The Owner of the Empty Seat

"Ahjussi!"

Delight flooded Ji-woo's face as he broke into a run.

Yeon-jae turned after him — and the instant she found Je-heon, her eyes gave a small, involuntary tremor. He was the one who had given them the tickets, but she had never imagined she would see him here in the hall. This was a man with no interest in classical music. No — it went beyond a lack of interest. He actively disliked it.

Her gaze drifted from his face, traveling slowly downward. One hand was tucked into his trouser pocket, his body angled in a casual slant. He was wearing a full suit, vest and all. This was a man who rarely even put on a tie, claiming they felt too constricting — and yet everything he had on was exactly the kind of attire one wore to a solo recital.

She was staring blankly at him talking with Ji-woo when their eyes suddenly locked. She dropped her gaze in a hurry, even flinching as if she'd been caught peeking. Then why look away like a fool? She absently brushed the tip of her nose.

"Jeong Yeon-jae."

A dry voice landed against her ear.

"...Yes?"

She lifted her head in a rush, and her eyes met Je-heon's. He was standing directly in front of her — she hadn't even noticed him approach.

"There's someone I'd like to introduce to Ji-woo."

With that, he simply looked at her.

And so?

Yeon-jae could only stare back, unable to make sense of what he wanted from her.

"What about Ji-woo's mother?"

He added the words as if he'd realized she hadn't understood. Only then did she grasp what he was asking. This was a man who had never once asked her opinion on anything. She had assumed that if he wanted to make an introduction, he would simply take Ji-woo and go. The unfamiliar courtesy of actually asking her was almost disorienting.

Still looking dazed, she nodded.

"Mom! Ahjussi says he'll take us to see Jeffkin's dressing room!"

"..."

"I told him I couldn't give him the bouquet, so Ahjussi said he'd help!"

Ji-woo swung the bouquet in his arms back and forth, grinning with mischief. There had been a brief window to meet after the recital ended. But when the moment came to actually hand over the flowers, Ji-woo had lost his nerve and hidden behind Yeon-jae's back. They had lingered too long after that, and the timing had slipped away. He must have mentioned it while talking with Je-heon.

Telling them to follow, Je-heon left the hall first.

When they stepped outside, Hye-gyeong and Seo-ha were already there. Seo-ha had needed the bathroom so urgently that they had come out ahead, and they had been waiting outside for quite some time.

"So where are we going?"

"Auntie, Ahjussi is taking us to Jeffkin's dressing room!"

"The dressing room? Not just anyone can go in there."

Ji-woo explained on Yeon-jae's behalf.

"Mom, are we really going into the dressing room? For real?"

Seo-ha echoed the question at Hye-gyeong, equally incredulous.

In the meantime, Je-heon had come to a stop. He halted before a door labeled Dressing Room and knocked. A voice from inside seemed to tell them to come in. Je-heon opened the door without hesitation and walked through.

As the dressing room door swung open, a man came into view at the far end, standing before a mirror and adjusting his clothes. The moment Ji-woo realized who he was, his eyes flew wide. It was Jeffkin — the pianist he had talked about until his mouth went dry.

Jeffkin seemed to recognize Je-heon as well; his face brightened as he came forward. He offered a fluent greeting in English, and Je-heon smiled as he answered in kind. Fascinated by the unfamiliar language that wasn't Korean, Ji-woo looked back and forth between the two of them. Hye-gyeong and Seo-ha wore the same expression.

"You said you needed tickets, so I got them for you — but I didn't see you anywhere."

"I saw it. I was standing in the back."

Je-heon answered simply.

"Ji-woo's mom, can you understand what they're saying?"

"Ah."

Watching the exchange, Hye-gyeong had sidled up to Yeon-jae. They seemed to know each other, she observed. Yeon-jae was giving her a rough explanation of the parts she had caught when Je-heon's gaze, which had been on Jeffkin, suddenly landed on her.

"Why? I specifically gave you the royal seats."

The corner of Je-heon's mouth tugged upward.

"Just because. It was more comfortable that way."

"An oddball like you would do something like that..."

Yeon-jae, who had been telling Hye-gyeong that Jeffkin seemed to have gotten them the tickets, fell silent. She thought of the empty seat beside her that had stayed vacant through the entire recital. She had wondered if someone had no-showed on those expensive seats. Of course.

