Chapter 7
Villain’s
Pure
Eye Contact
‘I’m better at my job than I look. I can really do anything. I’ll do whatever you tell me to do, without exception. Anything at all. I brought my resume, hoping I could at least get an interview.’
In his life, Seongheon had often seen people who claimed to be desperate. People whose desires were urgent, who had reached a dead end in a life where they could see no way forward.
‘You don’t have to pay me a salary. Just let me work. Please don’t let my mother be erased from Domyeongjae like this.’
Other people’s stories were of less interest to him than the numbers written in an accounting ledger. He had neither the leisure nor the reason to look into them one by one. Once a relationship and a purpose were established, he simply processed them through calculation; he felt no need to salvage the lives of those who fell behind.
In the stages of leveling ground and erecting buildings, countless people were cut and new ones brought in. There were only bids resulting from blood-splattered competition and the next steps based on evaluation. In that process, how many bankrupt companies and people losing their jobs had he seen?
“I beg of you.”
Seongheon did not like the phrase ‘I beg of you’ either. To him, a plea was merely the begging of people who lacked calculation and had no intention of paying a proper price.
‘I beg of you. I truly beg of you.’
He had never paid much attention to the act of gauging a woman’s age, so he couldn’t guess, but her eyes, shadowed with deep worry, held a youthful energy, unmixed with anything worldly.
There was no sense of maturity—the kind that comes from fully formed thoughts or having weathered all sorts of hardships. Instead, she carried a feeling of being pure or perhaps clean, like a white sheet of paper without a single dot on it.
‘I am asking you despite my lack of shame. I am truly desperate.’
“Do as you wish.”
The reason he had accepted the woman’s begging was not because of a touching or righteous story, as she might have thought. It was the price for having spent some time watching the face of a woman whose fingertips trembled as she sat there trying to prevent her family’s misfortune.
‘Thank you. I will work hard.’
Seongheon spent a moment thinking of the woman before arching an eyebrow. Feeling as though he was dwelling on something not worth ruminating over, he cut off the thought as if recalibrating himself.
Perhaps because he spent his time buried among the roar of heavy machinery, clouds of dust, and laborers caked in dirt.
Perhaps a woman who looked like a deer listening to the sound of the wind felt novel to him. Perhaps that was why she had left a brief impression. Seongheon concluded the morning’s events in that manner.
Knock, knock. Just as Seongheon was about to turn the first page of a document, his secretary entered. Looking at the secretary dressed neatly in a black suit, Seongheon lowered his gaze back to the papers.
“The morning meeting will begin in ten minutes. Keep it short, considering the situation on-site.”
“Yes, Vice President. And here is the file you requested.”
As the secretary placed three or four files on the desk, Seongheon set aside what he was about to look at and picked up the file the secretary had handed him first.
As he did, Seongheon’s brow furrowed slightly. The scent of the secretary’s perfume drifting to the tip of his nose was bothersome.
“Vice President. Chairman Cha Gilwook of Namsong Industrial Development is asking to see you in advance. What should I do? They are the contractors for this pipeline construction.”
Seongheon glanced briefly at his schedule.
“Let’s find some time a week from now.”
“Yes. I will relay that.”
“And.”
The secretary, who was about to leave the office to prepare for the meeting, looked back.
“Yes?”
Seongheon spoke while scanning the evaluation report for Namsong Industrial Development.
“I would appreciate it if you wore your perfume a bit more lightly.”
“……Ah.”
“I’m sorry. I happen to be sensitive to scents.”
The rookie secretary, who had followed him on this long-term business trip to Moksan County, could not hide his embarrassment. Suddenly, the prohibition on perfume he had seen in the cautionary notes flashed through his mind.
Ah, they said he dislikes the smell of perfume. I forgot.
“I’m sorry, Vice President. I will be careful.”
The secretary quickly slipped out of the office, shedding his suit jacket as he went.
Seongheon, who had been pressing his temples because of the heavy woody scent the secretary left behind, stood up after a moment and pressed the internal phone.
