Chapter 46
The large study, reminiscent of a small library, was the place Chairman Ha Tae-won spent the most time in each day.
Except for the days he went to the office, he always worked, read, or met people here.
So Yoon-jae, too, had to visit the main house and come to this study whenever Chairman Ha required him.
Not every time, but it was standard procedure to report after major events.
“That’s all.”
Even though the location changed, the atmosphere remained the same—just the chairman and the executive director, nothing more or less—as Yoon-jae concluded his report.
Ha Tae-won put down the documents he had been reviewing after seeing Yoon-jae’s concise and flawless report.
Then he addressed the waiting executive.
“I heard that the project you mentioned earlier was awarded under very favorable conditions.”
“I was fortunate.”
“Luck is also skill. And knowing how to seize that luck is skill, too.”
Having heard this many times before, Yoon-jae offered no particular response.
“Good work.”
Hearing praise, something he had never received before, made him slightly curious.
Ha pushed the papers aside and interlaced his fingers.
“What do you think about Eun-se? Does she have potential?”
The topic had shifted from business to personal matters as Ha gestured with his hand.
Yoon-jae answered honestly.
“She’s putting in the effort.”
“How much?”
“She’s probably doing her best, whatever that may be.”
Tsk.
Ha clicked his tongue loudly enough for Yoon-jae to hear, then rose from his seat and walked toward the densely packed bookshelves.
“Find someone suitable, not much older than her.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t act like you don’t understand. I should do what I can before it’s too late. This isn’t something I can keep carrying forever.”
“Chairman…”
“Isn’t it a good thing for you?”
A faint expression, somewhere between a sneer and a smile, crossed Ha’s face as he looked at Yoon-jae.
If Hyewon were present, it might have caused a huge commotion.
She had always been uneasy in situations like this.
It was the day Chairman Ha, who only thought of Yeong-do, would push his own daughter aside.
Expecting sentiment or moral duty from someone who had lived like this all their life was pure luxury.
It had already been over ten years since Yoon-jae had joined Yeong-do.
It seemed that he had proven himself.
“And that girl.”
The unexpected subject shifted once again.
Ha, completely turned away and examining the books, continued casually.
“How long are you going to keep her by your side?”
This time, the arrow of concern pointed to his wife.
Yoon-jae’s expression changed, but Ha still faced the bookshelf.
“She’s served her purpose. Now that some noise is starting to be heard, take care of it before it becomes bothersome.”
The noise referred to the invitation from the Eunyang Foundation. Sending two invitations, specifying that both spouses attend, was unnecessary but intentional.
“Han Myeong-sook has aged. With nothing to do, she probably wants to gawk at the young ones.”
As Ha said, this invitation was about curiosity—curiosity about Yeong-do’s illegitimate child and the fiancée that came with a guarantee, and who she had chosen.
The base curiosity about a woman who was nothing of note.
Ha would not have liked such unnecessary gossip arising from trivial attention.
“Sort it out before it’s too late if you have any ideas.”
He selected a book and returned to his desk.
Opening a book signaled the end of the conversation. It was time for Yoon-jae to leave this uncomfortable place.
Yet he lingered a moment, thinking.
“……”
Ha watched Yoon-jae curiously, noticing that he didn’t leave.
Seeing that pale, emotionless gaze naturally reminded him of someone.
A face, once beautiful, now skeletal and emaciated, fragile as if it might melt away at any moment.
So he spoke.
“There’s not much time left.”
“……”
“She’s not even in her right mind.”
He spoke without a subject, yet Ha asked nothing.
Calmly flipping through the books, he replied leisurely.
“The promise has been kept.”
“……”
“Having you here, I don’t think there’s anything more I need to do.”
The words were gentle, yet firm in their intent.
It was true.
The person who had chosen to exist nowhere else in the world, taking the Ha surname, to allow Yoon-jae to be sent here—that had been her choice.
[Stay there. Keep your place by her side. That’s my last will.]
A dying person’s last will.
Yoon-jae bowed silently, without a word more.
<AM 02:34>
Back at the office, Yoon-jae faced a mountain of work and sighed unconsciously.
Endless tasks remained even if he stayed away from home for days or reduced his sleep—they always piled up.
“……Huh.”
He released his hand from the documents he’d been reviewing and loosened the necktie choking his throat.
The office’s wide front window, open without a single cage, felt unusually stifling today.
He had lived like this for over ten years, and likely would continue to do so.
