chapter 9

Upon arriving at the Gapyeong Textile Factory, Secretary Kim, who drove the car, turned to the rear seat.

“Mr. President, we have arrived.”

Geonwoo, who had been working on a tablet all the way from Seoul to Gapyeong, raised his head. Employees, who were notified that Geonwoo was coming, stood in a long line outside the textile factory. First, secretary Kim, who got off the driver’s seat, opened the door to the back seat.

When Geonwoo came out, the staff stood upright with an expression of tension. As Geonwoo approached with an expressionless face, the staff bowed 90 degrees. Geonwoo walked between the employees who were divided into two branches, and the sound of someone’s phone rang out.

The employees looked at each other and gently lifted their heads. Geonwoo stopped at the head of the workgroup, who was standing at the end of the staff’s line, showed up, and pointed it out.

“Whose phone is ringing? Pick it up. Hurry!”

The head of the task force shook his head to Geonwoo as if to say he couldn’t find who it was.

“I’m sorry, Mr. President.”

Then the head of the task force raised his back and looked at the staff. Employees started searching for cell phones through their pockets but couldn’t find a cell phone that rings. The moment the head of the workforce wanted to say something more, Geonwoo took the phone out of his pocket.

For an instant, the staff stopped moving and looked at him. It was Geonwoo’s cell phone that rang enthusiastically. Geonwoo pressed the call button without paying any attention to the eyes of the employees.

“[President, can you speak?]”

“Yes, please tell me.”

“[As you said, your wife just ate it all in the morning, and I got her medicine.]”

”What is she doing now?”

“[She went to the room to rest.] ”

“Please prepare her lunch on time. The medicine is taken within 30 minutes after lunch.”

Those were the words he said to Anseong while leaving the house this morning. He knew Ahnseong would do it, but he was repeating the same words like nagging without knowing it.

“[Yes, boss.]”

“Give her the medicine after lunch, then call me.”

”[Again?]”

“Call me.”

Ahnseong immediately answered at the firm instructions.

“[Yes sir]”

Geonwoo hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. Even when the employees who were listening to the conversations were looking at each other with surprise, Geonwoo passed by them without hesitation.

In an office on one side of the factory, Geonwoo had a long meeting with the employees. Half a day passed only to determine the amount of products lost in the accident, and the products remained in the plant. It wasn’t a big accident, but it seemed that some of the machines were broken and it would take quite some time to get them back to work. Geonwoo, who was discussing the operation of the plant in the future, suddenly raised his hand.

“Let’s take a break and talk again later.”

The employees who had a meeting that lasted seven hours stood up as soon as Geonwoo finished speaking. After the employees left the office, Geonwoo picked up the cellphone he had on his desk and dialed the number at the top of the call list. Not long after the beeping sounded, Ahnseong answered the call with a weary voice.

“[Yes, boss.]”

This was the 4th phone call they had during the day. Geonwoo has been asking the same question, but he doesn’t know at all about Anseong’s desire to escape from the phone hell.

“What is my wife doing now?”

“[She is reading a book in the living room. Shall I give her the phone?]”

“No.”

Ahnseong laughed at the answer that popped out immediately.

“[Haha. If you keep doing it, why don’t call your wife directly?]”

Ahnseong just wanted to tell Geonwoo, that ‘Why don’t you leave your phone alone and stop calling me?’ However, since Ahnseong didn’t want to lose her job, she held back her words.

“It’s difficult for my wife to take off her buttoned clothes. If she wears those, I want you to help her.”

“[I understand. Do you have anything else to say?]”

“Before I come home, ask my wife if she has any pain or discomfort in her arm.”

“[Your wife would like it more if you ask directly.]”

Even on a long business trip, Yeonhwa never called him once. He thought she wasn’t worried or didn’t want to care. So, it seemed that Yeonhwa wouldn’t be happy if he called.

“If she gets sick, call me right away.”

“[Don’t worry. She looks good today.]”

”Ok, I need to go.”

Leaving a short answer, Geonwoo dropped the phone from his ear. At that moment, secretary Kim, who brought Geonwoo’s coffee, came over.

“Did you call her again?”

Geonwoo did not answer and only accepted the coffee handed by Secretary Kim.

“If you do, I think you should call your wife directly.”

Secretary Kim said the same thing as what Ahnseong did. Again, when Geonwoo didn’t have an answer, Secretary Kim said something different.

“I just reserved the hotel room.”

Given the pace of the meeting, it seemed impossible to finish it today. It wasn’t the first time that Yeonhwa was left alone at home. In a year, long and short business trips alone exceeded 10 times. However, unlike then, Yeonhwa injured her arm this time. He was worried that she would suddenly get sick while being all alone. Geonwoo put down the coffee he was holding and scanned over the meeting materials.

