Chapter 27……………………………………
{Ms. Lucia Lee?}
Mrs. Na’s eyes narrowed. At the same time, Chohui’s mind went completely blank.
Ah. What should I do?
This is a disaster.
In this situation, who should I answer to?
Should I play along with Mrs. Minamoto and Mrs. Hiranishi, pretending to be Do-woon’s wife?
Or should I go along with Mrs. Na, pretending to be a teacher who only speaks English?
Which choice would cause the least trouble for Do-woon?
After a fleeting moment of hesitation, Japanese words slipped from Chohui’s mouth.
{Oh my, Mrs. Minamoto, Mrs. Hiranishi. It’s nice to see you both here. How have you been?}
{Of course, we’ve been well. But… who might you be, here?}
The gazes of Mrs. Hiranishi and Mrs. Minamoto shifted toward Mrs. Na.
{Th-this is, well…}
{I’m Na Hee-jung. I’m Do-woon’s mother. It’s a pleasure to meet you.}
Speaking smoothly in Japanese, Mrs. Na replaced Chohui, who was stammering, and greeted the two women.
{Do-woon? Ah, I remember—that must have been Ms. Lee’s Korean name. Hoho, so this is an outing with your in-laws, then.}
{In-laws?}
{Ms. Lucia Lee is fortunate. To be here drinking gavi with her mother-in-law like this.}
Chohui clenched her eyes tightly and opened them again at the oblivious conversation between Mrs. Hiranishi and Mrs. Na.
It seemed that things were steadily heading toward disaster.
The lie Chohui had told Mrs. Na had already been exposed. Now, all she could do was try to make a good impression on Mrs. Minamoto.
She couldn’t ruin things with both sides.
Chohui forced a smile and turned her gaze toward Mrs. Minamoto, who continued to glare at her with a chilly expression.
{Mrs. Minamoto, how have you been? The last gathering was quite enjoyable, so perhaps at the next ladies’ meeting—}
{I see I didn’t convey my meaning clearly, it seems.}
{Excuse me? Meaning, ma’am?}
{The gathering is already full. It would be difficult to admit anyone else.}
The coldness in her words finally hit Chohui. It was a clear exclusion aimed at preventing her from joining, presumably because of Do-woon.
Do-woon had been right. Mrs. Minamoto was thoroughly angry.
Mrs. Hiranishi’s eyes widened in surprise at Mrs. Minamoto’s words.
{Oh, Ms. Sakura… What do you mean by that? Didn’t you say I was invited last time? You said you’d tell us about what happened in England.}
{That must have been Ms. Sachiko misunderstanding. Our gatherings aren’t open to just anyone. Only those of the proper rank may attend.}
Emphasizing “just anyone,” Mrs. Minamoto made it clear she was furious.
Anxious, Chohui addressed Mrs. Minamoto again.
{Mrs. Minamoto, if I’ve offended you—}
{Let’s go, Ms. Sachiko. If this is a place for riffraff like you, even this hotel must be outdated!}
Mrs. Minamoto turned away with a smirk, leaving no room for Chohui to defend herself, and walked off without pause.
A total disaster. What a complete disaster.
“You can speak Japanese, I see.”
Mrs. Na’s words drew another sigh from Chohui.
Right. She had also dealt with Do-woon’s mother.
“Ma’am.”
“Oh? You even speak Korean?”
“I-I wasn’t trying to deceive you…”
“Not that you were trying to deceive me, but you could speak Korean.”
“Ma’am—”
“Not that you were trying to deceive me, but in fact, you married my son?”
Even twisting the words like this, could things get more tangled?
Chohui pressed her hand to her forehead, staring at Mrs. Na’s calm yet seething expression.
Meanwhile…
In the study, Do-woon took the photo out of the envelope. It had just arrived from the studio.
Chohui stood awkwardly next to him in the photo. She seemed to be smiling, but it was a stiff, unnatural smile.
“Haha.”
Despite the awkwardness, it would serve as a proper wedding photo. Do-woon flipped the photo over with satisfaction.
“What’s this?”
The next photo hadn’t been part of the formal request.
It was a solo shot of Chohui, holding flowers and smiling naturally, unlike the formal wedding photo.
“So she liked the flowers, huh?”
Do-woon hadn’t expected such a bright smile, but seeing it, he thought maybe he should have bought them sooner—a ridiculous thought.
Wedding photos were just props to make things look presentable. But a solo shot like this, if kept, could leave an unfavorable trace. Disposal was the correct choice.
He pinched the photo between thumb and forefinger, ready to tear it.
It should be discarded…
Knock knock
Startled by the knock, Do-woon quickly tucked Chohui’s photo into his jacket pocket.
“Come in.”
“You called, sir?”
“Oh, it’s you.”
Soonhwa opened the door and entered.
“Please order these.”
Do-woon handed her a small note with a few scribbled items.
