“Hmm…”
As he went through the paintings one by one, Jaekyung carefully copied the descriptions down by hand. Taking photos would certainly have been easier, but if he actually wanted to memorize the material, writing it out himself was still the best method.
“Ah…”
He had definitely been pushing himself too hard these past few days. His vision was getting a little blurry. He was still young, but overworking himself clearly wasn’t good for him. When Jaekyung rubbed his eyes, the staff member Director Ji had assigned to him cautiously asked if he was all right. Worried that the comment might somehow reach Director Ji, Jaekyung quickly assured him that he was fine and went back to diligently working on the tasks he’d been given.
—“Then that’s enough for the art-related work today… I’ll show you how to manage the storage room.”
It was already ten at night.
Director Ji still hadn’t left the gallery either.
Jaekyung figured he probably wouldn’t get home until after midnight again and followed the manager toward the storage area.
That was when it happened.
It was late, and the gallery doors had already been locked, yet there was a commotion outside. The manager who had been accompanying Jaekyung suddenly looked startled, hurried outside, and greeted someone with a delighted smile.
—“Director Han! Welcome.”
Jaekyung thought he had misheard.
Who did he just say was here?
His eyes wavered.
What do I do? What am I supposed to say? Should I greet him?
No. It could be someone else.
But how many people in the world could there be named Han Taeseok of NI Company?
The man entering the gallery surrounded by a group of people was indeed Jaekyung’s fiancé, Han Taeseok.
It had been two weeks since they’d last met, when they’d been accompanied by their lawyers. They hadn’t exchanged so much as a text or phone call in all that time. They were practically strangers—if not worse.
As Taeseok entered with the people around him, his eyes met Jaekyung’s for the first time.
The man looked straight at him and walked closer.
Caught off guard by those deep eyes suddenly fixed on him, Jaekyung froze awkwardly before quickly lowering his head.
Taeseok stopped in front of him.
I should greet him… right?
Jaekyung tightened his grip on his notebook and raised his head to say hello.
But he was too late.
Taeseok walked right past him and headed toward Director Ji.
Jaekyung lowered his head again.
“Whats this?” Director Ji’s delighted voice floated through the room.
It was the first time Jaekyung had ever heard her speak in such a warm, gentle tone.
“What brings you all the way here?”
“I had some business nearby, so I stopped by.”
It was only the second time Jaekyung had heard his voice.
“Of course. You’re not the type to come all the way here unless you have a reason. Such a cold-hearted boy. Anyway, you accomplished something big today.”
“It wouldn’t have been possible without Father.”
“So modest…”
“It’s getting late, Mother. Shall we head home together?”
“Should we?”
Director Ji let out a pleased laugh.
A moment later, she emerged wearing a red cashmere coat and walked over to Jaekyung, who was still standing there clutching his notebook. Without a word, she plucked the notebook from his arms and carefully went through the notes he had taken.
“You’re only learning these basic things now… I wonder when I’ll ever manage to teach you everything.”
“I’m sorry.”
Jaekyung could feel not only Director Ji’s gaze on him, but Taeseok’s as well.
He hated the way they looked at him—as though he were somehow beneath them, someone who had to be looked down on. It made him deeply uncomfortable.
“I’m already worried about when I’ll get around to teaching you about the family.”
Director Ji clicked her tongue and handed the notebook back to Jaekyung.
“Before you leave today, memorize all five paintings over here. Otherwise, you won’t finish learning everything before the wedding.”
“Yes, Director.”
“Then let’s go.”
Director Ji deliberately slipped her arm through her son’s and walked away with him.
I’m supposed to be the person who’ll become her son’s partner, and she doesn’t even bother introducing us properly. What the hell… why?
And Han Taeseok was no different.
Surely he could have said something. Offered even a little help.
But no. He had just stood there…
Watching.
Jaekyung almost laughed at the thought.
Isn’t he basically the textbook example of the kind of man you should never marry?
It was absurd. He could see the mudpit waiting ahead of him, yet he was being forced to walk straight into it anyway.
“Could you hurry up?”
The manager, who had been nothing but curt and businesslike until then, showed his true colors the moment Director Ji left. If Jaekyung didn’t finish quickly, the manager couldn’t go home either, so he impatiently urged him to hurry.
Jaekyung wanted to get home as quickly as possible too, so he diligently studied and memorized the paintings exactly as Director Ji had instructed.
Fortunately, he was fairly good at studying, so he managed to leave earlier than expected.
Even so, by the time he got home, it was two in the morning.
Exhausted, Jaekyung collapsed onto his bed and checked his phone to see what had happened in the world that day.
Between handing over his work and studying at the gallery, he hadn’t even had time to check whether the Earth was still spinning.
—NI Company Executive Director Han Taeseok Secures 1 Trillion-Won Project in Malaysia
Out of habit, Jaekyung checked the business section, and his hand instinctively moved toward the headline article on the front page. The name he had already grown accustomed to seeing naturally drew him into reading it.
