Yesterday, Hyun-wook’s alumni had swept through in a flurry, and today, news arrived out of the blue that a guest of Seongheon’s was expected to visit.
Manager Moon, who had been bustling about in a tizzy after finishing a call with Seongheon’s secretary, left the main building staff bewildered.
Eun-ja, who had been carefully ironing towels washed in high-temperature water, looked up.
“Manager. What’s going on now?”
“It’s a mess. The Managing Director says he’s bringing a guest later.”
“A guest? Today?”
Good grief. Eun-ja sighed. This godforsaken Domyeongjae hadn’t had a single day of peace lately, and her body was starting to give out.
“I’m exhausted, I really am. Whose funeral are we attending first? If it’s going to be like this, we should at least decide on the order.”
“Stop your yapping. Who do you think provides us with warm meals and lets us work at this age? You don’t know how to be grateful and just run your mouth.”
As soon as Manager Moon scolded her, Eun-ja narrowed her eyes.
“It’s always me who’s the bad guy. Oh my, our Manager Moon will go to heaven when she dies. Me? I’ll probably end up in hell, running my mouth like this, and end up sharing a table with King Yeomna.”
While they were bickering, Yeonwoo walked in. Manager Moon glanced at Yeonwoo, pondered for a moment, then shook her head and looked back at Eun-ja.
“What are you doing? Get up, we’re going to the market.”
“Me? You mean me?”
“Well, is there anyone else here besides you? Get up, hurry.”
When Manager Moon took off her apron and told Eun-ja to head to the market, Eun-ja pointed at Yeonwoo with a look of indignation.
“Are you saving the newbie to boil into soup? Why do you insist on taking me, who has bad knees, when there’s a perfectly fine, able-bodied girl right here?”
“Is that so? Your knees aren’t good? Then quit.”
“Oh my, really, Manager!”
Eun-ja couldn’t understand it at all. It was obvious that if she went, she’d just be Manager Moon’s pack mule, so wouldn’t it be better to take the newcomer who followed instructions silently rather than someone who grumbled like her?
However, Manager Moon’s thoughts were different. She couldn’t take Yeonwoo outside of Domyeongjae for fear she might catch the eyes of bad men.
“I—I’ll go, Manager.”
Manager Moon, who had been preparing to leave, and Eun-ja, who had been undoing her apron with the saddest expression in the world, both looked at Yeonwoo at the same time.
“You do that. You go in my place.”
“No. You stay here. I’m more comfortable with Eun-ja.”
When the conflicting answers popped out at once, Yeonwoo’s eyes went wide. Even in this situation, the squabbling between Eun-ja and Manager Moon didn’t cease.
Take her. No, you come along. The argument didn’t end, so Yeonwoo stepped between them to cut off the dispute.
“I’ll just go.”
“See! She says she wants to go! She says she genuinely wants to! If there’s someone who wants to go, why are you bothering someone who doesn’t want to go!”
“Yes. I want to go, Manager. Genuinely.”
Sigh…
Manager Moon looked at Yeonwoo, who was speaking quietly, and let out a pained groan. Then, Yeonwoo stepped one pace closer to Manager Moon and opened her lips.
“Please take me. I want to see the outside world for a change, and I want to look around the market.”
At the end of her sentence, Yeonwoo pretended not to notice her thumping heartbeat. Even now, just the thought of stepping outside Domyeongjae made her breath hitch and her vision blur.
…I am building up my courage, little by little.
A little bit. Very, very little.
“I’ll follow you without a word. So I don’t inconvenience you. I’m strong, too.”
‘Because only Ji Yeonwoo can carve out Ji Yeonwoo’s life.’
Yes. I will live a life that is kind to myself.
I remind myself of the concern and comfort I offer to myself.
‘But if things don’t go well, lean on me.’
Shall I face it? Shall I believe I can do it?
That I can go out into the world.
‘Because I will be the one to bring you out into the world.’
“Hurry, then. We might be late.”
“Yes! Manager!”
Using the support of someone who had prayed for her with all their heart as a stepping stone.
*
Cha Yoonseok, who had been invited to Domyeongjae through Seongheon’s secretary, hung up the phone and burst into loud laughter.
He had thought it might end as empty talk, but Seongheon had reached out faster than he expected. With a cackle, Cha Yoonseok toyed with his phone.
“Even a chaebol bastard is nothing special. You’re just looking for scraps, too, aren’t you?”
Cha Yoonseok firmly believed that Seongheon liked him. It was a natural outcome. From the moment they first met, he had acted with the utmost respect, as if he were ready to offer up his very soul, prostrating himself before the perfect superior.
“Nam Seongheon, so you like that kind of thing too. You bastard.”
Cha Yoonseok muttered, sneering. Seongheon probably wanted to associate with him, was intoxicated by the atmosphere of flattery, and wanted to keep him close, like a tongue in his mouth.
Cha Yoonseok had completed his full preparation to cater to Seongheon’s whims. Since he was always endlessly weak to the strong and endlessly strong to the weak, it wouldn’t be a problem.
Tossing his phone onto the sofa, Cha Yoonseok smirked. If he could finish this project well and win the next construction contract from Seoryang Construction, it would be a great filial act for his father.
