Why Is She Here...?
Clink. Clink.
An old man and a woman sat across from each other in a luxurious room, eating in silence. Conversation drifted between them now and then, but the pattern never changed — the old man asked the questions, and the woman answered them.
"So. Work's going well?"
The woman, who had been lifting a spoonful of broth to her lips, quietly set it back down. Hair like silk — like black pearls crushed into powder — swayed once with the motion.
Kang Sul-ah, CEO of KUC Food. Setting aside the old man seated before her — Chairman Kang himself — she was, in every practical sense, one of the true powers behind KUC.
She was a flower. Not just any flower — a lily, the flower of flowers. And among lilies, a hyacinth, said to be the most beautiful of them all. As befit the mistress of a bloom with countless meanings, she was a woman of many charms. Power, if you wanted power. Ability, if you wanted ability. There was not a single thing you could take from her. A perfect woman. Even her face was as beautiful as a flower — and yet, strangely, she never smiled.
If a smile ever did bloom on that face, the chairman thought quietly, it would make any number of men weep. She was his own daughter, and still he could hardly believe she was past forty. That was how beautiful she was. And that, more than anything, was a terrible shame.
"Yes."
"Hmm... By the way, why don't you consider remarrying? A woman of your caliber shouldn't have much trouble finding a decent man."
She held her tongue. She knew exactly where this was going.
"If you did that, who would dare covet the chairman's seat?"
Of course. I knew he'd say that.
Her father was a man who knew nothing but the company. The kind of man you'd expect to find in the Middle Ages — the kind who would use even his own children as instruments of power. That wasn't to say he was a man without love for his children. But still.
"Is there a man you have in mind?"
Kang Sul-ah, CEO of KUC Food, quietly lowered her gaze. A porcelain cup. On the surface of the liquid inside, the face of a beautiful, coldly set woman rippled in faint reflection. And then, quietly, a man rose in her mind.
"...Well."
"Hm?"
In the past, the answer would have come immediately: No. There isn't. But the answer had changed. At that small shift, the old man smiled inwardly.
It's pained me, watching the girl live all alone... this is a good thing.
Wanting your daughter to meet a good man and live happily — in that, he was no different from any other father. The world might see him as a man obsessed with his company and nothing else, but the truth was simply that he was a little more rational, a little more practical, than most. He took extra care of the children who worked hard. And the ones who blew through money and brought grief to the family, he sent to the bottom until they learned their lesson. The world, of course, had painted him as a cold-blooded creature who cared for nothing but money — a man who would cast out his own children.
Well. People can think whatever they like.
He had only one goal. That the company grow large and grow right, so the employees could earn a decent living. And that his own kids, within that world, could live like human beings — diligently, and happily. That was all.
I don't know who he is, but I hope things work out between him and my girl.
A quiet smile settled at the corners of the old man's mouth.
Lunch with Sul-ah had fallen through. And since I'd heard that son of hers had already paid a visit, I pointed the car straight toward Eun-ju's place. The two women had been doing better, sure — but the perpetrator's reappearance would have shaken them badly. I needed to calm them down.
I pulled into the parking garage and was heading into the apartment building when... hm? A familiar face was coming out.
I looked closer. It was Yun Sae-rom — my fourth wife, the woman who pulled off that notoriously difficult short bob like she'd been born for it.
"Huh? What are you doing here?"
"Seo-hoo? Oh, they called, so I hauled ass over. Someone asked me for a favor — you think I'd half-ass it?"
Ah. Ye-rim must have been worried enough to contact her too. Had the three of them gotten that close?
Sae-rom put on a mischievous look and started poking my chest with her index finger.
"But damn... you, of all people. Wonders never cease. The idea that Seo-hoo — the biggest bastard alive — would run back and forth because he's worried about a woman!"
...She wasn't wrong, so I didn't have much to say. And when I didn't answer, she only grew more pleased with herself, a wicked little smile spreading across her face. She'd found an excuse to give me a hard time for the first time in a while, and she was going to wring every drop out of it.
"Hey. You like that girl that much? What's so great about her that a Casanova like you is coming and going every single day?"
What was so great about her... a lot of things, actually. For one, she had a face as pretty as a fox, and everything she did was cute. We clicked, too. And if I was being honest, the best part was probably that pussy that clamped down so tight it could bite...
