Legal Disclaimer
This light novel is inspired by the beautiful landscapes and cultures of Bolivia and South Korea. However, the characters, events, and situations portrayed are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, places, or events is purely coincidental. This content does not intend to represent or reflect the historical, social, or cultural reality of either country. The author disclaims any legal liability arising from the interpretation of these elements.
Chapter 90—Did Ryu's Wife Really Do That?
90.1 Alert on KakaoTalk.
A notification popped up.
One of the aunts had shared something.
The nightly silence was interrupted by the insistent vibration of cell phones.
The video spread: Zayra singing "Adoro" in front of business executives,
and Ryu, sitting among them, looking visibly uncomfortable.
💬 KakaoTalk Group: "Ladies of the Blue Hanok 🌸"(Aunts, grandmothers, and friends of Ryu's mother)
👵 Aunt Minsook: I just saw something interesting from last night's karaoke.
👩🦰 Mrs. Kang: I didn't expect something so… theatrical.
👩🦳 Aunt Jinhee: In Spanish, in front of businessmen. It was… intense.
👵 Grandma Sun-hee: I didn't understand the lyrics, but her intention was clear.
👩🦰 Mrs. Kang: Perhaps the setting wasn't the most appropriate. I hope someone explained the context of the meeting to her.
👩🦳 Aunt Jinhee: She wasn't rude. Just different.
👵 Grandma Daeja: The gesture she had with me was considerate. Yesterday simply caught me by surprise.
👩🦰 Mrs. Kang: It's not a lack of virtue. It's a difference.
👩🦳 Aunt Jinhee: Ryu didn't intervene.
👵 Aunt Minsook: Ryu doesn't usually do anything without evaluating it first. And not just anyone manages to get close to him like that.
👵 Grandma Sun-hee: A single moment doesn't fully define a person.
💬 Parallel Group: "Kang Family – Direct Line"
👩🧓 Mom: I've seen it. It wasn't something usual.
👩🦱 Seo-Yeon: Because of the meeting's context?
👩🧓 Mom: It's just not something common in our circles.
👨🦰 Dad: The intention isn't the point. What matters is how it's perceived.
👩🦱 Seo-Yeon: She was respectful to the family.
While Zayra slept peacefully, Ryu went to the bathroom, returned in silence, and watched her for a moment.
He remembered every note.
Every look.
And he thought.
"How do I explain this to her?"
💬 KakaoTalk Group: "The Kangs of the North and South 💅🏼👑"
👧🏻 Soojin: Yaaa… 😱 I just saw the full video.
👩🏻🎤 Minji: Did she really sing like that? The atmosphere got weird afterward.
👩🏼🏫 Yuna: In Spanish… in front of everyone.
👩🏻🔬 Jiwon: Is that normal over there?
👧🏻 Soojin: Latinas are intense, right? 😅
👩🏻🎤 Minji: But she didn't scream… it was more like a movie scene.
👩🏼🏫 Yuna: I found it sweet. I could never do that.
👩🦱 Seo-Yeon: It wasn't for show. It was for Ryu.
👩🏻🔬 Jiwon: He looked… frozen.
👧🏻 Soojin: With family, it would be cute. There, it was heavy.
👩🏻🎤 Minji: Yeah… it wasn't the right environment.
👩🏼🏫 Yuna: What if we're just too rigid?
👩🦱 Seo-Yeon: It's not our way. But it's not wrong.
👧🏻 Soojin: It was pretty ❤️ but still… iconic.
👩🏻🎤 Minji: What if they provoked her?
👩🦱 Seo-Yeon: She looked right at him and sang. That was a choice.
👩🏼🏫 Yuna: That was brave.
👩🏻🔬 Jiwon: It wasn't traditional… but it was her.
👧🏻 Soojin: She's not like us… but I like it. ☕
***
While the cousins left the chat vibrating with emojis and soft laughter under their sheets,
Zayra and Ryu rested, unaware of what was happening that night.
90.2 Collateral Damage.
The laptop screen was still on. Ryu read in fragments, delaying a known truth.
The video had been shared more than he expected.
It wasn't viral, but it wasn't discreet either.
Zayra, standing on a small stage.
The microphone.
The steady voice.
He closed his eyes for a second.
He knew this was going to happen.
He scrolled through the comments.
Some neutral, others uncomfortable. One, in particular, made his jaw tighten.
It said nothing explicit, yet it said too much.
A muscle flickered in his cheek a gesture that only appeared when something escaped his control.
He wasn't angry.
He was measuring consequences.
He locked the phone.
Emotion could wait; strategy could not.
He had barely slept; the song returned every time he closed his eyes.
"It shouldn't have been like that."
Not because of her.
Because of the place.
Because of the people.
It wasn't the emotion; it was the stage.
In his world, even love had a protocol.
He opened another tab and checked flights.
Everything could be adjusted if he acted quickly.
He wasn't running away.
He was rearranging the board.
He thought: "Would it be better to leave for a while?"
Part of him wanted to hold her.
The other was already thinking about public statements.
He leaned back, decided.
The door opened; he closed the laptop and stood up.
***
Disheveled and serene, Zayra approached and gave him a soft kiss.
"Good morning, love."
She said with the affection that had become natural to her.
Ryu barely responded, more out of reflex than intent.
"Good morning."
He stepped away immediately; she noticed, but continued toward the kitchen.
"I slept so well."
She commented while stretching.
"I think the karaoke left me exhausted."
Ryu took a breath.
"Zayra…" he said in a practical tone.
"I think we're going to have to return to Bolivia sooner than planned."
She turned around, surprised.
"So soon?" she asked.
"Yes."
He nodded.
