“No matter how much I think about it, I believe I like you, Ji Yeonwoo.”
……The stars shone.
“Shall we try unrequited love, or shall we try dating?”
My chest surged.
Silence pooled at the end of his words; the air was so still that I could hear the faint rustle of blades of grass swaying.
*I believe I like you, Ji Yeonwoo.*
I mull it over, but it’s a statement I can’t believe even after hearing it.
*Shall we try unrequited love, or shall we try dating?*
I don’t know whether to open my eyes or close them, nor do I know at which phrase I should catch my breath.
Yeonwoo lowered her eyes, her strength failing her. The alcohol she had consumed before his confession had long since evaporated, leaving her thoughts at a standstill. She faced a candor so absolute it left no room for calculation, no space for nuance.
Her heart hammered against her ribs, violent enough that she feared a corner of it might simply tear away.
“Of course, I know it’s premature.”
Is this really a man confessing his feelings? His voice was so incredibly calm that I momentarily mistook it for professional discourse.
“I didn’t want to be someone who makes you tremble with fear; I wanted to be someone who makes your heart race. That’s why I thought about waiting a while, too.”
“…….”
“But I just couldn’t get any work done.”
She wouldn’t know it, but the bench they were sitting on was a chair his father had crafted by hand. A place where he once sat side-by-side with his mother, counting stars and speaking of love.
Sitting on that very chair, a grown man was baring his soul to the woman he intended to claim. *You might want to brush past me, but I don’t intend to let you.*
Yeonwoo couldn’t utter a single word. If she were to challenge him logically, she wasn’t confident she could handle the answer. More than that, she didn’t know where to begin; she couldn’t weave these scattered fragments into a coherent response.
With her lips parted, Yeonwoo stared fixedly at the ground. It was hard to judge if he were being sincere or mocking, but she had already learned that he wasn’t the type of man to play such games.
Her mind spun wildly. A wave of nausea hit her, as if her very consciousness couldn’t decide which emotion to prioritize.
Just as her frozen mind and stuttering heart blocked all avenues of reply, Seongheon rose from his seat.
“Let’s head in. I’ll be going now, too.”
“…….”
“I won’t approach you recklessly, so don’t be afraid.”
She could hear the frantic rhythm of her own pulse in her ears. Yeonwoo kept her gaze on the ground, sparing her words.
“I hope that because you drank too much, Ji Yeonwoo, you won’t remember any of this. I wouldn’t want things to become uncomfortable.”
The hand he reached out brushed her hair. Her pulse raced as if her heart were trapped inside her head; she couldn’t distinguish whether the thumping was his or her own.
“Go and get some sleep.”
Seongheon slowly pulled his hand away and turned to walk away. The sound of soil being trampled grew distant bit by bit. Only when the silence of being left alone truly settled in did Yeonwoo let out a groan.
She groaned for a long while, like someone suffering under unendurable weight, her hand pressed against her chest, unsure if her heart was aching or stinging.
A long time later, she just stared blankly at the empty space where he had been.
*Shall we try unrequited love, or shall we try dating?*
“This is nonsense…….”
It was a calm and dignified confession, unlike anything she had ever encountered. It was a declaration devoid of selfish urgency, as if he were entrusting his entire future to her discretion.
“Hey, how does this make sense? It’s complete nonsense…….”
Confused, only broken interjections spilled from Yeonwoo’s lips.
It was a moonlit night at Domyeongjae.
*
“Oh my, the new recruit. You’re in earlier than I thought?”
Since there had been so much drinking the night before, the Main Building was in a state of disarray unlike anything she had ever experienced. Eun-ja, who had been organizing the tableware, greeted her with a look of surprise.
“Manager Moon said you’d be late.”
“I woke up early. Since I was already up, I decided to come to work.”
“Oh my, to be young. You can’t even rest when told to—coming out on your own two feet like this. Should I call you stupid, or unnecessarily diligent?”
“I remembered I left things messy yesterday, so I wanted to clean them up…….”
