Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 143

143. 42nd. That Winter, When Warmth Returned (1)

Two days later.

On Christmas Eve, Jang Hayeon and I entered the Haedong Flex theater in the main branch of Haedong Department Store.

I looked around the theater, which was empty despite the commercials playing, and Jang Hayeon’s expression darkened.

“I guess not many people came because of the recession.”

I nodded silently. In a situation where hundreds, even thousands, of people were losing their jobs and being driven into the streets, and many times that number were worrying about their next meal, who would go to see a movie?

The commercials, which lasted for several minutes, ended, and the movie ‘The Letter’ began. We forgot to eat our popcorn and focused on the movie, and only opened our mouths when the end credits started to roll.

“I wonder how Jung-in lived after Hwan-yu left?”

“Well… wouldn’t she have lived raising Young-hoon? Satisfied with reality.”

The last scene of ‘The Letter’ ends with Jung-in, who has given birth to and raised her son ‘Young-hoon,’ visiting Hwan-yu’s pine tree, which is buried in a memorial forest, and longing for him.

People who watched the movie talked about how Jung-in might have lived after this part, but considering the first date at the arboretum and the last scene, I thought she would be living in satisfaction, just like the flower language of the pine tree, ‘satisfaction’.

As Jang Hayeon and I were sharing our impressions of the movie, a broadcast came over the speakers.

[We would like to offer a special event to the two of you who visited our Haedong Flex despite the difficult times due to the foreign exchange crisis. We would like to offer you a special screening of one additional movie, so please remain seated. Dinner will be provided right away, so please wait comfortably.]

“A special movie? …You?”

As soon as the broadcast ended, Jang Hayeon looked at me with wide eyes. I quickly waved my hands and said.

“Don’t worry. It’s a Christmas Eve event from the company.”

In times like these, if only Jang Hayeon and I enjoy such luxury, we’re bound to become targets of anger and hatred. Moreover, since we are from a *chaebol* [family-owned, large business conglomerate] family, the intensity is incomparable. Furthermore…

‘Who would say anything if I’m paying for it? Other people will be watching movies while eating the same food as us.’

We’ll promote it as something prepared to provide small comfort to the people in these difficult times, so wouldn’t it be a great national marketing strategy? The important thing is that only Jang Hayeon and I are in this space.

All of this was not just for marketing, but also an event to commemorate the last Christmas that Jang Hayeon and I would have as lovers. From next year, we’ll be spending Christmas as a married couple.

As we sat down, the employees who came in through the door fixed a table on the armrests in front of us, spread a tablecloth on it, and set the table with cutlery, steak, salad, wine, and more.

“Enjoy your time, customers.”

The employees who greeted us went to the back seats and waited while eating the same meal as us, and we also picked up our wine glasses and lightly clinked them together.

“Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.”

We wished each other a Merry Christmas and took a sip of wine. Not long after we put down our glasses, the movie started.

“‘Titanic’?”

“It’s a movie we invested in last summer. The exchange rate went up, so it was scheduled to be released the month after next, but I wanted to show it to you. That’s why I prepared it.”

As a Christmas Eve gift.

I didn’t say the words, but Jang Hayeon’s eyes were already moist. In the meantime, the movie started, and we were engrossed in the movie while eating.

We didn’t even know how the three-hour-long running time flew by, and we came out of the movie listening to Celine Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’ at the end of the scene where Rose, who had returned to the Titanic before it sank, reunited with Jack and kissed him.

As the lights came on, the employees approached us and quietly cleared the emptied plates, cutlery, glasses, tablecloth, and table. Their eyes were red, and Jang Hayeon next to me had swollen eyes like ‘Aromi’ from ‘Frog Prince’.

“…Are you okay?”

“…Seeing Rose made me feel like it was my own story. Rose became free after meeting Jack.”

I was so grateful for Jang Hayeon’s gaze towards me.

I haven’t been able to reveal for five years that ‘This woman is my woman,’ ‘This woman is my lover,’ but she thinks of me this much…

Still, I didn’t want to see Jang Hayeon crying anymore, so I threw a teasing question.

“I’m uglier than Jack, though?”

“What does that matter? It’s enough if you’re like Jack to me.”

I shook my head and took out a document from the briefcase I had placed next to Jang Hayeon and handed it to her.

“Take this.”

“This is…”

I handed over the document and said to Jang Hayeon.

“This is my share certificate from when we invested in the Titanic last time. I want to give it to you.”

“Seongmin?”

I said calmly to Jang Hayeon, who was looking at me with wide eyes.

“I’m not giving you money. You liked this movie that we both put our hands on, right? It’s our own memory, so I’m giving it to you.”

