TVS 08

Chapter 08

For several days now, Seo-ah had been clinging to the front gate of Dong-ha’s house, pleading with them.

But there was no way Dong-ha’s family would welcome her visits.

After the funeral, she had clung to her in-laws and demanded answers about what had happened to Wonjeon Electronics, but all she received in return were curses and violence.

When she eventually asked about Kim Gi-young, her mother-in-law had even thrown Seo-ah out onto the street.

“Ma’am, please open the door, okay? I’ll just quietly collect my belongings and leave. I really will!”

After listening to Seo-ah plead for hours again today, the housekeeper could no longer bear it and answered the intercom.

Then an enraged scream came blasting through the front gate.

“―Ajumma! Why are you listening to all that? Hang up, now!”

“―Mom, please stop! She said she only came to collect her things. Just open the door for a moment…”

“―Shut up! We have no reason to let the woman who killed my son into this house! Ajumma, what are you doing? Hang up right now!”

Even Dong-joo, who had been relatively sympathetic toward Seo-ah, seemed unable to go against the atmosphere in a household that had been torn apart by the death of its only son.

“Father! I want to know the truth! Please! Mother! Don’t just listen to what that shaman says! You need to talk to me!”

But after Seo-ah’s desperate cry, not another sound came from the intercom.

Dong-ha’s family blindly believed in shamanistic beliefs.

They had gone so far as to follow a shaman’s chosen auspicious date for intercourse when conceiving Dong-ha.

His marriage had been no different.

After receiving Seo-ah’s saju, the shaman had said that she was destined to constantly attract misfortune and disaster wherever she went.

However, the shaman claimed that Seo-ah could be used to separate Gi-young from Dong-ha.

The family was advised to use her, have a child, and then divorce her.

But their son had died, and Gi-young had ultimately even appeared at Dong-ha’s funeral, causing people to whisper behind their backs.

Dong-ha’s mother believed that all of this misfortune was caused by Seo-ah’s unlucky fate.

Seo-ah clung to the intercom once again and shouted.

But despite her desperate cries, the front gate never opened.

Instead, a message arrived on her phone.

“―Seo-ah, I’m sorry. I’ll pack your things properly and send them to you by courier, so please go home and get some rest for now. I’ll contact you soon.”

It was a message from Dong-joo.

“Why are all of you being so cruel to me? This is really too much…”

Feeling miserable and utterly empty, Seo-ah sank to the ground.

Then she raised her deeply sunken eyes and gazed at Dong-ha’s house.

This was the finest country house in Pyeonghan City.

Although she had not spent all four seasons in this house, she knew what its garden looked like from late summer through winter.

Had there ever been any good memories here?

As Seo-ah quietly thought about it, she remembered the time she had drunk tea with Dong-ha in this garden.

The colors of late autumn.

The moderate warmth of the breeze.

And her husband, Lee Dong-ha, whose expression had carried a faint smile, perhaps because of the pleasant weather.

Even though that smile had not been directed at Seo-ah herself, she remembered thinking that she had felt rather good that day.

But whether that memory could remain a memory until the very end was questionable.

After all, her husband’s final memories must have been filled entirely with Kim Gi-young.

“What did any of that matter, anyway?”

Seo-ah felt that there was a small measure of comfort in knowing that she had never loved Lee Dong-ha.

Quietly sitting there and looking back on the past, she finally decided to let go of the one lingering attachment she had been holding onto so desperately.

Just then, another message arrived on her phone.

“―Seo-ah, I have something to tell you. It’s about that rumor. Meet me now.”

It was a sudden message, but there was no time to hesitate.

Ignoring her numb legs from having been sitting on the ground, Seo-ah immediately started running toward the main road.

“Do you think you can sleep with Kang Tae-kyung?”

“What?”

Seo-ah wondered if she had heard correctly.

She had rushed over the moment she received Se-yeon’s urgent message.

Before she could even ask about the truth behind the rumor Se-yeon had mentioned, why was Se-yeon asking her whether she could sleep with a man the moment she sat down?

“Who am I supposed to… do what with?”

At those words, Se-yeon bit her lip thoughtfully and clasped Seo-ah’s hand, which was resting on the café table.

“Seo-ah, listen to me carefully. There’s going to be a meeting between Kang Tae-kyung and someone from Dong-ha Motors soon. In Pyeonghan.”

Two names that could shake her entire world had been mentioned together.

Seo-ah slowly nodded.

“I came up with a plan. It’s dangerous, but considering Kang Tae-kyung’s personality, I don’t think there’s anything more certain than this…”

Se-yeon’s voice was just as filled with emotion as Seo-ah’s trembling eyes.

