Chapter 40
by Gideon“I’m just asking you to make sure my wife buys whatever she wants, even if she hesitates,” Yundo said.
“If you keep doing this, I might make you regret giving me your card,” Hyewan replied.
“Please, do. Please.”
“Ugh, stop it and just go to work. You’re already late.”
“Seriously? Other women want to hang out with their husbands, but you? You’re practically pushing me out the door. I’ll make money even if I don’t go to work.”
“Haetsal likes hardworking parents.”
“Fine, fine. I’m going.”
Though still grumbling, Yundo trudged out the front door, defeated by the mention of their son.
Once she was ready, Hyewan headed to the department store to meet Bora. As she approached the entrance, Bora waved her hand high in the air.
“Hyewan, over here!”
“Have you been waiting long?”
“Just got here.”
Hyewan scanned Bora up and down, her eyes widening in surprise.
“You…”
Bora’s eyebrows shot up. “What? Why are you trailing off?”
With her long, wildly permed hair reminiscent of a lion’s mane, vibrant makeup, and a chic black jacket paired with short pants, Bora looked like a model.
“On the phone, you were whining about how you’ve become a total wreck from studying all the time,” Hyewan said, emphasizing her words. “But you look like this?”
“You clearly don’t know the true definition of a wreck,” Bora retorted, glaring.
“What are you talking about?”
“Can’t you see the love handles on my sides? And my butt? It’s gotten as flat and wide as a pancake from sitting all day!”
“Where? Where exactly? You’re always so damn pretty, aren’t you?”
“Oh, please. You’re the one who’s even prettier, yet you’re acting like a total bitch.”
“Stop it.”
Hyewan covered Bora’s mouth. Bora’s voice, which seemed to rumble from deep within her stomach, was incredibly loud. Hyewan hurried into the department store, terrified of what else might come out of Bora’s mouth.
Upon arriving at the women’s clothing floor, Bora ground her teeth.
“Don’t try to stop me today. I’m going to relieve all my stress.”
“Will I become like you if I get into law school? Will I go crazy from stress?”
“Yeah.”
Hyewan felt troubled.
True to her declaration of war, Bora walked into her favorite brand’s store and began a mindless shopping spree. Just watching her was enough to make Hyewan feel completely drained.
Hyewan had planned to buy underwear and slacks anyway. With mid-September passing, she had started wearing lighter autumn clothes, but every single one of them was tight around her waist. Her stomach didn’t look bloated to the naked eye, yet her body had changed subtly, making her underwear uncomfortable and her pants too small.
Hyewan let Bora vent her stress and started picking out slacks. Since she was still in the early stages, she deliberately moved slowly to avoid overexerting herself.
That was when it happened.
“That’s her. She looks seductive, just like the rumors say, doesn’t she?”
The voices of unfamiliar women drifted from behind Hyewan.
“She looks like she has spiritual powers. They say women like that are good at bewitching men.”
“No wonder Vice President Sewon fell for her hook, line, and sinker.”
Here we go again.
Ever since Yundo’s alumni association meeting, more people had begun to recognize her, and the rumors had grown wildly. There were even whispers that the Sewon Family’s new daughter-in-law had received a shamanic calling.
If the attacks were in writing, like they had been with Kim Jin-myeong, she could have fought back properly. But against the spoken word, she was powerless. She couldn’t exactly grab hold of everyone who misunderstood her and explain herself one by one…
“If he’s going to marry a woman like that, he might as well just marry Min Sena. At least then he’d be partnering with her family’s company.”
“Eh, I don’t know about that. How could he stand to marry a woman who cheated with my friend?”
“Still better than a shaman. What’s she got? Money? A home?”
“She’s got the gods she serves.”
“Heh, true enough.”
The women giggled.
But their laughter didn’t last long. While Hyewan stood by, unable to say a word as she endured the humiliation, Bora stepped forward and shouted in a voice that rang out like a bell.
“Ma’am! What did you just say?”
Not only the other women, but Hyewan too, stared at Bora in shock. Every eye in the store was now fixed on them.
“If you’re going to spout nonsense, do it somewhere with only other a-jummas! If you lack the class for that, at least lower your voice! What do you think you’re doing?”
The women’s faces flushed crimson as they protested. “What did we even say to you?”
