CHAPTER 1: Wedding Anniversary Gifts (Part 3)

It was about a year and a half ago, almost to the day of Moon-kyeong’s twenty-eighth birthday.

It was a season when her clear and pure skin shone more brightly than ever. After her spectacular finale to the music of ‘Swan Lake’, Mrs. Do Hye-ran visited her daughter’s dressing room.

In her hand was a bouquet of flowers that she had been busy preparing since the morning. As soon as Hye-ran saw her, she ran to her and hugged her.

“My daughter, you were so amazing today. Even though it’s not the first time I’ve seen your performance, I cried again. I can’t believe how moving and touching it was.”

“Did I do well?”

“Yes. Everyone praises you. Even though they know Odette (the protagonist of Swan Lake) is not a real person, they say it feels like she’s alive. A swan so pure and beautiful. How proud I am to have you as my daughter.”

Hye-ran really did shed a single tear. She was still reeling from the performance.

Moon-kyeong buried her face in the large bouquet. The fragrant scent of flowers pierced her nose, and the harmonious colors of the flowers were pleasing to the eye.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, your father is outside. And the Lee Han Group Chairman’s family came. After watching today’s performance, they praised you so much that they’ve marked you as their future daughter-in-law until their mouths went dry.”

“Lee Han Group?”

“Yeah, I’ve mentioned it before, right? Surely you haven’t forgotten?”

“Of course not. I heard it like a nail being driven into my ear.”

“Right. We decided to have dinner together, so finish up quickly and come out. It’s not polite to keep the guests waiting too long. You know that, right?”

“Of course, I’ll be right there.”

Her busy hands wiped away her thick makeup. It was indeed impolite to keep the guests waiting for too long, as her mother had pointed out.

She’s only been in Korea for six months, after spending quite a bit of time in other countries.

Moon-kyeong looked out at the empty dressing room as she organized her thoughts. Though it was customary for the ensemble members to have a gathering after the performance, she had never once been able to join.

It was always due to dinners with her parents after the show. As the repetition of such events became a norm, the ensemble members, who initially expressed displeasure, now seemed to accept it as a matter of course.

Being teased as ‘Mama’s Girl’, Moon-kyeong simply brushed off any mockery. Others’ opinions weren’t important to her.

In the upscale restaurant on the first floor of Lee Han Hotel, Moon-kyeong looked over at the Kim couple sitting across from her.

Although she had come across a few articles about the prestigious family through the media, it was strange to see a woman so young next to Chairman Kim Seok-young.

Chairman Kim’s legal wife is Nam Leehyeon, the nearly seventy-year-old director of the HAN Gallery. Although Lee Han Group itself tended to downplay women’s involvement in management or media exposure, keeping their faces veiled, Chairman Kim’s second wife, Shin Joo-eun, seemed distinctively different.

Unlike her complex thoughts, Moon-kyeong’s outward appearance, shaped by years of ballet, was straight and poised.

Shin Joo-eun, Kim Seok-young’s second wife, smiled at her as she neatly sliced the steak.

“What should I do? The more I look at her, the more I like her and want to take her home.”

Hye-ran took this opportunity to subtly nudge Moon-kyeong’s elbow. It was a sign for her to appeal to them in some way.

The Lee Han Group is one of the leading companies in South Korea, and if this marriage goes well, there’s nothing more they could ask for.

The story went that Kim Seo-wook, the Executive Director of Lee Han Hotel and 34 years old this year, was already at an age where he should get married. Rumors had spread even in the golf club Moon-kyeong frequently visited.

Rumors were spreading here and there that he was already considering potential matches, but no matter how Hye-ran looked at it, her daughter Moon-kyeong seemed to be the best match.

How well she had raised her daughter. Moon-kyeong was a daughter who was no less enviable than a son. Moon-kyeong lightly smiled at Hye-ran’s subtly proud actions.

She wiped her dry lips with a napkin.

“It’s truly an honor. I’ve been told by my mother that the Lee Han Group is a good company since I was a little girl.”

“Oh, really?”

“Feel free to speak comfortably.”

“Is that so? Alright then.”

Shin Joo-eun couldn’t stop smiling at how nice Moon-kyeong’s words sounded. Despite having watched numerous ballet performances before, Moon-kyeong’s was undoubtedly different.

Slender, long limbs, graceful body. Most of all, she looked like someone who knew she was beautiful.

She knew exactly how to express and emphasize it to others, making it leave a lasting impression.

As the meal was coming to an end, Shin Joo-eun took aim at Do Hye-ran’s desires.

Short and to the point, she brought up the subject of her son Seo-wook’s marriage prospects. She said that they would soon set a date to send an official proposal from their side. In the car on the way back to Seongbuk-dong after leaving the restaurant, Hye-ran laughed.

She couldn’t stop laughing.