Chapter 6
“……”
It was strange.
His words made her happy. She wanted to run to him right away.
“You really are so foolish and pathetic. Maybe you’re like your mother, who does exactly whatever Dad tells her to do. If he tells you to kneel, you kneel. If he tells you to lick his shoes, you lick them.”
Why did Se-eun’s words suddenly come back to her at this moment, the words she had said while laughing and throwing popcorn at her?
Even though Seol-ah had tried to extinguish her feelings for Moon-hyuk again and again, even these few simple words were enough to rekindle that tiny flame in her heart.
So foolishly.
So hopelessly.
At the same time, she remembered her mother, who had cried or smiled depending on just one word from Gicheol.
Perhaps that was why.
Even though the tagger had finally tapped her and said, “You’re out,” like in a game of tag, Seol-ah couldn’t make her voice come out, and her feet wouldn’t move.
It was as though she had turned into ice that still hadn’t melted.
Her face twisted with a mixture of happiness and pain.
Seeing her expression, Moon-hyuk narrowed his eyes.
But soon, he arrogantly raised an eyebrow, speaking with his eyes.
Do you still have something to do with these people?
Why? Are you willing to stay here and let them use you as their punching bag?
His slightly mocking gaze made Seol-ah’s face suddenly burn.
At the same time, her entire body trembled as though someone had poured cold water over her.
And instinctively, she understood.
If she hesitated here, her husband would willingly leave this place without looking back, leaving her behind.
Leaving nothing but contempt behind.
She didn’t want that.
Seol-ah stopped hesitating and willingly grabbed the hand her husband had offered her.
“I’ll go first.”
She bowed politely toward Gicheol.
“Huh? Oh.”
Gicheol had suddenly lost his target for venting his anger because he had been overwhelmed by Moon-hyuk’s presence.
He nodded awkwardly.
He looked like a dog that had been chasing a chicken only to suddenly lose sight of it.
Se-eun had been watching them with an excited, superior look, as though she had stumbled upon something entertaining.
Her eyes widened in surprise, then quickly filled with disappointment.
Seol-ah began walking toward Moon-hyuk.
But then she stopped.
She slowly turned around and looked at the cornelian cherry tree, which still had its fresh green leaves.
Then she spoke silently in her heart.
Mom, I’ll come again next time. Stay well.
At that moment, the scent of chrysanthemums was carried over by the wind.
The deep yet gentle fragrance of flowers lingered briefly at the tip of her nose before disappearing.
Only now was she truly saying goodbye to her mother.
She felt uneasy about leaving first and entrusting her mother to Gicheol and Se-eun.
But her mother would understand.
Because she was her mother.
Seol-ah’s gaze, which had been resting on the cornelian cherry tree, turned toward Moon-hyuk.
This time, she walked toward him without the slightest hesitation.
Moon-hyuk silently waited for her.
When she finally reached him, Moon-hyuk turned around and began walking.
Seol-ah followed behind him.
The autumn sky was dazzlingly clear and bright.
Beautiful trees and neatly gathered green landscaping trees, fresh green grass spread out beautifully, and the pleasant September breeze brushed against their bodies, carrying the sounds of birds that could not be heard in the city.
It was such a beautiful day that even the quiet silence settling around them felt comfortable.
The kind of day that was perfect for a picnic.
Perhaps it was a blessing that her mother had gone on her journey to heaven on such a day.
Tears had already gathered in the corners of Seol-ah’s eyes as she looked up at the sky.
With her mother now buried deep in her heart, Seol-ah left the memorial park together with Moon-hyuk.
Far ahead, she could see a luxurious black sedan, polished so perfectly that not even a speck of dust could be seen on it.
It was an extremely familiar car.
It had to be.
She had seen it every morning when she saw him off.
Standing naturally beside it was Driver Jung, whose face was just as familiar.
Driver Jung bowed his head.
“May the deceased rest in peace.”
“Thank you.”
Seol-ah lowered her head in response.
Soon, the rear door opened, and Moon-hyuk got in first.
Perhaps because she had never ridden in a car with him except when they attended gatherings as a married couple.
Or perhaps because Moon-hyuk’s presence seemed to fill the entire back seat.
Even though the seat beside him was naturally hers, Seol-ah couldn’t bring herself to take that step.
As if pushing her gently from behind, Tae-woo spoke.
“Please get in, Madam.”
“…Yes.”
Seol-ah gathered her black skirt modestly and got into the car.
She sat down beside Moon-hyuk.
The moment she did, his woody scent, now much closer, entered her nose.
It wasn’t an especially strong scent.
Yet simply because it was mixed with Moon-hyuk’s natural scent, Seol-ah’s breathing became hurried.
