Chapter 12
A Villain’s
Pure Love
12.
The Cousin’s Friend
Yeonwoo stood in the courtyard of Unseondang.
Her body felt as though it had no strength left, but she steadied her breathing and began to sweep.
After a day where pollen had swirled through the air in thick drifts, the courtyard was carpeted with beautiful but short-lived petals.
As she neatly swept the petals that took flight at even the slightest breeze, Yeonwoo took a long breath. The rapidly spreading sunset looked as if it were setting Mount Yeosong ablaze. She gazed into the distance, feeling a sense of relief that the world was successfully erasing her.
She was hungry and exhausted, but it was a familiar sensation. She had no memory of enjoying a meal or sleeping soundly for months, so this hollow feeling was not at all foreign to her.
More than anything, she felt a sense of liberation. Finding no way to explain this newfound freedom, Yeonwoo tightened her grip on the broom once more.
It was then.
“Yeon… woo?”
At the sound of a man’s voice calling her name, she froze instantly.
Her heart lurched, and a dizzying sensation rushed through her as if the ground were falling away. Heat pooled behind her back in an instant, and her lips, parched from fear, parted slightly.
She couldn’t shake the thought that it must be someone related to Cha Yunseok. Logically, it shouldn’t be, but her body reacted that way regardless.
“Ji Yeonwoo? Whoa, no way! It really is Ji Yeonwoo!”
As the man’s voice, now recognizing her, reached her sensitive ears again, Yeonwoo slowly turned her head.
However, the person who first entered her line of sight was none other than Seongheon.
There was no way that man would have called her name.
What reason could he possibly have to call for her? After staring at Seongheon, who stood as still as a deep-rooted tree, Yeonwoo shifted her gaze.
“Yeonwoo! It’s me, Hyeonwook! Nam Hyeonwook!”
In the meantime, the man who had approached her abruptly reached out a hand for a handshake.
“Tomyeong Middle School, 9th grade, Class 2! You remember me, right?”
“……Ah.”
The moment she confirmed the identity of the man approaching with a full-faced grin, Yeonwoo let out a heavy breath as if all the tension had drained from her body. She had been so startled that her legs shook, and she felt as if she might collapse.
“Man, it’s so good to see you. So you work here? Since when? I didn’t see you when I visited last time. How have you been? What have you been up to?”
Hyeonwook, simply delighted to see an old classmate, took her hand and shook it vigorously. Yeonwoo’s hand moved up and down as if it were dancing of its own accord.
“I heard you went to Seoul. Your mother works here, doesn’t she? I used to ask her how you were doing every time I saw her. I’m really glad to see you, Yeonwoo.”
- 2 -
“Oh, yeah. I’ve been well. It’s been a long time.”
There was no way Hyeonwook would notice her volatile emotional state. Yeonwoo managed to pull up the corners of her mouth into a small smile, and Hyeonwook burst into a joyful laugh as she greeted him back.
“Wow, no wonder I felt like coming to Domyeongjae—it was because you were here! Man, how long has it been? Your face hasn’t changed a bit.”
Still sounding excited, Hyeonwook turned his head toward Seongheon, who was standing some distance away.
“Hyung! Go on inside! I’m going to chat for a bit before I head in! I ran into a friend!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Seongheon began to move. Before long, he reached where the two were standing, and only then did Yeonwoo duck her head slightly in greeting.
It wasn’t as if he was going to eat her alive, yet she felt strangely intimidated whenever she stood before Seongheon. She didn’t know why.
“Hyung. I just ran into a friend. I’ll talk for a bit and then head in, so you go first.”
“Do that.”
Seongheon stood straight and gave Yeonwoo a slight nod. For a response to her timid greeting, it was remarkably polite.
Soon, the sound of Seongheon’s footsteps receded toward Unseondang. Yeonwoo kept her eyes fixed on the ground until the sound grew distant, and more distant, and finally vanished.
Only after the footsteps stopped and the sound of a door opening and closing was heard did Yeonwoo let out a short breath.
“Yeonwoo, let’s sit over there and talk. You have time, right?”
Looking up at Hyeonwook, whose entire face beamed with delight, she finally offered a faint smile.
“Sorry. I’m in the middle of working, so it’s hard to take much time. I can manage a moment, though.”
“Okay! Ten minutes! No! Five minutes!”
Hyeonwook laughed and pointed to a nearby bench.
When Seongheon came out after showering, Hyeonwook was sitting on the sofa in the study. As if a woman had passed through yesterday, windows were open everywhere, and the breeze felt as cool as if it were blowing through a pine forest.
“Are you washed up? Hyung, you’re okay with beer, right?”
“I’d like that.”
Several cans of beer were placed on the study table, and Hyeonwook was already in the middle of emptying one. The snacks were plentiful and neatly arranged for something requested so urgently.
This was Domyeongjae, a place that existed to perfectly handle every request of the Nam family twenty-four hours a day, so there was nothing unusual about it.
Seongheon sat across from Hyeonwook and popped the tab of a beer can. It wasn’t a drink he usually sought out, but he wasn’t picky about alcohol, so he took several swallows.
The cool carbonation felt particularly good against his body, which was still warm from the shower. Having emptied half the can in one go, Seongheon set it down and glanced at Hyeonwook.