“Yes, sir. There are a lot of vases… I’ll place the order.”
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Do-woon’s expression turned icy, as if he had never smiled.
“All the servants need to be replaced.”
“Eh? All of them? What happened?”
“Nothing serious. Just… there’s a rat in the house.”
Seeing Soonhwa swallow nervously, Do-woon let out a small smirk.
“I don’t want any word to leak from my house ever again.”
“…Yes, sir. I’ll replace them.”
Obediently, Soonhwa hurried out.
As expected—was she the contact for Mrs. Na after all?
Do-woon let out a bitter smile. At home, there was still no one he could fully trust.
No… there was one.
Seong Chohui.
Thinking of Chohui, Do-woon’s thoughts grew complicated.
BANG!
The front door slammed shut. Soon after, loud voices could be heard.
Had the two who had gone out returned? Twilight had already fallen outside. They were late.
Do-woon furrowed his brows and headed to the living room. There stood Mrs. Na, visibly angry, and Chohui, looking exhausted.
“Hold the wedding ceremony immediately.”
A wedding ceremony? Out of nowhere? Do-woon couldn’t guess the source of this command.
“What do you mean?”
“To marry without informing your parents! How will you explain this to your father?”
“What nonsense have you heard?”
“Do you think I can’t tell a rumor from the truth? In Sinuiju, everyone already knows you two as husband and wife!”
Ah, that explained it.
Even without all the details, Do-woon could see where Mrs. Na’s anger stemmed from.
The part he feared most had been revealed. What should he do to prevent this from reaching his father?
“I hid it because I didn’t think you’d approve.”
“Not approve?”
“Because she is Korean, isn’t she?”
“W-well, that’s true, but…”
Do-woon caught a flicker of hesitation in Mrs. Na’s wavering tone. Jackpot. He pushed harder.
“I thought you wouldn’t approve. And if anything happened to this person by my side…”
“You should have told me anyway!”
“My judgment was limited. Forgive me.”
“Even so… a father wouldn’t harm his daughter-in-law.”
Her tone had softened. Do-woon knew the old saying about his father’s restraint held weight, even to his mother.
“Will you tell my father?”
“My head aches. This is something parents should know… but let’s think on it.”
Mrs. Na pressed her forehead, as if throbbing.
Seeing her start to retreat from the conversation, Do-woon knew the tide had turned in his favor.
“Shall I call a physician?”
“No need. Rest will suffice. Tomorrow, we’ll finish talking.”
“Yes, please rest.”
“But… did you each use separate rooms just to show me?”
“…Yes?”
An unexpected observation. She had noticed that they had used separate rooms on this floor.
“There’s no need to hide now. Return to normal.”
“…Yes.”
Do-woon extended his hand to Chohui, who had been nervously observing from two steps behind.
“Then, let’s go upstairs, madam.”
Click
Closing the master bedroom door behind them, Do-woon released Chohui’s hand.
“I’m sorry.”
If only she had been more careful while walking in the city…
Chohui felt as if everything had gone wrong because of her.
“What happened?”
But, contrary to her worry, Do-woon’s voice held no anger. Rather, it seemed to soothe her.
“I went to drink gavi and met Mrs. Minamoto.”
“That must have been the worst-case scenario.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“No need to apologize. It’s not your fault. My failure was not considering this could happen.”
It was too dark to clearly see Do-woon’s expression. Was he truly not angry?
“Thank you for saying that.”
“It’s just the truth.”
He hadn’t gotten angry at all. Chohui exhaled in relief.
“I’ll go out now.”
“Go where?”
“Back to our room.”
“Didn’t you tell Mrs. Na earlier that you’d sleep in the same room?”
“W-wasn’t that just to cover things up?”
“Cover up? That’s regrettable to hear.”
What?
Moonlight streamed through the clearing clouds, revealing Do-woon’s face, unreadable and composed.
Surveying the room, the most important detail stood out: the bed.
“Wait… there’s only one bed?”
She couldn’t possibly sleep in the same bed. She realized her mistake and took a step back.
But that was a misjudgment.
Do-woon removed his back from the door and slowly stepped toward her, one deliberate step at a time.
“Madam, that’s not a very good excuse.”
“W-wait—”
“What’s the problem with there being only one bed?”
In the moonlight, his face glowed pale, like a sculpted work of heat and light.
“I-I didn’t agree to this. We’re bound by contract, it’s not real!”
“This? What do you mean by this?”
As he stepped closer, Chohui quickly raised her hands.
“Tell me. What do you mean by ‘this’?”
Her head spun. Was he seriously asking her to say it? Out loud?
“Y-you understood without words, didn’t you?”
“No. Tell me. I don’t want any unnecessary misunderstandings.”
Despite her hands raised to her chest, Do-woon took another deliberate step forward. His low, steady voice sounded close to her ear.
“W-wait!”
Her legs hit the bed. There was nowhere left to retreat.
