I’d Rather Live as a Villain

I’d Rather Live as a Villain – Episode 41

(Let’s go down, I think that’s enough for greetings)

At the same time, at the Saint Lu Shangri-La Hotel’s Western restaurant.

“No, it’s okay now.”

A space where the night view of Seoul, centered around Namsan Tower, unfolds like a painting.

In contrast to her husband who was enjoying a light wine, Juyeon-hee was drinking water from a goblet, continuing her conversation with her mother-in-law.

-What do you mean it’s okay? My heart is still fluttering. Six weeks… Ah, to think you had to hear such harsh words from grandfather in your condition. I’m sorry, my dear. I’m so sorry.

“Really, I’m fine, Mother. I even got scolded by my father while I was at my parents’ house. It seems I was too rash. I didn’t think it through. I’m sorry for worrying you. I’ll be more careful not to let it happen again.”

-Do you think it was really your idea? You think I don’t know? He’s my son, born from my own pain, how could I not know your husband? Since when were you the one to start a conversation with grandfather at the dinner table?

The temperature of her mother-in-law’s treatment of her had risen a notch with the news of her pregnancy.

Apart from that, Juyeon-hee was quite moved by her mother-in-law, who, despite having brought up divorce and staying at her parents’ for a few days, frequently called to take care of her wounded heart.

Taking her side, not her son’s, her mother-in-law had sent her money to her account, telling her to heal her hurt heart at her parents’ house now that the in-laws knew everything, rather than urging her to come home quickly.

And she had directly apologized to her own mother on behalf of grandfather for what had happened.

The reason Juyeon-hee had to reluctantly return home.

It was because of her mother-in-law.

Just as her father had said, her mother-in-law was no ordinary woman.

She was not someone who would just watch quietly as the heir of Daeyoung left her son’s hands.

-Anyway, you did well. You’ve been through a lot. And congratulations, Yeon-hee. You’ve done something great.

The words she wanted to hear from her husband.

The words she would have liked to receive prostrate bows for were coming out of her mother-in-law’s mouth as if they were the most natural thing.

Perhaps that’s why.

Her husband, who was only watching her as she talked on the phone, somehow made Juyeon-hee feel a poignant sadness.

Her husband, who had let her face such an insult from grandfather and hadn’t said a single word of apology.

She thought she could hate him to death, that all her affection had run out, but today, for no reason at all, she just felt a poignant sadness for this man, for his life.

Who was it that said Kang Moon-jung of Daeyoung is Cinderella?

Cinderella lost her parents at a young age, and was mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters…

Ju Yeon-hee thought to herself.

No, that’s absolutely not it.

At least within the walls of the Pyeongchang-dong family home, it was Kang Moon-jung, not her husband or mother-in-law, who held the power.

The Kang Moon-jung that Ju Yeon-hee knew was never one to be oppressed by a stepmother and half-brother.

Why didn’t the world see that it was her mother-in-law and husband who were wary of Kang Moon-jung?

Her husband, despite being in a favorable position in the succession structure, had never once gained the upper hand over Kang Moon-jung in Pyeongchang-dong.

How much he must have wanted to defeat his half-sister with his own strength.

How much so, that even after suffering such an insult from his grandfather, he couldn’t express any resentment on his behalf.

After enduring such a grave insult from her grandfather, Ju Yeon-hee spent some time back at her parental home.

Through this ordeal, she began to heed her father’s advice, to come to her senses.

No matter how advantageous the succession competition seemed for her husband’s side, it wasn’t over until it was truly over.

She resolved not to let her guard down until the succession was confirmed on her husband’s side, as one would still watch over a fire that had died down.

“Grandfather, you should also speak to your father-in-law. Come to the main house tomorrow morning.”

“Mother.”

“Yes?”

“Could you perhaps convey it first on my behalf?”

“What?”

“That I’m pregnant. Not that I expect much celebration.”

“What are you talking about? What kind of thing is that to say?”

“If grandfather asks for us, then I’ll go.”

