Chapter 201:

The hand that had been touching her stomach abruptly stopped, and Lee-yeon’s face took on a startled expression. She sat up as if to face someone with caution. Lips that had been sealed in silence managed to part.

“…What do you mean?”

“I heard that the cook makes excellent stir fry..”

“Ah…”

A relieved breath escaped her. It seemed her body was even more tense than she realized, as her posture slumped as soon as the tension left her shoulders. Lee-yeon buried her face in the blanket, her heart pounding wildly.

The life that had come to her in the depths of despair was something she carried alone, and naturally, following her mother’s surname, the child was destined to be named ‘So.’

Such determination became even stronger after experiencing the sex party. Not in a place where guns and drugs were used without a care, but in the embrace of a beautiful sea and nature’s blend of plants, she wanted to raise her child.

“I don’t think this is something I should talk with you.” She said.

Lee-yeon calmed her startled heart and took slow breaths. Involvement from the Kwon family was absolutely unacceptable. To achieve that, she needed to draw clear lines without any room for ambiguity. Since the other day, Kwon Chae-woo kept…

“If there’s something uncomfortable, I’ll personally talk to my employer.”

“That darn employer.” Kwon Chae-woo gripped the mask that had fallen to the tip of his chin, reminded by his brother Kwon Ki-seok.

“If you have no business to attend to and nothing to say, leave now. Actually, even if you did, please leave.”

“…”

“Barging into a woman’s room without permission is a crime, you know?”

Suddenly, a memory struck Kwon Chae-woo.

“Everything changed since you brought that woman here…!”

At that moment, Kwon Chae-woo covered one ear and winced.

A traumatic rupture of the eardrum due to a sudden pressure explosion. A man who had never experienced hearing impairment endured discomfort for days due to tinnitus and partial hearing loss.

Only now was he undergoing natural regeneration of his damaged hearing. Amidst this, the sound filling his perforated eardrum was the cruel voice of his stepmother.

With no one knowing Kwon Ki-seok and Yoon Joo-ha, he eventually decided to visit his ailing stepmother.

While it wouldn’t be entirely accurate to say he grew up among strangers, Kwon Chae-woo spent very little time with this family, as he grew up in someone else’s hands and soon left abroad. In order to reclaim a child who was well-off under the pretext of blood relation, that blood tie needed to hold significant value. However, he had never been able to feel any emotion towards these people from the start.

“Our trustworthy Ki-seok… Ki-seok…”

She repeatedly touched her white hair in distress. However, her trembling, sweetly wrinkled hands turned her hair into a mess, resembling the nest of a ghost. With terror-stricken eyes, the stepmother groped the ceiling.

“Dear, something’s wrong with Ki-seok… Ki-seok…”

She lowered her voice as if sharing a secret and trembled all over.

“…I didn’t entrust the basement to the eldest.”

Suddenly, the stepmother started hitting her head and having a seizure.

“Ah…! Aaah…!”

As she continuously struck her eyes, she screamed. Calmly rising, Kwon Chae-woo injected a sedative into her neck. The stepmother fiercely clawed at his arm and glared.

“You, you… How could you, how could you do this! How could my son…! How could you be involved with that woman who stole your sister like a dog…! She still begs me to let her see your face…! Was it a lie to take revenge on our behalf? You said you would tear apart that woman’s body, but what the hell…! Ki-seok, Ki-seok…! Don’t go to the basement anymore! Aaah…! Aaah…!”

Kwon Chae-woo furrowed his brow and pressed the syringe harder. As the seizures gradually subsided, her once fiery eyes cooled like ice. Motionlessly flicking his finger, he seemed repulsed by her, as if he had touched filth.

When he regained his senses, he was already in So Lee-yeon’s room. Somewhere in his mind, he felt like blood was pooling again.

“Just…”

Slightly unsteady, Kwon Chae-woo brushed his forehead with his palm. His low voice quivered.

“Just sit here for a moment.”

“…”

“Just a very short while.”

Suddenly, Kwon Chae-woo’s gaze fixed on the rocking chair. Lee-yeon turned her head with a suspicious expression, but there was nothing and no one there.

Without delay, the man leaned his head against the back of the rocking chair and sat down on the floor. It seemed like resting, and at the same time, he looked like a tired beast.

Only now did it feel like she understood why Kwon Chae-woo had warned her not to witness his pitiful state. Pity was like poison, so she had to keep a corner of her heart reserved for it.

Why did he endure insults in front of her, and why did he shield her from that state? Everything was jumbled up, and Lee-yeon pushed him away even colder.

“I really don’t know what you want from me.”

He looked up at her with blurred eyes.

Lee-yeon stared at him in silence, then pulled out the story that had hurt her too much to look at.

“Do you think we can clear up the misunderstanding between us?” Kwon Chae-woo looked at her desperately.

“I’m sorry, but there’s no misunderstanding between us. It’s not a misunderstanding about your mother. Whether you believe my words or not, it is up to you, but I… I spoke the truth.”

“….”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“She wanted to see her young son, and I wanted to help. But now I understand that it was only from my perspective. If my actions ultimately led to your mother’s death, then you were right to abandon me.”

Lee-yeon had to swallow her saliva several times as her throat tightened, “Mr. Kwon Chae-woo… you can live differently, you know.”