The New Groom Chapter 20

“Doesn’t it sound like a lie? When you’re not around, he boasts as if he hasn’t just gained a son-in-law, but a real son. He goes on and on about how you speak so well because you graduated from Seoul National University, and that you understand a hundred things for every one thing he says. It’s a bit embarrassing to say this, but his father has an inferiority complex about academic backgrounds. That’s why he insisted that our Imin—even when she said she didn’t want to—get a master’s degree and go abroad; he poured all his heart into her education. He kept grumbling about how he had to get a son-in-law who graduated from Seoul National University, so he must be quite happy that his dream of a Seoul National University son-in-law has finally come true.”

“Is that so… I wasn’t aware.”

“You wouldn’t know because he doesn’t say it to your face. Even if he acts like that, he acknowledges you as a worthy son-in-law, so don’t worry too much. He’s the type to be hot-tempered and blurt things out, only to regret it later, but deep down, he’s actually quite thoughtful.”

“Yes, Mother. I will try to understand Father’s feelings better.”

Thoughtful, indeed. If he were any more ‘thoughtful,’ I’d be in danger of drowning in his sinister intentions. Lee Jeongrok sneered inwardly while maintaining a polite, upright smile on the outside. In any case, it was worth the effort of biting his tongue and sucking up to Hwang Bosik throughout the previous evening. The animosity that had started with the [Jeil Games] incident seemed to have vanished completely. Of course, Kim Soo-hyun must have had a significant influence on Hwang Bosik’s change of heart.

His mother-in-law, Kim Soo-hyun, was a miracle within this gangster family, second only to Hwang Imin.

Looking at Hwang Bosik alone, it was impossible to understand how a mutation like Hwang Imin could have emerged from such an uneducated, middle-school-graduate-level gangster with no common sense or refinement. One couldn’t help but have the reasonable suspicion that she might have been picked up from the street. But when he turned his head to look at his wife, Kim Soo-hyun, the mystery was solved. If one considered that she was the one who had raised their daughter, Hwang Imin’s gentle temperament and flawless refinement were the natural result.

Kim Soo-hyun was an installation artist of international renown. Ever since she was young, she had based herself in France and toured all over Europe for her artistic activities, finally hitting the peak of her career when she was awarded the French Order of Arts and Letters.

Lee Jeongrok could not understand, even if he died and came back to life, why someone with such an impeccable background and excellent career would have married a piece-of-trash gangster (and please, he wished they would refrain from saying anything as pathetic as ‘love’). In any case, it was fortunate for him. Thanks to Kim Soo-hyun, even though he had married into a vulgar and barbaric family, there was at least a hole through which he could breathe.

Since entering the Hwang household, Lee Jeongrok had eaten every morning alone with his mother-in-law. Unlike the Hwang father and daughter, who were night owls and didn’t wake up until 9:00 AM, his mother-in-law and Lee Jeongrok—both morning people—finished getting ready and came down to the living room by 7:00 or 8:00. Before long, their morning meal together became an unspoken promise, and they ate breakfast together not only on weekdays but also on weekends. On weekends, they often went out for brunch, leaving the Hwang father and daughter to sleep in.

The topics that came up at the breakfast table were usually light. There were almost no conversations regarding married life or company work. They talked about almost everything else besides that. They even frequently brought up the love lives of the gangsters loitering around the house or celebrity gossip. The reason Kim Soo-hyun had gone out of her way to break her own rules and bring up her husband was likely because she was inwardly worried about the icy relationship between father-in-law and son-in-law since the [Jeil Games] incident.

“What is this?”

Kim Soo-hyun smiled broadly as she looked past Lee Jeongrok’s shoulder. Lee Jeongrok, who had inadvertently turned around, made eye contact with Hwang Bosik, who was dragging his feet, soaked in a hangover. He rose from his seat and bowed at the waist.

“Father, you’re awake.”

“What’s happened to our sleepyhead? Is the sun rising in the west today?”

“I woke up because my stomach hurt.”

Hwang Bosik, his face twisted in a scowl, took the seat next to Kim Soo-hyun. He gently stroked the back of his wife’s hand and then opened his mouth wide for a yawn. Lee Jeongrok barely managed to steady his body, which was creaking with muscle aches, and sat down opposite them.

“What’s wrong with your cheek?”

Hwang Bosik cast a glance at Lee Jeongrok while pouring his coffee.

“Did you go somewhere and get slapped?”

“Why would you say something like that?”

Kim Soo-hyun chided him.

“He said he was bitten by a mountain mosquito. He went to Yoongi’s villa yesterday.”

