Clear beef soup was served for lunch.
Sahee, who had eaten early with Uncle Bang, went straight to the separate quarters. There wasn't even a moment to digest. On her way back from prayers, Uncle Bang had asked if she could clean Director Jeong's room too.
He was insistent, saying he had an urgent date. When he practically begged, saying he needed to get married too, refusing was useless.
Could it be that good? Sahee shook her head in disgust, remembering Uncle Bang talking to his girlfriend on the phone during lunch. The way he used aegyo at the end of every sentence - maybe possession by spirits wasn't something else but exactly this.
Sahee quickly closed the basement window she had opened for ventilation. She felt rushed thinking she needed to clean Director Jeong's room quickly. She hurriedly limped between the two separate quarter buildings.
Open windows for ventilation. Tidy up scattered clothes. Empty the trash. Just as Sahee was mentally running through her tasks and opened the door-
"..."
Director Jeong Taeon looked at her blankly while buttoning his shirt.
"...I'm sorry."
Sahee slammed the door she had opened. Though it must have been unexpected, the man showed no sign of surprise. If anything, Sahee, who opened the door, was more flustered, her nape burning hot.
"Come in."
Soon after, Taeon's voice came from inside. Sahee looked down at her fingers still on the round doorknob before pushing firmly.
Through the gradually opening door, the man was putting a suit jacket over his shoulders. The dark grey three-piece suit suited him like a picture.
"...The person usually in charge of cleaning your room had something come up, so I'm filling in."
"On the first day?"
"I'm sorry."
"Miss Yeon Sahee has nothing to be sorry for."
"..."
"Should I leave?"
"I'll finish quickly."
"Alright then."
Sahee stepped aside to avoid Director Jeong Taeon as he strode toward her. She quietly bowed her head and waited for him to leave, but his footsteps stopped right in front of her. Looking at the hem of his suit pants before her, Sahee raised her head.
Their eyes met immediately. Gazes slowly touched and rubbed against each other.
"...Is there anything else you need?"
"No. Nothing."
Taeon brushed past Sahee. A sudden breeze brought a bitter woody scent that penetrated deep into her lungs.
* * *
Sahee spread out the crumpled blanket with firm, crisp movements. Even while cleaning the man's room, his gaze and scent wouldn't leave her mind.
Why did he just stand there watching when he had nothing to ask for? The man didn't seem to have any intention of hiding that fact.
Unlike the Madam's rather messy room, Director Jeong's room was clean. If not for the wet bathroom floor and disheveled bedding, one might not have known someone was staying there.
Did he not eat?
Considering his height and build, three meals might not be enough, but then again, he seemed like someone who was just born that way.
Like he had been Director Jeong Taeon from birth, he was a man whose boyhood was hard to imagine. His sharp, cool eyes looked not just perfectionist but almost ascetic. Though perhaps for a man who had never lacked anything, desire itself would be difficult.
While walking along the edge of the bed, patting down the bedding, Sahee frowned as something caught her eye and turned her body.
"..."
A condom box was neatly placed on the bedside table.
Condoms. What's the big deal.
Startled as if she'd seen a ghost, Sahee swallowed and straightened her twisted waist. She barely finished making the bed and awkwardly stretched her back.
Even beyond the Jeongmun family, it was common for business figures to stay overnight at theater. Some used it as a meeting place with young lovers.
Mrs. Cheon would imitate their passionate moans - "Aah! Huk huk!" - complaining she couldn't sleep all night because of those damn vermin. While it might have shocked her when young, now even Sahee could laugh it off.
It's naive to believe sex is beautiful and sublime. Originally, sexual desire is dirty and vulgar. Even those who smiled cleanly during the day often became Mrs. Cheon's prey for one night.
Director Jeong Taeon wasn't a married man, so of course he could... But ascetic? She'd really misjudged him.
Sahee left the room with an utterly disgusted face, just taking the garbage bag.
She could somewhat understand why the madam was acting strangely. They say a pot leaks both inside and out. Even though their spaces were divided into two buildings, it was still a place shared with his mother. It was shocking that he would think of such things, surely knowing everything could be heard.
While sitting and putting on her shoes, Sahee glanced toward the pond where voices could be heard. Perhaps her presence was noticeable, as she immediately met Taeon's eyes. Just as Sahee gave a brief eye greeting, a man who appeared to be his secretary turned around.
"Oh, hello! You must work here!"
"...Hello."
"Please take care of us while we're here."
The man had a bright voice and kind face. If not for that, she could have quietly left, excusing herself for not wanting to interrupt their conversation.
Rising from her seat, Sahee gathered the garbage bag while meeting both men's gazes.
"Director, cleaning is finished. Please go inside and continue your conversation."
"Miss Yeon Sahee."
Just as she was thinking about returning to her room to rest, Director Jeong stopped her. His fixed gaze was quite heavy. Sahee looked at him like someone bearing a heavy rock.
"...Yes, Director."
In contrast, there was no hesitation in the man's actions. As he bent and extended his arm, an iced coffee appeared in his hand. His hand was so large that the tall coffee cup looked like a child's toy.
"Take it."
In that brief moment, Mrs. Cheon's "Huk huk!" moans overlapped with Director Jeong's voice like an auditory hallucination. Along with the condom box prominently displayed on the bedside table.
"No. I'm fine."
The response shot out immediately. She should have just accepted it if he was offering - it was an unnecessary refusal. She had revealed pointed hostility toward him.
