Chapter 07
A Night Stained with Blood
Lee Yeon sat at her desk, searching through overseas papers related to neurofibromatosis. She was considering writing a new prescription for Oh Jinhwa, who hadn’t been able to receive proper treatment due to adverse drug reactions.
Losing herself in work to organize the noise in her mind was an old habit of Lee Yeon’s. To cool the burning feelings stirred by seeing Woojin’s bare body, nothing worked better than dense English academic papers.
After painstakingly combing through articles with the help of a dictionary, Lee Yeon learned about various treatments awaiting FDA approval in Europe and their components. She hadn’t failed to consider that if the world learned the first wife of the Kwonseong Group’s owner was living in hiding with a grotesquely disfigured appearance due to illness, it could damage the group’s image.
But revealing a patient’s private shame to the public didn’t sit right with her as a doctor. And merely tarnishing Oh Jinhwa’s reputation could hardly be considered revenge against the Kwonseong Group.
By the time Lee Yeon’s notebook had turned black with notes from her tangled thoughts—
Tap, tap—
the slow sound of Oh Jinhwa climbing the stairs reached her ears.
The walk with Woojin was over.
What had happened earlier was embarrassing, but she couldn’t neglect her duty as Oh Jinhwa’s physician. As the attending doctor, she had to confirm whether anything unusual had occurred during the first outing Jinhwa had taken in a long time.
Lee Yeon walked up to the door and listened to the sounds outside. She didn’t want to face Woojin again. She only wanted to meet Oh Jinhwa alone after everyone had left.
When the hallway fell quiet, Lee Yeon slipped out with the chart in hand.
Knock, knock, knock—
[Come in.]
With a tense heart, Lee Yeon entered Oh Jinhwa’s room.
“Was the walk tiring?”
“It was.”
“But didn’t it feel good to get some fresh air?”
“No. The cold wind made my bones ache. What if I catch a cold like this?”
Lee Yeon’s pencil scratched lightly against the paper.
“I’ll take care of that. If you’re okay with it, how about walking for thirty minutes every day?”
“Every day? Are you holding a ritual to kill me?”
“Of course not. Thirty minutes a day for two weeks, then gradually increasing the time. It’d be good for you to exercise for about an hour a day eventually.”
“Your intentions are so obvious.”
“My intentions?”
A cold smile formed on Oh Jinhwa’s lips.
“At first, I almost misunderstood. Talking about being able to treat me, about surgery—everyone seemed strangely passionate about a condition even specialists have given up on. I found it curious. But to think you had an ulterior motive.”
“There is no such thing. Neurofibromatosis can’t be cured, but I judged that surgery is necessary to improve your quality of life.”
“I should’ve realized it when you suddenly started talking about exercise and dragged Woojin’s name into it. Were you trying to involve my son under the pretense of walks to get something out of it?”
Lee Yeon’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
“Is this because of what happened earlier? That’s nothing to worry about. As for why CEO Kwon Woojin was in my room—”
“You’re funny. Worry? Who’s worrying?”
Lee Yeon had assumed Jinhwa misunderstood after seeing Woojin standing shirtless in front of her. But the words that came out of Oh Jinhwa’s mouth were shocking.
“As if someone like you would even be worthy of Woojin. You look like you can’t even get a bowl of thin porridge, yet your dreams are big.”
“You know that well. Then there’s no reason for you to be this angry at me, is there?”
“I get furious when I see people who don’t know their place. Even if you dragged Woojin into this house and tried to leave an impression a hundred times, he’d never waver over someone like you. Movie star Park Jiyu—her drug scandal stunt? You don’t even know she did that to catch Woojin, do you?”
As Jinhwa rambled on about things Lee Yeon had no interest in, humiliating her, Lee Yeon felt she had to say something. She had no intention of swaying Woojin and wanted to clear herself of this absurd accusation.
She was sick and tired of being falsely accused.
“Do you know that it was CEO Kwon Woojin who brought me into this house?”
“Of course I know. Woojin is the head of the Kwonseong Welfare Foundation. He’s more passionate than anyone about helping the socially disadvantaged.”
“The socially disadvantaged?”
“A general practitioner whose career was blocked after going to prison. And an orphan who received a scholarship from the Kwonseong Welfare Foundation.”
