The Woman He Loved
“It’s fine, Mom. Come with me. I’ll explain everything.”
Before Kyung-ja could even finish, Oh Jin-hee hung up. A message came right after, demanding lunch. Startled, Tae-yeon headed downstairs.
“My mother says she’s having lunch. What should I do?”
They didn’t have much time left, and preparing a proper meal seemed impossible. Yet Icheon-daek remained calm.
“Ah, there’s a high-class restaurant you’d love. Tell them Chairman Choi’s wife is coming, and they’ll prepare everything right away for delivery.”
Tae-yeon finally let out a sigh of relief. Icheon-daek made the call, the food arrived, and a little while later Oh Jin-hee stepped inside.
“Aigo, our little Yun-woo has grown so much.”
“Has he? He’s been drinking a lot of milk lately.”
A child’s first birthday was the perfect excuse to show off. Oh Jin-hee looked utterly satisfied, gazing at Yun-woo with genuine delight.
“He’s been nursing every once in a while, right?”
Jin-hee turned to Icheon-daek. Even though Tae-yeon was right there, she completely ignored her. Icheon-daek answered.
“Oh my, of course. Chairman said you’re never to touch breast milk. He told me personally.”
That man had said so? She had heard about the pig’s trotters, but he actually spoke to Icheon-daek about it? She was grateful.
Yet Oh Jin-hee’s face twisted in displeasure.
“Not even breast milk? And you’ve stopped the trotters too?”
“Yes. He made sure I never touch it again.”
“What kind of sense does that child have? He just took the breast milk away on Yun-woo’s first birthday?”
Tae-yeon clenched her fists, smiling through it all.
“Mother, a first birthday is still young. And Chairman Choi hates it, so how am I supposed to keep feeding him? It barely produces anything.”
“You could at least try in secret.”
“It doesn’t even come out.”
“You’re just showing off.”
The poor milk cow was getting scolded. Tae-yeon forced herself not to feel humiliated. After all, the one at fault was the one speaking rudely, not the one listening.
After laying out the full-course meal, Oh Jin-hee ate barely anything. She had mentioned she barely ate to keep her figure, yet here she was forcing an elaborate spread.
Tae-yeon kept her eyes on the mother-in-law, who slowly pulled several invitation cards from her handbag.
“This is the invitation for Yun-woo’s first birthday party. You probably won’t have many guests from your side, right? It would be better if you didn’t invite people who are completely out of our league. Well, it’s my mother’s fault if she insists.”
After handing over roughly five cards, Oh Jin-hee’s words left Tae-yeon sick to her stomach.
What kind of level? Everyone was the same. Here, Oh Jin-hee’s so-called level probably just meant clothes, shoes, and accessories. If people were judged by that, didn’t it make them even lower?
Still, Tae-yeon answered with professional calm.
“Yes, that’s right. We probably won’t have many guests either. We’re not even at your level.”
“What? Are you mocking me right now?”
“It’s not like I said that. You’re the one who brought it up.”
“You can’t deny it.”
“Of course not. We’ll only invite people who truly belong.”
For the next week, before Yun-woo’s birthday party, Choi Hyun-seo never came to Tae-yeon’s bedroom. Not once did they cross paths on the second floor. The silence was grating on her nerves. On the first floor everything was fine—his usual “I’ll be back, Tae-yeon” and the occasional head-pat for Yun-woo—yet upstairs not even a glance met her eyes. A full week passed that way.
It was the morning of the birthday party.
“Chairman, I’ll take Yun-woo to the banquet hall. I’ll see you there.”
Hyun-seo had finished preparing for work and set his briefcase down beside Tae-yeon’s words.
“How long are you going to keep this up?”
“Excuse me?”
“How long are you going to stay this cold?”
Tae-yeon didn’t know what he meant. To her, Hyun-seo had always been the cold one.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
Before she could finish, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her close. His lips crashed down, hot and demanding. For a long while he had been starving. Tae-yeon kissed him back eagerly, their bodies pressing together until his burning desire pressed insistently against her lower belly.
