The Price of Freedom
While pretending to be someone else’s wife and demanding all sorts of favors, you won’t even handle my grade management? That’s worse than extortion.
Seonwu muttered this as he stared out the front windshield, driving. Jae-ye let out a sigh that seemed to pull the floor out from under her.
What? At this point, shouldn’t I say something?
Seonwu glanced at her, his lips curving into a smile.
What do you mean, “say something”? “Thank you very much”?
No, not that.
Then… the best? “Head of Division”?
I’m going to skip school today. That’s what I meant.
Aah.
Jae-ye, who had been looking down, hurriedly covered her mouth. Her palm trembled faintly against her lips.
She found herself laughing for no reason at his words. Money was tight, yet her heart felt strangely tickled.
This is my first time skipping school.
I know. That’s why the old president of the university enjoys tearing you apart even more, since you love school so much.
But even if the Head of Division says that, I’ll study hard. I really wanted to attend university.
I know that too. So what now? Shall we go to school, or…?
I said I’m skipping.
She had seen teachers urging students to study hard, but this was the first time she had been taught how to skip school.
Of course, since Yonghwa the Shaman had forbidden her from attending school, the world might have had people who studied diligently—but Seonwu had been the first to teach her how to skip.
Good thinking. Since the furniture and household items will be yours, you should choose them yourself.
Seonwu changed lanes the moment he finished speaking and stopped at the left-turn signal.
Across the traffic light, a green sign with the white characters “Ahyeon-dong” sparkled in the sunlight.
Shopping for furniture in Ahyeon-dong went smoothly.
Since they were going to receive everything at once, Seonwu selected from two companies listed by Manager Park. Both were personal businesses operating their own logistics warehouses, and they promised delivery by evening.
He paid tens of millions of won at the two furniture companies.
When Jae-ye gasped at the price, Seonwu shrugged it off, saying it wasn’t even enough for the chair in the study at Unamjae.
The worry that Ahyeon-dong furniture might not suit his mother-in-law’s taste suddenly came to mind.
Given how expensive Seonwu’s clothes and shoes were, it was only natural that Park would worry about Jae-ye’s taste.
After choosing the furniture, they visited a nearby home-furnishing store and bought pots, cookware, and decorative items for the kitchen.
She had always thought of her home as simply clean and tidy, swept and dusted, not as a place to decorate.
The home-furnishing store shook her values.
The decorative cushions and clocks inside were so beautiful they made her dizzy.
Seonwu, who had felt guilty for what happened in Unamjae, wanted to ease her heart and filled the cart with everything she desired.
By the time they finished shopping, two carts were completely full.
Ha… When am I going to move all this?
They couldn’t ask the delivery service to bring it today since they needed everything immediately.
After making the rounds multiple times, the car was finally packed. Only then could Seonwu set the boxes down and stretch his tired arms.
Does it hurt?
It’s not that it hurts. It’s just… complicated. Did we really become independent for nothing?
Jae-ye covered her mouth and laughed. She could have joked that they should go in alone, but today’s time with him was too precious, and she hoped it would last a little longer.
Well, shall we head home then?
Seonwu glanced at her as she climbed into the passenger seat.
He turned the car, exited the underground parking lot, checked both sides, and merged into the road. After driving about 500 meters, Jae-ye suddenly recalled a place.
Head of Division, um…
Not the title “Head of Division.” Is there something else? Calling me “Head of Division” makes me feel like I’m working outside too.
Seonwu had never minded what she called him before, but today the title she used bothered him.
You don’t like the title? Everyone at Unamjae calls you that…
It’s not that I dislike it. I would have been fine with “Manager Park” or “Section Manager,” but “Head of Division” makes it seem like the furniture store people are trying to take advantage of me.
Aah…
Jae-ye couldn’t help but smile at his words.
Thinking about it, every time he used the title “Head of Division” at the furniture store, people kept glancing at his face.
Some people immediately thought of the Samjeong Group, but most who didn’t follow the economic news looked at him with the expression “Is that young guy the Head of Division?”
Then… what about “Manager Jeong”?
…
“Section Manager Jeong”?
Are you kidding me?
Since that morning when he had accidentally confessed his feelings, Seonwu had worried their relationship might not survive.
Fortunately, nothing happened.
Seonwu was an adult, and he had enough sense not to be swept away by her slip of the tongue.
Then should I call you “Uncle”?
Whatever you like.
Or… “Oppa”?
I’d feel so grateful that I’d have to buy you a meal if you called a twenty-six-year-old man “Oppa.”