Seongheon disliked the smell of perfume. To be more precise, he was wary of things that approached quickly without warning. This was because he did not enjoy the feeling of being struck while completely defenseless.
Regardless of the reason, things that approached quickly were dangerous and also fatal.
Because they would infiltrate before one even had time to decide whether they liked them or not.
“Let’s start the meeting.”
— Yes, Vice President.
Because he could neither escape nor reject them of his own will.
With her official start date approaching, Yeonwoo returned home to pack a few things.
It was not a smooth journey. From the moment she caught a taxi until she stepped out in front of her house, Yeonwoo scanned her surroundings repeatedly.
As soon as she entered the house, she closed the suitcase she had brought and ran back out. Getting into the taxi she had asked to wait, Yeonwoo took a deep breath while clutching her luggage tightly, earning a sideways glance from the driver.
“Where to next?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m askin’ where to. I need to know so I can drive.”
“Ah, the, the health center, please.”
Having confirmed the destination, the taxi driver started the car again. He kept glancing at Yeonwoo, who was clutching her bag as if it were a sacred relic and peering out the window, before turning the steering wheel and muttering.
“Are you on the run?”
“Pardon?”
“No, well. It’s broad daylight, so it ain’t a midnight flit. Is your husband hittin’ you? If so, you shouldn’t be goin’ to the health center, but the police station.”
“It’s nothing like that. I’m not married.”
The taxi headed down the alleyway.
“Anyway, men who hit women ought to be hauled off to the Nanjido landfill. Where’s there to hit? There’s an old sayin’ that you shouldn’t even hit someone with a flower. What d’you think that means? It means you gotta treat ‘em precious, right?”
Even though she said she was single, the taxi driver only said what he wanted to say. It was the typical meddling nature of Moksan County.
“Earlier you were at Domyeongjae. That place ain’t somewhere just anyone can get into.”
“Yes. I’m going to be working there. Actually, it’s my first day.”
“Oh my. Your first day? Well, look at that. Must be a celebration at Domyeongjae.”
When the taxi driver offered words of encouragement, glad to hear she was working at Domyeongjae, Yeonwoo finally managed a faint smile. Now that she had uttered the words ‘Domyeongjae’ and ‘work’ with her own mouth, it was starting to feel real.
Ah. I’m really going into Domyeongjae.
“You’ve found a good place to work, so make sure you hang in there and work hard. My niece is a kindergarten teacher at the Domyeong Kindergarten. She’s been there a long time.”
“I see.”
“In Moksan County, there ain’t a place with the name ‘Domyeong’ that’s bad, so do well. If a spot opens up, let me know too.”
When the driver with the kind voice made a joke, Yeonwoo laughed a little louder. It was truly a laugh that had broken out for the first time in a long while.
“There, see? You look so much better when you smile. Anyway, it’ll take about twenty minutes to the health center.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve made my whole day’s earnings thanks to you, young lady.”
The driver stopped briefly for a signal before moving again. Yeonwoo gazed blankly out the window and let out another sigh of relief.
There were many things to settle before entering Domyeongjae. She had to stop by the health center to apply for a health certificate, cancel her phone number, and handle minor banking tasks.
Yes. It’s okay. Nothing will happen now. Once I enter Domyeongjae, I won’t be coming out into the world for a few months.
Struggling to suppress the heart that was swirling with an irregular mix of anxiety and relief, Yeonwoo organized the places she had to visit and the tasks she had to handle.
It was just as they were entering the main road. A black sedan sped past Yeonwoo’s taxi and turned into the alley.
It was a person sent by Cha Yunseok, who had come looking for Yeonwoo.
By the time Yeonwoo returned to Domyeongjae, the sunset was already descending. As she entered the dormitory building provided for staff, Ja-yeong welcomed her. Ja-yeong was close enough to Yeonwoo’s mother to be like sisters, and she had been an employee at Domyeongjae for over ten years.
“Oh my. You’re here, Yeonwoo. I was so disappointed thinking your mother was going to leave Domyeongjae for good.”
“Yes. Auntie, thank you so much for calling the house that day. I was so out of it that I couldn’t even greet you properly.”
