Chapter 18
Chapter 18
‘Han-gyeol’s Uncle 010-xxxx-xxxx’
I had a feeling he would call.
I answered the phone immediately. I had been curious anyway, and my heart was a mix of worry and relief.
“Jae-gyu!”
It was quite annoying how he asked that. Bom hesitated for a moment. It was true she had been waiting, but she hadn't been waiting that much.
“……No, I wasn't.”
She gave a noncommittal answer. But for some reason, she heard a loud burst of laughter from the other end of the line.
At the sound of that laughter, which seemed utterly devoid of worry, she asked the question she’d been wondering about.
“Um, did everything get sorted out with work?”
“……An inspection?”
Bom was curious about the rest of the story. She was also worried that Jae-gyu might have done something illegal.
A sigh of relief escaped her at his straightforward answer. He actually lives quite ethically, she thought. It was a moment where she felt embarrassed for having doubted him, even briefly.
“……I think you’re amazing, Jae-gyu. Managing all that land and raising Han-gyeol so well.”
The admirable qualities she had been thinking about regarding Jae-gyu flowed out naturally.
This man, who seemed like a bit of a loafer yet was incredibly diligent, was silently handling everything he needed to do on his own. To Bom, who was still under the shadow of her parents, that aspect of Jae-gyu felt very remarkable. Even though they were only four years apart.
“……Boy? You’re a ‘boy,’ Jae-gyu?”
Feeling more at ease, Bom teased him slightly. A brief silence followed before Jae-gyu stammered in a flustered voice.
Hehe. A small smile spread across Bom’s face. It was rare for her to joke around with someone like this.
Her mood lifted by Jae-gyu’s reaction, Bom sat comfortably on the sofa with her knees pulled up and began a proper conversation.
As they traded jokes back and forth, Bom found herself talking more than she had in a long time.
From the story of the relay race at the sports festival that Jae-gyu missed today, to the news about the new franchise convenience store that opened in front of Shinsu High. It was all trivial stuff, but Jae-gyu’s reactions were so entertaining that she kept talking.
“I think I should go to sleep now. You must be tired from running in the race today, so please get some rest.”
After hanging up, Bom checked the call duration and dazed out for a moment.
<Voice Call—32:02>
Thirty minutes.
Had they really talked that long? Flustered, Bom rubbed the back of her neck and stood up.
“I’m actually…… a bit sleepy now.”
Her body felt pleasantly relaxed and her mood was good, so it felt like she could fall asleep early. It was one of those rare days when she could sleep easily without taking a sedative.
Entering her dark bedroom and snuggling under the cozy covers, Bom closed her eyes.
Just as she was about to drift off,
Buzz, buzz.
Her phone vibrated once and then went silent.
Jae-gyu again? The smile vanished from her face as she quickly checked the message. Her eyes widened instantly as she stared intensely at the screen.
[Yoon Bom. Are you sleeping?]
The unexpected sender was none other than Bom’s mother, Jung Nan-hee.
“Wh—Mom?”
She threw off the covers and sat up. It had been a long time since she’d heard from her. Did something happen at home? That was her first thought.
Tap, tap. Bom quickly typed a reply.
[Not yet. Is something wrong?]
Ah. She regretted it as soon as she sent it. Asking what was wrong right away might get on her mother’s nerves.
Since her mother had such a sensitive personality, she should have been careful, but in her haste to reply quickly, she had made a mistake.
Bom waited anxiously for a response. After waiting for a long time, she eventually fell into a deep sleep, exhausted.
⋆★⋆
The Seoul night was chilly after a bout of evening rain.
“Tsk, she really has no charm at all.”
At that same time, Madame Jung Nan-hee was heading home after an evening gathering. She had sent a text to Bom before leaving, and the reply she got back was grating on her nerves.
Asking what’s wrong. Is she saying I should only contact her if something is happening?
“After all the trouble I went through because of who……”
Tsk-tsking, Jung Nan-hee sang along to an old pop song playing on the radio. She was deeply immersed in it until the song ended and a commercial came on.
“I should have just been a singer.”
What would it have been been like if she had been the one singing that song just now? The mere thought was thrilling. Nan-hee indulged in nostalgia, thinking back to her younger days.
Thanks to her exceptional looks, she had received offers to become an actress and entered the entertainment industry decades ago.
She was too striking to play supporting roles, but her acting was an issue for lead roles. In the end, she had spent her career drifting through mediocre projects in an ambiguous state.
If only I hadn't met Yoon Jung-gi back then…….
Thinking about her marriage to her current husband, her grip on the steering wheel tightened.
