OMS 5

Moving from the guest house to the main house, Dong-sik thought about how regular homes could have such large dining tables. A lavish floral arrangement decorated the center, with five chairs placed on each side. The chair backs looked like something from a royal palace.

While looking around distractedly, his eyes met with the three people sitting opposite him in turn. He had roughly memorized their names from the documents – his mother-in-law Madam Song Mi-jin maintained a cold atmosphere, his sister-in-law Kim Ah-ra was absorbed in her phone, and his brother-in-law Kim Tae-han had an inexplicable smile playing at his lips.

Why does he keep grinning like that?

As soon as he sat down, he felt someone’s foot under the table. At first, he tried to move away thinking it was accidental, but then the foot slid up his shin suggestively. He could guess whose foot it was without looking.

Sure enough, Kim Tae-han’s face across the table bore a smile.

“How are you feeling, sister-in-law? You still look pale.”

Move your foot, you bastard. This is completely shameless. Making moves right in front of his brother. He wanted to unleash a torrent of curses, but right now he wasn’t Park Dong-sik. While suppressing his anger, he glanced sideways at Kim Jun-han sitting next to him, but the man showed no interest in their direction.

“The Chairman is coming.”

Everyone stood up, and Dong-sik followed suit in confusion. Tap, tap, came the sound of something striking the floor. Shortly after, Daesan Group’s Chairman Kim Doo-sik appeared. His actual appearance was much gentler than how he appeared on TV or in newspapers.

He sat at the head of the table, and the meal began.

“How is Hee-soo? Are you alright?”

Dong-sik swallowed his mouthful of rice. Even Park Dong-sik, who lived life fearlessly, naturally felt intimidated before such a person.

“Yes…”

As he replied in a small voice, Chairman Kim addressed Madam Song.

“The child seems very shocked, so talk to Dr. Park about prescribing some medicine. Tell him to include all the good stuff. Don’t skimp.”

Madam Song’s lips briefly pursed as she listened.

“What can we do when the child is so weak? That’s why going near water… tsk.”

Her disapproval was obvious. Kim Ah-ra beside her chimed in.

“New sister, did you really lose your memory? You’re not faking it?”

So this is why they say a interfering sister-in-law is worse than a hitting mother-in-law. The term “Sister-in-law” was also irritating. Couldn’t she just call him oppa? While forcing a smile, Chairman Kim sharply cut in.

“Both of you, stop with the useless talk and eat.”

The father-in-law really does love his daughter-in-law, huh? While feeling secretly pleased, he picked up a rib and found it incredibly delicious. The other side dishes were equally good. Despite the uncomfortable atmosphere, Dong-sik quickly finished a bowl of rice and called someone near the kitchen.

“Um, could I have another bowl…”

Most people around the table stared with round eyes. Even his husband Kim Jun-han looked at him with surprise.

“Haha, the rice is just so good…”

Kim Ah-ra across the table clicked her tongue, saying it was strange.

“Does losing memories change your appetite too? I’ve never seen you eat more than half a bowl before. And sister, you hate meat. You only liked vegetables.”

Dong-sik blurted out without thinking.

“How can anyone live on just vegetables? We’re not rabbits.”

“Oh my, did you just speak informally to me?”

You did it first, you brat. You’re clearly much younger than me. As sparks flew between the two, Kim Tae-han, who had been quiet, placed a rib on Dong-sik’s rice.

“Sister-in-law is right. You need to eat meat to recover your strength. Let’s go for walks and outings too.”

Dong-sik deliberately ignored his flirtatious smile and stuffed the rib in his mouth. Meanwhile, husband Kim Jun-han continued to show no interest or attention to either of them. The more he watched, the stranger the scene became.

However, Dong-sik couldn’t eat as much as before. Either the stomach was small or it filled up quickly. While nursing his disappointment, dinner ended and family members began leaving one by one. As Dong-sik was about to return to the guest house, a middle-aged man with neatly styled hair approached.

“I’m Butler Yoon, in charge of this household. Though you might not remember.”
How could he remember? While smiling awkwardly, a housekeeper handed Dong-sik a tray with tea at the butler’s direction.

“It’s for the Chairman. He always has it after meals.”

“Why…?”

“Lee Hee-soo-ssi was in charge of this.”

