WWBU - 56

This was for real. Hyun-soo bit her lip and glared at him.

“So?”

“What do you mean, ‘so’? You understood what I meant.”

Guk clicked his tongue. Her pride was hurt.

“Listen to me.”

A surge of heat rushed to her head. In crude terms, her “lid was about to blow.” But there was nothing Hyun-soo could do. Resistance? Curses? Hyun-soo had made a very thorough promise with Guk.

The conversation stopped for a moment. The car became chilly. Driver Park glanced at the two of them in the rearview mirror and cleared his throat.

“Okay.”

After a long time, Hyun-soo answered softly. Guk, who was looking out the window, didn’t turn around or reply. It was as if he already knew she would answer that way.

A while later, the car arrived in front of the mansion. The car engine turned off, and perfect silence descended.

“Should I wake her, young master?”

Driver Park asked, making eye contact with Guk in the rearview mirror. Guk turned to look beside him. Hyun-soo was already asleep, breathing softly.

“No. Go in first.”

“Yes, then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Driver Park quietly opened and closed the car door, careful not to wake Hyun-soo, and disappeared. Only the two of them were left in the car.

Guk, looking down at Hyun-soo’s sleeping face, leaned back in his seat. Then he closed his eyes. The soft breathing beside him seemed to soothe his restless heart.

Thump, soon Hyun-soo’s head fell onto his shoulder.

“...”

Guk opened his eyes and looked down at Hyun-soo, who was leaning on him. Her sleeping face was innocent. For some reason, his mouth felt dry and his chest felt tight.

Ten more minutes. Just ten more minutes.

He gave in to a small desire, closed his eyes again, and leaned his head against the headrest. Even though he wasn’t asleep, he felt like he was dreaming. Guk let out a long, comforting sigh after a very long time.

Hyun-soo, who had slipped away from the reunion without a word, and Yoon Guk, who had ruined the atmosphere and disappeared, didn’t hear from anyone afterward. It was perhaps only natural.

“It’s a relief. Saves me time, and I like that.”

Hyun-soo muttered to herself, put down her phone, and looked at her teacup. The teacup, from a famous brand with a difficult name, was filled with pale pink tea. Dried flowers floated on the surface of the tea, plump with absorbed water.

“What did you say?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“You don’t need anything else, do you?”

“No, I don’t. Thank you.”

The woman who had served her tea looked at the tea table again and asked. As Hyun-soo had said, there was plenty of tea, teacups, and desserts on the table. It was a picture that pleased the eye and the heart.

“Okay, then I’ll see you later. Have a good talk.”

“Yes.”

“You’ll tell me what you talked about, won’t you?”

She said it playfully, patting her shoulder, but Hyun-soo knew it was sincere. That’s why she didn’t answer and just smiled.

Hyun-soo just smiled, nodded, and held the warm teacup in her hands. The fragrant scent of flower tea spread around her.

The woman, having failed to get an answer, left. Hyun-soo, left alone, took a sip of tea and looked around.

The backyard garden, which she was visiting for the first time, was as beautifully manicured as the main garden in front of the mansion. It was lush and refreshing now that it was summer, but judging from the many flowering trees, it would be a different experience in spring when all the flowers were in full bloom.

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

Hyun-soo, who had been lost in thought, came to her senses at the sudden voice.

“You’re here.”

“Why are you standing? Sit down.”

Hyun-soo smiled back at the other person, who waved her hand and smiled kindly. Then she bowed.

“Sit down, sit down. Did you wait long?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“I wonder if I shouldn’t have suggested meeting here on such a hot day.”

“The garden is so beautiful. I’m enjoying the lovely scenery.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

The other person, who kept smiling kindly, was none other than the madam, Ji-young. Last night, Ji-young had asked Hyun-soo to have tea with her, saying she had something to talk about, and this was the appointment.

“How are you getting along with Han? Is work too hard?”

Ji-young, who had sent Mi-ryeong, the nursing assistant, ahead, continued the conversation by asking Hyun-soo various questions. Most of the conversation was about her work, the burden it placed on her, and her condition. She even pointed out minor details that she didn’t have to worry about, showing remarkable attention to detail.

“You look a little worn out. Aren’t you tired?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“I wonder if I shouldn’t have called you out when you were resting.”

“It’s really okay. I like having conversations like this with you, madam.”

“Thank you for saying that. I’m an old woman who doesn’t have anyone to talk to. I’m just glad to see you.”