With a face like hers, she could have met a chaebol. Even though thirty years had passed since her marriage, she still had regrets.
She was too young back then and didn't know how the world worked.
Nan-hee’s family had strongly opposed the marriage, saying her compatibility with Jung-gi was poor, but Nan-hee had pushed for it and they married in a hurry. She should have listened to the fortune teller.
‘Back then, a professor seemed so sophisticated. Like a fool.’
Jung-gi was working as an assistant professor at a famous private university at the time. Nan-hee had fallen for his intellectual image at first sight.
The rigid and conservative Jung-gi considered a life in the entertainment industry to be extremely vulgar. Because of that, she had been forced to quit, which remained a source of resentment even now.
The PD played a big role in her recent return to acting as a gallery director in the new drama Operation Winter. The PD of that drama was the son of a retired professor whom Jung-gi considered his mentor, so his earnest persuasion had worked.
The image of the entertainment industry had improved significantly compared to the past, and since the role was a sophisticated character, Jung-gi had reluctantly given his permission.
To Nan-hee, returning to the entertainment industry felt like a dream. If she could just settle a few bothersome things within the family, she would have nothing more to wish for.
Her eldest son, Yoon-cheong, had secured investment funds from his father and was setting up a new technology company that made things called NFTs or whatever. If this went well, daughters from decent families would be lining up.
‘Why did he have to take after his father? If only his looks were a bit more handsome.’
There were many disappointing things about him, from his height to his appearance. Moreover, since his legs weren't in great condition, he wasn't exactly in a position to be welcomed with open arms. It’ll be fine once the business succeeds. Nan-hee was banking on that one thing.
On the other hand, her second daughter, Yoon Bom, looked exactly like she did in her youth, so once her complicated circumstances were settled, she could easily be married off to a family of near-chaebol status.
“Once I get all the kids settled, I’m going to start the second chapter of my life too.”
The thought made her feel good. Having exited the Northern Arterial Road, Nan-hee increased her speed. Her phone rang incessantly. Her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of the caller ID.
Nan-hee hurriedly answered the call via the car’s Bluetooth.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
She answered calmly in a sophisticated voice. But inside, her heart was thumping. It was hard to suppress her excitement. This was the call Nan-hee had been anxiously waiting for.
Yesterday, Nan-hee had attended a VVIP social gathering hosted by GW Bank.
It was called a social gathering, but in reality, it was no different from a high-end blind date market connecting the children of GW Bank’s VVIPs. Worried about her daughter who had moved down to the countryside and away from social circles, Nan-hee had high expectations for this gathering.
The children of top-tier conglomerates seemed to have their own separate gatherings, and the people gathered on this day were of a slightly lower tier. However, they were potential marriage prospects she deemed acceptable. It was mainly composed of families from mid-sized conglomerates, medium enterprises, and wealthy professionals.
Nan-hee fell into the latter category. She felt a bit intimidated, but she had an ace up her sleeve.
After receiving an introduction card at the desk that day, Nan-hee started by filling out Bom’s profile. Yoon Bom was a daughter with nothing to criticize.
Her educational background—having attended an all-girls middle school, high school, and a prestigious women's university—was a factor that earned high marks. It would have been better if she were in the arts, but the profession of a teacher wasn't bad either. Above all, Bom looked exactly like her.
With a face like that, she was confident she could hold her own anywhere.
‘If she hadn't acted like a fool over a man, she’d be married by now. She wouldn't have been kicked out to the countryside either.’
The more she wrote the profile, the more Nan-hee stomped her feet in frustration. No matter how high Bom’s grade was, who would want to meet her when she was stuck in some backwater village?
This was all the fault of the fiery-tempered Jung-gi.
But since Bom would be coming up to Seoul soon, things would change drastically next year. The thought made her feel stifled.
Of course, Jung Nan-hee knew.
She knew that marriage wasn't everything in life and that her daughter’s happiness should come first.
But her husband, Jung-gi, was a stuffy man who would have been a perfect fit for the Stone Age. He had always said that as long as their daughter, Yoon Bom, was married off well, that was the end of it.
After listening to her husband say such things for decades, Nan-hee had naturally become assimilated into that ideology before she knew it.
‘Even if people call it old-fashioned, it can't be helped. This is reality.’
Today, the day after she submitted Bom’s profile, she had received a call from the GW Bank event coordinator. She hadn't even expected much since Bom’s current address was listed as being in the countryside.
“Yoon Bom is your daughter, correct?”
“Actually, there were no registered individuals in that specific region.”
Nan-hee felt hollow. Of course. The strength drained from her hands gripping the steering wheel. But then, unexpected words were spoken.