‘It’s getting on my nerves.’
Baek Shin-woo loosened his tie and threw it onto the floor. It was none of his business who Maria talked to or laughed with. He had firmly told himself that, and that was how it should be.
Was it a mistake? Or merely the remnants of the past? Whatever it was, seeing Maria smiling and talking with another man made his stomach churn.
Her smile. Her eyes. Her gentle voice.
They had all once belonged to him.
An unpleasant feeling, as though she had been taken away from him, swept through his entire body. He had believed that he alone had the right to make her smile and make her cry.
He couldn’t stand the memory of her being toyed with by Baek Gyu-hyun, nor could he stand seeing her smile at another male employee.
His reason had already snapped. The only thing left in his line of sight was Maria.
The reason he had hired a private investigator to find her. The feelings he had had at the beginning kept getting twisted out of shape.
He couldn’t bear to watch her smile at another man.
He ran a hand roughly through his hair and cursed.
“Ha, fuck.”
Even thinking about it again made his anger rise.
He took off his shirt and was about to enter the bathroom when he heard a knock.
“CEO, it’s Yoo Jae-won.”
At the sound of Manager Yoo’s visit, Maria was absurdly the first person who came to mind.
Had Maria already left? What was she doing right now?
For some reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“CEO.”
At Manager Yoo’s voice coming through the door again, he scoffed bitterly at himself.
He really was out of his mind.
“Come in.”
As the door opened, he found it ridiculous that he was chasing after traces of her presence.
The corners of his mouth twisted bitterly.
“Ms. Maria just left work.”
Had he read his expression?
As always, Manager Yoo was quick to pick up on things.
He was annoyed that she had left without even saying goodbye.
Manager Yoo cautiously approached while watching his expression.
“Should I assign just two people from the security team?”
He hesitated for a moment.
Should he put people on her or not?
His heart wanted to assign even ten people to her immediately, but he soon regained his composure.
“What for?”
At his indifferent response, Manager Yoo looked flustered.
“Manager Yoo, learn to distinguish business from personal matters.”
“Pardon?”
“If you take every joke seriously, what am I supposed to say to you from now on?”
He unfairly scolded Manager Yoo.
Should he take back what he’d said now?
His mind once again split between what he truly felt and what he desperately wanted to deny.
“It’s good that you work hard, but don’t waste your energy on unnecessary things.”
He deliberately put an end to the possibility of taking back his words.
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
With an irritated wave of his hand, he told Manager Yoo to leave.
Once the door closed, he went into the bathroom and washed himself.
He wished that the dirtier parts of him than his body could be washed away as well.
After he finished and came out, Manager Yoo hurriedly entered.
“What is it this time?”
Shaking the water from his wet hair, he walked into the powder room.
Manager Yoo, who had followed him, finally spoke.
“Madam is here.”
His brows drew together.
He could already imagine what Baek Gyu-hyun had gone and told her.
Baek Shin-woo changed into his home clothes and went down to the first floor.
Kim Hwa-yeon, who had been sitting on the sofa drinking tea, raised her head at the sound of footsteps.
“Son.”
“What brings you here without even calling first?”
He didn’t welcome her with a You’re here?
Even though he had asked why she came in an indirect way, Kim Hwa-yeon didn’t lose her smile.
“I came to see my handsome son.”
“I told you not to come to the village.”
“Then you should come see me more often. You never come home, so what choice do I have?”
He dropped heavily onto the sofa opposite her.
Manager Yoo had sent all the remaining employees home.
As always, only Yoo Jae-won’s shadow remained behind the hat.
“Why did you fight Gyu-hyun?”
“That bastard told you that? That I fought with him?”
A small scoff escaped him.
The two of them weren’t even on equal footing, so calling it a fight was almost laughable.
“What do you mean, ‘that bastard,’ when he’s your older brother?”
Kim Hwa-yeon rarely lost her composure.
“Fight? I beat the hell out of him.”
“Shin-woo.”
“I didn’t hit him hard enough.”
“Baek Shin-woo.”
Her voice rose slightly, but that was all.
Her calm face, filled with both affection and concern, never lost its dignity.
“Your father doesn’t know. Gyu-hyun makes sure not to run into you in the morning or evening.”
“Looks like he knows he’s embarrassed.”
“Why on earth did you do that? What happened?”
It was the first time he’d thrown a punch at Baek Gyu-hyun since they were children.
Even when Gyu-hyun constantly provoked him with words, he’d always ignored him. After they became adults, they rarely crossed paths, so there had been no reason for things to turn physical.
It was enough to make Kim Hwa-yeon come running in shock.
“Do you know how surprised I was when I saw Gyu-hyun’s face?”
He hadn’t even properly looked at Baek Gyu-hyun’s face.
He didn’t care whether that bastard’s face was battered or miserable.
If he caused trouble for Maria again, then he’d pay for it.
Pay for it?
For whose sake?
Baek Gyu-hyun, whom he couldn’t stand looking at?
