, we can’t have unnecessary rumors spreading, can we? Get rid of her before it becomes a problem.”  

Finally, Leeseo realized she was referring to the woman Junhyung had been seeing recently.  

“Understood.”  

Suppressing her discomfort, Leeseo picked up her spoon.  

Words like “thing” and “barnacle” were hardly appropriate ways to refer to a person.