Husband Role - Episode 35

The art convention was bustling with formally dressed people.

White canopy curtains hung like clouds from the high ceiling. The paintings hung at intervals on the wooden walls were magnificent enough to elicit admiration. All were from Ilseong’s collection, along with the accompanying decorations of plants.

The banquet hall resembled the height of summer.

“It’s worth the 50th-anniversary celebration.”

A man said, scanning the hall with his eyes.

“I heard they put a lot of effort into it, and it’s true.”

“By the way, that piece over there, isn’t it by a French artist? Michel, what’s-his-name.”

“Oh, come on, man. Michel Macron!”

Another man retorted, chuckling softly.

“What does it matter? The fact is, it’s clearly an early work. The price must have skyrocketed, right?”

“I heard from Mom that it was all Aunt’s choice. She definitely has an eye for things.”

“Aunt, my foot. I don’t even see her during the holidays. At best, isn’t she Yoon Jung-hyuk’s stepmother? Shit. Doing useless things.”

The other relatives sitting around the white table agreed.

They were the collateral family members of Gwang-min, who lived off the Hocheon Foundation.

“But why isn’t that bastard Yoon Jung-hyuk here yet? I thought I’d see his face for once.”

“Oh, right, you didn’t attend the wedding, did you?”

“I was hospitalized after the accident back then. Was it with Mok Min-seo, that sharp-tongued bitch?”

Another relative chimed in.

“I don’t think so?”

“Wow. So, Yoon Jung-hyuk switched? What a dirty seed.”

The man frowned and clicked his tongue.

“By the way, is Yoon Jung-hyuk’s father still alive?”

Then he asked again.

“Still in the hospital, what else?”

Someone answered.

The man who asked the question chuckled and added, “At this point, isn’t he practically a mummy?”

“Honestly, it’s divine punishment.”

“True. Not only did he sleep with her, but he also planted a seed in a married woman’s womb.”

“A farmer?”

A man chuckled in response.

“Let’s be honest. It’s a disgrace to our Hocheon. How can a philanderer be in a family of scholars? Why does Grandpa protect such a lowly bastard?”

Just as the man grumbled in dissatisfaction,

“Shh, the main character is here.”

Jung-hyuk and Eun-seol entered through the grand teak doors.

Jung-hyuk, wearing a navy suit that was almost black, had his hair neatly styled with pomade. Eun-seol, gently linking arms with him, wore a white evening dress with a deep V-neck. Her hair was styled in a neat low bun, and she wore gold earrings with emeralds embedded in the center.

“Wow… crazy. How old is Yoon Jung-hyuk’s wife?”

“I think she’s about ten years younger than us.”

“But ‘Sister-in-law’? It’s so suggestive. Should I try to seduce her like our uncle?”

Not far from the table where they were continuing their frivolous talk, So-hee’s family was seated.

Min-seo maintained a rigid posture. So-hee tapped her daughter’s hand and then looked at her son.

“Jun-seo.”

So-hee called Jun-seo. Jun-seo was engrossed in a mobile game, slouching in a slovenly manner.

“…Mok Jun-seo.”

The son, with bloodshot eyes, paid no attention to So-hee’s warnings.

“At least turn down the volume.”

“Gaming is all about the sound.”

As soon as Jun-seo retorted, Dae-hyuk returned to the table. So-hee anxiously poked her son’s thigh, but it was useless.

Dae-hyuk kicked Jun-seo’s shin as soon as he sat down.

“Ah, shit!”

Jun-seo teared up and pulled his knee up.

“Put your leg down!”

Dae-hyuk scolded fiercely, and Jun-seo clenched his teeth and lowered his leg.

“Honey, shouldn’t we go say hello to Jung-hyuk?”

So-hee had been feeling heavy-hearted all along, so she tentatively nudged her husband’s back.

“Why should I?”

“Look at this banquet hall. Look at the people in it. They’re all necessary for you. It’s also the reason why you stay out all night drinking.”

“So what?”