How long has it even been since we buried Mom?
Seol-ah quickly turned her gaze toward the heavily tinted window.
Even so, all her senses kept becoming sharply aware of Moon-hyuk.
He crossed his legs.
She could feel him rubbing the inner corners of both eyes as though he were tired.
Ha.
She heard his quiet sigh.
Then she felt him slowly loosen his neck before resting his head against the headrest.
Every tiny movement he made left Seol-ah’s mouth as dry as a desert, and her breathing became increasingly hot and strained.
Afraid that he might notice, she held her breath even more carefully.
A suffocating silence settled heavily over the car.
Perhaps because of that, just when Seol-ah cautiously began breathing again after hearing his even breathing beside her, Moon-hyuk suddenly leaned forward at an angle.
The distance between them suddenly became much closer for no particular reason.
Seol-ah flinched and froze.
Then, right beside her pounding ears, his incredibly attractive deep voice brushed past.
“Where’s the report?”
Moon-hyuk asked Tae-woo.
“Yes, it’s ready. Would you like to look at it now?”
“I should at least go through it before meeting the Chairman, shouldn’t I?”
“Yes. Just a moment.”
Although Moon-hyuk had returned from his business trip before completing the entire schedule because of the funeral, Tae-woo quickly found the report, somehow having already finished it.
He turned slightly toward the back.
“Here it is.”
Then he handed over the tablet.
Moon-hyuk’s gaze fixed on the tablet.
His dark eyes moved quickly down the screen.
Just as he had said, he would merely look through it.
Perhaps because he already knew the contents, not a single question or request for confirmation came from him.
He simply tapped the tablet with the stylus from time to time, stared into the air at an angle, then casually drew a question mark or wrote something down.
Seol-ah could feel every detail of him so vividly.
Yet even though they were sitting side by side in the same space, her husband did not say a single word to her.
It made Seol-ah feel as though she were nothing more than a floating speck of dust.
Even so, not wanting to disturb him, she held her breath even more quietly and looked outside.
Through her swollen eyes, the blue sky and long rows of roadside trees passed gently by.
The buildings that had appeared one by one gradually began appearing in groups, and before long, tall skyscrapers filled the streets.
The quiet roads that had been relatively empty on the weekday morning had somehow become packed with suffocatingly heavy traffic.
The cars moved as slowly as ants crawling along the ground.
They would soon reach the funeral hall.
Realizing that she had only a little time left with Moon-hyuk, Seol-ah wanted to say something.
So she finally brought out the words she had kept inside until now.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
Moon-hyuk asked without taking his eyes off the tablet.
His gaze was indifferent, and his voice was even more indifferent.
Seol-ah suddenly found herself unable to speak.
But Moon-hyuk casually continued.
“For bringing you out?”
His dry voice contained not even the slightest emotion.
At that moment, Seol-ah understood.
Even though I tried so hard to hide it.
This man knew everything.
He knew what she and her mother had been in the place where Seol-ah had been born and raised.
Her face flushed red with shame.
Of course.
If he had eyes, there was no way he could have failed to notice.
And besides, he was Cha Moon-hyuk.
Seol-ah bit down on her lip.
But…
Human emotions were truly strange.
She had been so hurt and resentful toward the Cha family.
Yet perhaps because he had stayed by her side until the funeral procession, she wanted to tell him something.
Something she would never be able to say if she didn’t say it now.
After hesitating, Seol-ah finally put the words on her lips.
“Thank you for being with me through Mom’s final moments. I know it wasn’t an easy decision.”
It had been an important business trip.
And he had been supposed to return that morning because it was his grandfather’s death anniversary.
Yet he had returned in the middle of his business trip, just one day before the memorial rite.
There must have been enormous opposition from his family, who were preparing for the memorial rite.
Especially from his mother.
Seol-ah expressed her gratitude sincerely.
But what came back was—
“I only did what I was supposed to do. You don’t need to worry about it.”
A cold answer.
He didn’t even spare her a glance.
Then Moon-hyuk closed the hard case of the tablet with a sharp click.
He handed the tablet back to Tae-woo and asked,
“What time did you say today’s video conference was?”
“Ah… yes. Three o’clock.”
Even without Tae-woo’s faintly embarrassed voice or Driver Jung’s sympathetic gaze toward Seol-ah, which she could glimpse in the rearview mirror, Moon-hyuk’s meaning was perfectly clear.
He didn’t want to have any unnecessary conversation.
Would he know?
Would this man ever understand how much courage it had taken for her to say those words of gratitude?
The courage and feelings she had gathered had shattered into pieces.
They felt like a broken egg, crushed and smeared into a wet, sticky mess.