“What did you say? Ah, I can’t believe this!” Bora’s fury mounted. “Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Look, do you know why we have two ears? It’s so we can hear your insults loud and clear! Thanks to that, I’ve memorized everything you said. Why don’t you try repeating it?”
“They didn’t even lie, but they’re still making a scene,” Hyewan muttered.
“Just go,” Bora snapped.
“Go? Where am I supposed to go?”
Hyewan grabbed Bora, who looked ready to tear the women’s hair out.
“Bora, it’s fine. I’m okay.”
“Okay? Ko Hyewan, are you out of your mind? How can you be okay after hearing that kind of bullshit? Aren’t you furious?”
“Let’s just get out of here first.”
She hurriedly led Bora out of the store.
Once they reached a nearby cafe, she forced Bora into a seat.
“Drink this and calm down.”
Hyewan pressed an iced americano she’d rushed to order into Bora’s hand.
“Ugh, I’m so pissed!”
Bora glared at her, then downed the coffee like it was a beer.
“Tell me the truth. This has happened before, hasn’t it?”
“Something similar happened when Yundo went to his alumni reunion.”
“You idiot! You should have told me!”
“What’s the point? It would have just upset you.”
Bora clenched her fist as she looked at her friend, who seemed to have accepted her fate with a weary resignation.
“Ugh! That bastard Kim Jin-myeong just had to keep tormenting you, didn’t he?”
“It just got out faster because of him. Someone else would have dug it up eventually anyway.”
“You’ve never even met your maternal grandmother, right? Aren’t you pissed that you’re being called a shaman or whatever because of someone you don’t even know?”
“Are you okay with it? Did your family say anything?”
“What’s there for my family to say?” Bora asked, her expression blank with confusion.
“What, because your grandma’s a shaman?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, don’t you know? My mom and dad absolutely adore you. You’re the one who saved me when I had no friends because I didn’t know how to filter my mouth.”
“Still…”
“My family trusts you more than they trust me, so stop talking nonsense.”
There could be no more reliable ally than this, Hyewan thought.
“Bora, I love you,” she said, leaning against her friend.
“Don’t make me laugh.” Bora shrugged her off. “You’d better be lying through your teeth. If you loved me, you wouldn’t have married Cha Yundo and had Haetsal.”
“Haetsal loves Auntie Bora, too.”
Bora flinched.
“…Fine, I’ll accept Haetsal’s love.”
Haetsal was love itself.
Hyewan sank into the sofa the moment she returned home. The heavy silence offered a weary comfort. She had feigned indifference to keep Bora from getting more upset, but in truth, Hyewan was furious.
Her gaze fell on the baby blanket in the shopping bag.
In her daze, she had completely forgotten the newborn kit she’d originally planned to buy, grabbing the blanket instead. She hadn’t even managed to get the underwear and slacks she needed.
“What am I even doing…?” she murmured, a self-deprecating sigh escaping her lips.
No matter what anyone says, I’m a happy woman, she tried to tell herself. I have a mother who loves me more than her own life. A husband who puts me before himself. And my precious Haetsal, growing inside me. No one has it better than I do.
So why did her heart feel so restless?
It was because of Haetsal. The thought of him suffering through the same rumors one day made her chest ache with a heavy, piercing pain.
What if he resents me?
The front door opened, and Yundo walked in. Hyewan quickly smoothed her expression.
“Honey. Hyewan.”
She greeted her husband with a smile, who had come straight home as soon as he finished work.
“You’re back?”
“Did you get a good shopping trip?”
“Yes, I bought a baby blanket. Want to see?”
“What about the newborn clothes? Didn’t you say you were going to buy a kit?”
Hyewan beamed at him, acting cute so he wouldn’t notice anything was wrong.
“I left that for us to buy together. But I couldn’t resist this blanket—it was just too cute.”
“Good girl. Let me see.”
He pulled the blanket from the shopping bag, his face lighting up with delight.
“Is a baby blanket really this small? It wouldn’t even cover my leg.”
“That’s because Haetsal is small.”
Yundo nuzzled his face against her belly.
“Grow big and strong, our little Haetsal.”
Watching him, Hyewan decided to erase the rumors and gossip from her mind. Right now, Yundo and Haetsal were all that mattered.
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