Pheromone Off Chapter 14

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Hajin stood stock-still in front of Jinhyeonje, which was twice as large as the Yu-jeong-je building, and stared blankly. His important luggage had already been organized and moved out ahead of time by the employees, and all that remained was the few important items he had packed compactly and his single body itself. Even so, when a member of the family was leaving the house, there wasn’t a single person who showed their face.

Since he was told that the elders knew all about it, he hadn’t expected a warm goodbye, but they wouldn’t treat even a complete stranger visiting the house with this much neglect. However, Hajin, who was used to this kind of neglect, walked indifferently inside Jinhyeonje. As soon as he entered, many servants saw Hajin and bowed their heads to greet him. Hajin also bowed his head in return and walked down the long hallway. Seeing that a clattering sound was heard from afar, it seemed they were enjoying tea time after their meal.

“Ah, you’re here.”

As he entered the living room, the one who welcomed him was Manager Seo Suk-hee, who managed the household affairs of the main house as a whole. She was a person called Manager Seo, or Madam Seo. It was not an exaggeration to say that she managed almost all the household affairs, as she was a person deeply involved in the house.

“I heard. That you are leaving today.”

“Yes. It turned out that way a bit earlier than expected.”

“It’s a pity, to think we won’t be able to see the youngest young master at home from now on.”

“…Thank you for saying that.”

Hajin smiled faintly and bowed his head.

“Why do you say it like that. Still, please drop by often. If you contact me in advance when you come, I will prepare food centered on what you like.”

Despite being well along in years, Manager Seo was good at saying things that were comfortable and pleasant to hear, fully performing the role of a highly capable employee. And she was also the only person who treated Hajin kindly here.

“I came to see Father and Mother, where are they?”

“They are having tea time inside. I will guide you.”

“Yes.”

Manager Seo wore a semi-formal suit even inside the house. Looking neatly dressed, she skillfully guided Hajin. As he walked following behind Manager Seo, the figures of his parents gradually came into view. Beyond where the full glass windows were made, a brilliant garden and an artificial pond were visible, and a vintage table existed in front of it, which was a place where the Chairman and his wife frequently enjoyed tea time.

“Madam, the youngest young master has arrived.”

She faithfully bowed her head at a 45-degree angle and brought it up quietly. There, Chairman Seong, who was wearing reading glasses and reading a newspaper, and Jo Hwayeong, who was elegantly downing tea that gave off a deep aroma from a teacup directly imported from Italy while checking documents for the art center she was in charge of, were visible.

“What is it.”

Jo Hwayeong asked ordinarily, without taking her eyes off the construction photos of the art center. Hajin stood politely and opened his mouth businesslike.

“I thought I should say goodbye.”

“What goodbye.”

“…I think I will be going to Grandfather’s house starting today.”

“Ah.”

As soon as Jo Hwayeong heard the words, she paused, then knitted her brows and wore a tired expression. As if under tremendous stress, she contorted her face and only then set down the documents held in her hand.

“What kind of good thing is it that you even come to say goodbye.”

“…Still, I should say goodbye….”

“Are you happy because you’re entering after turning away your hyung?”

Sharp eyes flew at him from beyond her glowing glasses. Hajin swallowed dry saliva and dragged his gaze down. There was no fault of his own, but even so, it felt like there was nothing he had done right in this situation either, making him feel shameless.

“I don’t know who will recognize you as Team Leader Kwon’s partner just because you go in to live there.”

“…”

“We don’t know until we enter the wedding hall. So conduct yourself quietly. Silently like a dead rat. Don’t make a fool out of Yeonwoo by making a fuss and messing around for no reason.”

“…”

“…Ha, really how did things turn out like this—. Honey. Did you try talking to Chairman Kwon again?”

No matter how much she thought about it, her anger must have been filling up, as Jo Hwayeong turned her head toward Chairman Seong while raising her voice sharply. Chairman Seong, who had been there without a word as if no one was there, only then opened his heavy mouth.

“Go on now.”

“Honey.”

“There is nothing more to say, so tell him to go.”

grief “…”

“But keep your mother’s words in mind. Stay quiet. Don’t think of it as your place, but humbly like a dead rat. With the thought of returning that place to your hyung later.”

It seemed everyone had only that thought. That the place he was going to was not his place. His parents, Seong Yeonwoo, Kwon Sayoung. Everyone. Since everyone was like that, Hajin also knew well enough by now. That the place was not his place. That it was a place he was going to temporarily, unexpectedly, and inevitably. No, even without words, he knew it well. He had known for a long time since he was very young that he was a person a mistreated outcast who lived getting beaten up could not covet.

“…I’ll be going. Please stay healthy.”

