Her Mother's Greeting
"I was curious about the man our Hyunji said she'd met. I know it isn't polite, but I was simply too curious."
"I understand."
"Hyunji stepped out for a moment, I take it?"
Han Gyeo-wool, who had been standing quietly behind Hyunji's mother, leaned in until her lips nearly brushed the woman's ear and began to whisper in a voice far too small for me to catch. I didn't need to hear a word of it to know what she was saying. The composure I'd been holding together so carefully wavered. I was going to lose my mind.
"Ah... is that so?"
"Yes. There doesn't appear to be anything seriously amiss."
"...All right."
Hyunji's mother, who had been watching me, let a faint smile touch her lips, lifted her coffee cup, and spoke.
"Thank you. Well, our Hyunji is old enough to know a man, isn't she. She hated it so much whenever I tried to pair her off that I didn't know what to do. It seems she meant to find someone herself. As a mother, I'm a failure."
I said nothing.
"Ah, truly, I only came because I wanted to see the face of the man my daughter fell for. Don't worry so much."
If that were really all, there would have been no reason to come rushing over like this. Drawing it out of her slowly might have been the wiser course, but asking outright didn't seem likely to bring the sky down. There was goodwill in the way she looked at me.
"Is that truly all?"
"...The truth is, I do have one request. I'd hoped to come to it more slowly."
I had a bad feeling about this. I knew perfectly well that Hyunji's family had money, but why did my mind leap straight to the romance dramas of the world I'd left behind? What followed was a little different from what I'd expected. Or perhaps it was much the same.
"Please. I'll listen, and then I'll give you my answer."
"Did you like my daughter's body?"
For a moment I doubted I'd heard her right, and my answer came late. I wasn't far enough gone to tell her it had tasted wonderful.
"...Pardon? Ah—yes. She was beautiful."
"What a relief. Then could you give Hyunji a child?"
That was not quite what I'd been bracing for. Clearly, when one spoke with the people this world called adults, one had to loosen up a little and take the conversation as it came.
"...You mean pregnancy?"
"That's right. If she ever wants one, this mother of hers will find someone for her. But if I can help it, I'd rather it be a man who has already found his way into Hyunji's heart."
"But as I understand it, Hyunji has her heart set on dance."
"That's exactly why. I'd be satisfied if her dancing ended here."
Pinky extended, she lifted her coffee cup and took a sip, and I watched her. It didn't match what Hyunji had told me. I'd heard she was a wonderful mother, the sort who told her daughter to do whatever she wanted.
"The truth is, Hyunji is good, but only because it's school, only because it's here at home. She isn't a genius. A mother's heart is like that. I want to let her do anything she pleases, but I don't particularly want to watch her weep over failure. I'd rather she quit before she meets a wall and breaks against it. Of course, this isn't merely a request."
She set the cup down gently and opened the orange handbag resting on the table. What she drew out was a pure white envelope. She laid it quietly in front of my coffee cup.
"This is a small token of thanks for being kind to my daughter. You should have heard her chattering—she was so happy. I could feel every bit of the consideration you showed her. And the report you filed today, on top of that. If you'll only keep seeing her from now on, I'll thank you again. And if you give her a child, I promise a far greater reward. All I ask is that, should you ever wish to leave Hyunji, you follow the picture I set out for you."
The envelope was thin as could be, as if nothing were inside it at all. Just thick enough for a single bill. That only made it more extraordinary. From the faint shape showing through, I could tell it was a check. The proposal itself was harmless enough that I could have agreed without a second thought. But not like this. I might be broke, but I wasn't without pride. I was no gigolo.
"I'll decline. Please put it away."
"...Would you at least look first? If it isn't enough, I can add more."
"That isn't it. The amount isn't the issue. And Hyunji is even less of one."
She was silent.
"I did sleep with Hyunji. That was because she and I wanted each other. And I intend to hold her again. It isn't over something as small as a report. Hyunji is my woman. Of course, if she wants to end it, then that will be the end. We'll both have to try so it doesn't come to that."
I swallowed, cleared my throat, and went on, meeting the eyes of Hyunji's mother as she watched me.
"Letting you govern us all the way to a parting would only make Hyunji sadder. If she never learns the sorrow of goodbye, I don't believe she'll ever understand how precious a meeting is."
"...Oh my."
"A child may come of us someday. But that ought to remain proof of the love between Hyunji and me. I don't want money tangled up in it. I've already said as much to Hyunji. And I may look sorely lacking in your eyes, but I'm not so destitute as all that."
"...Love...?"
