Both Hands Full
Four in the afternoon.
The hour when sunlight slanted low across the sky. But inside the living room, there was barely room to step between the toys and baby bottles the child had scattered everywhere.
"Waaah—!"
"There, there. Is our Ha-yun hungry? Mommy will get you your bottle right away."
Lee Su-jeong scooped up her fussing daughter with practiced ease in one arm, shaking a bottle with the other. The old wrist brace wrapped around her wrist ached, but she had no time to show it.
Just then, the phone she'd left on the dining table rang.
Mom.
Su-jeong hesitated a moment before pressing the answer button. She raised her voice an octave—bright, as if she hadn't a care in the world.
"Hey, Mom! What's going on?"
"Su-jeong, have you eaten? Is Ha-yun growing well?"
"Of course. I'm eating fine and doing just fine. Ha-yun was just about to have her bottle, too."
"That's good…. And your husband? I can barely get a look at him these days, so I thought I'd call. He couldn't even make it to the ancestral rites last time…. Is work at the company that busy?"
Her mother's voice carried a mix of hurt and worry. Something in Su-jeong's chest twinged sharply.
"Ah…. Yeah. Sounds like he took on a big project at work. He's been going in on weekends, too—completely swamped."
It was a lie.
Her husband, Park Do-hun, had quit the advertising agency where he'd worked. And he had started a business with Minjun—practically a younger brother to him.
But she still hadn't told her parents.
If she said he'd walked away from a perfectly good job, one where a promotion had been right around the corner, to start a business—she knew exactly how worried they would be.
And if it doesn't work out….
It would have been a lie to say she felt no anxiety. The terror that the steady monthly paycheck might simply stop. The child was growing, and how were they supposed to cover next month's loan interest and living expenses?
Nights spent writing out the household budget and sighing flickered past her mind.
But Su-jeong believed in her husband.
She was holding on by that single conviction—that a kind, hardworking man like him would never let his wife and child go hungry.
"Even so. Isn't he working too much? What if he ruins his health? And you—don't walk on eggshells around him so much. If things get hard, come stay with us for a bit and rest."
"I know, Mom. Once his project wraps up a little, we'll all come together. I'll bring something delicious."
"Never mind delicious. Just bring yourselves."
After hanging up, Su-jeong let out a long breath.
"Hoo…."
Ha-yun, nestled in her arms, stared up at her mother with wide, bright eyes.
"Ha-yun. Daddy's…. doing well, right?"
These days her husband left at dawn and came home late at night. His face was full of exhaustion, but his eyes looked far more alive than before.
As for the money…. honestly, she wasn't sure.
The household allowance never stopped coming. Last month he'd even given her a little extra, calling it a bonus.
But business was the kind of thing you never knew how it might turn out.
Su-jeong adjusted the baby carrier.
Still, being busy is a good thing. It means there's work.
She pressed her uneasy heart down firm and headed for the kitchen to reheat the formula that had gone cold.
At the same hour.
A department store parking garage in Gangnam.
A black Mercedes S-Class glided in. Park Do-hun stepped from the driver's seat and handed the car over to valet parking with practiced ease; from the passenger side, Kang Minjun climbed out.
"Hyung. Don't you think this is a little much?"
Minjun started in on him the moment his feet hit the ground.
"What is."
"You buy Mom and Dad those expensive hanwoo sets and red ginseng without batting an eye. But what have you actually done for your wife this whole time? You think this company took off because of me alone?"
Do-hun scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish.
"Honestly, your part is pretty huge."
"You think I could have focused on writing if you hadn't been in this with me?"
"Well, sure, but as a CEO you can't just start spending the second things go well. It's company money, too…. And this isn't really my success—it's money you earned by writing well."
At that, Minjun stopped walking. He turned and looked at his hyung with a serious face.
"Hyung."
"What."
"You going to keep saying stuff like that? Who's the CEO of Muse Co., Ltd.? Isn't it President Park Do-hun?"
Minjun straightened his hyung's tie as he spoke.
