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CHAPTER 08
Choi-hee immediately recognized that the book in her hands was a familiar classic novel. She opened it wide with both hands and began reading the first sentence.
“[It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.]”
She glanced at the man beyond the book and continued.
“To translate it, ‘It is a universally accepted truth that a wealthy unmarried man needs a wife.’”
The man’s gaze slowly moved from the book in her hands to her face.
He stared so intensely that her face felt warm under his eyes.
Ignoring it for now was the best choice. Choi-hee continued reading.
Just as she was about to start the second paragraph, the man raised a hand to stop her.
“That level of comprehension and translation is sufficient. This will do.”
“Really? Is this enough? Then about the hiring…”
“I now understand your English ability. But that alone is not enough.”
“You mean you want a trial lesson?”
He seemed unexpectedly picky. Back when she saw him on the train, she had thought he was rather lenient, especially with the geisha girls—but toward her, he was annoyingly strict.
Typical men.
“…Well, something like that. I don’t casually let people into my home.”
Ah. So he doesn’t let just anyone into his home, but he apparently meets anyone outside.
She barely held back a sharp retort and forced a smile.
‘Just say you’ll hire me. I’ll charge a high salary, I swear. I just need money.’
Through clenched teeth, she spoke as politely as she could.
“Then what do you want to know?”
“Your name.”
He answered without hesitation. His gaze through his glasses stayed fixed on her eyes.
So he wants to interrogate her identity?
Of course, it was a reasonable question for an employer—but she had no intention of answering so easily.
“Isn’t it basic manners to introduce your own name first when asking someone else’s? You know nothing about me, and I know nothing about you.”
At her words, his expression subtly changed. One eyebrow lifted, twitching—he looked both amused and slightly irritated.
“I am Lee Do-woon.”
That was it?
She waited for more, but the man—Do-woon—showed no intention of elaborating further.
He gestured toward her with his chin, as if asking, And yours?
Reluctantly, she spoke.
“I’m Seong Choi-hee.”
At her introduction, Do-woon murmured quietly, as if repeating her name to himself.
He rested his chin on one hand, thinking.
“Let’s schedule the trial lesson for three days from now.”
“Alright. I’ll prepare lessons by then. Have you studied English before?”
“I know the basics.”
“Then what exactly do you want to learn?”
“I want to be able to freely discuss business matters with Westerners.”
Right—he was a businessman.
Choi-hee nodded and walked toward the bookshelf. She searched for usable materials, but all the English books were novels.
“There doesn’t seem to be any proper teaching material here.”
“There are plenty of books lying around, are there not?”
His voice carried doubt.
Choi-hee felt a bit irritated at his lack of trust. He didn’t even know her properly.
“You said you only know the basics, right? From what I see here—Pride and Prejudice, A Tale of Two Cities… good heavens, these novels are far too advanced for someone like you, young master.”
One of his eyebrows rose again.
She was beginning to notice a pattern—he lifted one eyebrow whenever something displeased him.
“Are you calling me ‘young master’ now?”
So he heard that too? Sharp ears. He must have realized she was being sarcastic. She brushed it off.
“Novels aren’t suitable for business English.”
“Listening to you, it sounds like you’ve taught many people.”
“Of course. I taught students for over three years at a school. I’ll get the proper materials myself.”
She finished speaking and held out her right hand, palm up.
Do-woon looked down at her hand in confusion.
“…What are you doing?”
Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow.
“Money. I need money to buy materials.”
“Ha… haha!”
After a beat, Do-woon let out a laugh that sounded half like a sigh. Somewhere between amusement and disbelief.
“Are you saying you can’t even afford textbooks?”
She deliberately poked at him.
A small revenge for earlier.
He shook his head as if conceding and reached into his jacket, pulling out a wallet. A polished dark green leather wallet.
He took out several bills and placed them on her palm.
“…Here.”
It was more money than she expected. The paper felt heavy in her hand.
She calmly tucked it into her pocket.
Her once-empty pocket now bulged.
“Then I’ll see you in three days, Mr. Lee Do-woon.”
“…See you in three days, Miss Seong Choi-hee.”