"Yes. And if Hyunji wants to chase her dream, I mean to cheer her on. That said, she seems to expect a child from me as well, so we did talk a little. It's something she wants too, and I'm the one hesitating—so there's no need for you to do this."
"...I see. So that's how it was."
"I know I must look ridiculous, going on like this..."
"No. Not at all."
Somewhere along the way she had set both arms on the table and bent her ear to every word, and now she waved a hand with quiet elegance.
"I understand. It seems I've been rude yet again. Forgive me."
"Not at all. There's nothing to forgive. You're her mother. Of course you were worried for your daughter. I understand."
"...Mother. Hmm. Then let's say today was only a greeting. Forget about this. As for my daughter..."
"What is that?"
At my answer, Hyunji's mother smiled and slipped the envelope away, then studied me in silence. She rose and took off her sunglasses. She was the spitting image of Hyunji. If Hyunji aged this gracefully, I thought, this was exactly how she would look. She came quietly to my side and offered her right hand.
"I'm Hyunji's mother. Lee Hyesun. Take good care of my daughter."
I took her hand and gave it a light shake, and Hyunji's mother broke into a soft laugh.
"Then I'll see you again. Next time, I hope it's somewhere nicer."
"I'll look forward to it."
Lee Hyesun held my gaze a moment longer, put her sunglasses back on, turned, and walked out. She had come in like a prince arriving to seize a throne, and she left with a lively spring in her step. For an instant I could have sworn I saw flowers blooming around her. A grandmother, and now a mother. The moment the door shut and the lock clicked home, the tension deep in my chest let go, and a sigh escaped me on its own.
...Our Hyunji certainly knows how to put her oppa through it, doesn't she...?
I found myself wondering just how thoroughly I ought to torment Hyunji if I wanted word to get around that I had tormented her properly.
"How did he seem to you?"
"...He didn't strike me as an ordinary man. His eyes are different."
"I think so too. Those eyes leave quite an impression. A wolf's eyes, those. The eyes of the male who leads the pack. I haven't felt anything like it since the late Chairman Lee Chul-young of Hanseong."
"Yes. He reminded me of the young lady's father as well."
"Unbelievable. I barged in to see how he'd react, and I'm the one who took the hit. And for the first time in ages, I actually got wet."
Han Gyeo-wool said nothing.
"My God. His woman? Mother? He'll take responsibility? I did hear that correctly, didn't I?"
"Yes. I heard it as well. Even among Multimales, his sense of self is exceptionally strong."
Humming to herself as she waited for the elevator, Lee Hyesun spun the handbag on her fingertip, over and over, like a plate.
"I thought I'd have nothing left to wish for if Hyunji simply quit dance, even if she never joined the business. And now look at this. My daughter has sunk her teeth into a man properly."
"The young lady is your daughter, after all."
"Did you hear him say he'd take responsibility? Ah, what do I do? He's too cute. What am I supposed to do. Gyeo-wool, it keeps circling in my ears. 'I will take responsibility.' God. That's sexy."
Gyeo-wool held her tongue.
"A mere report? Ridiculous. To think he'd call that 'mere.'"
Cheeks cupped in her hands, feet tapping, Lee Hyesun was reflected in the polished doors of the elevator—and so was the woman beside her.
"You checked, didn't you?"
At that, Han Gyeo-wool drew a folded sheet of A4 from inside her jacket and handed it to Lee Hyesun.
"Yes. He graduated with the seventy-second class of Taeyang High School, then from the Department of Geography at Hanseong University, and founded a startup with seniors and juniors he'd met in the computer club. The president, who had been his senior, embezzled the investment and fled; the company was absorbed into Next, and he is most likely in the Philippines now. His mother died in a traffic accident five years ago and never gave birth to any child besides Lee Shinwoo."
"So he really has nothing."
"Yes. He's clean. The paternal line isn't in the records, so a genetic test would be required, but the father left no trace from twenty years ago, and when I looked into it he turned out to be deceased. Shall I look into the grandmother's line as well?"
"No. Leave that. What do you make of him?"
"I don't believe he approached her with any design. In fact, he lived in the same neighborhood as the young lady for three years, but the first reported contact was the bus stop a few days ago. And the young lady was the one who approached him."
Lee Hyesun nodded at Han Gyeo-wool's voice as she looked over the page, and her eyes stopped in one place.
"Two? Really only two?"
"Yes. There are two women in his past, and recently one woman besides the young lady. A woman named Oh Rahi. I confirmed her today. I didn't feel any need to investigate further."