“…Eventually, Yoon Jung-hyuk will become the owner of this kingdom.”

So-hee urged Dae-hyuk, who was frowning, to go quickly.

Dae-hyuk got up with a heavy body. So-hee quickly followed her husband.

The couple parted the elegant music and approached Jung-hyuk.

When they stood face to face, Jung-hyuk and Eun-seol stared at the couple with cold eyes.

In the midst of all this, So-hee resented Eun-seol.

She really secured a good position.

“Nephew Yoon, it’s not easy to see your face, really. Is business going well?”

Dae-hyuk smiled and extended his hand to Jung-hyuk. So-hee also chimed in from the side.

“Let’s shake off the past and get along well, we should. If you keep dwelling on the past, nothing will work out.”

Jung-hyuk was silent. He merely looked down at Dae-hyuk ‘s empty hand with cold eyes.

“People, really.”

Dae-hyuk, embarrassed, withdrew his hand and patted Jung-hyuk’s shoulder.

“Anyway, we’re family now, so let’s be moderate. Moderate.”

Then he laughed exaggeratedly. It wasn’t a laugh to smooth things over, but a laugh to crush.

Jung-hyuk shook off Dae-hyuk ‘s arm in one motion. Then he glared at Dae-hyuk coldly and retorted.

“Moderate?”

It was a terribly low voice, as if something was suppressed. So-hee, quick to notice, approached and whispered, lowering her voice.

“There are many eyes watching.”

“If you’re moderate…”

Jung-hyuk neatly ignored So-hee and continued.

“I wonder if you’ll be able to keep your position.”

Just as Dae-hyuk let out a twisted laugh, as if amused,

—Distinguished guests, the anniversary ceremony will begin in five minutes. The national anthem will be played first, so please be seated.

Jung-hyuk shielded Eun-seol and moved to their assigned seats. His back looked like a solid mountain.

After the congratulatory speech by the guest representative, the cake-cutting ceremony proceeded immediately. Ilseong and the main figures of Hocheon stood in a circle around the splendid flower cake in the center.

When the commemorative champagne was popped, Eun-seol said quietly to Jung-hyuk.

“I’m going to the restroom.”

“Shall I go with you?”

Jung-hyuk asked with an indifferent expression.

“The structure of this building is a bit complicated, you see.”

Eun-seol smiled at him, who was adding an explanation.

“The eldest son must keep his seat.”

Then she said she’d be right back and left the banquet hall.

But she soon realized that he was right.

The only restroom she could find was under urgent repair due to a problem with the water pipes. The staff explained the location of another restroom, but she couldn’t find it.

Eventually, she headed to a quiet first floor. As she came out after taking care of her business, she heard a familiar name in the lobby on the right side of the hallway.

“Tell me more about Yoon Jung-hyuk’s mother.”

It was the tone of a man heavily drunk.

“Oh, don’t you know? Why, Yoon Jung-hyuk’s mother committed suicide.”

At those words, Eun-seol stopped walking abruptly. Standing at the corner of the hallway, she unknowingly clenched her fist and placed it on her chest.

“…I knew she died. But it was suicide? No wonder they were being so secretive.”

“That’s because…”

The voice of the man telling the story became even more secretive.

“His birth mother was a married woman. She couldn’t have children after getting married, but then Yoon Jung-hyuk came along. So, she pretended that Yoon Jung-hyuk was her husband’s child… How could that not be discovered?”

“That’s all common knowledge.”

The man listening replied indifferently.

“So, the angry husband assaulted Yoon Ho-min, turning him into a vegetable, and went to prison. At the time, the grandfather completely controlled the media and got him the maximum sentence, right?”

Eun-seol’s heart tightened.

“Seeing that, the grandfather is also a saint. To take in the grandson who made his own son like that.”

“I don’t understand that at all either.”

Eun-seol’s eyes, which were becoming hot, only rolled to confirm the backs of the men.

