CH 105

As Lee-yeon had avoided speaking to Choo-ja, Joo Dong-mi gave her a call.

“Director, can you attend the company dinner just this once?” she had asked.

“Pardon?” Lee-yeon had said.

“It’s just that we haven’t had a welcoming party for Kwon Chae-woo,” Joo Dong-mi had said. “We need an official excuse to relax and eat at our heart’s content. That man is craz—I mean a mutant that doesn’t even listen to his team leader. So please, save us and give us a reason to have this party!”

Lee-yeon had checked her watch and gotten up. “Choo-ja, I’ll be back.”

She had to do this so that her husband would settle nicely with the team. She decided to say yes to Joo Dong-mi, ignoring her own unease.

“He really should be ashamed of his name!” Joo Dong-mi said as loud for anyone in the room to hear. She still couldn’t get over her experience with the man named Jang Beom-hee.

Many people were now looking in their direction. Their eyes were full of curiosity and horror as they went between Lee-yeon and Kwon Chae-woo and back to Lee-yeon. The center employees’ curiosity was clear.

Lee-yeon froze as Kwon Chae-woo slammed his chopsticks down and glared at them. His coworkers looked away the moment he did.

She sighed to herself. She could see the reputation this man had amongst his peers. She felt like it was all her fault that he was acting like this.

On the other hand, Joo Dong-mi was spitting out her misery while half-asleep.

“I have never seen any man who acts like that in front of a woman with a body like me!” she said. “He’s a tiger, so how could he? He’s not living up to his name! If he’s a tiger, he should act like one!”

Kwon Chae-woo didn’t bother hiding his frown at her drunken state and kept putting all the cooked meat in Lee-yeon’s plate.

She had come so that her husband could have good relationships with his coworkers, but it felt like they were on a date. Lee-yeon put her chopsticks down. “Chae-woo, go talk to your coworkers. Have a drink with them, enjoy yourself.”

Kwon Chae-woo looked at her. “Have you had drinks with others before?”

He had already been displeased when she said she was coming. He was happy to see her, but only for a moment. He didn’t want to leave Lee-yeon in a crowded place like this for long.

“I’m already annoyed that my wife is on display, but your words piss me off even more.” Kwon Chae-woo locked his fingers with her under the table. “You want me to do whatwith others? Talk to them? Seriously?” His eyes were dark and his voice was getting cold. The space between Lee-yeon’s legs throbbed. She was flustered that her body was reacting before her head.

“Director,” Joo Dong-mi leaned her head against her hands and stared at them. Her tired eyes were moving hazily. It looked a little scary for a while, but then she started saying something surprising, “Do you know where I think I saw your husband before?”

Lee-yeon felt her heart stop. Has she seen Kwon Chae-woo before? The noise in the restaurant faded and only her heartbeat filled it. It felt like ages had passed before she gulped.

“I just remembered.” Joo Dong-mi pointed at Kwon Chae-woo. “Over one summer vacation when I was in high school, I went to Europe with my family. I saw a little child in Vienna, Austria and your husband looked an awful lot like that child. If he didn’t change and grew up as he was, he would look exactly the same. But of course, they wouldn’t be the same people.”

She scoffed at herself. “That child was great too, though, like this guy who climbed a mountain while carrying a deer. They also look quite similar. Even though their age and their occupation is different.”

“A little child?” Lee-yeon asked. Her fingertips were cold but they warmed up quickly thanks to Kwon Chae-woo’s hand.

“Of course, he wasn’t an ordinary boy. From his face to the sound he made, he was so mind-blowing that I guess I couldn’t forget him.” Joo Dong-mi shrugged lightly. “He was a cellist.”

***

Lee-yeon’s shoulders relaxed as she let out a sigh.

“He was small so he looked like he was in elementary school,” Joo Dong-mi said. “I looked him up after I came back and he wasn’t well known in Korea for someone who had debuted in Europe. Isn’t that weird?” Joo Dong-mi tilted her head as if it was still mysterious. “Anyway, my parents were all up in my business, always comparing me to him.”

She shuddered like she didn’t want to be reminded. Then, she looked at Kwon Chae-woo again. “But coincidentally, our junior here also seems to know quite a lot about classical music.”

Kwon Chae-woo stopped moving his hands and Lee-yeon’s eyes widened. This was the first she was hearing of this.

“Chae-woo?” She looked at him for answers.

“Ah, you didn’t know?” Joo Dong-mi asked. “At my uncle’s party the other day—”

“Stop talking nonsense.” Kwon Chae-woo stopped Joo Dong-mi from continuing.

But Lee-yeon was now curious to know what she was going to say next. “I want to know too.” she said.

“I—” Kwon Chae-woo started talking instinctively when he saw her innocent eyes. He was always annoyingly obedient.

Joo Dong-mi clicked her tongue as if to say that she was done drinking.

Kwon Chae-woo cleared his throat. “I was able to guess the title of the song right away.”

“Really?” Lee-yeon asked.

“Yes,” Joo Dong-mi nodded. “That might be it.”

Kwon Chae-woo’s eyes went to Joo Dong-mi for a moment, but she was too busy trying to unlock her phone.

“Come to think of it,” Lee-yeon shifted in her seat. “When you sleep, Chae-woo, I turn on the music sometimes. You sleep really well.” Then, she mouthed to him, “You don’t even cry,” so that no one else but Kwon Chae-woo would see.

He smiled. He leaned towards her and lowered his voice. “That’s not the only way to stop your man from crying.”

“What?” Lee-yeon blinked.

“I don’t cry sleeping after sex.” he said.

Her ears became red right away.

Kwon Chae-woo locked his hand around hers harder under the table. “So do I cry tonight or not?”