Chapter: 08
It had already been several days since Seo-ah had clung to the front gate of Dong-ha’s house, begging.
However, there was no way Dong-ha’s family would welcome her visits.
After the funeral, she had clung to her in-laws and demanded answers about what happened to Wonjeon Electronics, but what came back were curses and violence.
When she finally asked about Kim Ki-young, her mother-in-law even threw Seo-ah out onto the street.
“Ma’am, please open the door, okay? I’ll just quietly take my belongings and leave. I really will!”
Unable to bear listening to Seo-ah’s desperate pleas that had continued for hours again today, the housekeeper answered the intercom.
Then an angry shout burst through the front gate.
—Auntie! Why are you listening to all that? Hang up quickly!
—Mom, please stop! She said she only came to get her things. Just open the door for a moment……
—Be quiet! Why would I let the woman who killed my son into this house? Auntie, what are you doing? I said hang up!
Even Dong-joo, who had been somewhat kind to her, seemed unable to go against the atmosphere of a household destroyed by the death of their only son.
“Father! I want to know the truth! Please! Mother! Don’t just listen to Seonnyeo! You need to talk to me!”
However, after Seo-ah’s final shout, no sound came from the intercom anymore.
Dong-ha’s family had blindly believed in shamanism.
They had even chosen the date for the night they conceived Dong-ha based on a shaman’s recommendation.
His marriage was no different.
After receiving Seo-ah’s fortune, the shaman said that she was destined to always bring disaster-like misfortune to those around her.
However, the shaman also said that through Seo-ah, they could separate Ki-young from Dong-ha.
The advice was to use her, have a child, and then divorce her.
But their son died, and Ki-young eventually appeared at Dong-ha’s funeral, causing people to whisper.
Dong-ha’s mother believed that all of these misfortunes were because of Seo-ah’s unlucky fate.
Seo-ah grabbed onto the intercom again and shouted.
But despite her desperate voice, the front gate never opened.
Instead, a message arrived on her phone.
—Seo-ah, I’m sorry. I’ll pack your things carefully and send them by quick delivery, so please go back and rest for now. I’ll contact you soon.
It was a message from Dong-joo.
“Why are you all being so cruel to me? Everyone…… this is really too much……”
Seo-ah collapsed to the ground in misery and emptiness. Then she raised her sunken eyes, which had become hollow from losing so much weight, and looked at Dong-ha’s house.
This was the best countryside house in Pyeonghan City.
Although she had not spent all four seasons here, she knew what the garden looked like from late summer until winter.
Had she ever had any good memories while living here?
As she quietly thought about it, Seo-ah remembered the time she drank tea with Dong-ha in this garden.
The colors of late autumn, the pleasantly cool breeze, and because of the weather, her husband Lee Dong-ha’s expression, which had at least shown a faint smile.
Even though that smile had not been directed at Seo-ah herself, she remembered that the mood that day had still been quite nice.
However, she wondered if that memory could remain a memory until the end.
After all, her husband’s final memories must have been filled entirely with Kim Ki-young.
“What did any of that even matter?”
Seo-ah seemed to gain a little comfort from the fact that she had never loved Lee Dong-ha.
After quietly sitting there and looking back on the past, she finally decided to let go of the one lingering attachment she had been barely holding onto.
At that moment, another message arrived on her phone.
—Seo-ah, there’s something I need to tell you. It’s about that rumor. Meet me right now.
It was a sudden message, but she had no time to hesitate.
Ignoring her numb legs from sitting on the ground, Seo-ah began running toward the main road.
“Can you sleep with Kang Tae-gyeong?”
“What?”
Seo-ah thought she had misheard.
She had rushed over immediately after receiving the urgent message.
Before she could even ask about the truth behind the rumor Se-yeon mentioned, why was she asking whether she could sleep with a man the moment she sat down?
“With who…… do what?”
At those words, Se-yeon bit her lips as if troubled and tightly held Seo-ah’s hand, which was placed on the café table.
“Seo-ah, listen carefully to what I’m saying. Soon, there will be a meeting between Kang Tae-gyeong and someone from Dong-ha Motors. In Pyeonghan.”
The two names that could shake her heart were mentioned side by side.
Seo-ah slowly nodded.
“I came up with a plan. It’s dangerous, but considering Kang Tae-gyeong’s personality, I don’t think there’s anything more certain than this……”
Just like Seo-ah’s trembling eyes, Se-yeon’s voice was also filled with emotion.