From beginning to end, the article praised the sheer scale of the project Han Taeseok had secured and emphasized how beneficial it would be to the country. Even if NI Company had distributed a press release, it seemed excessive to heap this much praise on him so openly…
Judging by the comments, some people had left nasty remarks out of resentment toward the company, but most were praising him and saying he had done a great job.
Jaekyung scrolled back up and saw a photo of Han Taeseok signing the contract.
It was the same face he had seen just a few hours ago, yet somehow it looked unfamiliar.
“Come to think of it, I don’t know anything about this man…”
Han Taeseok had probably already finished investigating Jaekyung. Meanwhile, all Jaekyung knew about him was his name and date of birth. In fact, he had only recently learned that Taeseok was younger than him.
I can’t keep going like this.
Jaekyung abruptly sat up in bed, grabbed his laptop, and began searching Han Taeseok’s name on the internet. He went through every article and piece of information he could find about him.
Just because Taeseok had no interest in him didn’t mean Jaekyung should feel the same way.
At least I should try.
Right. If this is something I can’t avoid, something I can’t run away from, then I should make an effort to turn it into something better.
The moment he thought that way, the exhaustion he had felt only moments before seemed to disappear.
Jaekyung stayed up all night, studying everything he could about the man named Han Taeseok.
And two days later…
He came to the gallery again.
This time, it was earlier in the day.
Taeseok brushed past the people fawning over him and opened the door to the gallery. The moment their eyes met, Jaekyung didn’t let the opportunity pass him by.
He smiled confidently and greeted the man walking toward him.
“Hello.”
Taeseok stopped in his tracks.
“It’s quite cold today, isn’t it?”
Jaekyung had practiced that one sentence countless times, like a courtier preparing to greet a king for the first time.
—“…I suppose it is.”
Taeseok gave the carefully chosen words a brief, perfunctory response and walked past him.
As expected, he really is a cold person.
Strangely enough, after everything Taeseok had shown him so far, Jaekyung hadn’t expected anything more. Should he be grateful that the man had even bothered to respond?
“…”
Jaekyung tried to turn his attention back to the paintings, but Taeseok, who had been heading toward Director Ji, suddenly stopped and came back toward him.
Startled by the unexpected movement, Jaekyung forced a smile, doing his best not to show it.
—“The announcement of our marriage will be published tomorrow. Have you heard?”
“Ah… no.”
Tomorrow, then.
Finally.
—“You’ll need to conduct yourself appropriately so there’s no unnecessary gossip.”
“…Yes. I understand.”
Of course.
What else could he possibly have wanted to say to Jaekyung?
With a quiet sigh, Jaekyung watched the man’s retreating back, knowing there was little point in hoping for anything more.
********************
-“So… this is how you use it, and when a customer checks out, I scan the barcode and press this button, right?”
On his first day at the convenience store, Jaekyung received training from the store manager.
The manager nodded with a satisfied smile, apparently pleased by how quickly Jaekyung picked things up.
—“Jaekyung, you’re a quick learner.”
“Thank you!”
It had been so long since anyone had praised him that Jaekyung broke into a bright smile, genuinely pleased by the compliment. Seeing how readily he smiled and how well he picked up the work, the manager became even more enthusiastic and started teaching him all sorts of things. It was tiring having so many new things to learn all at once, but it was nothing compared to the gallery.
Then again, back there, it wasn’t my body that was exhausted. It was my mind…
—“You think you can handle things on your own starting tonight?”
“Yes. Leave it to me. If anything comes up, I’ll give you a call.”
—“All right, all right. Then I’ll trust you to take care of things, Jaekyung, and head home.”
“Yes!”
Normally, Jaekyung had heard that the store manager would stay right beside a new employee for at least a day or two to train them. Seeing his manager confidently leave him alone and head home, Jaekyung couldn’t tell whether he should feel happy or worried, so he simply rubbed the bridge of his nose with a finger.
Then he looked around the little convenience store from behind the register.
This was the place he was responsible for until morning.
He had managed that enormous gallery too. Granted, there were far fewer types of products here, but the gallery had been a large, busy operation in its own way.
More importantly, the amount of money that passed through it…
It was astronomical.
Compared to that, this was a piece of cake.
Fortunately, perhaps because it was a weekday, the convenience store was quiet. Other than feeling a little sleepy, Jaekyung was having no trouble getting through his shift.
Bored, he pulled out his phone and, out of habit, opened the news and tapped on the business section.
—NI Company’s Han Taeseok Signs Technology Development Agreement with U.S. AI Firm
…He’s done it again.
The only difference this time was that he had been promoted from Executive Director to Managing Director.
The AI company was famous for refusing to share its technology with other corporations. Jaekyung knew that Taeseok had spent years working to persuade them to enter into this agreement.
Of course, Taeseok had never told him any of this himself.
Jaekyung had learned everything through news articles or other people.
He gave a bitter smile.
This time, unlike before, he didn’t look at Taeseok’s photograph.
Instead, he stared at pictures of other handsome celebrities, stubbornly forcing himself to push away the face that kept trying to surface in his mind.
One week since the divorce…
And Taeseok still hadn’t sent him so much as a single text.