She watched how he suddenly froze before he abruptly turned to see her. His eyes instantly grew so wide she could almost see the whites of his eyes and like Namjoo, he recognized her immediately.

Coolly turning away he spoke to Inha, “Do you mind going down the street and stopping by the convenience store for some ice cream?”

“What?” she asked confused then glanced to Hunmi before looking back at her husband’s pretentious calm. Nodding in understanding she said, “Then…I’ll be right back.”

As soon as the door closed Joohwan immediately turned toward her, “How did you get here?” It wasn’t a mere whisper but more like a hiss of wrath.

“Look at you, you’re so grown up,” Hunmi, drowning in her emotions helplessly, stepped toward him with arms outstretched to touch him but he quickly moved back.

“Who are you to touch me? Why is some old woman in my home!” he raised his voice.

She quickly worried. Maybe he didn’t recognize her after all. Quickly pleading she said, “It’s me, Joohwan. Your mom.” Touching her chest she emphasized, “I’m your mother.”

Staring at her menacingly he stated gruffly with crooked lips, “My mother is dead.”

A complete sense of loss washed over her and she nearly stumbled back. “No…” she shook her head, “why are you saying that?”

“How dare you use Inha to approach me like this!” he yelled. “Get out.”

She could feel her heart being ripped in half in such a raw manner her heart began bleeding imminently. This was a dream. Why was Joohwan treating her the same way as Namjoo? The sorrow welled up in her, threatening to overpower her and flood through but to shed tears now would mean she was dead to them and she would never let it be that way.

“I had no other way. Namjoo wouldn’t tell me…” and then she realized she’d slipped. Joohwan’s eyes, if possible, widened even more and he grew stern.

“Namjoo?” his voice shook, his face contorting menacingly between the continents of disbelief and roaring anger.

It became rocky all of a sudden. Her nerves were on end and growing flustered she blinked rapidly. Hypnotizing herself to become confident she nodded, “Yes. Namjoo.”

“Where! Why?!” he bellowed. “Don’t you ever go near her!”

“Well it looks like it’s too late,” Hunmi continued. “She’s my daughter-in-law.”

Joohwan’s expression stilled then he breathed heavily and let out a scoff filled with exasperation. Turning to her with eyes of rage, misery, and heartache he shook his head; his voice soft. “Mom?” he breathed out a laugh. “No. There’s no such thing as mom. Tell me then,” he demanded fiercely, “what mother lets her children admit themselves to an orphanage just so they have to food to eat! What mother lets their children beg on the streets! The mother who abandons her children without any means is not a mother. The children who were left behind had no roof over their heads, no food, no clothes. When they were soaked to death; when they were called names; when they were beat, where was the woman called mother?!

“Do you know,” his voice shook and he glared with tear lubricated eyes, “that Namjoo gave everything up for me!? School, health, money, even food! While she made sure I had the best of the best all I could do for her was pretend I didn’t hear her crying in the night! Do you know how much I hated myself for it?! No. You don’t. You will never understand! Because we had no mother. No one to listen to us. No one to pat our heads.” His eyes growing hard and stern he glared into her eyes so intensely she felt sick to the stomach, “I will say it one more time. Listen closely.” in a deep breath he enunciated every word as clear as possible, “Our mother is dead.”

Turning away he strutted toward the door and held it wide open to signal that he would talk with her no more. Without even looking at her he said, “I don’t want to see you again.”

~~~~~

“!” Namjoo swore as the tray of cheese in her hand clattered loudly against the floor. Heaving a sigh she picked up the tray to dump in the sink then grabbed the broom to clear the mess. An hour later she was sitting on the bench outside viewing the clouds overhead.

Jongin hadn’t called and she wondered if he was having lunch. She hoped he was and not skipping it. Then she glanced back at Mr. Pizza and wondered how much longer she was going to stay. At first, she’d been so certain she would hand in her resignation and commit to her life at home but that was all before she learned about her mom – his mom. Now she’d rather be out of the house than sharing one roof with her while Jongin was away. Then on the other hand, what Yeji had laid out on the table before her this morning was the bigger problem.

Jongin would suffer if she made an indecent decision. She wouldn’t be able to stay at Mr. Pizza for very long. What kind of career would she make out of it? None, obviously. Yet, Jaegeun wouldn’t be enough of a distraction to keep her mom from bothering them.

What was she going to do?

She was so petty. For the nth time she pondered over what she was really doing.

~~~~~

“You’re fully aware you’re a substitute CEO until someone suitable takes the position?” Yeji explained beside the overwhelmingly large desk he was sitting behind. “So gain some experience while you’re in this seat before you move up to become Chairman. Your father has left the seat empty for you.”

