Chapter 3. As Dear as Life
“So? Do you have someone else on the side or something?”
“You’re unbelievable!”
Yooa let out a harsh breath and frowned in frustration.
“That’s a disease, you know. Jumping straight to suspicion. You’ve got it bad.”
“Is that so?”
When Lee Jun muttered, calling it a disease, Yooa added coldly,
“Yeah. You should get it treated.”
Even her sarcasm was provoking. Lee Jun twisted his lips into a satisfied smile.
So, there’s no other man.
That meant there was no problem. The rest would fall into place with time.
As long as there was a child involved, Yoon Yooa would never be able to leave Kang Lee Jun.
Unaware of Lee Jun’s thoughts, Yooa believed he was taking the idea of divorce positively.
“If it hurts your pride that I was the one to suggest the divorce, then fine—you can say it was your decision because of personality differences.”
She continued, thinking that this way, there would be no issues even when he remarried.
She had clearly given it plenty of thought—her words were airtight. Lee Jun sighed and muttered,
“You’re pretending to be so considerate. You’re making me think you still care.”
“I do care.”
Yooa’s unwavering gaze was sincere. Even as she spoke of ending things, those eyes oddly brought comfort.
“I hope things go well for you. You’re Sejin’s father, after all. As a husband, you were the worst, but as a father, I think you did your best.”
Trying to console him, she spoke as if time would solve everything.
A small villa to spend occasional time with Sejin, joint custody—that was all she asked for.
If Sejin wanted to see his father, she wasn’t going to stop him. All she had to do was remove herself from between them.
It would be best if they could spend that time here in this house.
“Let’s leave our relationship, our memories, everything, in the past. Time will make it easier. That’s how it should be.”
Not all the time they spent together was bad. There had been joyful, shared laughter as well.
When Yooa asked to proceed quickly with the mutual divorce, Lee Jun sneered.
Then, leaning forward to close the distance between them, he growled,
“What will you do, Yoon Yooa…”
His low voice was cold, like a warning.
“I’m not going to give you the time to say goodbye.”
“Lee Jun…”
“Time? Don’t think you can just walk away. All the memories you want to forget—I’ll pay you off for them. You were my wife, after all. Spending money recklessly is my hobby.”
“What are you talking about? Didn’t we agree to this?”
Yooa’s face went pale. She thought she’d said everything that needed saying, convinced him to let her go without taking Sejin.
After hearing her out, Lee Jun mumbled as if everything had become clearer.
“No other man. And you can’t leave Sejin behind. So who gave you permission to leave me, Yooa?”
“…”
“With those pretty lips, you should say only nice things. Not trash like that.”
So unpleasant to hear.
Even the way he clicked his tongue was stunningly seductive. The gleam in his cold eyes, the annoyed crease in his brow—he looked flawless, like a sculpture displayed in a museum.
The conversation dragged on late into the night.
Tomorrow, they were hosting a lunch for Chairman Kang Jae-pyung of Taekyum Group—Sejin’s great-grandfather.
Lee Jun didn’t say what Yooa had hoped to hear. Exhausted, she lay on the bed, turning her back to him, her whole body expressing her resentment.
✦ ✦ ✦
“The chairman likes warm sujeonggwa after meals. Make sure the dried persimmons are sliced and added in advance.”
“Yes, madam.”
“The focaccia we ordered from B Hotel’s bakery arrived, right?”
“It did. Should we slice the figs?”
“And the mascarpone cheese too. Ah! For Aunt’s seat, prepare manuka honey instead of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.”
This would be the last family event. Rather than sad, it felt freeing.
Even the servants from her family home came down to help, and the meal preparations went smoothly.
Dressed in a peach-colored blouse with a triple-layered collar fluttering like butterfly wings, paired with a deep green pencil skirt, Yooa debated whether to tie back her inky black hair.
“So gross. Leaving strands of jet-black hair everywhere like some ghost. It looks messy. Tie it up neatly. I thought a centipede was crawling around.”
Her aunt always picked on even a single fallen hair. The thought of facing her made Yooa’s chest tighten.