Ah… with so many people here, they want me to serve tea…? When he stared blankly, not knowing where the Chairman’s room was, they kindly gave him directions. Dong-sik took the tea tray up to the second floor. This place is ridiculously huge. After walking for a while grumbling, he stopped at the last door and knocked.

[Come in.]

Opening the door revealed a study. Chairman Kim was sitting on the sofa, leaning back with a cigar. As he tensely set down the tea and tried to leave, the Chairman called out to him.

“Child, come sit here for a moment.”

Dong-sik turned back startled. What? The Chairman gestured with his eyes to the seat opposite him. Dong-sik hesitantly went and sat down. After taking a sip of tea, the Chairman smiled.

“Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

His kind voice somewhat eased the anxiety. They say fathers-in-law love their daughters-in-law – maybe he’s going to give some pocket money? Hoping inwardly, he lowered his voice calmly.

“No… I’m fine, thanks to your concern.”

“I heard about it. They say you jumped into the water deliberately.”

Dong-sik looked at him with a startled expression. Everyone thought they had fallen in. What could have happened? Could he know about the body swap too? As he watched tensely, Chairman Kim clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“Were you trying to die?”

“…”

“You should have just died.”

At first, he thought he’d misheard, but looking at the chairman’s expression, he was serious.

“At least your father was useful. What have you done since coming to our house? Did you win Jun-han’s heart, or give us grandchildren? And now that you don’t even have your family to support you anymore, I’ve been wondering what to do with you.”

What is this old man talking about?

“So, how about becoming useful to our family now?”

Useful? So he means that I, or rather Lee Hee-soo, is useless? His attitude was completely different from dinner earlier. He had acted so caring in front of others, telling people to give her medicine and all. But Chairman Kim’s duplicity didn’t end there. He stood up and sat down next to Dong-sik.

His thick, wrinkled hand naturally moved to Dong-sik’s shoulder. He wore a ring with large stones, and the embedded jewels sparkled distinctly. Before he could think further, the hand slid down smoothly and began massaging Dong-sik’s thigh. That’s when he sensed something was going wrong. While intimately rubbing the inner thigh, Chairman Kim whispered,

“What do you think? Seems like there’s something you could do for me too.”

The explicit action and sexually suggestive tone, Dong-sik instinctively clenched his fist, but quickly unclenched it when he remembered who the old man was. As he abruptly stood up, the old man frowned in displeasure.

“You don’t like it?”

“I, I should go downstairs now.”

“Why?”

Why, he asks? Would you stay still if some old geezer was rubbing your thigh? But he didn’t have the guts to talk back to a corporate chairman. So he made up a ridiculous excuse:

“I need to poop, urgently!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he bolted from the room. When he flung open the door and rushed down the stairs, Madam Song was standing in the living room, giving him a fierce look. Ah, now he understood why he felt she disliked him. It wasn’t simply because she was his mother-in-law.

Dong-sik hurriedly crossed over to the annex, went up to the second floor, closed the door to his room, and collapsed onto the sofa. He cursed while alternately looking at his shoulder and thigh where Chairman Kim’s hand had touched. Damn, how could this happen…? Were all the people in this family crazy? Both the brother-in-law and the father-in-law…

Eventually, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“They say reality is worse than makjang dramas, and it’s true.”

God, I need a cigarette. Come to think of it, he hasn’t been able to smoke at all. Despite searching around, there was nothing resembling cigarettes. With no other option, he sprawled out on the sofa. As he lay there quietly with his eyes closed, he suddenly remembered the mobile phone he’d seen in the dressing room drawer.

He got up and went to the dressing room. He opened the drawer, took out the phone he’d seen earlier, and plugged in the charger. It turned on. The fact that it recognized the fingerprint and unlocked immediately confirmed it was Hee-soo’s.

“When was this last used…?”

As he swiped through the screen, there were no traces of use in the photo gallery or anywhere else. Only call logs and messages remained. Interestingly, there was just one contact number. His hand slowed as he checked the message contents. The messages continued until a month ago, and the content was sweet, like lovers’ conversations.

“Doesn’t seem to be his husband.”

If he had to guess, Kim Tae-han was the most likely possibility. Otherwise, he couldn’t have been so brazen. Wait, when was the last call? After tapping the drawer’s top panel a couple times, Dong-sik hesitantly pressed the call button. The call went through, but unfortunately, only a message saying the other party couldn’t answer played.