“…….”
President Han—or rather, Han Eunjae—was Seonha’s mother. Having heard news of his mother after such a long time, Seonha unconsciously ground his teeth.
If it were a normal mother-son relationship, one would expect a happy reaction at the news of reuniting with a parent after about four months. However, Seonha’s expression somehow darkened.
Jaehyuk knew the reason.
He deliberately paused for a moment to give Seonha time to sigh freely before continuing.
“I heard from Secretary Lee that she’ll stay for about a week before heading out again, but since it’s her first time coming back since the Young Master’s accident, she’ll definitely be looking for you. I think it would be best if you returned home by then.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Seonha’s head jerked back sharply.
He hadn’t thought he had infinite time, but he’d thought he at least had some leeway.
Hongdan and I are still at a standstill.
Not confident enough to receive forgiveness head-on, he’d been struggling to continue their relationship in a new way, even putting on an act that wasn’t in his nature. If he backed down now, the ending they’d reach was obvious. A deep sigh escaped from Seonha’s lips.
He tried to recall his mother’s image in his mind. His sharply clenched jawline made it clear he wasn’t reminiscing about beautiful maternal affection.
His mother was a truly peculiar person.
Unlike his father’s case, where paternal love itself wasn’t worth discussing since he treated everyone as tools, Seonha still couldn’t determine whether his mother loved him or not.
From around the time he’d just passed his first birthday, Eunjae was away from home more than half the year. As a result, before the word “Mom” could even stick in his mouth, Seonha had to learn words like “Auntie” and “Uncle” first.
By the time he’d finally gotten used to that form of address, it had already become difficult to spend all four seasons with his mother. Once she went on an overseas business trip, two or three months was the baseline. Once, she came by after a long time, showed him just a glimpse of her thin blouse hem, and left, then appeared again much later wearing a scarf when the tip of his nose felt cold.
Thus, the time he had to grow up alone gradually increased. By the time he started wearing a school uniform, he had to be grateful just for the fact that she didn’t forget his birthday every year.
After becoming an adult, well… there was nothing more to say.
But even so, Seonha couldn’t attach the word “heartless” to Eunjae. That was because there wasn’t a single thing he wore, used, or ate that hadn’t been touched by her influence. Such a harsh word didn’t suit Eunjae.
She was even extraordinarily particular when selecting people to care for Seonha, so much so that rumor had it that the interview for household employees was stricter than Yeonhwa Group’s entrance exam. If even a small mistake was made, a report would immediately go to Eunjae, and countless people ended up packing their bags before even a day had passed.
Thus, her maternal affection itself couldn’t be denied.
Even if it differed somewhat from the typical form.
Rather, if one only considered the quantitative aspect, it was close to being excessive.
Therefore, Seonha couldn’t simply be hostile toward Jaehyuk’s words. Rather, he should applaud the loyalty of coming all the way here to warn him. But he needed more time for Hongdan’s heart to incline toward him. Seonha chose to simply continue his silence.
Jaehyuk seemed to have noticed the reason for Seonha’s sealed lips.
He knew better than anyone how to make those stubbornly closed lips move. Including the time when he was merely an employee, he’d been serving Seonha for seventeen years.
“Not for the Young Master’s sake, but for his.”
Though it was a vague pronoun, there was no mistaking that he was referring to Hongdan. At the same time, Seonha’s upright face twisted sharply. His low voice suddenly shot up.
“Tired of your job now? If you want to go back to your hometown and shovel cow shit, just say so. I’ll pack you a generous severance and send you off.”
Even a beast of prey robbed of its quarry wouldn’t be more vicious than this.
Whenever he saw this side of him, Jaehyuk couldn’t understand the attitude Seonha had shown Hongdan during their married life.
Seonha wouldn’t acknowledge it, but from his perspective, Seonha had already fallen deeply in love from the very day he first introduced Hongdan as the person he’d be marrying. That promiscuous Young Master hadn’t even glanced at anyone else from a certain point on.
Even without trying to find out the catalyst for that change, it was self-evident that it was related to Hongdan.