Jongin stared blindly ahead. The office too spacious to his liking was almost like some kind of suite, even adorned with a resting area occupied by comfortable leather furniture, a table, and a beautiful view of the world outside through wall high windows. The room was on full blast with the sun’s energy and the heavenly blue sky, but the room was empty of anything that felt like his. Whoever did the cleaning sure did a good job, because he couldn’t even find a trace of what his father had left behind.

As he sat there all he could think about was going home and seeing Namjoo. Office environment had never been his fort.

His eyes moved toward the thin folder she placed down before him, “Here’s a list of the board members you’ll be meeting in an hour plus tasks you will have to oversee. I also included a list of store franchises in your father’s malls, names of managers, and employees. You have a load to do from now on. First on the list is what your father’s been meaning to do before he fell ill. Open the folder and take a look.”

Opening the folder he glanced at the papers Yeji had organized by paper clips with sticky notes on them. There was, as stated, a full list of employee names. Included were their ages.

“Your father always deemed those fifty and above to be inefficient with store sales.” She continued. “It’s your job now to call them off work.”

Frowning, he abruptly turned to look up at her declaring, “What?”  

Raising a brow she merely gestured toward the sheet, “Chairman, you’re in charge of running your father’s company. What are you going to do if sales can’t even rise up to compete with your competitors? I highly doubt the board members will approve of the decision.”

“You want me to fire them?!” Jongin couldn’t help but raise his voice at the absurdity he was hearing.

“Your father would have wanted…”

“Stop mentioning him!” he argued.

Yeji’s patient expression immediately turned gray and cold. Suddenly standing straight and tall she looked down at him with cool demeaning eyes that read disapproval. “Newbie, this is why you need me. Don’t ever let your pesky emotions interrupt your work. Inefficient revenue leads to decrease in value not just for products but the company name as well. Your father’s mall has always been up there in the top ten. Don’t let it fall. More so, the board members will be keeping their watch on you. Have you ever met them?”

“Not really.” He muttered.

“They’re mostly old men but even old men will have teeth as sharp as knives hidden behind their grandpa smiles. Your father has laid out the first task for you. All you have to do is show them you’re capable.” She lowered her finger to the sheet of names, “I’ll give you a hint to help you survive the meeting. This. Mention it.”

Jongin’s eyes drifted toward the sheet of paper then up to her.

“You’re CEO right now. Don’t forget that.”

~~~~~

It wasn’t such a great feeling to carry knowing he’d taken the opportunity of the elderly to provide and support their families just because of their old age. Executing the order to fire them had left his hands clammy. He even hated himself when he saw the excited approval gleaming in the board members’ eyes as they nodded at his mention of it.

Stuck in afternoon traffic after Yeji deemed his work done for the day he wondered as he sat in the car waiting for the red lights to turn green, if his father had been so overly coldblooded more than he ever imagined. He didn’t like this position he was in at the company; to have the power to decide everything as if he was God of an empire. Jongin didn’t want to make others suffer but he was doing exactly that. If his father had done the same, he wanted to do different.   

When he finally arrived to pick Namjoo up she was outside waiting for him. What would she think of him if she knew he’d taken away the only source of income from those poor people? When she, herself, had suffered so much would she see him as a tyrant? A coldblooded company owner?

“Busy day?” he greeted when she got into the car.

She shrugged, “It was the usual rush. How about you? How was your first day?”

Pulling on a smile he said, “Definitely not what I expected.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Lets just say, I completed my work duties as you did yours.”

“Whatever that means,” Namjoo snorted as she pulled her seatbelt on.

“I have something for you,” he said and pulled out his wallet then handed her a debit card. “I added you into my bank account. Use it to buy what you want. I might not be able to accompany you shopping, it’s yours to use.”

“Really?!” Namjoo exclaimed excitedly and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Really.” He promised.

Taking it from him she glowered over it then glanced at him, “Thanks Jongin.”

“I should at least do this much for my wife,” he smiled. “Now, lets go home.”

~~~~~

A bank card. Namjoo would have never imagined it. Now that Jongin had given her one all she could think about was withdrawing some money to pay off her debt, maybe buy some new clothes; the brand name ones she’d always wanted to wear. The thought about it made her all excited and giddy as she lay in bed that night. Of course when Jongin wasn’t around she would go all out shopping. Now she could even buy a crib for her future nephew or niece instead of something cheap. In the blink of an eye she could see herself doing all the things she’d been yearning to.

