Chapter 10
Trinket
Iyeon stared quietly at Park Jiyu, who was unable to contain her anger, then flung open the waiting room door.
“Stop making a scene and come inside.”
The driver, who had been watching Jiyu’s outburst, asked worriedly,
“Will you be all right?”
“Don’t worry. An empty wagon always makes the most noise.”
Jiyu’s face flushed bright red.
“Are you saying that to me?”
“Who else would it be, if not you?”
At Iyeon’s words, Jiyu let out a scoffing laugh, as if she were dumbfounded.
“Get in!”
Pressed like that, Jiyu trembled and went into the room. Iyeon locked the door as if she had been waiting for this.
With her arms crossed, she glared at Jiyu, her lips moving.
“First, apologize for calling me pathetic.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I won’t stay quiet either.”
“What could you possibly do!”
“Well… how about spreading the rumor that actress Park Jiyu is addicted to sleep-inducing injections?”
“W-What are you talking about?”
A cold smile formed on Iyeon’s lips as she looked at the panic-stricken Jiyu.
When she worked at Soram General Hospital, Iyeon had watched Director Jung, who depended on injections. A famous actor who couldn’t control her emotions at all—the subtly trembling hands, the shoulders twitching unconsciously. Above all, Jiyu’s bloodshot eyes overlapped with Director Jung’s image.
And this place was a plastic surgery clinic.
As a doctor, Iyeon couldn’t not know how many people came up with excuses for procedures just to get injections.
“I’m a doctor. The primary physician for the main family of the Gwonseong Group.”
“Gwon Woojin’s primary physician?”
In an instant, honorifics slipped into Park Jiyu’s speech.
“To be precise, I’m taking care of Madam. And coming to the hospital today was also thanks to Madam’s consideration. So what exactly is the problem?”
Jiyu’s gaze dropped to the floor.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“When you’re addicted to sleep-inducing injections, your emotions swing wildly. If you want to keep living as a celebrity, it would be better to stop.”
“I’m sorry for saying those harsh things earlier. Please, please keep the injection thing a secret from Gwon Woojin.”
It seemed she was more afraid of Woojin finding out than the public.
“What on earth happened?”
Wanting to find out something—anything—Iyeon placed a hand on her back.
Was it the warmth?
Jiyu suddenly burst into tears.
“Gwon Woojin has another woman, right? That’s it, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know.”
“He’s a man without a heart, Gwon Woojin. He must have played with me enough. Now he says I’m boring.”
At that, Iyeon’s brow furrowed.
Gwon Woojin seemed like an even more terrible person than she had thought.
“With your status, Ms. Park Jiyu, you could meet someone better.”
“No. There isn’t anyone. There’s no man like Gwon Woojin in this world.”
As Iyeon patted the sobbing Jiyu’s shoulder, the door suddenly flew open and a woman who looked like her manager rushed in.
“Unni! There are people watching—why do you keep doing this!”
After confirming that Iyeon was not Gwon Woojin’s woman, Jiyu obediently let herself be led out by the manager.
Iyeon couldn’t understand Park Jiyu’s heart at all—believing a man who saw her as nothing more than a trinket to be the one-and-only love of her life.
After arranging to meet the driver at the terminal, Iyeon took a taxi to her destination.
It was Mareum Orphanage, where she had lived for nearly twenty years.
Abandoned at birth, Iyeon spent her childhood in the dim confines of Mareum Orphanage. Though small, it housed many children. It was a place she was grateful to for providing food and a place to sleep—but it left her with no warm memories.
The director who scolded her for keeping the light on to study at night, yet packaged Iyeon’s first-place report cards as his own achievement to the local government. When she was accepted into medical school on a scholarship, he paraded her around like a trophy at various events, spouting hollow praise.
If not for Gwon Woojin, Iyeon might never have come back here.
“Are you… Iyeon?”
The orphanage director, now white-haired, recognized her at once.
“Hello.”
At the very least, Iyeon expected to hear that it was good she had come.
But what came out of the director’s mouth froze her heart.
“Why did you come here after smearing mud on my face?”
“Smearing mud… what do you mean?”
“You went to prison, didn’t you? There were no criminals among the children from our orphanage. That was my mission and my pride.”
Iyeon was left speechless.
