The Stepmother's Mask
Mrs. Jin occupied the seat of honor on the executive office's fine leather sofa, with Ji-su seated across from her. This was supposed to be an interview, yet not a single document concerning Ji-su existed — not in Mrs. Jin's hands, nor on the table between them.
Having watched Ji-su all the while with a soft smile, Mrs. Jin finally broke the silence.
"Ms. Im Ji-su. This is your first time at such a strange interview, so you must be flustered, aren't you?"
Too gracious to say no, Ji-su simply kept smiling. As if she had expected exactly that, Mrs. Jin gave a nod and went on.
"I understand you already signed the confidentiality agreement to sit for this interview, so I'll speak frankly. You've been out in the working world yourself, so you'll know this already: the Chairman and I have a son between us. The President of Daeyun Telecom, that is."
"I'm aware."
"At least, that's how it is publicly."
"I beg your pardon?"
What Mrs. Jin said next was more than enough to fluster her.
"We have one more son — one the world doesn't yet know about."
...
"My, aren't you refreshingly honest, Ms. Ji-su. You're flustered because you don't know how to react — and it's showing through, crystal clear."
"Oh — I apologize."
"Apologize for what! It's perfectly all right. Far better than someone sly and two-faced, I say."
Right on cue, a knock sounded, and a cup of warm tea was set before each of them. Teacup in hand, Ji-su steadied her rattled nerves, while Mrs. Jin waited on her with an easy expression.
"The reason I'm telling you all this is that I urgently need your help."
Mrs. Jin laid out her circumstances with disarming candor. The Chairman's son — born outside the marriage, his very existence still hidden from the world — was set to take charge of a new group business, and rather than a professional secretary, he would need one who could support the hands-on work. That, she explained, was why she had been searching for someone like Im Ji-su.
"He isn't a child I gave birth to, but that doesn't mean he isn't my child either. Legally and morally in this country, the Chairman's son is my son, isn't he?"
Ji-su nodded along, listening intently to every word.
"I won't claim I love him the way I love the son I bore, but of course I feel responsible for the boy. It's a mother's duty, after all... He spent so many years abroad and has no experience of company life whatsoever, so I judged that we needed a secretary who could look after even the fine details of practical work for him."
"I see. So that's why."
"I knew full well I was overstepping, but I even involved myself in screening the candidates' documents. There wasn't a single applicant I liked as much as you, Ms. Im Ji-su."
In that kindly smile and calm explanation, Ji-su could sense Mrs. Jin Song-hwa's heart, reaching out to embrace the son her husband had fathered outside their marriage. On top of that, Mrs. Jin even promised that if Ji-su wished, she would be given the chance to experience and learn the work of the group's various affiliates firsthand.
"The only roles I officially hold are the Cultural Foundation and the Gallery. So I'm not supposed to meddle in the group's other business, but I wanted to meet you in person all the same and ask you to accept this position. Join us as a secretary first, and if you'll simply work hard until my son has settled into the company, afterward I can arrange a transfer to another post for you."
To Mrs. Jin's earnest plea, Ji-su answered with resolve: she had no experience as a secretary, but she would do her very best.
"Thank you so much for making such a big decision. I'd love for you to join as quickly as possible and start learning the work — would it be possible for you to begin on November 1st?"
"Yes. Of course."
Ji-su, who wanted a swift hire even more than a high salary, agreed on the spot. The employment contract was wrapped up without a hitch, procedures and all.
Mrs. Jin then insisted on personally seeing Ji-su out of the chairwoman's office, which brought on a small farce: the secretaries stationed by the door all scrambled up to trail after the pair. When Mrs. Jin waved them back, they sank into their chairs, half-caught mid-motion.
"Madam Chairwoman, I can go down on my own."
"No, no. I'm the one entrusting my son — who doesn't know the first thing about company life — to our Ms. Im Ji-su here. I have to stay in her good graces right up to the end, you know."
The light joke drew laughter from both of them, and the two stepped into the elevator together, still smiling.
"Ms. Ji-su. Though... this is just an old woman's worry, but the fact that you're unmarried weighs a little on my mind."