“No, no. It’s a good thing you happened to be home.”
“You must have been very shocked that day, right? Because Mom was hurt.”
“Don’t even talk about it! I thought some giant pumpkin had come rolling down the vines, but when I looked closely, it was your mother!”
As Ja-yeong laughed while helping with Yeonwoo’s luggage, Yeonwoo followed with a small laugh. Guiding Yeonwoo to the room her mother usually used, Ja-yeong tidied the rumpled bedsheets.
Setting her luggage down, Yeonwoo quietly looked around the room. The building, constructed in the 1960s, had undergone minor repairs over the years, but because of the effort to preserve its exterior, it was inevitably in a somewhat shabby state.
“The situation here is quite different from the Main Hall, isn’t it? This place was built a long time ago, so it’s drafty and terribly humid. You have to make sure to ventilate well when you get up.”
“Yes. I’ll make sure to ventilate.”
When Yeonwoo ended up laughing at the characteristic way of speaking, Ja-yeong finished tidying the bedside and straightened her back.
“But is it really okay for you to be away from your company for so long? No matter how much you’re helping your mother, you must have your own work to do.”
“Ah, the company. It’s fine. I applied for a long leave.”
“They gave you a long leave? The company did?”
“Yes. They told me to rest well. For as long as I want.”
“What kind of company is so kind? At that point, didn’t the company just gently suggest a voluntary resignation? Is the leave unpaid or paid? That’s a very important question.”
When Yeonwoo simply tilted her lips into a smile at Ja-yeong’s question, Ja-yeong patted Yeonwoo on the shoulder. She was worried whether Yeonwoo could endure the strict and heavy atmosphere of Domyeongjae.
“I don’t know if the picky Manager Mun will accept you well, but if she says anything harsh, just let it go in one ear and out the other. Even if it’s not Manager Mun, there’s another person who talks like they’ve got Cheongyang chili seeds in their mouth, so keep that in mind, okay?”
When Yeonwoo nodded instead of answering, Ja-yeong patted her back a couple of times.
“Well, for the time being, you’re in the position of a palace girl who’s just entered as the youngest.”
“Still, a palace girl is better than a kitchen maid. I thought I might end up as a maid.”
“Kitchen maids commute, though. Their situation is a bit better than yours in that regard.”
“Ah. I see.”
Telling her to hang in there regardless, Ja-yeong left after giving her a few more pointers. Yeonwoo unpacked her things roughly, put her clothes in the wardrobe, and stood before the small window.
The room felt full with just a bed and a wardrobe, but it didn’t feel cramped at all; rather, her heart felt spacious.
Yeonwoo stood as if hanging onto the window and took a deep breath. How long had it been since she had taken such a deep breath, without any anxiety, without fear?
I wouldn’t mind staying here my whole life if only no one could find me. Yeonwoo took several long breaths and looked outside.
The green hues of Mount Yeosong, spreading out far beyond the Main Hall of Domyeongjae, filled her vision. A natural smile finally hung on Yeonwoo’s lips. The deep green mountains and fields stretching along the winding ridges made even her breathing feel comfortable.
The feast of spring flowers, vivid beyond belief, added to the freshness, and the brilliant golden sunset spread out as if racing away.
“Mom, you lived while looking at something so wonderful.”
Muttering softly, Yeonwoo placed a hand over her thumping heart. Could a natural landscape be this overwhelming? It felt as though she might cry. Perhaps her heart was feeling relieved because the hiding place she had found by chance was more wonderful than she had expected.
Yeonwoo, who had been living while gasping for breath in a world that was entirely gray for some time, was finally taking a clear breath. It was a moment when the red sunset, the bright yellow azaleas, and the crimson azaleas all felt almost too overwhelming to handle.
Unknowingly lowering her gaze, Yeonwoo’s eyes widened. At the same time, her thumping heart began to thud, thud, violently.
In the courtyard where the spring flowers had just finished their dance. There stood Seongheon, who had returned to Domyeongjae after work, looking up at the dormitory.
More precisely, at the very window where she was standing.
