In the spacious room with folding screens, a large table was set and a full-course Korean meal was neatly arranged. About ten well-dressed middle-aged women were sitting around it.

It was the regular meeting of the Baekhabmoe, a social club for the wives of chaebol executives.

“Is Madam Yang still close with Mrs. Kennedy, the chairman’s wife these days?”

“Right, I’m curious how she’s doing since she hasn’t come to the meetings at all.”

“Oh, don’t even mention it. That household is always in the honeymoon phase.”

As the wives who hadn’t seen each other in a while were having a meal and absorbed in conversation, the door soon opened and two women appeared.

“You’re all here already. Sorry we’re late.”

The person apologizing exaggeratedly as she entered was Madam Choi of Ilseong Industries, a long-time member of Baekhabmoe. And the woman following behind her was……

The friendly atmosphere turned icy cold in an instant as if splashed with cold water.

“This is Madam Ji Yeon Hwa of Daewon Group. She really wanted to join our Baekhabmoe, so I invited her.”

As Madam Choi introduced her, Ji Yeon Hwa bowed her head demurely.

“I’m Ji Yeon Hwa. Please take good care of me from now on.”

Polite attitude, elegant speech, neat attire. At first glance, anyone would have a good impression, but none of the madams fell for it.

Wasn’t this woman none other than the second wife of Chairman Kwon Yong Chul of Daewon Group, the famous national second?

It had been 5 years since his ex-wife, Lady Kang Hye Sun, ran away from home and went missing. As soon as his wife was declared missing and legally dead, Chairman Kwon immediately registered his marriage with this woman, as if he had been waiting. Not only business figures but also the general public pointed fingers at him.

Perhaps if Lady Kang Hye Sun hadn’t left behind a handwritten letter before running away, people would have thought even that was Ji Yeon Hwa’s doing.

It had been over 10 years since she went from being a mistress to a chaebol wife overnight. In the meantime, Ji Yeon Hwa had persistently appealed through various routes that she wanted to join the club, but Baekhabmoe had consistently ignored her.

The heavenly pride of chaebol wives would never allow them to associate with a woman called a national second. None of the women in the business world would deal with her, so at most, Ji Yeon Hwa could only meet and socialize with female celebrities.

But to barge into the meeting like this without notice…

It was easy enough to guess how this happened. Baekhabmoe had a rule that automatically allowed new members to join if recommended by an executive member.

Since Ilseong Industries, where Madam Choi’s husband was the president, had recently signed a big contract with Daewon Group, Ji Yeon Hwa must have used her position as the superior to make a request that was actually a demand to the subordinate Madam Choi.

‘No matter how much of a concubine she is, how brazen can she be!’

The Baekhabmoe members trembled with a sense of insult.

No one spoke up, and eventually President Ko calmly said,

“Welcome. Let’s get along well from now on.”

Yeon Hwa went and demurely took a seat at the empty end of the table.

“Well then, let’s eat, everyone.”

As each picked up their spoons, suddenly one madam blurted out,

“But there are so many side dishes here. I heard it was supposed to be a 12-course royal meal.”

“You’re right. It looks like a lot more?”

“Let’s count. 1, 2, 3……”

Concubine, concubine, concubine.

Every time the word “concubine” was said, Yeon Hwa’s face turned redder and redder.

Noticing this, the madams started counting the side dishes one by one with their chopsticks.

“13, 14, 15…… It’s over 15?”

“Madam Kim, you’re really in a pile of concubines. You know soup and stew and kimchi don’t count, right?”

“Oh, is that so? But it still seems like too many. I’ll have to count again. 1, 2, 3……”

The sound of concubine, concubine, concubine kept coming from here and there.

Eventually, Yeon Hwa couldn’t take it anymore and abruptly got up from her seat. She stormed out of the room, stomping her feet.

“She’s brazen as if daring anyone to say she’s not a concubine.”

“How dare she show her face here of all places?”

At the snide laughter behind her back, Yeon Hwa clenched her fists so tightly that her finely manicured nails dug into her palms.

“……!”

She wanted to tear those women to shreds right then and there.

Those bitches who think being the first wife is some kind of noble position.

Those bitches who have done nothing good in life except marrying a man first!

But in reality, there was nothing she could do. Among them were madams of companies higher ranked than Daewon Group, and even if not, it was her alone against many of them.

“Madam, why are you leaving alrea- ack!”

The chauffeur who was kicked in the shin with her high heels out of nowhere let out a groan of pain. Yeon Hwa kicked him several more times without hesitation. When the chauffeur couldn’t endure and fell over, she stepped on him with her high-heeled feet.

As if this wasn’t the first time experiencing this, the chauffeur rolled on the ground, gritting his teeth to hold back his screams.

Yeon Hwa trembled with rage that couldn’t be quelled even through the assault. How could she relieve this anger? It didn’t seem like mere shopping would calm her down.

“Go to the Chairman.”

The chauffeur got up limping and opened the car door for her.

The car headed straight to Daewon Group headquarters.

*

On the way home from work. In the bus, Eun Seo heard high school boys in uniforms snickering while playing mobile games.

“Yeah, you got wrecked. Can’t do anything, huh?”

“You crazy son of a bitch, hehe.”