“Is it uncomfortable for you to meet grandfather?”

Ju Yeon-hee swallowed her response.

Uncomfortable?

It was a slightly different concept.

Rather, it was Ju Yeon-hee who wanted to bestow that feeling of discomfort upon her grandfather.

Yoon Tae-sik.

On one side, a daughter-in-law, and on the other, a son-in-law.

I’ve come to understand the difference in temperature between how grandfather regards me and Yoon Tae-sik.

It’s become clear how foolish it is to try to win grandfather’s favor.

And to protest against grandfather, an absolute figure, is out of the question.

“From now on, unless grandfather seeks me out, I’ll try to avoid going to the family home as much as possible.”

That was the advice from my father.

“Don’t go to your in-laws’ house unless they seek you out. If they call, then go; if not, wait until they do.”

After all, the general trend is hard to change.

He advised me not to make the same dumb mistake of trying to turn the unchangeable trend in my favor.

-Yeon-hee.

“Since that day, everything has become cautious. Mother said she would speak to grandfather and father first, and if they seek us out, then I’ll go with him comfortably.”

-…

“Is that okay with you, mother?”

I exaggerate the wounds I’ve received, as if that incident has traumatized me, to make my mother-in-law uncomfortable.

Then, somehow, that feeling will be conveyed to my father-in-law, to grandfather.

I don’t expect an apology from Kang Ki-young, a titan of the times.

But at the very least, I hope that incident will bring some discomfort to me.

And with the discomfort I’ve created, I believe my mother-in-law will somehow be able to create a situation that can help my husband at a critical moment.

-Alright. Do that. Above all, what’s most important right now is your peace of mind. Can I visit your gallery in a few days when I have time?

“Of course. Why ask me such a thing? Just come.”

-I’ll treat you to something delicious. We can do some shopping too.

After the call with her mother-in-law, Joo Yeon-hee began to eat as if nothing had happened.

She sliced a piece of meat, slightly bloody, to bite-size, and looked up at her husband as she was about to eat it.

“I’ve been thinking while I was at my parents’ house.”

“What thoughts?”

Kang Young-jin asked, his lips touching the wine glass.

“Miss, Mr. Yoon, the executive. And how, as soon as those two got married, they started sprinting and pouring out performance like a bang!”

Yeon-hee put down her fork, just as her husband set down his wine glass, both seemingly forgetting about the meat.

“Leaving out the prelude, they got married and then started pouring out performance. As if they got married just for this performance pouring.”

“…?”

“Women can tell. Whether there’s something there or not. I’ve never felt such an atmosphere between Miss and Mr. Yoon during our time in Pyeongchang-dong.”

“Out of the blue, what are you talking about?”

“It’s not sudden on my part, but rather their marriage. As an executive assistant, I’ve spent the most time with them, so I can imagine some feelings might develop between a man and a woman. But then, it should show. There are things you just can’t hide, no matter how hard you try. Yet, there was absolutely nothing of the sort between those two. They got married without a single hint of that.”

Only then did Kang Young-jin start to narrow his eyes.

“The lady from Pyeongchang-dong, always more observant than even your grandfather. Do you think I haven’t noticed? Until the marriage talks started, there was no sign of any connection between those two.”

“…”

“So, you think there’s something now? From what you’ve seen, does it seem like there is? To me, their relationship looks nothing more than, and nothing less than, business partners.”

“Did Munjeong buy the marriage with money because of the succession issue?”

“Once you married me, and even the great-aunt supported you in the succession issue, couldn’t the lady have done even more?”

“Why on earth would she leave all the other good matches and choose Yoon Seobang…?”

“If my current suspicion is correct, looking at the outcome, the lady made the best choice. But the problem is, unlike other options, this choice couldn’t be insured.”

“A choice that couldn’t be insured?”

“From your perspective, it’s a choice you should be very thankful for that the lady made. If it turns out to be true, anyone who reveals it…”

A smile was spreading across Juyeonhee’s face.

