EHR 01

Chapter 01

The wind at the end of March was cruel in its chill.

Jaekyung, having recorded her class journal in the administrative system, leaned both arms against the classroom windowsill and let out a shallow breath.

About a month into working as a teacher. She had grown somewhat accustomed to teaching, and had become fairly close with the students.

However.

The problem was that the school she worked at was under the Uitae Foundation.

The moment she thought of Jin Heeyeon—the former mother-in-law who had become the true mistress of KE Group—a suffocating anxiety swept over her.

*

“Live hidden, with dignity. Never appear before my son again.”

*

It had been five years.

She was no longer the naive twenty-year-old who knew nothing.

Besides, she had never once encountered Director Jin or her ex-husband, as if they didn’t exist in the world Jaekyung lived in.

Jaekyung was a short-term contract teacher at this school—one out of ten.

Just, one semester only.

If she worked just three or four more months, summer vacation would come and her contract would end. She only had to hold her breath and endure until then.

Rrrrrrr.

A phone ring broke through her anxious thoughts. It was an abrupt request for a meeting from the vice principal.

*

“Vice Principal, you called for me.”

“Ms. Seo, I think your contract for this semester will need some adjustment.”

“Adjustment?”

The vice principal’s vague words—not even meeting Jaekyung’s eyes, just staring at documents at his desk—made her heart drop coldly.

“With the new chairman taking office, there’s talk in the foundation about organizing contracts. Nothing’s confirmed yet, but.”

It was a conclusion that offered no reassurance. Surely they weren’t telling her to quit right away?

Jaekyung desperately reminded herself to hope that things would be fine.

“But Ms. Seo, have you seen the post on the anonymous board? It was about opposing the foundation’s reduction of the social care admissions quota.”

“What do you mean, the anonymous board? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

The vice principal, adjusting his crooked glasses, continued speaking as if Jaekyung knew everything already, indifferent.

“If you have any suspicions about which contract worker it might be, let me know. It’s already been deleted, but they’re saying they’ll even claim penalties, so you’d better be careful. The higher-ups are making an issue of the regulation violation. Damage to the foundation’s image.”

Higher-ups?

Did that mean orders had come directly down from the foundation chairman’s office?

Jaekyung’s father, Seo Jun, was also working as a contract worker in the Uitae Foundation’s security team. If noise arose, it would be a disadvantageous position with nothing to gain.

“I—I don’t know anything about it at all. Surely the contract reorganization isn’t because of that, is it?”

The vice principal’s gaze twisted with displeasure.

“If you’re curious, call the administrative office and ask. Anyway, good work. I have to go into a meeting now, so you can leave.”

The vice principal’s tone, turning away from Jaekyung and staring only at documents, was subtly cold.

“Understood.”

She left the vice principal’s office, trying to erase the ominous feeling.

Perhaps because of the sudden notice, she thought of the text her father had sent at lunch.

*

[Do you know anywhere I could urgently borrow some money? A registration notice came saying if the overdue payments aren’t paid, they’ll put a seizure on the house. They said electricity could be cut and water could be shut off too…. I’m sorry.]

*

Her father’s bottomless debt. Student loans. Overdue credit cards, plus living expenses.

She calculated quickly with her tangled mind, but this month there had been no word about translation work either.

Her mouth went dry at the dwindling job prospects. The twenty-some certifications she had earned during university hadn’t actually helped with employment.

She might become jobless overnight, so she needed to at least find another part-time job to earn living expenses.

*

Jaekyung closed the book she had been reading and let out a deep sigh. Perhaps because she was coming down with a cold, she felt chilled and tired.

It had already been an hour, sitting in a rooftop restaurant overlooking Namsan, waiting for her boyfriend.

Minho, who worked at a nearby hospital, often received sudden emergency calls, so their dates had been canceled or cut short many times.

*

“It’s a special day today, so wait for me even if I’m late.”

*

A thirty-six-year-old specialist, a boyfriend who said it was his first relationship and was cautious even about holding Jaekyung’s hand once. If it weren’t for Minho’s request, she would have gone home long ago.

The coffee in the cream-colored teacup had long since gone cold.

Unable to shake her discomfort, she looked down at the brilliant neon signs of the now-darkened Seoul night, but she couldn’t easily erase thoughts of school.

