Chapter 71
After finishing his round of golf with the Honor Factory company meeting.
Si-heon headed to the memorial park.
The scale of this place, which included a crematorium, was immense enough to be divided into eight different sections.
While he sometimes came here for ‘disposal,’ he also visited when his head throbbed or when he wanted to clear his mind.
Well-maintained landscaping. Neatly paved paths with benches placed between them. Colorful artificial flowers stuck in each gravestone.
Standing at the highest point, absently looking down at it all, something caught Si-heon’s eye.
A white flower blooming quietly in the shade.
Though not immediately noticeable, hidden behind the artificial flowers showing off their brilliant colors, once discovered, he found it hard to look away.
Watching the flower petals flutter gently in the wind, suddenly a woman came to mind.
“…Liar.”
“You’ll wake up. You have to wake up…”
“Sleep well.”
That morning, as soon as Si-heon opened his eyes, he felt exceptionally good.
It was because his condition had perfectly recovered thanks to sleeping deeply.
…No, was it really just because of that reason alone?
Looking at Ga-eun’s face as she slept soundly in his arms, a strange feeling came over him.
Her white forehead. The few strands of brown hair falling over it. Her neat eyebrows. The long eyelashes cast beneath her closed eyelids.
Her prettily raised nose and closed red lips. The delicate line of her jaw and nape of her neck, her shoulders.
Her slender arms wrapped quite firmly around his waist.
As he carefully observed these features, he felt as if warm water was slowly filling up somewhere in his chest that had been empty all along.
This unfamiliar sensation, which he had never felt before, gradually ensnared him.
He should have removed Ga-eun’s arms from around his waist. He should have pulled out his arm that she was using as a pillow.
But he couldn’t move.
Though he should have felt uncomfortable and coldly shrugged it off… he simply couldn’t.
Despite Si-heon’s hatred of losing control, somehow being wrapped up by Ga-eun didn’t feel bad.
Whether it was because of her soft skin. Or perhaps her unique subtle fragrance.
Why did he want to… remain bound to Gye Ga-eun like this?
“Secretary Noh. What time is it now?”
“It’s 1:12 PM, Director. We should start heading out soon.”
Is that all the time that’s passed?
He’d always thought there wasn’t enough time, with so much to do he could barely catch his breath.
But today, time seemed to crawl.
Damn it. He cursed under his breath.
Just what had that woman done to him?
Suddenly, he found himself wanting to hear the voice of the woman who resembled the white flower.
Whether aware of Si-heon’s thoughts or not, Noh Man-su spoke up.
“Director, it’s been taken care of.”
Noh Man-su was returning from intimidating the guys who had harassed Ga-eun at Nam-hee-dong’s Go Yun-gu.
“P-please, we’re sorry, p-please spare us…”
“We’ll never do anything like this again, truly… hic…”
When they were locked in the crematorium and the lid was closed, they screamed until their voices went hoarse.
Naturally so, since they’d nearly become human barbecue with just the press of a button from outside.
The faces and front of the pants of all seven men kneeling with their foreheads to the ground were completely soaked, without exception.
“Did they understand well?”
“Don’t worry. They won’t dare cause trouble again.”
Si-heon nodded with a “Hmm.”
“Clean up that neighborhood well. Gye Ga-eun will likely frequent it.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Next week, Honor Factory will send a document. Send it straight to the legal team.”
“Yes, Director.”
After surveying the memorial park one more time, Si-heon gazed at the white flower blooming in the corner for a while longer before turning away.
***
After seeing off Artist Ja-myung, who wanted to finish exploring Insadong, Ga-eun let out the breath she’d been holding.
“Haah…”
From the moment she met Chairman Kwon Soon-yeol until parting with Artist Ja-myung just now, her entire body had been stiff with tension.
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