She decided to leave it as it was.
Tucked behind her ear, a pair of tightly fitted South Sea pearl earrings caught the sunlight and sparkled.
Among all the flashy jewelry her aunt gave her as wedding gifts, this was the only one she liked.
Modest and flat, yet subtly radiant pearls.
It felt like a symbol of her subdued role in the Taekyum Group—bitter but in some way fitting.
She wished she could leave quietly, just as calmly and modestly.
Outside the wide living room window, Sejin was in his father’s arms, reaching for a jujube branch.
Still too short, he kept missing, his chubby cheeks puffing up in frustration.
As his breath quickened, Lee Jun reached up and handed the branch to Sejin.
“…A picture-perfect family. Almost enough to make you believe in it.”
A bitter taste filled her mouth.
Yooa unconsciously touched her earring. The flicker of false hope subsided as she calmed herself.
✦ ✦ ✦
An hour past the agreed lunch time, her aunt and grandfather finally arrived.
The servants rushed to reheat the cold food and replace the dried-out bread.
“Welcome, Chairman. Come in, Aun…”
Before Yooa could even finish saying “Aunt,” a sharp voice cut in, berating her.
“My stomach’s in knots. Let’s see what kind of fancy food you’ve made to keep elders waiting.”
Chairman Kang, smoothing out the wrinkles around his eyes, made his way to the table.
Trailing behind, her aunt whispered incessantly in his ear.
“They say it’s built with cypress wood and red clay. These mothers today are too much. Don’t you think, Father? Look at that gaudy playroom in the living room. Hideous. That’s why I never had kids. I spent so much on interior design, and if I had to bring that kind of color into my home? I’d rather not have children.”
“It’s not that you didn’t. You couldn’t.”
“Father!”
“Juhee, shut up. You’re too loud.”
Watching the two head toward the dining table, Yooa reflexively sucked in a breath.
Was speaking cruelly part of the Kang family tradition?
Then, sensing a presence behind her, she turned to find Lee Jun watching her with downcast eyes.
Still irritated by their unfinished conversation, Yooa didn’t bother hiding it as she turned away first.
Tap.
Before the warmth of his hand settled on her shoulder, Lee Jun leaned in and whispered softly near her ear.
“It’ll be over in less than two hours. This is something we have to go through. Don’t be nervous.”
His breath brushed her neck, his lips almost touching her cheek, and tension shot to her toes.
“Don’t worry. I’ll act like everything’s normal.”
“Good. Yoon Yooa might seem fragile, but she’s strong—and sly, even if she pretends to be naive.”
His low chuckle didn’t match the words but was oddly comforting.
So close, the deep musk of his cologne filled her senses and left her breathless.
As Yooa bit her lower lip, he gently pushed her back and said,
“Just say what the chairman and your aunt want to hear. Show them what they want to see. That’s all.”
“…”
“And leave your emotions out of it.”
The luncheon began with her aunt’s snide comment about Yooa’s blooming face—mocking her for abandoning an old grandfather to move into a new house.
The servants, used to pretending not to see or hear, quietly cleared the empty dishes and replaced them with fresh, hot food.
Yooa, as usual, chose silence over apology, which seemed to irritate her aunt.
“Let’s have the sujeonggwa outside. You did a nice job with the deck. I’d believe you if you said we were camping.”
As an executive of Taekyum Group’s outdoor brand, Grip Company, Lee Jun had filled the new house with camping gear.
An unreleased orange pop-up tent, a multiple-coated zelkova deck, premium charcoal from Gangwon-do, and air mattresses—all perfectly suited to satisfy Sejin’s curiosity.
“It’s all thanks to the Chairman. Thank you.”
The small crinkle of Chairman Kang’s eyes told Yooa that he wasn’t scolding Lee Jun, but rather pleased.
She also sensed that, in his own quiet way, he was shielding her from her aunt’s attacks, which made her nose sting.
“Tsk, tsk. Director Kang isn’t an easy person to deal with. But it was your choice, Yooa.”
He added, watching Yooa’s reddened eyes.
