Embedded Files
Psst! We're moving!
The suffocating anger that had gripped his chest began to subside slightly.
Joo-hyuk didn’t want to dwell on complicated thoughts. He would move his mother’s grave as requested, and KMS and his brother’s mayoral campaign were unrelated matters.
Still, Chairman Choi’s final words kept swirling in his mind. Shaking his head, Joo-hyuk pushed those thoughts aside. Instead, he picked up his phone and sent a message to Sena.
“Let’s meet tonight.”
Though he knew he shouldn’t take it for granted, he was confident she wouldn’t refuse.
The notification chimed, and her shy reply appeared on the screen:
“We just met yesterday. Are you already missing me?”
They had grown close enough for such playful teasing, and Joo-hyuk didn’t mind it. Of course, that didn’t mean he’d reciprocate with equally cheesy remarks.
“Let’s meet earlier today. I’ll come to the center after work.”
After receiving her reply confirming she’d wait, Joo-hyuk set his phone down.
Only then did the heaviness in his chest begin to lift.
It was strange how thinking of someone could stir his emotions so deeply.
Then again, she wasn’t just “someone” anymore. At the very least, she would soon be his wife, sharing the same life under one roof.
He should probably propose, right?
The thought suddenly struck him, and Joo-hyuk opened his desk drawer to check the small box he had retrieved from his belongings at his family home a few days ago.
Even though this marriage had been forced upon them, and even though she harbored no romantic illusions about marriage, he felt it was only right to propose properly.
* * *
When Miseon walked in through the door, Sena greeted her with a gentle smile.
But when Miseon immediately closed the counseling room door behind her, Sena’s expression turned puzzled.
“Didn’t your mother come with you today?”
Up until the previous session, her mother had always accompanied her, asking various questions about Miseon’s condition. Her absence today felt odd.
“She’s not coming with me anymore starting today.”
Miseon slumped into the chair across from Sena’s desk, her head bowed low.
“Why? Did something happen?”
“I kind of threw a tantrum when she said I shouldn’t come anymore because counseling wasn’t helping.”
“A tantrum?”
“I told her I’d rather die if she didn’t let me come.”
As she spoke, Miseon lifted her left arm. Beneath the thin shirt, her wrist was wrapped tightly in bandages.
“Did you really try to kill yourself?”
Sena asked, even though she knew it was unlikely.
“I just lightly cut myself with a knife.”
“Why go that far? Couldn’t you have convinced her with words?”
At Sena’s question, a strange smile flickered across Miseon’s face.
Her distorted expression, reflecting deep pain, made Sena catch her breath.
“There are some people who just can’t understand no matter how much you explain or persuade them, Teacher.”
The coldness in the child’s words left Sena speechless.
It was a chilling reality she understood all too well.
“By the way, Teacher… Are you dating anyone?”
“Huh?”
“You seem brighter than when we first met.”
“Me? Do I really?”
“Yeah.”
Miseon nodded.
Since she had first come for counseling just a few days after Sena met Joo-hyuk, it was possible that the change was noticeable.
“So... are you dating someone?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
Sena tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled shyly.
“That’s fascinating.”
Miseon leaned forward toward Sena, who was sitting on the edge of her desk with her legs crossed.
It was the first time Miseon had shown interest in anything.
“What’s fascinating about it?”
“How can you trust a man?”
Though her tone sounded genuinely curious, Sena didn’t miss the underlying sarcasm. She realized that Miseon’s unspoken wounds were somehow related to men.
“Does gender matter when it comes to trusting someone? Isn’t the person themselves what matters?”
Sena carefully posed the question to Miseon, unsure when she might open up again.
“Teacher, do you get along well with your dad?”
“Huh?”
“I never want to meet a man like my dad.”
Miseon sank deeper into her chair as she spoke.
“He drinks every day, gets drunk, yells, curses, and hits people whenever he feels like it.”
“Your dad hits you and your mom?”
“Oh, pretend you didn’t hear that. That was in the past, so don’t worry about it.”
Miseon glared at Sena with sharp eyes.
Her words hinted vaguely at why she had come here.
“Anyway, I hate men like my dad, so I ended up liking a guy who was completely the opposite.”
The sudden shift in topic made Sena narrow her eyes.
Moving from her father to a boy might be an attempt to reveal a more direct wound.
Miseon placed both hands on the armrests of her chair and rolled her fingers as if playing the piano. Sena remembered her mother mentioning once that Miseon had incredible talent for the piano and had swept awards at competitions until recently.
“But you can never truly know a person just by looking at them.”
“Why? Did something happen with that boy?”
“No.”
Miseon gave a short reply and tightly closed her lips.
Had she shut down again?