My cousins and Henry also invested, but now is the time for romance. In this space where only the two of us are, after the employees have left.

Jang Hayeon’s eyes, which had been looking at me, trembled. Tears welled up in her eyes, and as the droplets fell vertically down her cheeks, she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. It’s too early to be moved… what should I do?

***

After leaving the theater, we had coffee at a cafe in the department store’s restaurant area and then went to the Han River. We boarded a cruise ship at the pier and looked at the western sky, which was dyed reddish-orange.

“It’s pretty. It’s just like that scene.”

I carefully asked Jang Hayeon, who was watching the sunset with a warm smile.

“Shall we do that?”

“Do what?”

“It’s going to be a little cold… are you okay?”

Jang Hayeon’s eyes widened for a moment at the following question. She looked at me and answered.

“I like it.”

We both held hands and ran outside the cabin. Jang Hayeon, who arrived at the end of the bow, looked at the water splitting under the bow.

“You’ll… catch me, right?”

“I’ll catch you forever. So, let’s…”

I trailed off, knelt on one knee, took out a small box from my coat pocket, opened it, and said.

“Marry me.”

Knowing the future and having a lot of money is a good thing. I’m planning the proposal the way I want it, and I’m seeing the light of it at this moment.

Looking at Jang Hayeon, who covered her mouth with both hands, I stood up again and said.

“I’m sorry for making you wait so long. Thank you for waiting for me. Will you… accept me?”

As I took the ring out of the box, Jang Hayeon wiped away tears with both hands, nodded, and held out her hand. I took Jang Hayeon’s hand, put the ring on her finger, and asked.

“Shall we… finish what we were doing?”

“…Yes!”

Jang Hayeon smiled brightly with tears still in her eyes. I supported Jang Hayeon, who was putting her feet on the railing, and put my feet on the railing as well, wrapping my arms around her waist.

Jang Hayeon carefully took her arms off the railing. Then she spread her arms as if spreading her wings.

“I feel like I’m flying!”

I smiled at Jang Hayeon’s voice filled with joy. Because Jang Hayeon, who was in my eyes now, was a much more beautiful woman than Kate Winslet.

Jang Hayeon, who had spread her arms for a while, grabbed the railing with both hands and turned her head to the side. I also took my hands off her waist, grabbed the railing, and kissed her lips.

I hope this moment will last forever for us, who have become Jack and Rose for a moment. Like the time we will spend together in the future.

***

When Lee Seongmin ended his five-year relationship with Jang Hayeon and promised to spend the rest of his life with her, Park Taejin was also on a date with Yoo Hyeonjeong.

“Thank you, *Oppa* [term of endearment used by a younger woman to an older man]. For giving me such a memory.”

“Don’t mention it. I wanted to do anything for you, who waited for me after being apart for a year.”

Park Taejin and Yoo Hyeonjeong having dinner at Namsan Tower.

Park Taejin was also able to make good memories thanks to Lee Seongmin.

[Hyung, are you meeting Chief Yoo on Christmas Eve?]

[That’s right…]

[Then… how about this? That day, during the early morning show…]

After hearing about the event Lee Seongmin had prepared, Park Taejin urgently asked a colleague in the publishing and culture division of Haedong Corporation to rent out an entire theater at the Haedong Flex main branch. Thanks to this, he was able to raise the atmosphere by watching two melodramatic movies in a row with Yoo Hyeonjeong.

‘It’s going to take a long time for the soldier smell to wear off.’

Park Taejin smiled bitterly to himself as he recalled the guidance. He couldn’t even imagine a full-day date, could he? Maybe it’s because the soldier smell hasn’t worn off, or maybe it’s because of his rigid personality.

Nevertheless, the date he was enjoying at the restaurant in Namsan Tower was his own idea, so Park Taejin had some confidence and shared a meal with Yoo Hyeonjeong, happily exchanging laughter.

“Just a moment.”

Park Taejin, who had taken a sip of wine, got up from his seat, approached the performer, and quietly talked to them. The performers all nodded and unfolded new sheet music, and Park Taejin, who got up from his seat, held out his hand to Yoo Hyeonjeong.

“Hyeonjeong, you said you learned tango as a liberal arts subject in college, right?”

“Yeah. I still go to the club sometimes. Why?”

Park Taejin held out his hand as he looked at Yoo Hyeonjeong, who was blinking her eyes.

“I want to be your partner forever from now on… would that be okay?”

Park Taejin was finally able to show off his tango skills, which he had been practicing since returning to Korea after finishing his work in Hong Kong, for today’s proposal.

Seeing Park Taejin, who was a little excited, Yoo Hyeonjeong took off her jacket and got up from her seat in a fluttering blouse.

