Chapter 3

Sejeong knew nothing about political games. What she did know was that her father had secured the promise for the next chief prosecutor’s seat after next year and had actively arranged her marriage, and that today’s matchmaking meeting was just a formality for a marriage that was already set in stone.

“Un-rok, that b*stard, surely knows all this. Didn’t he dislike you because you acted so stupidly? Hm? I never mentioned your nearly useless eye, but maybe you showed it.”

“Honey!”

Unable to bear it any longer, Madame Joo stepped in to stop her husband’s harsh words.

“She’s getting better little by little, so why say such things? She didn’t even know before you said it, and even if she’s your niece only on paper, your blood runs through her. What kind of uncle says that to his niece? Please, try to restrain yourself before you let those words slip out everywhere you go.”

Sejeong kept her gaze lowered and just sat in silence. The endless verbal ab*se crushed her pride and battered her self-esteem. She should have gotten used to it by now, but it seemed impossible to truly become accustomed. Madame Joo’s sigh grew deeper, and a bit of her carefully hidden feelings peeked out.

“Besides, this marriage is for Seri’s sake, so you shouldn’t act like this. It was supposed to be Seri’s marriage… If only that cold-hearted girl hadn’t run away with that penniless good-for-nothing.”

Crash—a loud sound of glass shattering rang in everyone’s ears. Eun Seokhyeon, holding a golf club in one hand, screamed so loudly the house shook.

“Shut up, you damned woman! Why bring up that b*tch? Isn’t this all your fault for teaching her wrong, d*mn it… Should I just smash this whole house? Hm?”

He only put down the golf club after his wife bowed her head and earnestly apologized. Still breathing heavily, he calmed himself and turned back to Sejeong.

“I’ll talk to Secretary Baek again and call you later, so go upstairs. Anyway, this marriage is already a done deal and everything is set, so don’t think unnecessary thoughts and just behave quietly. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Sejeong answered instantly, like a machine. In situations like this, a quick, clear answer was required.

“And if you think about it, it’s not for Seri’s sake but thanks to Seri that you hit the jackpot. No matter what rumors spread about depression or drugs, your match is none other than Seogwang Group’s eldest son and the legitimate child, Yeo Un-rok. I’ve told you countless times how his talent, once buried in music, has shifted to business and how well he’s thriving within the group.”

She remembered it clearly. Whenever her father drank, he would lament that the daughter who seemed like she might finally behave had run off, that he didn’t need a runaway daughter, that even if she was a drug addict, having a son like Yeo’s eldest would be wonderful, and that the boy who suddenly appeared with a genetic test was hopeless. He always complained.

“If just being listed as a candidate for that guy’s bride means jumping into the Han River in midwinter, you know better than anyone how many daughters from prestigious families would line up for it.”

“Yes, Father. But…….”

Sejeong hesitated for a moment. She wouldn’t repeat Yeo Un-rok’s unfiltered words directly, but felt she should give at least a hint.

“That person… I think he has another woman.”

“I don’t know what ridiculous rumors you heard, but stop talking nonsense. You think I wouldn’t have done a background check? Maybe he’s a bit twisted because of that accident ten years ago, but he’s famous for never chasing after women.”

At that moment, Madame Joo, who had been subdued, muttered as if to herself.

“If he was determined not to get caught, would he? Whether it’s women or drugs or whatever……”

“Quiet! If I say it’s true, then it is, so leave right now.”

As soon as she left the study, her aunt thumped her chest and went into the master room. Even if her prospective groom carried bad rumors, the fact that her own daughter had run away from the position of Seogwang Group’s lady made her aunt burn with anger.

Sejeong changed clothes and sat absent-mindedly before heading to the music room. In the soundproofed room stood an upright piano in the color of oak.

There was no dust on the piano, the kind that gathers on neglected objects. Sejeong cleaned the music room every few days. Now, she was the only one in the house who played the piano.

She placed both hands on the white keys and let the melodies that always lingered in her mind flow through her fingers. The amateur arrangement of Bach’s Italian Concerto, the cadenza from Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 was quite messy, but a few bars of Chopin’s Prelude were relatively smooth—various melodies followed one after another, without order. These were the pieces she liked most in her teenage years, and even now.

