The Chairman's Banquet
Westerners were the problem, Heeseo decided as she stared into the mirror.
The dress she had wheedled out of Manager Jo was better than the one she had worn at the wedding. At least it did not cinch her waist so tightly it felt ready to snap her in half.
Even so, the narrow skirt and the thin silk that clung to every line of her body were nothing but discomfort. Heeseo let out a sigh she had not meant to release and glared at her reflection.
All this fuss for a single meal. A hanbok would have been far better.
“……Miss, with your height, this length suits you far better than something too short.”
Manager Jo was doing everything in her power to package Heeseo properly.
“I’ve been stretching my legs hard since I was little.”
“Pardon?”
“……Ballet. From ballet.”
“Ah…… yes.”
To be precise, the place where she had torn her legs open was a dojang, not a practice studio, but she could hardly confess that. Manager Jo, for her part, kept failing to keep her expression under control at the unexpected answer.
Once Heeseo’s hair had been neatly finished as well, Manager Jo summoned a car. Riding for a distance of barely ten minutes felt absurd, yet Heeseo climbed obediently into the back seat.
Unfortunately, a passenger was already waiting inside.
“That dress looks rather uncomfortable on you, Heeseo-ssi.”
“……You.”
Kim Jeeon, dressed more formally than he had been for work that morning, greeted her as if nothing were amiss. Heeseo nearly seized him by the collar before she swallowed her temper. Her eyes had met the driver’s in the rearview mirror.
“You dared to spike my drink?”
She could not hold it in after all. The humiliation of waking alone in that bed still burned. Heeseo grabbed Jeeon’s shoulder and hissed under her breath.
“Try that again. Just once. I won’t let it slide—remember that.”
At a whisper so soft he had to lean in to catch it, Jeeon could not hold back a laugh.
“Threatening not to let it slide is almost too adorable, don’t you think? It’s making my heart race.”
Unlike Heeseo, who had lowered her voice, Kim Jeeon answered with perfect composure, so their eyes met the driver’s again in the rearview mirror. A flicker of awkwardness crossed the middle-aged man’s impassive face.
This slippery snake of a bastard. The hand on his shoulder tightened of its own accord. Heeseo’s grip was no ordinary thing; Jeeon let out a soft “ah” of pain.
The sound created such an odd atmosphere that the car gave a sudden lurch as it pulled away.
“If you wrinkle my clothes, the elders will get the wrong idea, Heeseo-ssi. Just endure a little longer. Once dinner’s over, we’ll be back soon enough.”
“What on earth are you—talking nonsense about? We ought to eat a proper, hearty meal and stay as long as possible.”
“I’d rather look at your face than those boring people I see every day. Preferably just the two of us. Do you dislike that, Heeseo-ssi?”
Even with her hand still clamped on his shoulder, Jeeon kept up the sly talk. Heeseo clicked her tongue in sheer disbelief.
“That’s rich, coming from someone who bolted out the door before sunrise as if he were running away.”
“Oh dear. Now that you mention it, I forgot to say good morning today. That’s my fault. I’m sorry for leaving you to wake up alone. You were sleeping so deeply I couldn’t bring myself to wake you. Like a sleeping princess, one might say.”
The words poured out smooth as silk. The sheer nerve of it was enough to raise blood pressure she did not even know she had.
“Still, I should have greeted you. You were disappointed, weren’t you?”
“Wh…… what disappointment? Me, disappointed?”
Beyond disbelief, she was now speechless. So she was supposed to feel hurt that he had fled at dawn? Why in the world……?
Just then, as if he had read her mind, Jeeon turned and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“We’re newlyweds, and I’ve been far too careless. Starting tomorrow I’ll make sure to give you a proper morning greeting. Soften that heart of yours for me.”
Ah, right……. She was married to this snake of a man. Living a newlywed life with him……. Married to that sly, underhanded ghost who had spiked her drink…….
Standing before the towering mountain that was Kim Jeeon, Heeseo realized her own weakness for the first time in her life. She had no defense against a smooth-faced, silver-tongued bastard possessed by a ghost. None whatsoever.
In a drained voice she muttered low,
“You…… just wait.”
