Munjeong - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 

At Taeha’s question, Chaeon bit her lip and tightly gripped the hem of her school uniform skirt. His gaze narrowed slightly. In their locked eyes, a mixture of emotions swirled—admiration, shame, embarrassment, jealousy, and disgust. All those messy byproducts.

 

No matter how much she tried to act more mature than her peers and hide it, to him, Yoon Chaeon was still just a ridiculously young girl. The emotions simmering beneath her composed façade were easy to read.

 

A longing to experience, just once, the things he enjoyed in life, followed immediately by the bitter realization of her reality—and then envy and resentment toward what she couldn’t have.

 

The things he had were never the kind that ordinary people could acquire, no matter how much they envied them. He had encountered countless people who tried to get closer to him only to curse him as an “arrogant bastard” the moment he responded indifferently. Or those who couldn’t bear to acknowledge their own envy and expressed it instead as inferiority.

 

It’s hard to desire what you can’t have, but it’s easy to hate and resent it. Simply harboring or expressing negative emotions feels as if it diminishes the value of the object of envy, providing some small comfort. Or, they tried to cover up their attraction to him by masking it with negative feelings. Most of the people he had dealt with were like that.

 

“Yes.”

 

“……”

 

“Pretend you didn’t see anything.”

 

Her sorrowful eyes were fiercely defensive, as if determined not to appear pathetic in front of him. Taeha didn’t think it was any big deal to indulge such a trivial sense of pride.

 

But…

 

“Alright.”

 

The moment the words left his mouth, he felt strangely disgusted. She was just a pitiful girl who had been caught ogling him with greedy eyes, only to pretend indifference and bristle defensively.

 

Even so, as always, he shoved aside the unnecessary emotions and focused only on the most efficient ones. Anything that stirred annoyance could simply be treated as an object—nothing more. Every household had at least one nuisance, after all.

 

Taeha’s gaze shifted back to his tablet. The car returned to the earlier silence, as if no conversation had taken place.

 

Still clutching the hem of her skirt, the impertinent girl turned her head toward the window. As Taeha reviewed his materials, a faint smirk tugged at his lips.

 

Pretty as she was, she already knew how to get under someone’s skin.

 

—

 

By the time they arrived at Songbaekwon, the rain had stopped. The mansion, emerging through the mist, lay still, enveloped in the deepened scent of grass.

 

“Thank you for driving me.”

 

Chaeon bowed slightly without looking at Taeha’s face, then hurried out of the car as if escaping. She wanted to get away from his scent that lingered with every breath.

 

She felt the heat of his gaze on her back but kept walking, unwilling to look back. She was too worried about running into someone she knew.

 

If Heejung saw her like this, it was obvious she’d fret over her again. The school was filled with kids who spent money like water, and parents whose influence often loomed over the administration. Even if Heejung knew the truth, there was nothing she could do for Chaeon. And even if there was, it would probably mean asking for help from Im Soyeong—that woman. Chaeon would rather die than let that happen.

 

As she hurried along despite the throbbing pain in her side, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist, spinning her around. Startled, her eyes lifted to see a familiar face standing there, looking even more surprised than she was.

 

“You…”

 

It was Jang Yeonjun.

 

He had left her with those cryptic words about seeing her often and then, as if proving them true, kept crossing paths with her so frequently that it was hard to tell whether it was coincidence or intention. Each time, his warmth and familiarity unsettled her.

 

Ah… Why, of all times, now?

 

Even after deliberately avoiding him, here he was again. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was following her. Swallowing a sigh, she forced a polite greeting.

 

“Hello.”

 

“……”

 

Yeonjun said nothing at first, just looking down at her with an unreadable expression. His gaze then shifted to her swollen cheek, and he frowned.

 

“What happened to your face?”

 

“Ah…”

 

Yeonjun reached out without hesitation, his fingers lightly brushing the swollen area. Chaeon flinched at the sharp sting and shrank back, missing the sudden coldness that flashed in his eyes.

 

“Chaeon.”

 

Hearing her name caught her off guard, and her eyes showed a hint of confusion as they met his again.

 

“Did someone hit you?”

 

“No, I… I’m fine. Could you let go of me, please?”

 

She glanced around nervously, clearly worried someone might see them. As she kept lowering her head and using her hand to hide her cheek, Yeonjun stared at her before gently pulling her closer.

 

“Let’s go inside and talk.”

 

“What? Go inside where?”

 

“My room.”

 

Yeonjun’s calm response left Chaeon momentarily speechless. Holding her wrist, he started walking. Her hand trembled slightly at the unexpected touch, but in the end, she lowered her head and quietly followed him.

 

Taeha, who had just stepped out of the car, looked back at the scene in disbelief as Chaeon scurried away.