As soon as she took off her shoes and entered, Yeonwoo headed straight to the table. She began to clear the remnants of yesterday’s revelry, stacking wine glasses on a tray and gathering the plates stained with dried-on sauce.
Watching the new recruit voluntarily scrub the remains of the party, Eun-ja propped her chin on her hand, observing her.
“Is your stomach not hurting?”
“I’m fine.”
She didn’t even have the mental capacity to register pain.
“You look like you haven’t slept enough.”
“I slept enough, though…….”
In truth, she hadn’t slept at all.
Yeonwoo avoided Eun-ja’s gaze. Eun-ja, who had been clicking her tongue for no reason, quietly pulled out her mobile phone.
“Hey, new recruit. Come here for a second.”
“Yes?”
When Eun-ja called out suddenly, Yeonwoo stopped cleaning and approached. Eun-ja raised her phone as if to display a text message.
“My granddaughter sent me a text. Take a look and see what it says.”
“A text? Yes.”
Yeonwoo took the phone. There wasn’t much to it; just a short note saying she missed her grandmother.
“She says she misses you, Grandmother.”
“Oh. Is that so? That little thing has already learned to read Hangeul. What a mess. Isn’t she a genius?”
“How old is she?”
“She just started school. How old was she again?”
Taking the phone back, Eun-ja tucked it into her pocket. Yeonwoo watched her silently before opening her lips.
“Are you not going to reply?”
“Oh, what reply. I’ll just give her a call later. I don’t know how to text. I don’t know how to write it.”
*Sigh.* Eun-ja leaned back against the chair and looked up at the ceiling.
“There wasn’t enough money at home, so only my eldest brother and fourth brother went to school, and we girls couldn’t even get near one.”
“…….”
“I thought about learning, but I just grew old instead. At this age, I can guess things by eye, but while I can read if I’m sharp, I don’t know how to write.”
Yeonwoo quietly finished clearing the plates.
“You’re lucky, new recruit. You’re well-educated, so you must have done secretarial work in Seoul, right?”
As she walked away with the tray, Yeonwoo paused and looked back at Eun-ja.
“Um, would you like me to teach you a little bit?”
“Teach me what?”
“Hangeul. So you can send text messages.”
For an instant, Eun-ja’s eyes lit up. After blinking a few times, she cleared her throat and affected an air of indifference.
“Forget it. It’s enough to just live as I was born and die. What kind of studying should I do at this age? I’m thick-headed, so studying is a world away from me.”
“Still, if you do it little by little, you’ll pick it up soon. Hangeul is easy to learn.”
“……Really?”
She seemed interested. Yeonwoo nodded, and Eun-ja stood up promptly to follow her.
“Then when and how do I learn?”
“Let me know when you have time. I’ll prepare some study materials.”
*Oh my.* Eun-ja scanned Yeonwoo from head to toe and pulled up the corners of her mouth. When she met Yeonwoo’s eyes, she immediately composed her face and cleared her throat.
“Don’t tell Manager Moon. I know I’m embarrassing. I get scolded for being ignorant all the time, so I don’t want to be scolded for putting on airs, too.”
“I won’t say anything. My lips are sealed.”
“Your body might be light, but your mouth is heavy. Completely different from me. That’s enviable, too, goodness.”
Yeonwoo thought about offering a word of comfort, but Eun-ja turned away, clearly feeling awkward. Yeonwoo watched her go before finishing the rest of the cleaning. Just then, Seongheon walked past the Main Building on his way to work.
A life-shattering event had occurred overnight, yet the morning was peaceful in its own way.
*I won’t approach you recklessly, so don’t be afraid.*
If I just keep my mouth shut, does it really become something that never happened? Should I just pretend I don’t know?
Yeonwoo finished organizing, carrying a burden of worry she couldn’t voice. It was staggering that the thoughts of Cha Yoonseok had drifted so far away, entirely eclipsed by her affairs with Seongheon.
