The Weight of Unspoken Words
I surveyed the austere warmthless home, the silence so complete that the front-door light clicked off almost at once.
Woo-hee peeled off her shoes, slouched into the living room, and stripped off the clothes she had worn, flinging them onto the floor with a tired flick.
The underfloor heating on the floor warmed the house, yet the chill that had settled inside remained untouched.
Seok-ju had prepared dinner, but she had not touched a single bite. The loss of appetite had begun long ago, thanks to Woo Je-hyeok.
Instead, she headed straight for the study.
She opened the door and the four glowing PC screens greeted her in a flash.
Stock indices from a dozen countries, futures charts, market-news headlines, and the latest trading-volume rankings scrolled across them in a restless blur.
She dropped into the chair, opened her inbox, and saw the report from Hong Kong, the ongoing-investigation files from Myeong Won-chul, and the briefing documents she was supposed to memorize for the next meeting.
Among them was the script she had to memorize and perform, each line wrapped in the gentle, easy-to-understand explanation she always received from him.
If Myeong Won-chul was the architect of the plan to upend CK Group, then Woo-hee was the grand reason that would be written into the history books.
Myeong Won-chul had fabricated the story that her bloodline from her late grandfather granted her a natural talent for investment.
Woo-hee was the ideal focal point to gather people around and steer the project from the shadows.
He had called it necessary to elevate her to saint-like status in their eyes.
People were far too easily dazzled by what they were shown.
So Woo-hee spoke and acted exactly as he instructed, playing the young, brilliant, beautiful prodigy he had created.
They said the prodigy was the only surviving bloodline of Sun Hak-jin, the man who had forged Korea’s steel myth and earned universal respect.
People were captivated by the face, the voice, and the background she had been built to possess.
Yet the longer she played the role, the harder it became to imitate the genius without any real knowledge.
More money, more people, more perfection were required of her.
Only when she had worked herself to the bone had she reached this point.
She scanned the Hong Kong report, reviewed the current status of the active investments, and then read through the documents Myeong Won-chul had sent, committing to memory the lines she would speak at the next meeting.
Throughout it all, Woo Je-hyeok kept drifting into her thoughts.
She did not even have to try; the images simply arrived.
First came the smooth, flawless face.
Then the arrogant, rude smile and the cutting words.
Next the icy gaze and the careless indifference.
Finally the cold, retreating back that had vanished from her life.
“Trash, just trash.”
Now every time she thought of him the word slipped out on its own.
Even after all the work she had finished, Woo Je-hyeok still occupied the corners of her mind.
She lay in bed right until the moment she should have fallen asleep and still thought of him.
Searching his name in the States whenever she had a spare moment and chewing on every detail had become her daily routine.
Nothing had changed after she moved to Korea.
Since when had this man burrowed so deeply into her everyday life?
It was not at all pleasant.
She had never encountered such a kind of worthless bastard before.
Anger surged through her at the very thought that she, with her pride broken and her body used to beg, had been forced into bed with this filth.
She let out a short laugh, followed by a long, heavy sigh.
Damn him, arrogant, disgusting, rude trash.
How could she drag him into her bed?
How could she make him desire her more?
She had been thinking for a long time.
She even wondered, in the ridiculous way of a dream, what would happen if Woo Je-hyeok appeared in her next dream.
But the figure who showed up in her dreams was never him.
Just as always, it was her mother’s dream.
***
The phone rang and she opened her eyes.
Ta-dak. Ta-dak.
The sound of the curtains fluttering by the window irritated her ears.
Woo-hee blinked her tired eyes.
She had clearly fallen asleep with the windows open.
She pushed herself up, crossed to the window, and stood there.
She had not slept deeply, so her legs felt leaden, sinking into the floor like they had no strength left.
She pulled the curtains shut and sank back onto the bed.
The phone was still ringing insistently.
“Why aren’t you answering now?”
The owner of the gruff voice was her father.
“I just woke up.”
Her throat felt rough when she spoke.
“…Isn’t it dinner time in the States right now? But you say you just woke up?”