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
“Me? Of course. I just met an old classmate. I’d actually been wondering how she was doing.”
“Were you close?”
It was a pointless question.
- 3 -
“With Yeonwoo? Of course. You know my social skills. I was friendly with everyone back in school. There weren’t many students in the whole grade anyway, so we were all pretty much in the same boat.”
Seongheon nodded silently as he drank his beer.
He had showered as soon as he entered Unseondang. It was an act of washing away distracting thoughts. He wanted to erase every trace of the heated emotion he felt when he encountered the woman; he wanted to act as if it had never happened.
His entire body felt as if it were simmering. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he couldn’t move. Standing there looking at her, lost for words and purpose, he felt like the greatest fool to ever live.
“Yeonwoo’s mother has worked at our Domyeongjae for a long time. I only ever heard news that she was doing well through her mother. So you can imagine how glad I was to see her. How many years has it been?”
“…….”
“She said her mother got hurt while working, so she came in to work in her place until she recovers. She’s so kind, just like she used to be.”
At the end of his sentence, Hyeonwook hummed while swinging his feet. Seongheon popped the tab of a second beer can.
Even though he had spent more time than usual scrubbing his body, he hadn’t achieved what he wanted.
Once an emotional stimulus had latched on, it didn’t fly away or erase easily; it felt as though it had left a mark somewhere on his body.
His nerves felt as if they were prickling. Seongheon, who had been drinking the beer without hesitation as if to block his breath, set the can down, causing Hyeonwook to look down at it with wide eyes.
The heat would not subside. Seongheon let out a heavy breath.
“See? Hyung, I told you it was a good idea for me to come.”
Seongheon didn’t give a particular response to Hyeonwook’s playful question, merely letting out a faint, dry chuckle. When he held out his can as a sign to stop talking and just drink, Hyeonwook clinked his against it.
“The weather is great, everything is great. Ah, this is nice! Everything is good! I get to see my hyung and I get to see Yeonwoo! It’s all good!”
Seongheon wiped the beer from his lips with his fingertip.
“You must have liked her.”
“Who? Yeonwoo? Me? Liked Yeonwoo?”
Like someone asking a disinterested question, Seongheon twirled the beer can with his fingertips, using as little strength as possible. Hyeonwook, receiving the question, paused for a moment before grabbing a new can.
“Did I? Well, I wonder if I did?”
Hyeonwook laughed at his own ambiguous answer, and Seongheon closed and opened his eyes.
Hyeonwook was the type of student who had never missed being class president during his school days. Furthermore, he was the student who had even served as the school council president by an overwhelming margin of votes.
Yeonwoo recalled those days she had pushed far back into her memory. The name ‘Hyeonwook’ had become unfamiliar, but the moment she saw his smiling face, she couldn’t help but know who he was.
Hyeonwook had a bright personality and was very approachable, a friend who looked after his classmates carefully so that no one felt left out.
Moreover, he was a member of the Nam family, the owners of Domyeongjae. Among their school friends, Hyeonwook was an unparalleled ‘silver spoon,’ a member of a royal family, and thus an object of envy and admiration.
Meeting him after all this time, he seemed even more affable than before. Kind questions and kind smiles continued throughout their brief encounter.
After talking with Hyeonwook, Yeonwoo entered the Main Hall, tilting her head in thought. His words about thinking of her often and being very curious about how she was living didn’t feel like something she should take as a given.
‘Was I really that close to him?’
While the other person remembered her, she felt sorry that she had forgotten him so heartlessly. She also felt uneasy, thinking she hadn’t shown a truly glad attitude toward Hyeonwook, who had repeated how happy he was to see her countless times.
Since she had heard he would be staying at Domyeongjae for a while, she decided she should be the first to greet him next time they met. It was just as Yeonwoo was thinking this and taking a step forward.
The Main Hall was quiet, as most of the staff had already finished their shifts. She ran into Manager Mun, who was coming out of the kitchen after finishing the cleanup.
Glancing at Yeonwoo through her small glasses, Manager Mun began to speak as if she had been waiting.
“The Vice President and Young Master Hyeonwook are having drinks at Unseondang right now, so if any radio calls come in, make sure you answer and run their errands well.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Young Master Hyeonwook. The title was staggering.
“If they say they’re a bit hungry, I’ve prepared some snacks, so just bring them over.”
“Yes.”
When Yeonwoo answered with short, simple replies, Manager Mun gave her a few more instructions and then turned to leave.
“You don’t need me anymore, right? Then make sure you keep an eye on the radio……”
Yeonwoo suddenly stepped in front of Manager Mun.
“Oh, goodness! You scared me!”
Startled, Manager Mun shrank back. Yeonwoo, looking a bit embarrassed as if she had approached too closely, stared intently at Manager Mun.
“What is it? What? My eardrums are still fine. I can hear everything even if you don’t talk this close.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
Yeonwoo just fidgeted with her fingers. After a brief pause, she looked up as if she had made up her mind.
“Manager.”
…To endure, one must adapt.
“Yeah. Well. What?”
“I’m hungry.”
To adapt, one must be dyed by their surroundings.
“What?”
“I’m hungry. Please give me some food.”
This was the conclusion Yeonwoo had reached after spending two nights at Domyeongjae.
