Chapter 48
Chapter 48
"I sent dozens of registered letters and over a hundred texts. How can you possibly avoid me?!"
A long sigh escaped. Jae-gyu, looking tired, ran a hand over his face.
"They're offering a generous price for the land! You, who held out the longest, will get double what we did!"
"Sir. Didn't I tell you before that I'm not interested?"
"If you're not interested, just sell the land already."
"No."
"Please."
"......"
The old man, who had been pleading, started crying again. But even as he wailed loudly, Jae-gyu showed no reaction, so his voice quickly returned to normal. It was method acting.
"Damn it! Are you really not going to stamp it?"
"Yes."
At his firm words, the old man shouted loudly.
"Jae-gyu, if you don't stamp it, we're all dead! Please, save us!"
"I have nothing more to say, so I'm hanging up."
Jae-gyu pressed the end call button, sighed, and started the engine. Bom glanced at Jae-gyu, who seemed down, then cautiously asked.
"What was that call just now?"
"It was the Village Head from my hometown. Apparently, some company wants to buy land there to build a resort, so they're collecting consent forms."
"So, Jae-gyu, are you against it?"
Is that why he refused so flatly? But Jae-gyu shook his head.
"It doesn't really matter to me."
"Then why did you act like that?"
"Just... I don't want to go stamp it."
Usually, Jae-gyu would ramble on about this and that even without Bom asking, but this time, he was unusually quiet.
'He always gets like this when his hometown comes up.'
It had been days since that night, and she was still swept up in inexplicable emotions. Bom wanted to know more about this man.
"Ribs for dinner, okay? Bom, are you a pork ribs person or a beef ribs person?"
Jae-gyu exited the parking lot and entered the road. To Jae-gyu, who was changing the subject and rambling on, Bom said.
"Jae-gyu."
"Yes?"
"For braised ribs, beef ribs, and for grilled, pork ribs seem to be the tastiest."
At her words, Jae-gyu let out an exclamation of admiration and gave a thumbs-up.
"Wow. You're just like me."
Bom subtly glanced down. A Guide for First Love. Hugging the shopping bag containing the book she'd bought at the Bazaar earlier, she thought, 'Maybe with Jae-gyu...'
'Marriage is a no-go, but dating...'
You're crazy, Yoon Bom.
Bom vigorously shook off the thought that had briefly crossed her mind and thought again. She was just curious about this man, Seon Jae-gyu. That was all.
"Jae-gyu, shall we go together?"
"We're already on our way. To the best pork ribs restaurant."
"You said it was by the sea, right? Your hometown, I mean."
"That place..."
"I'm curious about your life, Jae-gyu."
Suddenly, the car swerved sharply to the shoulder and stopped. Jae-gyu's expression, as he stopped the car, looked incredibly complex.
⋆★⋆
"It's already the day after tomorrow that vacation starts. Classes are really over now. You all worked hard this semester. We have about ten minutes left, so let's have some free time."
"Ooh!"
With the Bazaar, their last event, over, the school was bustling with preparations for vacation. Bom, too, finished her last class and gave the children a short break.
The children were excited, making plans for where to go during summer vacation.
From the podium, Bom overheard the conversation of the children gathered at the front.
"I'm telling you, let's go to Busan!"
"Are you crazy? If we're going, we should go to Seoul to have fun."
"Summer means the sea! Let's go to Busan or Geoje!"
Everyone's going somewhere. The class president, who had been passionately arguing for Busan, suddenly turned his head towards Bom.
"What about you, Teacher?"
"Me? What about me?"
"Where are you going for vacation, Teacher?"
Bom hesitated for a moment, then blushed and said.
"Down there, to Haechon Village. I'm going to the beach there."
I'm not really going to play, but following Jae-gyu to his hometown...
At Bom's words, the class president thumped his desk and shouted loudly.
"Hey! See! Even Teacher's going to the sea! Let's go to the sea!"
Bom, who had been watching the groups of children excitedly chatting, had her gaze stop at one spot.
'Is something wrong?'
It was Se-jin, slumped over her desk alone. And in front of her, Han-gyeol had turned his chair around and was talking to Se-jin.
Though she couldn't hear well, Se-jin didn't seem to be answering. Now that she thought about it...
'She's been listless ever since the final exams.'
More precisely, it was when the OMR reader finished grading and the math scores were released. Se-jin's face, as she ran to the faculty office, was deathly pale.
Listening to her talk with Teacher Jung Jin-hyuk, the math teacher, the situation seemed serious.
[I definitely, definitely got them all right.]
[But Se-jin. Look at this. You marked the OMR incorrectly, didn't you? Did you doze off?]
Se-jin had received her lowest score ever: 82.4 points.
It was a marking error. She had looked like she'd barely slept during the exam period, with dark circles under her eyes. In the end, on the last day of exams, during the last period, math, she had dozed off for a moment.
[Homeroom Teacher, what do I do? What do I tell my parents?]
[It's okay, Se-jin. There will be a way to make up for it. One mistake like this won't be the end of the world. Trust me.]
[When the Report Card comes out, I'll be buried alive at home. What do I do? Why did I do that?]
She had been like that ever since. Bom had thought she'd be fine after a few days, but her condition was steadily worsening. Her worried gaze couldn't leave Se-jin.
Then, Bom's eyes met Han-gyeol's, and she gestured towards the hallway. Calling Han-gyeol out into the hallway, Bom asked.
