She didn't want to think deeper or become more tired. She thought it was an appropriate end. Sahee gave a slight bow and reached for the plastic bag.
That's when it happened. CEO Jeong Taeon leisurely moved the arm holding the bag behind his back. While Sahee couldn't hide her confusion at the blatant obstruction, Taeon remained calm.
"Want help?"
His casual question to her seemed like he was generously offering assistance.
"You said he was forceful."
"...Why?"
"I came here to purify both body and mind, but if dirty things like today keep happening, it's troublesome for me."
Taeon smiled brightly as he lightly dusted off the dirt that had transferred to Sahee's hand.
He could have been mistaken for a common thug making a living through threats rather than a company CEO, and it was oddly coincidental how he worried about even a speck of dirt landing on his white hands.
"Don't you not believe in such things?"
"Tell them you're dating me."
"..."
"Or that we're getting closer, that wouldn't be bad either. Then say it ended when the time seems right."
Her eyes trembled faintly, forgetting even how she had snapped at him earlier. It was as if someone had poured ice water over her head - her mind became crystal clear for a moment, then distant as if she'd been struck hard on the back of her head.
Taeon raised the corner of his mouth in a smooth smile. He looked down at her shamelessly, just as he had casually taken others' hands while keeping his own behind his back.
"Anyway, guys like that only mess with people they think they can handle, so there shouldn't be much trouble while I'm around. Isn't that why you escaped holding my hand just now, Ms. Yeon Sahee?"
"...Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine."
"You didn't look fine."
"I'm sorry for causing a disturbance. You don't need to worry - I'll be careful not to create any more of the dirty situations you're concerned about."
Taeon watched for a while as Sahee deliberately stepped back, apologizing and promising to be careful - apologies she didn't even need to make. It wasn't Sahee's place to guess the nature of that heavy gaze. She gave him a slight bow.
"I'll be going now."
"Not taking this?"
The man didn't add anything more. Instead, he held up the plastic bag toward Sahee, who was already several steps away. The black plastic bag rustled like a fishing rod being waved in front of a cat, making Sahee dizzy.
Though it was clearly hers, she couldn't bring herself to retrieve it. His casual conversation felt like a clear threat.
He would reduce her peaceful daily life to ashes. There was no time to think further.
"...You can have it, CEO."
"What's in it?"
"Rice cakes."
Sahee answered bluntly and turned away quickly. In her passing glance, she saw Taeon smiling with furrowed brows.
Her breath felt burning hot. Was there any need to painfully identify the source of the fire that had spread to her ears? It was an ember that could simply be smothered.
* * *
After showering and changing into comfortable clothes, Taeon sat at his desk.
Documents transferred from Seoul through Secretary Kim were piled like mountains. The shared drive would also be continuously updating with files requiring real-time review.
Taeon frowned as he turned up the desk lamp.
There wasn't much time to delay. The construction company selection presentation for Handong District 4, a core Seoul redevelopment area, was just a month away.
It was an 8 trillion won project they'd worked on for a long time. As the largest redevelopment in Korean history, the scale of the joint construction company briefing was impressive.
Under predictions of fierce competition, not only Jeong Moon Construction's headquarters in Gwanghwamun but also the three competing construction companies were preparing for this bloodless war, each becoming beacons in their cities.
No.
Given the widespread rumors about Jeong Moon Construction's CEO being exiled like a dog that lost its prey, one competitor might already be celebrating an early victory.
Taking a sip of cold coffee from the desk, a bitter taste lingered on his tongue.
Taeon picked up a sharply sharpened pencil as he turned the document's cover page. He quickly read through the materials while letting the sound of insects through the open window pass through one ear.
How many hours had he sat like that? Taeon stretched his stiff neck and pushed away from his seat with his long legs. As he was about to leave to make fresh coffee, something fell to the floor with a thud.
"Ah."
Taeon looked down. It was the plastic bag he'd carelessly left leaning against the desk when he returned to the annex. As he quietly stared down at the collapsed plastic bag, Taeon pulled his chair back and sat down again.
When had she been gripping it so tightly, even as she fell to her knees? His stomach twisted slightly as he recalled the back of the woman who had shed it like a shell and fled.