Hyun-soo just smiled at her self-deprecating remark. Ji-young smiled back.

“Would you like some more tea?”

“Yes, please.”

Hyun-soo, holding the teapot, poured tea into Ji-young’s cup. The beautiful color of the flowing tea caught the eye.

“Come to think of it, our Guk has never introduced us to a girlfriend.”

“Our Guk” sounded strange. The voices of the two of them berating each other last night still echoed in her ears...

“Bringing you all the way home, it seems he really trusts and relies on you.”

“Haha, is that so...”

“It’s true. He’s never even introduced us to his school friends. That’s why my husband and I are secretly hoping.”

“Hoping?”

Hyun-soo, who was about to drink her tea, stopped and looked at Ji-young. She felt a sense of unease.

“Perhaps you two will become a couple...”

“No. Absolutely not. That will never happen.”

Ji-young’s eyes widened at Hyun-soo’s firm answer. Ji-young, who burst into laughter belatedly, caressed her teacup and continued.

“You never know what will happen in the future. Don’t be so sure. Who knows, you two might even get married, and you might become my daughter-in-law.”

Marriage? Daughter-in-law? Hyun-soo barely managed to smile at the appearance of words that felt awkward and distant. She shook her head.

“I like you the most out of all the young ladies from various families that I’ve introduced to Guk. Maybe you could be a daughter-like daughter-in-law.”

It was a very uncomfortable situation. What could she say when an elder spoke like this?

“So, about that.”

“Yes.”

“Hyun-soo, do you have any thoughts of getting along with our Guk?”

“Excuse me?”

Whether it was because of embarrassment or tension, she swallowed her saliva wrong even though she hadn’t drunk her tea yet, and she coughed.

“I mean, do you have any thoughts of marrying our son?”

Good heavens. Hyun-soo’s teacup fell weakly with a clatter.

________________________________________

Late at night, when everyone was asleep, the huge mansion was as quiet as if it were submerged underwater.

Guk, who had returned after finishing several days of consecutive night shifts, went straight up the stairs to the second floor. The sound of his slippers hitting the floor echoed hollowly. As it was late, he didn’t intend to be loud, but he didn’t feel the need to silence his footsteps either. He simply loosened his tie, feeling tired, and walked briskly, as bold as his personality. So, it was probably a coincidence that “that sight” caught his eye.

“What are you doing there?”

He stopped when he reached the second floor and saw the side where Han’s room was, opposite his own. Kim Hyun-soo had just come out of Han’s room.

“...”

Hyun-soo didn’t answer. It was either that she didn’t hear the question or that she was ignoring him. She was wearing baggy pajamas, her hair was a little messy, and she was staring blankly at the floor of the living room.

“Kim Hyun-soo.”

Guk, who had pushed his hair back, called Hyun-soo’s name again patiently. But as expected, Hyun-soo didn’t answer or even look back.

Guk let out a short breath. He pulled off the tie he had loosened and approached Hyun-soo with slightly agitated steps.

“...”

Even when he got closer, Hyun-soo didn’t look at Guk. She was just staring somewhere, lost in deep thought, with a blank expression. Guk tilted his head, asking her strange, vacant face.

“Why did you come out of there?”

“...”

Silence flowed.

“I’m asking what you were doing there at this hour.”

“...”

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

Guk felt the prickle of his rising anger. He didn’t know what terrible fantasies her silence and disregard might lead him to, causing him to corner Hyun-soo. But in the end, all he got was silence.

“Did you sleep with Yoon Han?”

The words finally escaped Guk’s lips. From the moment Hyun-soo came out of his brother’s room in her pajamas at this late hour, with that blank face and unfathomable eyes, he had been harboring a burning suspicion.

At this point, Kim Hyun-soo would usually either agree or throw a fit. But for some reason, Hyun-soo was quiet.

Guk, frowning, grabbed her chin and lifted it, intending to make eye contact. But at the same time, Hyun-soo slapped his hand away and stepped closer to Guk. Then she brushed past him and entered his room.

Heh, Guk, watching her, let out a dumbfounded laugh. His bewilderment quickly turned into an overwhelming curiosity, prompting him to follow Hyun-soo.

Opening the door, he found that Hyun-soo was nowhere to be seen. What was going on? Guk took off his jacket, threw it on the floor, and ventured deeper into the room. Then he saw a silhouette lying on the bed in the back. It was Kim Hyun-soo.