"Without you, I'd have blown a gasket reading contracts and never written a word. Tax, legal, managing employees, the Japan expansion negotiations—you did all of that. I just sat in a corner banging on a keyboard."
"Hey, that's…."
"So stop talking like that. You've earned every right to enjoy this. No—you should enjoy more of it."
Minjun jabbed him in the side with a finger.
"Though for all that talk about being careful…. the settlement that came in this time, the numbers were different, weren't they."
A smile crept slowly across Do-hun's mouth.
He couldn't deny it.
The account balance he'd checked today was a sum you could work a lifetime as a salaryman and still never scrape together. Once the Japanese market broke open, the revenue coming in was on a completely different scale.
"If we just keep going like this…."
"Not 'if we just keep going.'"
Minjun grinned.
"Hyung, when does the lease on that villa of yours end?"
"Next spring, I think? Why?"
"Time to move. A Seoul apartment—Gangnam, or somewhere in Mapo, Yongsan, Seongdong."
"Hey, hey. What apartment? Do you know what Seoul real estate costs?"
Do-hun waved him off, but his heart was hammering.
A dream as a head of household.
Not a moldy old villa, but raising his child in a proper apartment. The desire to give his wife a wide, clean kitchen.
It had drawn so close he could almost close his hand around it.
"Don't worry. The ideas in my head are running wild right now."
Minjun tapped his own temple.
"This Japan deal is just the beginning. The next work, the one after that…. I'll get sister-in-law a Han River view, so just trust me."
"Haha, this kid…."
Do-hun slung an arm around his younger brother's shoulders. It felt solid. Reliable.
"Alright. For today…."
Do-hun's gaze turned toward the entrance of the department store's luxury wing.
"Let's go spend."
"Okay. Card limit—none?"
"I brought my personal card, not the corporate one. Limit? Might as well max it out today."
The two men passed through the revolving doors with the solemn faces of men on a mission.
After the shopping was done, inside the car.
The back seat was so packed with shopping bags there was barely room for a person to sit.
Do-hun rested his hands on the wheel, took one deep breath, and picked up his phone.
"Hey, honey. It's me."
"Oh, honey. Are you off work?"
His wife's voice came through the receiver, sounding a little worn from looking after the baby.
"Yeah. On my way now. Don't eat dinner—wait for me. I'll pick up groceries on the way in. I'll cook when I get there, so you just rest."
"Really? You must be tired, though…."
"I'm fine. Oh, and Minjun's coming with me today."
"Minjun too?"
His wife's voice brightened at once.
"Alright. Since Minjun's coming, I should pull out a few more side dishes. Drive safe."
After hanging up, Do-hun glanced at Minjun and snorted a laugh.
"The second I said you were coming, her voice lit up. When I say I'm coming, it's just whatever."
"Part of it's that she's happy to see me, but mostly she's glad you're doing well enough to bring me along."
"Listen to this guy."
But Do-hun knew.
Su-jeong had been relieved.
A husband running a business bringing his younger brother home meant, at the very least, that nothing bad was happening at the company. It meant he wasn't walking through the door with a ruined face because everything had fallen apart.
"Let's go."
Do-hun pressed the accelerator.
The car flew cleanly down the uncongested Gangbyeon Expressway.
Beep-beep-beep-beep— click.
At the sound of the door lock releasing, Su-jeong hurried to the entryway, Ha-yun in her arms.
"Daddy's home~ Ha-yun, Daddy's here!"
The baby seemed to know her father was coming; she burst into a peal of giggles.
The front door opened.
"We're home."
"Welcome ho… me?"
Su-jeong's greeting trailed off and stopped. Her eyes went round.
The two men who had stepped into the entryway. Her husband and Minjun.
But she couldn't see their faces.
"What…. is all this?"
It was because of the shopping bags filling both their hands—and hanging all the way up their forearms.
A wall of multicolored shopping bags completely hid the two of them from view.
An orange box with a ribbon-tied bag. A black shopping bag with a camellia flower. And beyond those—Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dior….
