Chapter 15
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As night fell, the restaurant turned into a lounge bar. When the time passed 10 p.m., Do-geon checked his wristwatch as if to remind himself.
"It's so late already, should we get up?"
"Ah..............."
Josein looked wistful, and after a moment's hesitation, she cautiously suggested.
"Hey, the hotel lounge bar across the street is open until 1:00.................. if you'd like to go there and have a drink?"
Do-geon replied with an embarrassed smile and a hint of regret.
"I'd love to, but I've got plans in the morning."
"Oh................"
"Maybe another time."
At those words, Josein's clouded face brightened again, and she nodded, unable to hide her delight.
"Yes, next time....................."
Do-geon escorted her to her car. Once in the driver's seat, she gave him an emphatic "see you later".
He closed her car door and watched the car leave the parking lot before returning to his own car.
As he slid into the driver's seat, a comfortable darkness enveloped him. He suddenly felt a little better.
"Ha................"
Do-geon rested his head on the headrest with the back of his hand on his forehead, his eyes stiff.
The fact that he had a schedule tomorrow was an excuse; he was just too tired. He'd just spent the last few days in a never-ending meeting about a proposed amendment to the Capital Markets Act.
Today, he’d been up since dawn on a video conference with the New York time zone. He couldn't wait to get back to bed.
She was a nice girl, but he had a feeling that if he stayed with her much longer, he'd show her tiredness and slight boredom.
'Nice girl......'
Do-geon calculated the value of his time today.
Yes, she was a nice girl. Good family, good personal skills, moderately beautiful and cultured.
She didn't seem to have a bad personality, either, if you took her at face value. She's not without her egocentric tendencies, but that's the kind of personality most people at that level have.
In fact, most of the women he'd met, both publicly and privately, had been like this. If not as high class as Josein, at least above average.
So......... was the first time in his life that he had met a woman of her caliber.
Do-geon unconsciously thought of Jae-yeon. He didn't want to think of her, but he couldn't help it because the comparison was too strong. She was truly a different kind of human being.
She was physically stunning, but that didn't matter. She was so inferior in every way.
A mother from a brothel, a father from a nightclub, a runaway, an assault, a job in a brothel, and now a lover of an old man over ninety. A messy life.
"I may be embarrassed, but I'm not ashamed."
What an odd thing to say on such a subject.....................
Black eyes sunk deep. Do-geon lowered his hand from his forehead. He straightened his tilted head, forcing his thoughts away.
Just then, his cell phone rang. Do-geom pulled his cell phone out of his coat pocket and checked it. It was Han Jung-yoon. As soon as he picked up the phone, he asked.
[Where are you?]
"I'm still outside."
Do-geon replied, tugging at his tie. His voice didn't sound tired to himself.
[Come home quick.]
"Why?"
[Grandpa's in bad shape, now. He could die.]
Do-geon’s eyes narrowed at the next words. He wanted to go home and get some sleep, even if it was only a short one, but today was not the day.
He sighed quietly and replied.
"I’m coming..................."
Do-geon headed straight to the main building, not even bothering to change his clothes. It was after 11:00 p.m.
Chairman Han was on a respirator, barely breathing. His face was so lifeless that it didn't seem strange if he was dead already.
The resident medical staff warned them that they might need to prepare themselves. The entire family gathered on the first floor of the main building, with the chairman's three children guarding the hospital room.
Amid the clutter, Jae-yeon remained in his room the entire time. Chairman Han didn't seek her out as much as he did now, and his family didn't dare interfere.
No matter how much time she spent with him, she was still an outsider.
"So the will is..................."
"That's pretty much finalized, but I'd like to transfer my cash assets to..................."
Do-geon listened to the small talk, then left the room and went to the outbuilding to remove his suit and change.
As he put on his top, his eyes locked with his reflection in the mirror. The man trapped in the glass had dull, tired eyes.
Do-geon wasted no time in returning to the main building. But he hesitated in the hallway, not wanting to stay on the ground floor.
The smell of death was repulsive to him, as it would be to anyone, and he was tired of the chatter.
Do-geon slowly ascended the stairs. His steps naturally took him past the second floor and up to the third. At the far end of the top floor, he came to a door with a lock.
It was a nearly abandoned attic that housed his grandfather's collection of antiques. It was where he hid as a child, away from all the commotion of the world.
Do-geon ran his index finger over the door's lock screen. Even though he hadn't been here in nearly five years, his fingers pressed the combination of their own accord.
As he turned the doorknob, a yellow glow crept through the crack, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Has the light been on all this time?”
Scared to think so, he caught sight of someone's reflection in the mirror. Do-geon stopped dead in his tracks at the door. The door creaked open by itself.
In the dim light, a young man sat in a chair in front of a desk. Do-geon closed his eyes and opened them. The outline of his vision became a little clearer.
The boy's face had changed to that of a woman. Brown eyes, even paler in the light, stared up at him with bewilderment.
"................Jeong Jae-yeon?"
Do-geon pronounced her name out loud without realizing it.
Jae-yeon jumped up from her seat, a slight wary glint in her eyes that made him wonder who was wary of whom now.
"How the hell did you get in here?" asked Do-geon, coming to his senses.
"How do you mean..............?"
"I mean, how do you know the password to this room?"
Jae-yeon had mentioned the old attic the other day, but he'd dismissed it as just his grandfather showing her around.
It was unlikely that the chairman would have opened the door to this woman, and he usually came in and out of here alone.
"Can't I come in?"
"It's not that you can't, it's that.................. did he give you the password?"
Do-geon pushed her, half-emotionally. His suspicions about how much Jeong Jae-yeon knew about this mansion’s past had gotten the better of him.
First the backyard, and now the attic. At this point, he wondered if she was deliberately going to the places he was looking for in advance.
So she kept .................. meeting him.
Over and over.
An uncomfortable silence hung in the attic. Jae-yeon blinked her big eyes a few times, then nodded, a little shakily.
"Yes, the chairman told me, because I'm interested in crafts.......... It's my favorite place, so I just come here occasionally to clean and take care of things."
When Do-geon still looked dubious, she hastened to continue.
"I don't steal anything, but I do make things and leave things behind."
As she said this, Jae-yeon held up her hands, which held small pieces of wood and a carving knife.
Do-geon looked around, frowning faintly.
Around him were tumblers, a few books, a mirror, a blanket, and other miscellaneous items. She must have stopped by often to do a little work.
His mind slowly calmed down. He realized that he hadn't been sharp at all, but that didn't make him feel any better.
He was being sensitive anyway, so he had to make an excuse. Do-geon rubbed at the corners of his eyes, which were puffy with fatigue.
"I guess I'm just sensitive because I haven't had .......much sleep."
"No, it’s fine."
"And this is a place I used to stay when I was a kid, so I'm kind of attached......... to it, like it's my space."
"Oh. I see."
Jae-yeon said blandly. Do-geon waited, expecting more, but all he got was silence.
They stared at each other blankly.
***
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