OMS 25

[They say you should eat separately in the guest house.]

Despite Kim Yoon-ah’s attempts to stop him, Park Dong-sik deliberately went to the main house. As if he’d eat alone and risk another incident. While he was busily preparing breakfast in the kitchen, he saw Madam Song  approaching him.

“Good morning, Mother. Did you sleep well?”

Park Dong-sik smiled brightly at Madam Song while holding a knife. 

“Eek!” As she screamed, Butler Yoon came running to her aid. 

“Madam, what’s wrong?” Park Dong-sik joked while holding up the half-cut vegetables.

“It’s my day to cook. Is curry rice okay? They say curry is great for preventing dementia.”

Madam Song covered her mouth and trembled.

“D-Didn’t you hear you’re supposed to eat in the guest house?”

“Come on, how can you say that? You wake me at dawn to perform my duties as a daughter-in-law, but now this? Instead, why don’t you come taste this for seasoning? Which meat should we use? Beef would be good, right?”

“No, go to the guest house right now! Don’t come here! Butler Yoon, take him to the guest house immediately. Keep him out of my sight!”

As her hysterical screaming drew attention their way, Park Dong-sik sighed softly.

“I’m divorcing Mr. Kim Jun-han.”

At this bombshell, he glanced at the other staff.

“Why are you talking about that here?”

“So just put up with me for today. You won’t have to see me soon anyway.”

“…”

“And please don’t kidnap people like yesterday.”

Park Dong-sik lifted his shirt to show the bruises on his stomach and back. Butler Yoon scolded the peeking staff members, and Madam Song’s face turned as pale as a sheet of paper.

“Can you see these? And here. Here and here too. These marks are from that mudang stabbing me with knives. This is grounds for prosecution. Kidnapping, imprisonment, assault, and psychological trauma. What else was there? Anyway, if I press charges, you and the mudang will be arrested.”

As Madam Song’s lips trembled, Butler Yoon stepped forward to intervene.

“Ms. Lee Hee-soo. Return to the guest house. You’re being extremely disrespectful to the madam.”

Park Dong-sik wrinkled his nose.

“Stay out of this. How dare a mere employee interrupt our conversation. How impudent.”

Butler Yoon’s eyes turned fierce. Unlike Madam Song, Lee Hee-soo clearly wasn’t his superior.

“Who are you to be so impudent, ordering people around? Butler Yoon, what are you waiting for? Get her out of here!”

Butler Yoon gestured to the staff behind him, and Park Dong-sik sighed softly as he put down the knife and removed his apron. “Fine. I’ll go on my own. Let’s go.” Then he picked up a long cucumber from the vegetable basket.

Crunch, he took a bite as he passed Madam Song, who flinched at his action. Park Dong-sik, unfazed, searched his pocket and handed her a 100,000 won check.

“Take it.”

“What is this?”

“Payment for the ritual. Actually, I came to give you this. Hate aside, I got some helpful hints thanks to it.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“I don’t think further explanation is necessary. Ah, and I wasn’t going to say this, but next time take Father.”

“What?”

“From what I can see—”

Park Dong-sik casually glanced around and brought his lips close to Madam Song’s ear. When she tried to pull away, he grabbed her arm and whispered firmly.

“I think Father is possessed by a lusty spirit. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense for him to expose himself to his daughter-in-law.”

Madam Song’s mouth fell open. While other staff might not have heard, Butler Yoon surely did but showed no reaction. Madam Song shook off Park Dong-sik’s hand, her face turning red and blue. She finally swung at him, but Park Dong-sik quickly dodged out of the way, took another crunching bite of cucumber, and smirked.

Madam Song trembled with rage.

“Watch your mouth. Keep talking like that and you’ll disappear without a trace before the divorce.”

As expected. She knew about her husband’s behavior. Why stay with such an old man? She’s better than him in looks and everything else. Park Dong-sik smiled sympathetically.

“Tsk. Our poor Madam Song.”

Madam Song pressed her lips together. Her cheek twitched, and she looked like she was about ready to burst into tears. The old lady’s getting emotional.

“Cheer up.”

Just as he turned around after patting her shoulder sincerely, with a shout of “Ya!” his hair was grabbed, yanking his head back. As he tried to regain his balance, Madam Song struck his face wildly.

“Who are you to look at me that way?! How dare you! You wretched thing! Getting possessed and now you’ve gone completely mad! Say that again! Who’s pitiful? You’re the pitiful one! Not even knowing who caused your father’s death!”

Being used to beatings, this was nothing. But he was curious. Not knowing who caused his father’s death? Why not? It was in all the news articles. That he committed suicide after getting involved in corruption. Was there something else that Lee Hee-soo didn’t know about?

