Chapter 10.4

Far behind, she had stopped in the middle of the road. Even without seeing her, he could feel her presence, and it was an odd sensation.

He shouldn’t have gone as far as marriage. But there had been no other choice.

Knowing full well what Shin Jueun intended to do with her, and fully aware of what kind of person his brother was, he couldn’t hand her over.

Regret followed him like a shadow, always. He should have stayed cold until the end. He should have remained detached and emotionless to the very last moment.

Now, was she crying?

Seojun put on his earphones. As expected, he heard her sobbing and asking why he bought her gloves.

His vision blurred rapidly.

The memory of their first passionate kiss and the tender warmth they shared until dawn came rushing back. The image of her laughing brightly while eating vanilla ice cream knocked on Seojun’s heart.

Because he loved her too much, he had even come to resemble her habits. He pressed his lips tightly together, and a transparent tear formed at the corner of his eye. Yet, he didn’t look back.

He simply moved forward. He had to recover everything Seo Moonkyeong had lost, even her smallest mistakes and errors.

***

After visiting the attorney’s office, Moonkyeong lay in bed as a sudden fever took hold of her.

The attorney Seojun had introduced, Attorney Jo, maintained a consistent and professional demeanor from start to finish. He attached Post-it notes to every section requiring her signature, providing detailed explanations.

The more she listened, the more it became clear that everything was disadvantageous to Seojun. As she listened quietly, Moonkyeong had asked Attorney Jo:

[Attorney Jo, why are you handling it this way?]

[Is there a problem?]

[No, it’s just that everything seems too favorable to me.]

[Of course. The responsibility lies entirely on the other party, so this is the right approach.]

[You know the situation.]

While organizing the documents, he scratched his forehead with his pen.

[It seems the Executive Director cares deeply for you, Ms. Seo Moonkyeong.]

That fleeting remark lingered in her mind.

He cares for me? 

What does it mean to care? When she was little, the chocolate she had hidden in a drawer to keep it away from her mother melted and was only discovered after summer had passed.

She didn’t want to become like that melted chocolate. Eventually, she sat up halfway. Her head throbbed.

She rummaged through her drawer, found her earphones, and plugged them in. Since her phone was still being wiretapped, she couldn’t play anything on speakers.

She swallowed dryly. Her heart raced as if she were stealing glimpses into Seojun’s daily life.

But she wanted to know. She wanted to understand this man’s sincerity. She wanted to know everything about Seojun’s life when she wasn’t around.

She pressed the button firmly.

At that moment, Seojun was in his office. He had to head straight to the Seocho-dong building in the morning.

The entire morning had been spent discussing the registration of the board chairmanship ahead of Leehan Electronics’ year-end announcements. Though the matter would ultimately revert to him, the timing still left the situation unresolved.

“It seems the other side believes Notsan Corporation lacks competitiveness and is therefore unsuitable. In the electric vehicle sector, Japan is still entirely focused on hybrids, so we remain the stronger contender in that area.”

Seojun turned his head toward Director Park, who was giving the briefing. For the past two days, he had been analyzing and reviewing recent project reports on collaboration with the U.S.-based Anva Group.

His conclusion was this:

“Do we really need to put ourselves in a subservient position in this situation?”

“Pardon? Executive Director, but if it becomes known that we’re collaborating with Anva—”

“Right now, HAN is already ranked second globally in the electric vehicle sector. Last quarter’s performance hit record highs, and the newly released model has been receiving rave reviews daily. Given that we’re holding our own with independent technology, I don’t see much merit in bowing to Anva just for their designs.”

“Well… that’s true.”

Seojun pressed his lips together and handed back Director Park’s neatly prepared report.

“Let’s drop it.”

“….”

“What are you waiting for? You can leave now.”

“Yes, understood.”

After Chief Park bowed and left, the space was soon filled by someone else—a famous actress he had met by chance at a recent gathering.

Seojun had agreed to deposit billions of won into her account in exchange for her silence regarding their scandalous photos.

The actress, three years younger than Seojun, flashed her trademark eye smile.

“There’s nothing bad about this for me.”

“You’ll be labeled as an adulterer. You should think carefully before making your choice.”

“Executive Director, you’re more discreet than I thought.”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard you personally stopped reporter Jung Hyunjung from exposing my affair with Chairman Lee of Jeesung Group. Between an affair with an old chairman and one with a young executive director, the latter doesn’t seem so bad. Do as you wish. I don’t care either way.”

Seojun lightly ran his finger across the corner of his lips.

To be honest, this scandal wasn’t entirely a loss for him. He had already received all the incriminating photos from the reporter.

This was also an opportunity to issue a strong warning to Chairman Lee, who was always trying to extract high-level information from Leehan Group using his youngest daughter, Lee Heejin, as bait.

If the affair scandal dominated the news portals, neither Do Hyeran nor Nam Leehyun would dare pressure Moonkyeong recklessly.

It would undoubtedly be seen as a divorce caused by the other party’s fault. And given how much Do Hyeran valued her reputation, she would have no choice but to accept Moonkyeong’s divorce.

Kim Seouk was already arrested for embezzlement, and while Shin Jueun hadn’t yet been caught, it was only a matter of time before she was charged with murder. The problem lay with Nam Leehyun.

There was information that Nam Leehyun had been in contact with Yurim Party’s Assembly Member Lee Hankyu, but no evidence of monetary transactions or lobbying had been found, which was frustrating.

Even when he had people investigate the gallery Nam Leehyun was running, it turned out to be surprisingly clean.

