Chapter 7.3

At the dinner event for new executives, Seojun’s dramatic entrance in the company’s newest car had an extraordinary effect. For days, his name and photos of HAN Motors’ new electric vehicle dominated the real-time search rankings on portal sites. 

As of three months later, the number of orders had surged explosively, and the brand’s image steadily improved. Naturally, this also increased Seojun’s workload. Over the past three months, he had gone on twelve business trips, and his honeymoon had been postponed until July.

Even Moonkyeong, who had briefly dreamed of escaping the country for some peaceful time, didn’t feel the slightest resentment. She felt sorry for him, as he had been surviving on just three or four hours of sleep a day for months and leaving early for work every morning.

Waking up even earlier than him to prepare a proper meal, Moonkyeong checked the time on the wall and turned off the gas stove. After washing her hands and drying them on her apron, she knocked lightly on Seojun’s bedroom door.

She walked briskly to the dressing room to pick out his tie but froze momentarily. At this time, he should have already been dressed in his shirt, yet he was only now sliding one arm into it. 

This gave her an unintentional view of his firm abdomen, pelvis, and sculpted chest muscles. Clearly, he wasn’t just working hard at the office but also making time for exercise despite his busy schedule.

“Ah.”

Worried that she might have stared too blatantly, she quickly averted her gaze, but he spoke up.

“First time seeing this?”

“……”

For some reason, his fingers seemed to slow as they buttoned his shirt. Moonkyeong swallowed hard.

“Should I step out and come back in?”

“It’s fine.”

His gaze told her to just pick a tie quickly, as usual. Moonkyeong swiftly assessed the colors of his shirt and suit. Today, his shirt had a bluish tint, and his suit, as always, was black. She chose a gray-toned checkered tie.

With movements quicker than before, she tied the tie around his shirt. The scent of his cologne wafted into her nose, tormenting her. At some point, she had grown to like this scent. It was an intoxicating fragrance. She couldn’t tell whether it was the cologne itself or the way it mixed with Seojun’s natural scent.

Every morning at this time, she felt as though every cell in her body was being drawn to him. Just once, she wished she could embrace him like in the old days. Even if the time came when she left him, and he let her go, she longed to be held beneath him, soaking through the night.

But no, they were a show-window couple, and they had to fulfill their roles.

“I prepared bocconcini oil salad for breakfast. You seemed to enjoy it last time.”

Moonkyeong exhaled softly as she left the dressing room, having finished her task. Seojun, too, finally exhaled comfortably, his excitement stirred by her gaze.

***

“Professor, I was wrong. Please, just this once. I beg you.”

In front of the large gate of the house in Seongbuk-dong, Bora knelt and pleaded, but Hyeran walked past her without a word. After ensuring that Moonkyeong’s marriage went off without a hitch, she had methodically erased all traces of Bora. 

Getting her fired from the company was just the beginning. She had also taken back the deposit for Bora’s one-room apartment. Through the text messages exchanged between Bora and Moonkyeong, Hyeran recently discovered that Bora had been secretly taking Moonkyeong’s luxury bags one by one. Enraged, she reported them all as stolen to the police.

Fired from her job, evicted from her home, and contacted by the police all in one day, Bora clung to Hyeran’s pant leg as she passed by.

“Professor, what should I do? I’ll do anything, anything at all. Please, just one more chance. Please.”

Bora had always felt superior to her fellow orphanage peers, who lived crammed into basement rooms. But now, finding herself in the same situation, she felt a crushing weight on her chest. Facing the prospect of being thrown out onto the streets, she wept as she begged Hyeran.

“I’ll stay away from Moonkyeong. If you want me to sign a pledge, I’ll do it right now!”

Hyeran took an envelope from her wallet and tossed it onto the ground. Bora’s eyes lit up as she picked it up, smiling in relief. Although it didn’t seem very thick, she quickly opened it. To her surprise, it contained not cash but a bus ticket to Samcheok, Gangwon Province.

“W-what is this?”

“Go live quietly in the countryside for a while. Depending on how you behave, I’ll decide whether to support you again.”

Conflicted, Bora grabbed the ticket and nodded.

“I’ll do it, Professor. Please don’t abandon me.”

After bowing and running off, Hyeran watched her with pity. Even when offered freedom, she clung to the hope of support, foolishly refusing to let go. Shaking her head, Hyeran muttered, 

“Fine, spend your whole life waiting for my help.”

Having no intention of aiding Bora again, she brushed off her pants and went inside. She decided to donate all the reclaimed bags at a charity event. Those items no longer held any significance for Moonkyeong. Now, her daughter had risen to a position where she could have anything she wanted.