Was it about three months after the marriage of the century? He could clearly picture the servant muttering that they’d need to buy several more bed sheets. Sometimes he’d run into Hongdan, and each time, the pheromones wrapped around Seonha’s entire body had grown thicker.
So he should have just openly explained those photos Hongdan supposedly received.
Despite being the master he’d served directly at close range, Seonha was immature in many ways that were difficult to understand by adult standards. Especially when it came to relationships with people, he was no different from a child.
Jaehyuk forcibly swallowed the sigh that was about to escape without him realizing.
“……Have you not been found out yet?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Even though he knew what Jaehyuk was asking, Seonha played dumb. However, just by suddenly running his hand roughly through his bangs, Jaehyuk noticed that he was lying right now.
“I told you this before, but I just wish the two of you would talk honestly. Whether it’s an apology or persuasion. However, if you insist on sticking with your current method…….”
At the presumptuous advice, Seonha’s head naturally tilted askew. Jaehyuk was a loyal subordinate who rarely acted impudent, and it was convenient to keep him close for that very reason.
“Deceive him to the end.”
Despite the silent pressure, Jaehyuk’s head remained upright. It seemed both like a pledge to remain on Seonha’s side going forward, and like a declaration that in an emergency, he would go against him and stick to his own convictions. Seonha could tell well enough that those convictions weren’t in the direction he wanted.
Instead of answering, Seonha quietly tapped the floor with his toes. It was his own signal to leave.
“Then, I’ll contact you again.”
Having conveyed everything he wanted to say, Jaehyuk bowed his waist without regret.
Soon, the gentle exhaust sound characteristic of a luxury sedan flowing in through the living room window could be heard. The familiar quiet returned to Hongdan’s house.
However, Seonha alone remained the same. Even long after Jaehyuk had left, he continued standing there leaning against the shoe cabinet. In his mind, memories of a day when everything had been a complete mess were piling up one by one.
‘Don’t tell me it was Mother? Those photos to Hongdan…….’
‘That’s right. I sent them.’
‘Mother!’
‘But he still wants to stay by your side even after seeing them. He must really like money.’
‘I told you Hongdan’s not that kind of person. The marriage was also something I initiated first…….’
‘Well. If he’s not that kind of person, how is he enduring this so well? You don’t think I know your marriage wasn’t done out of love?’
‘…….’
‘Son, how far do you think he can endure?’
Today, Jaehyuk had essentially handed Seonha a timer.
“Ha…….”
About a month or so until Eunjae returned.
In other words, about a month or so that he could invest in standing as Hongdan’s husband again.
Along with a deep sigh that seemed to sink the ground, Seonha’s clock began to move.
***
Did he really want to play servant or something?
Or perhaps his ears had also been damaged in the accident, and he’d been mishearing all the countless insults he’d been spewing as “errand boy”?
Seeing Seonha naturally take all his things as soon as he got off work, Hongdan thought this. But the bastard himself just calmly organized his coat with a nonchalant expression. He’d folded it so precisely that the coat draped over his forearm looked convincing enough to pass as something just picked up from the dry cleaners.
The leather backpack that had been slung diagonally over one shoulder had been snatched by Seonha the moment he opened the front door. It was an ordinary backpack he couldn’t even remember when he’d bought, but the way it was carefully stood up on the sofa like some luxury store display was truly bizarre.
At this point, Hongdan became curious whether, if he went into his room now, Seonha might try to polish the loafers he’d worn today. He thought about pretending to do it as a joke, but with his current momentum, he’d probably actually bring out shoe-shining tools, so he just obediently stayed next to Seonha.
What had he become fixated on now that he was uncharacteristically volunteering for unpaid labor?
Hongdan stared up at someone who might be either an illegal worker or a volunteer. Then he prettily creased the corners of his eyes. This, too, wasn’t a look familiar to Hongdan’s eyes.
“I’ve also filled the bathtub with water. Dinner just needs to be reheated, so take your time washing up and come out.”
“Are you fucking insane, seriously.”
