TO 10

Chapter 10

“Um… I’d like it if you didn’t look at me in front of your parents.”

Taehyuk narrowed his eyes.

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t pay any attention to me at all. No matter what I do.”

“You’re asking me to treat you like a ghost?”

Seo-ah nodded vigorously.

“What’s the reason? Does that have to do with your pregnancy, too?”

Along with the word ‘pregnancy,’ his gaze swept over her lower abdomen.

“Yes.”

Seo-ah answered firmly.

Because this was a matter directly linked to her mental sanity.

“Then let me ask a favor in advance, too,” Taehyuk said.

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t make it obvious in front of my mother or father. No matter how much your heart has left this marriage, I’d prefer my parents not to know just yet.”

At Taehyuk’s words, Seo-ah nodded.

“I will. I’ll act as I usually do. Don’t worry.”

“Alright.”

Taehyuk turned away.

Seo-ah looked at the back of Taehyuk as he climbed the stone steps leading to the main entrance. Watching him casually step on the stone stairs, the pupils of her eyes lost their focus and trembled.

Don’t worry. I’m a sinner in front of Mother anyway.

“You’ve arrived.”

Elegantly coiffed in an updo and wearing a subtle light-blue skirt with an off-white jacket, Seung-hee stood at the entrance.

“Why are you standing out here? We were about to come right in,” Taehyuk said. Seung-hee shot him a affectionate glare, her mouth curved like a crescent moon.

“How could I not? When an honored guest is coming.”

“Did you come too? It must have been a hard trip,” Seung-hee said, looking over Taehyuk’s shoulder at Seo-ah.

“Yes.”

Seo-ah answered barely audibly and bowed her head. Before Taehyuk could see, Seung-hee made a grimace at Seo-ah, then wrapped her arms around her son’s arm and led him inside.

“Let’s go in quickly. Your father is already back and waiting.”

Led inside by Seung-hee’s hand, Taehyuk looked back.

“Are you worried your wife might lose her way?” Seung-hee chuckled.

“Ah, no.”

Taehyuk pulled his jacket straight and turned his head away.

Being told not to look only made him feel strangely more conscious of her. If she had said nothing at all, he would have just done as he usually did…

Usually.

Taehyuk recalled his usual behavior when visiting the main house.

Most of the time, he would arrive just in time for the meal and leave first the second he set down his spoon.

It was because he had left work in the middle of a busy schedule, but if he had made up his mind to clear his schedule as he did today, it wasn’t something he couldn’t do.

What had Seo-ah been doing back then?

He didn’t know.

‘I will. I’ll act as I usually do. Don’t worry.’

Recalling Seo-ah’s words, Taehyuk came to a sudden halt.

He had simply thought that if he disappeared, Seo-ah would naturally be freed from this place as well.

In truth, he had never once verified it—what those actions she spoke of, ‘acting as I usually do,’ actually were.

They were times when he simply took things for granted because Seo-ah never said a word.

Today, thanks to Taehyuk taking his time to eat instead of rushing off, Seung-hee’s mouth was stretched from ear to ear with joy.

“Why aren’t you eating more?”

At the news that Taehyuk was coming, she had badgered the kitchen helpers to make fresh kimchi and prepared a feast so lavish that the table threatened to bend under the weight of Taehyuk’s favorite dishes.

Even knowing her son’s temperament—how he wouldn’t swallow a single grain of rice once he passed his usual portion—she had set out an overflowing table yet again.

“I’ve eaten plenty,” Taehyuk said, neatly wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“All of this is waste.”

A low voice made the air heavy. It was Jeong-hyun, sitting in the head seat of the dining table.

He was the head of the only financial group ranked among the top ten in the nation’s business world, as well as Taehyuk’s father. Having just finished his meal, he set down his spoon and reached for his water glass.

“We can just pack up the leftovers,” Seung-hee looked at Seo-ah as if seeking help. Seo-ah, who had been picking at her rice, quickly set down her chopsticks and answered.

“Yes. The food is all delicious. Please pack some for me later.”

“Right, I made plenty of things Taehyuk likes, so I’ll pack some for you later.”

Seung-hee looked at Jeong-hyun pointedly. Jeong-hyun let out a loud, displeased throat-clearing sound and stood up. At that, Taehyuk, Seo-ah, and Seung-hee, who were sitting at the table, all stood up following him.

“Taehyuk, do you not have to rush off today?”

“Yes. I’ve handled all the urgent matters before coming.”

“Good. You must make work follow you; it is useless if you let yourself follow work.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Then let’s play a game of Go after a long time.”

Jeong-hyun turned around and headed straight for the study without looking back. Taehyuk followed behind him as if accustomed to it.

