It was on the way back to the office following a site inspection. Lunchtime had arrived, and the truck from Domyeongjae that brought the workers’ meals was parked in a corner of the lot.
“Managing Director, are you not having lunch?”
The manager asked as Seongheon’s gaze lingered on the vehicle. Seongheon, who had been staring blankly at the truck, gestured toward the office with his chin.
“Let’s eat together at the office.”
“Yes, Managing Director.”
They walked across the barren field where even the last blades of grass had been cleared away.
“The food from Domyeongjae is excellent. The workers are very satisfied. The side dishes are wonderful, and there’s quite a variety, too.”
“That’s a relief.”
The manager spoke highly of the meals. It was only natural; from the rice to the vegetables and meat, everything was grown, harvested, and delivered directly from Domyeongjae. With the staff of the Main Building, who were renowned for their cooking, and a nutritionist personally overseeing the preparation, the quality and flavor were exceptional.
“You eat at Domyeongjae for breakfast and dinner, right, Managing Director? I’m envious.”
“You should come over for a meal sometime.”
“Oh my, I’ll have to make sure to do that. I won’t forget this invitation.”
As the elderly manager laughed heartily, Seongheon offered only a brief, polite chuckle.
Workers began to emerge from the large container building that served as the construction site cafeteria. A gruff voice echoed through the air as a man patted his full stomach and picked his teeth.
“I fell for my wife at first sight. Huh? I fell at first sight and haven’t looked elsewhere even once since, pledging my life to her. I’ve earned money for her, given my whole heart to her. That’s how I’ve lived, you people.”
“Cut the crap. What loyalty? Love at first sight, my foot. Are you writing a drama?”
Seongheon paused. He watched the workers walking in the opposite direction.
“Look at this guy, he doesn’t believe it. I said it was love at first sight! When my wife was walking over from that way, I felt something so huge, like a shovel had been slammed right into my heart!”
The bearded man embellished his story, and the others laughed.
“Do you guys even know what that kind of meeting is like? Do you know how hot and intense a love at first sight is? If you haven’t experienced it, don’t talk. You trivial, pathetic people. Suddenly, I don’t even want to talk to you.”
Love at first sight.
“It’s a massive, incredible thing. You get blinders on so you can’t see ahead, your ears get completely blocked, and you don’t even know if the water you’re stepping into is hot or cold.”
At first sight.
“Ah. I thought, ‘I have to marry that woman. I must make that woman my woman!’ That was the only thing I could think of. It’s fate, pure fate.”
“Oh, sure. We’ve got the biggest romantic in Moksan-Gun right here. A true lover, indeed. Then stop breaking your wife’s heart, you human! Stop drinking and sleeping on the street every night!”
“Hey, that can happen when you live life. Anyway, my wife is an amazing person for taming me, Jo Cheol-Ung. That’s all I wanted to say. Let’s go.”
As the workers moved away with a swaying, pigeon-toed gait, Seongheon wore a thoughtful expression.
‘It’s a massive, incredible thing. You get blinders on so you can’t see ahead, your ears get completely blocked, and you don’t even know if the water you’re stepping into is hot or cold.’
Is it even possible to fall in love at first sight?
Knowing nothing of the other person, having had no contact—how could feelings simply bloom?
‘Ah. I thought, “I have to marry that woman. I must make that woman my woman!” That was the only thing I could think of. It’s fate, pure fate.’
It didn’t make any sense.
“Managing Director?”
When Seongheon stopped abruptly, the manager looked at him with a puzzled expression. Seongheon straightened his posture and began to walk again.
Falling in love at first sight was impossible. It was nothing more than the psychology of an impulse buyer seduced by the packaging, nothing more, nothing less.
“Oh my, I’m getting hungry. I saw today’s menu had spring cabbage bibimbap and cheonggukjang… I should eat that with some meat side dish…”
The moment the manager’s words faded, Seongheon stopped again.
‘When my wife was walking over from that way, I felt something so huge, like a shovel had been slammed right into my heart!’
These days, he couldn’t keep his composure whenever he thought of her. He was too busy trying to keep himself in check, unable to even identify the nature of the emotions flooding him all at once.
……If falling in love at first sight doesn’t make sense.
Then, does this state of mine make any sense?
Fate, pure fate.
No. It wasn’t that either.
*
‘I’ll be back.’
After finishing his morning work in a daze, it was 3:00 PM when he reached the warehouse.
Yeonwoo opened the door to start the work she hadn’t finished the day before. Most of the tasks Eun-ja had thrown her way were labor-intensive and physically draining, but keeping busy helped settle her thoughts. However, from the moment she pulled out the basin and sat down to wash the dishes, thoughts of Seongheon began to pool again. Yeonwoo lifted her head, mid-lather.
I’ll be back.
It was just a simple greeting, yet it left her heart in turmoil.
She shook her head vigorously. It probably meant nothing. She had offered a greeting, so he had greeted her back; there was no deeper meaning. Knowing only the job title and the residence of a man named Nam Seongheon, how could she know his personality? Perhaps he was a kinder and more delicate person than she thought.
“Is that so……”
It didn’t feel like the right answer. He seemed far removed from being a kind, delicate person. But the image of him bowing repeatedly at the bus stop to cover for an employee’s mistake, the fact that he had handed her a business card…
He was the person who had accepted the substitute work that Manager Moon had flatly refused. Perhaps, unlike his appearance, he was a kind-hearted man.
It was an unsatisfying conclusion, but Yeonwoo made up her mind to believe it. Huffing a small sigh, she picked up a dust-covered bowl. She would clean them until they were spotless, as if to purify her own mind.
