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The rumor that Jang Yeonhu’s engagement had fallen through once again spread to every corner of Seongbuk-dong on wings without feet. Madam Yu, Jang Yeonhu’s mother, who had enthusiastically rolled up her sleeves thinking “this time for sure,” had to return home displeased after hearing only mood-dampening talk at the luncheon gathering she had attended for a change of pace.
“Auntie, contact him and tell Jaekyung to come to the main house. Tell him I have something urgent to discuss face to face. Oh, and keep it secret from Yeonhu.”
Normally she would have prepared Han Jaekyung as bait and tried to slowly reel in that son of hers who was so busy he wouldn’t even show his face properly, but today was an exception.
“Yes, young madam. Should I also inform the elder madam?”
“…No. The elderly lady’s blood pressure hasn’t been good lately, so it would be better for me to handle it myself. If she asks, just make up something appropriate.”
“Understood.”
However, one surprising point was that Han Jaekyung, who had always been an obstacle to Jang Yeonhu’s marriage matters, was not the cause of this breakup.
‘Oh my, madam… What will you do, being so upset?’
‘Exactly. Among us, you were the one who raised your child the best. But Yeonhu… brought a male lover to the class reunion?’
‘That, that pretty friend who was always stuck to him?’
‘Madam Kim must not have heard the rumors yet! Not that friend, no, well, apparently he’s an intern at Woojin Electronics. They say their eyes met while working together?’
‘What are you talking about? Wasn’t he supposed to get engaged to Sindong Pharmaceuticals’ second son next month?’
‘Don’t talk nonsense! If he was planning to get engaged, would he have taken him to the class reunion to show him off!’
The voices of other household madams who were still secretly mocking her while cheerfully chatting seemed to stick clammily to her eardrums. Since no one knew Jang Yeonhu better than Han Jaekyung, not even her own son whom she bore in pain, she needed to call him first to investigate the truth of the matter.
“Madam. Student Jaekyung says he’ll come right after work today.”
“Good work. I’ll feed him dinner before sending him off, so grill some yellow corvina later. I noticed last time that he ate yellow corvina well this year.”
The more she needed something, the deeper she had to bow. Han Jaekyung, who was already weak to small kindnesses, would fill his eyes with emotion and not know what to do even if she just pretended to bow deeply without actually needing to.
While others said that delicately-featured Han Jaekyung, who looked like he was made of sugar, was difficult to deal with, perhaps because she had known him since he was very young, for Madam Yu, Han Jaekyung was the easiest person in the world to manipulate with one hand.
Even though she had never actually taken such tender care of Han Jaekyung, after seeing Madam Yu take care of Jang Yeonhu a few times, Han Jaekyung quickly opened the locks of his heart to her.
The unfortunate accident that took both his parents’ lives had happened when Han Jaekyung was barely two years old. Though he seemed to have arbitrarily patched the image of Madam Yu caring for Jang Yeonhu onto the image of his own mother, whose face he couldn’t even remember, Madam Yu wasn’t particularly displeased. The merits she could gain from it were far too many.
For example, Han Jaekyung, who had knelt before Chairman Jang crying and making a fuss asking if he couldn’t please overlook it just once, saying he couldn’t break up with Jang Yeonhu to the end, immediately let go of Jang Yeonhu’s hand he had been tightly holding as soon as the troubled Madam Yu murmured lowly, ‘Jaekyung-ah, I… I can’t give up on my son’s life. I’m sorry…’
In a sense, after learning that Madam Yu was the one firmly grasping Han Jaekyung’s emotions, she was able to control much of her son’s rebellious phase that had been going astray.
If there was one regrettable point, it was that although neither of them said anything, they both seemed unable to completely abandon the innocent feelings they had harbored since childhood, so when it came to Jang Yeonhu’s engagement or marriage issues, the Han Jaekyung card didn’t work at all.
Still, both were young enough that it was worth waiting. Madam Yu even had plans to prostrate herself crying in front of Jaekyung and push for Han Jaekyung’s marriage first if Jang Yeonhu didn’t break his stubbornness about not getting married even after turning thirty-five.
If she shed crocodile tears saying she had raised him like a son so she definitely wanted to prepare his marriage with her own hands, Han Jaekyung would immediately become pliable and move as Madam Yu wanted. Her son’s feelings were obvious. Rather than let Han Jaekyung marry first, he would choose to get married himself.