“A mosquito? You’re in that state because of a mosquito bite?”

“Well, mountain mosquitoes are poisonous, you know.”

“No matter how poisonous it is, a mosquito is just a mosquito. Does a grown man’s face end up like that because of one mosquito bite? Dammit. Hey! Bring out some pollack soup.”

The employee set the breakfast table without a hint of surprise despite the sudden shouting. Lee Jeongrok downgraded the old man, whom he had forgiven ever so slightly for the sake of his mother-in-law’s face, back to his status as a sworn enemy.

Just as Hwang Bosik had finished half his breakfast, Hwang Imin appeared with a sleepy face. Hwang Imin, too, was equally surprised to see the taut, swollen cheek. Her eyes widened, and she examined Lee Jeongrok’s cheek.

“Goodness, honey, what happened to your cheek?”

“He said a mosquito bit him. Just because of one lousy mosquito bite, my goodness… he’s always doing something, always something.”

Hwang Bosik chimed in, stirring his insides. Lee Jeongrok silently swallowed his anger.

“Really? Are you alright? I was surprised to see that the bathroom door was broken when I woke up this morning.”

“The door is broken? Your bathroom door? Why?”

Hwang Bosik asked back, bewildered. Lee Jeongrok’s heart plummeted, and his hands shook. Fortunately, Hwang Imin did not pay any further attention to him and focused all her interest on the pollack soup.

“Yes, Seungchan said he did it.”

“Why would that bastard break your bathroom door?”

“He said that when Jeongrok 씨 didn’t come out of the bathroom for a long time yesterday, he wondered if something had happened, so he broke it down to enter. He said he was just sleeping.”

“…Ha, haha. I, I… I was drunk, so I don’t remember it very well.”

“Do you know how to throw a drunken tantrum?”

Hwang Bosik, as if asking what kind of nonsense he was about to spout, jumped in right away. Lee Jeongrok tried his best to pull up the corners of his mouth, which were trying to twitch. Unexpectedly, instead of being spiteful, Hwang Bosik laughed boisterously.

“That’s right, kid. If you’re a man, you should be able to get drunk and throw a tantrum; that’s what a man is. Did you hear about Young-mo’s business yesterday? He was driving while drunk and fell into a rice paddy…”

Suddenly in a good mood, Hwang Bosik turned back to Kim Soo-hyun and started chatting away. Kim Soo-hyun, who had been looking at her phone, listened to him, and the talk about the broken bathroom door slipped away without a trace. Hwang Imin also started laughing out loud at her father’s stories, and she didn’t make an issue of the bathroom door anymore. Lee Jeongrok finally let out a sigh of relief. Escaping his family, who were busy blossoming into a story, he rose from his seat, pretending to go to the bathroom.

Sunday passed relatively peacefully.

The problem was Monday.

Lee Jeongrok hoped more than ever in his thirty years of life that the weekend would not pass. Just thinking about meeting Chief Joo on Monday made cold sweat break out and his stomach churn. He was so anxious he couldn’t sit still, smoking an entire pack of cigarettes in half a day. Hwang Imin, who had returned after a brief outing at lunch, even worriedly asked him if something was wrong, noticing the smell of cigarette smoke on Lee Jeongrok. Lee Jeongrok pretended to be nonchalant and made excuses, but eventually, that night, when they were lying side-by-side in bed, he opened his mouth.

“About the bodyguard.”

“The bodyguard?”

Hwang Imin, who had been reading a book leaning against a pillow, looked back at him. Lee Jeongrok cleared his throat and sat up.

“I was wondering if the protection is really necessary.”

“Honey.”

“I remember everything you’ve said. That because Father used to do rough work in the past, one never knows when something might happen. You also said you’ve always moved with a bodyguard ever since you experienced an attempted kidnapping when you were young. But it’s been nearly three months since I moved to Jangchang. Nothing has happened for three months. Even when we went to the rally site last time, there was actually no reason for the bodyguard to intervene.”

“Why do you say nothing happened? Dad got hit with an egg that day.”

Hwang Imin complained in a rare show of frustration. She was usually an obedient wife, but sometimes she was stubbornly insistent. No, reaching the present moment, he was even suspicious if she was an obedient wife at all. Suddenly, the memory of Hwang Imin laughing at the term ‘Seoul Young Master’ flashed through his mind. Lee Jeongrok inadvertently sneered.

“Well. If Father hadn’t caused a commotion that day, there would have been no reason for him to get hit by an egg.”

“…”

It was a mistake.