Chapter 5.8

“Sowon Construction can survive if the merger falls through, but Sowon Financial will suffer significant damage.”

Kwon Gi-jo threw the stack of documents aside as if it were something repulsive.

“You need to protect Sowon Financial. It’s the only thing you have left now.”

Jeong-hyeok’s voice sank, cold and steady.

“I’ll wait, so sign it and send it back.”

His final words carried a subdued intensity, his gaze briefly burning with a rage even greater than Kwon Gi-jo’s before it subsided.

“Now that I’ve said what I came to say, I’ll take my leave.”

Jeong-hyeok turned his back.

“…How long do you think you can keep the truth from her?! The truth always rises to the surface!” 

Kwon Gi-jo shouted after Jeong-hyeok’s retreating figure, his voice cracking.

But there was no response as the door closed behind him.

Kwon Gi-jo steadied his labored breathing. Secretary Park entered to assist him, but he waved him away.

After wheezing for a long while, Kwon Gi-jo picked up the book that Jeong-hyeok had taken from his hands earlier.

Inside the pages, yellowed with age and marked by time, was a photograph.

Kwon Gi-jo carefully pulled out the photo and studied it.

The picture showed several young girls, around eight to ten years old. It had been taken during an elementary school event for Parents’ Day.

The young girls were holding similar carnations made at school.

The girls held similar carnations made at school, but one girl stood out with a tulip-shaped card instead. She was smiling brightly.

On the name tag hanging from the girl’s neck, the name ‘Kim Eun-sol’ was written.

***

A week later, in the evening.

It seemed like the heat was starting early this year. Even though it was only May, the evening air was lukewarm.

Eun-sol arrived at the omakase restaurant. It was her first time going out for a personal appointment, and she felt excited.

At the restaurant, it was just Eun-sol and Yu-rim, the two of them alone.

“Wow, this place is expensive. Thanks to the wife of a chaebol family, I get to come to a place like this.”

Yu-rim beamed as she picked up the first dish, steamed abalone.

“Is it? I wouldn’t know. Housekeeper Woo made the reservation for me.”

“Oh my, you even have a housekeeper? I’m my own housekeeper. For my cat.”

Eun-sol burst out laughing. This time of laughing and chatting like everyone else was precious to her.

At that moment, Yu-rim received a call from her husband. She chatted with him on the phone for quite a while, and then, realizing she might have overdone it, quickly ended the call.

“Oh, I’m sorry. If I hang up too quickly, he gets sulky, so I was just trying to match his mood a little.”

“It’s okay. It’s fascinating and nice to see.”

“Fascinating? I find it more fascinating that you have a housekeeper. I mean, come on.”

Yu-rim picked up the second dish, braised herring, with her chopsticks.

“No, I think you’re the fascinating one. What do you even have to talk about with your husband every day? Does he always call you like that?”

For Eun-sol, it was an unfamiliar sight.

Jeong-hyeok had said he was so busy with the merger that he barely had time to breathe, and she hadn’t seen his face properly for an entire week.

Although she had been told he was busy, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

“My husband is a writer. Since it’s a reclusive job, he doesn’t have many friends. So, I think he just clings to me and talks a lot. I just listen most of the time.”

Yu-rim and her husband seemed to be not only a married couple but also good friends. The topic of conversation soon shifted to Eun-sol’s married life.

“Really? You haven’t seen your husband’s face for a whole week? Have you tried calling him?”

“Calling? No. He’s busy, so I figured he wouldn’t have time to answer. And it’s not like we have anything to talk about like you and your husband do.”

“Then what about small things, like texting? Asking if he’s eaten lunch, or what he ate—don’t you even do that?”

Eun-sol poked at the braised herring with her chopsticks and replied, 

“I thought about it, but if he ignores my text, I feel like I’d get hurt.”

Yu-rim burst into laughter. 

“Wow, your marriage is fascinating. You’re technically married, but the vibe is more like you’re still in the dating stage. Then, instead of just waiting at home, how about this?”

“What is it?”

Eun-sol leaned in to listen to Yu-rim’s suggestion.

***

The next day at lunchtime.

Eun-sol hesitantly stepped out into the underground parking lot of Sowon Construction. In one hand, she held a lunchbox.

“I’ll carry it for you, ma’am.”

“No, it’s fine. Housekeeper Woo, you already did most of the cooking, so at least I should carry it myself.”

“Then I’ll wait for you at the nearby café.”

“Huh? You’re telling me to go alone?”

Without a word, Housekeeper Woo smiled broadly and disappeared.

As Eun-sol got into the elevator, she sighed even more deeply.

Just like Yu-rim had suggested yesterday, since it was hard to see his face at home, she decided to visit him at work. And to have a reason for the visit, she had prepared a lunchbox. But…

‘Ah, this was such a mistake!’

She tapped her feet nervously, then cleared her throat and practiced what she might say when she met him.

“I was worried about whether you were eating properly.”

No, that’s too forward.

“Housekeeper Woo pushed me into doing this.”

No, that’s too passive.

“There was leftover food, and I didn’t want it to go to waste…”

No, that’s just terrible.

“Ugh, should I just go back home?!”

Ding-

Before she could decide, the elevator stopped at the first floor. Her plan was to request a meeting with him through the receptionist at the front desk.

She could have contacted him directly, but that wouldn’t be much of a surprise.

‘I almost hope they say he’s out on a business trip.’

Though she didn’t mean it sincerely, the thought crossed her mind because of her growing nervousness.

‘Why is this place so huge?’

The interior was far more expansive than she had imagined, and the unexplained sense of pressure only grew.

The various construction models, the massive screens continuously flashing Sowon Construction’s promotional videos—it was overwhelming.

She had never thought of him as an ordinary man, but she was realizing now that he was even more extraordinary than she’d imagined.

‘There are so many employees just walking around this lobby. To think he’s responsible for all of them…’

She began to understand why he was always so busy. At the same time, she felt her confidence shrink.

‘Maybe I really should just leave.’

Today, just touring the company was enough. Eun-sol hurried back to the spot where she had gotten off earlier and waited for the elevator again.

She kept her head low, worried that she might run into someone she knew, like Chief Cheon.

Ding-

The elevator coming down from above opened its doors. She intended to get in after the person inside stepped out, but the man already in the elevator didn’t get off.

Now that she thought about it, the sharply pressed pant legs and the polished shoes seemed oddly familiar.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Startled by the familiar deep voice, she lifted her head.