“So, you won’t want to leave that world so easily. Once you have something, it’s impossible to let go.”

Hyeran stifled a laugh.

***

Taking advantage of Seojun’s trip to the Daegu factory, Hyeran stopped by Moonkyeong’s newlywed home in Samseong-dong. As soon as she entered, she inspected the refrigerator and pulled out every dish in the kitchen.

“Open that too.”

“Yes.”

“And that one.”

“Yes.”

After finishing the kitchen inspection, Hyeran moved on to the next area. She meticulously checked the state of the master bedroom, the bathroom’s cleanliness, and the condition of Seojun’s shirts in the dressing room. 

Upon receiving Hyeran’s sudden notice, Moonkyeong had spent the past hour mixing her belongings into Seojun’s living space to make it appear as though they were living harmoniously as a married couple. Fortunately, Hyeran didn’t seem to notice. However, her expression soured at a few things she found displeasing.

“Is there something you don’t like?”

“No. Now that you’re married, I can’t meddle too much in your household. But get rid of that.”

Several months ago, Moonkyeong had placed a vase of dogtail grass, picked during a countryside outing with Seojun, on display. Apparently, Hyeran found it offensive.

Moonkyeong immediately threw it into the trash.

“This should do. Shall we have some tea?”

“Yes.”

As they shared tea, Hyeran scrutinized Moonkyeong’s face. She had always been slender due to her ballet background, but her face now looked even thinner.

“Are you taking the herbal medicine properly?”

Last month, Hyeran had visited the most expensive clinic in Gangnam to personally prepare herbal medicine for Seojun’s health. She had also included a prescription for Moonkyeong aimed at enhancing fertility. Although only a month had passed, the lack of results seemed to make Hyeran anxious.

Moonkyeong reassured her. 

“I’m taking it diligently and doing my best.”

“How often?”

“Pardon?”

“I need to know your situation to provide better care.”

“Ah.”

Moonkyeong lied. From an outsider’s perspective, as newlyweds, the correct answer would be that they were intimate almost every day. However, her answer somehow felt melancholic.  

“Almost every day.”  

“Oh my, Son-in-law, he must still have energy despite being so busy. Well, I suppose it’s still that time of life.”  

Moonkyeong pushed away her tea and lowered her voice.  

“Can we stop talking about this?”  

“What, are you embarrassed? Talking about this in front of your mom? Anyway, it’s best to have a baby as soon as possible.”  

“I’ll try harder.”  

“Yes, you should.”  

“Yes.”  

“By the way, do you still see Bora these days?”  

Over the past month, Moonkyeong hadn’t answered a single one of Bora’s calls. All she had received was a text asking her to keep the luxury bags she had taken a secret from her mother. It was clear Hyeran was probing her, sensing a change in her attitude.  

Feigning ignorance, Moonkyeong calmly lifted her head.  

“No, I don’t see her.”  

“Why, did you fight?”  

“She kept being a nuisance, so I got rid of her.”  

Moonkyeong smiled brightly after finishing her sentence.  

So, Mom, if you keep being a nuisance, I’ll get rid of you someday too. Wait and see, Mom.  

I’m counting down, so it won’t take long.  

She hoped Hyeran would catch the chilling undertone in her words, which were ostensibly about Bora. Hyeran’s obsessive interference, which had remained unchanged since before the wedding, continued to gnaw at Moonkyeong’s soul.  

The fact that Bora, who had once been like a sore thumb, had been cut off and that now she had to cut off her mother herself—it caused her some pain.  

After Hyeran left, Moonkyeong spent all her time cleaning the dishes, utensils, bedding, and household items that Hyeran had taken out. She even polished the floors until they shone, as usual.  

It was then that she received a call from Nam Leehyun.  

“Yes, Mother.”  

• You know there’s a regular OB-GYN checkup tomorrow, right? If you’re planning to bring Seojun, let me know in advance. I wouldn’t want to intrude.  

“No, I’ll keep it a secret from Seojun and go by myself.”  

• Alright.

The results of her last OB-GYN visit had been excellent. Neither Seojun nor Moonkyeong had any issues. In fact, the news that Seojun’s sperm count was double that of the average man had brought a satisfied smile to Nam Leehyun’s face.  

Nam Leehyun pressured her to get pregnant by the end of the year. Shin Jueun frequently called her over to do household chores. And Hyeran, who persistently tried to confine her, was no different.  

Moonkyeong’s days were as intense as Seojun’s.  

“Phew.”  

Just as she was catching her breath, she received a message from Seojun.  

<I’ll be home early today. Let’s have dinner together.>  

It was their first dinner together in fifteen days. For some reason, Moonkyeong felt happy.