“Yeonwoo. Hello.”
It was Hyun-wook’s voice. Yeonwoo, having wiped the sweat from her forehead with her rubber-gloved arm, turned to look.
“Are you just waking up now?”
“As you can see. Overslept.”
As the fortunate young master approached, Yeonwoo returned to the dishes.
“What are you doing here?”
“As you can see. Dishwashing.”
When Yeonwoo echoed his tone, Hyun-wook sat down on the dirt floor, his eyes widening at the pile of dishes.
“You’re washing all this by yourself? All of this?”
“The surprising thing is that there are many more dishes left to wash than this. Inside that warehouse.”
“Whoa. Moon Ok-Rye is really something. Pulling rank on a newcomer like that?”
“I’m the one who said I’d do it. It’s the most comfortable work since I can be alone.”
“Well, the way the Moon Ok-Rye crowd is, I get it. I’d find it more comfortable to be alone too.”
As Hyun-wook spoke in agreement, Yeonwoo stared at him. He blinked blankly, then pointed at himself with a look of mock injury.
“Don’t tell me you find me uncomfortable too?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Wow, you’ve gotten really cold. You were smiling in the morning, but cold at lunch—I wonder what Ji Yeonwoo will be like in the evening?”
Yeonwoo burst into laughter. He was certainly someone easy to be around.
“Should I help you? I’ve got nothing to do anyway.”
“Forget it. What would Manager Moon say if she saw a young master of Domyeongjae with wet hands?”
“Nobody’s coming. I can tell, nobody is going to visit you while you’re here.”
As Hyun-wook gingerly dipped his hand into the basin, Yeonwoo straightened her back.
“I said no.”
“I’ve already dipped my hand in.”
“Take it out, quick.”
“My hands are already covered in soap, too.”
“I said no. I’m the one who’s going to get scolded.”
“Oh? I’ve got the sponge now, too. I can just start washing, right?”
Hyun-wook began washing the dishes faster than Yeonwoo. Taken aback, she watched him; within moments, he had polished a bowl until it shone and held it out.
“Look at that. See how high-quality my labor is? Look at this shine. Not just anyone can do this. I can only do it because I’m an unemployed guy who just woke up.”
The level of brazenness was more than Yeonwoo could handle. She looked at Hyun-wook and suddenly thought of Seongheon.
“Hyun-wook.”
“Yeah?”
“Is being this sociable and kind to people a family trait?”
She asked indirectly. Hyun-wook grinned and placed a cleanly washed dish into the basin.
“No? There are only two people in our house with this personality: me and my father.”
“Oh……”
“You saw our cousin at Yunseondang, right? He’s a workaholic and a cold-blooded man. I’ve never heard a single affectionate word come out of his mouth.”
The image of the kind Managing Director collapsed instantly. Yeonwoo bit her lip.
“I’m already curious about what kind of woman will end up marrying my cousin. Well, since Seongheon hyung has plenty of money and good looks, I suppose they could live together just settling for that.”
Hyun-wook washed a third dish and thrust it toward Yeonwoo.
“I said I’d help, I didn’t say I’d do it alone. Move faster, Ji Yeonwoo.”
As Yeonwoo took the bowl, stunned, Hyun-wook added:
“Oh, right, Yeonwoo. We’re having a school reunion soon, you should come.”
“A reunion?”
Yeonwoo’s eyes went round.
*
It was nearly closing time. Seongheon received a call from the head office.
“Yes. This is me.”
— Yes, Managing Director Nam. Are you busy?
It was his uncle, President Nam Tae-jin. Seongheon glanced at the time.
“What is it? It doesn’t sound like a social call.”
— You know that architectural delegates from France are arriving this weekend, right?
Seongheon held back his words; he had already predicted what would follow.
— You’ll need to make some time. I absolutely cannot make it that day.
Rubbing his temple, Seongheon asked, “Are you busy?”
— Well, yes. Naturally.
It was the weekend; it was likely a golf appointment.
— Putting aside whether I’m busy or not, the delegates are young—what would an old fossil like me do there? It’d be better if you, being young, handled it. You communicate well, too. Or not? Maybe you don’t communicate well? Seongheon, shall I arrange an interpreter for you?
“I’ll confirm the remaining details through my secretary. You have nothing else to say, right?”
— You brat, your voice gets cold as soon as I give you work. Actually, that’s not it; I had a huge fight with your aunt the other day.
Seongheon sighed. President Nam Tae-jin explained in detail.
— Your aunt, I don’t know if it’s menopause, but she’s been nagging me to death lately. That day is our wedding anniversary. I have to take her out somewhere to eat so I can spend the next year in peace. Can’t you do me a favor?
“Do you know Hyun-wook is here?”
— I know. He left on the day we were fighting. He at least has a place to run away to. He’s my son, but I’m envious.
Feeling a throbbing headache, Seongheon rubbed his temple again. He had no room to object to taking the time himself.
“Then I’ll hang up.”
Seongheon was about to end the call, but a desperate voice came through the receiver.
— Ah, wait, Seongheon! No, Managing Director Nam!
“Yes.”
He brought the receiver back to his ear.
— You have to set a good atmosphere when you go. Understand? Smile broadly, be attentive, yeah? And don’t be so stiff, don’t go and ruin the hard work, just do it well. Okay?
“I’m hanging up. I have a meeting.”
Seongheon put the receiver down abruptly.
‘Set a good atmosphere. Understand? Smile broadly, be attentive, yeah? And don’t be so stiff, don’t go and ruin the hard work, just do it well. Okay?’
He released a long, pent-up breath and looked back at the monitor.
Smile broadly. Just thinking about it made his nerves sharp.