Chapter 16
Villain in Love
The True Nature of Emotion
“Old Man Mun. What is this, Poseidon’s diet? It’s all seafood.”
Hyeonuk, who had come to the main hall to have dinner with Seongheon, looked at the dining table and made a horrified expression. Starting with chewy sliced octopus, the table was laid out with a feast of blanched seafood, including shrimp and conch.
As he took his seat, Hyeonuk glanced over each dish.
“The man has no middle ground. You expect the two of us to eat all of this?”
“If it’s too much, ask the ancestors to come down and join you. So many people have passed away here; wouldn’t one or two show up? Just eat up while it’s hot.”
“I only mess around because I know Manager Mun is smart. Anyway, I’ll enjoy the meal.”
Manager Mun raised an eyebrow at Hyeonuk’s trailing remark. To Manager Mun, Hyeonuk was the only member of the Nam family he could speak comfortably with. He had practically raised the boy on his back, and Hyeonuk was naturally affectionate.
While Manager Mun and Hyeonuk exchanged banter, Seongheon poured a clear grain liquor from a small tokkuri into a glass. It was a traditional liquor of Domyeongjae, often called ‘Geumseolju’ because edible gold leaf scattered like snow when the bottle was shaken.
He poured a glass and swallowed it in one gulp. In the midst of that, he checked the time.
He hadn’t run into the woman on his way back today, and when he entered Unseondang, the sweeping and ventilation hadn’t been done yet.
Perhaps because he had downed such a high-proof spirit, it felt as though a fire had been lit throughout his body. Seongheon emptied a second glass in quick succession and placed a well-boiled piece of conch between his slightly parted lips.
Hyeonuk, sitting opposite him, rattled on about various things, but Seongheon wasn’t particularly interested. No, he couldn’t even hear him properly. Every time he poured and drank, every time he moved his chopsticks, his gaze reflexively lingered on the clock.
It wasn’t that he was waiting for someone, nor was someone waiting for him, but he felt strangely chased by time.
“That’s a hell of a thing. When you’re properly blinded by love, you can’t see what’s in front of you, your ears are plugged up, and you can’t even tell if the water is hot or cold…”
Then, the story the worker told him during the day suddenly came to mind.
The veins on the back of Seongheon’s hand tightened as he gripped his glass. When he realized that his current state wasn’t much different from the experience the man had described, he subconsciously clenched his jaw.
“Hyung?”
“…So, what do you think, Hyung?”
This sense of agitation rising from his toes to the top of his head—where on earth did it start?
“Tell me. I’m listening.”
Answering Hyeonuk’s question with difficulty, Seongheon poured another drink. The high-proof liquor went down without any scent or taste, which was utterly absurd.
“I’m having a class reunion, and I was thinking of gathering at Domyeongjae this time. I was wondering if that would be okay.”
Seongheon swallowed the liquor in one gulp and set the glass down.
“Do as you like. You’re family too; you don’t need to ask about things like that.”
“Still, you’re the elder of Domyeongjae here, Hyung. Of course I have to ask.”
Hyeonuk chuckled at the end of his sentence.
“Hyung, habits are scary things. Even now, I feel like I need permission to do anything at Domyeongjae.”
Seongheon didn’t react much to Hyeonuk’s joking words. He glanced at the clock and picked up the bottle again.
The more he drank, the more his throat burned and his thirst grew. Despite having many glasses, the fire consuming his internal organs didn’t subside; instead, it seemed to grow more intense, making his breaths grow long.
Just then, from a short distance away, he heard Eunja’s voice over the radio.
“Newbie. Where are you now?”
Normally, he wouldn’t have cared about an employee’s radio call, but now Seongheon’s entire focus shifted toward it.
- I’m on my way to Unseondang.
As the woman’s voice flowed through the radio, a pulse throbbed through his entire body as if his heart were the only thing left inside him.
Emptying one last glass, Seongheon wiped his mouth, dropped the napkin, and stood up. Hyeonuk’s head followed him up.
“What, Hyung? You’re done already?”
Pushing back his chair and walking around the table, Seongheon looked at Hyeonuk.
“I’ve had enough, so take your time and come over later.”
“Okay, Hyung. Go ahead then.”
Seongheon immediately left the main hall. His long strides led him straight toward Unseondang, which wasn’t very far.
Yeonwoo arrived at Unseondang a little later than usual.
She was on her way back after finishing an errand for Eunja, which involved organizing receipts at the Management Office. Standing before the darkened Unseondang, Yeonwoo let out a sigh of relief.
Since Seongheon had returned and started dinner with Hyeonuk at the main hall, she wanted to finish the sweeping before he came back. Holding the broom with practiced ease, Yeonwoo entered Unseondang, deciding to change the order of her tasks.
She went into the study where Seongheon always stayed and turned on the light. Approaching the desk, she saw the mail she had organized that morning sitting there alone.
After staring at it for a moment, Yeonwoo pulled her resume out of her pocket and placed it on top of the mail.
‘I know your name and I know your age. I was wondering what else was left.’
It was difficult to stay still after hearing such words.
