37.
I Will Become The Master Of My Life
The room from which Cha Yoonseok had been dragged out was a ruin. His desperate, thrashing struggle to escape had sent the table’s contents flying, leaving the floor littered with the shards of a shattered evening.
His bellows echoed like a dying peal before finally fading into the distance. Seongheon, sitting in the hollow silence of the wrecked space, poured the last of the liquor into his glass.
*Glug.* He emptied the bottle, smirked, and downed the drink in one gulp. He had set out to dismantle a family tree with the cold weight of his influence, yet he felt not an ounce of remorse. Even now, the memory of what she had endured, the slow erosion of her spirit, gnawed at his nerves.
The nights that must have stretched into infinity. The bed where she must have tossed in a fever of anxiety. The crushing despair of facing another identical, hopeless morning—it all clawed at him.
He breathed heavily, his hand instinctively reaching for the bottle again. Finding it empty, he set it back down. Just then, Manager Moon appeared in the doorway.
“Managing Director. The guest has left.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Seongheon’s acknowledgment was brief. Manager Moon hesitated, her gaze lingering on the wreckage before she spoke.
“There won’t be any… trouble, will there?”
“Trouble? What kind of trouble?”
“The new hire. I simply hope there won’t be any complications.”
“……Ah. I see. I hope there won’t be any repercussions.”
Seongheon’s reply was intentionally ambiguous, causing Manager Moon’s eyes to widen. She feared he had let the alcohol dictate his actions, neglecting the larger picture.
“I even sprinkled salt.”
“Salt, you say?”
“Yes. There is nothing like salt to chase away vermin. I sprinkled it everywhere, but what if…?”
As Manager Moon confessed, Seongheon let out a sudden, sharp laugh. Watching his uncharacteristic outburst, the corners of Manager Moon’s mouth dropped.
*What is this? Have you lost your mind too?*
“Managing Director. Don’t just laugh. I am being quite serious.”
“Yes. You did well. I hadn’t thought of salt. I suppose I cannot keep up with your expertise.”
She couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or mocking. Seongheon didn’t seem inclined to stop laughing. Impatient, Manager Moon pressed on.
“I am terrified. A man who drinks and suddenly starts laughing is the most frightening kind of person.”
“Manager Moon.”
“Yes, Managing Director.”
Seongheon stifled his mirth and looked at her. His eyes held an unexpected tenderness that unsettled her more than the laughter. It was a brand of drunken vulnerability she had never witnessed before.
“Don’t worry. Ji Yeonwoo will be safe.”
A wave of relief washed over Manager Moon. *Right. If the Managing Director says so, it must be true. There is no need to worry anymore.*
“I sprinkled that salt at the risk of being thrown out of Domyeongjae, so I leave the rest to you.”
Seeing Manager Moon subtly shift the burden back to him, Seongheon stood up. The realization that she would have likely broken Cha Yoonseok’s bones even without his intervention brought back the laughter he’d tried to suppress.
“Why do you keep laughing? It is far too early for you to be this far gone.”
As she implicitly suggested he pull himself together, Seongheon offered a soft smile and stepped out of the room.
As he walked toward Unseondang, the scent of damp earth—the promise of rain—felt heavy with nostalgia. The weather and the stillness of the night were thick with the phantom weight of childhood, of walking these paths while clutching his father’s hand.
He navigated the route in silence, his eyes half-closed. He feared that to fully open them would be to invite the sudden, crushing burden of his intoxicated state. The lingering shadows of parents lost on the same day were, after all, merely long-festering wounds.
As his footsteps slowed, he searched for a distraction. Should he think of his mounting work, or the ruin that had just begun for Cha Yoonseok?
A master of self-regulation, he tilted his head to shift the focus.
Painful memories could be pushed aside. One only needed to convince oneself that they never existed.
One only had to endure. Nam Seongheon is strong; he is steady in every crisis. Isn’t that what everyone believes?
“……Ah.”
Seongheon, the man who could endure anything, came to a halt. A gasp of air escaped his teeth.
The humid, grassy air.
The front yard of Unseondang, where the bright yellow lanterns flickered in the warm breeze.
He locked eyes with Yeonwoo, who had been pacing in a frantic, indecisive state.
The moment their gazes met, they both exhaled, startled by the other’s presence.
*Hoo.*
Seongheon let out the long, involuntary sigh. He, who was built to endure and designed to stand tall, suddenly saw his own future. A future that was devastating—not *our* future, but *my* future.
……Yes.
You will make me suffer like a fever.
I will become desperate to possess everything that is you.
“You’ve come, Managing Director.”
The frailty I cannot endure, the helplessness.
I will make you learn, for the first time, the despair of being broken.
“I, I waited. I thought it was about time for you to return, Managing Director.”
I will be made to suffer.
I will be made to burn everything down.
“There is something I need to ask you.”
You will become the master of my life.