Debts that wouldn’t decrease no matter how tightly she repaid them. She couldn’t repay debt with debt.

What should she organize first? Jaekyung bit her lip at the tangled reality.

“Jaekyung, did you wait long?”

Minho’s face was flushed as he hurried in with urgent footsteps.

“Ah, you’re here?”

“Sorry. A call came in again just as I was leaving, so I was late.”

Minho, who had hurriedly sat across from her, gulped down the coffee Jaekyung had been drinking.

“Let’s, …whew. Let’s get married.”

Minho, fatigue visible in the dark circles under his eyes, heaved rough breaths.

On the table decorated with peach-colored Juliet roses, the small case Minho took out opened. A ring with a stone sparkled shyly before Jaekyung’s eyes.

“Marriage? We haven’t even been dating that long.”

She had known him for over a year, having met while doing translation work at a medical conference, but they had only been dating for about three months.

He had been attentive on every date, but all they had done was occasionally meet, drink tea, and take walks.

“What does the length of time matter? It’s just a title, but I’ve made department head of internal medicine too. As a promotion celebration, let’s go down to my family home in the countryside this week and greet my parents.”

“Go to your family home?”

“Yeah. I sent them your photo, and my parents are absolutely delighted, saying you’re a fine daughter-in-law material.”

Daughter-in-law material?

She needed to calm Minho, who was getting ahead of himself without consulting her.

“Minho, I… I might end up quitting the school.”

She should have told him about her complicated reality long ago. She had used Minho’s busy schedule—which made proper dates impossible—as an excuse not to reveal her situation.

On the other hand, she was relieved she hadn’t had the chance to bring it up.

“What? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? If I’d known, I would have called the school.”

She had gotten the job information about the contract teacher position through Minho, who was a consulting medical advisor for the Uitae Foundation, but she didn’t want to discuss even her resignation with him.

“…….”

“No, actually this works out better. My parents are getting older and their backs hurt so they need surgery. We need a caregiver and helping hands for the farm work. Let’s just get married quickly.”

Minho grabbed Jaekyung’s hand across the table.

“You’re saying… you want to marry me because you need a caregiver?”

“Joking. Joking.”

Minho laughed brightly, as if finding Jaekyung—ten years younger, with her round eyes—adorable.

“Both you and I are only children, so once we marry, we’ll have to live with my parents anyway. Since you don’t have a mother, my mother will raise the kids too. Honestly, we’d be the ones living off them.”

Nothing Minho said moved her heart.

Jaekyung reached out and pushed the ring case firmly toward Minho.

“I’ll decline the ring since it’s burdensome. I’m not thinking about marriage yet.”

“You must have been disappointed that I should have proposed somewhere nicer. I’ve heard the place matters enormously to women. I’m new to dating since I only studied.”

Knowing Minho’s goodwill—trying to take care of her despite being busy—Jaekyung was at a loss.

A few light dates where they only held hands was all it was.

Could she continue seeing a man who dreamed of marriage so hastily?

“It’s not about the place. Really…….”

She had no romantic feelings yet, and she had no intention of marrying while in debt.

Perhaps it would be better to end things with Minho here. Because Jaekyung had circumstances she couldn’t yet speak of.

Just as she was about to speak again with difficulty—

Thud, thud. The heavy footsteps that had been audible stopped, and a cool low voice came from beside her.

“Seo Jaekyung, you can answer later.”

The voice calling Jaekyung’s name was low and calm.

Minho and Jaekyung looked up at the unfamiliar man standing beside the table.

A pitch-black suit, straight shoulders, surreal looks and an expressionless face.

Even under the dim lighting, his sturdy build and tall height stood out; he was a strangely overwhelming man who suited the luxurious suit well.

The gazes around them turned to the man with the splendid features, along with admiration.

“Who are you?”

Minho pushed up his glasses and looked the man—standing like a model in a pictorial—up and down.

“I’m her ex-husband.”

At that moment, beeeep……, Jaekyung’s ears rang painfully like tinnitus.

The noises surrounding the table disappeared one by one, and the confused Jaekyung instinctively held her breath.

Startled, Minho looked at Jaekyung with a bewildered expression, as if asking whether she understood what the stranger had said.

“Ah, on paper, her current husband. Seo Jaekyung, you’re my wife.”