“The old man at home will be happy. Father! Your son is going to do something big today! The lawyer fees! I’ll pay you back tenfold, no, a hundredfold, Father!”
Cha Yoonseok picked out his clothes immediately. He hummed, and eventually, even broke into a swaggering dance.
“Wait for me, Yeonwoo. Oppa is coming soon.”
And, in Domyeongjae, there was Ji Yeonwoo.
*
Arriving at Domyeong Market, Manager Moon bought fresh sashimi and meat from a butcher shop she had contacted in advance. Wherever she went, the merchants greeted Manager Moon with a polite posture.
To the merchants, Manager Moon was practically another owner of Domyeongjae, a great elder who exerted a profound influence over the entire Domyeong Market. Over a decade ago, when there was talk of bulldozing the market, Manager Moon had stood at the forefront to face the county officials. That wasn’t all. A few years ago, when a typhoon left the market in ruins, Manager Moon had chipped in her own money to help with the renovations.
When Manager Moon stepped up, the clansmen of Domyeongjae followed, and when the clansmen stepped up, the Seoryang Group would move. To the market merchants, Manager Moon was a woman of virtue from Domyeongjae—a beacon of light.
Every time Manager Moon opened and closed a shop door, the merchants would come out to the edge of the street to greet her. The only thing they could do to repay her, as she never accepted a single freebie, was to greet her with all their hearts.
Yeonwoo walked silently behind Manager Moon. Although Manager Moon didn’t offer a single warm word to the merchants who welcomed her as if she were made of gold, Yeonwoo could clearly feel how devotedly they followed her.
Yeonwoo tilted her head as she watched Manager Moon keep glancing around while they walked. It seemed they had done most of the shopping, so it was a bit strange.
“Are you looking for something else, Manager?”
Manager Moon, who had answered no every time Yeonwoo asked, finally confessed later on.
“What would I be looking for. I was just checking to see if that scoundrel who keeps following you was tailing us.”
“……Ah.”
Yeonwoo wore a sorry expression toward Manager Moon, who was checking all directions in case someone was following her. Catching a glimpse of this, Manager Moon looked as if she regretted saying it, then tossed out a remark.
“There’s a dried pollack in the bag, isn’t there? Use it as a weapon if it comes to that.”
“Yes? A weapon?”
Yeonwoo looked inside the black plastic bag. She looked at the long dried pollack—which looked like it wouldn’t break even if struck hard with a hammer—poking its head out of the bag, and let out a small puff of laughter.
Manager Moon continued as if she weren’t joking.
“It’s fine. You can beat him up with the dried pollack. It’s a baton of justice.”
“Ah, yes. A baton of justice.”
Seeing that there was a dried pollack in Manager Moon’s own bag as well, Yeonwoo burst into laughter.
“Why are you laughing? Is the dried pollack funny?”
“Manager, is that why you carry a dried pollack in your bag?”
“……I can’t exactly carry a Ginsu knife around. I survived that one time because of your mother’s panties.”
Yeonwoo let out a louder laugh. Manager Moon, hearing Yeonwoo’s laughter for the first time, wore a puzzled expression.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“No. It’s just, I’m happy.”
Yeonwoo slid over and linked her arm with Manager Moon’s. Manager Moon recoiled and shook off her arm.
“What are you doing? I’m the type of person who hates it when people cling to me.”
“I like clinging to people.”
“Cling or don’t cling once you get a lover later. Anyway, don’t cling to me. It’s creepy.”
“Actually, I got a bit scared after hearing what you said, Manager.”
When Yeonwoo said she was suddenly scared after hearing about the scoundrel, Manager Moon flinched. Ah. She shouldn’t have said that.
“I thought if I held your arm, I might feel a little less scared.”
Yeonwoo offered an excuse and once again slid her arm into Manager Moon’s. Manager Moon’s arm twitched. Yeonwoo leaned in close to Manager Moon, almost sticking to her.
“Ah, I feel a little less scared now.”
Manager Moon eyed Yeonwoo sideways and pulled the corners of her mouth long and low. Pretending not to notice Manager Moon’s clearly uncomfortable expression, Yeonwoo continued.
“Please bring me out again when you come to the market later, Manager.”
Manager Moon’s stiffened arm felt quite endearing. She said she hated clinging, but the fact that she offered her arm after Yeonwoo said she was scared felt infinitely warm.
“You said you were scared, so why would you want to come out again?”
“I just passed by the tteokbokki shop a while ago. I’d like to eat it next time. I’m busy today, so I’ll just follow you quietly.”
As Yeonwoo muttered this, Manager Moon let out a scoff. She sighed as if she were hearing the most ridiculous thing in the world, then, after a moment, her dry lips moved slightly.
“Do you like tteokbokki?”
“Yes.”
Without further reply, Manager Moon took slow steps. Yeonwoo held onto Manager Moon’s arm for a long time, and they walked around the Domyeong Market for about an hour.
Fortunately, they didn’t encounter the scoundrel, and the feared incident didn’t happen. The scoundrel Cha Yoonseok had set to watch over Domyeongjae had quietly left Moksan-Gun after receiving a money envelope.
The spring sunlight was mellow.