From Divorce to Dusk Chapter 2.4

Just then, the convenience store door opened with a jingle and someone walked in. Jaekyung turned around in surprise.

“W-welcome.”

“A pack of Marlboro.”

He thought it was Secretary Oh, but it was just a regular person. Jaekyung quickly ran to the counter, rang up a pack of cigarettes, handed it to the customer, and looked out the window again. The car was gone. Had he been seeing things? Or was it just a similar-looking car? Well, that could be possible. It’s not like that car is the only one of its kind in the world… and more importantly, there was no reason for a man like Han Taesuk to come here. There was… no reason for him to come see him.

◆

“The director will be arriving in 10 minutes.”

At Secretary Oh’s call, Jaekyung closed the book he was reading and shot up from his seat. A moment of silence; the ticking of the second hand echoed loudly in the spacious living room. Had that sound always been so loud?

“Haa….”

Fortunately, a housekeeper came every day to clean, so the house itself was spotless. When he first entered this house, it was so large that he had wanted to run away. Even though it was fully furnished with all the necessary furniture and was even nicer than his family home, to Jaekyung, it felt like a prison. On top of that, the chilly air made him feel lonely, and he was certain he would go mad if he stayed in this house for even a day. He had taken a step back, but he couldn’t retreat any further and eventually entered the house. Fortunately, humans are adaptable creatures. The first day was unfamiliar, but after about two days, he became a little more used to it and began to explore here and there.

The mansion consisted of a basement and three floors above ground. The third floor had exercise equipment, various rooms for body care, a sauna, and a hot spring room. The second floor had a study that resembled a library, a dressing room, and a guest room that was like something out of a 5-star hotel. The first floor had a master bedroom, a small dressing room, a kitchen, and a large living room, and a theater room had been built in the basement. It had a clean interior, modern furniture, and electronic devices that were on a different level from the Jaewang Group’s family home, which, though spacious, felt somewhat outdated. This made him think that at least some care had been put into this house. But that was all. Jaekyung didn’t touch any of it. It didn’t feel like his own, but like someone else’s, and strangely, he couldn’t bring himself to touch it. The most he touched were the books in the study.

The housekeeper cooked for him, so there was no need to cook or clean in the kitchen. He didn’t enjoy watching TV, so he never turned it on. He tried to use the theater room once, but no one could tell him how to operate it, so he couldn’t enjoy it. Thanks to that, he spent 7 days without going out, just reading books. During that time, he received one call from his mother, but there was no contact from the NI family, which made him think they didn’t care much about his whereabouts. However, that was clearly Jaekyung’s misunderstanding.

Feeling too suffocated, he went out to look around the garden, and chillingly, he immediately received a call from the security team. They told him to go back inside at once. He wasn’t in any danger of assassination, so being told to go back inside by the security team out of the blue startled him. He came back into the house and, after thinking about it quietly, fell into despair. He was being watched. He didn’t know if there were cameras inside the house, but he realized that the CCTVs in the garden and around the house were not only for the house’s safety but also to monitor him. And that night, he received a call from Director Ji and was nagged at once again. It was a truly dreadful time.

“Oh my, it seems the director is finally arriving.”

The housekeeper approached Jaekyung, who was standing there blankly, wiping her hands. She was the one who kept the lonely Jaekyung company throughout the day.

Just as the housekeeper said, the sound of a car could be heard from a distance, and soon the doorbell rang. The housekeeper hurriedly pressed the button to open the door. Jaekyung stood in front of the entrance. The sound of footsteps grew louder. Jaekyung clenched his fists. How should I greet him? ‘Welcome’? ‘You’re back’? ‘Hello’? What’s the right thing to say?

Click. 

The doorknob turned and the door opened. At the same time, a man in a long coat entered. It was his partner, whom he was seeing for the first time in 7 days. Their eyes met. His lips… wouldn’t move. No. I still have to greet him. It’s our first greeting. If I shut down here-

“You’ve… arrived.”

Of all the things to say, he had to choose the stiffest and strangest words… it didn’t sound like something a married couple would say, but like a subordinate speaking to their boss. In his mind, he was regretting it, but on the outside, he was fine. Han Taesuk nodded, took off his shoes, and entered the house, brushing past Jaekyung. Secretary Oh and other assisting secretaries followed, and judging by how they trailed behind him, talking nonstop, they seemed to be reporting on work-related matters.

