LLU 10

This much should have been enough to get the message across. Chairman Choi couldn’t be completely ignorant of his own son’s temperament. No matter how much you try to hide it, angular parts are bound to stick out and be noticed.

It was a new move I had placed. Instead of being a sharp stone that rolled in, I would become a pitiful and innocent young thing.

I want to be acknowledged by the man who will remarry my mother, and also by my new brother—I never realized before what a vomit-inducing word this was. But it’s not easy. The brother who gently yet coldly pushes me away and is wary of me is too difficult for my young self, just about to become an adult. That was the message I wanted to convey.

The vision of people in love is mostly distorted, so they choose to accept only what they want to see. From Chairman Choi’s perspective, the sight of the son of the woman he loves trying desperately to become a part of the family would seem quite pitiful and cute.

Like that, I will gladly seep into Chairman Choi’s family. The goal of becoming independent after graduation hasn’t changed, so not much will be different.

Just for my mother to safely become Chairman Choi’s wife. And thereby, to mess up and overturn that b**t**d Choi Junghan’s game board and pay him back for the humiliation I suffered. That was the reason I had decided to do this ridiculous act.

“Student Oon. Junghan… he may seem a bit cold, but he definitely doesn’t dislike you, Student Oon.”

The first one to speak after the silence was Chairman Choi. He wore an expression that anyone could see was flustered.

“He, above all else, went to the OB-GYN with you, didn’t he? Junghan is absolutely, positively not that kind of person originally. He doesn’t show it, but he quite likes you, Student Oon. Right? Junghan.”

“Of course.”

Choi Junghan, who was next to me, answered immediately.

“I more than like him.”

He was smiling unexpectedly. His attitude showed no sign of being displeased at being mentioned and brought into the spotlight so suddenly.

I snorted inwardly, took my eyes off him, and nodded obediently toward Chairman Choi. I even put on a gentle expression, as if I were genuinely moved by that fact. Seeing me like that, Chairman Choi quickly added.

“Look, he even made a point of coming to have dinner now, right? Originally, Junghan is so busy that he and I barely have a meal together once or twice a month.”

“Ah… I’m sorry. I caused you worry by misunderstanding. If the Executive Director likes me, I would be so… grateful.”

“Haha, no. Junghan has a bit of a cold impression, so people often misunderstand him. So I hope you won’t mind it too much. Okay?”

“Yes.”

This conversation, with Choi Junghan right next to me, was quite enjoyable. After answering Chairman Choi with a gentle expression, I glanced at the face of the scoundrel sitting beside me.

“Junghan, you should be a little nicer to Student Oon, too. Hm? He’s getting the wrong idea.”

“I understand.”

He offered no rebuttal or addition to Chairman Choi’s gentle scolding. He merely answered obediently. That, if anything, was surprising. I thought he would use that glib three-inch tongue of his to argue back with something.

He had a very peculiar expression on his face. He was clearly smiling, but I couldn’t read whether the emotion simmering beneath it was displeasure or interest. In any case, his silence was quite thrilling to me. The fact that his skillfully spouted nonsense had stopped was a good sign.

“And… please speak comfortably to me, Chairman.”

I looked at his face and drove the final nail in with a friendly voice. As expected, Chairman Choi smiled brightly with his good-natured face.

“True, we’ll be family soon. Shall we do that, then?”

ㅤ

As he said that, he laughed several times as if he was in a good mood. My mother, next to him, also looked at me with an expression of doting affection and laughed along.

“Oh my goodness. Chairman, actually, our Oon is extremely blunt. But to think he knows how to say things like this…”

“Haha, I’ve only seen him a few times, but I think Oon is very mature for his age. He has a certain weightiness to him, but he also knows how to be polite in the right situations. Isn’t that just wonderful?”

The “ha ha, ho ho” continuing meal was, unlike the first day I came here, quite enjoyable in its own way. The endless praise directed at me wasn’t the important part. What was enjoyable was having shown Choi Junghan that not everything goes his way.

I savored the feast dish by dish and leisurely finished my meal. Until we moved to the living room for refreshments, Choi Junghan didn’t show any particular reaction to me. He always used to leave for the company again after a meal, but today, perhaps planning to have refreshments as well, he sat down with us on the long sofa.

I snickered inwardly. Right, you wouldn’t just take this lying down either.

“Mm, the scent of the tea is so nice, Chairman.”

“Does it suit your palate? Take some with you later.”

They were already like a lovey-dovey couple. Chairman Choi, who had stuck himself right next to my mother, took care of her with the utmost devotion. The dessert was a small, luxurious Japanese confection, and when it seemed my mother was enjoying it, he would call a servant to immediately refill the plate.

However, the short-lived peace shattered into pieces the moment my mother suddenly started sweating coldly and clutched her stomach.

“Ah… Ah, Chairman…!”

“What, what’s wrong? Ms. Jeongin!”

Chairman Choi held onto my mother with a startled face. My mother wore an expression of much greater distress than when she had complained of pain in the car earlier. It was the moment she gasped for breath and clutched her stomach.

“…Chairman, I, down there…!”

A despairing voice rang out sharply, filling the space. Chairman Choi looked down with a pale face. Although it was a small amount, he confirmed the clearly visible bloodstain and shouted at the employees at the top of his lungs.

“Quickly! Quickly call a doctor!”

“Chairman, shall I call Dr. Kim?”

“I said bring an obstetrician!”

After that, it was sheer chaos. I gaped as, not even 30 minutes after the call, medical staff with house call bags and even an ultrasound machine were wheeled in. As expected, the chaebol families were different. It was on a scale that far surpassed my poor imagination.

They placed the machine on my mother’s stomach, checked the graphs, started an IV, and swiftly completed the ultrasound. This entire series of processes was carried out quickly by skilled hands, and finally, the doctor opened his mouth.