Or Maria, whom he kept beside him even though he couldn’t bear to see her in such a state?
The moment he saw her again, hot blood had surged through his veins.
Blood filled with anger.
Yes.
It was simply the resentment that had never disappeared.
That was all.
“I can’t even hold my head up in front of Gyu-hyun.”
At the sight of her lowering her head like a sinner, he let out a hollow laugh.
She still lived her life watching everyone else’s reactions.
Baek Gyu-hyun’s biological mother—the chairman’s first wife—had passed away when he was ten.
Kim Hwa-yeon had filled the empty place left behind.
After becoming the lady of Golden Castle, she had possessed an elegance and dignity as though she had finally found her rightful place. Whether she was dealing with the servants or supporting Chairman Baek, she was flawless.
‘Where is the young Madam from? She seems like she comes from an even more distinguished family than the late Madam.’
The servants praised Kim Hwa-yeon.
It was because she treated them like family.
“Would you like me to make it so you never have to show your face in front of Baek Gyu-hyun again?”
Kim Hwa-yeon misunderstood what he meant.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she pulled a handkerchief from her handbag. She dabbed at the corners of her eyes, which had reddened as she looked at him.
“I suppose my prayers haven’t been enough.”
It was something she always said whenever things didn’t go according to her wishes.
Rather than blame her son, she always blamed herself, saying that it must be because she hadn’t prayed enough.
“Your prayers are excessive. Take it easy.”
“Anyway, Shin-woo.”
She took a small envelope from her handbag, the same one she’d pulled the handkerchief from.
Then she took out an ID photograph and held it out to him.
“What do you think of this young lady?”
He looked at Kim Hwa-yeon far longer than he looked at the photograph.
After remaining silent for a while, Baek Shin-woo smiled as though he already knew what was coming.
His mother, Kim Hwa-yeon, had always been rejected, but she never knew how to give up.
“Which family’s daughter have you brought to me this time?”
“Really. Do you think I’m some kind of matchmaker who goes around bringing people to you?”
Her gentle smile carried an unmistakable elegance.
She was warm-hearted and well respected by everyone.
She had lost both parents at a young age and been raised by her maternal uncle, yet she had never allowed that hardship to cast a shadow over her.
Baek Shin-woo also held the environment in which his mother had grown up in high regard.
“She’s pretty. As expected, Mother’s eye for people is excellent.”
“You should at least look at her properly before saying that.”
Although he held the photograph in his hand, he didn’t pay much attention to it.
Even if he looked, nothing about it registered.
“Shin-woo.”
At her worried call, he met Kim Hwa-yeon’s eyes.
“Is it because you still can’t forget Ms. Maria?”
Was it a mother’s intuition?
What expression would Kim Hwa-yeon have if she found out that Maria was working as a housekeeper at Dream Village?
Even when Maria had completely deceived him five years ago, Kim Hwa-yeon had prayed through her tears.
‘There must be some circumstances she can’t talk about. Maybe Ms. Maria has her own reasons. Should I meet her once?’
She had asked Maria to meet her, clinging to that hope like someone grasping the last lifeline.
She believed that, as his mother, she might be able to change Maria’s mind.
But when Kim Hwa-yeon returned after meeting Maria, her face had been dark.
‘Forget her. You have to.’
She hadn’t offered any explanation.
Forget her.
Those words had pierced his heart like a dagger Maria had left behind.
Even now, they felt as though they could tear his heart apart.
He forced a smile and spoke.
“Why are you bringing up something from so long ago?”
“She must be living well somewhere. So you should meet someone good too, Shin-woo.”
The housekeeper at Dream Village.
Was Maria really living well?
If Kim Hwa-yeon knew that Maria was working here as an employee under him, would she still be able to say those words?
Would she still be able to smile so gently?
Baek Shin-woo repeated her words in a low voice.
“Somewhere. Living well.”
“Let the relationship that’s already passed stay in the past. Some things can’t be changed by human will.”
“Yes, I know.”
Kim Hwa-yeon took back the photograph lying on the table.
“Your father went golfing with Pastor Choi a while ago, and afterward he started talking about your marriage.”
“Mother.”
She meant to settle the matter herself before Chairman Baek stepped in directly.
Baek Shin-woo cut her off and stood up.
“From now on, don’t come here without calling first like you did today.”
“I only stopped by because I was at a golf course nearby today. The phone call went on longer than expected, so I couldn’t call you beforehand.”
She gave him a warm smile, and he returned a faint one.
“Come on the weekend. We’ll see each other then.”
“Yes. Get home safely.”
Kim Hwa-yeon watched her son’s back as he walked away from the lobby.
When Baek Shin-woo disappeared from sight, she took out her phone and made a call.
—Yes, Madam. This is Min Jung-geon.
“Team Leader Min, I need you to find someone for me.”
At the three syllables of the name she uttered, Min Jung-geon’s breathing seemed to stop for a moment.
Then an inexplicable exclamation escaped him.
—Wow.