"Talk to your institute about online classes and we'll see."
He said it like someone discussing schedules and flights.
Zayra blinked a few times.
"Well… I was already starting to miss my home."
She finally replied, a simple and honest smile forming on her face.
"Then I'll talk to them today."
She added.
Ryu nodded, relieved there were no questions.
"Perfect. See you later."
He took his coat and keys, kissed her on the cheek, and walked out with a firm step.
The door closed.
Zayra shrugged and went for a cup.
"Going back home doesn't sound so bad."
She murmured, smiling to herself.
Meanwhile, in the elevator, Ryu looked at his reflection in the metallic mirror.
For a second, he saw his father's stern face superimposed over his own.
He was taught to sustain empires, not public emotions.
They always told him love should be discreet.
Anything else was vulnerability.
He had bought time. But time does not solve what is not faced.
And, without knowing it yet,
he had sown the seeds of the true conflict.
90.3 The Song That Still Resonated.
The family room was silent, arranged with almost uncomfortable precision.
Ryu stood by the window, looking at the city as if calculating invisible distances.
Min-jun was sitting on the sofa, hunched over his phone.
He scrolled slowly, as if in no hurry.
Occasionally, he looked up at his older brother,
curious.
"Hyung… you're pacing more than usual today."
He finally said in a light voice.
Ryu didn't respond.
Seo-Yeon entered the room with a cup of tea.
Her expression was calm, but her steps were firm.
"Mom saw the video," she said bluntly.
"She knows Zayra sang for you."
Ryu barely turned his head.
"Did she say anything?"
"She said she wants to talk to her."
Seo-Yeon replied.
Min-jun looked up, surprised.
"Ah… Mom moves fast."
He murmured. Then he added, almost to himself.
"She always does when she cares about someone."
Ryu tightened his lips slightly.
"I'm going to speed things up. The sooner we leave, the better."
He spoke.
Seo-Yeon set the cup on the table.
"That doesn't solve everything."
"It reduces exposure."
Ryu corrected.
"In this environment, any gesture is amplified."
It wasn't arrogance. It was his upbringing.
Min-jun tilted his head thoughtfully.
"I guess… things will be quieter in Bolivia, right?"
Then he smiled, that youthful smile that didn't seek to provoke, only to lighten the mood.
"Hyung, those kinds of people don't know how to react when something goes off-script."
Seo-Yeon sighed but couldn't help a small smile.
"Min-jun."
"Just saying."
He replied, shrugging.
Ryu didn't react,
but the comment had an effect.
"Ryu…"
Seo-Yeon said, turning to him.
"Have you explained the situation to Zayra yet?"
Ryu rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding her gaze, and whispered.
"It's not the right time."
"Precisely why it is."
Seo-Yeon said.
"If you don't speak now, she won't understand what happened."
Min-Jun leaned his elbow on the back of the sofa.
"She didn't look confused yesterday."
He spoke.
"Just… very sincere."
Ryu closed his eyes; the image returned. Zayra, firm voice, looking at him as if they were alone.
"They're right."
Ryu opened his eyes. Tonight, he would talk to her.
He questioned himself.
¨What if, for once, I didn't correct anything? ¨
90.4 – Not With My Sister-in-Law.
That afternoon in Seoul, the video stopped being a curiosity and became a topic of conversation.
It wasn't circulating on open social networks, but where it actually mattered:
private chats and conversations measured with impeccable smiles.
In an exclusive tea room in Apgujeong, amidst fresh peonies and calculated perfection,
the atmosphere was overly delicate.
"I saw it too."
One of the women commented, lowering her voice while stirring her tea.
"It was… unexpected."
"Extremely."
Another replied with a polite smile.
"It's not common to see something like that in those types of gatherings."
A third added.
"Not knowing the environment leads to mistakes; spontaneity can be an excess."
The words were soft. The intentions were not.
"In our circle, discretion is essential."
At that moment, the sliding door of the room opened with a light sound.
Kang Seo-Yeon entered with a friend, and the atmosphere shifted.
Having heard enough, she sat down calmly,
accepted the tea, and looked up.
She had grown up in rooms like this; she knew how to distinguish courtesy from dissection.
If she let the comment pass today, tomorrow it would become the narrative.
She didn't intervene on impulse.
She intervened because silence also communicates a position.
"Excuse me," she said with impeccable courtesy.
"I don't mean to interrupt."
She paused briefly.
"I believe you were referring to my sister-in-law."
Silence fell like a curtain.
One of the women forced a quick smile.
"Oh, Seo-Yeon-ssi… we were just commenting on how striking the moment was."
Seo-Yeon nodded slowly. She took a small sip of her tea before responding.
Her mother always said that elegance does not exclude firmness.
"I understand."
She didn't raise her voice as she continued.
"I just wanted to clarify: she didn't seek attention; she was being sincere."
Some looked down.
Others feigned interest in their cups.
"We value restraint."
She added.
"But we do not ignore honesty."
No one replied. Seo-Yeon set her cup down carefully.
"My family is fully aware of the situation."
She said, no longer beating around the bush. Defending Zayra wasn't sentimentalism. It was family coherence.
"And there is no misunderstanding on our part."
Her gaze swept the table with calculated serenity.
"So, I would appreciate it if the subject were considered closed."
It wasn't a threat. It was a decision.
Discretion is a virtue… but it can also be cowardice in disguise.
She stood up calmly, bowed her head, and left with elegance.
When the door closed, the room seemed to regain its air.
No one spoke.
The peonies remained untouched; the tea, bitter.
That night, Zayra slept peacefully, unaware that the next day,
the most delicate conversation since her arrival in Korea awaited her.