“It’s all over then.”

“…”

“Two months after the marriage talks, they held the wedding. Even before the wedding, they publicly proved their relationship at the baseball stadium, making a scene. Usually, such proof is for the anxious ones. Right? Even before I married you and entered Pyeongchang-dong, I knew more about the lady named ‘Miss’ than you did. Someone who hates noise more than anyone. Someone who feels burdened when the spotlight is on them. Would such a person choose to make a noisy marriage announcement using the media…? That’s what I thought while staying at my family home for a while.”

Juyeonhee rinsed her mouth with the water in her goblet before speaking.

“As for the succession, suddenly you’ve become anxious. I think there are only three things you need to worry about from now on.”

“What?”

“Exposing the fake marriage between Miss and Executive Yoon. If my current suspicion turns out to be true, that alone would be the end. But since we can’t know for sure, we need insurance. Shouldn’t you pay more attention to the great-aunt? No matter what anyone says, she’s the one wielding the most influence outside Daeyoung, dealing with the power players of Daeyoung. Including President Kim of Planning, who supports you, and other affiliate company presidents. After all, it’s all thanks to the great-aunt’s connections that these relationships have deepened. Isn’t that right?”

“…That’s true. What’s the third?”

Juyeonhee briefly dropped her gaze to her abdomen and said,

“Are you hoping that the child in my belly is a son?”

***

After stopping by the house in Daejeon to pick up my mother, Munjeong and I visited the park cemetery where my father rests.

“Huh? When did this happen?”

Next to the characters ＜Son Yuntaesik＞ on the back of the gravestone, new characters ＜Daughter-in-law Kang Munjeong＞ had been added.

As if it was no big deal, my mother pulled out the artificial flowers that were already there and inserted new ones she bought from the park cemetery’s office, saying,

“While you were having your wedding and honeymoon, I bragged about marrying off our Taesik to a lovely partner and applied for it while visiting your father. When I came alone during Chuseok, I checked, and it was done well.”

It seems as if the season of autumn has completely disappeared from Korea.

It was slightly cold.

At this spot, unsure of what to do, Moon-jung hesitated until her mother handed her a few wet wipes, suggesting she clean her father-in-law’s gravestone.

Moon-jung paused again behind the gravestone, her own name etched clearly on it.

“Mom already paid her respects last month, so today it’s just you two. It’s cold. I’ll wait in the car below, so take your time greeting your father, then come down.”

Reluctant to leave until the very end, her mother plucked weeds from the well-tended mound above her father’s grave and headed down first.

“I won’t bow. I’ll just stand and greet him.”

“We’re not a family that holds ancestral rites. I know that much.”

“That was for my father, not you.”

“Sigh…”

“Greetings, Father. I’m your son’s…”

I had no way of knowing how she was introducing herself to my father in her heart.

But I wanted to be honest with my father.

I confessed to him inwardly.

I never thought I’d bring someone to where my father rests, but somehow it ended up this way.

Somehow, I wanted to introduce her to you.

But actually, it feels more right to say I wanted to show her to you.

I don’t know why I started thinking this way, but it just seemed like the right thing to do.

I confessed all the honest words I couldn’t say to my mother, only to my father, and finished my greeting.

“I didn’t understand at first.”

“What?”

“Why go to such lengths… That was the dominant thought.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“You. Even if you weren’t the successor, you could live a carefree life without worries, doing whatever you want, not bothering with what you dislike. Maybe that’s a more blessed life. I couldn’t understand why you’d propose a contract marriage to someone like me, why you’d sell marriage itself, all for the sake of succession.”

“…”

“But after learning more about your mother, and after raising a glass to her at your uncle’s place… I couldn’t help but bring you here.”

The wind was too chilly to stay any longer.

“From now on, I’ll stop such pointless thoughts and just run forward like mad. I wanted to make that promise to my father with you by my side, that’s why I asked you to come.”

“…”

“It’s cold. Let’s go down. I think that’s enough for a greeting.”