While Director Jeong's expression didn't change, she might have offended him. Though she thought it shouldn't matter since she wasn't welcome either way, she became anxious.
"...I'll take my leave now."
Fearing a disapproving response, Sahee bowed deeply instead of making excuses.
Walking back along the stone path, she hoped Mrs. Cheon would recover from her illness soon. It had barely been two days since the precious guest arrived, but she was already mentally exhausted.
* * *
It was just three phrases.
No. I'm fine. I'll take my leave now.
The rejection was sharp, and her discomfort obvious. Taeon smirked incredulously, ruminating on his goodwill being so firmly cut off.
He took a long sip of the iced coffee, feeling it cool down his throat. Yeon Sahee was walking the stone path, limping with her garbage bag.
Who's going to eat you?
Her deeply planting steps seemed desperate to flee this place. While it was amusing how she had become more prickly than in the morning without him doing anything, suddenly he remembered the condom box placed on the bedside table.
It was his mother's warning, placed on the desk like a protest when he returned from his walk. She seemed determined to disgust and drive away any thoughts.
Irritated, he thought that woman must have seen the item he'd deliberately placed on the bedside table. She was the type to close doors with all her might, startled just from seeing him changing clothes.
Recalling the limping footsteps approaching behind the door, Taeon looked askance at his secretary.
"Secretary Kim, it was you, right?"
"...Pardon? What do you mean?"
"The condoms."
Secretary Kim smiled awkwardly.
While they could probably find condoms here if they looked, Taeon used a specific size. If his mother knew that, it would be horrifying.
"You could have just pretended."
"If it made you uncomfortable, I apologize."
"That's enough."
"...Did something happen with the madam?"
"Well. She's being sensitive."
Taeon shrugged and sat on the landscaping stone, crossing his legs. The secretary stepped closer to stand by Taeon and vented his frustrated feelings.
"I'm this frustrated, so I understand why the madam is becoming sensitive."
"What could be so frustrating for Secretary Kim?"
"Isn't it obvious! You're always being pushed into danger while he's being protected! Jeong Taejun was already a lost cause!"
Resting his chin on the back of his hand dismissively, Taeon tapped the toe of his shoe.
While it was true the Chairman protected Jeong Taejun, it was more accurate to see it as keeping Taeon in check.
Taeon had achieved significant results, from automobiles to construction. Consequently, the media always spotlighted him, and recently there was even talk that he, not his father, might take the group's next chairman position.
Chairman Jeong acted delighted about having a grandson to succeed him, but in private often revealed his true feelings of not wanting to be left behind by the times.
Moreover, Jeongmun Construction was about to face the largest redevelopment project bidding in the country's history. If Jeongmun Construction was chosen as the contractor, all that spotlight would be Taeon's, so this seemingly unreasonable exile wasn't incomprehensible.
It means they won't give it up easily.
Taeon smiled lightly, imagining the Chairman's face flushed with spite.
"Even this theater. There's already so much talk about it, but to push you to stay at such a place... Look how grand this building is. All that money came from our group. I'm thinking I might as well receive divine possession when I retire."
"You should definitely do that."
Taeon smiled and stood up, brushing off his seat. As he returned to the separate quarters, he briefly turned his neck to observe the scenery.
Somewhere in the majestic mountain surrounded by stars lies the tomb of my great-grandparents.
When the Jeong Group was going through difficult times, Chairman Jeong, on the advice of his secretaries, sought out Park Ji-soon, a renowned shaman. Upon seeing Chairman Jeong's face, Park Ji-soon wailed as if the world was ending, crying out that his parents were lying down bleeding.
The very next day, they discovered iron nails driven into his great-grandparents' tomb. Chairman Jeong was shocked, and Park Ji-soon suggested removing the nails and relocating the tomb to appease the spirits of the deceased. Then, she targeted the chairman of their competitor TJ as the culprit, driving similar iron nails into his parents' tomb.
Some say Park Ji-soon orchestrated this as a ploy to gain Chairman Jeong's trust, but whether it was divine revelation or strategy, the incident led Chairman Jeong to keep her close.
That mountain is where the relocated tomb lies, and this Younghwa-dang is the property Park Ji-soon received as a gift.
As times changed, Younghwa-dang remained hidden in Jeong Group's shadow, but Chairman Jeong still sought Park Ji-soon whenever difficulties arose.
It was the same nine years ago when Uncle threw himself from the construction building's rooftop.
Taeon still remembers that winter when black sedans lined up on the snowy road to Younghwa-dang. He also remembers the pale girl standing on the sidewalk, wearing wool earmuffs and boots, with a suitcase bigger than herself, quietly watching the procession of black cars.
The thought didn't linger long. It was just a useless sentiment to dwell on.
Taeon turned his attention to Secretary Kim, who had followed him from the yard.
"The spring baseball opening game is in two weeks, right?"
"Ah, yes! The team actually sent an invitation. The players' morale is high after the stadium improvements."
Secretary Kim carefully observed Taeon's reaction as he spoke.
"We'll see about going then. In two weeks, things should be settled down, and since it was an absurd proposal to begin with, the Chairman should understand."
"Yes. I'll inform Madam right away."
"Might be better to make it a surprise then."
Who knows what kind of fit the Chairman might throw, he thought.
"You think so?"
"Let's do that."
Secretary Kim's expression noticeably brightened. As he listened to the excited voice promising to meet in two weeks, Taeon absently crossed the room. There was much to do.