Chapter 155
Chapter 155
.......
.......
It was intensely awkward.
Black sweatpants. A stretched-out t-shirt. Hair matted from lying in bed until just minutes ago.
To anyone watching, he was just an ordinary middle-aged man.
Though I'd never actually met So-hee's father, so calling him 'ordinary' was just my own impression with no real point of reference. At any rate, the clothes this man wore now didn't look much different from what So-hee's father had been wearing.
When I'd first arrived, Su-a's father had been in a stiff three-piece suit and tie, looking overwhelmingly imposing. Now, in this outfit, he looked like a man who could chat casually with Su-a without anyone batting an eye.
......Got thirsty?
The man who'd been staring at me for a long moment finally asked.
Yes.
I nodded. Without a word, he took another cup from the cupboard, set it down, and poured water into it.
Then he lifted the cup and silently held it out.
......Thank you.
I accepted it with both hands.
Come to think of it, I rarely said things like that to an adult. I barely spoke to the servants in the first place, and no matter the age gap, I'd never felt a need to show them respect.
Mutual respect didn't exist between us in any form, so even if someone much older handed me something, it wasn't strange for me to take it with one hand.
So I could say I was reading the room properly for once.
The original Sara would never have agonized over any of this.
.......
Still, how was I supposed to drink this?
I didn't watch much television, but I'd picked up this kind of common sense somewhere.
The original Sara, whenever she accepted alcohol from an older person, would turn her body away to drink.
.......
I hesitated, then decided to follow her example.
I turned my upper body slightly to the side and drank while holding the cup in both hands.
Honestly, the posture was a little awkward, but I was in front of a friend's father. I had to observe at least basic courtesy.
.......
And Su-a's father just watched me quietly.
After I'd taken a few swallows, I looked back to see him still holding his cup. It was as if he'd forgotten to drink.
Not that I could point that out.
......More than anything, I had no idea what to do with the empty cup in my hands.
The sink was out of the question since he was standing right in front of it. Setting it down on the table and walking away seemed too rude. Asking him to take it for me felt even worse.
......Give it here.
As if he'd read my mind, Su-a's father extended his hand.
......Thank you.
I hesitated for another moment, then finally gave him the cup.
Watching him place it in the sink, I agonized over what to do next.
Not knowing proper etiquette was a bigger problem than I'd realized. Maybe it was because I'd only ever dealt with adults who didn't demand politeness from me, but now, faced with an adult I had to maintain a relationship with, I found myself second-guessing every move.
When I'd dealt with So-hee's father, at least So-hee had been beside me. She used casual language with him, and he treated her like an old friend with no barriers between them.
But Su-a and her father didn't seem to share that kind of close bond.
From what I'd gathered from Su-a's mother, there was mother-daughter warmth in their own way, but the gaps between people could be vast.
......Su-a.
Still facing the sink, Su-a's father spoke up.
As I understand it, she approached you first.
It took a moment to grasp his meaning. Then I realized he was talking about Su-a's first contact with the original Sara.
......Yes, that's right.
I had spun the story that way. The man clearly thought little of me; I could see that much. There was no way I could tell him, 'Actually, I have two personalities, and the person Su-a greeted that day wasn't me.'
I knew exactly how dangerous that would sound, especially since I'd been sleeping in the same bed as Su-a just a short while ago.
I hear you're quite close with Su-a.
Yes, that's right.
This time I could answer without hesitation.
Because we really were.
Close enough that I'd thought she might not accept an apology.
Besides, that was the outside perception too. Su-a had already lost most of her acquaintances for getting close to me. She'd run away from home to stay at my mansion. And now, here I was, the one who'd run away, crashing at her place.
If I tried to claim we weren't close now, that would be stabbing her in the back.
Su-a, impossibly kind as she was, would probably blame herself and move past it, but—
......I see.
Su-a's father kept his head lowered, gazing at the sink. Then he turned around.
His expression was rigidly stiff.
I could see it even under this dim moonlight, so I could only imagine how grim it must look in proper light.
......Do you, by any chance, resent Su-a?
