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“A mental hospital?”
Youngguk muttered with an incredulous expression. But when Sehee stared at him coldly without a word, Youngguk stammered again.
“No matter what, putting a sane person in a hospital is a bit... And with my own hands, how can I do that to my wife?”
“To still think Aunt is sane, you must love your wife very much, Vice Chairman.”
At that, Youngguk jumped.
“That’s not what I mean! I mean, that’s how it looks to other people!”
“Aunt’s abnormal speech and violent behavior, which appear frequently to unspecified individuals, are sufficient reasons for hospitalization, in my opinion. Especially her excessive anger and persecution complex towards me are severe. If that’s still not enough reason...”
As she trailed off, dragging out the words, a deep tension spread from Youngguk. Feeling that tension peak, Sehee stared at Youngguk and continued.
“Vice Chairman, as her husband, you can just create the reason.”
“I can create a reason, yes. But I’m worried that if Younghee is hospitalized in a mental institution, my reputation as Vice Chairman will hit rock bottom...”
It was another moment when Sehee’s affection for Youngguk vanished. In conclusion, he probably meant he didn’t want to do the dirty work himself. He was a man with no sense of responsibility whatsoever, whose specialty was always doing everything and then stepping back, neglecting the consequences. Shameless and thick-skinned.
“Wouldn’t acknowledging your wife’s wrongdoing and not abandoning her after she’s hospitalized for mental health issues help to overhaul your image, Vice Chairman, an image that currently has nothing to boast about?”
At that, Sehee calmly continued, watching Youngguk, who was calculating fiercely in his mind.
“Of course, you can refuse this last chance I’m giving you. But if I expose Aunt’s misconduct and crimes to the world, will Aunt alone fall, or will you, Vice Chairman, fall with her?”
“…!”
“And will the Chairman stand by idly and watch you, Vice Chairman? And what about your younger brother, who has suffered a lot from you and your wife?”
As Sehee relentlessly poured out questions in a calm tone, the color drained from Youngguk’s face.
“Still, don’t give up on that 1% hope. Aunt might have more slush funds hidden that I don’t know about. With that money, she could manage to live comfortably. Of course, I don’t know if Aunt, who created slush funds without Vice Chairman’s knowledge even now, would share that money with a husband who lost his Vice Chairman position.”
“I’ll do as you say!”
Sehee almost let out a bitter laugh at Youngguk’s desperate reply. Both Mom and Aunt... What was so good about a man who struggled so much just to save himself? Sehee looked at Kang-joon, who had been sitting quietly beside her until now. As if uninterested in their conversation, Kang-joon was playing with Sehee’s hand under the table. Sensing her gaze, Kang-joon looked up. His dark eyes, looking deep into Sehee’s, were still kind. They were the eyes of a man who only held, understood, and loved her. Just looking at those eyes filled Sehee’s dry heart with moisture. Now, you finish it. As Sehee whispered with her eyes, Kang-joon gave a small nod and looked coldly at Youngguk.
“The Chairman of Inno Group and my grandfather will meet at the end of this month. I plan to attend that meeting, so please take decisive action before then, Vice Chairman. Only then can I present a suitable negotiation proposal.”
Sehee started with the threats, and Kang-joon was now driving in the final nail.
“You seem completely unaware, so I’ll tell you one more thing. Instead of you, Vice Chairman, Executive Director Yoo, the second son, has agreed to attend that meeting.”
“Instead of me... Youngmin?”
Youngguk’s eyelids twitched, and his fist, tightly clenched on the table, trembled. Regardless, Kang-joon pulled Sehee’s interlocked hand. It was a signal to leave.
________________________________________
As soon as he entered the house, Youngguk’s face hardened. The house was a complete mess, and Jeonju-daek, who meticulously handled the household chores, stood in a corner with a frightened expression.
“What on earth happened?”
Seeing Jeonju-daek’s face, Youngguk let out a deep sigh. He hadn’t noticed that Jeonju-daek’s left cheek was swollen. The fact that his wife had laid hands on Jeonju-daek meant his wife’s rage meter was at its peak.
“She received a phone call and suddenly became like this. Madam has been like this for 30 minutes already, Vice Chairman.”