She apologized with an unapologetic face and stubbornly insisted on running from him, even saying she'd be careful about something that wasn't her fault - perhaps it was natural.
Taeon ran his tongue inside his mouth as he forcefully tore open the knotted plastic bag. Simultaneously, his expressionless face, which had remained stony throughout, broke into a wry smile.
Rice cakes indeed...
"It's yeot."
A single word in large gothic font on a simple white box - 'Yeot' (taffy).
Given how much it must have been shaken in the bag, perhaps it was the woman's trick to give him yeot head-on. As the granddaughter of a famous shaman, nothing was too far-fetched.
Taeon chuckled as he opened the box. Putting a bite-sized piece of taffy in his mouth, the sweetness clung persistently. Though his face contorted at the terribly fragrant sweetness flooding his tongue, he wasn't in a bad mood.
Certainly, this was indeed a trick.
* * *
Why had she left that behind?
Sahee berated herself with belated regret as she rummaged through the main hall's kitchen.
She should have just taken it, why...
If she had to make excuses, it had truly been an exhausting day. She'd spent hours in town, and without even a moment to catch her breath, confronted Hyeongu. With the scrapes from falling still stinging, her thought process couldn't have been normal.
That was really all. Since everything was already broken, it was natural that she'd done something foolish - Sahee desperately rationalized.
As a result, she was now sneaking into the kitchen like a stray cat, looking for snacks to bring to Mrs. Cheon.
"Ah, found it."
Sahee pulled out dried persimmons tucked away in the corner of the freezer. She planned to recreate the dessert she'd prepared a few days ago. The recipe was simple and delicious, and while eating it she'd thought of Mrs. Cheon - she remembered this while applying ointment to her knee that there were leftover ingredients.
After placing the dried persimmons on the counter and getting cream cheese and walnuts from the refrigerator, Sahee glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was almost Mrs. Cheon's bedtime. Sahee hurried her steps after placing the dessert on a small plate.
Knock knock.
As if she'd been waiting, Mrs. Cheon's irritated voice leaked from behind the door: "What is it?"
Sahee smiled and opened the sliding door with the hand not holding the plate.
"Rice cakes?"
Mrs. Cheon, sitting propped up in bed, scrutinized the plate Sahee brought with a sulky face. It was actually fortunate that it didn't look much like rice cakes - the expectation quickly faded from Mrs. Cheon's face.
"You said you wouldn't eat."
"Oh you rascal."
"Please eat."
"What is this?"
Sahee set the plate she brought on the bedside table. The dried persimmons that had frozen on the way had thawed, ruining the plating.
Hiding her dismay, Sahee awkwardly pulled up a chair and sat down.
"It's the dessert I made before - I brought it because it was good."
"It looks messy. You made it, right? You're so good at drawing but terrible at cooking."
"It got shaken on the way here."
At the curt reply, Mrs. Cheon smiled not unpleasantly and reached out with a grunt. Her fingers gripping the fork were notably thin. She really shouldn't have abandoned those rice cakes to that man like that.
"...I'll go buy rice cakes tomorrow."
"Don't bother. How can you go that far with your bad leg?"
"I'll take the bus."
"Just stay home. You're busy, aren't you? Short-handed?"
"It's fine."
"This may look bad but it tastes good."
When Sahee frowned, Mrs. Cheon smacked her lips and grinned.
It was a relief that she seemed to have recovered some strength since morning. Just as Sahee was checking the water bottle with inner relief-
Clang!
Almost throwing down her fork on the plate, Mrs. Cheon bent toward Sahee's knee and shouted in a hoarse voice:
"What happened to your knee!"
"I fell."
"Girl, I told you to be careful!"
Mrs. Cheon pulled up her white flare skirt to her thighs and kept sighing, clearly upset.
Sahee pulled her skirt hem down completely to cover her knees and shook her head.
"It's nothing."
"Did you twist your ankle? Shouldn't you go to the hospital?"
"I'm fine."
"Please be careful. You're shortening my life span, you know?"
When Sahee didn't answer, the nagging continued. Even when she turned her head pretending not to hear, Mrs. Cheon grabbed both her arms and lectured her like a child about being careful, repeating her warnings again and again.
Just like a mother.
