Every person on his planet is bound to something that controls them. For some it's food, for some other their appearance, or their work. When the invisible hands that are squeezing your neck and are forcing you to look ahead without taking a breath suddenly let you free, that is when you are truly able to live your life. For twenty years that is what happened to Jang Eun Cheon. The death grip pushed him and his beloved family underwater, but he fought the grim reaper and came out of the dark, avenging those he had lost with the greatest revenge.
But at which price?
After he exited the building he knew by heart, he could finally breathe. It was as if he had once again resurfaced from the black pit of the river he was thrown into and was inhaling all the air he could, so he would not suffocate. This time, the sun was up and the road was clear, but he didn't have to look only in one direction since he wrapped up his past life like you tuck somebody into a casket. This time, he had said goodbye being a dog and he was ready to take the leash and get rid of it. To finally control his life and his life only, without needing to manipulate the life of others as well. Simply put, he was free.
After he received the letter with the application, he knew that fate wanted him to go back from where he had left a couple of years before. He knew that was the place for him despite he tried so hard to isolate himself and live like a hermit. He liked being lonely, but he also thirsted for company.
"So, how did it go?" Yong Goo, the only friend who had been loyal to him, asked through the phone.
He smiled to himself while he was sitting on a bench close to the river enjoying solitude. If he thought about it, that river was just like him. Apparently cold but deep. "How do you think it went, huh?"
Yong Goo laughed. "From the tone of your voice, I'd say it went well. Seen any known faces in there?"
He sighed. "They'll reveal the results next week" he liquidated him quickly, without replying to the question. "But I'm positive."
"I can investigate their database for information, if you want" he offered.
"No" he said firmly. "You've promised not to use a computer again for that purpose, remember? Moreover, you know I am a patient man."
Anyone could tell he was. I he could wait 20 years to execute his revenge on Jung Mal Ran and the Jang family, he could wait a week. A part of him was a little anxious, but not for the run to become CEO. He tried to put aside any worry he had for the moment.
"Yes, I know that well. Ah, hyung. The realtor just called me and said that house you checked online is vacant now. Want me to send you the address and his number so you can call him?"
"Sure, send it. I'll call him and go check everything right now, since I don't have much to do anyway" he giggled. "I'll let you know about it later, ok?"
"Take your time. I'm sure nice things will come out of this" he said, then he hung up. He didn't know why, but he heard Yong Goo laugh before he ended the call.
******
The realtor said he would be available at 4pm, so he took his time to eat in a random place that cooked traditional meals and to walk around town. He had never had the pleasure of doing so, because he had always been the one who drove others around to places they liked. Only when he didn't have to work at weekends he could go where he wanted, and it usually was somewhere far from Seoul and bathed in nature and no buildings. The people who lived closed to him were toxic, but he was thankful there still was a part of his country that wasn't rotten to the core.
He arrived thirty minutes earlier than the appointment and looked around the property. It wasn't in the center of the city, but in a place closer to the woods and mountains. He knew that if he were to reprise his CEO role at Cheong A he would have to wake early to reach the office in time considering the traffic he would find if he were to buy this house. But he didn't care. This house was the closest he could find to his ideal home because it was enough far from pollution and greed. It looked like a bubble he wished could shield him from rotting himself.
The building was painted in white and had two floors. It wasn't small, but it wasn't that big either. It could easily fit a family of five or six people, if he had any family whatsoever. His grandfather was still alive after the process against him, but he was barely living since he was stuck in Cheong A Hospital. He still hadn't gone to check on him, but he decided that he would soon. Despite everything, a part of him cared for Jang Kook Hwan. He was still tied to him by blood and in a way, he wanted to pay his respects before the old man would say goodbye to this life.
In proximity of the house there were lots of colored flowers and some threes, and the property was surrounded by a white picket fence that made it look old style. He noticed that there also was a porch swing that added a familial touch to the whole thing. He hadn't seen inside but he knew that he would love this house a lot. No, he already liked the house enough to buy it without seeing inside.
When he heard the noise of a car approaching, he checked his watch and turned to see who was arriving. The car was white like the house, and the owner parked not so far. He was sort of excited. Before then, he had only lived in the house his father let him live with his brother and mother before he died, then in Gapyeong and Mooshimwon. He had spent the last weeks after he went out of prison in the house owned by his adoptive father because he didn't dare come back to the dependence where he lived as Kang Pil Joo. First, he wasn't that person anymore. Second, that place didn't belong to him and he needed a fresh start somewhere else. He had decided that he would only visit his old fancy apartment when he would be ready, and for the moment he still wasn't.
The driver of the white car came out at some point. He had been looking where the car was parked quietly, waiting patiently for the realtor to come out. First, he saw a leg and then a foot. The driver was wearing high heels, so it probably wasn't the realtor since the last time they spoke he knew it was a man. But then the person who drove the white vehicle came out and it was as if the world had suddenly frozen. In that instant he hardly kept his emotions in check, but he had to try and control his body and soul from reacting. He needed to keep composure, just like he had always done, because he didn't know the circumstances of the other party.
"Pil Joo?"