When their tightly held hands began trembling, Seo-ah gently stroked the back of Se-yeon’s hand.
“I’ll listen, Unnie. Let me hear it first.”
What was the sincerity Seo-ah saw in Se-yeon?
The trust she had toward her was not simply because of the affection they had built while growing up together.
Because no one could imagine that all of these gestures and expressions were nothing but lies.
“Kang Tae-gyeong is obsessed with three things.”
“Three things?”
“Yes. Alcohol, money, and women. A crazy bastard obsessed with women. That’s what Kang Tae-gyeong is.”
“Ha, he’s that kind of trash?”
Her heart felt heavy.
Her father had lived his entire life with sacrifice and dedication, yet he had died because he was used by the scheme of someone like that.
Seo-ah grabbed her aching chest.
“We’re going to use that side of him. Since there’s no way we can do anything to a third-generation chaebol with money.”
“That’s…… true.”
As Seo-ah nodded while holding back tears, Se-yeon continued explaining with difficulty, as if making this plan herself had caused her great pain.
“There will be a drinking gathering that day. I know a place called ‘Edge.’ You’re going to become one of the girls there.”
A girl?
Seo-ah’s eyes widened.
So that was what Se-yeon meant by sleeping with Kang Tae-gyeong.
Suddenly, she felt as if a heavy breath was blocking her throat.
“You mean…… I have to disguise myself as an escort girl?”
“Yes, that’s what I mean. Just pour drinks and entertain him a little. When the mood gets better, you know how men usually act. They show off in front of women and casually reveal why they came here and what kind of work they do. Especially when they’re drunk.”
“……”
“That’s when we’ll make our move.”
Seo-ah did not have much experience dating, but she knew how much male classmates had shown off and bragged to impress her during university.
However, an escort girl and a customer were completely different.
And if things really reached the point where she had to sleep with him……
At that moment, Se-yeon noticed Seo-ah’s anxious expression and held her face with both hands, making eye contact with her.
“Think carefully, Seo-ah. You’re the only one who can do this right now.”
“Hmm……?”
“What happened to your uncle’s company, and what background was behind your uncle’s death that you believe was murder? Who else besides you could face Kang Tae-gyeong with that kind of desperation?”
“Ah……”
Seo-ah finally came back to her senses.
She had been so focused on the words that she had to sleep with a man that she had forgotten what she actually wanted.
She had no confidence and she was afraid, but just yesterday she had prayed that she would even give up her own lifespan if she could discover the cause behind her father’s accident.
And now, thinking that she had considered her own body more important than that, she felt pathetic.
How could a person become so selfish?
A chill ran through her entire body.
Just as guilt began consuming her, Se-yeon spoke.
“Actually, I thought about doing it myself……”
“What? Why would you, Unnie?! If anyone should do it, it should be me. In the end, I’m the one who ruined Dad’s life. Why would you……”
Seo-ah’s mind was already dominated by the thought that she had ruined everything.
Therefore, if this was the only method, then she had no choice.
That conclusion naturally formed in her mind.
“I’m sorry. Really, there’s no other way to get close to Kang Tae-gyeong.”
Seo-ah understood what Se-yeon meant.
The opponent was a third-generation chaebol, an executive of a massive company called Taeyu.
How could an ordinary person approach someone like that?
Seo-ah thought Se-yeon must have reached this conclusion after deeply struggling with it.
However, there was still one thing bothering her.
“Um…… Unnie.”
“Yes?”
“Actually, I…… that is……”
The words would not come out easily.
Even though it was Se-yeon, how could she say something like this?
The fact that she was a virgin was not what embarrassed her the most.
What felt even more humiliating was that nothing had happened between her and her husband throughout their entire marriage.
But then, strangely, Se-yeon seemed to realize something first and spoke.
“Seo-ah. You and Dong-ha never…… did anything?”
“Huh?”
“You know. Sleeping together. For six months, not even once?”
“……!”
‘How did she know? That Dong-ha was gay…… does she even know that much?’
At the unexpected situation, Seo-ah became flustered.
Then Dong-ha’s words suddenly came to mind.
“Don’t trust Jin Se-yeon.”
Why?
She had never doubted Se-yeon even once.
So why did those words suddenly appear in her mind like an instinct?
“Really? You’re serious? How could someone like you be left alone?”
Was it an illusion?
Was it just her imagination that Se-yeon’s slightly tilted lips looked like she was enjoying it?
But when Seo-ah blinked, Se-yeon’s lips had returned to normal.
As if Seo-ah had only imagined it.
