Chapter 29
by Gideon“I said that when I knew nothing. Please understand.”
“Of course. Oh, Hyewan, I asked Chief Lee to come along so Bora wouldn’t feel awkward.”
“Would he really give up his precious free time just because you asked? And where is he?”
“I’m right here. How have you been? It’s the first time I’ve seen you since Hawaii.”
Dong-yeong appeared from behind the entryway, handing Hyewan a large, pre-prepared bouquet of flowers.
“You could have just come as you are. Thank you. Please, come in. The meal is all set.”
For some reason, Bora kept nudging Hyewan in the ribs.
Everyone looked up in surprise as Bora let out a strange shriek in the middle of their pleasant meal.
“Wha—! The croaker pancake!”
Dong-yeong looked down at the piece of croaker pancake he had just taken a bite of.
“That was the last one!”
Bora stared at the chopsticks in Dong-yeong’s hand, her eyes brimming with the sorrow of a bear robbed of its honey pot.
Flustered, Hyewan tried to intervene. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Want this?” Dong-yeong asked, turning the bite-marked piece of croaker pancake away from himself and offering it to her.
Under the table, Yundo kicked Dong-yeong’s shin, silently telling him to stop talking nonsense.
But Bora’s reaction was different.
“If I didn’t have eyes, I would’ve eaten it,” she said. “But I have a social reputation to uphold.”
“Just eat around the bite mark.”
“…Should I?”
Without hesitation, Bora leaned in and bit the other end of the croaker pancake still held in Dong-yeong’s chopsticks.
“How is it?” Dong-yeong asked, his eyes shining.
Bora gave him a thumbs-up. “This is the best part.”
Hyewan and Yundo locked eyes. What is this? Why does it feel like the guests have completely taken over?
After the official housewarming party ended, Hyewan and Yundo began cleaning up in the kitchen.
“Dong-yeong asked if you had a boyfriend, Bora.”
“Really? Oh my god! Bora asked about you too. This is perfect! You have to set us up.”
“Set you up? No way. If it goes south, we’ll be enemies.”
“Our Bora isn’t like that.”
“Our Bora? Then what am I?”
“Um, Mr. Cha Yundo?”
“You might want to try saying that again.”
“I said, Mr. Cha Yundo! Oh!”
They were teasing each other when they accidentally knocked over a seasoning bottle that hadn’t been properly put away. Hyewan screamed as she saw the olive oil bottle fall.
“Yundo, watch out!”
She pushed him aside, but in doing so, she slipped and fell backward. Before Yundo could even reach her, she went down hard, her head striking the floor. A sickening thud shattered the silence. For a moment, her vision went black before slowly returning to normal.
“Hyewan!”
Startled, Yundo cried out and sank to his knees beside her. The sickening thud of her head hitting the floor had been so loud he didn’t even dare touch her, calling her name with desperate urgency.
“Hyewan, are you okay? Hyewan!”
“I think I’m fine. Help me up.”
“No. You might have a broken bone. I’m calling 119—Hyewan!”
Hyewan pushed herself off the floor with her hands.
“I don’t think anything’s broken. I can move everything.”
“I’m so sorry. I should have cleared this away.”
Hyewan frowned as she watched him blame himself.
“What? Does it hurt? Do you feel nauseous?”
“No, it’s just… this is so embarrassing. I’m just sprawled out here like a starfish.”
“How can you even say that right now? You could have been seriously hurt!”
“I’m a new bride. I only want to show you my pretty side.”
“You’re already more than pretty enough! You’re beautiful all the time, everywhere! Now, get ready to go to the hospital.”
“I think I’m okay…”
“What if you have a concussion? Let’s go, right now!”
“Alright. Please, calm down, Yundo.”
“How am I supposed to be calm when you fell because of me? What if there’s something wrong with your brain?”
Her assurances fell on deaf ears.
Unfortunately, just as Yundo had feared, she was diagnosed with a concussion and admitted to the hospital.
“Still, if you had been the one to fall, you could have been hurt much worse. There was the kitchen island right behind you.”
If he had fallen, the outcome would have been far more disastrous than a concussion.
“Yundo, I’m really fine. They said there’s no bleeding in my brain.”
Hyewan’s stomach churned and her head spun worse as time passed, but she forced herself to act as if nothing was wrong. Yundo was so distraught that she had to be the one to put on a brave face. She was never the type to care for others, but since Yundo was her husband, this was the right thing to do.
