Chapter 08
“Of course, I won’t fall for it.”
“Please make sure you don’t.”
“….”
His expression twisted into a deep frown. Even though she had given the answer he wanted, he still didn’t seem satisfied.
“So let go of my hand.”
“If I feel like letting go, then I will.”
The grip on the back of her head tightened even more. His crooked lips made it feel as if she was being mocked, so she pushed hard against his shoulder. He released her without resistance, but she couldn’t hide her confusion.
“I’ll let go if I want to.”
“Ha ha….”
“Why are you laughing?”
“You and your sibling seem exactly alike. No… actually, you might be even bolder.”
“Even if I’m being held hostage, that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want with me. I know your weakness too.”
“So you know how to threaten someone?”
He chuckled quietly, as if it were amusing.
A threat… yes. If it sounded like a threat, then it was the perfect weapon.
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
“This is getting more interesting.”
He ran a hand through his hair, and that strangely sweet charm pierced deep into her throat.
It felt as if a calm sea had suddenly begun to rage with waves, making her even more aware of him.
“Well then…”
“You should go. I still need to finish undressing.”
“Oh… yes. Yes.”
As he reached into his pants to take them off, she immediately rushed out of the bathroom.
She hurried out of the room and crossed the wide hallway. The more anxious she became, the more every cell in her body seemed to run wild.
Why.
Why.
Why is this happening?
Am I scared?
Yes.
This must be fear.
That man is holding my family’s lives in his hands.
But even so…
Why does my mouth keep speaking freely whenever I stand in front of him?
When I should be bowing flat on the ground.
Why…
Why am I like this?
The firm skin she had touched earlier was as hot as if it had a fever. The unfamiliar sensation made Hee-yeon frown miserably.
Please.
I have to get a grip.
Only then can my family stay safe.
* * *
Hee-yeon couldn’t focus even though Ye-rim was chatting cheerfully beside her.
Before she realized it, the moon had risen high.
9 p.m.
Ever since coming here, Ye-rim had been going to sleep later and later.
“Mom.”
“Yes? What is it, Ye-rim?”
“I want to eat tteokbokki…”
“Tteokbokki?”
She had only eaten a little dinner and was already looking for a snack. It had been a week since Ye-rim last had her favorite tteokbokki.
“Yes. The one you make, Mom.”
“Then let’s go to the kitchen.”
“Okay!”
Because Ye-rim was still growing, Hee-yeon usually cooked meals herself. She took Ye-rim to the secondary kitchen.
Since it was mainly used by the servants, it had almost every ingredient they needed. With practiced hands, Hee-yeon quickly made the tteokbokki.
When she placed the plate of spicy-sweet tteokbokki in front of her, Ye-rim immediately stabbed one with her fork and started eating.
Just watching her eat so happily made Hee-yeon feel her heart swell with pride.
Even though Ye-rim wasn’t the child she had given birth to, she had raised her since she was a tiny baby. That bond wasn’t any different from a mother’s love.
“Is it good?”
“Yes! My mom is the best!”
“Chew slowly.”
Ye-rim nodded eagerly. While watching her, Hee-yeon was trying to calm the complicated thoughts in her mind when Ye-rim suddenly pointed a finger.
“Oh, it’s the mister!”
Startled, Hee-yeon turned her head and saw Seok-woo leaning against the kitchen door.
The secondary kitchen was normally used by servants, so she wondered why he was here.
“Ah… did you need something?”
“….”
Without saying anything, Seok-woo looked at Ye-rim.
What? Wasn’t I the only one feeling awkward earlier?
His expression was still cold, but the way he looked at Ye-rim was somehow different.
Seeing the handsome man, Ye-rim smiled brightly.
“Mister! Come eat tteokbokki with us.”
“…Ye-rim.”
“Don’t embarrass the child like that.”
“….”
He sat down beside Ye-rim.
Then Ye-rim picked up a piece of tteokbokki with her fork and held it out to him.
He ate the tteokbokki the child offered in one bite.
“My mom’s tteokbokki is the best, right?”
“It is. It’s delicious.”
Hearing him praise the food made her heart flutter for no reason.
What am I doing? Just because he complimented the food, have I already forgotten my place?
Hee-yeon scolded herself for her wavering feelings.
For a while, he ate tteokbokki with the child, but soon he seemed to drift off into thought.
What is it?
What is that man thinking about…?
Just then—
A sharp, angry voice suddenly echoed throughout the house.