Once the two of them disappeared, a chill settled over the heavy air.

“Is he not eating well these days? Why does he look even thinner? His face looks so rough, too.”

The moment the two disappeared, Seung-hee began pressing Seo-ah.

“I think it’s because he’s busy with work.”

“Do you call that an answer right now? That’s all the more reason for you to take good care of him. Look at your husband’s face. A man doing great things, yet his face looks like he hasn’t even had a bowl of gruel.”

“I’m sorry.”

Seo-ah lowered her head.

“What about this month? Is it a bust again?”

Looking down at her slippers, Seo-ah couldn’t raise her head. The sound of Seung-hee clicking her tongue followed in her ears.

“Tsk tsk. Other daughters-in-law get pregnant so easily and consistently. You have nothing else to do, yet you can’t even get pregnant properly?”

Seo-ah couldn’t say a word, as if the base of her tongue had melted away.

“If you married into this family from a poor background, you should at least be healthy. Or at least be sweet and affectionate. Ugh, my blood is boiling.”

Seo-ah clenched her two hands tightly. Veins stood out on the backs of her hands, which were thin as rice paper.

“Clean this up quickly. Mrs. Kim!”

Passing by Seo-ah, Seung-hee called out to Mrs. Kim, who was working in the kitchen.

“Yes, Madam.”

“Prepare the tea to bring into the Chairman’s study. Since Taehyuk is here, prepare Luwak coffee.”

Clearing the huge table by herself, Seo-ah listened to Seung-hee rambling on.

Senior hates Luwak coffee. He won’t even drink it unless it’s fair trade coffee.

Yet Seo-ah remained silent. Because if she added a word to Seung-hee, she would surely be scolded until her tears were drained dry.

Seo-ah let out a quiet sigh, gathered the dishes, placed them on the kitchen tray, and moved them to the sink. Her actions didn’t look like those of someone doing this for the first or second time.

She stood adeptly in front of the sink, and as if it were only natural, none of the kitchen helpers offered to assist her.

“Let’s stop here for today.”

Jeong-hyun said, pushing the Go board away. Taehyuk silently packed up the remaining Go stones.

“Leave those and go on ahead.”

“Pardon?”

“Seo-ah must be tired, too, so take her home quickly to rest.”

Jeong-hyun spoke with apparent indifference and stood up from his seat.

“Be good to your wife. She seems to be growing thinner as time goes by.”

Opening a thick book, Jeong-hyun spoke. Taehyuk felt a sudden surge of resentment toward Jeong-hyun, but he didn’t show it on his face—because he thought Jeong-hyun, who had stood by and let Seung-hee endure a harsh life as a daughter-in-law, had no right to say such things.

“I will do so.”

Taehyuk stood up from his seat. Come to think of it, he hadn’t realized so much time had passed while playing Go. Confirming that a whole hour had gone by, Taehyuk looked for Seo-ah—belatedly wondering what she had been doing while he was playing Go.

Seo-ah wasn’t in the drawing room. Was she resting in the garden? As Taehyuk walked toward the entrance and glanced toward the kitchen, an all-too-familiar back came into view in the kitchen.

‘I will. I’ll act as I usually do. Don’t worry.’

Seo-ah’s words suddenly pierced the center of his chest like a sharp awl.

Seo-ah was alone in the kitchen. Taehyuk searched for the helpers with his eyes. But none of them were in sight, as if everyone had disappeared. All that remained was Seo-ah and a mountain of dishes to wash. Where Taehyuk’s gaze moved next was the dishwasher. The unused dishwasher was quietly asleep, having passed its duty off to Seo-ah.

“What are you doing right now?”

Having failed to notice his presence because of the sound of running water, Seo-ah’s shoulders leaped so high they nearly touched her ears.

Surprised, Seo-ah turned around to find Taehyuk standing there with a hardened face.

“Ah, um… well…”

“I asked what you are doing here right now.”

Taehyuk’s body was rigid, as if stiffened with starch. In his eyes as he looked at her, anger settled right after astonishment.

“Mrs. Kim!”

Immediately following, Taehyuk’s enraged voice called for Mrs. Kim. Mrs. Kim, who had been resting in her room, burst out with a startled face.

“Yes, Director.”

Taehyuk’s cool eyes scanned Mrs. Kim up and down, noting her dry clothes that showed she had just been resting. The apron Mrs. Kim should have been wearing was hung around Seo-ah’s body.

Taehyuk’s jaw clenched tightly.

“Is it correct that while my wife was washing dishes, Mrs. Kim was resting in her room?”

“Ah, well…”

Flustered, Mrs. Kim fumbled with her hair.