Chapter 29
The day after the location shoot.
Until now, I had stayed cooped up in my room to avoid running into my maternal uncle’s family.
Jaedamjae wasn’t a mansion made up of a single building.
For example, my uncle’s family stayed in the right wing of the main building where grandfather lived, Aunt Jeonghee stayed in the left wing, and we lived in a slightly separated annex. There were passages connecting the residences, so technically it could be considered one house.
Because of that, even if we lived there together, it wasn’t so easy to actually run into each other.
On top of that, my uncle was currently abroad on business. Avoiding Jusuyeon alone seemed like it would be very easy for me.
Despite my efforts…
“Jusae, let’s talk.”
Jusuyeon came to my room, which was quite a walk from her own, without knocking, and just made herself comfortable inside.
“If this is about what happened at school last time, I have nothing to say to you, Suyeon.”
“Ah, come on!”
Maybe I hit a nerve, because Jusuyeon suddenly stomped her foot.
I quietly sighed, and she widened her eyes and pressed further.
“Why are you sighing in front of me as if you did something good?”
“Ha…”
“Hey!”
“Yeah, Suyeon. And you… what right do you have to come at me like this to vent your anger?”
I actually had a lot to say to Jusuyeon. I just hadn’t said anything because I didn’t want to get involved.
“Does the president know? About you bothering Seongha.”
“…!”
“Well, I guess he wouldn’t. If he did, he might have exiled you abroad, like he did your brother.”
My cousin, Joo Daehee, Jusuyeon’s five-year-older brother.
He had lived recklessly, trusting only in his status as a chaebol heir, until about four years ago when he incurred grandfather’s wrath and was essentially sent abroad.
As soon as I mentioned him, Jusuyeon’s face turned bright red. I had clearly hit a sensitive spot.
“Do it right when I tell you to. I’m not asking for an apology, just don’t touch Seongha again.”
“…you.”
“Suyeon, do you understand?”
“Who are you to call him Seongha!”
Oh dear…
I thought she was yelling because I was being arrogant, but she was angry because I called him Seongha.
She really doesn’t seem to know what matters. Since talking didn’t make sense, I gradually lost the will to respond.
Having lost my resolve, I ignored Jusuyeon and scrolled through my phone.
Just then, a text arrived from grandfather’s personal secretary.
[Young lady, this is regarding the president’s summons. We will guide you to the private room as last time.]
Grandfather’s timing was perfect.
“I have to go, Suyeon. The president called me.”
“Why does grandfather keep…”
“Anyway, once you’re done saying what you need, go rest too. It must be tiring getting angry every day.”
I left the room, leaving Jusuyeon behind.
Since this was Jaedamjae, she couldn’t possibly do anything suspicious in my room, so I felt relieved.
Although I had been told to come to the private room, grandfather wasn’t there.
‘Did he step out for a moment?’
I awkwardly sat in a chair and looked around grandfather’s private room. Nothing had changed since the last time I came; it had an old-fashioned atmosphere.
With grandfather absent, the entire space felt immersed in silence.
The calligraphy on the wall, the well-kept green plants, even the ticking of the clock that punctuated the silence every second.
‘It’s comfortable…’
The quiet atmosphere relieved the stress from talking with Jusuyeon. Sitting in the soft chair made my body relax even more…
“Ahhh…”
As I stretched and sank into the chair, feeling drowsy.
“You came quickly. I was just taking a look at the garden.”
Grandfather returned to the private room and greeted me with a simple smile.
I hurriedly straightened my slouched posture, and he chuckled.
“Why not sit comfortably? I hear you went to the shoot yesterday.”
“How could I… in front of the president…”
“Ah-ha.”
“Th-then, just a little…”
Since he gave me permission…
I slouched lightly in the chair, waiting for grandfather to sit in front of me.
Returning to his own seat, he took out a flower he had hidden behind his back and handed it to me. It looked like he had picked it while walking through the garden.
“This is…”
“A trumpet creeper. It’s blooming well along that wall over there.”
Was this a gift for me?
Not a bouquet, just a single freshly picked flower, but Grandfather Joo Taebaek was the kind of romantic elder who would even give his granddaughter flowers…
I quickly expressed my thanks.
“This is my favorite flower. Thank you.”
“Your mother liked it that much too.”
I knew my mother had especially liked trumpet creepers. The reason I liked this flower, even though I generally had little interest in flowers, was because of her.
Grandfather remained silent for a while, lost in thought. Sunlight came through the window without curtains.
I quietly sat, waiting for him to speak.
“…Was the shoot going smoothly?”
With a deep, quiet voice, grandfather broke the silence.
Even without asking, he could have learned about my performance from acquaintances, but he probably wanted to hear it from me directly.
I slowly recounted my experiences and impressions from the shoot.
“Dojehyeon, huh? That kid did well too.”
“The role suited him.”
“You have a good eye yourself.”
He threw in praise in his subtle way. Grandfather seemed to be in a very good mood today.
“Oh, right! I might get a role in my next project too.”
“……Really?”
“The writer, Choi Ki-young, said she wants me as the lead.”
Grandfather’s pupils moved slightly, though his expression didn’t change. No wonder—I thought it was a dream at first too.
“Choi Ki-young brought you the offer, I assume?”
“Yes. I just got the contact info for now. I wanted to discuss it with you first.”
After saying this, I pressed my lips together. I was nervous for no reason.
“Choi Ki-young… Good for you.”
After finishing, grandfather quietly looked me over.
After staring for a long while, he finally looked away and spoke in a low voice.
“So, does it make you happy?”
“Eh…?”
“I mean, now that you can act to your heart’s content, do you feel alive?”
His question was so direct that I momentarily choked.
Not because I didn’t understand, but because it carried such depth. He must have remembered when I said I chose acting to live, not for happiness.
I silently bowed my head. My fingers trembled slightly.
‘Happy…’
I chose acting because I wanted to live, not because I wanted to be happy.
At the end of the path I wanted to take, there would be revenge. Happiness wasn’t really a goal.
But thinking back on the past shoot…
‘I didn’t have a single day without smiling.’
In my previous life, I often heard that I had forgotten how to smile, yet on the set I laughed brightly many times. Even small jokes made me giggle.
It took grandfather asking for me to realize it.
Acting had been so enjoyable that it temporarily freed me from the wounds of my previous life. Watching other actors immersed in their roles, and blending in with them, let me step away from my desire for revenge for a while.
After hesitating, I nodded slightly. Yes, I was happy.
Grandfather watched my reaction, closed his eyes, and opened them again. His gaze carried the depth of someone who had endured the weight of many years.
“…Allow her as well.”
Grandfather clicked his tongue, speaking with a hint of regret.
Her. Now I understood whose he meant.
I followed grandfather’s gaze. A very small frame, unnoticed when I first looked around, caught my eyes.
Inside the frame was a young couple with a little girl.
It seemed to be a family photo of my mother when she was a child, taken before my uncle and Aunt Jeonghee were born.
She held a bouquet and smiled brightly between grandfather and grandmother. Very different from the expressionless photo I had seen at her funeral.
Grandfather gazed at his late daughter’s childhood with sorrowful eyes.
‘He kept a photo of my mother within sight.’
Since leaving Jaedamjae, seeing grandfather occasionally on the news with his calm face, I had wanted to ask:
Do you miss your deceased daughter? Did you ever stay up at night just to see her again?
‘Perhaps grandfather…’
He had missed her all along, regretting only having stopped me from acting, the thing I wanted to do.
It felt like I finally received an answer to a question I had long withheld.