“Secretary Kim, call the staff to the conference room.”

“Yes.”

To go to Yeonhwa, he had to finish the meeting quickly. When he left the factory, the sun had disappeared, and the dark sky had settled in.

“Do you have to go, sir?”

“I’ll come to finish it tomorrow. Give me the key.”

Geonwoo received the car key from Secretary Kim and put himself in the driver’s seat. It was 11:30, and Geonwoo said he had to go up to Seoul now.

It was late, so even if he drove fast, he could only arrive in Seoul at 1 am. Secretary Kim bowed down and peaked his face through the open driver’s window.

”Sir, let me drive.”

“No need, you take a taxi to the hotel.”

“You must have been tired from the meeting, so how would you drive? Let me do it.”

“Go and rest.”

When Geonwoo, who put the seat belt on, started the engine, Secretary Kim stepped back as the engine’s sound scattered the quiet surroundings, and the car ran toward the front. Secretary Kim looked at the car that had gone away within a short time with a bleak expression.

“How have you never been teased until now while liking your wife like that.”

It was truly a mystery of the times. Geonwoo stopped the car in the parking lot and got off the driver’s seat. He might have been tired from driving for a long time, but he entered the house without a sign of exhaustion.

All the lights in the house were turned off as if she hadn’t thought that Geonwoo would come. He took off his shoes at the entrance and pressed the switch. Indirect lighting enclosed in a circle illuminates the hallway. Geonwoo, who had loosened the black-tie that had been tightened on his neck for a long time, walked into the room.

As he grabbed the doorknob and lowered it, the sound of the door opening echoed in the high ceiling. When he removed the hand from the doorknob, the door slid open, revealing a room with soft flowers. Geonwoo, who stepped into the area, was forced to stop there. Yeonhwa was sleeping in the center of the spacious bed.

However, the clothes that Yeonhwa was wearing became a problem. The silk nighty did not cover all of her body. The shoulder straps were thinner than his fingers, revealing her white arms and shoulders. Maybe she thought he wouldn’t come back and seemed to have slept comfortably.

“Ha. Was it better not to come back?”

He tried to cover his mouth, but he couldn’t stop the sigh flowing through the teeth. Geonwoo turned halfway and tried to go to the guest room, but his wife’s body, which he had seen, stopped his feet. The soft skin was all exposed because the blanket had gone down.

Geonwoo turned back and walked to the bed, and pulled the blanket over his wife’s hips. He tried putting a white blanket all the way up her neck so that he couldn’t see the skin, but that was not enough. Geonwoo, sitting at the end, pulled all the futons around Yeonhwa.

“Yoo Geonwoo.”

Suddenly, Yeonhwa opened her eyes, but she couldn’t open them properly with so much sleepiness. Geonwoo’s head and body stopped at the sound of his name. When he was unable to do anything, Yeonhwa moved her thick lips.

“You must be busy.”

With her eyelids closed, Yeonhwa looked towards him and turned around and pulled down the blanket that covered her. Yeonhwa reached out to Geonwoo and pulled him over. As soon as Yeonhwa’s hand touched his stomach, Geonwoo stopped like a broken robot.

As she flicked his shirt up, Yeonhwa’s hand came in like a flexible snake. Geonwoo’s eyes grew silently, and his shoulders hardened. As if playing the piano, Yeonhwa pressed Geonwoo’s abdomen one by one as her hand climbed up. Geonwoo was frozen solid and could not mutter a word.

“Of course, it suits you better if you are naked.”

Bang. It seemed that something had fallen over Geonwoo’s head.

‘Now….. What suits me better?’

It was the first time he was so speechless. Words were floating above his head, and it was difficult to combine them. However, when he opened his lips to try to say something, Yeonhwa, who had sleepy eyes, swept his abs with her index finger.

Geonwoo’s spine has erected by itself, and his eyebrows rattled like waves. Geonwoo’s head also fell down following Yeonhwa’s hand resting on the bed. When he raised his eyelids, Yeonhwa fell asleep again.

“Song Yeonhwa.”

The feeling mixed with a mess of breath, Geonwoo called out her name in a whispering voice. But Yeonhwa was already in a deep sleep. Geonwoo, who was left alone in reality, pressed tightly around his eyes with both palms.

It would be nice if he were dreaming right now. The fingers that were scanning his body felt so real that it couldn’t be called a dream. He didn’t know that his wife’s sleeping habit was this much. Getting drunk and exploring his body here and there. He felt fortunate that he had been using a separate room for a year. Geonwoo put his gaze on the back of Yeonhwa, who was lying around. Disregarding the hot gaze, Yeonhwa just breathed evenly.