Chapter 27
On the second floor of a hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, Heeju felt overwhelmed the moment she stepped inside.
The event was attended by key government officials, including the Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, various ministers, and senior aides, along with major figures from politics, business, finance, labor, sports, media, and academia.
People gathered here were nothing but ordinary.
“Son-in-law!”
Kim Yeon-hee, who was receiving guests, smiled like a flower noticing them enter. She seemed far more delighted to see her son-in-law than her own daughter.
“Was the rumor of Assemblyman Baek joining hands with ‘Sankyeong Daily’ true?”
“Isn’t this the first time we saw his wife?”
“Assemblyman Baek must be seriously preparing to run for president…”
A wave of hushed conversations swept through the crowd, making their way into Baek Sa-eon’s ears. Curious gazes soon shifted to the woman holding his arm.
Heeju’s skin prickled with unease, yet she kept her expression calm and her gaze fixed ahead. She just had one task today.
‘I’m just a showpiece. Nothing more than that.’
At that moment, Kim Yeon-hee pushed her way through the crowd to reach the young couple.
“How did you two end up coming together? I thought you wouldn’t show up.”
“Have you been well?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Kim Yeon-hee smiled brightly, unbothered by Sa-eon’s curt greeting.
“But, Baek son-in-law, could I borrow my daughter for a moment?”
Baek Sa-eon frowned slightly but eventually gave a small nod. However, Heeju instinctively tightened her grip on his arm.
“…!”
His indifferent face stiffened slightly as their arms tangled. Realizing her mistake, Heeju hurriedly released him. But Baek Sa-eon frowned and fixed his gaze on her.
In a low voice, he murmured, “Do you not want to go?”
“…”
His cold, usual expression was the same, but there was something subtly different.
As if… As if he would grant whatever I asked for…
‘What an absurd thought…!’
She shook her head again, lightly this time.
“H- Heeju!”
The tension between them broke instantly as her mother interjected.
“How could you trouble our son-in-law like that?”
Pulling Heeju to her side, her mother gave Baek Sa-eon a reassuring smile, as if to say there was nothing to worry about.
The man stood there with a frown. His penetrating stare felt uncomfortable to Heeju, causing her to glance away.
“You…!”
Lowering her voice to a whisper, Kim Yeon-hee dragged Heeju to a corner. Even so, she maintained an elegant smile, nodding to guests they passed.
“What’s going on with your father?”
But as soon as they were alone, her expression twisted dramatically.
“I heard you shifted him to another nursing home”
“…”
“Why did son-in-law mention your father? Did he… find out?”
At Heeju’s reluctant nod, a sharp rebuke came flying.
“You’ve finally exposed your true nature. I didn’t know you were someone who exploited their family’s misfortune for pity. It must be hard for you to take care of two fathers.”
Her mother’s lips trembled in frustration.
“What kind of person would brazenly reveal something like that?”
“…”
“How do you think it looks for you to come across as some duplicitous woman still tending to her ex-husband? What do you think Chairman Hong would say? Don’t forget, I only helped you out of pity. That was my last ounce of generosity!”
Heeju could sense her mother’s humiliation just as much as her anger. She wanted to bury her past as a singer desperately.
Her mother’s denial stung Heeju even more deeply.
“If you keep this up, I’ll put your father in a psychiatric hospital, not a care home.”
“…!”
Heeju locked eyes with her mother in defiance.
“Don’t create a scene. No need to involve the police or resort to violence. He’s just an old man with a few loose teeth. But if Chairman Hong’s name gets dragged into this…”
Her mother’s words carried the weight of a threat. Heeju clenched her teeth.
“How can you be so…?”
Kim Yeon-hee clicked her tongue and exhaled heavily.
“Don’t you understand what’s at stake?”
“…”
“Handle your father’s matter quietly. If you can’t, bury it.”
Despite Yeon-hee’s frantic mood, she smoothed back her hair with refined composure.
Soon, mother’s eyes were prying in the distance. She was looking at Baek Sa-eon, who was circled with his admirers.
“This position was way out of your league. Now that you’re occupying this place, you’d better act accordingly.”
Among all the men, Baek Sa-eon stood out—strikingly handsome and composed.
It was very familiar with such circumstances. The layout, the distance— it was something definite.
“Before you lose everything.”
“…!”
Her mood sank to its lowest point as her mother left to greet others with a smile, “Oh, Mrs. Jung…!”
Heeju stepped behind a pillar, quietly trying to steady her chaotic breathing. The pain in her scratched wrist couldn’t compare to the hurt of being treated like an unwelcome guest by her own mother.