But even I had enough sense not to say that out loud. Another person, maybe. In front of this woman, though, you watched every word. Twice. She'd hold it over my head forever.
"It's not like that. I'm worried about her. That's all."
"Not like that, huh? Excuse me, Mr. Seo-hoo? Wipe the bullshit off your mouth before you talk. You can fool other people. You don't get to fool me. Right?"
She just kept being right. I had nothing. But sitting here and taking it wasn't something my pride as a man would allow. Which meant... there was a method for times like this. Mix in nothing but the truth, and tell it just cleverly enough.
"I'm serious. She's my woman. That's why I look after her."
"Hmmm~"
"If... if something like that had happened to you, I would have come to see you every single day too. And I would have gotten revenge."
That finally stopped her. The wild, untamed energy drained out of her all at once. The playful look vanished, replaced by something serious... no, something a little bitter. And then, so quiet I almost missed it, a murmur reached my ear.
"I envy that woman..."
"What?"
"Nothing."
She walked past me and headed out of the building at an unhurried pace. A pleasant scent rode in on the wind from outside and brushed the tip of my nose.
Yun Sae-rom. The tomboy prosecutor. I knew how she felt about me, but this was the right distance for the two of us. Helping each other out when we needed it, when we were lonely... that was enough.
"Want to grab a bite before you go?"
"Pass. You think I've got as much free time as you?"
"Then tonight..."
She stopped walking. She didn't turn around. She just raised one hand and spoke over her shoulder, cool as anything.
"Pass. Once the victims have calmed down a bit, we'll see."
"...Alright. Drive safe."
"Will do."
I turned to catch the elevator, then... nngh. That last look on her face was still bothering me. I couldn't shake the image of her looking so disappointed. Goddammit, Yun Sae-rom. She wasn't a kid, and yet...
I turned back around and called out to her, already a good distance away.
"Yun!! Get back here a second! I just remembered — I've got something for you!"
She planted both hands on her hips and glared at me.
"Then say that first!!"
She let out a heavy sigh and trudged back. The second she was standing in front of me, looking thoroughly unimpressed, I closed the distance, pulled her in, and kissed her.
"Mmph. You— you...! You horny son of a—"
But she saw the look on my face — I was being serious — and swallowed the rest. I drew her in tight and bit gently at her mouth, catching her lips and letting them go, over and over. They were soft, yet rough to the touch — chapped from the endless grind of a prosecutor who never stopped working. Even those rough lips couldn't hide her charm. If anything, they tasted sweeter for it, fragrant as a cactus flower blooming in a parched desert.
A soft smack. A longer, wetter pull...
Her hand came up to the back of my head, and she kissed me back. We stayed like that for a long time, tasting each other. By the time her dry lips had gone completely wet, the kiss spilling over at the corners of her mouth, I tipped my head back and broke away. She stared up at me, dazed... no, drunk on it. Completely gone.
"Sorry. I should've been paying more attention to you too..."
She smiled. Not the usual troublemaker grin — the face of a woman in love, shining bright.
"It's fine. This is enough."
"So. You free tonight?"
She thought about it for a moment. Then she smiled sweetly and turned me down.
"I really want to, but... you've been sleeping here every night lately, right? Don't go thinking about anything else until things settle down."
"You sure you'll be okay?"
"Of course. Who do you think I am? I'm Prosecutor Yun of the Republic of Korea, aren't I?"
Heh. She really was a good woman. She barely had enough room to think about herself, and yet here she was, thinking about other people too. Seeing that, I sometimes wondered if she should have gone into a different line of work. I was proud of her, and I loved her for it, and I started to raise my hand to her head — then thought better of it and stroked her back instead. Resting my hand on top of her head was something I only did when we were in bed.
"Then I'll see you later."
"Yeah."
I sent Sae-rom on her way. And when I arrived at Eun-ju's, the fox mother and daughter welcomed me like I'd been gone for years. Two women who looked like doppelgangers — identical, except for the difference that maturity made — came straight into my arms.
"Mister, you're here?"
"Seo-hoo, you came?"
How were even the things they said so alike? Dress them up a little and I could have passed them off as twins.
