The Guests

During the week Yeon-jae stayed here, four people came to visit.

They all handed her business cards, wore pleasant faces, and introduced themselves as secretaries or aides to someone. So she made a chart based on the business cards — writing down the names, dates, and characteristics of those who came to see her, and listing any particularly grating or noteworthy things they said during their conversations.

Her job was to respond to Lee I-ryeong's commission. What Lee I-ryeong wanted was the truth about her daughter's death — or evidence that Sa Hee-eon had driven Yoon Jun-hee to her death.

But progress was slow. With so many eyes watching, she couldn't move freely. Somehow, she began to understand why Kim Ui-jae had been so desperate with her.

But since she'd already entered the snake's den, she might as well do everything she could. She decided to become the weasel that came to strike the snake's neck.

But the person who came today was beyond her expectations.

"Oh my, the house has gotten so much brighter?"

Oh Seung-mi, with her glamorous looks befitting a celebrity, introduced herself as an ordinary housewife and set down the cookies and cake she'd brought. But half the citizens of South Korea would know who Oh Seung-mi was. In the past, she had been a supermodel who worked in the entertainment industry before mysteriously disappearing — a tragic figure. A maverick who married into a chaebol family, endured all manner of humiliation, and stubbornly survived. That was the epithet that sustained present-day Oh Seung-mi and kept her in people's memories.

"It was like this when I came too."

"It was gloomy just yesterday, but the weather's nice now — shall we go out together?"

Saying that, she stepped out of the annex first, as though she had no intention of waiting for Yeon-jae's answer. Yeon-jae followed. Whether she truly wanted to take a walk together or had some other business in mind, the woman's direction was toward the Glass House.

"It seems like everyone in my family has come to visit at least once. Wasn't it bothersome?" Oh Seung-mi asked as they climbed the shallow steps.

Oh Seung-mi — Sa Hee-eon's mother. No, more precisely, his aunt. For some reason, Sa Hee-eon had been raised by relatives. It was likely he'd lost his parents early.

Yeon-jae answered with a demure smile. "No, I didn't have anything to do anyway and was bored, so it was nice to have someone to talk to."

At her subtly sarcastic attitude, Oh Seung-mi curled her pretty lips into a thin smile. Then she stood before the Glass House, which she had only seen from afar. Her instincts sharpened.

"You're so brave, dear. I really admire that."

Saying that, she naturally opened the Glass House door and stepped inside. Yeon-jae stepped inside with a slight tension. She'd passed by it a few times, but this was the first time she'd actually set foot inside.

Moreover, since a week ago, she'd no longer been able to meet Sa Hee-eon. She'd occasionally felt a silhouette loom at the edge of the garden, but he never opened the front door to invite her in for a meal. Whether for better or worse, she'd been able to grow more cold and clear-eyed, and come to terms with reality.

That day, she'd gone crazy and said nonsense. Looking back on it, it was nothing strange... Hah.

There was no good in dragging this out. No matter how she flailed on her own, she couldn't escape the snare wrapped around her ankles.

"This is my youngest son's exhibition hall. Have you ever been here?"

"No, I've only seen it from far away. It's a fascinating place."

Yeon-jae, responding nonchalantly, took in each of the displayed ceramics one by one with a look of wonder. Then Oh Seung-mi, nodding her head, stood before a teacup on the display shelf and smiled brightly.

"Hee-eon made this to give me... but he hasn't given it to me. I wonder if he's not satisfied with it?"

"Ah..."

"Has he changed his mind?"

"Maybe he wants to make something better."

At Yeon-jae's words, Mrs. Oh's expression turned momentarily strange. But only for a moment. She straightened her posture, still wearing her glamorous and pretty smile.

"That's impossible. Hee-eon... doesn't keep something he's not satisfied with by his side for this long. The boy is a bit cold and harsh."

Cold and harsh, was he? The Sa Hee-eon she didn't know must be a cold and harsh person in society. Still, he was better than Kim Ui-jae, wasn't he? Her standard was Kim Ui-jae. Worse than Kim Ui-jae meant trash of society; not worse meant an ordinary person.

Barely holding back a laugh, she responded to Oh Seung-mi's words. "Yes, I'll remember that."

"Why do you have to go that far? I just said that. But you know why I came, right? I heard I'm the last train."

"Ah... yes, a few people came."

"My aunt and my youngest brother-in-law. They must have sent a whole bunch of secretaries. What did they say? Aren't you curious about how you met our chairman?"

Oh Seung-mi was right. They all asked how she'd come to meet the old man, and Yeon-jae always gave the same answer.

"I first met him at a café. I was just working at a café as usual, and he gave me his business card."

"A business card?"

"Yes, Lawyer Kim's business card."

"And then?"

"Sometimes there were customers like that. Asking for phone numbers, making advances."

"Outright advances?"

"He outright said he'd help me make a lot of money."

There was no need to draw out the period. Oh Seung-mi couldn't possibly fail to understand the many meanings the word "money" carried.

Watching a faint crack appear between Oh Seung-mi's brows, she briefly thought of Sa Hee-eon. Calling her nephew "youngest son" — she must have a special affection for him. Of course, the two of them didn't resemble each other at all. More than that, Sa Hee-eon didn't seem to resemble anyone in this family. That man was like midwinter, and Oh Seung-mi was like early summer. And from him came a scent close to nature, while from Oh Seung-mi came a sweetness like candied fruit.

"Yeon-jae-ssi, our mother-in-law is still alive. You know that, right?"

Her eyelashes, which had been lowered, shot up in alarm.

No, she had no idea at all.

At that, a faint sense of victory's pleasure washed over Oh Seung-mi's face. Yeon-jae deliberately bit her lip as if embarrassed and averted her gaze.

"Oh my, you didn't know? No matter how much they call her a living corpse, our mother is very much alive. If you come in here looking like you're here to squeeze money from an old woman, that's a bit sticky. And tacky."

Of course she would say that. Lowering her gaze again as if stung, she noticed Oh Seung-mi's shadow shift direction. Click-clack — following the receding sound of shoe heels, Yeon-jae's gaze moved. Standing where the sunlight was brightest, Oh Seung-mi picked up a plate from the display shelf and held it up to the light. It was a plate that matched the teacup Sa Hee-eon had said he'd give her earlier.

Between deep blue and silvery white. The light that softly permeated it was even, and a satisfied smile spread across Oh Seung-mi's face. For some reason, she envied that — things like the ease and noble bearing that were ingrained in her, regardless of the situation.

"Isn't it better than... knowing and doing it anyway?"

Why had she responded like that? Because she felt wronged? No, there was nothing to feel wronged about. The clothes she was wearing right now, the shoes, the cosmetics, even the debt — everything had been purchased with Sa Jae-cheol's money. Well, let's call it an advance payment.

"That's true. If Ms. Jeong Yeon-jae came here knowing all this, I was going to put some pressure on you... But it seems I don't have to. Take what you can get and leave. Or, I can give it to you."

"Will you give me more than the chairman?"

"Oh my?"

Oh Seung-mi's smooth lip line tilted to one side. She hadn't expected to repeat the same answer she'd given Sa Hee-eon.

"If you won't give me more than the chairman, please leave. It's a bit... uncomfortable."

"Hah!"

As expected, Oh Seung-mi's sneer scraped across her. Mrs. Oh, her lips pressed tightly together, strode forward. Then suddenly, she locked eyes with her.

"If you become my mother-in-law, I think I'd want to stick my nose in a bowl of dishwater. It would make me sick."