“Jaekyung-nim. Should I prepare something?” the housekeeper asked.

“Do you have any pear ginger tea?”

The air felt cold when he passed by.

“Yes, we do.”

“Yes, then I’ll prepare… no. I’ll do it.”

Jaekyung went to the kitchen, took out the pear ginger syrup, poured it into a clear glass cup, and waited for the water to boil. Beep, beep. The water finished boiling, and Jaekyung quickly poured it into the glass and stirred it with a spoon. He placed the cup on a tray the housekeeper had prepared, put two yakgwa on a plate, and was about to go to him when he saw Han Taesuk, who had just changed his clothes and come out of the room, heading to the entrance with Secretary Oh. Jaekyung looked at him in surprise, but he said nothing and went straight outside.

“Oh my, he must be very busy.”

The housekeeper muttered pitifully. Jaekyung let go of the tray handle he was holding and nodded.

“I suppose so. He seems very busy.”

That was all Jaekyung could say at that moment.

◆

It was a rare holiday, so he did laundry and cleaned the house. It was a small studio apartment, so there wasn’t much to clean or wash, but he experienced firsthand how much joy and trouble it was to clean and do laundry diligently with his own hands. If it’s this hard to do this small amount of laundry, how hard must it have been for the housekeeper who washed the bedding every week? Of course, the clothes were sent to the dry cleaner, and the house had a washer and dryer for bedding, so she didn’t have to move around much, but still….

“Ugh, finally done.”

He swept and wiped the floor, moving busily. After snapping the laundry and hanging it up to dry, Jaekyung sat on the bed, patting his back and looking out the window. The sky was blue. The weather is really nice today… I should go out on a day like this. Without hesitation, he shot up from his seat. He wanted to read. There were probably many new books that had come out, so he planned to buy a few books and also go to the department store to buy a laptop. He didn’t enjoy watching TV, so he didn’t need one, but he needed a laptop to check the stock market. He couldn’t use the Jaewang Group shares he owned, but he was curious about what had happened to the small-cap stocks he had bought little by little in the name of investment a long time ago….

Now that he was somewhat comfortable and felt like he could breathe, things he had wanted to do came to mind. When he was in that house, the very thought of what he wanted to do was a luxury….

“Hm?”

As he was getting ready to go out, his phone rang. He was so happy to see the caller ID that he pressed the call button without a second thought.

“Hello?”

[Ah! Team Leader Park! Hello!]

At the sound of his team member’s voice, which he hadn’t heard in five years, Jaekyung broke into a wide smile. His legs felt weak, and he felt like he was about to cry. So this is what it feels like to be happy to see someone… Jaekyung plopped back down on the bed.

[It’s me, Yeongeun! Do you remember?]

“Of course, Yeongeun-ssi. Have you been well?”

[Yes! We’ve all been well.]

“That’s a relief. I’m sorry for the past. For not being in touch.”

[Not at all! I’m just glad you didn’t change your phone number. Team Leader. Are you doing well? Are you healthy?]

“Yes. I’m doing well and I’m healthy. Ah, instead of talking like this, should we meet up sometime?”

[Really?! Is that okay?]

“Haha, of course.”

[Th-then when should we meet?]

“Are you perhaps free today?”

[Today! Of course!! Where should we meet? If you tell us the time and place, Team Leader, we’ll head over!]

“‘We’?”

[Ah! All of our team members are together. Is that okay?]

Jaekyung was overjoyed. To be able to see those people again. If he were to say that the time he spent with them was the best in his short 33 years of life, they wouldn’t believe him. Jaekyung had no reason to refuse. Even if it had been a workday, he would have made time to meet them. He made a reservation at a sushi restaurant near Gangnam Station to meet them.

The appointment was for 6 PM, but Jaekyung arrived at 5:30, rented a private room, and waited there. Around 5:50, he heard the sound of several footsteps, and Jaekyung’s heart pounded. Had his heart been able to beat like this? He hadn’t known. So my heart has been moving.

Screech. 

The sliding door opened, and Jaekyung shot up from his seat. Two women, two men – familiar, missed, and longed-for faces all met Jaekyung’s eyes and smiled happily.

“Team Leader!”