*
Having arrived at work, Seongheon finished his morning meeting and concluded a video conference. Checking that he had a moment before heading to the site, he stared at his monitor and let out a short sigh.
“……A fine job I’ve done.”
In front of a woman who had suffered long-term gaslighting and was repulsed by men, he had recklessly revealed his feelings.
After much thought, Seongheon gripped his mouse. It was a pathetic and poor choice, even by his own admission.
Yesterday, Yeonwoo had had a vacant look on her face, like someone watching the end of the world. Regret had washed over him the moment he spoke, but in another sense, he had no regrets.
All that remained was to wonder if this would lead to her flight, or if it was the start of a miserable unrequited love; the uncertainty of the future made him needlessly restless.
After mulling it over, he glanced at the Namsong Industrial Development documents. He stared at the files, which he had looked at so often he had memorized the trivial numbers, and recalled what happened a few days ago.
It was morning, and he had met privately with Lawyer Shin, who had come down from Seoul.
.
.
.
‘If you speak plainly, Managing Director, I will explore the methods.’
‘I told you. I want to pull out the very foundation of that household. People who cover up crimes with money need to have everything they possess stripped away so they can’t pull such stunts ever again. Never again.’
‘…….’
‘That is what I think. What do you think, Lawyer?’
‘……Ah.’
Ah. Lawyer Shin let out a sigh filled with meaning. It was the signal that he finally understood what Seongheon was saying.
Seongheon continued with a most dry expression.
‘My worries have already turned into resolve, and I’m told the anti-stalking laws are mere slaps on the wrist. So, what should be done?’
Lawyer Shin nodded slowly.
To summarize his words, Seongheon wasn’t looking to simply terminate the contract with Namsong Industrial Development.
‘Please wait a moment, Managing Director.’
‘Very well.’
*Crush Namsong Industrial Development itself.*
Behind his thick-rimmed glasses, Lawyer Shin’s eyes were sharp. It meant he was focused.
……Time passed in silence. After making a few phone calls, rummaging through documents, and finishing a few more conversations, Lawyer Shin finally looked up.
‘It will require a thorough review to know for sure, but if we follow the cash flow of Namsong Industrial Development, we can spot a few suspicious signs.’
Lawyer Shin turned his laptop screen toward Seongheon. He then continued his explanation.
‘There are several subcontractors of Namsong Industrial Development with special relationships, and since they weren’t subject to external audits, I suspect if we knock on those doors, something will turn up. They are companies formed by relatives of CEO Cha Gil-wook.’
‘…….’
‘This is a money laundering structure, one in ten, no, one in a hundred.’
An embezzlement structure that would be hard to detect unless a government department was determined to look into it.
Lawyer Shin, a seasoned veteran in this field who had often investigated cases of breach of trust or embezzlement in large corporations, had quickly caught onto the money laundering flow frequently used by small and medium-sized enterprises.
‘If we can just find evidence of professional malpractice or embezzlement, we can apply the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, which is qualitatively different from stalking penalties. The clean result you desire, Managing Director, does not seem like an impossibility.’
‘Are you sure?’
Lawyer Shin wore a cautious look.
‘Of course, I cannot conclude based solely on last year’s audit report whether there were false facts in the financial statements or violations of disclosure.’
‘You cannot.’
‘……No. I will dig until something comes out.’
As Lawyer Shin took off his glasses, telling him not to worry, Seongheon flashed a faint smile.
‘Good. Then please, proceed.’
‘Yes. I will be in touch.’
Lawyer Shin stood up. He had one old nickname: ‘The Spin Dryer.’
.
.
.
Lost in thought, Seongheon lifted his back from the chair and picked up the receiver. When he pressed the extension, he was immediately connected to his secretary.
─ Yes, Managing Director.
“Contact Namsong Industrial Development. Tell them I’d like to have a meal at Domyeongjae.”
─ Understood.
“The time is this evening. Seven o’clock.”
─ Yes, Managing Director.
Seongheon hung up the phone.