“It seems she had strong u**rine contractions. We’ve calmed them down with the IV for now. Sometimes, pooled blood like this can be discharged. From now on, she must have absolute rest.”

“Chairman… what, what do I do.”

“Ms. Jeongin, you must have been so scared.”

My mother leaned against Chairman Choi, who was holding her hand, as if she were collapsing. Chairman Choi held my mother with a steady hand.

“Fortunately, the baby is fine. The mother is fine as well. However, if the cervical length shortens, there can be cases of premature birth. As I said, for the time being, you must take absolute rest. Do not get up except to go to the bathroom. Also, for now, you must be careful even of psychological things like being greatly surprised or sad.”

At those words, my mother’s face quickly filled with tears and she began to sob, but she was finally calmed by the doctor’s repeated assurances that ‘the baby is fine, growing well, and playing well.’

In all that chaos, I could do nothing but sit blankly by my mother’s side. My head throbbed, and things I had nonchalantly brushed off until now felt like they were settling uncomfortably inside me. At least it was a relief that both my mother and the baby were okay.

“What do I do now, Chairman…”

When my mother asked with tear-filled eyes, Chairman Choi said firmly.

“What do you mean, what do you do. He said not to move an inch. Even going home by car is too much. It would be best for you to stay at this house for the time being. Don’t think about anything and just rest here.”

“Oon-ah, you… what will you do.”

Suddenly, all eyes were on me. Before I, who had been dazed, could open my mouth, Chairman Choi cut in.

“It would be best if Oon also stayed for just one day, if possible. So that his mother doesn’t worry.”

Unlike his easygoing attitude until now, his tone was extremely firm. My mother also nodded with a desperate expression. I couldn’t bring myself to say that I was uncomfortable here and would go back by myself.

“Then we will be heading in, so Junghan, please show him to the guest room upstairs.”

“Yes.”

Choi Junghan smiled faintly at me. At that moment, a chilling thrill ran through my body.

“Shall we go up?”

It was, completely, the smile of a predator that has cornered its prey.

He stopped in front of a room in the second-floor hallway, grabbed the doorknob, and flung the door open. The blue, thick veins bulging on the back of his hand glistened threateningly under the dim hallway light.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t tense on the way up. Sweat pooled damply in my clenched palms. His face, the one that had slapped my cheek with a smile, was still vivid. Being alone with a man like a beast that could pounce at any moment had my nerves on edge more than I had imagined.

But I couldn’t show it on the outside, at least. The hunt begins the moment you turn your back and run. Even if all my conditions were inferior to Choi Junghan’s, I had to at least not show him my tension and anxiety.

I silently followed him into the room. A bed, a desk, a chair, and an attached bathroom. It was an impeccably decorated room. The moment he closed the door, the light from the hallway was completely blocked, and only the lights of the night view illuminated the room.

“You told me to look forward to it last time, so I was waiting with a fluttering heart.”

Choi Junghan slowly turned to me. He was smiling with a perfect smile even in the dark vision.

“You could be an actor, you know? You have a pretty face. And from what I saw earlier, you seem to have a talent for it too.”

My mother’s bleeding and the diagnosis of absolute rest were variables I had not anticipated at all. However, for Choi Junghan, who must have been in a foul mood since dinner, this situation could not have felt welcome.

Whether it was an accident or not, my mother had finally made it into the master bedroom, and I, along with her, ended up staying here. In his eyes, this situation would have just seemed like the smooth progress of the mother and son duo.

“Was it okay? It seemed the Chairman quite enjoyed the show as well.”

Of course, my purpose was to p**s off Choi Junghan as much as possible, so I didn’t bother to make excuses for the situation. I continued speaking, sneering at him to the fullest. I felt a slight sense of relief from the resentment of having been treated like an idiot until now.

“It’s just that I’m finally starting to calculate what my pregnant mother has to gain from this house.”

“The acting was decent, but you seem to have a hard time discerning things? Is it because you’re still young?”

A heavy voice echoed through the room.

“What should I do with you. Hm?”

His bottomless eyes were fixed on me. For a reprimand about my troublemaking at the dinner table, his gaze was overly calm. It was as unwavering as that of a predator with only its head sticking out of a swamp, so I couldn’t read his intentions.

“I’ll be an adult soon. I can discern things just fine on my own. So if you have something to say, say it.”

I said, meeting his gaze steadily. Choi Junghan let out a short laugh.

“You’re quite interesting. Cute, too.”

He unhesitatingly closed the distance by a step.

“But, you do need some correction.”

He raised his hand and slowly brought it to my face. A chilling coldness flowed from Choi Junghan’s hand as he caressed my cheek. A disgusting thrill instantly ran through my whole body. I slapped his hand away with a smack and glared at him.

“Don’t touch my body carelessly.”

“Didn’t you say you were grateful that I liked you?”

The perfectly formed smile on his lips was creepy. He whispered with a smile on his handsome outer shell.

“I told you, didn’t I? You are in the position of receiving. So be grateful and accept whatever is given when I like you. Just like your mother.”

“Why on earth are you doing this to me? What is it that’s making you do this?”

An unpleasant shiver ran down my spine. I asked, gritting my teeth. In truth, I had wanted to ask this since I first met him. I felt like I needed to hear the answer to this question at least once to be satisfied.

Psychopath. Psycho. Crazy b**t**d. All sorts of words that came to mind when I looked at the man swirled chaotically in my head. I bit my lip hard, struggling not to spit out those words.

However, despite that effort, the answer Choi Junghan gave immediately brought back to mind the very words I had just struggled to bury.

“Hm. Because it’s fun?”

“This kind of thing is fun?”