And then, notes that seemed like classical pieces, or perhaps new age, continued from Sejeong’s fingertips. It was a melody that existed nowhere else in the world. Sejeong’s fingers suddenly stopped.

He didn’t remember her at all. But she felt that he might remember the moment when she played this melody for him. Perhaps, somewhere in his memory, the moment she played it for someone was still left behind.

***

Near midnight, Joo Hyesuk quietly called Sejeong after confirming her husband was asleep. The soundproof music listening room and Eun Seokhyeon’s study were the most suitable places for confidential conversations.

When Sejeong entered the study, Madame Joo began without preamble. Her pale face was marked with distress.

“Sejeong, this is your last chance. Be honest. If you don’t want this marriage, tell me the truth. No matter how I think about it, it seems right not to go through with this marriage. Forcing you to object and lie at the matchmaking meeting like that…”

Sejeong silently looked at Madame Joo’s face. She knew very well this wasn’t the real reason. Madame Joo wasn’t especially wicked, but she wasn’t particularly virtuous either. She was an ordinary person, unable to control the jealousy and envy anyone might harbor, feelings that twisted her inside.

“I won’t tell your uncle your true feelings, but I’ll find another reason to break off the marriage. For example, something like an undisclosed affair… or something they could use against us, if we bring that up, their family wouldn’t have a choice.”

Sejeong said nothing. Her left eye grew blurry. She was always the good, obedient niece and adopted daughter, the younger sister who listened well to Seri, who had run away. In an environment where she was cleverly forced to behave, she had always suppressed her own will, never truly expressing it.

Seri, too, was neither a bad sister nor an angelic one. But she never hesitated to take full advantage of Sejeong’s gentle nature and her position, which forced her to be compliant. Joo Hyesuk and Eun Seri, mother and daughter, really had much in common.

“I……”

“Go ahead. Tell me, Sejeong.”

“Aunt, I’ll just do as Uncle says, without defying him, as I’ve always done.”

“I knew you’d say that. You always do. Always so afraid of causing trouble or conflict, you just quietly kill yourself with kindness…… But this is about your life, Sejeong.”

Madame Joo studied her niece’s face carefully, as if trying to discern Sejeong’s true intentions. The seat of Seogwang’s lady, which should have belonged to her own daughter Seri, was now to be occupied by another girl, a niece far inferior to Seri. She simply couldn’t stand by and watch. Unaware that her feelings were so transparent, Joo Hyesuk tried her best to persuade Sejeong.

“Yes. I know… Aunt.”

Sejeong didn’t raise her head. She didn’t want to meet Madame Joo’s eyes, which pretended to wish for her niece’s happiness but always tried to impose her own will.

“So you really plan to marry? In my opinion, divorce is just a matter of time.”

That prediction could easily come true. Regardless of the wishes of her uncle and aunt or Chairman Yeo, no one knew whether a marriage begun so awkwardly would sail smoothly.

But Sejeong wanted to leave this house that endlessly suppressed her. In this house, Eun Sejeong was no different from a doll on display in a dollhouse. With a huge spring attached to her back like wings, she only moved her limbs and danced according to the manual when her uncle and aunt wound or unwound the spring.

She wanted to leave this place and start anew with the man who didn’t even remember her. A new life, her own independent existence—anything would be better. That’s why, even after hearing such a terrible arranged meeting and humiliating words, she wanted to take a chance just once.

“Even if I end up divorcing… I’ll think about that when the time comes, Aunt.”

And just like Madame Joo, she hid her true feelings as much as possible and added,

“Even if I say no… wouldn’t Uncle push it through anyway?”

A clear ambition to leverage Seogwang’s power was there. Sighing, Madame Joo seemed to understand everything even though she hadn’t heard the words Sejeong swallowed.

She sighed again, as if the ground would sink, and pressed her temples firmly with both hands. The title of future chief prosecutor’s wife, even that of Prosecutor General’s wife, couldn’t take precedence over the safety and happiness of her daughter somewhere in America.