"Unbelievable. What's wrong with girls' eyes these days? It's strange enough that they'd leave a man like that alone, but they even broke up with him?"
"Yes. It's certain. We're tracking them now. I'll report as soon as word comes in."
"And no children?"
"None, according to the genetic registry. Shall I go over his assets as well?"
"No need. How much could a man that age possibly have. Spotless. The lack of a child does make me wonder whether there's something wrong with his health, but still, he suits our innocent daughter perfectly. I was worried she was too frail."
Just then the elevator arrived, and Han Gyeo-wool and a woman whose name I didn't know boarded after Lee Hyesun. Hyesun folded the paper again and passed it back over her shoulder, and Gyeo-wool tucked it away against her chest.
"When I first offered the envelope, he seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then all at once there was fire in his eyes. His pride had been stung. Looking at his schooling, he isn't a fool, and he's sharp enough that he can't have failed to guess the amount. He doesn't seem to have any particular plan or dream, either."
"Yes. I haven't grasped that yet."
"Of course that would make him the finest sort of man, but those eyes don't belong to someone who'll settle into being a tame house cat. So is he the type who looks down on money? That needs correcting, but show him a taste of it and it'll fix itself soon enough."
"...Do you need my opinion?"
"No. Just talking to myself. Listening to him, it sounded sincere. You know I'm good at spotting that."
"Yes."
"To think a single sentence could leave me feeling healed. Don't you agree?"
"Yes."
"How long has it been since a man made my heart race. If he weren't my daughter's man, I'd swallow him in one bite. Wait a moment—if he and Hyunji break up, should I meet him myself?"
Lee Hyesun smiled at her reflection in the elevator mirror, and Han Gyeo-wool kept her eyes fixed on the doors ahead.
She said nothing.
"What, you didn't feel it? Am I the only one?"
"Ah—no."
"Then what did our Gyeo-wool make of Lee Shinwoo?"
Han Gyeo-wool sank into thought for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.
"From what I confirmed today, he seemed independent and enterprising, unlike men these days, and I liked the look of it. On top of that, he appears to possess a rare possessiveness toward women. I can't be certain, but I judge there's a desire to dominate mixed in as well. And he was gentlemanly and polite, and even when the young lady fussed he handled her without a trace of irritation or nerves. Quite different from an ordinary Multimale. I found it interesting."
"I know. The moment I heard him say he'd take responsibility, I felt a burning look from behind me."
"...I'm sorry. It was so far outside what I expected..."
"It's not as if I don't know your tastes. I understand, so it's fine."
Watching the elevator numbers change, Lee Hyesun let out a sigh and murmured.
"Don't men truly not understand women at all? There are times we want to lean on someone and rest, and yet they always expect us to be womanly. We aren't made of steel. They don't know what's in our hearts—they just whine every time we see them."
"That's right."
"With a temperament like that, I do worry Hyunji might grow dependent on him... Still, that would be cute in its own way. Among three generations of strong-willed Lee women, it's fine if one of them is the cute one. And she might hide it well in ordinary life, the way you do."
"Ch-Chairwoman. That's—"
"I know. No one else is listening."
Tapping the handbag lightly with a fingertip, lost in thought, Lee Hyesun went on.
"And watch him. Carefully."
"Are you thinking of keeping him?"
"Not yet. I just want to see. Whether it's all talk, or whether he truly means to take responsibility."
"How far should I go?"
"Use your judgment."
"Yes. Set your mind at ease."
"Good. For the time being, the security team will handle my protection."
"Yes."
"Worked out nicely, didn't it?"
"...Pardon?"
"You never know. Who's to say? He might really become your 'master.'"
"Ch-Chairwoman."
Lee Hyesun looked at the flustered woman with the bobbed hair and laughed, bright and ringing, and the bob-haired woman scratched her cheek, awkward. Hyesun drew her gently into an embrace.
"From the moment your unni Seora left you in my care and departed this world, I've always thought of you as my daughter."
"...I know."
"Han Gyeo-wool. Blood or not, you are my daughter too. Don't forget that."
"...I think of you as my mother as well, Chairwoman."
And Han Gyeo-wool, after a hesitation, reached out and wrapped her arms around Lee Hyesun's back.
"...But."
"Yes?"
"...Is it really possible to pass out from s-sex...?"
"...I... I can hardly believe it myself, but..."
"Explain it to me. In detail."
"...The young lady, she..."
And as Han Gyeo-wool's explanation went on, her cheeks and Lee Hyesun's alike began to burn red, and they swallowed, hard, again and again.