He couldn't help but grin. "Mo Hyun" he murmured. When he uttered her name, his voice was soft and gentle. It was as if he couldn't hide his true heart when she was around. Was he losing his touch, as Jung Mal Ran liked to say? But it was so easy to be kind whenever Mo Hyun was around. She was like this house, she shielded him from the corruption around him. She was the reason why that same corruption hadn't poisoned his blood in the past.
Her smile was wide. "Are you the owner of this house?"
"What? No, I'm not. Actually, I'm waiting for the real estate agent" he explained, putting his hands in his pockets with the excuse that it was cold. Honestly, his hands were trembling. Was he that anxious? "What about you? Are you-"he was cut mid-sentence by a man getting closer. He didn't realize that he had just parked his car next to Mo Hyun's.
"Good afternoon! Sorry I was late, but this place is so deep in the woods it takes time to get here" the man approached them and shook hands with both. He was a bit older than him. "Do you want to come in?" he asked but didn't wait for a reply as he lead the way towards the main door.
The house seemed small from the outside, but it was spacious inside. He soon noticed the furniture because it was modern but with a touch of old. As per the realtor's words 'it was furnished like a Seoul apartment but with a House in the Prairie feeling'. There was a kitchen and a wide living room and dining room on the ground floor, while there were bathrooms and bedrooms on the first floor. He had really seen right on the website where he found this house. It was really what he was looking for.
He sighed when he looked at Mo Hyun. She was probably there for the same reason. Yet again, their roads where crossing and he didn't know whether he was glad or not about it. Now that it was all over, it was probably time to move on and face his feelings. She glanced at him as well and managed a grin when he moved on the right to let her pass first in the narrow staircase that led upstairs.
"You see, this house was owned by a family of four people, but the father had to move to America for work, so they wanted to sell it" the realtor said while showing some of the bathrooms of the second floor. "The family who lived here loved this house. It is a perfect place to create a family, don't you think?" the man looked towards him. "But you don't look too young, maybe you already have kids?"
His eyebrows rose slightly. "Uhm... what did you say?" The question was awkward. Too awkward. He remembered years and years ago when Mo Hyun was with Boo Cheon and they found out together that she was expecting. The doctor believed that they were a couple when she told them the news, but she didn't know the truth. She didn't know that he would just be a shadow in Mo Hyun's life, and not the one who would walk along with her in the sunlight, despite a part of him wanted to.
"Don't you have kids?" he wondered again.
In that moment, he avoided to turn and check Mo Hyun's expression. "I'm sorry, but we don't" he replied. After a second thought, he realized that maybe his answer was not enough. Why did he say he was sorry, though? Perhaps because he'd like that fantasy to come true?
The man shrugged. "Ah, so you are one of those couples who decided not to have any."
"Mister" Mo Hyun finally spoke, "we are not married."
He looked at her. She wasn't looking at him. Her face was neutral but there was sadness laced in her voice – or so he seemed to capture. The sense of longing always seemed to be there every time they looked at each other. He wondered if that fantasy popped up in her mind as often as it did in his during the last half hour he spent in there.
After they saw the house and the realtor left, they remained alone outside the property. The man had told them to call him if they were interested in buying the house, still thinking that they were a couple and not that they both wanted the place to become their home. At least, he had already decided that he wanted it. It was what he had been looking forever, a true house he could take refuge in when he wanted to be alone with his thoughts and far from civilization. He found himself asking the thousandth question in his mind. Would she want this house too?
It was her who broke the silence. "Do you like the house?"
"Yes, I do" he replied sincerely. "What about you?"
She beamed. Yes, she indeed liked the house. "Well, it's okay, I guess" she said simply. "I wanted something smaller to be honest. And with a bigger garden."
"Ah" he replied, looking at the house and then back at her. "So, you don't plan on buying it, then?"
Mo Hyun shrugged and shook her head lightly. "I think I'm going to look around and see more houses" she fidgeted with her handbag. "It's all yours."
He gaped at her then quickly tried to be less surprised than he was. Yet again, she was able to read in his thoughts. "I'll think about it" he said.
"What? No, I believe you should call the realtor now" she suggested, then touched his arm without thinking. He saw her look at her hand on his coat and glanced at him. It was as if the place she had touched burnt her because she suddenly put that hand on her handbag again. "I can see it in your eyes that you fell for this house" she added.
He couldn't help but smirk. "Yeah, I really like this house" he agreed. "I need to call the agent before someone else comes to visit this place, then."
"You totally should" she answered with a toothy smile. For a moment it seemed they couldn't utter more words and were only able to stare at each other as if they had met for the first time and didn't have much in common. Mo Hyun glanced at her watch and her expression changed abruptly. She now looked saddened. "I need to get back to the office" she said.
"Sure, go ahead" he replied, trying not to let her know how much her farewell saddened him as well. He couldn't add more because it was as if words froze on his tongue. He had many things to say to her, yet, this wasn't the time and the place to say them. He made himself a promise about that. He would try to start anew with Mo Hyun if he ever got the chairman post, while if he failed... well, he would get back to Gapyeong and things would go from there. He told himself he had to make it. Mo Hyun nodded her head in respect and said goodbye. He waited until she entered her car and left before he also got into his car and drove back to his current residence. The day of the results for the chairman post couldn't come more early.