The next morning as they stepped out her mother ran her eyes over her work uniform. “You work today?”

“Yes.” She coldly replied without lifting her head up from her plate.

“I don’t think you should go in.”

“Is it because of what Yeji said yesterday?” Jongin wondered from beside her. “If it is…”

“It’s not that,” her mother calmly refuted. A moment of quietness threaded itself between them  all except for the noise of Jaegeun’s spoon clinking against his bowl of cereal and his quiet humming of a tune from a cartoon. “Your Aunt and other relatives want to come and have some tea, especially to meet,” her eyes moved over to look at Namjoo, “your wife.”

A frown crawled onto her face and she turned to look at Jongin, wondering what this meant. Did they want to critique her for any flaws?

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Jongin asked out of surprise and worry.

“I’m sorry, I just got a call this morning,” Hunmi quietly explained apologetically. “They’re already on their way from Incheon.”

“Oh God…” Jongin muttered.

“I’m sorry…” his mother apologized again.

“It’s ok, mom.” Jongin assured and turned to meet her eyes. He didn’t look very ecstatic but his level of emotions didn’t meet the nervous tension seeping from her stomach to the rest of her body.

Relatives…his Aunt and some women…how many would there be?

Namjoo recalled Jongin telling her before that they were pampered and very judgmental. What kind of things were they preparing to say to her, someone who did not share the same background? Were they going to treat her the same way Jongin’s father had when she first met him?

Her hands went clammy. This wasn’t a good sign of what was to come.

~~~~~

“I don’t think you can go to work this morning,” Jongin said going through the closet the second they returned to the bedroom.

Standing behind him Namjoo watched him go through some of the clothes she had hanging. “They’re just…going to have tea, right?”

“Tea’s just an excuse,” he explained. “They just want to know everything about you. Those nosey women with nothing better to do.” She watched him lay out a handful of her dresses down onto the bed and observe them as carefully as if he was doing some kind of lab experiment.  

Namjoo watched him closely and wished he wouldn’t have to leave her today for work. “Sorry, I don’t really have anything good to wear.”

“Why apologize?” he asked looking at her then smiled. “I like you the way you are. You’ll always be pretty in whatever you wear.”

She snorted and felt her heart palpitate. He was so lovely, in all ways.

“Whatever they say to you, don’t listen,” he came toward her and kissed her. “They just have nothing better to do. It’s a trend among them to poke their nose around.”

Namjoo laughed under her breath and momentarily hugged him as he playfully squeezed her head. Then placing a kiss on the top of her forehead he said, “I gotta go. I’ll call you later.” Her heart fluttered as he grinned and before walking out he turned to say, “Oh, and I like the blue dress.”

She listened to the door close and sighed longingly before turning to look at the dresses lain out on the bed like money.

~~~~~

Jongin’s aunt was small in stature, a little shorter than Namjoo but powerfully dressed in a coat and a dress that screamed out brand names. Her makeup was sharply on point as was the other women’s. Each one of them strutted in like they owned the home, passing off strong perfume as they settled down into the sitting room. Namjoo stood by awkwardly feeling heavily out of place compared to them. The words of encourage Jongin gave her earlier flew out the window when she eyed the pieces of jewelry they wore and their priceless clothing, which could never be compared to her blue dress. Namjoo felt shameful like a pigeon among beautiful swans. And it didn’t help that they were old married women either.

“What are you doing?” one of them asked with a sharp tone. “Sit down.”

“Ah…” awkwardly nodding Namjoo moved to sit into the nearest comforter wanting to sink into it but remained at the edge of the cushion with hands on her lap. Her eyes roved about the room uncertain where to look. She feared that if she met one of the women’s eyes they would take it as some kind of offense and God did she want to go there at all.

“I’m sorry for the wait,” her mother apologized, scurrying into the room with a tray full of tea cups. As she placed the tea cups onto the coffee table in front of every individual Namjoo thought she looked more like a maid than the mother of the home. It was a shameful thing.

Namjoo wasn’t sure how she quite felt about it. Without doing anything she remained there, glued to the seat dwelling in both guilt and pity. Jongin, she remembered, had said his Aunt and their mother were the same age but their mother looked beyond her age compared to the pampered Aunt. Namjoo couldn’t agree more as she watched.

“Something to snack on would be lovely.” Another one of the woman with dark brown dyed hair suggested.

“Why don’t you bake some of those goods you always do for us?” Jongin’s Aunt Chunja added.

“Of course,” her mother obediently nodded and rose up to leave. In less than five seconds all of the women turned to place their eyes on her like she was the prey they were about to rip apart.