Page 41 of Perfect Happiness

E un-ho watched as Jane drove off. Even after her car disappeared, he continued to stare down the road for some time. Her answers, though not necessarily friendly, were clear as day. But whether they were transparent and honest was another issue. He was particularly unsure about the latter.

Jane was a master of deception according to Yuna.

She had conspired against Yuna and turned her into a problem child using all manner of lies and tricks.

It was because of her that Yuna had to spend her childhood in the country with her grandmother.

Yuna’s grandmother pitied Yuna for this; that was why she willed her a cabin and large plot of land. Where was that plot of land again?

Eun-ho looked up at Jiyoo’s room. He could see the curtain move beyond the glass. Eun-ho had a hunch that Jiyoo had been staring at him until he looked up. She was probably curious about what Eun-ho and her aunt were saying.

Where was Wife? Earlier when Eun-ho left the house, she acted like she was going to be home all day.

It almost seemed like Jane had come specifically to make Jiyoo lunch.

Jane was right; it would be best if Wife didn’t know about her coming here today.

To that end, Eun-ho needed to ask Jiyoo to keep this a secret.

Eun-ho got back in his car. He needed to see Jinu.

He had something to ask his old college friend.

On the phone, Jinu suggested they meet later that afternoon, as he had plans before that.

After hanging up, Eun-ho considered checking on Jiyoo, but couldn’t bring himself to go back into the house.

Yuna would be home soon—at least, that’s what he wanted to believe.

A voice was circling Eun-ho’s ears as he drove around and avoided going inside.

Yuna and Jane are working together.

The voice wasn’t Eun-ho’s; it belonged to someone who had called him that morning.

He had just gotten out of the shower and was drying himself off when his phone started to ring.

Yuna brought the phone to the bathroom for him.

It was a number he didn’t recognize. Leaning against the door frame with her shoulder, Yuna asked:

“Aren’t you going to pick up?”

Eun-ho stared at Wife. Why wasn’t she leaving?

He let the phone continue to ring until Yuna got the message and left.

“Eun-ho Cha, correct?” a woman’s voice asked as soon as Eun-ho picked up.

It was an unfamiliar voice. She introduced herself as Min-young, the sister to Joon-young Seo, Yuna’s ex-husband. She wanted to meet in person.

“Why?”

“I’ll explain later. You’re looking for answers about your son’s death, aren’t you?”

Eun-ho’s hand, which had been drying his hair, stopped suddenly.

He was already aware that Yuna’s ex-husband had disappeared.

Could his disappearance have something to do with Noah’s death?

In Eun-ho’s mind two pictures—one of Jiyoo and her biological father, and one of Eun-ho and Noah—were overlapping.

But he felt uneasy. Min-young must want something in return for offering information about Noah’s death. She would demand something of equal value. But what that was, he didn’t know. Try as he might, he couldn’t think of anything he had that she could want.

He hesitated for a moment before accepting.

He was grasping at straws, but it didn’t matter.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. And even if this woman wasn’t his friend, she might be able to show him the way.

If she really was the sister of Yuna’s ex-husband, he doubted she would be colluding with Wife, especially if she knew about the divorce.

Min-young must have already decided she was going to meet Eun-ho, no matter what. She gave him the address of the café she was waiting at, which was nearby, and told him what she was wearing.

“I’m at a café called Mojo. You know it, right? My hair is tied, and I’m wearing a black dress. You’ll know when you see me. I look just like Jiyoo.”

The café was on the forested road behind the townhouse.

Eun-ho often stopped there with Yuna on their walks after dinner.

This made Eun-ho feel somewhat uneasy, but he decided not to ask if they could meet somewhere else.

After all, it wasn’t like they were having an affair.

And what were the chances Wife would go there in the morning?

“You’re going out?” Wife asked as Eun-ho got dressed. He nodded as he headed for the front door.

“Where?”

“To meet a lawyer.” He hadn’t prepared this lie; it came out automatically, as though he were becoming a compulsive liar.

“When did you get a lawyer? And why are you meeting in the morning on the weekend?” Wife was out of breath as she intercepted him just before the front door.

“We’ll get the autopsy results any day now,” Eun-ho said. “I need to prepare myself legally.”

