2
Terms
Sticks however, it would explain the gifts of stock.
And there had been costly jewelry, fur coats, then the car.
His uncle had bought the very best things for Sonya and granted her every request, even funded her business in California.
His wife must have been sleeping with him all this time. How long? he wondered.
She untucked her beautiful legs and stretched them out. Not knowing if he wanted her to be girlish or vulgar, she felt uncertain. It was easier when a man wanted you to take off your clothes.
Boram had been with many men; however, not as many as the other girls she worked with.
In a diary, she wrote down the names of all the men and details about them.
In two years, she had slept with ninety-two men.
Nearly all of them had been remarkably similar.
Men wanted flattery, adoration, and for her to appear innocent.
Several had slapped her in the face or spanked her.
Only twice, she had been beaten so badly that she had to go to the hospital and miss work for a month.
Some men, she learned, liked hitting women, and she had no idea why since she wasn’t the sort to provoke them.
It was not in her nature to talk back or be rude.
A few of them she had liked. Nearly all were married.
The single ones would never date her seriously but sometimes sought her out so they could avoid paying, she figured out eventually.
None of them would provide for her, and the manager explained that Boram was not good with scams, as other girls were.
You’re very pretty but not clever. You should try to save your money and quit if you really want to be an actor, another girl had told her.
“What can I do to make you feel less sad?” Boram asked Yong-gil.
“Take off your dress.”
Boram did as she was told.
“Take off the rest.”
“Yes, President Mun.”
The young woman was visually perfect. She was exactly his type—long, slim, dark hair natural, flat-waisted, and pale. He stared at her full breasts, not minding that they were implants. The doctor had done a nice job, he thought.
He removed his trousers and allowed her to put a condom on his erection. Yong-gil knew that even young girls who looked clean carried diseases.
“How can I make you happy?”
Yong-gil frowned, wanting to push her down on the bed.
He was not like this normally, but he thought it would be better not to speak because he felt cruel.
She was dumb, and he wanted to be with a woman who could talk to him.
He wanted an explanation of what was happening at home.
Boram couldn’t give him that. She couldn’t even seduce him properly.
“Mr. President, you’re so big,” she said.
All the girls said this to him, and Yong-gil didn’t know if he was actually big or if this was something that whores said to their johns.
“Don’t talk,” he said, and pushed her gently on her back.
Yong-gil tried to forget his wife and uncle but couldn’t. He recalled his wife’s nude body the first time he saw it on their wedding night. Sonya was as beautiful as a goddess. She had been a virgin, and until a few hours ago, he’d believed that she still loved him.
He had cheated on his wife many times, but only with women he’d paid. Sonya was still an extraordinary beauty. Even now, Sonya was prettier than most of these girls. The idea of her in his uncle’s bed was disgusting. He felt like killing them both.
“President Mun, you’re hurting me,” she said, the extreme force of his thrusts painful to her. He held her wrists too tightly.
Quickly he finished and told her to get the fuck out.
Sonya did not come to breakfast. Yong-gil ate alone with his uncle.
“Uncle, can we speak after breakfast?”
“Why can’t we speak now?”
Yong-gil glanced at the door separating the dining room from the kitchen, where Mrs. Im and the cook were working. Two maids were cleaning the apartments, and the driver was having his breakfast in the kitchen.
“Where is Sonya?” Yong-gil asked the Chairman, feeling foolish not knowing where his own wife was.
“She had a meeting with a lawyer.”
“Why?”
“Something about the nail salon and her green card.”
The Chairman got up and headed to his office.
“Do you want to talk there?”
Yong-gil followed him.
The Chairman sat down in the armchair facing the view of the river. Yong-gil closed the doors behind him and sat opposite his uncle.
“Why did you give my wife the stock? Every year her ownership grows. I own only two percent of the company even though I’m the chief executive officer. I work at Mun Realty every single day.”
“Every share Sonya receives will ultimately go to the boys. You know that.”
“Yes, but every share I have will go to them, too. Why can’t you give the shares to them directly?”
“They are too young. They don’t know enough about life. They have so much more to learn about how to run the business.”
“They are very wise young men,” Yong-gil said, defending his sons.
“Yes. So far, it seems that way.”
“And me?” Yong-gil asked. “Why not me?”
“I think I haven’t taught you everything about life. You have more to learn.”
