Chapter 12
Sniff.
As Hee-jin wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, Jian rose from her seat, pulled several tissues from the vanity, and handed them to her.
“Here, sis. Take some tissues.”
“Thanks. I wonder when these damn tear ducts are finally going to get fixed.”
“It’s normal. You have to cry when you feel like crying. Otherwise, it’ll fester inside.”
“You sound like you’ve already lived through the whole world.”
Hee-jin blew her nose with a loud honk, gave an awkward laugh, and quickly changed the subject.
“That man outside… Did he at least take your side when those childish people at your company were ostracizing you?”
“Uh, yeah…”
Technically, that wasn’t wrong.
After her brother-in-law passed away, it had been Sa-heon who had recruited Jian into the secretarial office when she had announced her intention to quit, giving her a way to breathe again.
Jian tapped the floor with the tip of her foot before finally nodding.
“That’s right.”
“He’s someone you should be grateful to.”
“He is.”
Jian simply couldn’t bring herself to tell her sister that Sa-heon was the youngest son of Hyungang.
It would be difficult for an outsider to understand that the three brothers were on such terrible terms that they practically wanted to kill each other.
Besides, Hee-jin practically shuddered at the mere mention of Hyungang.
“He couldn’t have quit when he has nowhere to go. Did he perhaps get fired?”
“Huh? Yeah. That’s what happened.”
“That’s too bad. He looks perfectly capable, though. I guess he wasn’t very good at his job.”
For an instant, Jian remembered Sa-heon gracing the cover of an American financial magazine after being selected as one of the five Asian Young Leaders of the Year.
Feeling strangely guilty, Jian avoided her sister’s gaze and gave an awkward smile.
“I told you. His circumstances are pretty unfortunate.”
“Tell him to stay comfortably here until he finds another job.”
“Th-thank you, sis.”
“I’m going to the supermarket. Do you need anything? Since we have a guest, I thought I’d go into town.”
“I’ll go. From now on, just make me do all the errands!”
Jian sprang to her feet.
Hee-jin laughed, looking amused by her sudden enthusiasm.
Forty minutes by car brought them to a supermarket in town.
Jian was carefully comparing the toothpaste brands on sale when a long, sturdy arm reached out from behind her.
Delicate fingers picked up two toothbrushes from the display without hesitation and dropped them into the cart. Then they grabbed two pairs of bathroom slippers and tossed those in as well.
Jian stared at the pink women’s slippers and green men’s slippers sitting in the cart, forcing herself to smile.
“Um, Director.”
“Yes?”
“Why did you get two of everything?”
“One pair is for you, honey.”
“For me?”
“You’re staying here with me, aren’t you?”
“When did I ever say that?”
“Trying to deny it now?”
He draped one arm crookedly over the shopping cart and grinned.
“D-deny what? And honestly, there’s no reason for me to stay here.”
“Because I’m scared.”
Wh… What?
The completely unexpected response left Jian speechless.
“Did you forget? I’m twenty-one.”
He let out a long sigh and deliberately furrowed his brows in a pitiful expression.
“Didn’t you know that twenty-one is the age when you can’t sleep alone at night because you’re afraid ghosts might come out?”
A man nearly 190 centimeters tall was saying something so ridiculous while pretending to be pitiful that his acting was almost convincing enough to fool her.
“You look like you could beat up a ghost, Director.”
Jian snapped back at his absurd argument, and Sa-heon burst out laughing.
Watching him casually push the cart toward the food section, Jian felt irritated.
As if a man who looked like he could crawl back out of hell itself would be afraid of ghosts. The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.
Jian hurried after him, then added in a prim tone,
“I know you say your memories stopped at twenty-one, but you’re actually thirty-three. You’re six years older than me.”
“Oh? So you have a thing for older men?”
One corner of Sa-heon’s mouth curved into a charming smile.
Seriously, the moment he opened his mouth, he became so sly and smooth that he looked ready to wrap someone around his finger.
If she didn’t keep her wits about her, who knew when she might get swept up by this man?
Jian narrowed her eyes and looked up at him.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Oh my~ Are you newlyweds? What a handsome and beautiful couple! Why don’t you buy some dumplings?”
Jian had wondered where that delicious smell was coming from.
A middle-aged female vendor who had been pan-frying dumplings smiled brightly as she cut the golden-brown dumplings in half and handed them over on toothpicks.
“Do we really look like a married couple?”
Sa-heon accepted one of the dumplings and asked.
“You look exactly like newlyweds. What are you talking about? With such a pretty mother and handsome father, your baby would be absolutely adorable~”
“Hee hee hee.”
The vendor covered her mouth and laughed.
Sa-heon popped the half dumpling into his mouth, then dropped the toothpick into a paper cup.
“I’ll take one.”
