From Divorce to Dusk Chapter 1.3

Director Ji didn’t care how Jaekyung felt either and held him there, explaining about the paintings and the gallery. Even though Jaekyung listened intently, taking notes, she seemed displeased, glaring at him several times and clicking her tongue, “Tsk.” Each time, Jaekyung could only say, “I’m sorry.”

「Oh my, Director Ji. You were here?」

Just then, a woman draped in a fur coat and dripping with jewels entered. It was someone Jaekyung knew as well: the wife of the director of Sangham Construction. And next to her stood a beautiful young man. He was clearly… an Omega.

「Oh my, welcome.」

Director Ji instantly wiped away her chilly demeanor and warmly greeted the Sangham Construction mother and son.

「It’s been a while, Director Ji.」

「My goodness~ Is that Eunho? You’ve grown up so well! I heard you’re a Dominant Omega. Your mother must be so happy.」

「Hoho, she is. Now I just need to find a good match and marry him off well.」

「Having grown up so properly, I don’t think you’ll have to worry.」
Jaekyung felt uncomfortable in this situation. Would it be okay to say that he seemed to have nothing to do and ask to be excused? As Jaekyung was contemplating this, the wife from Sangham Construction saw him and her eyes widened in surprise.

「Oh my, look who it is. Isn’t that the eldest son of Jaewang Group?」

「Ah, let me introduce you. Jaekyung. Come here.」

At Director Ji’s words, Jaekyung quickly entered their world. He smoothed his stiffly set face into a smile. Director Ji introduced the lady, and Jaekyung quickly bowed politely.

「But why is Jaekyung-gun here?」

「He’s the one who will be joining our family soon.」

「Ah, so Jaekyung-gun is the one who will be Director Han’s partner. Oh my.」
She let out a deep sigh as if it were a pity.

「If only our Eunho had been born a little earlier, he would have graduated from college quickly and I could have tried to set him up with Director Han… We’re too late.」

That’s right. 

The purpose of bringing her well-raised Omega son before Director Ji was obvious. There was no way Director Ji wouldn’t know her transparent intentions. That’s why she too looked at the Omega named Eunho with a regretful gaze. Still, Jaekyung smiled. This sort of thing would probably happen a lot in the future, so he put on an even more nonchalant smile.

From that day on, after finishing work at the company, Jaekyung diligently stopped by Hanart Gallery to study art. He had to memorize everything from the birth year and birthplace of the painter to their entire life story, as well as the meaning of the painting, the feeling it conveyed, and even the type of paper and paints used to create it. When was it? A few years ago, when a professor explaining art on a cultural TV show said that the people in our country who know the value of art best are the chaebols, Jaekyung had laughed, thinking it was a joke. But thinking about it now, the professor had been serious and correct.

He knew that the paintings his parents received or gave as gifts were expensive, but he had never imagined they would be worth billions of won. Especially at Hanart Gallery, you couldn’t find a painting for under a billion won. The most expensive one was a 6.7 billion won painting by Painter Jin, which was enshrined on the middle floor, the 3rd floor, of the gallery. As soon as Jaekyung heard the price, he thought he shouldn’t even go near that painting.

Fortunately, Director Ji also seemed to not trust Jaekyung yet and didn’t teach him how to manage that particular painting.

「Hmm….」

Looking at each painting one by one, he copied down the explanations in his own handwriting. Taking pictures would have been easier, but as always, the best way to memorize something was to write it down by hand.

Ah….

He had definitely overdone it these past few days, and his eyes were getting a little blurry. Although he was still in his prime, overworking was certainly not good. As Jaekyyung rubbed his eyes, the person Director Ji had assigned to him cautiously asked if he was okay. Startled that this might reach Director Ji’s ears, Jaekyung quickly said he was fine and tried to diligently work on the task given to him.

「Then, that’s all for the paintings today… I will now teach you about warehouse management.」

10 PM. Director Ji still hadn’t left work. Jaekyung thought he would be going home after midnight again today and followed the manager. It was then. Even though it was late and the gallery doors were already locked, the front entrance was noisy. The manager who had been stuck to Jaekyung’s side was surprised and ran out, greeting someone warmly.

「Director Han. Welcome.」

He couldn’t believe his ears. Who had come here now? Jaekyung’s eyes wavered. What should I do? What should I say? Should I greet him? No. It could be someone else. But how many Han Taesuks from NI Company could there be in the world? The man who entered, surrounded by people, was indeed Jaekyung’s fiancé, Han Taesuk.

It was the first time he’d seen his face in the fifteen days since they met with the lawyers. They hadn’t exchanged a single text or call during that time, making them worse than strangers. He made eye contact for the first time with him as he entered through the door with the people surrounding him. The man looked straight at Jaekyung and approached. Suddenly seeing his deep eyes, Jaekyung foolishly didn’t know what to do and quickly lowered his head. The man stood in front of Jaekyung. I… should greet him. Jaekyung clutched his notebook tightly and was about to raise his head to greet him. But it was too late. The man passed by Jaekyung and headed towards where Director Ji was. Jaekyung lowered his head again.

「Who is this?」

He heard Director Ji’s welcoming voice. It was the first time he had heard such an affectionate and friendly tone from her.

「What brings you all the way here?」

「I had some business nearby, so I stopped by.」
The second time he heard his voice.

「I thought so. You’re not the type to stop by here on purpose. Cold-hearted boy. By the way, I heard you did something big today.」

「It would have been impossible without Father.」

「So humble….」

「It’s late, Mother. Let’s go home together.」

「Shall we?」

Director Ji let out a pleasant laugh. She soon came out wearing a red cashmere coat, walked over to Jaekyung who was standing there clutching his notebook, snatched only the notebook from his arms, and meticulously looked over what he had written.

「To only be learning such basic things now… When will I ever teach you everything…」

「I’m sorry.」

He could feel not only Director Ji’s gaze, but Han Taesuk’s as well. The way they looked down on him, not as a fellow human being, was extremely unpleasant and upsetting.

「I’m already worried about when I’ll teach you about the family.」

Director Ji clicked her tongue and handed the notebook back to Jaekyung.

「Memorize everything about the five paintings on this side today before you leave. Otherwise, you won’t be finished by the wedding.」

「Yes, Director.」

「Then let’s go.」

Director Ji linked her arm with her son’s as if to show off and went in. He was to be her son’s partner, yet she didn’t even have them greet each other… why…. And Han Taesuk too. Couldn’t he have at least said something to help? He just… stood there and watched. Isn’t he the number one type of man you shouldn’t marry according to the internet? Thinking that, Jaekyung found it laughable. What lay before him was a mire deeper than a swamp, and the fact that he had to knowingly walk into it was absurd.

「Are you going to hurry up?」

The manager, who had been nothing but curt until just a moment ago, showed his true colors as soon as Director Ji left. If Jaekyung didn’t finish quickly, he couldn’t go home either, so he irritably rushed him to hurry up. Jaekyung also wanted to go home quickly, so he diligently studied and memorized the paintings as Director Ji had instructed. Fortunately, he had a knack for studying, so he was able to go home earlier than expected, but by the time he arrived, it was already past 2 AM.