Since she had pretended not to know about her precious son being treated like a servant until now, Han Jaekyung should also endure that much. That had been her intention from the beginning when she placed him obediently next to Jang Yeonhu.
In other words, Han Jaekyung was nothing less than the largest and most precious hostage that Madam Yu was firmly gripping to somehow pull the leash of her stubborn son.
Who would dislike an angel-faced boy who would die at her word? If Han Jaekyung continued to be docile, it was worth occasionally playing the mother role she didn’t mean.
“Madam, I’m here.”
“Welcome. Our Jaekyung seems to get more handsome every time I see him, doesn’t he?”
“You’re too kind. But where are the others?”
“The chairman and vice-chairman will come late at night, and mother is sleeping. Her stamina has really declined lately, so the auntie is quite worried too…”
Today too, Han Jaekyung crossed the threshold of the mansion exactly at the time Madam Yu had designated. Han Jaekyung handed over the flowers he had been holding in one arm as if trying to lift Madam Yu’s darkly sunken mood. It was a bundle of hydrangeas that refreshed one’s vision just by looking at them.
“Oh, how pretty. Among the men in this house, Jaekyung is the only one who thinks of auntie, isn’t he? It makes raising a son worthwhile.”
“If, if you think that way, I’m grateful…”
Han Jaekyung blushed deeply and smiled shyly. It was a precious expression rarely seen unless it was directed at Madam Yu, but the person who actually encountered that expression wasn’t really interested in how Han Jaekyung’s facial muscles moved.
“Let’s eat first. Good yellow corvina came in today, so I called you because I thought of you.”
“Thank you, madam.”
Though his pale face even showed faint emotion, regardless of that, Madam Yu was only planning to thoroughly extract information about her son’s current situation through Han Jaekyung’s mouth.
The modest dinner setting with just Madam Yu and Han Jaekyung was consistently harmonious. Having been seasoned by years of social life, Madam Yu was already a master at hiding her true feelings and continuing conversations with a bright smile, and Han Jaekyung had believed everything Madam Yu said since childhood even if she said red beans could make soybean paste, so the bright atmosphere was actually natural.
Madam Yu revealed her true intentions after the meal was completely finished, when they were cleansing their palates with refreshing fruit tea.
“Jaekyung-ah, come to think of it, I heard something strange somewhere…”
Han Jaekyung, who had been enjoying some vaguely unsettling happiness, actually felt more comfortable in his seat when Madam Yu came out like this. Han Jaekyung wasn’t stupid either. Regardless of how much he admired and cherished Madam Yu, he had known well from their first meeting that Madam Yu didn’t consider him particularly important. Still, even knowing that, he couldn’t help being helplessly drawn to her.
Madam Yu was the first proper ‘mother’ figure that Han Jaekyung had recognized. It was fine even if she wasn’t his own mother. When Jang Yeonhu was sick, she couldn’t sleep, and when Jang Yeonhu smiled, she smiled proudly as if she owned the world… A real mother.
Though it was unfair to his uncle who truly cherished Jaekyung deep in his heart, when it came to parents, his uncle was quite lacking. He was a confirmed bachelor who had never raised a child, let alone properly played with one. Because of his blunt appearance, it took quite a long time for Jaekyung to completely open his heart to his uncle when they first met.
But Madam Yu was different. If Jang Yeonhu happened to fall and get even a speck of a scrape on his knee, she would follow her son around all day long, upset as if it was regrettable that she couldn’t hurt in his place. Young Jaekyung would lie in bed every night and secretly put his own face in Jang Yeonhu’s place while recalling the scenes he had witnessed during the day.
They say habits formed at three last until eighty, and somehow he still couldn’t break that habit and his heart would consistently weaken whenever he stood before Madam Yu.
“Our Yeonhu is… seeing a man, they say.”
“…Madam.”
“That’s not true… right? It’s a lie, isn’t it? I, I heard wrong, right? Right, Jaekyung-ah.”
If Han Jaekyung had been Jang Yeonhu’s true and faithful friend, in this situation, the best strategy would have been to unconditionally shake his head.
First denying it to buy time and then helping Jang Yeonhu prepare countermeasures would have been the true expression of friendship.
“Jaekyung-ah, say something. Is it really true? Don’t tell me it’s a serious… serious relationship?”
But Han Jaekyung, who would never be able to be a good friend to the end, wanted to just nod his head unconditionally in this situation. So that Madam Yu could handle Jang Yeonhu’s lover at her level without him having to lift a finger.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