“Forever.”
Until now, he had never thought this was unfair or uncomfortable.
That was how it was. What had to be done, had to be done.
Being away from home for long periods was nothing.
Yet…
“……”
He tore his gaze away from the documents illuminated by the desk lamp and glanced diagonally.
Then he opened the firmly locked desk drawer and retrieved a small box tucked in the far corner.
It was smaller than his palm and had only been opened once since it was purchased through Director Hong.
Click.
Upon opening it, his eyes fell on the empty ring slot beside it.
It was a wedding ring.
He had thought he would only wear it on the wedding day, but somehow, it had remained in the drawer ever since.
[The ring is too… big.]
He faintly heard the affectionate voice that had handed over the ring without a box.
He asked casually.
[You want me to buy another one?]
[Ah, no! N-no! That’s not it! I-I’m sorry, Executive Director. It wasn’t that. I just…]
Flustered and hesitant, she finally asked a question first as he closed the box, leaving her ring behind.
[Executive Director, aren’t you going to wear it?]
A timid question.
But seeing her dark, gloomy face the entire time, he drew a cold line.
[Why would I.]
And he turned away, indifferent.
Whether the ring was worn or not didn’t matter.
But now, he was not the man he had been then.
[I am wearing it.]
He crossed the line he had drawn and put the ring on his hand.
[Ha Yoon-jae.]
[If you can’t act like a husband, at least pretend.]
Her hearty laugh and easy smile appeared before his eyes.
Her face, coming unbidden to his mind, made him look at the ring he had never worn.
Why did feelings that had not arisen then emerge now?
<AM 02:47>
There was no time for this. He had early-morning meetings with overseas buyers in different time zones.
After that, three departmental meetings awaited, along with countless documents needing prior approval.
Even splitting time, his schedule was tight, and Yoon-jae rose from his seat.
Wasting no time on hesitation, he headed straight home.
Though it was late and she must have been asleep, he drove on the empty road.
He, who normally planned every step to avoid mistakes, now led with emotion.
Though he knew this was pointless, he ran, carrying his own physical concerns along with him.
He felt no confusion at all.
Arriving quickly, he opened the firmly locked door.
“……?”
What greeted him was not a cold, dark home, but warmth, bright as midday.
Voices came from the usually quiet house.
“……Are you there?”
The living room kept the early dawn bright.
He quickened his pace toward the illuminated living room.
There, the television babbled on, and his wife lay sprawled on the sofa.
She lay freely, without a blanket, as if the large sofa were her bed, appearing utterly at ease.
“……Ha.”
Empty beer cans and leftover snacks were on the table.
Seeing her scratch her neck in her sleep, the weight of his pent-up frustrations felt suddenly trivial.
“Whoa… really.”
Murmuring in her sleep, she moved her small lips.
“I… uh, jerk.”
“……”
“Damn it….”
What dream could she be having?
He approached slowly, quietly, toward the sofa. Unaware, she continued her sleep-talking.
Unkempt, unadorned, utterly disheveled, he observed her closely, bending his knees.
Doing nothing, simply watching.
Her murmurs subsided, and she slept soundly with her soft face turned upright.
Time passed without doing anything.
Not a single second felt wasted.
Nothing, nothing.
“Nothing.”
Again, doing nothing, yet this time it was not meaningless.
Yoon-jae raised his hand and gently held her, our face, as she slept.
First his fingertips, then the knuckles, finally the palm embraced her white cheek.
Warm. Soft. Fragile.
The suffocating feeling that the loosened tie and undone buttons couldn’t fix melted away.
“……Mm.”
Her hand twitched at the unheated touch.
Even seeing her eyelids flutter as if she might wake, he didn’t move his hand.
Instead, he opened the tightly closed lips as if commanding her to wake.
“Show me.”
“……Mm.”
“I want to see.”
Knowing it was selfish, he leaned close and whispered.
“Your eyes.”
Those clear eyes, usually hidden behind sunglasses, the ones that always unsettled him.
He cupped her cheek gently, calling her in a tender voice he hadn’t even realized he had.
“Joo Ae-jung.”
Her eyes opened.
Though still blurred from sleep, as Yoon-jae drew slightly back, she grabbed his tie.
Snap.
“……!”
“No.”
She pulled him close, right in front of her nose.
“I’m not… Joo Ae-jung.”
She sounded as if sleep-talking.
But also not.