In that interval, Je-heon approached her. Then he introduced Ji-woo, who was hiding behind her back.

"This is the kid I told you about. He's your biggest fan."

"So you're Jeong Ji-woo?"

Ji-woo managed a tiny nod as he looked at Jeffkin, who had come right up to his face.

"Ji-woo has something he wants to give you."

At Je-heon's added words, Jeffkin stepped in front of the boy and bent down to his eye level.

"Th-this is... a present. To congratulate you."

Ji-woo's face was flushed red as he held out the flowers, his cheeks so bright they looked ready to burst. Apparently finding him adorable, Jeffkin laughed.

"I saw you play Salut d'Amour. You were quite something. I hope you'll become a wonderful pianist — and that we'll meet again."

When Je-heon relayed Jeffkin's words, Ji-woo didn't know what to do with himself. For a child, praise from his idol was incomparably sweet.

Even after they left the dressing room and exited the building, Ji-woo was still in a daze, as if he couldn't quite believe what had just happened.

"Mom, are we going home now? Seo-ha's hungry."

Yeon-jae glanced down at her wristwatch. Evening had already come and gone. The recital time had been awkward, so they hadn't eaten dinner before coming. That was why she had deliberately booked a late return train.

"Is that so? Then we'd better go get dinner."

Hye-gyeong was pulling out her phone, thinking they might eat near the train station, when Je-heon, who had been following behind, stepped forward.

"I'll show you to dinner."

His voice was low, but his eyes were on Yeon-jae alone.

"I have a restaurant reserved. Shall we?"

The place he led them to, claiming he had a reservation, was a fine dining restaurant. Yeon-jae had been uneasy from the moment he said they were going somewhere he knew. Every restaurant he was familiar with was a place like this.

A large private room had been decorated in a comfortable wood-toned interior. Yeon-jae, Ji-woo, Hye-gyeong, and Seo-ha sat facing one another at a table that looked as though it could seat six.

"Hah. Why is everything on this menu so expensive? Ji-woo's mom. Don't tell me... we're not splitting this, are we?"

Hye-gyeong had been scanning the menu when she whispered to Yeon-jae in horror. The course Yeon-jae saw listed was five hundred thousand won. Per person.

I knew it.

She had seen this coming from the moment he refused to tell them where they were going. When Je-heon came back from the restroom, she would have to ask if they might go somewhere else. He wasn't the kind of man who would bring them to a place like this and then leave them with the check. Even so, spending over a million won on a single meal felt far too wasteful — even knowing that an amount like this meant nothing to him.

Heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor, drawing steadily closer. Then the door to the private room opened, and Je-heon walked in. He had loosened his tie, his suit jacket and vest draped over one arm.

"There's only one course here, so I've already placed the order."

Yeon-jae didn't even have a chance to suggest they leave. Having driven that nail in, Je-heon hung his jacket and vest on the coat rack and approached the table.

There were plenty of empty seats. The spots beside Hye-gyeong and Seo-ha sat conspicuously vacant. And yet, without a hint of hesitation, Je-heon walked over and sat down next to Yeon-jae.

"For the record, I'm paying tonight, so please eat as much as you'd like. Think of it as an after-party for the autumn concert."

"An after-party! Oh my, so it's a company dinner?"

"That's right."

"CEO, you really don't hold back. This place is incredibly famous, you know. We'll eat well thanks to you — thank you so much."

Hye-gyeong looked thoroughly delighted, her earlier worries gone without a trace.

Until the first course arrived, Je-heon and Hye-gyeong kept up a stream of small talk. Seo-ha and Ji-woo chimed in now and then, and the atmosphere grew warm and lively. The only one who couldn't quite join in was Yeon-jae.

"Oh, but did you know? The three of you sitting like that — you look just like a family."

"..."

"I hadn't noticed before, but looking at you now, you and Ji-woo resemble each other quite a bit, CEO."

Hye-gyeong glanced back and forth between Ji-woo and Je-heon, then laughed as she went on.

"I'd believe you if you told me Ji-woo was your son."

They were careless words, flung out with no particular meaning. And yet Yeon-jae's heart gave a sickening lurch and sank.