When the hand Se-yeon was holding began to tremble, Seo-ah gently stroked the back of her hand this time.

“I’ll listen, Unni. Just tell me first.”

What sincerity had Seo-ah seen in Se-yeon?

The trust she had in her was not simply the affection that came from having grown up together as cousins.

No one could have imagined that all of these gestures and expressions were nothing but lies.

“There are three things Kang Tae-kyung is crazy about.”

“Three things?”

“Yes. Alcohol, money, and women. Kang Tae-kyung is a madman obsessed with women.”

“Ugh, he’s that kind of trash?”

Seo-ah’s heart felt heavy.

Her father had lived his entire life with a spirit of sacrifice and service, yet he had died after being used in the schemes of someone like that.

Seo-ah clutched her aching chest.

“I’m planning to use this side of him. There’s no way we can manipulate a third-generation chaebol heir with money, after all.”

“That’s… true.”

Seo-ah nodded while forcing back her tears.

Se-yeon continued explaining with difficulty, as though she herself was deeply distressed by the plan she had devised.

“There will be a drinking gathering that day. I know a place called ‘Edge.’ You’ll become one of the hostesses there.”

A hostess?

Seo-ah’s eyes widened.

So this was what Se-yeon had meant by sleeping with Kang Tae-kyung.

Suddenly, it felt as though a heavy breath had become lodged in her throat.

“You mean… I have to disguise myself as a hostess?”

“Basically, yes. You’ll just pour drinks and keep him entertained. Then, once the atmosphere gets lively, you know what men usually do. They start showing off in front of women and casually reveal why they came there and what kind of work they’re doing. They’ll tell you everything once the alcohol gets to them.”

“…….”

“That’s when you make your move.”

Seo-ah might not have had much experience with romantic relationships, but she knew how much her male classmates had bragged and shown off when they were trying to impress her in college.

But the relationship between a hostess and a customer was completely different, wasn’t it?

And if things really did lead to her having to sleep with him…

Sensing Seo-ah’s anxiety, Se-yeon cupped her face in both hands and met her gaze.

“Think carefully, Seo-ah. You’re the only one who can do this.”

“Hmm…?”

“Who else could approach Kang Tae-kyung with the same desperation you have to find out what happened to your uncle’s company and what lies behind the death you believe was not an accident?”

“Ah…”

Only then did Seo-ah come to her senses.

She had become so fixated on the thought of having to sleep with a man that she had forgotten what she actually wanted.

She had no confidence, and she was terrified.

But it had only been yesterday that she had prayed that she would willingly give up even her own lifespan if it meant she could discover the truth behind her father’s accident.

And yet now, she felt pathetic for placing the value of her own body above that.

How can a person be this selfish?

A chill ran down her entire body, raising the hairs on her skin.

Just as guilt began to consume her, Se-yeon finally spoke.

“Actually, I thought about trying it myself…”

“What? Why would you, Unni?! If anyone has to do it, it should be me. I’m the one who ultimately ruined Dad’s life, so why would you…”

Seo-ah’s mind was already dominated by the belief that she had ruined everything.

Therefore, if this was the only way, she naturally came to the conclusion that she had no choice.

“I’m sorry. There really doesn’t seem to be any other way for you to get close to Kang Tae-kyung.”

Seo-ah understood what Se-yeon meant.

Her target was a third-generation chaebol heir and, on top of that, an executive at the enormous Taeyu Group.

How could an ordinary person possibly get close to someone like that?

Seo-ah thought that this must have been the conclusion Se-yeon had reached after much consideration.

But there was still one thing bothering her.

“Um… Unni.”

“Hmm?”

“Actually, I… that is…”

The words would not come out easily.

Even though Se-yeon was like an older sister to her, how could Seo-ah possibly talk about something like this?

More than the fact that she was still a virgin, she felt ashamed that nothing had happened between her and her husband throughout their entire marriage.

But then, strangely, Se-yeon seemed to realize something first.

“Seo-ah, you and Dong-ha… never did anything?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, in bed. In six months, not even once?”

“……!”

How did she know?

Could she know that Dong-ha was gay? Could she possibly know that much?

At that unexpected question, Seo-ah became flustered.

Then Dong-ha’s words suddenly surfaced in her mind.

“Don’t trust Jin Se-yeon.”

Why?

She had never once suspected Se-yeon.

So why had those words suddenly come to mind instinctively?

“Don’t tell me it’s true? How could anyone just leave a girl like you alone?”

Was it just her imagination?

For some reason, the corner of Se-yeon’s lips, which had tilted slightly to one side, seemed almost pleased.

But when Seo-ah blinked, Se-yeon’s lips had returned to normal.

As though Seo-ah had simply imagined it.