Eun Seo thought, yes, that’s normal. Seeing actual high school students made her realize anew how mature Seung Joo was.

Getting off the bus, a delicious smell wafted from a street vendor near the stop. Usually she would have held her breath and walked quickly, but today she went straight toward it.

“Fish-shaped bread worth 2,000 won please.”

After Seung Joo made her realize, Eun Seo stopped purposely starving herself. Right, she should eat deliciously and work that much harder to find him. Just like Seung Joo said.

Holding the fish-shaped bread tightly to her chest so it wouldn’t get cold, Eun Seo walked briskly toward home.

“I’m back!”

Calling out loudly on purpose as she entered the yard, a large man came running out of the kitchen.

“Noona, you’re here?”

Seung Joo, wearing an apron over his large body, had a genuinely happy expression. It reminded her of a puppy who had been guarding the house alone all day, overjoyed and jumping around at seeing its owner.

Although she didn’t show it out of embarrassment, Eun Seo didn’t dislike being welcomed so joyfully. Without realizing it, she found herself rushing to finish work on time and buying something on the way home. Having someone welcoming you warmly when you return home – she was realizing just now how heart-warming that was. She had lived alone for so long that she forgot she was lonely.

Eun Seo took out the bag of fish-shaped bread she bought at the bus stop and held it out.

“Here, for you.”

The man who looked like he wouldn’t touch junk food brightened up seeing the fish-shaped bread.

“Wow!”

He may look like an adult, and was very mature too, but you often forgot his mind was that of an 18-year-old. Just some fish-shaped bread made him so happy he could jump. Seeing his delighted face over such a small thing made her heart ache a little. She should have bought some for him sooner.

“I really wanted to eat that fish-shaped bread. There’s a place selling it in front of my academy so I used to eat it a lot.”

“You should have gone out and bought some. I gave you money.”

“I’m still a bit nervous about going out alone.”

Gulping down his saliva, Seung Joo still handed Eun Seo the first fish-shaped bread he took out, wrapping it with a torn corner of the paper bag.

“Careful, it’s hot.”

Accepting the fish-shaped bread handed to her so attentively, Eun Seo thought again for the nth time. How did such a caring boy become that cold adult…?

Suddenly, the savory smell of rice wafted out from the kitchen.

“You made rice again?”

“Yes, it’s steaming now. It’ll be ready soon.”

When Eun Seo glared at him, Seung Joo said as if making excuses,

“I have nothing to do being home all day. I’m doing it because I’m bored.”

“When do you even have time to be bored? If you have time to make rice, memorize one more line of financial statements!”

When she nagged him like a homeroom teacher urging a high school senior, the response that came back surprised her.

“I memorized everything you gave me.”

“What? You already memorized 10 years’ worth of financial statements?”

Eun Seo was startled. It had only been three days since she printed out the materials!

As expected of a national prodigy.

“Yes. I put them in my phone too and could memorize them quickly.”

Eun Seo had activated her phone from a few years ago and gave it to Seung Joo. Even with an old phone with a slow internet connection, Seung Joo was overjoyed. Smartphones still seemed so new to him.

“Just wait a bit. When I get my year-end bonus, I’ll buy you a new one.”

“Why? This one is great too. I was using a flip phone for 3 years.”

“What’s a flip phone?”

“It’s a phone where the screen flips sideways like this. Didn’t you see them when you were young?”

Even after his explanation, Eun Seo tilted her head, not really understanding.

“I’m not sure.”

Seung Joo may be 18, but to be precise, he was 18 from 15 years ago. Talking to him, generation gaps subtly appeared. Back then, Eun Seo was only 12 years old, so there were cases where Seung Joo knew things Eun Seo didn’t. Just like this.

“The laptop is really slow and inconvenient too, right?”

There was no way it wouldn’t be inconvenient using the laptop Eun Seo bought used for 200,000 won in college, but Seung Joo shook his head.

“No. It’s much better than the computer I used to use.”

Well, of course anything would be better compared to 15 years ago.

The more Seung Joo said it was fine, the worse Eun Seo felt. She wanted to buy him a new phone, laptop, and nice clothes, but it was only a wish. It made her heart ache to see the man who always wore tailored clothes wearing a 10,000 won t-shirt bought from the market floor without any complaint.

“How are your bruises?”

“They’ve faded a lot after using the ointment you bought.”

“Let me see.”

“It’s really okay…”

Seung Joo hesitated and lifted the hem of his shirt slightly. His waist peeking out was still covered in purple and yellow bruises. Just looking at it made her wince as if she was the one in pain.

“And you call this okay?”

A scolding came out without realizing it from her heart aching for him. Eun Seo turned her eyes away and muttered,

“…Then you should have dodged it yourself.”

Seung Joo, who somehow heard her small mutter, asked back,

“What? What do you mean by that?”

Eun Seo hesitated a bit before telling the truth.

“Actually, when the accident happened, you pushed me out and got hit by the car alone. If you hadn’t done that, maybe you could have avoided it…”

“I did?”

He had no idea, with an expression of genuine surprise. Well, he had no memory of it.

“Why would I have done that?”

“Who knows, I’m curious about that too.”

After being lost in thought for a while, Seung Joo suddenly said,

“Could it be that… I liked you?”