It had started to weigh on her mind that she had taken her resume back after hearing Manager Mun’s words on the first day. She had withdrawn it because it seemed unnecessary, just as Manager Mun said, but thinking about it again, she regretted it, feeling that submitting a resume was the right thing to do regardless of its use.
Yeonwoo stood straight after neatly layering the resume among the mail so it wouldn’t stand out too much. It was a simple resume, listing little more than her previous company and her mother’s home address, but she hoped it would serve as a sincere response to the words Seongheon had left this morning.
She didn’t want to be called thoughtless—not after she had declared she would keep her dignity, only to turn around and ask for a job. To be more honest, it was also an expression of her desire not to interpret Seongheon’s words in any other way.
She stood still as if tidying her emotions, then turned around. The reason Seongheon had become the most difficult person to deal with in this vast Domyeongjae might be because he was an elder, a man, and her boss.
Her wariness toward a strange man about whom she lacked sufficient information was prominent. It was an inevitable reaction. Cha Yunseok had also been an elder, a man, and a boss.
Even though she knew they were completely different people, her instincts hesitated. Perhaps, for a very long time, a strange man might not be invited into her world. The moment she believed he was someone she must follow, the moment she considered him a good person, the moment she let down her guard—yes, those moments.
Because Cha Yunseok had revealed the claws he had hidden all along. Because he had thrown the noose he had been twirling behind his back.
Yeonwoo stepped out of the study with quiet feet. She wanted to finish the sweeping and ventilation quickly and disappear before Seongheon returned.
She was looking down at her shoes left on the stepping stone, extending one foot. When she unconsciously lifted her gaze a little, Yeonwoo discovered Seongheon standing right in front of the stepping stone and let out a horrified scream.
“Aaaah!”
Her foot lost its balance and she stumbled forward.
At that moment, Seongheon reached out both arms and caught Yeonwoo as she fell forward. Losing her balance, Yeonwoo failed to step into her shoes and came down awkwardly onto the stepping stone, stumbling forward. She teetered, her body completely leaning against Seongheon.
Her mind knew she shouldn’t hold onto him, but her startled arms gripped his. Her desperate upper body, wanting to avoid a fall, clung to Seongheon’s chest.
“Whew…”
A heavy breath escaped her. Overwhelmed by the terrifying thought that she could have twisted her foot, she closed and opened her eyes wide. If she had misstepped on the stone and sprained her ankle… If she had fallen and rolled forward…
She didn’t even want to imagine what kind of state she would be in right now.
The dizzying shock that enveloped her body didn’t fade easily, so she just kept letting out short, ragged breaths.
Then, from an angle that was clearly looking down at her, she heard Seongheon’s voice.
“One person—Ji Yeonwoo-ssi’s mother—breaking a leg from rolling down the stairs is enough for Domyeongjae.”
Ji Yeonwoo.
It was her own name, yet it sounded so foreign.
“I hope you aren’t hurt.”
Was that the only thing that felt foreign?
“It would be hard to find an employee to replace Ji Yeonwoo-ssi.”
His embrace, his voice, his gentle way of speaking.
Nothing was familiar.
Calming her racing heart, Yeonwoo stepped away from Seongheon. She looked around somewhat hectically, found her disarrayed shoes, and put them on. Her socks were covered in dirt, but she didn’t have the composure to brush them off.
Only after putting on her shoes did Yeonwoo stand before Seongheon again. She clasped her hands together and lowered her head, keeping her gaze down.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were here and I just got startled.”
It was Seongheon who had approached silently, so she felt a bit aggrieved, but what could she do? Seongheon was the one staying at Unseondang; therefore, whether he stood in front of the stepping stone or climbed onto the roof tiles, it wasn’t a problem.
Since she had been frightened out of her wits as if she’d seen a ghost, it was also true that embarrassment had set in.
“I’m sorry. I’ll finish the sweeping quickly and air the place out.”
Her cheeks, flushed with rising heat, felt so hot that it was hard to lift her gaze. Yeonwoo kept her eyes on the floor the whole time she spoke, so she had no way of knowing what kind of expression he was making.
Yeonwoo bowed her head a little more as if giving a final greeting. She was passing by Seongheon with narrow, quick steps when his voice caught her by the ankle.
“From now on, I’m thinking of doing a few things I’ve never done in my life.”
Yeonwoo stopped and looked at Seongheon.
“Pardon?”
“Things I’ve never done. Things I don’t particularly like. Things I was confident I could live my whole life without doing.”
“…………”
“Well, I’m thinking of trying those things.”
What was he talking about? Unable to grasp his meaning at all, Yeonwoo gave him a look full of questions.
Seongheon slowly closed and opened his eyes as he looked at Yeonwoo.
This thirst, this heat—it wasn’t because of the 35-degree liquor filling his body. It wasn’t because of the situation at the construction site that wasn’t being resolved as planned.
“I’m sorry. I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
This woman.
This woman, Ji Yeonwoo.
“I’ll be going now…”
“For example, a favor.”
“Or an impulsive purchase.”
A spring night where the insects buzzed in her stead.
Seongheon clearly identified the emotion swelling inside him.
“I’m going to try them. Those kinds of things.”
It was the true nature of the emotion he hadn’t been able to pin down for days.