“Yes. From tomorrow morning onward, I’ll be looking forward to your morning greeting as well.”
Heeseo ground her teeth and released his shoulder. She had gripped so hard that the imprint of her hand remained exactly as she had held him.
Jeeon smoothed his rumpled jacket and smiled. It was a thoroughly satisfied smile.
The dinner gathering was held at Kim Jonghyeop’s mansion. As they stepped from the car and Jeeon escorted her, he spoke first.
“There will be people who didn’t attend the wedding. As you know, our ceremony wasn’t exactly grand. Since you’re the wife the Chairman himself brought in for me, no one will sharpen their knives where it shows.”
“Meaning there will be people who sharpen them where it doesn’t show?”
“Possibly. The protagonist always draws envy, after all.”
“……Protagonist?”
While she turned the strange remark over in her mind, Heeseo entered the dining room with Jeeon.
Music drifted from somewhere; she glanced around. In the garden lit by brilliant lights, people with cello and violin were playing.
Heeseo’s gaze had been stolen for a moment when a burst of applause made her turn.
“Come here, Jeeon. You too, my new granddaughter-in-law.”
From the head of a table laden with lavish dishes, Kim Jonghyeop called them over.
Many people were already seated along the long table. As Jeeon had said, most faces were unfamiliar. Wearing a gentle smile, Jeeon took Heeseo’s hand and led her forward.
At once the guests’ eyes swept over her as if appraising goods.
The silk dress that suited her long limbs gave her an elegant air. Her clear features and sharp eyes lent her an almost exotic cast; standing beside the dazzling Jeeon only made her presence stand out more.
“Shall we?”
“…….”
The hand that settled at her waist and arm felt far too natural. Heeseo forced down the discomfort.
She had entered this house to hunt a ghost—what on earth was she doing? Her mind was a tangle, but she could not afford to show it here.
“You two already seem quite close.”
Heeseo and Jeeon’s seats were immediately to Jonghyeop’s right. Across from Heeseo sat a familiar face: Seo Hyeon-a, Jeeon’s maternal cousin and an executive director at GM Group.
When their eyes met, Seo Hyeon-a offered a brief nod. Whether she was simply being careful in front of Kim Jonghyeop or not, she looked unusually taciturn.
Everyone else was seated, yet the place beside Seo Hyeon-a remained empty. While Heeseo glanced around, Jeeon continued smoothly.
“Heeseo-ssi adapts so well. She’s so charming I’ve been tormented by her from morning till night, Grandfather.”
“…….”
“Haha! Is that so? Good, good. My grandson’s wife seems to be doing splendidly. Puts my mind at ease. I do have an eye for people, don’t I?”
Jeeon’s shamelessness drew a laugh from Kim Jonghyeop.
Heeseo barely restrained the urge to stomp on Jeeon’s foot under the table. She had seen, right in front of her, the way Seo Hyeon-a’s eyes narrowed at the words “from morning till night.”
With the character for patience, even murder can be forgiven…….
More precisely it would be an exorcism rather than murder, but she could not afford to be treated like a madwoman in front of this many people. Manager Jo alone looking at her as if she were insane was already enough.
Heeseo did her best to play the demure bride and simply prayed for the meal to end.
“So my new granddaughter-in-law is receiving Jeeon’s love in abundance. If he ever makes you unhappy, tell me anytime. An old man nearing his end grows greedy. You’ve only just married, yet I already want to see results—am I rushing things too much?”
Kim Jonghyeop casually crushed Heeseo’s hopes. The guests around the table burst into laughter as one. From the way he spoke, it sounded as if he could not wait another day for a great-grandchild.
Only Heeseo caught the true meaning buried in his words.
Like grandfather, like grandson—both slippery snakes.
She had demanded clues that would let her find her parents, yet for days Kim Jonghyeop had sent no word. And now he seated her in front of everyone and pressed her unilaterally.
Heeseo could not keep the truth that slipped out from showing.
“If the elder would simply give me what he promised, I could give him not one but ten.”
If you know something, produce the proof. Then I’ll drive out every last ghost clinging to Kim Jeeon, even if there are dozens of them. Even while the others laughed and chattered, Heeseo’s cold eyes answered him that way.