Chapter 11
“Information-gathering methods?”
“This.”
Dowoon stepped out from behind the desk and set a thick stack of documents down on the side table in front of Chohui.
Clipped to the first page of the tightly bound file was a photograph. It was a woman wearing an elegant jeweled hair ornament. Even through the black-and-white photo, a chill seemed to drip from her expressionless face.
Chohui flipped the photo over and read the writing beneath it.
“Sakura Minamoto, a 32-year-old woman from Kyoto. Daughter-in-law of Minamoto Steel, and the second daughter of Sugawara Liquor. This woman is Mrs. Minamoto?”
At Chohui’s question, Dowoon nodded. His fingers quickly turned to the next page. Another document showed a different woman’s face with an accompanying description.
Seeing that, Chohui realized what kind of file she had been handed.
“These people are the members of the wives’ gathering, right? But what exactly am I supposed to do with this information?”
“First, you must memorize everything about them. Before extracting information from them, you need to know what kind of people they are.”
As Dowoon finished speaking and was about to turn the page, Chohui quickly stopped his hand.
“Wait—are you saying I have to memorize all of this?”
“It’s not as much as it looks. There are only around a dozen people in the gathering. What matters is what comes next.”
Dowoon stood up, gathered several books from the shelf into his arms, and thumped them down onto the side table. The sheer volume made Chohui’s eyes widen.
She quickly scanned the book titles—starting with British history, European political systems, and even books on high-society etiquette. Not only was there a lot, but the range was enormous.
All of this in just two weeks?
“You want me to memorize these too?”
Unlike the horrified Chohui, Dowoon remained calm.
“If you’re attending the gathering as ‘Lucia,’ who studied abroad in England, shouldn’t you at least have basic knowledge about England?”
“Then what about the information-gathering methods?”
“I’ll tell you that later.”
“You said the gathering is in two weeks! You want me to memorize all the wives’ information, study like I went abroad to England, and learn how to gather information—all before then?”
“That’s right.”
At his words, Chohui let out a disbelieving laugh.
Is this man seriously insane?
“It’s impossible to do all of that in two weeks.”
“Are you trying to lower my expectations?”
“I’m talking about reality.”
“Reality, hm. You haven’t forgotten that I’m paying you 500 won, have you?”
The shameless remark left her speechless. As if dealing with her brother’s situation wasn’t enough—now he was even using money against her?
Chohui narrowed her eyes and glared at Dowoon.
“You really make a habit of threatening people.”
“My threats must work quite well, judging by how fired up you are.”
“There isn’t even a word bad enough for you! You really are—really—”
“How about ‘a capable businessman’?”
“Hmph! You’re no different from those shameless Japanese bastards!”
Calling him a shameless Japanese bastard was the worst insult Chohui could come up with.
As expected, Dowoon’s face stiffened for a brief moment. But soon he lifted one corner of his mouth and chuckled.
“I didn’t know you’d suddenly start complimenting me.”
“A compliment?”
“You say I’m like a Japanese businessman—sounds like praise for my business acumen. Thank you.”
“I—I wasn’t complimenting you!”
Realizing she had unintentionally praised him, Chohui fumed.
But Dowoon, unfazed, kept that shameless smile on his face.
What do I do? Should I insult him again?
“Calm down. Since you agreed to cooperate, I simply want you to do your best.”
“Fine. I just have to memorize all this, right?”
“Now you’re finally listening.”
Dowoon smiled in satisfaction and leaned forward from the back of the sofa, moving closer to Chohui. She reflexively leaned back, but he was already close enough that she could see the gleam in his eyes.
Slowly, Dowoon spoke.
“You have to earn that 500 won.”
“…That price doesn’t include overtime pay, does it?”
The corner of Dowoon’s mouth twitched downward.
“What do you mean, overtime pay?”
“I mean you need to let me go before the trams stop running. If they stop, I’ll have to walk all the way back to the inn late at night. No matter how much of a mere employee I am to you, I’m not risking my life for work.”
Walking alone through the city late at night was extremely dangerous for a woman.
Surely that 500-won salary didn’t include the price of her life.
Determined not to back down, Chohui clenched her fist to show her resolve.
But instead, Dowoon looked exasperated and dragged a hand down his face.
“So now you want to brand me as a villainous employer too?”
“You told me to earn my 500 won. That’s treating me like nothing but money. If that’s not a villainous employer, what is?”
“That’s not what I meant—I just meant you should work hard. To make this job succeed, I’ll support you in every way. Including where you’ll stay.”
Where I’ll stay?
At his words, Chohui’s eyes widened.
“…You mean staying in this house?”
“Of course. You’re a wife in name—were you planning to stay somewhere else?”
“But we’re not a real couple.”
“Then should we go around telling people we’re just pretending?”
Dowoon said it as if it were obvious.
Thinking about it, he had a point. If she stayed elsewhere, someone would surely start doubting whether they were really a “married couple.”
What a mess I’ve gotten into.