Jeonju-daek’s trembling eyes pleaded desperately. Can I please go home now? As Youngguk waved his hand as if to dismiss her, Jeonju-daek bowed repeatedly and scurried away. Pressing his throbbing temples, Youngguk glared at Younghee. Younghee, who had even thrown the framed pictures hanging on the wall, suddenly screamed.
“Aaaah!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Youngguk, his face flushed, yelled.
“Stop it right now! What on earth are you doing?!”
But when her vicious glare flew at him sharply, Youngguk flinched.
“I’m about to be forced out of my chairman position, how can I stay still?! I’ve lost everything I’ve built up because of that filthy thing! How did I get this far, meeting an incompetent husband?!”
His wife’s words, like a piece of gum that had lost its sweetness, truly stung Youngguk’s pride.
“Can’t you watch your mouth? You’re an adoptee, and you got to be called ‘Madam’ after meeting me, so you should be grateful and live humbly. What are you going on about?”
“Do you think you would have become Vice Chairman with that idiotic brain of yours if it weren’t for me? It’s you, Yoo Youngguk, who should be humbling yourself, not me!”
Younghee, huffing and approaching him fiercely, jabbed at Youngguk’s chin, arguing furiously.
“This is all your fault! If it weren’t for you, that cunning thing wouldn’t have been born! What are you going to do now?! Huh? That thing ruined everything for me!”
“Are you completely insane?! Who was it that couldn’t get pregnant and dragged in her twin sister, and now it’s my fault?!”
Younghee, who had been hysterically laughing for a long time at Youngguk’s words, suddenly stopped laughing and glared at Youngguk. Then, as if having a seizure, she began tearing at her own hair and screaming.
“I clearly said I was pregnant! You should have stopped there! Then that terrible thing wouldn’t have been born! If you hadn’t given that woman hope by telling her you loved her, that child wouldn’t have given birth to it! So it’s all your fault, you lust-crazed animal!”
His wife’s sharp nails clawed at Youngguk’s cheek. Startled, Youngguk fled to his study. Younghee pounded on the closed door with her hands and kicked it with her feet.
“She’s definitely not in her right mind.”
Cold sweat trickled down Youngguk’s back as he muttered softly. He had told Sehee earlier that day that he would do it, but he had been contemplating it all the way home. He always thought his clever and cunning wife might have another trick up her sleeve. But the sight his usually composed wife showed him today, for the first time, was horrifyingly terrifying. His wife was completely insane now. Youngguk no longer had any reason to hesitate.
________________________________________
It had been three days since they started coming home together to this house, which was once their newlywed home and now served as their temporary residence. As Sehee stepped out of the car and headed for the elevator, a flicker of anxiety began to ripple in her eyes. Kang-joon couldn’t possibly not notice that Sehee, though pretending to be fine on the outside, tensed up every time she entered the house. It must be a nightmare that couldn’t be easily erased, no matter how terrible it was, even with him by her side. But Kang-joon wasn’t going to let Sehee be swayed by that memory. As soon as they got into the elevator, Kang-joon called out to Sehee.
“Joo Sehee.”
Kang-joon pulled Sehee, who looked up as if asking what was wrong, into his arms and kissed her by surprise. At first, Sehee struggled in his embrace, but then, as if giving up, she wrapped her arms around Kang-joon’s neck. Sehee was pushed back by Kang-joon’s force, stepping out of the open elevator. While persistently sucking on Joo Sehee’s lips and breath, Kang-joon leisurely moved his hands. His right hand trailed along Joo Sehee’s back, and with his left, he skillfully entered the password for the front door lock. As soon as the door clicked open and they entered, the kiss deepened. After a long while, Kang-joon broke the kiss first, breathing heavily. He looked down at her with an intense gaze, and Sehee, lowering her long eyelashes shyly, mumbled softly,
“What if someone saw us kissing in the elevator?”
“How much I’ve held back from wanting to do this all day. If I can’t do what I want in my own territory, where else can I do it?”
“But it was an elevator, not our home.”
“It’s a private elevator, so it’s my territory from there.”
Sehee was speechless due to Kang-joon’s annoyingly calm reply.
“It’s going to be like this from now on, so just accept it as normal. The elevator is where we start kissing. Any objections?”