Hajin didn’t add another word and bowed his head to say goodbye. Still, because they were elders, because they were parents, since he was leaving the house regardless, he had just come because he thought he should say goodbye.

“Ha—, really. How did….”

Whether Jo Hwayeong’s stomach was turning the more she thought about it, she stood up abruptly and passed Hajin by, shouting to Manager Seo, “Manager Seo, ice water for me!” Manager Seo glanced at him with a pitying look once and hurried toward the kitchen.

Hajin quietly backed away. Chairman Seong didn’t even look over here. Accepting it as a sign to disappear quickly, Hajin headed right back the way he came. Even if he lived getting mistreated, even if he lived getting beaten, even if not a single person welcomed him, it was still a home, and since they had raised him anyway, he had just come to say goodbye. Since they were displeased with even that, he couldn’t say anything. There was no choice but to disappear quickly as they wanted.

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“Are you here?”

Unlike the Seong family’s main house which had three modern buildings, the Kwon family’s main house was huge like a palace. He had heard that it was a place made after a palace from the Joseon Dynasty, and had visited a few times for family gatherings, but he didn’t know it was enormously large like this. Throughout walking, dozens of sliding doors were seen, and unlike Chairman Seong’s house which was decorated in a Western style, this place was entirely in a Hanok style. The Kwon family’s main house, which brought out Korean traditions, was a place entirely decorated to Chairman Kwon’s taste.

Therefore, it was fun to look around. The Kwon family’s main house, which he entered past a grand main gate, exceeded a thousand pyeong if the backyard, the detached house, and several separate houses were combined, and all of these Hanok buildings as a whole were called Doseondang. It was grand and famous to the extent that sometimes tourists loitered nearby wishing to look around, thinking this building was a cultural property.

The person who welcomed Hajin, who arrived after walking endlessly, was Madam Shim Mira. She was dressed in a wrap dress that emphasized her body line, which didn’t match the traditional Hanok house. However, the sophisticated attire suited her terribly well, making the word beautiful fit her well. Fitting for a bloodline packed with dominant traits, she looked much younger than her age, and there existed a nobility and elegant beauty from which one couldn’t take their eyes off. She was a person fitting to be the mother of three siblings who revealed the characteristics of their traits to the extreme.

Toward the employee who was disappearing after finishing the guidance, Hajin bowed and greeted politely, “Thank you.” And immediately, he bowed his waist toward Madam Shim, who showed a tremendous presence.

“Hello.”

She looked at him quietly before opening her mouth.

“The luggage has been brought in beforehand. Sit down for now.”

Madam Shim guided him to a daecheong table in what appeared to be the main building. As she sat in the seat of honor and Hajin sat on the right, the servants brought out drinks and refreshments as if they had been waiting.

“Thank you.”

Hajin habitually bowed his head toward the servants who brought them out politely, conveying his gratitude. Even though the servants heard it, they just withdrew like ghosts.

“Do you do that at your house too?”

At that appearance, Madam Shim asked abruptly.

“…Pardon?”

“I’m asking if you greet the people below you one by one at your house too.”

“Ah….”

Hajin pondered for a moment at the question he was hearing for the first time, then soon nodded his head.

“…I think I did.”

“Don’t do that here.”

“…Is that a rule here?”

“What? A rule?”

“…I just wondered if it’s a rule that must be kept.”

“It’s not a rule, it’s a matter of course.”

At the condition telling him not to do it as soon as he arrived, Hajin pondered for a moment and asked back with a serious face.

“…By any chance, do I get scolded if I break it?”

“What?”

With every question he asked back, it escaped expectations, causing Madam Shim to repeatedly ask back with a dumbfounded face.

“Did you get scolded if you broke a rule at your house?”

And whether those questions were quite interesting, Madam Shim let out a faint laugh and crossed her legs. Hajin avoided answering, rubbing the back of his neck with an embarrassed face. At any rate, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, so he thought this house had its own rules. Just like how he lived at Yu-jeong-je. That he had to stay only on the second floor. That on days when Seong Yeonwoo and Seong Suhyun were at the main house, he had to stay as quiet as possible, and so on—since there were many things he shouldn’t do, he instinctively thought it was the same logic.

“I’m talking about a matter of course, not a rule. You are a person who has entered Doseondang now, so you must become a person worthy of that. What do you mean by acting like a subordinate to a subordinate.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“I won’t scold you, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Perhaps because he had hardly ever held a conversation with Madam Shim, this conversation felt unexpected. In fact, he had expected that if he faced someone from Kwon Sayoung’s family, he would hear the exact same things he had heard at home. He thought he would hear a piece of their mind asking whether he snatched Seong Yeonwoo’s place or how it was that he came, but Madam Shim didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so particularly.