"I'm sorry? What do you mean...?"
"My son is unmarried as well, you see. And very handsome, at that. But attaching such a beauty to my son's side, I find myself inwardly anxious the two of you might commit some careless mistake. My son already has a fiancée, you know. I'm sorry if that sounded unpleasant."
"I completely understand your concern. But I know exactly how to keep public and private matters separate, so please don't worry yourself. And... I'm seeing someone as well."
Ji-su answered firmly, shaking her head. In all the time she had been with Jae-gyeom, her eyes had never once strayed to another man. No matter how handsome Daeyun's illegitimate son might be, she was confident she would not waver. Besides, if the man already had a fiancée of his own, he would hardly take any romantic interest in her. And of course, it wasn't as though she couldn't understand Mrs. Jin's concern.
"Oh my? So that's how it is."
With her eyes on the elevator's floor indicator, Mrs. Jin continued calmly.
"To think Ms. Ji-su is someone who even keeps 'public and private' so neatly apart... I like you all the more for it. I'll trust you to take special care that no misunderstandings ever arise in anyone's eyes."
"Yes. Understood."
With that dependable reply, Ji-su gave Mrs. Jin a deep, courteous bow and left the Daeyun Group headquarters behind her.
Late that afternoon, Mrs. Jin met Chairman Yoon alone in his office.
"Chairman. Jae-gyeom has decided to come up to Seoul soon. I've already finished contracting a house near the company, too — a spacious one, so he can set up his new household there in comfort going forward."
Mrs. Jin could not bear it when her husband — taciturn all his life — let his feelings show the moment the subject was Jae-gyeom. Rather than watch that spectacle, she had decided, it was better to step in herself. And besides, if she meant to ruin Kim Jae-gyeom anyway, she was fully prepared to go to this much trouble.
"For the day Jae-gyeom comes up to Seoul, I deliberately met with several famous fortune-tellers and selected the most auspicious date possible."
"...Is all that really necessary?"
"Oh, come now! He's arriving for a meaningful new start as a member of Daeyun Group — naturally it should be the very best day."
"Hm. Well, when you put it that way, I suppose it's true."
It was true that she had Secretary Cho relay Jae-gyeom's birthday to a fortune-teller and ask for a date selection. In exchange, she had also requested recommendations for days on which one must absolutely never move house. November 17th, she was told, must be avoided at all costs — and Mrs. Jin set that very day as Jae-gyeom's moving day. Thoroughly hiding her sinister intent, she continued speaking.
"Secretary Park, who worked in the chairman's office, is older than Jae-gyeom, so I'm afraid it would be a bit uncomfortable keeping them as his aide. Rather than that... I personally selected someone with superior practical support skills and a good head for finance. Chairman, won't you have a look at this resume?"
"Here, let me see it."
Chairman Yoon put on his glasses and scrutinized Ji-su's resume with care. The section on Gyechon High School — the common ground she shared with Jae-gyeom — had been deleted from the document.
"Still, he is our son... I'm confident a fresh face, one not trapped inside the company's established mold, will support him all the better. She'll be superior to an ordinary secretary in every way. I even conducted the interview myself, and quite thoroughly at that."
"Her credentials and experience are more than fine as they are. And as you say, the lack of a secretary's background may actually work in Jae-gyeom's favor."
"Exactly. Rather than someone to simply wait on him as his boss, I'm hoping for someone in the role of a companion, helping him learn the ropes of company life."
"I never imagined you'd look after Jae-gyeom so tenderly. I must have been misunderstanding you all along, hmm?"
"A misunderstanding? Surely... you don't mean something like — that I resent Jae-gyeom?"
"Hehe. In any case, thank you, in more ways than one."
Chairman Yoon offered his wife his own brand of affectionate thanks, and Mrs. Jin answered his words with a smile in kind. But her heart was a far cry from the face she wore.
The seat of the deep, wise wife was, to Mrs. Jin, something like a prized trophy — something she could never set down until the day she died.
Only after she had returned to the chairwoman's office and shut the door did Mrs. Jin change her face, as though flinging off a mask. A venomous smile crept across it.