Chapter 13
****
Suddenly, Do-geon remembered his grandfather's old attic.
As a young man, he had a hobby of collecting antiques. Over time, the objects that no longer interested him ended up in the attic of his mansion.
Young Do-geon would often hide there, filled with abandoned antiques. The attic was his favorite place, shady and tranquil, away from all the fuss and chaos.
In the corner of the attic stood a long, full-length mirror. The antiques reflected in the mirror never changed, just existed in the glass for what seemed like an eternity.
And it resembled Jeong Jae-yeon. The woman was not a living being, but an object that had been taxidermied forever in a certain time. This must explain the feeling of discomfort he felt whenever he looked at her.
He suddenly had a question.
She hadn't been working at the brothel long, she had her own workshop and was living a good life, and now she suddenly wanted to change her life and meet a man from his grandfather's family?
Of course, Do-geon realized that there were different kinds of people in the world. He also knew that most things in the world didn’t work according to plausible logic.
He knew that, but he was just puzzled.
The Jeong Jae-yeon he saw here, not in Taehwajae, seemed to be a normal person living a normal life.
It was not that he thought there was something immoral about a woman doing 'that' kind of work. No, he hadn't really thought about it in the first place.
But he couldn't help but feel this subtle disconnect. It was similar to the way he felt when he saw the woman, drenched, lying in front of the pond, pleading with him to help her up.
When she was done, Jae-yeon untied her apron. She hung the apron roughly on a chair and grabbed her bag. Her eyes met with Do-geon, who was sitting with his arms crossed.
Jae-yeon smiled, unable to hide her slight fatigue.
"Shall we go?"
****
The car sped down the straight road. Soon, the world was bathed in sunset colors. The sky was quite beautiful, with layers of pink and blue.
Do-geon glanced over to the passenger seat. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jae-yeon, fiddling with her black bag and staring out the window.
Her long eyelashes fluttered slowly. The woman's features glowed pink in the falling sun, like a painting. Do-geon turned his gaze back to the road ahead.
Contrary to his expectations, Jae-yeon had been quiet the entire ride. She didn't even try to talk to him, just stared out the window at the scenery.
The silence was nice, but somehow a little stiff.
The car turned into Hannam-dong. Do-geon dropped Jae-yeon off before turning into the alleyway to Taehwajae. She leaned down and gave a quick wave to the driver.
"Thanks for the ride, you can go inside first."
Jae-yeon said as if he knew what was on her mind.
"I'll take my time."
“Miss Jae-yeon."
Do-geon stared at her, one hand on the steering wheel, and opened his mouth impulsively.
"Aren't you ashamed?"
Jae-yeon's hand froze.
"Of your life."
Her eyes widened slightly, then went expressionless again. Their gazes flickered in the fading sunset. Jae-yeon made an indecipherable, "Mmm," sound.
It was an unintentional comment, but Do-geon didn't take the question back; he simply waited patiently for an answer.
She seemed to be thinking about something, and then she asked.
"Do you know what the difference is between embarrassment and shame?"
"Well.................."
"It's the difference between having an audience and not having an audience."
The words were unclear. Jae-yeon smiled faintly and added,
"I may be embarrassed, but I'm not ashamed."
"So.................. Miss Jae-yeon is at least not doing anything to embarrass herself?"
Do-geon asked, confused by what was going on. At that, Jae-yeon nodded. Her smile deepened.
"I do it for the love of it, so why be ashamed?"
The destination should have been the chairman or Han Do-seok, but for some reason, it felt awkward.
Do-geon didn't ask any more questions. Jae-yeon, who was leaning back, muttered, "go," and closed the car door.
He stepped on the accelerator again and climbed the alley. A glance in the rearview mirror showed Jae-yeon still standing there. Then she turned slowly.
The sun was setting over the distant hills.
Reaching her room, Jae-yeon threw her bag on the bed somewhat nervously. She paused to catch her breath, her face expressionless, before stripping off her clothes and entering the bathroom.
After a few moments of water running, the door opened. Jae-yeon came out of the bathroom wearing a robe. As she dried her hair with a towel, she suddenly noticed the bag on the bed.
It had fallen over and several items were spilling out of it. Walking over to the bed, Jae-yeon propped the bag up and put the items back in.
She opened the inside pocket of the bag to reveal a small zipper bag, which contained a black miniature recorder.
Staring at it, Jae-yeon closed the pocket again. Her fingertips were shaking slightly. She curled her hand into a ball.
‘..................It's good, let's not get carried away.’
Back in her room, her heart was still in her throat. It had been like this since the moment she met the man earlier.
"Han Do-geon..................."
Jae-yeon muttered to himself.
The man was an agile beast. She knew he was tough, but she didn't expect him to be this tough. She couldn't even figure out where she'd cracked.
"You’re my grandfather's lover, and you’re also sleeping with my cousin."
Honestly, she didn't think it was a problem that she was dating Han Do-seok, because she could just dismiss it as a casual fling.
But he didn't stop there.
"I've gotten to know a little bit about you."
So how much did he know?
And how far did he intend to go?
Jae-yeon remembered his face, cold and arrogant. His black eyes were as still as water in the shade. Like someone who had been silent for a very long time.
Water dripped from the ends of her wet hair. She swept the strands behind her ear. The fluttered brown eyes were still again.
***
Do-geon tugged at his tie and strode briskly into the room. The looseness of the cord around his neck allowed him to breathe a little easier.
He was so used to wearing suits that he never really thought of ties as uncomfortable, but today they felt strangely tight. As he crossed the room, he came to an abrupt halt.
He glanced back a beat too late, the door half open as he mulled over the woman's words.
He was alone in the silent outbuilding. After a moment of staring out the open door into the empty hallway, Do-geon walked back to the door and slowly pushed it shut.
"Why the hell would you want to close the door? If you have nothing to hide, why keep it closed?"
He pressed the lock with an emotionless face. The door locked with a loud click.
***
The sun had come out today, and it felt warm, despite the low temperatures. Do-geon, dressed in a suit, walked toward the outbuilding with a steady stride as if measured by a ruler.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of horses from the other side. His pace slowed as he walked along the iron fence, looking bored.
When he spotted two figures approaching him, he tried not to frown.
It was the chairman in a wheelchair and Jae-yeon was pushing it. They were strolling affectionately, as if they were really lovers, but not really lovers.
It was ugly to see a young, beautiful woman flirting with an old man with age spots on his face. But Do-geon was all smiles, and he gave his grandfather a grandsonly smile.
"Grandpa."
"Oh, my Do-geon.................. where did you go............"
"I'm on my way to meet with the KS representative. But can you come out like this? It’s cold."
He said without giving Jae-yeon a second glance. Chairman Han moved his lips and replied slowly.
"Rather than stay inside for another day.................. get some air, you'll get sick faster if you don’t."
"I'm sorry, if you say so."
"More than that, about selling KS ..............?"
"Yes, they want to negotiate individually."
Do-geon kept his eyes locked on the chairman the entire time, but he couldn't help but notice the outline of the woman at the edge of his vision.
***
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