The news of Hyewan’s injury reached the Sewon Main House.
“The hospital? What do you mean?”
Chairwoman Kang Ok-seon emerged from her room, her voice raised. “Wasn’t Yundo the one who—What happened?”
“The new bride is in the hospital for a day of observation for a concussion.”
“What? Why?”
“Yundo spilled olive oil, and the new bride must have slipped on it instead. They say if Yundo had fallen, he could have hit his head on the kitchen island.”
“Oh, look at that! I told you so!”
Chairwoman Kang Ok-seon clapped her hands. “I said she’d be the one to take Yundo’s misfortune upon herself!”
Chairwoman Kang Ok-seon beamed with delight.
Madam Park was momentarily speechless.
Is this right? she wondered. While she was relieved Yundo wasn’t hurt, she couldn’t help but worry about Hyewan. The thought that Hyewan had been injured because of her son’s mistake filled her with guilt. She couldn’t even bring herself to face Min-suk, her in-law. She knew how dearly Min-suk had cherished and raised Hyewan while they lived together in Hawaii.
“Just three years, three years. Three years is all it takes for her to absorb all of Yundo’s bad luck. So, my dear, you just be good to that girl until then. She’s from such a poor background, so if you slip her some money now and then, she’ll stay quiet as a mouse.”
Madam Park had never heard this before.
“Three years? Mother, then what happens after that?”
“Why are you acting like such a naive child? Did you really think you’d let your precious son marry the daughter of a mere shaman?”
“Mother, what… what are you saying?”
“He needs to get a divorce! That’s why I told him not to have a child.”
A familiar fire surged in Madam Park’s chest.
“How can you force them to divorce when they’re living so happily?”
This was wrong. Even if the marriage had started with impure intentions, Yundo seemed happy with Hyewan, and Madam Park had grown to like her more and more.
“Nonsense. For Sewon to grow any further, Yundo’s strength alone won’t be enough. You need someone with power to back you up to achieve great things!”
Chairwoman Kang Ok-seon ignored Madam Park’s protests and continued speaking.
“Even if Yundo gets a divorce, the most prestigious families will be lining up to marry him. A single divorce won’t be a flaw, and since they don’t have a child, there’s no problem. So, Emi, don’t get too attached to that girl.”
Chairwoman Kang Ok-seon was ruthless.
“People have expiration dates, too,” she declared. “When a relationship is over, you cut it off cleanly to avoid any lingering mess. There’s nothing more foolish than being dragged around by sentiment. Emi, remember my words.”
The words were chilling. Expiration dates? As if people were mere products.
A shiver ran down Madam Park’s spine.
“Chief Ma, have the car ready. We’ll visit Hyewan in the hospital. Emi, you get ready too.”
“…Yes, Mother,” Madam Park managed to reply.
The thought of having to play the role of a kind grandmother-in-law to Hyewan, all while concealing such a cruel inner truth, made her feel nauseous.
It had been thirty-three years since she became the daughter-in-law of the Sewon Family. Yet, Madam Park still couldn’t fathom the depths of Chairwoman Kang Ok-seon’s ruthlessness.
As time passed, Hyewan remained unable to open her eyes, moaning in pain.
“My head… it hurts so much.”
“Does it hurt a lot?” Yundo asked, his voice laced with alarm.
Hyewan frowned. “It feels like my head is throbbing.”
“It’s my fault.”
Yundo was furiouser than ever before.
His anxiety, his restlessness, and his heartache over seeing Hyewan injured all coalesced into a fierce anger directed at himself.
When Hyewan finally regained consciousness, she underwent a medical examination. After being given pain medication, she fell back into a deep sleep. Her family came to visit, but since she was asleep, they decided not to wake her.
The night was pitch black, save for the faint glow of a lamp.
When she opened her eyes again, Yundo was there, keeping watch by her side.
“Yundo…”
He had been leaning forward, his forehead resting in his hands, but he shot up the moment he saw her.
“You’re awake?”
“Yes.”
Hyewan stopped him from pressing the nurse call button.
“I think I’m okay now.”
“You haven’t eaten anything all day. Aren’t you hungry?”
“My stomach is still churning. I think I’ll throw up if I eat anything.”
She had already been given medication while she slept, and her body couldn’t handle any more.
“I think some fresh air might help,” she added.
“Really? Just wait here.”
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