CHAPTER 43………………………………………..
Miseok nodded slightly and walked toward the sofa. Even as she sat down, she was careful, as if trying not to lose her dignity.
She set her bag down beside her and crossed her legs.
“You didn’t answer your phone.”
Miseok spoke first.
“So I came.”
“I didn’t want to answer.”
Geon-woo’s voice was cold.
“…I see.”
Miseok lowered her head for a moment. After a long pause, she spoke again.
“You’re angry because of what happened last time, right?”
“……”
“But Geon-woo, that was really a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
Geon-woo cut her off. His gaze had gone completely cold.
“Then what exactly was it that I saw that day?”
Miseok’s face stiffened.
“…That was—”
“You told Hana to carry the luggage.”
Geon-woo’s voice dropped. Miseok bit her lip hard.
“No. Hana said she’d carry it herself…”
“Don’t lie.”
“……”
“Now I know for sure. How you’ve treated Hana all this time.”
“Geon-woo, I—!”
“And I told you before.”
Geon-woo closed the file in front of him and stood up.
“That Hana was raised with care. So who are you to treat her like that?”
The anger he had been suppressing seeped into the end of his words. Miseok couldn’t answer. She simply clasped her hands together and lowered her gaze.
“From now on, don’t contact Hana again.”
Miseok fell silent for a moment, her trembling hands clasped together as if her words were stuck in her throat. Then she finally spoke quietly.
“…Fine. I don’t like her.”
Her voice was dry and resolute.
“I hate having someone like that beside you.”
“Someone like that?”
“Yes.”
Miseok lifted her head.
“I already can’t stand that she’s from the Seoga Foods family, and on top of that she’s adopted. Someone like that being our family’s daughter-in-law—does that even make sense?”
The hand Geon-woo had been resting calmly on the desk slowly clenched into a fist.
“Mother.”
“Did I say anything wrong? She’s not someone who fits into our family.”
Miseok’s voice grew harsher.
“So?”
“So I’m telling you to divorce her.”
Miseok stood up and walked closer to Geon-woo.
“You have Serin, don’t you? The only daughter of Jet Group. Good family, refined, and beautiful.”
Geon-woo let out a quiet laugh. It was a laugh mixed with mockery and resignation.
“…So that’s why you did all that on purpose?”
“…What?”
“To Hana. To make us divorce.”
Miseok didn’t answer. But the silence itself was an answer. Geon-woo slowly shook his head.
“I suspected it.”
“Geon-woo, your mother just wants what’s best for you—!”
“What’s best for me?”
Geon-woo’s voice rose.
“What does tormenting Hana have to do with me doing well?”
“Geon-woo, your mother just—!”
Geon-woo stepped closer and looked straight at her.
“If you touch Hana even one more time, I’ll never see you again.”
At those words, Miseok’s face instantly turned pale. Her breath escaped through her teeth as if she were suffocating.
“…Geon-woo, what are you saying? Hm?”
“I like Hana.”
At that one sentence, Miseok was speechless. Her eyes widened and her fingertips trembled.
“I felt that way from the first time I saw her. I still do. And I always will.”
Geon-woo spoke firmly.
“So please—don’t touch Hana. Stop making her suffer.”
“…Geon-woo.”
“And let’s say, just as you said, that I divorced Hana.”
Geon-woo leaned against the edge of the desk and continued.
“If I immediately marry Son Serin after that, what do you think people will say?”
Miseok couldn’t say anything. She only stared at him, hands tightly clenched.
“There are already rumors that I live a reckless life.”
Geon-woo gave a scornful smile.
“If I divorce and immediately marry someone else, what will people say?”
His gaze flickered with cynicism.
“They’ll say, ‘Jung Geon-woo dumped his wife and switched to a daughter from a better family. Just as expected.’ That’s what they’ll say.”
“……”
“If the heir of Ilju Group gets caught up in rumors like that, the company’s image won’t look good either. Is that what you want?”
Miseok bit her lip. He wasn’t wrong. In a chaebol family, image was practically an asset.
“And the person I love is Hana. So why would I divorce?”
“Geon-woo…!”
“Just because you dislike her, does that mean I have to change my feelings?”
Miseok couldn’t answer. Her chest tightened. It was the first time Geon-woo had spoken to her this firmly.
Geon-woo continued.
“From now on, don’t meet Son Serin either.”
“…What?”
Miseok’s voice trembled.
“I said don’t meet her. Otherwise strange rumors might start again.”
His voice was low and cold. The way he spoke was dry and indifferent, as if he were addressing a stranger.
“If you meet her even one more time…”
Geon-woo paused.
The room fell silent, as if the air itself had stopped moving. Only the ticking of the desk clock filled the space.
“Then I won’t hold back either.”
At that moment, Miseok’s heart dropped. Her knees wobbled. This wasn’t just a warning. His voice carried a cold determination she had never heard before.
“Geon-woo… aren’t you being too harsh to your mother?”
She tried to sound calm, but her voice trembled helplessly, shrinking almost to a whisper.
“You should go. I have a meeting soon.”
“You really… you really won’t see me anymore?”
Miseok reached out a trembling hand to grab the corner of the desk to steady herself.
“Yes.”
Geon-woo’s answer was firm. There was no hesitation.
That single word made her eyes shake.
Her fingertips trembled, her breathing grew uneven. It felt as if something inside her chest was collapsing.
Only then did she realize.
Geon-woo hadn’t been joking.
“…Geon-woo.”
She called her son’s name pitifully, her voice full of desperation.
But Geon-woo didn’t even turn his head. He sat back down and stared at his laptop screen, completely ignoring her.
Seeing that, she couldn’t say another word. Her throat tightened and tears filled her eyes. Miseok covered her mouth with a trembling hand.
She had never imagined Geon-woo would treat her this coldly.
The son she had given birth to and raised—the gentle Geon-woo she knew—she never imagined he would change this much.
In the end, Geon-woo never looked at her. Without receiving even a single glance from her son, Miseok weakly picked up her bag. Her hands trembled so much that she couldn’t properly close the zipper.
Her legs felt frozen, refusing to move.
She couldn’t endure it any longer.
Staggering, she walked to the door and slowly turned the handle. Cold air slipped through the crack.
The moment the door closed behind her, the tears she had been holding back burst out all at once. Her throat tightened so much that even breathing became difficult.
Miseok covered her face with her hands.
‘Geon-woo… really said he wouldn’t see me again.’
It felt like her chest was collapsing. His words echoed endlessly in her mind.
No matter how many times she repeated them in her head—dozens, hundreds of times—she still couldn’t believe it.
Her steps wobbled as she walked down the hallway. Each time her high heels scraped the floor, a dull sound rang in her ears.
Tears fell with every step.
The elevator doors opened, and Miseok stepped inside with her head lowered. In the elevator wall’s reflection, she saw her swollen eyes.
Her fingers trembled as she pressed the button.
The elevator moved smoothly.
The numbers changed slowly. When it reached the floor with the vice-chairman’s office, Miseok let out a small breath.
“Madam, you’re here?”
The secretary stood up and greeted her. Miseok quickly wiped the corners of her eyes and lifted a hand in greeting.
“Mm.”
Pretending to fix her hair, she covered part of her face with her hand.
Because no one knew better than she did just how miserable she looked right now.
