Chapter 4
***
Ju-ryeong was also the mother of Han Do-joon and Han Han-yoon. She and Do-geon were never close.
While Han Han-yoon and Do-geon were close, if not necessarily inseparable, Ju-ryeong and Han Do-joon had been disowned and hated him from a young age. This was precisely because Do-geon was Han Dong-jae's son.
But after Han Dong-jae's death and Do-geon’s departure to the United States, they no longer have to snarl at each other.
With the death of Han Dong-jae, who was good enough to be considered as a successor despite being the third son, Han Dong-jin, the husband of Ju-ryeong, easily became the vice chairman.
"Oh, Do-geon."
Ju-ryeong jumped up from the couch when she spotted Do-geon. Her face was bright with delight, but she didn't mean it.
"It's been too long. I thought you were here last night."
"Hello aunt. Have a seat."
Do-geon returned the smile, but Ju-ryeong moved over and hugged him once before stepping back.
"It's been so long. Did you have breakfast?"
"I ate. What about you?"
"I just did. I should have eaten with you. Do you want some tea?"
"Sure."
It wasn't a warm offer, but Do-geon didn't mind.
"Sit down, sit down, ma'am, here's another cup."
"Oh, well, Do-geon is the same. Only I'm old again."
"You're still the same ."
At Do-geon’s comment, Ju-ryeong raised a hand.
"Not the same. The wrinkles around my eyes are different every day. How do I tell him you're here? No. You want to rest, don't you? It must have been a long flight."
"I'm fine, but I'm sure you're all busy, so I'll see you later tonight."
"Yeah, yeah, that sounds great. By the way, how's life in the States, not too hard?"
"I'm more used to it now."
"I heard that your company has a big Korean branch. Are you still in the U.S.?"
Meanwhile, Anpyeong-daek (the housekeeper) served tea. After a brief interruption in the conversation, the cups were filled with light green tea. Do-geon hid his mockery as he lifted his steaming mug.
"I suppose."
"You’ve gotten used to it, but it's home. If you ever get tired of it, you can always come back. There's always a place for you."
Ju-ryeong said the words even though she knew Do-geon had no intention of returning to Korea. The crooked corners of her eyes, the smile on her lips, the sweetness in her voice, the way she tried to please him.
'… Well, it's worth it.'
Most of Do-geon’s wealth came from performance bonuses and investments in funds, meaning he had more money at his disposal than Daejin Group Vice Chairman Han Dong-jin.
After Han passes away, Ju-ryeong’s husband, Han Dong-jin, will take over. They needed Do-geon’s help, both in the short term and the long term.
"Thank you, aunt."
Do-geon set down his teacup and smiled. He wasn't angry or annoyed anymore, just a little bored.
"More than that, is grandfather’s condition much worse?"
"One minute I think he's fully recovered, the next, he's in a downward spiral. Until I called you, I really thought he was dying."
"I see."
"And then at some point, he really did go, which is hard for me to predict. I would have preferred him to stay in the hospital, but he insisted, so he came back."
"He has a lot of love for Taehwajae, so he wants to stay here and close his eyes."
"So much so that he wants them all to live here................... Oh, right, you want to see Grandpa, don't you? Shall I ask how he's doing?"
"No, I'll go up there myself."
"Would you like to?"
Ju-ryeong nodded, paused for a moment, and then spoke as if she had a thought.
"By the way, .................. I don't know if you know this, but he has a new caregiver. It's been a while."
"Oh, yeah."
"But she's not really his caregiver, she's his lover. She's been home since he got sick. You’ll see her when you get up there anyway, so I thought I'd tell you."
"..................I see."
Do-geon nodded. He'd seen the woman yesterday, and he'd seen her in person, but he didn't feel the need to tell her he already knew it.
"She's a young woman, so it's obvious she's in it for the money, but if she wants it, I let her have it without arguing. As for Mr. Chairman, what's the use of a woman like that?"
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Do-geon, don't get yourself involved. Between you and me, she's from the entertainment industry. Even her mother was a call girl......."
