AOA 87

“Where should I go?”

“The second floor.”

The place Baek Mugyeong pointed to was a staircase leading up. A banner announcing the special exhibition was hanging on the wall beside the stairs.

“Excuse me, I have something to say. It’s about going abroad. Not now, later. Before we go back.”

I brought it up with the mindset of wanting to get it over with, like ripping off a bandaid. Today, I had something I needed to say to him. I couldn’t just be the one getting notified all the time.

Baek Mugyeong looked at me with an unreadable expression, then replied a beat later.

“Say it now.”

“There are too many people. Let’s finish what we came here for first.”

The lobby was crowded, and we needed to make an appearance at the exhibition.

“Alright.”

And so, I moved with Baek Mugyeong. With the man who told me to run away right beside me, I couldn’t help but feel tense and on edge. I ended up falling a few steps behind him. That felt like losing, so I deliberately caught up to walk beside him like usual.

Baek Mugyeong gave me a look, like he was wondering what I was doing, but I ignored it. I even asked a few questions like I normally would, pretending nothing was off.

The second-floor exhibition hall, which required an invitation to enter, was much quieter than the lobby below. Im Songyoon greeted people with a bright smile.

The chairperson of the Daesong Group Foundation was Im Songyoon. Just as Baek Jaehan, who held the title of vice president, was considered the successor to Baek Jinseok, people saw Im Songyoon’s role as foundation chair as a sign of who the group would be passed down to.

That was also why Baek Mugyeong and I came to the special exhibition together as a couple. Regardless of anything else, for appearances’ sake, we had to show our faces at events like this for Im Songyoon’s sake.

We greeted her first. Busy entertaining other guests, she didn’t pay us much attention.

Next was my stepmother. Kim Heeyoung introduced us to the people around her with a smile, but she didn’t keep us long. Since Jeong Guhyeon had just left for the US, she probably didn’t want to see me.

The last was Baek Sujin.

“It’s good to know a few decent painters.”

Before the regression, Baek Sujin had only exchanged greetings and left. But this time, she offered genuinely useful advice, saying that if you want to run a serious business, you should have at least one cultural foundation. Then she pulled me along and said we should buy a painting or two from the new artists.

“To save face for my sister-in-law, you should buy not just one but a couple.”

It was a large-scale exhibition hosted by the Daesong Group Foundation. As Baek Sujin said, whether for face, favors, or because they liked the art, the invited guests usually bought at least one piece.

Before the regression, I hadn’t known that, and just left. Im Songyoon had made a snide remark afterward, saying, “Even my nephew has no eye for art, but if the spouse is like that too, what are we supposed to do?” Later, both my stepmother and father scolded me for being rude.

But this time, that wouldn’t happen. I already knew exactly what I was going to buy.

“The popular artists are too competitive, so try picking from this section.”

Baek Sujin led us to the area with works from emerging artists. It was noticeably less crowded here.

“Having a good eye is important, but just choose something you like. I’ll buy it for you.”

Looking at the paintings, Baek Sujin spoke boldly. I held back a smile at her generous offer.

She was a forthright person. After the New Year, we’d had dinner together with her ex-husband and. She’d given me a luxury watch as a thank-you for something that had happened during the ancestral rites. I had accepted it without knowing the price, and when I later found out, I was shocked.

Even if it was out of kindness, if I accepted anything more here, people would definitely call me greedy.

“No, it’s okay.”

“Oh, don’t be like that.”

“It’s something I really like, so I want to buy it myself.”

“Well, can’t argue with that.”

After one polite refusal, Baek Sujin let it go. Then she called over a staff member, saying she’d found something she liked.

Leaving her, I slowly looked around. I wanted to quickly find what I was looking for, but with Baek Mugyeong right next to me, I kept my composure.

Not this one, not that one, not this either. Ah, this is it.

I checked them one by one until I stopped in front of a small painting. Compared to the others, it was quite large and abstract.

On a dark navy background, spots that looked like rain-soaked flowers were melting down. It matched perfectly with my memory.

The Cheongam Art Exhibition, which introduced new works by Korean artists, was hosted by the Daesong Group Foundation and had many hopeful participants. Competition was especially fierce for newcomers.

But just being accepted didn’t guarantee success. In reality, new artists rarely sold their work.