“You were always unusual, even as a child. Oblivious, stubbornly relentless, shamelessly desperate. If you were so determined to go to medical school, you should’ve lived upright!”
“Do you even know why I went to prison?”
“Why should I know? The children will be back from school soon, so I’d like you to leave.”
Stiff as ice, Iyeon took an envelope out of her pocket. Since she hadn’t received her salary yet, it held nearly all the money she had. Money she had prepared to buy winter jackets for the children.
“Please take this. I wanted to at least buy the kids some clothes.”
Despite having hurled abuse just moments ago, the director snatched the envelope without hesitation.
Iyeon turned away without saying goodbye.
With that envelope, even the last shred of gratitude she had toward the orphanage that once fed and housed her disappeared.
As she weakly stepped past the gate, someone followed her out.
“Iyeon!”
Turning around, she saw the teacher who had at least treated her kindly.
“Teacher… have you been well?”
“Don’t take the director’s words too much to heart. He was very upset after hearing about you.”
“It’s fine. I’m okay.”
“From now on, live diligently.”
The teacher patted her back and turned away.
Iyeon suddenly took out a photo from her jacket pocket.
“Teacher, could you take a look at this?”
“Who is this?”
She stared for a long time at the photo of a young Gwon Woojin doing laundry at the orphanage.
“It’s Gwon Woojin, CEO of the Gwonseong Welfare Foundation. Do you remember him?”
“A lot of young masters came to fill volunteer hours.”
“As far as I remember, CEO Gwon Woojin didn’t come to volunteer after graduating middle school. Especially—I don’t recall seeing him in a school uniform.”
The teacher stared intently at the photo, then shook her head.
“No. I think he kept coming regularly until he went abroad.”
“Oh… really? Why didn’t I see him…?”
“He must’ve come while you kids were at school. Yes, that’s probably it.”
She continued, as if everything about Gwon Woojin had come back to her.
“Come to think of it, he always did the bedding laundry. Remember? Washing the blankets was supposed to be the girls’ job.”
Iyeon’s eyes widened.
Every child at the orphanage had assigned chores. Because so many children lived together, the bedding laundry piled up constantly—and it was the girls, including Iyeon, who had to wash them.
In summer it was manageable, but in the dead of winter, when their feet froze solid, it was nothing but misery.
“He was happy when we told him he didn’t have to do laundry anymore. Don’t you remember?”
A vague memory surfaced—she had been glad to have more time to study.
The teacher glanced at her watch and exclaimed,
“It’s almost time for the kids to come back. I should go in!”
Iyeon bowed deeply to her.
She was stunned by the fact that Gwon Woojin had taken over her work.
The memory was old and hazy, but she thought she had said something like this to him back then:
“Do you even know how heavy blankets get when they’re soaked? Of course you wouldn’t.”
She suddenly shook her head hard.
There was no way Gwon Woojin had volunteered for that work on purpose.
He was just a rich family’s young master, deeply immersed in the game of volunteer work.
What a stubborn, tenacious ill fate.
Iyeon resolved never to return to this place again.
Arriving at the terminal at the agreed time, Iyeon naturally assumed the driver would be sitting in the black sedan parked in the lot.
Casually opening the back door, her eyes widened.
“Why are you here…?”
It was Gwon Woojin.
“Why don’t you come sit in front?”
“I’m comfortable here.”
Ignoring Woojin’s suggestion to take the passenger seat, Iyeon sat in the back and fastened her seatbelt.
Starting the engine, he explained,
“I sent the driver off on another errand. I have to go to the main house anyway.”
When Iyeon turned her gaze out the window without replying, Woojin continued,
“Because of a very impressive primary physician, I have to come and go to the main house every day.”
Only then did Iyeon respond.
“After seeing how much Madam has improved, you still don’t know?”
“I know. That’s why I’m putting up with you.”
“Putting up with me in what way?”
At her question, Woojin changed the subject.
“Anything happen at the hospital today?”
“No.”
He laughed out loud.
“I really can’t tell with you, Joo Iyeon.”
“What do you mean?”
“Meeting Park Jiyu—was that really nothing?”
Iyeon shrugged calmly.
“Is there a problem?”
“Then how about this?”
From the driver’s seat, he turned to look at her.
“Was that really nothing—when you were hiding like a rat in the closet of my room?”
He knew about last night.
Cold sweat ran down Iyeon’s spine.