He was skeptical when Han Jung-yoon told him this, but it seemed to be true.
Thinking that the mention of a call girl had offended Do-geon, Ju-ryeong hastened to add.
"Oh, don't worry about it too much, I'll send her out as soon as the chairman passes away."
"I'm fine."
"I know. Anyway, I don't like that kind of girl, it gives me a headache, so I just don't think about it. You should do the same."
Ju-ryeong looked genuinely troubled, uncomfortable with the idea of being in the same room with a girl like that.
Do-geon thought about asking more questions about Jeong Jae-yeon, but decided against it. He pushed himself up out of his seat with a straightforward smile.
"Yes, well, I'm going to go upstairs to say hello to my grandfather. Please rest."
***
Do-geon pushed past the stairs and headed down the first-floor hallway, which was flanked by lifts for wheelchairs to go up and down.
Unlike the kitchen and living room, which had a hint of life, this place was eerily deserted. The floors, window sills, and window frames were clean and dust-free, but they looked like they had been neglected for years.
This old-fashioned silence wasn't a bad thing, since his world was always bustling and noisy.
Do-geon lifted his gaze and looked out across the hall. The scene from last night overlapped in his memory. A quiet courtyard, a cold winter wind, and a woman who seemed long abandoned.
'Why................'
Why did she do it, he wondered.
The question slipped out of his mouth without thinking.
If he tried to understand her purpose in an old-fashioned way, he could understand it. She's from a family of entertainers, and that's what those kinds of women do.
She'd been the lover of a man who looked like her grandfather. She was Han Do-seok's girlfriend, so it was no different.
If you think about it that way, it wasn't unexpected that she was successful with Han Do-seok.
It would have been easy to lure him in. He liked to drink, he liked drugs, he liked women, and she's a lot better looking than the celebrities he usually hung out with….
The assumption was confirmed after a few convincing moments. The image of the woman holding a cigarette she didn't smoke nagged at him, but Do-geon pushed it away.
‘Maybe she quit smoking.’
With that conclusion, he felt a little calmer.
He paused in the doorway at the far end of the hallway. Do-geon held his breath for a moment, focusing his attention on the inside of the door, and then, out of habit, he listened.
"..."
The room was silent. It was almost as if no one was there. When he was done observing, he raised his right hand to knock, but found the wireless doorbell next to the door and pressed it firmly.
Something must have changed while he was gone. Well, it didn't matter.
After a few moments, he heard footsteps from inside, but they were very soft, as if a small animal was moving, not a person.
It got closer and closer. Then the doorknob turned, and the door slowly opened. A long light streamed in at his feet.
The person who opened the door was a head shorter than him. Do-geon bowed his head accordingly. With his back to the window, his face glowed white in the winter sunlight that poured in.
Light eyes peeked through the cracks. For a moment, a faint glimmer of recognition flickered across the pupils of the woman who had spotted him.
In a series of slow-moving scenes, he felt a strange sense of disorientation.
The woman hadn't changed: her long, luscious hair cascading down her shoulders, her pale, hard-to-read face, her distinctive pale brown eyes, those searching eyes.
As he stared at the woman's unchanged features, he found it hard to fathom the passage of time.
"Hello, Mr. Han Do-geon."
So the reenactment was like.................. a long-stuffed object in a mirror.
"I see you again."
"See you later." (The past)
The moment he heard those words, Do-geon felt a strange sense of discomfort, as if he'd been peeked at for something he couldn't understand.
"..................Yes, hi."
At the blunt reply, Jae-yeon stretched her lips a little further. The woman's face was flawless with a drawn smile.
It was one of the reasons he remembered her so vividly. Of course, it was more a habit of remembering beautiful sculptures than a rational mind.
"Did you come to see the chairman?"
"Just to make sure he's awake................."
"He's awake. Come in."
Jae-yeon gestured Do-geon into the room with a natural gesture. Do-geon followed her inside, hesitantly.
***
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