Just then, a thunderous voice shook the house.

“What the hell is going on here?!”

Looking up, Chairman Kim stood on the stairs with a cast, supported by his secretary. His eyes blazed with anger, and Madam Song released Park Dong-sik’s hair and collapsed into her seat. Then she buried her face in her hands and began sobbing.

Park Dong-sik met Chairman Kim’s eyes.

“Butler Yoon. Take my wife inside.”

He went upstairs, and Park Dong-sik watched the crying Madam Song. Her sobbing was so heartbreaking it reminded him of his mother whom he’d never seen. He’d heard she ran away after being beaten frequently by his father…Did she cry like this?

As she stood up with Butler Yoon’s support, Madam Song’s face was a mess. Even while being supported, she glared daggers at Park Dong-sik, and didn’t stop crying until she disappeared. Left alone, Park Dong-sik ran his hand through his pulled hair.

The old lady’s strong.

Suddenly, his nose started bleeding. The remaining staff were startled, but Park Dong-sik casually pulled out some nearby tissues and plugged his nose with them.

***

“Oh my, sister-in-law. Your face…”

Kim Ah-ra made a fuss when she came down for breakfast, and Kim Tae-han’s expression hardened immediately. The one fortunate thing was that Kim Jun-han had gone to work early. If he’d seen him in this state, he probably would have sneered. Park Dong-sik casually placed curry in front of them and sat down.

“Sister-in-law, did you get hit?”

“Why? Enjoying this?”

Kim Ah-ra put on a prim expression, and Park Dong-sik gestured for her to just eat. Still, Kim Ah-ra couldn’t contain her curiosity and kept right on asking questions.

“Don’t tell me Mother hit you?”

“Yeah. Hurt like hell. I held back because she’s old, but I’m regretting it now. She’s got quite a wrist snap. Must have been athletic in her youth?”

Listening to this, Kim Tae-han closed his eyes tightly, then opened them and stood up. As he tried to go after Madam Song, Park Dong-sik barely managed to bring him back to his seat. After pleading with him to just eat quietly, he picked up his spoon. In the silence among the three, Kim Ah-ra broke the quiet.

“Are you okay?”

“What’s this? Acting nasty before but now you’re worried?”

“No, it’s just that before, you’d tear up just from getting scolded by Mother. You’ve changed completely, it’s strange.”

When she muttered to herself “Maybe she really is possessed,” Park Dong-sik put down his spoon and called out to her.

“Hey, Kim Ah-ra.”

“Yes?”

“As children, shouldn’t you try to stop and comfort your mother when she falls into superstition? Why fan the flames? That’s how innocent victims get hurt.”

“Oh my. Why am I getting blamed? I tried to stop her. Besides, someone else brought up the ritual first! Hmph!”

She glanced pointedly at Kim Tae-han. Park Dong-sik gave him an incredulous look, but the other man just shrugged innocently. Then he nudged Park Dong-sik’s foot under the table. Park Dong-sik kicked his shin hard. As he groaned “ugh” and dropped his head, Park Dong-sik couldn’t help but smile.

The meal wasn’t too bad. They both seemed to enjoy the curry, eating heartily, and Park Dong-sik stood at the sink to do the dishes. Kim Tae-han immediately came up behind him.

“Get out. I’ll do it.”

Park Dong-sik shot a sideways glance at Butler Yoon. He was watching from a distance, his thoughts as unreadable as ever.

“It’s fine. Have to earn my keep.”

Kim Tae-han insisted on coming beside him to rinse the dishes.

“From tomorrow, eat in the guest house. Don’t come here and face such treatment.”

“Don’t worry about it. It won’t be much longer anyway. Your brother said yesterday that a lawyer’s coming today. I don’t remember, but apparently, we’d already agreed to divorce.”

Kim Tae-han nodded his head, saying “Is that so.” Park Dong-sik saw it clearly—the way his mouth twitched upward before stopping. This bastard must have been waiting for this day.

“I thought brother would wait until sister-in-law’s memories returned.”

“Guess he couldn’t stand it anymore. Someone like me.”

Well, even putting himself in their shoes, he could understand. As he smiled self-deprecatingly, Kim Tae-han asked seriously.

“You’ll divorce, right?”

“Of course, I have to. If I stay here, I won’t be able to live out my natural life.”

It was funny even after saying it. Hasn’t my life already ended? That’s why Park Dong-sik died. But it’s too early to conclude. Who knows? Maybe if I found that mudang again, there might be a way. No, he desperately hoped there would be a way.