"Yeah. You eaten yet?"
"We were just about to! Eat with us, mister!"
"Sure."
I sat at the table and watched the two of them smile as they set out the food. It was so warm, so harmonious, it was almost too good to look at. I felt a little bad thinking it, given what Eun-ju had been through, but Sul-ah's bastard of a son had actually done us a favor. After the threesome, there'd been a slight current of awkwardness between the two foxes. He'd taken care of that. A crisis from the outside had pulled the two women together, and instead of watching each other, they'd started trusting each other — started treating each other as something precious. Barring anything unusual, I'd be feasting on this mother-daughter combo for the rest of my life. I'd already won the lottery in more ways than one, and money was the last thing I needed to worry about. I'd just have each of them give me two kids.
I was sitting there cooking up that filthy little plan, finishing the meal, and then rolling around in the bedroom with Fox, when the doorbell suddenly rang.
"Who is it?"
Eun-ju's voice, from the other room.
"Hello! Is Ye-rim home?"
A familiar voice. Wait. That voice—?!
Fox and I looked at each other.
"Min-ah?!!"
Oh, no. No, no, no.
Fox shot up off the bed. She knew perfectly well that me being here would not look good — not when I'd been living at Min-ah's place. Mother Fox, of course, had no idea. Fox bolted for the door, but she was a step too late. I heard it open.
"Oh no, what do we do, mister?!"
What do we do? Well, I guess I'd better start thinking of something. Even I hadn't dreamed Min-ah would show up out of nowhere like this. And I certainly hadn't dreamed the door would swing wide open for her without a shred of resistance.
"Hello! Is Ye-rim home, by any chance?"
Min-ah's voice, from just outside the bedroom. Fox's eyes darted left and right. Then she grabbed my hand, dragged me across the room, and shoved me into the built-in closet.
"Just hide in here for a second! I'll take care of this!!"
The door slammed shut. Darkness settled in from every side. I looked up. A thin line of light leaked through the gap running down the middle of the closet doors, just enough to keep the cramped space from being pitch black.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
The rapid sound of someone typing. A moment later the bedroom door burst open — and right after that, a vibration buzzed against me. I checked. It was Mother Fox's phone. Fox must have fired off a quick text explaining the situation. Whatever else you said about her, her reflexes and her ability to act on the spot were first-rate. Thanks to that, at least, we were spared a Hey, how come mister isn't here? kind of disaster.
A familiar voice drifted in from outside the closet.
"Rim! What are you doing?"
"Hm? Oh... I just had to send something real quick..."
"Yeah? Anyway, I've been feeling left out lately. You barely even text me..."
A soft thump as someone sat down on the bed. Another thump right after — both of them, then, settling onto the mattress. Fox answered in a voice thick with apology.
"Sorry... some stuff's been going on at home."
"What kind of stuff?"
Fox couldn't say a word. How could she? How do you tell someone that your mother was assaulted? Even with your closest friend, there are things you can say and things you can't. And Min-ah seemed to understand that.
"If you can't even tell me... it must be really serious..."
"Sorry..."
"It's okay. So... has it been taken care of?"
Fox's voice dropped. You could hear everything the kid was feeling in that one sound.
"No. Not yet..."
The moment I heard that, I knew I needed to give the fox mother and daughter some kind of update — or show them some kind of result. The wounds they were carrying were too deep to just sit with, with nothing to show for it. Min-ah seemed to sense the weight of it too, because a heavy silence settled between them.
Then, after a moment, something sparked. She had an idea.
"Hmm... then how about I call someone who can help?"
"Who?"
Fox asked, curiosity lighting up her voice. Min-ah answered with a smile — bright, confident, telling her not to worry.
"Our mister! You've met him a few times, right? He's an amazing person. If I tell him what's going on, he'll come running to help right this second!"
And then I heard it. Tap-tap-tap. The sound of buttons being pressed.
She wasn't... she wasn't actually about to call me right now, was she?
But Fox's panicked question only confirmed what I was afraid of.
"Y-you're going to call him right now?"
The answer came back without a second's hesitation.
"Yep!"
Shit. I'm fucked...
Because thanks to the fox mother and daughter, my phone was on vibrate.