Even if Leehan Group fell apart, she would be the one who stayed in her position until the end. That much, even he had to admit.

But he couldn’t leave Moonkyeong under the cockroach-like Nam Leehyun for long.

With that, he moved on to his next appointment.

* * *

Moonkyeong had left her bedroom to eat but ended up in the emergency room when her fever spiked to nearly 40 degrees Celsius.

She had spent the entire day listening to Seojun’s voice. She learned the actress’s name and realized he had leverage over Chairman Lee of Jeesung Group.

She thought hearing these things would bring clarity, but instead, it left her feeling even more suffocated.

By 3 p.m., he had only received a simple sandwich from his secretary and ate just that. He hadn’t even had breakfast before leaving, and now, he still hadn’t eaten dinner. It irritated her.

“We’ll give you a fever-reducing injection. Once your fever subsides, you can leave.”

Moonkyeong nodded as she lay on the emergency room cot. Even as the sharp needle pierced her skin, she felt no pain.

The only thing that hurt her was him. Moonkyeong let out a deep sigh.

She could have contacted the driver Seojun had assigned to her, but instead, she had taken a taxi to the hospital. Once again, she planned to hail a taxi from the hospital entrance when, by chance, she ran into Lee Heejin.

Only then did she recall that this hospital was affiliated with Lee Heejin’s family. Feeling awkward, Moonkyeong forced a smile.

Her body and mind were already in turmoil, and she wished Heejin would just pass by. But, of course, that was wishful thinking.

The moment Heejin saw Moonkyeong, she immediately started picking a fight. Humiliated by her husband Seouk’s imprisonment, Heejin had been on edge lately, and Moonkyeong was an easy target.

Perhaps suspecting a pregnancy, Heejin quickly asked:

“What department did you visit?”

“Emergency room.”

“Ah.”

Now that she thought about it, it was already past 7 p.m. Heejin glanced at Moonkyeong’s face. Instead of feeling sorry for her pale and sickly appearance, she felt a sense of petty satisfaction.

“Are you sick?”

“Just a cold.”

“Hah, pathetic. Then why not just call a doctor? Wait, don’t tell me you came here by taxi?”

“Yeah.”

“Seriously, what a joke!”

“I’m sick, so don’t talk to me.”

Moonkyeong lowered her eyes and tried to walk past Heejin. But Heejin grabbed her wrist and twisted it roughly.

“Hey, Seo Moonkyeong!”

“Let go.”

“What makes you so special? What’s so great about you that you get to have everything handed to you without lifting a finger? It’s infuriating, really. Just looking at you makes me so angry I feel like I’m going to lose my mind.”

Seeing Heejin vent her frustrations so irrationally made Moonkyeong’s temper flare as well. But fighting in front of a hospital wasn’t an option. Moonkyeong pressed her lips together tightly.

“Heejin. This is your final warning. Don’t mess with me.”

“Whatever.”

Moonkyeong opened her wallet and pulled out a ten-thousand-won bill, placing it neatly in Heejin’s hand with a smirk.

“Go buy yourself some snacks.”

“What?”

Ignoring Heejin’s loud outburst, Moonkyeong gave her a hard shove on the shoulder and walked away. She hailed a taxi and closed her eyes briefly as drowsiness washed over her.

Even after spending more than two hours at the hospital, he hadn’t contacted her once. That thought made her feel a pang of sadness again.

A simple, “Make sure to take your medicine,” would have been enough.

Despite her weariness, she found herself suppressing her irritation toward Seojun. She even laughed at herself for finding it amusing that she couldn’t even curse him anymore.

As sleep eluded her, she gazed out the taxi window at the passersby. In this vast, wide world, it felt like there was only her and him. The illusion of being just the two of them made her chest ache.

If only he had grown up in a slightly better environment, receiving just as much love as an average person. Then she might have been able to embrace even the shadows in his life.

We’re both struggling so much. I pity you, and you pity me.

…Do you think I’m pathetic, too? Maybe that’s it. Maybe that’s why you want to help me.

Idiot. You don’t even know how calculating I am. Once I leave, I’ll never come back.

Even if you beg me in tears, I won’t come back.

“…That would never happen.”

She stepped out of the taxi weakly and, upon returning home, immediately began preparing dinner. She made soybean paste soup with napa cabbage and stir-fried sausages—his favorite dish.

Being sick made her want to eat better. She didn’t want to eat a pitiful meal.

No matter how abundant the meal, eating dinner alone was always lonely and isolating.

Once the lawsuit begins, will I have to leave this house? If so, I’ll need to find a temporary place to stay, but renting somewhere for six months doesn’t seem feasible. And I can’t go to Seongbuk-dong either.

Chewing her rice, Moonkyeong frowned.

“Hah.”

She was annoyed at her own stubbornness, trying to stay by his side until she left Korea.

The surge of romantic feelings that came with the divorce made her upset. Just thinking about Seojun made her chest tighten, ache, and fill with excitement all at once.

If he saw me like this, he’d mock me. He’d laugh at me for having no pride. But what can I do? I even like it when you mock me now.

You drive me crazy, Kim Seojun. I’ve fallen for you. I love you.

So please, hold onto me.

After eating, Moonkyeong took her cold medicine. Even as the drowsiness from the medicine made her stagger, she prepared dinner for him.

For Seojun, who would return late at night, hungry. For the man who had no loving wife to greet him at the door with a “You’ve worked hard” and a kiss.

For the man who absolutely wouldn’t hold onto her.