“Is there a rule that you can’t wake up in the evening? You can sleep during the day and wake up in the evening.”
“You really are pathetic.”
“Only when I call you for the first time in forever do you suddenly start lecturing me on how pathetic I am.”
Passing messages through a secretary was one thing, but her father actually calling her was extremely rare.
“It’s because of your pathetic, lazy attitude. I told Kim the same thing—don’t expect him to listen.”
“If you called directly, would I really listen?”
Woo-hee smiled faintly.
Jang Dae-soo’s temper flared instantly.
How dare she laugh at her father? What was that arrogant smile doing in front of him?
When he had called after a long time, she should have been grateful, not spouting meaningless nonsense like this.
That was the usual pattern.
A useless bitch who borrowed money and brought shame to the family.
A completely worthless daughter.
An insolent girl.
Did she even know how difficult things were for the company now?
She could not help with the family business, yet she still kept showing this ungrateful attitude.
“Well… I don’t really know much…”
Her head throbbed.
Her voice sounded rough the moment she spoke.
She was still half-asleep, so she could not tell whether it was the conversation or the sleep that was making her feel this way.
“But I did sign the power of attorney for the Singapore fund attack last time.”
“So what? You’re showing off that you only helped with a measly four percent stake?”
“Measly? It’s my entire holding. I’m not showing off—I’m telling you to keep running the company well. That way my assets will keep growing and I can keep living this easy life of relaxing, eating, and sleeping.”
“How arrogant.”
He was probably about to unload another string of curses, but the way his voice suddenly lowered showed that someone else was around.
Instead of the original matter, he launched into a long explanation.
Next spring Ha-rin was supposed to become engaged to Woo Je-hyeok of the Woo family.
She had to behave properly so she would not be criticized by that family.
Until her father called her back, she was not to come to Korea, and she was not to create any more scandals in the States.
Do not drink, do not take drugs, do not do anything embarrassing in front of men.
Ha-rin and her mother were worried sick about her.
If she caused trouble for the family because of you, they would not stay quiet.
If you want to keep living your carefree life of relaxing, eating, and sleeping, stay quiet like you are already dead.
“I’m just like a child whose string has already been cut.”
Her throat was rough and her whole body felt prickly.
Woo-hee clutched the phone and crawled under the blanket.
“I’ve been called Sun Woo-hee for a long time, and since I left for America I’ve been like an illegitimate child.
Why do you care so much about me?”
“That’s exactly why I’m calling! Whether you got divorced or ran off to another country, I still have to show the Woos that I’m not abandoning my daughter!”
So that was it—she wanted to prove to the Woos that even a daughter who had drifted so far away still had a caring father.
Woo-hee lowered her heavy eyelids and gave a soft, cold laugh.
“All right. I’ll stay quiet like I’m already dead…”
But the voice kept cutting in and out.
She had probably caught a cold that could not be ignored.
Her throat scraped like gravel with every word.
“Woo Je-hyeok is the one Ha-rin is engaged to.”
He went on about how precious a match with such a rare person was and rattled off the details.
Yes, she had to have sex with that precious Woo Je-hyeok within the month.
Her luck was terrible.
Where could she find a man who wanted to have sex with a coughing woman?
And why did she have to catch a cold at exactly this moment?
She blinked her heavy eyes and looked through the gap in the curtains at the faint light.
She had fallen asleep with the windows open during this transitional season, and she had worn those thin, short clothes for days so Woo Je-hyeok would see her.
In the end, everything was because of him.
Why did Jang Ha-rin want Woo Je-hyeok so badly?
How had the CK Group suddenly become engaged to the Woos?
She closed her eyes, blaming everything on Woo Je-hyeok.
The image of his smooth, flawless face returned.
Thinking of it brought another wave of curses, and a fierce urge to claw that perfect face open rose inside her.
Her father’s angry sniping still rang in her ears.
Her closed eyelids twitched.
She could not tell whether the faint heat burning inside her chest was resentment toward Woo Je-hyeok or hatred toward her father.
Whatever it was, it would soon fade.