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Chapter 15
The air in the dining room instantly turned chilly and heavy. Meeting Hajayoung’s piercing gaze, Sohye belatedly raised her hand to her mouth as if she had made a mistake.
“Oh my, I’m sorry. I almost said ‘dog’ by accident.”
Hajayoung, who had been scanning Sohye with sharp eyes, bent down under the table herself and picked up Minky.
“Anseong-daek.”
“Yes, Madam.”
“Get our Minky some water again. Fiji Water. And…”
Her still venomous eyes remained fixed on Sohye.
“Our daughter-in-law.”
She seemed thoroughly provoked.
“Yes, Mother.”
“Starting today, you’ll help Anseong-daek and go to Lily together.”
Lily was where Hajayoung’s secrets were hidden.
“Um, Madam, the Young Madam hasn’t fully recovered yet—”
“Yes, Mother. I’ll do that.”
Although Anseong-daek tried to intervene, Sohye put on a bright-eyed expression.
During the month she was away, and the week since her return…
Anseong-daek had probably been doing the work she used to do.
Hajayoung continued, stroking Minky with a satisfied expression.
“You two can handle meals by yourselves then.”
After Hajayoung left the dining room, Junhyeok asked Anseong-daek,
“Madam, what’s going on at Lily?”
So he does listen to Hajayoung’s words, even though he usually treats her like she’s invisible…
Sohye’s head tilted slightly as she straightened her lips, which had been faintly twisting with bitterness.
But Junhyeok really seemed not to know. About the secret hidden in Lily.
“At Lily… there are some things that need organizing.”
A plausible excuse came from Anseong-daek.
“Young Madam, I can handle organizing Lily by myself. So please don’t worry about what Madam said.”
“No, it’s fine. But I have a schedule this morning, so I’ll probably be back before evening. So let’s do it together then. But… are you okay?”
Sohye offered the clean linen napkin set on the table to Anseong-daek.
“Oh my… I’m fine. Thank you.”
Anseong-daek brushed back her still-wet hair and faintly lifted the corners of her lips as if to say she was okay. But moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes.
“I’ve worked here for decades… Yet there’s so much I don’t know…”
Seeing Anseong-daeng’s sad smile, Sohye’s heart wavered.
“I probably know even less than you, Madam. So please take care of me from now on.”
As Sohye offered a fresh greeting, Anseong-daek responded with a kind smile. Junhyeok, who had been silently watching Sohye across the table, averted his gaze.
***
A white van stopped in front of Hagahaen.
“Long time no see, Noona.”
Sangcheol, with his sturdy build, ran over like Pororo and firmly grasped Sohye’s hand.
“I guess so. For me, it feels like I just saw you yesterday.”
She was becoming quite natural at acting twenty-five. Sangcheol escorted Sohye and opened the van’s sliding door for her.
“Hi Sohye!”
Youngseon was inside the van.
“Today’s just a meeting with the director, why did you come?”
“I came to keep an eye on you instead of CEO Mo.”
Sohye made a ‘tch’ sound and pouted her lips. Youngseon handed Sohye a coffee.
“Drink up. Madam.”
Looking at the playful Youngseon, Sohye tilted her head and accepted the coffee.
“What’s this? Suddenly.”
“Does your house, Hagahaen, treat you like this?”
“What are you talking about.”
Sohye chuckled and took a sip of coffee. Then Youngseon leaned in close and whispered in Sohye’s ear.
“Is the acting manageable?”
Sohye glanced at the rearview mirror to check on Sangcheol in the driver’s seat. He was immersed in the flowing music, singing along with subtly off-beat lyrics.
“Sangcheol-ah.”
Sohye called softly, but Sangcheol was too focused on singing to hear. Finally, Sohye leaned back against the seat and nodded.
“It’s manageable, but. That person…”
“Who?”
“Junhyeok-ssi.”
“Your husband? Why?”
Somehow, what had happened since the day she was discharged felt inappropriate to talk about, like it was above a certain threshold.
“Just. He’s changed so much.”
“How has he changed?”
“He takes good care of me. And…”
He looks at me with warm eyes, holds my hand and walks with me randomly. Every night before I sleep, he always strokes my hair, and sometimes pats me or even grabs my shoulders.
She couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“And what?”
“He’s so affectionate and good to me… It’s like a dream.”
“Suspicious too?”
Sohye paused for a moment, then nodded. The way Junhyeok had been treating her lately was so questionable it was hard to believe it was real.
“He pretends not to know I asked for a divorce and treats me so differently from before… It is suspicious.”
“Maybe it’s something like that?”
“Something like what?”
“During divorce, they consider marital fault, right? And the division of assets depends on that. Maybe he’s doing that to show he did his best as a husband? Or…”
Wanting to deny what she just heard, she pressed for other possibilities.
“Or?”
“Maybe he woke up after you said you wanted a divorce.”
“I hope so.”
Along with the wish that it was the latter, a bitter smile naturally formed on her lips.
“Huh?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
Youngseon seemed to have missed Sohye’s voice amid the intermittent music during their conversation.
“Anyway. What about Hajun?”
“Our Hajun? So handsome, right?”
“It’s a given that your child is handsome. Is Hajun living with you at Lilac now?”
Although he was nearby, opportunities to hold Hajun were still scarce. Hajayoung used Chairman Ha and Hajun’s condition as excuses to prevent her from getting close to the child.
“He still lives with his great-grandfather. But I see him more often than before.”
That alone was enough for now. She had almost not been able to see Hajun at all.
Youngseon, quietly watching Sohye’s bittersweet smile, nodded.
“That’s a relief.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the music flowing through the van abruptly stopped.
“We’ve arrived.”
The three got out of the van.
“Sangcheol, you take Sohye up first. 7th floor.”
“What about you, Noona?”
“I can’t go up empty-handed. The CEO gave me a card to buy donuts and coffee.”
“Got it. Noona! Lots of pistachio cream donuts. Sohye Noona likes them, you know.”
“That’s our Sangcheol.”
Sohye gave Sangcheol a thumbs-up. Youngseon headed to the donut shop while Sohye waited in the lobby with Sangcheol for the elevator.
*Buzz, buzz.*
Sangcheol grabbed his vibrating phone and looked at the screen.
“Who is it?”
Sangcheol shrugged, saying it was an unknown number, and answered the call.
“Yes?! My car? Understood. I’ll be right out.”
Although it was a brief call, she could guess something had happened from Sangcheol’s words.
“What’s going on?”
“Ah, someone says they hit our car badly in the parking lot and wants me to come out?”
“Really?”
“Can you go up alone, Noona?”
Just then, the elevator arrived in the lobby and its doors opened.
“Yeah. I’ll go up. Handle it well and come back.”
After confirming Sohye had entered the elevator, Sangcheol turned around. Sohye watched him with some concern as she pressed the 7th-floor button, which lit up. At that moment, the closing elevator doors slowly opened again. Sohye consciously bowed her head and took a step back.
A man entered through the open door. Instead of pressing a floor button, the man firmly pressed the ‘Close’ button. But the man didn’t press any floor number, letting the elevator doors close. Sohye, standing behind him, gave him a suspicious look.
Black sneakers, a black flight jacket, and a black hat. The hat pulled down low so his face wasn’t visible looked quite suspicious. As Sohye slowly raised her eyes, her pupils dilated. She hurriedly lowered her gaze and looked at the man’s hand.
Below the thick watch—faded tooth marks and a tattoo extending from the back of his hand.
Instantly, Sohye froze in place like someone who had forgotten how to breathe, unable to exhale or inhale.