 

He then caught sight of the face of the person holding her hand.

 

Recognizing him, Taeha’s smooth brow faintly creased.

 

At this time of day, Yeonjun should have been holed up in his room. Yet, here he was, walking into the mansion hand-in-hand with Chaeon, who had just fled from Taeha’s car.

 

Had they already met before?

 

In his car, she had clung to the door as if she didn’t even want to touch him and then bolted out as soon as she could. Yet with Jang Yeonjun, she let him hold her hand and followed behind him like a docile lamb, clutching his handkerchief tightly in her other hand. Somehow, that fact stirred a strange sense of displeasure within him.

 

He had gone through the trouble of driving her home even though she had acted like a wet, defiant puppy the entire time, only for her to run off like that—to him, of all people. A harsh scoff escaped his lips. She had picked the wrong person to act meek and obedient with. Completely wrong.

 

—

 

Stepping into the main house for the first time, Chaeon found herself helplessly captivated by her surroundings as she followed him down the hallway. The place looked like something straight out of a classic movie.

 

The luxurious marble floors, the towering ceilings adorned with grand chandeliers, the spiral staircase railing decorated with softly-colored hydrangeas, and the large, meticulously trimmed potted plants placed throughout to keep the space from feeling empty…

 

One wall of the living room was occupied by a massive painting by an unknown artist. On top of an arabesque-patterned rug stood a set of elegant fabric sofas and a dark wooden table, which looked difficult to maintain even at a glance. The sofas were covered with cushions of various intricate embroideries, arranged like decorations. As Chaeon stared at them in awe, Yeonjun spoke with a hint of amusement.

 

“My mom loves traveling. Whenever she goes abroad, she collects high-end fabrics from different countries and turns them into cushions like those. It’s her hobby.”

 

“Oh…”

 

Beyond the living room stretched a long hallway. The walls were adorned with geometric patterns, and at regular intervals, large windows let in light. Between the windows, silver candlesticks stood as decorations.

 

It was not a sight one would commonly come across. For someone like Chaeon, who had lived her entire life in a small and confined world, assuming wealth was simply about clothes and money, this space—so detached from reality—felt almost shocking. Her throat tightened, and she swallowed nervously.

 

One peculiar detail was that, despite the house’s size and grandeur, most of the lights were turned off, leaving the space dimly lit by natural light. While the European-style mansion was undeniably beautiful, the dim lighting added an almost mysterious, slightly eerie atmosphere, as though stepping into another era.

 

“Are the lights usually kept this low?”

 

“Hmm…”

 

Yeonjun chuckled softly, a trace of bitterness in his voice.

 

“There’s someone in the house who gets anxious when it’s too bright.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“It’s just an unspoken courtesy.”

 

His darkened expression made it difficult for her to ask who it was.

 

The hallway was so long that they exchanged a few more words before finally reaching their destination. Yeonjun’s room was at the end of the first-floor corridor in the main house. When the door opened, Chaeon had to stifle her surprise once more at the room’s size—it was at least three times larger than her own.

 

“Sit here for a bit?”

 

“Okay.”

 

Feeling slightly awkward, Chaeon perched herself on the sofa and took the opportunity to carefully observe the room while he stepped out for a moment.

 

The floor-to-ceiling windows revealed the mansion’s lush backyard, giving the room a sense of tranquility despite its size. One wall was covered with sketches—hands, muscle structures, torsos, heads, feet, and skulls…

 

It wasn’t entirely tidy, but it wasn’t messy either. It felt like the preserved workspace of an artist straight out of an art textbook, a space governed by its own set of rules.

 

Curious, Chaeon stood and walked toward the display case occupying one corner of the room. She peered inside, taking in the ornate crystal paperweight shaped like a ship, the slender, elegant porcelain vases, tie pins bearing luxury brand logos, and a row of expensive-looking watches lined up neatly on the bottom shelf.

 

She didn’t dare touch them and instead ran her fingertips lightly over the glass of the case.

 

He must have been born and raised surrounded by things like this. What must that feel like? How much would items like these even cost? She couldn’t even begin to guess. Just being in this room made her heart race.

 

A beautiful mansion, picturesque views, endless wealth. To this household’s young master, such things were a given. The envy that followed was accompanied by an odd sense of deprivation.

 

While she was still admiring the luxurious objects, footsteps outside the door startled her. Quickly, Chaeon sat back down on the sofa, trying to act as though she hadn’t moved at all.

 

Yeonjun re-entered the room, holding an ice pack and ointment. Sitting down beside her without hesitation, he furrowed his brow as he examined her swollen cheek.

 

Caught off guard and worried he might have noticed her snooping around, Chaeon stiffened awkwardly. But then, to her surprise, he asked something completely unexpected.

 

“Who did this to you?”