Lee Yeon’s face flushed hotly at the realization that Oh Jinhwa knew all about her background.
“You don’t have the ability or the qualifications to treat my illness. All you need to do is cater to my moods and bring me my prescriptions—why do you have to make even that simple task so complicated?”
“It’s true I received a scholarship from the Kwonseong Welfare Foundation, but going to prison wasn’t my fault. So let’s stop the criticism there.”
“I’ve seen people like you before. Those who can’t accept their circumstances. Kids who try to prove their worth by clinging to a medical license. Pitiful, beyond words.”
Lee Yeon’s patience snapped.
“Madam. I don’t find myself pitiful at all. There’s someone else who is.”
“And who would that be?”
“Do you really not know?”
Lee Yeon stared straight at her.
At that moment, Oh Jinhwa’s eyes flared with rage, and she hurled the crystal glass she was holding. It shattered against the wall, shards flying everywhere. One sharp fragment grazed Lee Yeon’s face.
“Ah!”
Lee Yeon cried out and collapsed to the floor. Fortunately, it missed her eye, but hot blood streamed down her face.
“What on earth are you doing?!”
Seeing the blood on Lee Yeon’s face seemed to shock Jinhwa as well. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the bed.
Then, rapid footsteps rushed toward the room.
“Mother! Are you all right?”
Woojin brushed past Lee Yeon, who was crouched on the floor, and ran to Jinhwa. In doing so, Lee Yeon’s hand pressed directly onto the glass scattered across the floor.
Oh Jinhwa’s trembling lips parted.
“Clean that up. I’m tired.”
Only then did Woojin look at the shards on the floor—and at Lee Yeon.
“W-what happened?”
“I told you to get rid of her!”
At that, Lee Yeon pushed herself up from the floor. With the hand pierced by glass, she picked up the fallen chart, her pencil scratching against the paper.
“What are you writing now?!”
Jinhwa screamed irritably behind her as Lee Yeon left the room.
Lee Yeon had written four characters.
[Impulse Disorder]
Lee Yeon returned to her room and washed her hands at the sink. Fortunately, the wound in her hand wasn’t deep. But no matter how much she washed her face, the bleeding wouldn’t stop.
If this continued, it felt like it would leave a scar.
Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Lee Yeon made up her mind and left the room. She hurried down to the first floor, found the housekeeper, and exaggerated her mouth movements as she asked,
“I heard there’s an emergency treatment room in this house.”
The housekeeper’s eyes widened at the sight of blood running down Lee Yeon’s face. Startled, she grabbed Lee Yeon’s arm and led her to a small room on the mezzanine connected to the reception hall.
The treatment room wasn’t large, but it was efficiently arranged with equipment prepared for emergencies involving Oh Jinhwa. There was a bed whose height could be adjusted with a button, and beside it a mechanical tray neatly organized with disinfectant, bandages, and suturing tools.
Lee Yeon pulled the tray over and stood in front of the mirror on the wall. First, she disinfected the wound, then examined the split skin carefully.
“Five stitches.”
She murmured.
If she wanted to avoid a scar, suturing quickly was the answer. There were no anesthetic injections in the treatment room, but sterilized needles and sutures were available.
Without hesitation, Lee Yeon picked up the needle and drove it precisely into the edge of the wound. A burning pain flared around her eye, but she endured it with a low groan.
One stitch, then another. As the thread drew the skin together, the pain deepened, but Lee Yeon’s sharp, precise hands didn’t tremble even once.
Only after tying the final knot did she let out a breath and break into a cold sweat.
“Joo Iyeon….”
At Woojin’s voice behind her, Lee Yeon looked into the mirror. He was approaching her slowly, concern in his eyes.
“You stitched living flesh yourself? Without anesthesia?”
The distance closed, and Woojin’s face drew nearer. In his wavering eyes, she was reminded of the boy who had looked at her in her childhood.
Not wanting to show weakness, Lee Yeon forced a smile and replied,
“You know, I’m actually pretty good at sewing.”
“Do you really not need to go to the hospital?”
Unexpected gentleness colored his voice.
Lee Yeon nodded slowly.
“You’re really ruthless.”
It was almost fortunate that those words came out of Kwon Woojin’s mouth. She had nearly made the grave mistake of believing that he was worried about her.