*
Seongheon looked at Yeonwoo, his gaze a volatile mix of hope and despair. His heart hammered against his ribs, and Yeonwoo, unaware of the turmoil, stepped closer.
He felt a strange, jarring sense of wonder—this was the first time she had approached him first. It was a minor thing, yet he found her footsteps toward him so overwhelming that he stood frozen, merely watching.
As she drew near, she darted her eyes over him, assessing his condition. She was inspecting him for scratches, checking for the marks of a fight.
*Should I have hit him? Or should I have let him hit me?*
“It seems you were waiting for me.”
“Ah, yes. Managing Director.”
Yeonwoo nodded, answering his question. She hadn’t realized how anxiously she had wandered the yard until he appeared.
The sound of Cha Yoonseok being dragged away had echoed throughout Domyeongjae. Even after Manager Moon told her to return to her quarters, she couldn’t bring herself to leave.
Cha Yoonseok’s voice, screaming as if to pierce the sky, had carried all the way to Unseondang. Half of his shouts had been her name.
*Ji Yeonwoo! Ji Yeonwoo, where are you! Come out right now!*
Hearing those vitriolic shouts had made her heart race until she thought it might burst. She had been too confused to process why he was screaming her name or why he was being cast out.
Driven by a desperate instinct to flee from danger and find the safest place, she had only paced the yard, biting her nails.
Her heart felt as though it were pushing against her throat. The pounding radiated through her entire body; she felt nothing but the slow, painful drag of time. Only after confirming with her own eyes that Seongheon was unscathed did she lift her head.
“Managing Director, you’re really okay, aren’t you?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve overindulged. I think a bit of a hangover is in order.”
“Ah, that’s not what I meant.”
As Yeonwoo interrupted him, Seongheon raised his eyebrows. It seemed the question of whether he’d fought Cha Yoonseok was lodged in her throat.
When he continued to play dumb, Yeonwoo reached out and grabbed his sleeve.
“Excuse me for a moment. Please, stay still.”
“What ex—”
Yeonwoo made him stand upright, as if commanding him to remain anchored, and began to circle him. Looking self-conscious, she cautiously pushed aside his jacket to check his sides and waist, ensuring he was safe.
Seongheon, standing obediently under her inspection, let out a short, incredulous laugh. *Why do I want to torment her so?* The strange, lingering regrets pulled at him again.
Waiting for her, he opened his arms as if inviting a thorough search, but she pulled back quickly and anti-climactically. Seongheon felt a sharp, sudden disappointment.
“Did you check thoroughly?”
“Yes. Just in case. I’m relieved you’re okay.”
She had been bold enough to scan his body, but now she was looking up at him with those deer-like eyes again. As he gazed down at her in silence, Yeonwoo hesitated before speaking.
“Um…… I know this is a presumptuous question, but…….”
“…….”
“The Vice President of Namsong Industrial Development was calling my name so loudly…… I was wondering what happened…….”
Seeing Yeonwoo struggle to ask a question that was already weighing heavily on them both, Seongheon replied plainly.
“It’s nothing major. I merely notified Namsong Industrial Development of the termination of our contract.”
“……Yes? Contract termination?”
When Yeonwoo widened her eyes, Seongheon raised his hand.
“It’s a company with many internal issues. Seoryang Construction cannot work with such a firm.”
“Ah, I see.”
“And I added the incident involving you, Ji Yeonwoo, just a little bit to the mix.”
“…….”
“Manager Moon explained it to me. About your ill-fated connection with Vice President Cha Yoonseok.”
It was cowardly, but he threw Manager Moon under the bus. Yeonwoo nodded slowly.
“Ah…… Yes. I understand now.”
Her eyelids fluttered. He had expected her to be happy, but her expression remained shadowed.
Seongheon observed her face closely.
“Cha Yoonseok will be isolated from society for the time being. With civil law, criminal law, and special acts all combined, he might be locked away for a long time.”
“Yes…….”
“Your expression isn’t good. Was this not what you wanted?”
When he asked out of frustration, Yeonwoo hesitated.
“It’s just…… you might not know this, but you should be careful, Managing Director.”
Her expression was earnest.
“Vice President Cha Yoonseok is a man who will do anything. Truly. He really will do anything.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t quite understand. What does ‘do anything’ mean?”
“I mean, if he wants something, he’ll stop at nothing. Once blinded by rage, he doesn’t see anything else. He knows a lot of people, and he’s connected to powerful figures as well.”
“……Ah.”
As Seongheon interjected, Yeonwoo spoke even faster.
“He’s not an ordinary person. He really does whatever he sets his mind to, so he’s very dangerous. That’s why I want you to be careful…….”
As she trailed off, unable to finish, Seongheon fell into a deep silence.
*You don’t know, but Cha Yoonseok is a tremendously dangerous and terrifying person.* That was her warning.
*Who is she worried about, and in front of whom?* He pondered, wondering how to counter such a claim.