So don’t remember those nightmares, Joo Sehee. As if to prove it, no more anxiety or tension could be found in Sehee. Well, my kiss must be powerful enough to banish even that terrible nightmare. Kang-joon, suppressing the urge to smile, walked past Sehee, then suddenly turned back as if something occurred to him.
“Shall we shower together again today?”
Instead of an answer, Sehee’s handbag flew at him. Kang-joon’s laughter, as he skillfully caught it, echoed loudly in the entrance hallway.
________________________________________
After showering, the two sat side by side on the terrace chairs, each holding a warm cup of herbal tea. Sehee spoke first.
“I received a call from that person. They said Aunt will be hospitalized this week.”
It was a good outcome. But Sehee’s expression didn’t seem relieved at all. And then, a quiet silence. He knew Joo Sehee wasn’t a talkative person by nature. But today, Sehee’s gaze, looking intently at his face while remaining silent, was unusually complex. Kang-joon’s thoughts deepened in tandem. Because of this woman who knows I’ll be anxious if she looks at me with those eyes, and yet doesn’t even try to hide it. How am I, who loves this woman so desperately, supposed to clear away the complexity etched on that face?
“Why does she look at me with those eyes?”
Sehee didn’t smile even when Kang-joon chuckled. She looked at him with an even deeper gaze, then quietly reached out, cupped Kang-joon’s cheek, and pulled him closer. Their eyes met closely, and she moved her lips as if whispering.
“I like you, Seo Kang-joon.”
That morning, embraced in Kang-joon’s arms, Sehee, with a relaxed expression, told him many things. Her childhood experiences, her terrible ties with Chairwoman Jo, and even her future plans. She even said that she thought it would be too much to do it alone, and she wanted his help. But her true feelings for him were conspicuously absent. He felt strongly that she was beating around the bush, avoiding the truth, but he pretended not to notice. He knew Joo Sehee, who had entered the path to come to him, was calmly taking one step at a time. So he thought he would have to wait longer. Now, flustered by Sehee’s sudden confession, Kang-joon unknowingly narrowed his eyes. Misinterpreting his reaction, Sehee sighed softly and continued.
“I know I’ve taken too long. But this is the real me. Cautious, suspicious, fearful, and frustratingly prudent. Like a child who doesn’t want to come out of a hard shell. I hoped you would get tired of me and give up.”
In this regard, Joo Sehee was quite slow-witted. He loved her precisely because she was Joo Sehee, so why would she think he’d get tired and give up?
“Because I thought it was the wisest choice. If I just endured, I wouldn’t have to pass on my label to Pré. But still, you didn’t give up on me. What am I to you?”
What are you to me? You’re just love. And it will continue to be that way forever, for my entire life. But suddenly, with reddened eyes, Sehee glared at him resentfully.
“If you really look, you’re not smart at all. In my eyes, you’re the most foolish idiot in the world.”
This is a bit unfair.
“Then, Joo Sehee, why don’t you save the most foolish idiot in the world?”
At that one remark, a tearful laugh spread across Sehee’s face. Looking at him with glistening eyes, Sehee cautiously asked,
“Am I really late?”
“You can come even later. I’ll wait for you for as long as it takes.”
“I don’t like it anymore.” Sehee added softly, then whispered continuously in a choked voice,
“I’m not going to live wisely anymore. If I have to live a life of endurance anyway... rather than enduring a life without you, I’d rather endure a life of being criticized and pointed at.”
A transparent tear rolled down from Joo Sehee’s large eye. Kang-joon’s heart ached, knowing the meaning of that tear. Joo Sehee was now walking out of her hard shell on her own. It was Joo Sehee’s courage and struggle to break free from the trauma she had been unable to escape for so long. Even though he felt sorry for Joo Sehee, what swelled in his warmed heart was happiness. Instead of answering, Kang-joon wrapped his large hand around her slender nape and pulled her towards him. As their gazes intertwined across a delicate gap, Sehee opened her trembling lips.
“I’ll marry you.”
Looking deep into the beautiful eyes of the woman who had completely accepted him, Kang-joon gently caressed her wet lips. How much he had endured and waited just to hear those words.
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