......Pardon?
Once again, the topic had veered somewhere I could never have anticipated.
If you harbor any resentment toward Su-a, none of it is her fault. It's all mine. If you're unhappy about something, resent me, not Su-a.
......Pardon?
My mouth fell slightly open.
Had he overheard our conversation before we fell asleep?
......No, I didn't think so. He didn't strike me as the type. Of course, you can't judge solely on first impressions, but hearing him speak like this, worried for his daughter, I didn't think I was wrong.
May I ask why you're telling me this?
Still, I didn't understand, so I asked.
......The reason Su-a didn't approach you in middle school... it was all because I made her.
......Pardon?
Words I had never imagined then came from his mouth.
*
Before I knew it, we were seated on the living room sofa, facing each other with as much distance between us as possible.
Not that distance was needed. No one who saw us would mistake this for a secret rendezvous. The tension in the air made that impossible.
So...... you're saying you did this out of concern for Su-a?
To be precise, it was concern for my company.
The story Su-a's father told matched what I'd heard from the others. Nasty rumors had been circulating, and he didn't want his company to suffer. So he'd hoped Su-a wouldn't get close to me.
......But.
You believed those absurd rumors?
The words slipped out before I could mind my manners.
I'd believed those rumors. Most kids probably did. Maybe even some adults.
But a chairman of a business group believing them was harder to understand.
Someone at his level, I would've thought, would at least look into whether they were true.
......Do you know what 'Yiwon' in Yiwon Trading Company means?
He was, apparently, talking about the company name.
.......
A trading company, historically, refers to a firm that made its money importing goods from the West back when exchange was difficult. Simply put, we're a trade company.
Su-a's father let out a small sigh and continued.
From its founding at the end of the Joseon era until now, this company has expanded into countless sectors, but trade remains its foundation. Of course, the direction has shifted. Now it's less about importing from overseas and more about exporting what's already here. Korea lives on exports these days, after all.
.......
I listened quietly.
And among those goods we trade, some belong to Yujin Group.
Pardon?
Yes. Surprising, isn't it, that a company that big has places where it hasn't established a branch. But no matter how large a company is, they rarely want to walk into undeveloped markets on purpose. Yujin Electronics is no different. Especially in areas like Africa—it's common to lack a proper branch office.
And you're selling products in those places on behalf of Yujin Group?
That's right.
.......
I thought for a moment, then asked.
But if the market isn't formed.......
You think we could simply give it up without doing all that work?
.......
When I fell silent, Su-a's father continued slowly.
Yujin Group is our biggest client. They've essentially entrusted us with exploring and cultivating those markets. We connect those countries to Yujin Group. We fill the gaps Yujin Group can't cover with our own resources and capabilities. It's a partnership. And because of that.......
If even a fraction of those rumors were true, Yiwon Trading Company could take a massive hit.
......And in the grand scheme of things, that far outweighed the value of a single child who shared not a drop of their blood.
.......
I couldn't find anything to say.
......I know perfectly well that an apology alone won't fix this. But.......
Su-a's father spoke.
At the very least, in that relationship, none of it was Su-a's fault. Su-a was only trying to overcome that pressure.......
......Is that so.
My voice came out steadier than I'd expected.
I wasn't really shocked, after all.
No matter how I looked at it, the reasons and results were similar to what I'd already guessed.
And since that was the case, I had no reason to resent Su-a.
......Su-a was the one who'd found the courage to speak to me despite everything.
Going against her own father's wishes.
Thank you for telling me.
With that thought, I could say it to Su-a's father.
......Mm.
Su-a's father just nodded.
......I wouldn't try to take any revenge on Su-a. She'd been willing to give up everything she had, everything she'd built for herself, just to apologize to me.
Still, no matter what, I couldn't see this man in a good light.
......He claimed he was doing it for his daughter, but in the end, Su-a had been left to fend for herself.
......Of course, it isn't my place to pass judgment.
One day, Su-a would need to realize what had happened and receive an apology from her father.
When that time came, I planned to simply support her from behind.
Just as Su-a had done for me.