Husband Role - Episode 9

It was a weekday, but the streets of Daehak-ro were bustling. As Min-seo glared at the people who were drinking and carrying on, Anna said,

“Hey. So, wasn’t Yoon-ri the first one to like Eun-seol?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Min-seo retorted coldly, stabbing the innocent steamed egg dish repeatedly with her metal chopsticks. Anna quietly watched Min-seo and cautiously expressed her opinion.

“No, it was like that back then too.”

“Back then?”

“When we, you know…”

Anna looked around and lowered her voice to say the next words.

“When we bullied Lee Eun-seol.”

“What about then?”

“Yoon-ri went crazy, totally berserk. I got called in and almost peed my pants.”

Anna hugged her shoulders and shivered as if she was still scared just thinking about it.

“That’s because Teacher Jung-hyuk was a teacher with a strong sense of responsibility.”

To Min-seo, Jung-hyuk was not a teacher. He was just Yoon Jung-hyuk, a man. That was all, so she always called him by his name in front of her friends.

“You didn’t see Yoon-ri’s eyes roll back then. I thought he was a total psychopath.”

“…Watch your language.”

“Oh, sorry.”

The relationship between them was clear. In high school, Min-seo used Anna as a cheat sheet, and now Min-seo’s maternal grandfather was helping Anna’s father, who had ruined his trading business.

While Anna’s father was trying to get back on his feet, Min-seo would be the boss to Anna indefinitely.

Anna’s family also constantly emphasized that Min-seo was a helpful friend and that she should always treat her well.

“Anyway…”

Anna glanced at Min-seo and continued.

“If that’s the case, isn’t he the original? The eldest son of a family running a private school hooking up with a student. Ugh. This is seriously dangerous, right?”

“……”

“Besides, the teacher’s subject was ethics, right? So funny.”

Min-seo glared at Anna, who was sneering.

“Watch what you say.”

“Huh?”

Anna blinked.

“Don’t talk about Jung-hyuk like that.”

“Ugh… Are you taking Yoon-ri’s side even at this moment?”

Anna replied in a subdued voice.

“…I’m saying this because I care about you. I know Yoon-ri is handsome and from a wealthy family. But what about you? Your family, your specs, your looks…”

Anna refilled Min-seo’s empty glass and continued to encourage her.

“Graduation is coming up soon. Then, go into the hospital. Doctor Mok Min-seo? I can already hear your value skyrocketing. You can get married to a rich and young guy from a great family then. And you’re too young and pretty to get married now.”

She meant to let go of the immature first love.

“Those guys are empty-headed. They just live off their parents’ money and chase after women.”

“I hate that because it’s vulgar,” Min-seo said.

“Oh, come on. Are you thinking of the orange tribe from the late Joseon Dynasty? These days, the kids from wealthy families are amazing. Look at the moms in Mok-dong. They’re making their babies, who can’t even walk, learn foreign languages.”

“Not that kind of thing.”

Min-seo swallowed her soju and answered.

For Min-seo, a man’s value wasn’t all about external factors. A glamorous background and specs were important, but on the other hand, they were common, and as common as they were, they were worthless.

The guys who grew up pampered under their mothers’ skirts were fake. In her eyes, only Jung-hyuk, who shone like a knife standing alone on a cliff, was real.

She first saw Jung-hyuk at a Cheonho Foundation gathering when she was very young. She fell in love at first sight.

With his neat school uniform and even his fingernails tidy, he seemed like an adult who had reached a realm she couldn’t even imagine. He was a male student who was even more noticeable because he was so still.

She thought that if a prince in a fairy tale existed, it would be that person.

Young Min-seo became curious. She attended every family gathering to see the aristocratic male student and tried hard to be loved. All of this was to attract Jung-hyuk’s attention.

She didn’t know that this struggle would continue to this day.

“Marriage is…”

Min-seo gripped her soju glass tightly.

“You don’t know until you walk into the wedding hall.”

And she emptied it in one gulp. Her mouth was bitter. Because she had said the words that Jung-hyuk had said to her a long time ago.

Night fell. The <Flower Shower> sign in a quiet neighborhood turned off with a click. Su-jin was waving her hand through the slightly open sash window. Eun-seol smiled, looking back and forth between Su-jin and Su-jin’s bulging belly.

“It’s late, so take a taxi,” Su-jin said.

“Yes, unnie,” Eun-seol replied. She even received an hourly wage for helping Su-jin with her flower class today. She hadn’t checked how much it was yet, but she felt proud.

Eun-seol strolled through the familiar neighborhood. She could feel Su-jin’s gaze on her back. Su-jin was cynical, but her heart for Eun-seol was big and deep.

This neighborhood was where Eun-seol’s maternal grandfather, Bong-cheol, lived, and Su-jin had opened a flower shop here about two years ago.

Eun-seol was happy to see the flower shop. She immediately became a regular. Whenever she went to Bong-cheol’s house, Eun-seol had a bouquet of fresh flowers in her hand.

‘She buys flowers often.’

At some point, Su-jin said it as if she was throwing it out there.

Eun-seol was quite surprised because the owner, who usually had a blank face, seemed so indifferent.