"Han-gyeol, Se-jin is acting like that because of her grades, right?"
"That's right. The Report Card comes out on the day of the Closing Ceremony."
So that's why Se-jin had been noticeably anxious as the Closing Ceremony approached. Bom felt bad. It was clearly a huge mistake, but it was irreversible. She should really try to compose herself...
"Teacher."
"Yes?"
"Don't worry about Se-jin."
Han-gyeol, after saying that, let out a short sigh, then smiled gently.
"I've decided to enroll in the same cram school Se-jin attends."
"Really?"
"Yes. I'll go with her and try my best to comfort her."
Bom, who was nodding and about to send Han-gyeol back to the classroom, added one more thing.
"Han-gyeol, you changed your mind about going to college, didn't you?"
Han-gyeol, looking surprised for a moment, let out a short exclamation of "Wow."
Bom's prediction was correct. Looking at the children's final exam scores, Bom had noticed that Han-gyeol had gotten his act together. His grades had improved significantly, especially in English and math.
"You'll be able to go to Seoul. Prepare for the college entrance exam, Han-gyeol."
"I think I should."
Bom believed that if he and Se-jin attended the cram school together, they would rely on each other and create a synergy effect.
'I hope things work out for the two of them.'
At the beginning of the semester, when she took on these two children, she'd heard comments about being stuck with troublesome kids, but now, they were children who gave Bom a lot of strength.
As soon as she sent Han-gyeol back to the classroom, the bell rang. Bom, instead of returning to the faculty office, went outside the building for some fresh air.
It was afternoon and the sun was hot, but it wasn't bad for warming up her body, which had been chilled by the air conditioning.
"It's already vacation..."
Time passed so quickly. The perceived speed was different from last year. She resolved to make the most of her summer vacation.
Last summer vacation, she had been in charge of supplementary classes for the college entrance exam prep class and had commuted to school every day. This year, fortunately, there were no supplementary classes.
'First, let's go to Jae-gyu's hometown. I've been curious about it for a long time...'
Even searching for 'Haechon Village' online yielded no special information. All there was were a few news articles stating it was primarily a port village where fishing boats traveling overseas briefly rested, and that Hyeonchang Construction planned to build a private resort there.
"What should I wear?"
Her heart fluttered with excitement.
Not because of Jae-gyu, but because of the trip. Bom thought so as she returned to the faculty office.
⋆★⋆
Nan-hee, who had just returned from the wrap-up party for the drama 'Operation Winter's' final shoot, headed straight to the kitchen without even washing up.
The house felt empty today. Yoon Jung-gi had gone to Jeju Island for some kind of academic conference, and Yoon-cheong had left a message saying he'd be home late because he had to entertain investors.
"It's been a while since I've been alone."
She took out a French boutique wine from the wine fridge, pulled a glass from the rack, and sat down.
"Look at the color. Expensive ones are different."
The shimmering red hue in the clear, round glass was like a ruby.
"To actress Jung Nan-hee."
Murmuring a toast to herself, Nan-hee sipped the wine. She wasn't sure what it tasted like, but since it was expensive, it felt fragrant.
Because the previous drama was incredibly popular and kept getting extended, Nan-hee's drama 'Operation Winter' would only begin airing after all its filming was complete.
Today was the last day of filming, and next week was the first broadcast. She took out her phone and searched the portal site's search bar for 'Operation Winter', 'Jung Nan-hee', and 'Jung Nan-hee's Return' in succession.
[Newspaper Article] Actress Jung Nan-hee, returning to the small screen from being an ordinary housewife...
Nan-hee's eyebrows shot up as she found the headline of the newly published article.
"What is this?! Oh, for crying out loud, seriously!"
An ordinary housewife? Her face burned. Her professor husband wasn't exactly 'ordinary' in public perception, but her pride crumbled.
"If I just wait a little longer, I'll have a prosecutor son-in-law..."
Nan-hee's murmuring expression crumpled. She had spoken for the first time yesterday with Prosecutor Choi Yi-jun, who was soon to be her son-in-law. Prosecutor Choi, who had called out of the blue, was incredibly arrogant. His arrogant tone, as if speaking to a subordinate, had deeply offended her.
[Is it true that Yoon Bom will complete her two years and return to Seoul?]
[That's right, Prosecutor Choi. It's all due to Circumstances...]
[Adultery would also be a Circumstance, I suppose.]
[How did you...!]
Nan-hee almost dropped her phone. She hadn't expected Prosecutor Choi to even conduct a background check.
[Once we're married, I'll move up to Seoul. You won't be letting Yoon Bom continue working at the school, will you?]
[I've already spoken to the private high school where her father is the chairman, so don't worry about that.]
[Cancel the private high school. I want my wife to support only me at home.]
She had said 'alright' and hung up for now, but a corner of Nan-hee's heart felt uneasy. However, no matter how much she thought about it, there was no son-in-law as good as him.
In the past, if a family background and qualifications were good, appearance was secondary, but things were different these days. She couldn't count how many times she'd envied others when a handsome son-in-law showed up at gatherings.
Prosecutor Choi had an excellent family background, wealth, and the distinguished profession of a prosecutor. Moreover, his looks were on par with the young male actors she worked with.
Nan-hee steeled her resolve.
'This marriage, I absolutely must make it a success.'