Just in case, Sena waited patiently for Miseon to open up again. But as time passed, her lips remained sealed, and only empty silence filled the room.
The spark in her eyes, which had briefly shone with curiosity or anger while she was speaking, had dimmed, and now they stared blankly at the floor. It seemed this was as far as they would go today.
“Shall we listen to some music?”
As always, Sena asked Miseon what she wanted to do for the remainder of the session.
The answer was always “no,” but this time—
“Yes.”
“You’ll listen?”
Caught off guard by her first positive response, Sena reflexively questioned her.
“I said I’d listen, didn’t I?”
“Ah, sorry. What piece should we listen to? Any preferences?”
“Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3, first movement.”
Sena searched for the piece on her phone and started playing it. The quiet piano melody filled the counseling room, accompanied by the orchestra.
As the music gradually sped up, Miseon’s fingers on the armrest began moving as if playing the keys of a piano. Clearly, she hadn’t stopped because she wanted to quit piano entirely.
Sena returned to her seat and silently watched Miseon, who had closed her eyes and immersed herself in the music. When they first met, Sena had faintly glimpsed the despair she herself had once felt as a child in Miseon.
She hoped with all her heart that she could catch Miseon’s hand just as she timidly opened the door and reached out.
* * *
She stared at the ink painting on hanji paper for a long while.
The moon hung in the sky, and a man stood before a waterfall cascading down like an endless torrent. Following the gaze of the man, who seemed infinitely small compared to the waterfall, she observed the droplets scattering in all directions and the shimmering moonlight dancing on the water’s surface.
The ability to create such a painting using only black ink was undoubtedly a gift from God.
“Do you like it?”
Joo-hyuk asked as he sat down next to Sena on the bench.
“Yes, I really like it.”
She pointed her finger precisely at the moon in the towering painting, which was taller than her.
“That empty space is the moon. By leaving it unfilled, the artist expressed moonlight. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a painting like this.”
“If I’d known you liked art exhibits, I would’ve brought you here more often.”
“Do you like paintings too, Joo-hyuk?”
“Hmm, it’s not just paintings—I enjoy exhibitions in general.”
He smiled as he replied.
“They stimulate my brain. When my thoughts are tangled, visiting an exhibit gives me a fresh perspective. Sometimes it helps me solve problems faster.”
“I think I understand.”
Sena nodded thoughtfully.
“Let’s head out now.”
“Hmm, let me look for ten more minutes.”
“Do you like it that much?”
“If I could, I’d take it home to hang on my wall.”
“If you want, we can hang it in our new home after the wedding.”
As Sena turned her gaze back to the painting in a daze, Joo-hyuk followed her line of sight toward the artwork.
“Why do you seem so restless today?”
At her question, he slightly turned his head. His startled eyes met hers.
“What do you mean…?”
“You look like someone who has something to say but doesn’t know how to bring it up.”
Indeed, she had sensed something different about him today. Judging by the fleeting look of bewilderment that crossed his face, she knew she wasn’t far off.
“What is it?”
At her urging, he ran his hand over his face.
“Was it that obvious?”
“What is?”
When she turned her head, her long eyelashes beneath the faint double eyelids fluttered slowly up and down.
“Our marriage will likely be exclusively reported by KMS soon.”
“Exclusive report?”
“Since it seems to qualify as a major scoop...”
“Mm, I see.”
Sena nodded slowly. She had been waiting for him to bring this up.
“You’re not surprised?”
“Should I be?”
“Were you expecting it?”
“To some extent, yes.”
Every time Joo-hyuk’s name appeared in the news or media reports about him circulated, she had anticipated their wedding announcement would follow suit. Moreover, her aunt’s family had already been pestering her, asking why there was no news of the wedding yet.
She had laughed awkwardly, telling them it wasn’t like a celebrity’s wedding that would make headlines, but deep down, she knew they were right—it was only natural for the media to cover it. What surprised her was how Joo-hyuk seemed completely blindsided.
“I’m sorry.”
He clasped his hands together and bowed his head deeply.
“I didn’t expect any of this at all. It wasn’t until today, when the News Director mentioned it being a scoop, that it hit me.”
“It seems someone forgot their own position, Mr. Choi Joo-hyuk.”
“I guess so. I’m really sorry.”
“For what?”
“I feel like you might have been waiting for our marriage to be announced.”
“Do I seem upset?”
Sena asked with a smile.
“Aren’t you?”
“Honestly, I prefer a quiet wedding over a noisy one.”
Seeing his lips part slightly in surprise, Sena smiled again.
“But it can’t be helped. The man I’m marrying is a public figure, after all.”
“Who would’ve thought…”
“Right? Who would’ve thought…”
Google Sites
Report abuse