‘My grandfather likes them.’

‘You’re a filial granddaughter.’

Su-jin muttered to herself, and from then on, she made bouquets that were much larger and more extravagant than what Eun-seol ordered.

As that was repeated, Eun-seol also didn’t come to the flower shop empty-handed. Even if her pockets were empty, she would buy at least a coffee. That’s how their relationship began.

Eun-seol, who felt that she had gotten quite far from the flower shop, glanced back. Now, Su-jin’s husband, Tae-hoon, was standing with her.

“Unnie, really.”

Eun-seol muttered softly and raised her hand high. And just as she was waving it wildly in the air,

The phone in her pocket vibrated. After checking the caller, Eun-seol felt as if her tired mind was instantly awakened.

“Teacher!”

She answered the phone in a high tone without realizing it. Then, she bit her lip, realizing her mistake.

—Where are you?

Jung-hyuk’s way of speaking, omitting greetings, felt somehow friendly, which she liked.

“I’m on my way home.”

—At this hour.

He said stiffly. It was probably her imagination, but it felt like he was worried.

Since the last time he came to her house, Jung-hyuk had been calling her almost every day. Usually in the evening or at night.

Eun-seol hadn’t missed a single one of his calls. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she lived for the joy of waiting for Jung-hyuk’s calls these days.

“I was a little late because I was helping the owner unnie.”

Su-jin was known as ‘owner unnie.’

—Take a taxi home.

Eun-seol had already reached the bus stop. She sat on the bench inside the bright booth and answered, “Yes.”

If the bus came while she was on the phone, she could just let it go. Anyway, he was someone who hung up the phone quickly. Then she could take the bus after that. There was no way she could blow all the money she had just earned on a taxi fare.

—We decided to speed up the meeting between the families.

“Yes?”

—We had a gathering of the Cheonho Foundation family today, and that’s when the decision was made. It’s next week.

Eun-seol answered in an embarrassed voice, “Yes.”

—Just think of it as having a meal.

“…It feels like things are moving really fast since the decision was made.”

“So, you don’t like it?” he asked. His low voice touched Eun-seol’s heart. Eun-seol shook her head even though Jung-hyuk wasn’t looking.

—I’ll take care of everything, so don’t worry about it.

Why did that make her feel so secure? Eun-seol answered, “Yes,” again. Then, in a slightly sarcastic voice, he asked again, “You don’t dislike it, do you?”

“Of course not! I, I like it, really.”

—It sounds like a lie when you stutter like that.

Eun-seol paused for a moment at Jung-hyuk’s words.

…Is he joking? Is the teacher joking? Does the teacher joke? The teacher?

“…You keep asking if I like everything,”

Eun-seol continued her excuse in a faint voice.

“I’m trying not to say that I like it…”

—Why are you so anxious? I was just joking.

“Ah… You were joking…”

A moment of silence flowed.

She could hear him clearing his throat over the receiver. Jung-hyuk seemed a little embarrassed. It was a discovery. A rather human side of the teacher.

Was that why?

A gentle smile spread across Eun-seol’s lips. Her feet dangled in the air below her gaze. Her heart tickled, and she felt strangely warmer.

—I thought you seemed frozen all the time.

He briefly explained about the joke that didn’t suit him. Eun-seol answered softly, “Yes,” but she felt warm inside at Jung-hyuk’s consideration.

—Text me when you get there.

“I will.”

“Anyway, you’re good at answering,” Jung-hyuk said and hung up. Her fingertips tingled. Eun-seol’s lips twitched without her knowing it. Just as she couldn’t help but smile, a bus arrived. Eun-seol boarded the bus with light steps.

Eun-seol was even more tired because she had dozed off on the bus. She was literally exhausted. There was a reason for that.

Lately, it had become even more difficult to read her family’s faces. She had developed immunity to the nagging, but this was a different kind of nagging.

The aftermath caused by her. Struggling in it was more emotionally draining than ever.

Besides, she had been running around the flower market since dawn today with a lack of sleep.

Eun-seol collapsed on the bed, her eyes closing heavily.

Ah, I have to text the teacher…

“Just a moment…”

I’ll take a shower after lying down, and then I’ll contact him. He might not be waiting…

Her eyelids, as heavy as lead, slowly lowered. And so, Eun-seol was sucked into the world of unconsciousness.

“Ugh…!”

She was suddenly suffocated.

Was she having a nightmare?

No. It was much more physical than that.

With a chilling premonition, Eun-seol struggled to open her eyes. The surroundings were trapped in darkness. It was strange because she didn’t remember turning off the lights.

Then, she felt an even stronger pressure. It was an immense force.

“Ugh…!”

Feeling a sense of crisis, Eun-seol barely raised her gaze. She saw a shadow sitting on her chest. A strong smell of alcohol came from the shadow with long hair flowing down.

“Let… go…”

Eun-seol said in a hoarse voice. Tears streamed down her eyes.

“…Die.”

Along with the familiar voice, the grip on her neck tightened.

“Die, Lee Eun-seol!”

Min-seo screamed like an evil spirit.

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