By the time the Mercedes arrived at Bongeunsa Temple—delayed slightly by the heavy weekend traffic—the evening sun was beginning to set. It cast a warm golden glow over the peaceful, ancient grounds.
Mr. Nam and Driver Min Seok were already waiting near the temple entrance. The Mercedes stopped smoothly, and Min Seok stepped forward quickly to open the car door for Siwon.
Siwon stepped out, looking calm and collected. She looked directly at her senior secretary. "Mr. Nam, have the bags arrived or not?"
"Yes, Chairwoman," Mr. Nam bowed respectfully. "All the luggage has safely reached the villa. And your special box is right here," he added.
Mr. Nam turned to the car and carefully brought out a luxurious red glass box, protected by a clean, sleek outer cover. It looked incredibly elegant.
Looking at the box, Siwon's eyebrows lowered with a deep sense of grief. For a brief moment, her eyes filled with profound sadness. But she quickly hid her emotions, took the box from him, and walked inside the quiet temple.
She walked into the main hall, where the air was peaceful and still. She gently handed the red glass box to the chief monk. The monk began to perform the sacred rituals, chanting softly in the quiet room. Siwon, Mr. Nam, and Min Seok stood together, bowing deeply before the large statue of Buddha and the sacred box.
After the rituals were finished, the monk guided Siwon toward the quiet Columbarium Hall, where the ashes of the deceased were kept. Siwon carefully opened the red glass box. She lifted out her mother's funeral urn—a beautiful, luxurious glass urn adorned with spiritual gold dragon designs. She placed it gently into her dedicated family compartment. She stood there silently, looking at it, and bowed one more time.
Turning slightly, she signaled her driver and Mr. Nam to step outside using just a quiet glance. Mr. Nam understood immediately. He bowed to Siwon and the compartment, then lightly tapped Min Seok to follow him.
"Yes, Ma'am," they replied softly and stepped out.
Outside the hall, walking down the quiet temple path, Min Seok looked at Mr. Nam with genuine curiosity. "Mr. Nam... were those the ashes of her mother?"
Mr. Nam let out a soft sigh, his face turning serious. "Yes. She passed away seven years ago."
Min Seok looked completely shocked. "If her mother passed away seven years ago, then why did she bring her ashes here after such a long time? And... where is her father? Did he not come for his wife? I thought maybe he had cheated on her mom or left them..."
Mr. Nam stopped and gave Min Seok a sharp, angry stare. "You know absolutely nothing, yet you talk like an expert idiot. He was a very sincere person and passed away on the exact same day as her," Mr. Nam explained. "He loved her mother so much, which is why God took both of them upstairs together." Mr. Nam bowed his head slightly with grief.
Min Seok's face softened into a sad expression upon hearing this. "Oh... that means she lost both of her parents on the same day. That must be so heavy for her." He lifted his head slightly, a look of confusion crossing his face. "But I don't understand... why didn't she put her father's ashes with her mother here?"
"Because her father's ashes were placed in Italy some years ago," Mr. Nam answered quietly.
Min Seok looked even more confused now. "But if her father is Korean, why did she put his ashes in Italy, and her mother's ashes here in Korea? Shouldn't it be the other way around?"
Mr. Nam sighed with a bit of frustration, gritting his teeth slightly before lowering his voice. "Listen to me, because I am only explaining this to you once. Her mother was Italian, but her father was Korean. When they were alive, they were deeply attached to their own countries. But because they loved each other so much, her mother always wanted to stay close to her husband's heart—and his heart belongs to Korea, even when they lived abroad. At the same time, her father wanted to respect his wife's roots, so he had requested that his ashes be kept in Italy with her family. That is why she keeps her father's ashes in Italy and brought her mother's ashes here to Korea. It keeps both of their wishes alive."
Min Seok looked down, processing the weight of the beautiful story. He looked up again, hesitating. "And... how did they die?"
"That is a very long story, Min Seok. I will tell you some other time," Mr. Nam replied, his eyes darkening slightly.
As they kept walking down the path, Min Seok muttered, "But when exactly will you tell me the whole story about them?"
Mr. Nam kept walking, shaking his head. "Some other time, Min Seok. For now, remember one thing—never ask these questions in front of the Chairwoman. Never let her catch you prying into this."
Min Seok swallowed hard and nodded quickly. "Uh, okay. I understand completely."
Inside the quiet Columbarium Hall, Siwon stood completely alone in front of her mother's compartment. The silence of the temple surrounded her, blocking out the noise of the city.
"Mom..." Siwon whispered in soft, fluent Italian, her voice trembling slightly. "It was not right of me to keep secrets from you for so long. I am sorry. For a long time, I felt like I was responsible for your condition. Back then, I was so young... there was nothing in my hands. You always told me that I was enough for you... but..."
Siwon let out a heavy, tired sigh. She closed her eyes for a moment, forcing back her tears. "Forget it. I don't want to make you sad anymore by talking about all these things. That doesn't matter anymore," she continued, forcing a small, gentle smile. "You know God and Buddha are always with me... and now, I am just happy that for the next few years, I am finally here in Korea with you too. I won't be able to come every single day, but I will definitely visit during my breaks. Well, even that isn't the most important thing... because I know you and Dad are always inside my heart. Every single time, you both are walking right beside me."