Jae-ye waved her hand as if saying “Silly.”
Hey, what meal? You’d have to buy the meal too. The Head of Division bought furniture and all the things for the house too.
Calling me “Head of Division” again.
Oh, right.
Every time I use that title, someone from the company gives me that annoyed look.
Aah…
It’s fine to call me “Uncle.” Just don’t say “Head of Division.” Let’s stop here. I’m starving after all that hard work.
Aah, I know a famous place nearby.
Good. Famous or not, let’s go and eat a bite.
Since the conversation about titles, Jae-ye’s lips had been moving. She suddenly called out to him.
Seonwu.
?
Seonwu, is it all right to call you that?
The title “Mr. Seonwu” felt awkward for a university student and too mature.
Still, she wanted to use it once, even though it felt as if she had placed him on an unfamiliar stage.
If it’s uncomfortable, then try another title—
No. That’s the most neutral one.
Aah… Yes.
Jae-ye’s reddened face was reflected in the passenger window.
The flush didn’t disappear for a long time.
Where Jae-ye had insisted they go was a café in Ahyeon-dong.
It was a café run by a cultural arts content planning company, located in a building that had once been an old bathhouse, which she had seen on SNS and longed to visit someday.
The café had kept the original bathroom tiles and framework, and even the old bathhouse sign hung outside.
People called it hip and loved it.
But Jae-ye didn’t know anything about hip aesthetics or retro nostalgia.
To her, every place in Seoul was brand new and exciting.
When she received the notification that their drinks were ready, Jae-ye personally brought the tray and showed him the signature drink.
Head of Division, this is Half-Bath Latte. It’s really amazing, right?
Inside the glass cup, a Cookie Man-shaped ice cream was half-submerged. The drink was designed to resemble someone taking a half-bath while sitting in the drink.
Yeah, it’s amazing.
Seonwu gave a lifeless answer and drank his Vienna coffee.
He had no interest in cafés where young people gathered.
He had only come here to ease Jae-ye’s heart.
While Seonwu simply scanned the café with his eyes, Jae-ye across from him took out her phone camera, photographed the coffee in front of her, stood up, and took pictures of the entire café.
The things that caught her eye were the wooden structure of the ceiling and the bath-related decorations.
Wow!
Seonwu watched Jae-ye take photos around the café.
He had just found it fun and would have stopped. She, however, stared at the place for a long time, took the photos, and even checked the phone’s memory multiple times.
Thankfully, it seemed she had forgotten about the assault at Unamjae.
?
When Jae-ye felt his presence, she looked at him, and he waved his hand as if to say she should keep going.
Keep going. You look excited.
No, I’ve taken all the photos.
When she returned to her seat, Jae-ye stirred the ice cream in the Half-Bath Latte.
What did you take so many photos of?
Just… everything.
Let me see.
She showed him the photos one by one. There were about ten from the café, followed by the penthouse photos she had taken today.
You seem to like taking photos.
Not really. Just…
He kept flipping through the photos without stopping, revealing every memory of Jae-ye stored on her phone.
Gangwon Palace beside the dermatology clinic where she went for treatment.
The yellow-leafed plane trees lining the street.
Pasta carbonara with her friends at lunch…
Just from the photos, he could guess what she did and how she lived.
Jae-ye faithfully photographed and recorded her life.
Why do you take so many photos?
Later. So I can look back and think, “I did this at that time.”
Later?
Yes, later.
The life she lived now was exactly what the past Jae-ye had imagined while watching TV.
Being with friends, attending school, eating lunch outside.
Ordinary days she had never dreamed of.
Head of Division, or Seonwu, since you’ve studied abroad and traveled a lot, you might think these things are nothing special. But at the hermitage, I always wanted to live like this.
So your daily life is so happy that you record it in photos?
Jae-ye nodded.
Seonwu pitied her, but Jae-ye didn’t think her life in Seoul was miserable enough to deserve pity.
Her mother-in-law’s scoldings and warnings stung, but she had a husband who supported her, she attended the university she had longed for, she had friends to confide in, and everything she loved was in Seoul.
Seonwu turned off the photo album app and opened the memo app, placing it in front of her.
Write down everything you want there.
Really?
Yeah. Write whatever you want—ten, twenty, whatever.
She was the one who had been suppressed for two years and eleven months because of him. He wanted to do at least one thing for her before the divorce came.
Write everything?
Yeah. Ten, twenty, or whatever—write it all there.