With a victorious smile, she turned and left the study without looking back.
“Hah!”
Do-woon let out an involuntary laugh as he recalled meeting her two days ago.
But just as quickly, he erased it and returned to a blank expression.
He removed his glasses and pressed between his brows, rubbing his face as if washing it.
And again, the image of Seong Choi-hee surfaced in his mind.
She swung her fists as if she were a delicate flower in a greenhouse—but her words could cut like a blade. Not an easy woman to deal with.
A strange woman—hard to understand, yet intriguing.
Do-woon sat on the sofa in his study and slowly read the document containing her personal information.
When she had revealed her name and identity two days ago, he had hidden his satisfaction.
He no longer needed to dig into her background himself.
In fact, the trial lesson had been requested mainly to buy time to investigate her.
Her role could be important in his future plans, so he needed to be extremely careful. If things went wrong, not only him but even the provisional government could be exposed.
He had planned to verify whether she could be used.
A woman who could attend English meetings with upper-class wives.
The question was whether Seong Choi-hee fit that role.
Three days would be enough to uncover everything about her.
He looked down at the documents in his hands.
The daughter of one of the few interpreters in Joseon. That explained her fluency in Western languages.
He read further about her father’s background.
When he reached the final paragraph, his brows furrowed.
Her mother was deceased, and her older brother was missing.
That brother was her only family.
He quickly scanned further pages.
“Seong… Chi-hoon?”
Then—
“He wasn’t part of the provisional government… so he must have been in the Uiyeoldan?”
“Mikael, you really are like a ghost. Yes, it’s confirmed. A man named Seong Chi-hoon from the Uiyeoldan was involved behind the scenes.”
Was it just a coincidence of names?
Possible.
But what were the odds that two people with the same name in the same capital city were both missing?
The man who had bombed Jongno Police Station was also on the run.
And Seong Choi-hee had been searching for someone.
Everything began to connect like pieces of a puzzle.
“Her brother… was that Uiyeoldan member Seong Chi-hoon?”
He became certain this was the perfect opportunity to draw her in.
In the warm afternoon sunlight, Choi-hee stood with Bok-yi in a busy used bookstore in the old city.
“Miss Gyeongseong… are you really going to take this job?”
Bok-yi asked anxiously.
She had not only guided her to the bookstore but insisted on coming along.
Choi-hee let out a small laugh.
“Of course I am.”
“But I heard that man from Gwangan-dong is very dangerous…”
“He’s a businessman. Businessmen are always dangerous. What matters is how much money he pays me.”
She carefully browsed the books.
Most had grammatical errors. She put them back.
“I don’t plan to do this job long anyway. Once my brother returns, I’ll quit.”
“But still—”
“Until then, I need to survive. This is the only thing I can do.”
She quickly spotted a book she wanted and snapped her fingers.
The shop owner looked up in surprise.
“Sir, I’ll take this one.”
“I don’t think this will be useful…”
“No, this is exactly what I was looking for.”
She smiled brightly and handed over the money.
Three days later, she stood once again in front of the man’s house and took a deep breath.
Even though it was her second visit, the towering gate still felt intimidating.
She clenched her fists and stepped inside.
As before, the man stood in the study with his back turned.
Even though he clearly sensed her presence, he did not turn immediately.
“Ahem.”
She cleared her throat.
Only then did he slowly turn around.
Unlike before, he wore a three-piece suit.
The neatly buttoned collar and perfectly fitted jacket made her feel slightly breathless.
More than anything, the glasses made it impossible to see his eyes clearly, which unsettled her.
Despite his strikingly handsome appearance, there was something about his perfect smile that sent a chill down her spine.
As expected, he looked down at her with that flawless smile, and her tension only deepened. She clutched her teaching materials tightly.
“So it has already been three days. Today is your trial lesson, yes?”
“Yes.”
He gestured casually for her to sit on the sofa.
They sat facing each other across an ivory-colored table.
She could feel his gaze studying her.
“Did you manage to find suitable materials?”
“Of course. And here.”
She pulled money from her pocket and placed it on the table. The coins clinked loudly as they scattered.