“As much as *Oppa* wants.”

Yoo Hyeonjeong even took off the fluttering scarf she was wearing around her neck and put it down on the chair. Park Taejin also took off his jacket and hung it on the chair, then took Yoo Hyeonjeong’s hand and walked to the central hall to take a pose.

“Did you use Pantene?”

Yoo Hyeonjeong’s eyes widened at Park Taejin’s question as he faced her and gently wrapped his arms around her waist.

“How did you know?”

“The scent tells me. It suits you well.”

Yoo Hyeonjeong smiled at Park Taejin’s sweet words. Seeing that, the performers began to play ‘Por Una Cabeza’.

Park Taejin and Yoo Hyeonjeong began to step to the gentle string performance. The two, who had been stepping like quiet river water to the performance, changed their eyes to the intense melody that swept in as the piano performance began.

Park Taejin pulled Yoo Hyeonjeong, who had stepped back with one hand off, into his arms. After a few steps, Park Taejin bent his back, and Yoo Hyeonjeong also naturally leaned back as if promised, and Park Taejin pulled her forward according to the strength of his pulling arm.

Even the other people who were eating put down their tableware and watched the two people, whose gestures were as hot and seductive as the melody and rhythm woven by the performers.

“Wow…”

“Hoo…”

The eyes of the people who were exclaiming were not in their eyes, and the faces of the two people who were dancing the tango while looking at each other, sometimes hotly and sometimes gently, were full of smiles.

Near the end of the song, Yoo Hyeonjeong finished by wrapping one leg around Park Taejin’s thigh.

Clap clap clap clap!

Seeing them, people applauded as if their palms would burst, and Park Taejin and Yoo Hyeonjeong lightly greeted the people sitting at the table before sitting down.

“…How is it?”

“At this point… you can be my partner forever, right?”

The tension disappeared from Park Taejin’s face at Yoo Hyeonjeong’s answer, who paused for a moment. He took out a small box from his coat pocket, knelt on one knee in front of Yoo Hyeonjeong, and opened the box.

“…*Oppa*?”

Tears welled up in Yoo Hyeonjeong’s eyes as she saw Park Taejin’s eyes filled with earnestness, but a smile spread across her lips. Seeing Yoo Hyeonjeong nodding, Park Taejin stood up and put the ring on her outstretched hand.

“Whee!”

“Cool!”

“Congratulations!”

The people who were watching the scene whistled or applauded once again as if it were their friends’ business, congratulating Park Taejin and Yoo Hyeonjeong.

Was it because he succeeded in the ‘most difficult operation of his life’? Park Taejin’s face was finally relaxed.

***

Lunch the next day.

I frowned slightly as I got out of the taxi that stopped in front of the house.

“Ugh… it stings.”

My back was stinging because of the countless fingernail marks left from last night until this morning, but I couldn’t help but raise the corners of my mouth.

I couldn’t overcome the emotions that burst out on the boat date the night before, and I spent a hot time with Jang Hayeon, who was as heated as I was, at another hotel from dusk till dawn.

We couldn’t take our lips off each other as soon as we closed the door to the room, and we took off our coats, shoes, and jackets like shedding our skin each time we moved away from the door.

Arriving at the bathroom, we spent time loyal to our instincts, as if the earth would perish tomorrow, with our skin touching each other in the steam created by the hot water.

Only instincts existed in the bathroom, which was soaked with water and soap bubbles, but after lying on the bed, we poured out the accumulated emotions until the bottom was revealed, so much that counting numbers was meaningless.

Then, at some point, we couldn’t overcome our fatigue and fell asleep, and as soon as we opened our eyes, sparks flew again. In the end, we barely managed to leave the hotel around the time we filled the check-out time.

‘I guess I still have a long way to go to know you, *Noona* [term of endearment used by a younger man to an older woman].’

I had been worried because I had only known Jang Hayeon as a modest lady, but as I experienced her heart for me with my body, I realized that my worries were unfounded. Wasn’t Jang Hayeon the hottest woman in the world last night?

If there was a criminal law for dating, I would definitely be sentenced to death. To have tied up such a woman for five years… I smiled bitterly and was about to open the door and enter the garden when I stopped at the sight of a taxi stopping behind me.

“Hyung?”

“*Doryeonnim* [term used to address the son of a wealthy family]?”

It was Park Taejin who got out of the taxi. Park Taejin and I smiled at each other.

“I guess you had a good time with Chief Yoo too, Hyung.”

“I don’t think you’re the one to say that, *Doryeonnim*. It’s cold, so let’s go in, hehe.”

We smiled at each other, as it was a matter for adults, and entered the house. Carrying the afterglow of last night, which each of us had burned.