Wait—then what about my promise to meet my brother at the inn?
Her brother would definitely be waiting there.
Of course, if what this man said was true, her brother was a fugitive now and unlikely to come here anytime soon.
But what if he looks for me anyway?
Lost in thoughts of her brother, Chohui hesitated. Watching her, Dowoon frowned.
“What are you hesitating about? You’re not misunderstanding something strange, are you?”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Let me be clear—asking you to stay here has absolutely no other intention. It’s purely for our work. Men and women should be proper, and I have no such thoughts about you, so rest assured.”
“Such… thoughts?”
Not immediately understanding, Chohui tilted her head.
Men and women being proper…
Seeing Dowoon’s guarded gaze, Chohui suddenly realized what he meant and flushed.
“No! I don’t have any such thoughts either!”
“Then that’s good. I thought you were worried because you didn’t answer.”
“Honestly! I wasn’t even thinking about that!”
Angry, Chohui jumped to her feet.
“Come to think of it, I really should stay here. I’ll save on inn fees—sounds great, doesn’t it? Since we’re being so ‘realistic,’ I’ll definitely stay here. And I’ll eat three meals a day, so keep that in mind!”
After rattling all that off, Chohui stomped her feet on purpose and stormed out of the study.
—
“Such an infuriatingly shameless man.”
Chohui paced around the room, fuming.
She was in the guest room on the second floor.
After her conversation with Dowoon, a servant of the house had promptly led her there, as if they had been waiting.
The room looked as though no one had ever stayed in it—there was only a simple bed sitting alone.
“What does he think I am…?”
With that mutter, Chohui collapsed onto the floor, her legs giving out.
Not just her legs—her whole body felt drained. She had been so tense that she’d completely exhausted herself.
“My goodness… what on earth has my life come to?”
She replayed everything that had happened—the issue with her brother, the contract she had agreed to without thinking. Everything was a tangled mess.
“No matter how I think about it, this is far too reckless.”
Because of her brother, she had no choice but to accept that troublesome contract. If he really did report her brother, it would be disastrous.
Still, the contract felt unsettling somehow.
A fake wife—she had never even heard of something like that.
Chohui bit her lip anxiously.
Am I really wasting time like this when I should be looking for my brother?
She racked her brain for any alternative solution outside the contract, but no matter how much she thought, nothing came to mind.
After agonizing over it late into the night, Chohui finally fell into a deep sleep, sprawled across the bed.
—
“Master, there doesn’t seem to be any movement in the young lady’s room.”
“Is that so?”
Dowoon, who had been organizing work in the study, looked up and gazed out the window.
The sun had already set, and a bluish veil covered the sky.
“She’s not going to demand compensation tomorrow for skipping dinner, is she?”
Staring at the crescent moon, Dowoon muttered to himself, one corner of his mouth curling up in amusement.
“Pardon?”
“She said she’d eat three meals a day, but it looks like she’ll miss dinner on the very first day. Ah—never mind, Soonhwa. I wasn’t asking you.”
“Then, Master, should I wake the young lady?”
Dowoon shook his head at Soonhwa’s question.
“Leave her. She probably fell asleep once her tension eased.”
“But it’s still early evening…”
“If she gets hungry, she’ll wake up on her own.”
Shrugging it off, Dowoon stayed in the study for quite a while longer, seemingly unconcerned about dinner himself, and eventually fell asleep on the study sofa.
—
“Ugh…”
Chohui rubbed her eyes as she woke up. A faint bluish moon still hung outside the window—it seemed to be early dawn, before morning fully arrived.
Looks like I fell asleep right away yesterday.
Grrr—
“My stomach really is honest.”
At the loud growl, Chohui clutched her stomach and got up. She hadn’t eaten anything since the previous afternoon, so it was only natural.
Though it was early, she decided to grab something simple to eat and quietly stepped out of her room.
Luckily, there was no sign of movement from Dowoon’s room on the same floor—he seemed to be asleep.
Tiptoe, tiptoe.
Careful not to wake anyone, Chohui quietly descended the still, silent staircase of the mansion.
As she was heading toward the kitchen, she stopped. A yellowish light was on across the living room, where the study was.
There’s no way anyone’s up at this hour… He must have forgotten to turn the light off.
Changing direction, Chohui headed toward the study.
Creak—
Pushing open the half-open door, she found someone lying on the sofa. It was Dowoon, asleep with the light still on.
His long legs were draped over the arm of the sofa. The buttons of his shirt were fastened all the way up to his neck, which looked uncomfortable, yet he didn’t stir at all.
Seeing him sleeping so awkwardly, Chohui tilted her head.
“Why would he sleep here instead of his own bed…?”
Planning to turn off the light, she crept closer to the sofa.
Up close, she saw that Dowoon’s face, which she had assumed was sleeping peacefully, was drenched in sweat.
“Hnn…”
As if having a nightmare, he frowned and shifted his head restlessly.
Without realizing it, Chohui reached out toward his forehead, dotted with beads of sweat.