The vendor immediately grabbed two bags of dumplings and handed them over.
“Try these too. They’re new, with pollack roe inside. They’re delicious.”
“I’ll take those too.”
“These have shrimp in them.”
“I’ll take those as well.”
The bags of dumplings began piling up inside the cart.
Panicking, Jian grabbed his arm.
“W-we don’t need this many dumplings.”
“I like them.”
“You… like dumplings, Director?”
“Yes.”
What did he mean, he liked them?
He looked like he had never ordered delivery from a Chinese restaurant once in his entire life. He didn’t even look like the kind of person who would eat fried dumplings at a five-star hotel’s Chinese restaurant.
“What are you doing? Hurry up.”
Sa-heon leisurely pushed the cart ahead, motioning for her to follow.
Jian trailed after him with a miserable expression.
Beep. Beep.
The amount on the register kept climbing, and with every beep, Jian shifted her feet like a dog that needed to pee.
“I don’t think you need this.”
Jian held up a fabric softener that smelled like camellias and smiled.
“I need it.”
“What about this?”
This time, she held up a pair of expensive rubber gloves with a label boasting that they would never tear, smiling sweetly.
Sa-heon’s eyebrow rose at an angle.
“…Are you saying they’re too expensive? Are you hinting that I should wash the dishes with my bare hands?”
“N-no, of course not.”
“Four hundred and twenty-seven thousand one hundred and twenty won.”
In the end, the total came out several times higher than Jian had expected.
“Lend me some money.”
He brazenly demanded money at the register, claiming he hadn’t brought his wallet.
Jian wanted to suggest removing all the unnecessary items yet again, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
What power did she have, anyway?
That was the life of someone in the subordinate position.
My money…
Jian paid with her card while silently shedding tears of blood.
Looking thoroughly pleased with himself, Sa-heon carried the shopping bags with both hands, loaded them into the trunk of Jian’s car, and climbed into the passenger seat.
“It came out less than I expected.”
He had just taken more than four hundred thousand won from her, and he was saying it was less than expected?
“What? Less?”
Jian became a little indignant, and he shrugged.
“Was it a lot? I guess I’ve gotten older and my spending habits have gotten bigger. I just seem to buy things without thinking.”
“No, your spending habits weren’t excessive, Director. You hated unnecessary expenses. You were so frugal that you only had two cars—one for business and one for personal use.”
“I see.”
Sa-heon listened absentmindedly, as though she were talking about someone else, then suddenly held out his palm.
Jian looked at him questioningly.
He smiled.
“Your phone.”
“Why?”
“I need to call Chief Choi. As you know, my phone is turned off because of Lee Jae-kwon.”
“Right.”
With a sigh, Jian handed him her phone.
After a short ring, Chief Choi answered.
“It’s me, Chief.”
—Yes! Director! Are you all right?
“I’m doing all right.”
—I’ll be leaving soon as well. If I leave now, I should arrive around late evening.
“No, don’t come. Just transfer some money to Jian right now.”
—How much should I transfer, Director?
“Taxes might become a hassle, and that would be annoying… Would ten million won be enough?”
Sa-heon’s gaze shifted toward Jian.
Her eyes widened as she listened to the conversation.
“I’m still Lee Sa-heon, after all. And here I am getting nagged over money.”
—I’ll transfer it immediately.
Sa-heon hung up and returned the phone to her.
Not long afterward—
Ding.
A bank notification announced that the money had been deposited.
Jian stared at Sa-heon in disbelief.
He gave her a sly grin and winked.
“I sent you this month’s living expenses, honey.”
Hee-jin accepted the overflowing shopping bags and rummaged through them with a bewildered expression.
“What is all this? Why did you buy so much? And why are there so many dumplings?”
“It just… happened.”
“How are we supposed to eat all this? The priest is coming later, and I told Paul and Anna to come too. Should we just fry these up and eat them?”
“Sure…”
“It’s a dumpling party!”
Dong-yoon jumped up and down excitedly.
Hee-jin turned toward Sa-heon and spoke kindly.
“I’ve finished tidying up the rooftop room. I brought over blankets and anything else you might need, so let me know if there’s anything more you need.”
“Thank you.”
Sa-heon gave her a light bow, and Hee-jin smiled shyly.
Seriously.
Jian shook her head in disbelief, but then Sa-heon looked at her and jerked his chin toward the stairs.
“Shall we go up?”
“Yes.”
Sa-heon acted so naturally that Jian nearly followed him upstairs as if the rooftop room were his own home.
Then she abruptly stopped.
He gave her a small, knowing smile.
“I told you I’d help you get things organized.”
“Oh… Right. Yes.”
Like a condemned criminal, Jian was dragged up to the rooftop room.
She opened the metal door, and her eyes widened at the sight inside.
It looked completely different from before.