“At first, that married woman raised Yoon Jung-hyuk alone, it seems. She was so worn out by poverty that she couldn’t even eat properly… Eventually, she took sleeping pills and committed suicide. When Yoon Jung-hyuk was about six years old, I think.”

How, how could she at such a young age…

“The best part is, Yoon Jung-hyuk…”

Eun-seol covered her mouth with a trembling hand. She felt like she shouldn’t hear it like this. But she sensed that it was something she needed to know.

“…Was found in the arms of his suicidal mother.”

At the man’s words, Eun-seol felt as if all the blood was draining from her body. The man, unaware of this, continued to speak.

“He apparently spent several days alone in that house.”

Eun-seol naturally thought of a small boy.

What kind of sadness did he feel?

What kind of despair did he see?

That child who fell asleep in the arms of his mother, who was growing colder day by day.

“…Creepy. So, with the corpse?”

“So how could Yoon Jung-hyuk be in his right mind?”

“No wonder, shit. His expression is always the same, and he seems like a sociopath.”

With those words, Eun-seol slid down from her spot. Perhaps because of the sound of her falling, the men scattered like grains of sand.

“Haa…”

Haa, haa.

It was hard to breathe. Her whole body trembled like an aspen. Tears flowed incessantly. The blurry vision cleared when wiped, and then blurred again when wiped again.

At that, Eun-seol curled up her ribs and cried. It felt like her heart was being torn out.

She thought only she was in pain and only she was sad.

Suddenly, Eun-seol remembered the conversation she had with Jung-hyuk on their honeymoon.

‘…Don’t you know how to comfort? Then what about sympathy?’

‘Those are things you can only do if you think you’re better than the other person.’

At that time, she didn’t know what that meant.

She, who was drunk, didn’t have the capacity to interpret his words, which sounded profound. No. She didn’t interpret them.

“Sniff…”

So. So that’s why Mr. Jung-hyuk hated his birthday.

“…Sniff.”

It was a moment when she hated her past self, who had spoken so boldly without knowing anything.

Even if it was with pure intentions.

Still.

Eun-seol couldn’t move for a long time.

Eun-seol had disappeared. The phone was ringing in the clutch she had left behind. Because of this, Jung-hyuk was wandering around all floors of the art convention.

Just in case, he returned to the table, and Eun-seol, who he didn’t know when she had returned, was keeping her seat.

“What happened?”

He asked in a voice full of edge. Eun-seol only gave a faint smile in response.

Red, pressed eyes and an awkward smile.

It seemed like something serious had happened.

“Tell me.”

It was when he urged her repeatedly.

“Was I wrong? Being an educational family and all, huh? To designate such a lowly bastard, whose lineage is unknown, as the successor, huh? This shouldn’t be happening—?”

It was the voice of a drunk man.

Jung-hyuk knew who he was talking about. But he didn’t care.

From a young age, gatherings of direct and collateral family members were always noisy. At the center of that controversy was always him.

“Shall we go get some air?”

Jung-hyuk suggested to Eun-seol. It was an unusually anxious voice for him.

Instead of answering, Eun-seol only stared silently at the drunk relative.

“You should just give it all to Yoon Seol-gi, Yoon Jung-hyuk is, damn it, shit.”

The murmuring noise grew louder. Eun-seol’s eyes were trembling. Jung-hyuk, who witnessed it, grabbed Eun-seol’s cheeks and made her look at him.

“Lee Eun-seol.”

“I’m sorry.”

With a meaningful apology, Eun-seol shook off Jung-hyuk’s hand. Then she got up from her seat and headed to the relative’s table.

“Oh? It’s Yoon Jung-hyuk’s wife. A really young wife!”

“Yoon Seong-won!”

Gwang-min, who had run over, shouted at his fifth cousin once removed. It was then.

Splash—!

Eun-seol overturned the champagne bottle and poured it over the man’s head.

To the man who was screaming curses,

“Inferiority complex is also a disease.”

Eun-seol coldly rebuked.

“If you’re sick, go to the hospital.”

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