“Seok-woo! Kang Seok-woo! Where are you?!”
The hand holding his fork stopped in midair.
A moment later, a glamorous woman who looked to be in her forties stormed into the kitchen. As soon as she saw Seok-woo, she raised her hand and slapped him.
Smack—
The slap landed across his cheek, but when she tried to strike him again, he grabbed her wrist.
Hee-yeon’s heart pounded in shock.
The middle-aged woman who had suddenly appeared in the middle of the night was extremely agitated.
“What are you going to do, huh?! Aeri took pills! Why do all the girls end up like that after meeting you?! Are you trying to ruin my business?!”
“Be quiet.”
“You think I can stay quiet right now?! She was the ace of our place! Do you know how many men wanted to buy—mmph!”
A guard rushed in and covered her mouth.
“Drag her out.”
“Mmph—! Hey! Kang Seok-woo! You—mmph!”
The woman was dragged out like an animal.
Seok-woo ground his teeth as he watched her go.
Before the woman could spew any more vulgar words, Hee-yeon had already covered Ye-rim’s ears, but the child still looked shocked.
After calming his anger, Seok-woo looked at Ye-rim and smiled faintly.
“Kid, you’ll have to eat the tteokbokki later.”
Their eyes met briefly.
Sensing that it would be better to leave, Hee-yeon quietly took Ye-rim back to their room.
But that woman had said the name Aeri earlier.
It was definitely the name of the woman she had heard about before—his personal keeper.
The ace of the bar.
Then…
Was that woman the madam of a hostess bar?
With her glamorous beauty and tall figure—probably over 170 centimeters—she certainly looked like someone from that world.
Hee-yeon sank into complicated thoughts.
* * *
The woman who had been dragged out to the garage was Seok-woo’s mother, Park Sun-hee.
Once the greatest ace in the nightlife industry.
After giving birth to Seok-woo—whose father she didn’t even know—she started her own business and eventually came to run one of Gangnam’s most famous entertainment houses.
Park Sun-hee glared at her son.
“You ungrateful brat.”
“I heard the women you brought here already had their debts cleared.”
“Hey. Do you think I raise aces just to earn a few hundred million won?”
“Handle your business over there. Don’t come barging in here in the middle of the night.”
“Am I a stranger? I’m your mother.”
“This is the chairman’s residence while he’s away. Outsiders must be controlled even more strictly.”
Seok-woo’s voice was cold.
Even though he saw his mother only a few times a year, he felt no affection for her.
“You’re really unbelievable. I worked myself to the bone raising you. And my only son treats me like a street vendor.”
“Who raised me like that in the first place?”
Seok-woo bared his teeth slightly.
Sun-hee clicked her tongue and pulled out a cigarette.
Click.
For some reason, the smell of her cigarette felt even more disgusting today.
“Haa… anyway, I saw a face I didn’t recognize earlier. If she’s cleaned up, she could be useful. Where did you pick her up?”
“Don’t touch her.”
“What’s with you?”
“She’s not that kind of woman.”
Without realizing it, Seok-woo defended Hee-yeon.
Even though he knew every woman brought here ended up in the same position because of him.
Park Sun-hee glanced him up and down.
“Wow. Judging by that look, it seems like you’d eat your own mother alive. Oh, by the way, when is the chairman coming back?”
“Soon.”
“He should hurry. I made a business plan with him.”
“The chairman doesn’t do that kind of business anymore.”
“Doesn’t do it? Then why would he leave you here? It’s because it still brings in money. A dog can’t stop eating shit.”
Seok-woo couldn’t refute that.
He himself was Chairman Cha Myung-hwan’s hunting dog. The money earned in the underworld all went straight into the chairman’s secret funds.
“Just go.”
“Ugh, you’re rushing me. Fine, I’m leaving.”
Park Sun-hee crushed out her cigarette and started her car.
The red imported car roared as it sped out of the alley, and irritation surged inside him.
Seok-woo clenched his fist tightly.
“Damn it… everyone around me is irritating.”
He suddenly remembered the tteokbokki he had eaten earlier.
When he was young, instead of a proper meal, Park Sun-hee would toss him tteokbokki bought from a street stall and then go off to enjoy herself with married men.
The obscene smell they carried had made him nauseous more times than he could count.
Now, after years of rolling around in brothels, he had grown used to that smell.
But unlike him—who had been dragged through filth since childhood—that woman remained like a clean sheet of white paper.
And it irritated him endlessly.
“So clean… it almost makes me want to stain her.”