Yong-gil said nothing, wondering if he might be wrong to suspect something untoward between his uncle and his wife. It seemed more absurd the more he thought about it.
“What do I have to learn? What could Sonya possibly know more than me about the business?”
“Where were you last night?” the Chairman asked.
“At a work dinner,” Yong-gil said.
“You were at Sticks & Stones.”
“Yes.”
“It wasn’t for work.”
“No.”
“You were having sex with a prostitute who could come to our house. You could get some room salon girl pregnant, who could make claims upon your property. You could get a filthy disease, which could be passed to Sonya. In all these years, you have brought shame to me and Sonya with your inability to control yourself. I cannot risk my company being exposed to illegitimate heirs or lawsuits from hookers. We’ve spoken about this. Have we not? When will you learn?”
Yong-gil could say nothing. For once, he’d thought he had the upper hand, but immediately his uncle had made him the fool.
“Your father was unable to control himself with cheap bar girls. Now you. I thought you’d be different.
You’re a smart businessman, but you leave your family wide open with these indiscretions.
You can be blackmailed by any of these women.
You’re lucky that Sonya has been so patient and wise about how she handles them.
Do you know how often you’ve made your wife, the mother of your sons, cry? ”
Yong-gil stared at the wall behind his uncle, trying to control himself.
“She’ll own most of the company by the time I die.
However, she’ll never divorce you, and the company will go to the boys.
It should go to the boys equally unless they prove to be unworthy.
You will remain president, and when I’m gone, you’ll be the chairman.
This was my solution to your addiction to whores.
You will always be my nephew—that doesn’t change. ”
“She wants to be in California. Why can’t I send her there if I make her so miserable?”
“We need her at home. She is the lady of the house.”
“Can’t you get married again?”
“What?”
“Get a new lady of the house. My wife would rather be in California. Isn’t that why she bought that business and obtained a green card?”
“She needs to be here,” the Chairman said, seeing the defiance in his nephew’s eyes. Then he understood. Yong-gil knew something. “Her job is to take care of her own family. Your job is to take care of the company.”
“I am taking care of the company.”
“You need to be more careful with those women. So far, you’ve been lucky.”
“I’ve never fallen for a bar girl scam. I’m not an idiot.”
“Only an idiot says he’s not an idiot.”
“Uncle—”
“You are my brother’s son. You are my heir. However, you will be my heir through Sonya and the boys because you’ve left yourself exposed. This meeting is over.”
Yong-gil got up and bowed before heading to work.
In the evening, he went straight to his wife’s bedroom without changing out of his work clothes. Sonya was at her dressing table in her nightgown and robe. Getting ready to sleep, she was combing her hair. He was wearing his navy pin-striped suit.
“How are you?” Yong-gil asked.
“Did you have dinner?”
“Yes. I’ve already eaten. Thank you.” He brushed a stray wisp of hair away from her face and moved closer to her. Yong-gil touched the yellow silk chemise robe, and Sonya froze.
“You look pretty in this. I have a beautiful wife,” he said to the reflection in the mirror.
“Are you all right? I heard you were upset about the stock.”
“I guess he tells you everything.”
“I don’t understand.”
Yong-gil went to the door and locked it.
“I’d like to stay here tonight. Is that fine with you?”
Sonya examined his eyes.
“Have you been drinking?”
“Not a drop.” Yong-gil ran his hands across her shoulders. “You feel like my wife.”
“Why are you being strange?”
He removed his jacket and loosened his tie. Taking her hand, he placed it on his crotch and smiled like a naughty child. Sonya withdrew her hand as if she’d touched something too hot.
“I don’t feel well,” she said, doing her best to keep her composure.
“Don’t lie to me.”
Yong-gil buried his face in her neck. The faint scent of white flowers overwhelmed him.
Without a word, he slid the silk robe off her shoulders, and Sonya averted her eyes as he traced the outline of her breasts beneath the yellow nightgown.
He pulled her closer to him, unable to see her anxious expression.
She murmured calmly, “I’d rather another—”
“Tonight. I’d rather tonight.”
He pulled up her nightgown and moved her against the closet door.
When she began to cry, he picked her up and laid her gently on the bed.
He sat beside her and stroked her hair and kissed her brow sweetly.
She had been like this their first time and had needed to be coaxed.
He took off her nightgown, and she closed her eyes.
As he made love to her, he whispered, “My wife. My wife.”