It looked as if they had cleaned out the entire first floor of the department store.
"Honey…? Have you lost your mind? What on earth is all…."
Su-jeong stumbled a step backward in sheer shock. It didn't feel real. Were those all genuine? Empty boxes, maybe?
Do-hun grunted as he kicked off his shoes, came into the living room, and set the bags down.
Thud. Thud.
The living room floor filled with luxury bags and clothes.
"Whew…. Thought my arms were going to fall off."
Do-hun wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled.
Minjun set his own load down with a broad grin.
"Sister-in-law, how have you been? And hello to Ha-yun, too."
"M-Minjun…. What is all this? Did you win the lottery or something?"
Su-jeong pointed at one of the shopping bags with a trembling hand. Just from the logos, you could guess the prices.
Do-hun caught his breath and began explaining one by one.
"This is a suit and shoes for your father. Got him the best ones."
"Wh…?"
"This is a handbag and coat for your mother. Not sure if she'll like them. And this is a tie and watch for your brother. For your sister, perfume and a cosmetics set."
Su-jeong couldn't close her mouth.
Her husband hadn't just bought for his own family—he'd brought gifts for every single member of her side of the family, too. And every last one of them was so expensive it was almost embarrassing.
"And."
Do-hun picked up the largest, most dazzling orange shopping bag.
"This one's yours."
"M-mine…?"
"Minjun said we should buy mostly for you. So I picked out the prettiest ones."
Su-jeong stared blankly at her husband.
Minjun chimed in from the side.
"Sister-in-law. Carrying all this, I thought my shoulders were going to pop out. Hyung got so greedy I barely stopped him from sweeping the whole store."
"No, Minjun…. Even so, this is way too much…."
"It's not too much. Compared to how long you've waited and trusted hyung, this is nothing."
Minjun grinned playfully and gave Ha-yun's cheek a gentle poke.
"This uncle's earned plenty for our Ha-yun's snack money, too, so don't you worry."
Su-jeong's gaze returned to her husband.
Do-hun glanced sideways at Minjun, then stepped closer with a shy air and wrapped an arm around Su-jeong's shoulders.
A warm, broad hand.
That touch, which had always been drawn in with apology, felt heavy and steady today—confident.
"Honey."
"Yeah…."
"You've worked so hard. I know I put you through it—quitting the company on some ridiculous stubbornness, making you worry."
Do-hun's voice trembled slightly.
"Not even being able to talk about me properly when you visit your parents, holding back even when there was something you wanted…. Thank you for believing in me."
"…"
"This is…. paying it back with interest. Interest on the faith you lent me."
Do-hun looked steadily into Su-jeong's eyes.
"And this is just the beginning. Better things, tastier things—I'll give all of it to you and Ha-yun. I'm Park Do-hun, CEO of Muse, after all."
In that moment, the tears Su-jeong had been holding back broke free.
"Uhhuh…."
Relief. Gratitude. And a swelling, overwhelming emotion.
The anxiety she had swallowed alone all this time melted away like snow, and in its place rose love and respect for her husband.
"You idiot…. Who asked for any of this…. I just need you healthy…."
Still holding Ha-yun, Su-jeong buried her face against her husband's chest.
"I know. I know, but I wanted to do this for you."
Do-hun held his wife tight. Between her parents, Ha-yun beamed up at them both.
Watching from a step behind, Minjun wore a warm, contented smile.
This is good.
Success shone brighter in moments like these than in any number printed on a bank statement.
The power to let the people you care about stand a little taller, to wipe the tears from their eyes.
That was the real reason Minjun wrote, and the real reason he earned money.
"Sister-in-law, save the crying for later and start the unboxing, yeah? I'm getting dizzy just wanting to watch."
Minjun's clowning made Su-jeong break from tears into laughter.
A small villa living room.
But the air filling that space was warmer and richer than any penthouse.
Returning home in glory.
They said you came home dressed in silk.
Today, the brothers Park Do-hun and Kang Minjun came home not in silk robes, but with both hands full of love—back to the warmest place of all.