Even in his tailored suit, the massive heat pressing against her was perfectly natural. The kiss deepened. His hand cupped her breast.
“Mmm.”
A soft sound escaped her. His fingers slipped inside her clothes, gripping her waist, then sliding lower toward the hidden curve. Tae-yeon jerked.
“We’re late.”
“I know exactly what time it is.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“We need to loosen up. No matter how much we pretend at the party, we have to feel the pull. The atmosphere has to be real.”
So he was doing this just to create a loving couple image at the party?
Her mind spun. Push him away or let him continue? It was ambiguous. Tae-yeon steadied her breathing and spoke clearly.
“I’ll see you at the party later.”
“No. I’ll pick you up. We need to look like a happy family.”
How many people was he trying to fool? Or was he doing it just to show Yun-woo a perfect family?
His heart toward Yun-woo was almost fanatical. At least outwardly, he was desperate to give the boy a perfect family. Yet he never once held the child warmly, never fed him, never acted like a real father.
A double contradiction!
“Understood.”
The preparation was simple, but Yun-woo’s bag was heavy for a party. She had heard they even set up a family room beside the hall so Yun-woo could rest comfortably with Icheon-daek.
She dressed the plump bottom, put on the soft cashmere shirt, then added the navy tie and vest. Yun-woo—already beautiful—became dazzling.
“You’re so adorable I have to hug you. What if someone else picks you up?”
Icheon-daek’s eyes widened at the emotional words.
“Oh no. The only grandchild in the house. Chairman Choi must be so happy. I bet he’ll give a huge gift at the party.”
“Really?”
The moment Hyun-seo arrived, Tae-yeon held Yun-woo and descended with Icheon-daek. He stared at her, the gaze burning with unmistakable heat.
“Pretty.”
Pretty for whom? Yun-woo or her? It was impossible to tell, but later, when they got in the car, he opened the door with unusual gentleness.
“It’ll take a while to get there. I’ll take Yun-woo and Icheon-daek in the second car.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Icheon-daek went in the second car. The two of them sat side by side. Hyun-seo laced his fingers through Tae-yeon’s. The thick calluses felt strangely warm, and her heart raced without reason.
She had been holding her breath all along. If she had to keep this cold distance until the end, it would feel like sitting on a needle cushion. No matter how good the other conditions were, a subordinate at odds with her superior could never enjoy work. Especially not in the constant attention of Hyun-seo, under this icy atmosphere. The days had been pure torment.
Yet it was a relief that he had loosened the mood first. Tae-yeon said nothing and stayed quiet.
“There’ll be a lot of people at the party today. You might get tired. You’ll be stressed.”
He pulled out his phone. Almost instantly her alarm rang. She checked it and saw money had been deposited into her bank account. Her hand trembled at the sight.
She was supposed to earn her salary properly, yet the words left her empty?
They had sat so tenderly this morning, fingers laced, sharing such intense kisses, and yet everything could be reduced to money? Her heart felt hollow.
The banquet hall was far more grand than she expected. A famous national MC hosted the event. Holding Yun-woo, the three of them greeted the guests and received their greetings. With so many people around, Yun-woo suddenly burst into tears. Tae-yeon quickly took him to the family room attached to the hall and hotel.
“Little mother-in-law, I’ll watch Yun-woo. You go out and greet everyone. The party is just starting. He’ll be hungry soon. I’ll feed him and put him to bed.”
“Yes.”
She had finished greeting the guests and was about to return to the hall when a woman in the hallway stopped her, phone in hand.
“It’s really strange, isn’t it? Not some random person, but Choi Hyun-seo having a child with a woman who isn’t his wife. I thought he wouldn’t even look at other women.”
Ji-won? The word hit Tae-yeon like a knife in the heart.
That woman was Ji-won? The painful look in Choi Hyun-seo’s eyes when he had looked at the dying woman flashed in her mind. The woman he had loved.