“Prepare yourself legally? How?” Yuna looked genuinely curious.

“That’s what I need to figure out.”

“Just wait a minute. I’ll go with you,” Yuna said as she placed her hand on his arm. “I’ll get dressed immediately and be right out.”

Eun-ho hadn’t expected her to go this far. Hoping that his surprise wasn’t showing on his face, he removed her hand from his arm.

“Maybe next time. I want to go alone today.”

“You shouldn’t go alone. You need someone else there. Someone who can give an objective account of what happened…”

“I know how to talk for myself. I have my own mouth,” Eun-ho said with a serious look on his face as he cut her off. To prevent her from saying anything more, in a cold voice he added, “You just worry about Jiyoo.”

Eun-ho didn’t look to see Yuna’s facial expression after saying this. He didn’t even look back after putting on his shoes and walking out the door. As he walked toward his car, he could feel Wife staring out at him from the window.

After parking his car outside the café, Eun-ho took out his cellphone.

He put it in airplane mode and turned on the recorder.

When he entered the café, he immediately made eye contact with a woman seated near the window in the corner, dressed in a black dress.

She watched him walk over to her. Her eyes were intelligent and cunning.

But unlike what she had claimed, she looked nothing like Jiyoo.

The only thing they shared was a last name.

“Are you Min-young Seo?”

Min-young got up from her seat with a faint smile on her face.

“I think I know Yuna’s type now,” she said.

Eun-ho didn’t know what she meant by this, but he didn’t think it appropriate for a first greeting.

He lowered his eyes and looked at the table.

On it was a single cup of coffee. Eun-ho went over to the counter and ordered himself a coffee.

By the time he returned to their table, five minutes had passed.

Eun-ho wanted to get this out of the way so they wouldn’t have to pause in the middle of their conversation.

After he sat down, neither of them bothered with banal greetings. Min-young just stared at him, as though she were studying him. Her eyes were impatient.

“My condolences,” she said. “About your son.”

Eun-ho didn’t react to this. Instead, he just took a sip of coffee. As he did this, he was hit by the absurdity of the situation. He was sitting across from the sister of his wife’s ex-husband; she was the last person he thought he would ever meet for coffee. What could she possibly want from him?

“I would like you to tell me everything that happened that day.”

Eun-ho had no desire to do this. He had already told the police the story a million times. He didn’t want to have to recount it again. Especially to some woman he had just met.

“I think you owe me an explanation first.”

Min-young brought her lips to a sharp point and looked at him. She either had no idea what he meant or was just pretending not to know.

“How did you get my phone number and address?”

Aha . . . She mouthed as she lifted her chin.

“Is that so important?” she asked with a look of innocence. “What’s important is that we’re here now.”

Eun-ho could guess that Min-young and Yuna were not that close.

And it wasn’t simply that they weren’t close; they probably had it out for each other.

From what Eun-ho saw, Min-young Seo and Yuna Shin were of the same ilk: people who thought the world revolved around them.

Of course, he would need to see more before he could tell who the superior narcissist was.

“You seem to have received the help of a professional. I doubt my wife gave you that information, neither is there anyone around me whom you would be close with.”

She again answered this question with another question.

“Didn’t you come here today because you were curious about what I had to say?”

“I didn’t come here to hear your story. Neither did I come here to answer your questions. I came here to find out why you’re snooping around.”

“Aren’t you even a little suspicious of your son’s death?”

Her voice seemed agitated.

“Do you really think you killed him?”

Eun-ho cheeks were starting to burn up. They might even be visibly red.

He could keenly sense the eyes of the people sitting around and behind him.

Instead of answering her question, he lowered his eyes.

He inhaled through his teeth, letting out a slight hiss.

Even the neighborhood dog would understand this as a warning sign, but Min-young didn’t seem to notice.

“Are you always such a heavy sleeper? Don’t you think it strange that you slept through everything?”

“I could report you to the police right now. For invasion of—”

“That night, did you drink something before going to bed?”

Eun-ho could feel his chest starting to pound. How did she know?

“What do you mean?”

She didn’t answer him. She just studied his face, a smile in her eyes. He tried his hardest not to look impatient.

“Your wife. She wasn’t home on the sixteenth of November, was she?”