‘I.. I forgot to take my medicine…’
Every encounter with her mother triggered a wave of crushing depression.
It was 9:50 PM.
However, as a new task crossed her mind, her expression changed. Listlessness turned to energy; despair to determination.
It was a miracle sparked by nothing more than a phone in her hand.
‘Something more important than the charade had to be achieved.’
Grabbing a passing champagne flute, Heeju downed it in one gulp and headed toward the restroom with her bag.
***
In the powder room, hushed voices echoed.
“Did you see Hong Heeju tonight?”
“I did.”
An odd nasal tone mixed into the reply.
Heeju paused mid-hand wash to listen.
“She’s so shameless. She stole In-ah’s position and doesn’t feel a shred of guilt.”
“Speaking of which, I haven’t seen Sa-eon in ages. He’s different now… he seems more mature. Don’t you agree?”
“That position was meant for In-ah!”
The sharp accusation made Heeju flinch.
“I told you she was odd from the start, didn’t I?”
“You and your assumptions…”
Even as they exchanged barbs, their laughter interwove with ease.
“From the moment she started tagging along with In-ah, I found her strange. She was gloomy and hovered around us like a shadow.”
“Do you think she learned sign language on purpose? To leech off the Sankyeong Daily heiress?
“But who would’ve thought she would even steal her sister’s fiancé?”
Heeju let the water run as she stood motionless.
From private school to a prestigious university, she had always been by Hong In-ah’s side, albeit grudgingly accepted by her friends.
After In-ah’s disappearance, the whispers began.
Even the idea of the scandalous “dirty secrets” she used to force Baek Sa-eon to marry her likely stemmed from these women.
“Where do you think In-ah went? Still no news?”
“Hopefully she didn’t die somewhere…”
“Don’t say such scary things…!”
Heeju raised her head and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her wounded expression seemed just as sinister as they described. It was an appearance truly befitting the schemes she was executing from behind a voice modulator.
The clock was about to reach 10 P.M.
***
When the elevator doors opened, the pitch-black night sky poured in. The terrace was an open space, but the cold weather kept people from intruding.
Ring! Ring!
Even with the dazzling night view beyond the railing, Heeju felt nothing but indifference. Each breath she exhaled dissipated quietly in the cold air.
— “Hello.”
“…”
— “406, speak.”
“…”
Strangely, she wanted to cry. Hearing that familiar, steady baritone, Heeju felt a sharp sting in her eyes. She wanted to say something but found herself pressing her lips tightly shut.
— “What is it?”
Sensing the silence as a harbinger of trouble, his tone turned sharp.
— “406.”
Under his stern urging, she finally opened her mouth, unable to hold it in any longer.
“When your fiancée disappeared, and Hong Heeju replaced her… how did you feel?”
Her words felt like a blade she deliberately turned on herself, as though she had resolved to inflict even deeper wounds. She hoped the sharper pain might make the faint, lingering ache vanish entirely.
“I-… I understand. It must’ve been hard for you at the time.”
— “It was similar,” he replied.
Heeju closed her eyes tightly.
— “To be precise, I was blank at first.”
“…!”
— “A brat ruined all my plans.”
“…”
— “At that moment, I had to replan everything. It was, in every sense, an inconvenience.”
It was such a typical response from him. Heeju let out a faint chuckle and perched on the railing.
Nothing bridged a conversational gap or built rapport like shared disdain.
“Well, you had every right to feel that way. She didn’t have money, or connections, or any shares in the company. Her professional network was limited, and as the daughter-in-law of a political family, her social skills were nonexistent. All she got were rumors of being gloomy. People didn’t see her as someone to respect. She was just…”
Her gaze drifted toward the distant, pitch-black night sky, her expression empty.
“…a footnote to Hong In-ah’s biography.”
A bitter laugh kept escaping her lips.
“What’s even funnier is that she was aware of it.”
Her voice grew slower and more drawn out as she spoke. The champagne she downed earlier seemed to be spreading warmth through her body.
“She wanted to break free, but she’d always crumble. She had no courage. Hong Heeju is just a coward who surrendered to money.”
— “…”
“It’s almost a relief she can’t talk. If she opened her mouth, she might even let out the dark smoke causing her anguish.”
Heeju dangled her legs off the edge of the railing, swinging them aimlessly.
There was no response from Baek Sa-eon. Then she realized she had been rambling for quite some time.
“Hello?”
She called out to check, only to hear the faint grinding of teeth on the other end of the line.