Siwon smiled warmly, though a deep, lingering grief remained in her sharp eyes. She looked closely at the small family photograph kept inside the compartment. In the picture, her handsome Korean father and her beautiful Italian mother were standing together in traditional Korean dresses, smiling brightly. Snuggled between them was a little six-year-old Siwon, also wearing a pretty pink hanbok. She was holding a beautiful bouquet of white lilies, laughing happily without a single care in the world.
Looking at her childhood smile, Siwon't expression grew deeply reflective. She let out a soft sigh and thought to herself: A single wrong decision can ruin a person's entire life... and along with it, the lives of everyone who loves them. I definitely learned that truth the hard way a few years ago.
Brushing the heavy thoughts aside, she bowed deeply to her parents, turned around, and walked out of the hall with her head held high, ready to face her responsibilities again.
When Siwon walked out of the main temple area and reached the entrance gate near the road, she spotted Mr. Nam and Min Seok immediately. They were standing right next to the parked Mercedes, huddled together and talking to each other very secretly.
Siwon walked up behind them quietly on the sidewalk, her footsteps completely silent against the ambient street noise. "What is wrong with you two?"
Mr. Nam jumped in shock, his eyes wide with panic. "Y-Yes! Yes, Chairwoman!"
Min Seok was also completely startled, quickly bowing down. "Yes, Ma'am!"
Siwon narrowed her eyes at them. "What happened? Why are you both so shocked? And wait... where is Richard?" She shook her head in sheer frustration. "He is my bodyguard. What kind of bodyguard roams around freely, abandoning his employer?"
Mr. Nam cleared his throat quickly, breaking into a nervous sweat as he tried to think on his feet. "Ma'am, our company security car suddenly... uh... developed a... a mechanical issue! Yes! A mechanical issue! So I thought it would be best to get it fixed immediately so it doesn't cause you any inconvenience later. That is why Richard went to the garage right away!"
"What? A mechanical issue so suddenly? In a brand-new car? Seriously?" Siwon asked, her face tight with irritation at the pitiful lie. She let out a loud, tired sigh. She knew exactly when her staff members were lying to her. "If you all want to go somewhere, why do you have to make up a lie? And such a pitiful one at that. Just tell me directly," Siwon said.
Mr. Nam tried to look completely blank, turning to the driver. "Go where? Min Seok, do you want to go anywhere? I certainly don't!"
Min Seok stammed nervously, waving his hands in defense. "Why would I want to go anywhere? No, Ma'am! Not at all!"
"Stop it," Siwon snapped, crossing her arms. "I know everything. You are all planning to go to that girl group concert tonight. For this tiny, silly matter, you spent the whole day planning your schedules like it was a life-or-death corporate mission. And Richard didn't go to repair any car—he went ahead to the venue to stand in line for the concert tickets, didn't he?"
Mr. Nam's jaw dropped. He realized they were completely busted. He lowered his head slowly in defeat. "Yes, Ma'am. That is true."
Siwon rubbed her forehead, feeling a bit amused but exhausted. "Standing in lines for tickets? Which century are you living in? Why didn't you just book the tickets online?"
Mr. Nam looked up sheepishly. "Ma'am, we didn't know anything about this group's ticketing details. Min Seok was actually the one who told us just today that the concert was happening tonight..."
Siwon immediately shifted her gaze to Min Seok, her eyes flashing with a fiery vibe.
Min Seok's eyes went wide with terror. He shook his head frantically, turning to glare at Mr. Nam, whispering under his breath, "Why did you blame me?! Why me?!"
"That is enough," Siwon interrupted, though the corner of her mouth twitched. "You all can go."
Mr. Nam's and Min Seok's eyes widened to the size of saucers, completely flooded with sudden joy. But then Siwon raised an eyebrow. "But tell me, who exactly is going to drive me home?"
The two men froze, looking at each other nervously in complete silence. They had forgotten the most important part of their plan—the driver was supposed to be working!
Siwon sighed deeply. "Okay, fine. I will drive myself home tonight. Just give me the car keys."
Min Seok quickly pulled the luxury car keys out of his pocket but stopped suddenly. He looked at her with a worried face. "But Ma'am... how can you drive?"
Siwon, thoroughly frustrated, threw both her hands up in the air. "With MY HANDS! Why? Do you have a problem with that?"
"No, Ma'am, nothing like that!" Min Seok stammered quickly. "I only asked because the Korean police are incredibly strict with traffic and driving regulations, sooooo..."
"Just give me the KEYS!" Siwon snapped. "I have an international driving license, so don't get worried, okay?"
Min Seok quickly handed the keys over to Siwon with both hands.
Seeing how incredibly cool, calm, and understanding their boss actually was, Mr. Nam and Min Seok got completely swept up in the excitement. Totally forgetting professional boundaries for a split second, they both rushed forward to give Siwon a big, grateful, happy hug.
But before they could even touch her maroon coat, Siwon raised her hand, showing them her palm to stop them instantly. "That is enough. Now, get out of here and go."
Mr. Nam and Min Seok smiled brightly, bowed quickly, and literally turned around, sprinting down the temple pathway to catch a ride to the venue.
Siwon watched them run away, shaking her head. "Unbelievable... normally Mr. Nam complains about severe leg pain, but today he is literally racing all the way to the car. Ugh, what a stressful bunch," she muttered to herself with a small, fond smile, turning to walk toward the driver's side of her luxury vehicle.