It wasn't unpleasant. Though Sahee squeezed her eyes shut pretending to hate it, she relaxed into the warm feeling.
Mrs. Cheon, who had been cooped up in her room for days, complained about feeling stiff and chatted with Sahee for hours without stopping.
When her face contorted saying it was torture not being able to work with her blistered lips from being sick, Sahee thought she really was hopeless.
The familiar sound of insects chirped like music. Walking alone on the dark path, Sahee sank into silence.
While in Mrs. Cheon's room, no thoughts had come to her, but alone now, idle thoughts flooded in. The thoughts she had bundled away in a corner through rationalization emerged with vivid intensity.
Like how loosely held hands were cold, and how hot her breath had been when facing him - such useless memories.
"Tell them you're dating me."
Above all, CEO Jeong Taeon's dark eyes as he offered that absurd kindness.
Sahee entered the small guest house with a sigh. Returning here, she felt the tension that had been pulled taut all day melting away limply.
But her relaxed shoulders suddenly stiffened.
"..."
The plastic bag she had abandoned was placed on the wooden porch. There was no mistaking who had shown this kindness.
* * *
She had a restless night.
Had she slept even three hours? Awakened by the sound of sudden rain, Sahee couldn't fall back asleep and had to watch morning arrive with open eyes.
Walking toward the annex building, Sahee rubbed her cheeks with her palms.
She had gone to the main hall to deliver rice cakes to Mrs. Cheon, and was now heading to clean the room after being told that the precious guests would have lunch at the annex today.
Despite Uncle Bang fretting that it was time to change the flower decorations, especially with the rain, Sahee turned away.
She pondered how to avoid encountering that man. Even on tiptoes, she couldn't peek over the wall at her height, so it was ultimately a matter of timing. Sahee walked briskly while letting out a faint sigh.
Black sedans were lined up in front of the annex. Through the darkly tinted car windows, she could faintly make out the silhouette of CEO Jeong Taeon's secretary on a call.
Suppressing the tension rising near her throat, Sahee opened the annex door. As she carefully crossed the stone path still wet with rain, she heard someone's presence.
Please let it be the madam, please let it be her - her hopes shattered with a single eye contact.
"...Hello."
Sahee greeted first, and Taeon, who had been selecting golf clubs, nodded slightly. His gaze passed over her indifferently. Sahee also moved on abruptly.
However, ordinary actions like grabbing the pillar, stepping onto the stone step, and removing her shoes felt strangely jarring. The sounds behind her were sharper in her ears than the scene before her, like a finely honed knife.
The solid sound of gripping a golf club. The soft friction of the club being pulled from the golf bag.
Moistening her lower lip with her tongue as if oiling it, Sahee quickly stepped onto the wooden porch. She focused on the voice leaking from where Min Yeojin stayed, erasing what was behind her.
"Madam, it's Yeon Sahee."
"Oh, come in. Honey, just a moment."
Sahee carefully opened the door. Min Yeojin, who had been on the phone sitting on the sofa, adjusted the thin pink shawl around her shoulders as she moved to the end of her seat.
"Time really flies."
Sahee carefully began cleaning to avoid disturbing the phone call. Besides the dressing room, nothing was particularly messy, so it looked like it would be finished quickly.
"I can't believe our kids are grown up enough for arranged marriages. Jisoo used to follow our Taeon around everywhere, always calling him 'Oppa Taeon, Oppa Taeon.' Was it at their company anniversary party? That was already 10 years ago?"
So he was about to have an arranged marriage meeting.
Sahee picked up scattered clothing items one by one and hung them on hangers. She would gather the clothes the madam had taken off in one side of the closet, and the attending secretary would take care of them. After a week, this task had become quite familiar, and Sahee quickly organized up to the laundry basket before leaving the dressing room.
"Although marriage depends on the young people getting along... it would be fun if those two got married. I'd be so happy to become in-laws with you."
Her gaze briefly met the madam's. She seemed particularly cheerful today, smiling brightly. Sahee bowed formally and headed toward the bedroom.
"I'm not worried about Jisoo. She's graceful, smart, capable - how can a child be so bright? Our Taeon only knows how to work. It'll be fortunate if he doesn't run away from the arranged meeting. He's so indifferent about everything - please talk to Jisoo about it."