Before the regression, my stepmother had bought seven paintings by new artists on the last day of the exhibition. People mocked her, saying she bought what no one else would for the sake of appearances.

But it turned out that two of the seven she chose were actually by famous artists.

Two eccentric painters had collaborated and submitted their work under aliases, betting on whether anyone would recognize them without their names.

Their style had changed so much that no one recognized the work as theirs. Everyone assumed it was by unknowns, and no one paid attention. But my stepmother bought them all.

Her reason was simple, those were the cheapest pieces. She even said herself that this is how you’re supposed to handle social situations.

Thanks to that, she was instantly hailed as someone with remarkable taste. Her ability as a gallery director was praised, and she was even featured in the news. She flaunted that success for a while and hosted exhibitions for those two artists at her gallery.

I planned to stop that from happening. I didn’t want her to be recognized as someone with talent.

More than anything, once it was revealed who painted this piece, it would become valuable.

Two birds with one stone.

I had planned this months ago. Even though it was pricey for a new artist’s work, I’d made good money off stocks recently, so it wasn’t a burden.

As I stood in front of the painting for a while, Baek Mugyeong spoke to me.

“Are you going to buy this one?”

“Yes. I’m buying this. I really like it.”

My voice sounded a little too excited. I didn’t know how to read abstract art, but the idea that it would be worth more later made me happy. And honestly, I did like it.

“Do you have the money?”

“Yes. From the allowance the chairman gave me.”

I glanced at Baek Mugyeong as I said it quietly. No one knew that the allowance I got from Baek Jinseok had multiplied several times over. Either way, even that was more than enough to buy the painting.

Baek Mugyeong gave me a displeased look. He didn’t seem happy, but I didn’t flinch.

Whether he liked it or not, I was going to buy this.

“I’m going to look at a few more.”

Smiling brightly at Baek Mugyeong, I moved on to look for the rest.

I walked slowly, checking each one, and eventually found the second.

This one was a landscape. To be specific, it was an old, crumbling red-brick wall with orange flowers and deep green leaves spilling over it.

The two veteran artists had said they focused on flowers for this project. They were nervous because the style was so unlike their usual work that no one recognized it.

Should I buy this one too? I hesitated.

If I only bought the two paintings in question, it would look too suspicious.

Even if I didn’t go as far as my stepmother with her seven, buying three or four should be enough to blend in.

I was still thinking when someone unexpected appeared and spoke.

“Oh, fancy meeting you here. What a coincidence.”

A cheerful male voice. I recognized his face. He was the alpha I met at the start of the year, when I was hospitalized after falling at Baek Jinseok’s mansion.

I didn’t remember his name, but I clearly remembered him hitting on me, saying he didn’t care if I was married.

“Hello.”

I gave a light greeting and subtly moved closer to Baek Mugyeong. Even without the warning he gave me that night, I already knew this guy wasn’t someone I should be close to.

The man beamed at me, then turned his attention to Baek Mugyeong.

“We’ve already met, haven’t we?”

“Yes.”

“I knew you were married, but I didn’t know your spouse was this cute. I didn’t attend the wedding, I was busy. But hey, maybe arranged marriages aren’t so bad after all. Don’t you think?”

“Are we the kind of people who chat like this?”

Baek Mugyeong shot back coldly, clearly telling him to get lost if he had no reason to be here.

“Harsh. I was just saying hi since we ran into each other. We might become in-laws, you know. Probably will, actually. You’ve heard, right?”

“If Yeongseop ends up getting married, I’ll find out then.”

From their conversation, I could piece things together. It sounded like this guy’s family was planning to marry into Baek Yeongseop’s.

A while ago, Choi Jaeha had told me that Baek Youngseob had been going on a lot of matchmaking dates lately.

Not just coffee meetings, but with mothers in tow at art galleries. Last week, Choi Jaeha even saw him with Im Songyoon at Geumpalang Museum, it had been a matchmaking date.

Apparently, Choi Jaeha had received a matchmaking offer too, but his mother turned it down immediately. Still, the matchmaker kept contacting them, which showed how desirable the proposal was.

In any case, the fact that Im Songyoon was now publicly involved meant that Baek Jinseok had approved. If Baek Jinseok wanted a great-grandchild, there was no way he’d leave Baek Yeongseop alone.