Ch 64

Ideun, who was about to approach Ji-an, turned his gaze toward the sound of a knock, watching as the sliding door was carefully opened.

Seeing a servant holding a pillow and blanket, he found himself at a loss for words. Just what was going on? Had they really brought a pillow and blanket because they intended to let him sleep? Taking the items from the servant, Ideun passed by the old woman.

Ji-an, who always suffered from nightmares whenever he slept, seemed to be resting peacefully this time. Ideun gently stroked his head, carefully removing the cushion beneath him and replacing it with the pillow. Then, he covered him with the blanket.

“He said he’s going to marry you.”

Ideun’s hand, which had been covering Ji-an with the blanket, stopped.

“Foolish boy. If he was going to say something like that, he should have at least given you a piece of gold. Tsk. It’s all my karma. My retribution.”

“If you’re planning to drive him out again and have him quietly killed in some distant land where no one would know, you won’t succeed this time.”

“Why are you so sharp-edged? You should’ve just kept him by your side. You raised him well, let him grow powerful outside, and now… this is the mess we’ve come to. Whether he marries or does whatever else, I won’t oppose it, so do as you wish.”

At the old woman’s quiet sigh and words, Ideun let out a hollow laugh. After everything he had just been through! After everything he had learned, everything he had heard, everything he had seen. He had clenched his teeth and endured, refusing to crumble before the cruel truth. And all because of whom?

Does being kind now erase the past?

With a hollow laugh, Ideun looked at the wrinkled old woman. Then, his gaze shifted to the chests brimming with gold and jewels around him. ‘At least put a piece of gold in his hand,’ he said. Of course. Thinking that material things solved everything, it was no wonder he committed such atrocities without batting an eye.

“Do you not know? Are you pretending not to know? Or do you just want to see me explode and die from the frustration? If you don’t know, that’s a sin. If you do know, then it’s an even greater sin. So is that why you’re keeping your mouth shut? After everything you did to that child! Who was it that threw me into the fire just to save my life? And now you speak of permission for marriage?”

Ideun’s clenched teeth barely contained the fury spilling from his lips. If Ji-an weren’t here, he would have torn apart everything in this room, screaming at the top of his lungs. But he couldn’t wake him. Ji-an, who was sleeping so soundly, as if completely at ease.

The reason he set foot in this place again—despite vowing just days ago that he never would—was Ji-an.

“What do you mean I don’t know? Was I supposed to turn away a child who came here, seeking comfort because he was carrying your child?”

Ideun never thought he could keep Ji-an’s pregnancy a secret forever. Even he had only learned of it through Rouen, and Ji-an himself hadn’t even known. It was only this morning that he told him. He had clumsily apologized, confessed the truth, and barely managed to calm him down.

He should have stayed by his side.

But there was also the mess Ji-an had left behind that he needed to clean up. He couldn’t keep Secretary Baek at the villa forever, and the longer something dragged on, the more likely it was to be exposed. More than anything, he couldn’t stand the thought of Baek breathing freely for even another second.

While he had been frantically dealing with everything, Ji-an had gone alone to buy a pregnancy test at a pharmacy. Alone, he went shopping. Alone, he watched a movie. Alone. Alone. Alone.

He didn’t want to leave him alone for even a moment, yet today, once again, he had left him alone. Under the pretense of protecting him from danger, he had selfishly placed secret bodyguards around him, just to ease his own anxiety.

But this old woman, sitting in this grand, luxurious palace-like home, had known everything all along.

Though what sat before him was just an old woman, weak with age, Ideun felt as though he were facing an immovable wall. While he burned with rage, desperation, and frustration, the old woman sat there with his usual expression, leisurely sipping tea. It drained the strength from his body.

In the end, this was the kind of person he was.

His only living blood relative was this kind of person.

“Why did you do it?”

He wanted to cry. He wanted to scream, to thrash around, to destroy everything. But he knew too much for that.

“What are you referring to?”

“…Why do you destroy everyone I love? Why? Why not just kill me instead? Did you think I would never find out? A car accident? That’s a convenient way to put it. You disguised my parents’ murder as a car accident using money, and as if that wasn’t enough—! You shoved an omega into my bedroom, treated him like a breeding tool, injected him with heat-inducing drugs while forcing birth control on him, and then—! You even made him wear an imprint-prevention collar to ensure no bond would form. He ran away because he was terrified, yet you kept throwing money at him, forcing him back to me again and again for years, just to ‘cure’ me. And after all that, what’s left? I got better, but his body is ruined!”

“What?”

“And even now, you still need a bloodline? On any other day, you wouldn’t have even given Ji-an a second glance. But the moment you found out he was carrying a child, you suddenly approved of our marriage? How can a person—! How can someone wear the mask of a human being and still—! The fact that your blood flows in my veins is….”

A hypocrite to the core.

He had said so much, yet the old woman still feigned surprise, wearing that disgustingly false expression. Ideun could no longer bear to stay in this place for even another second. He swallowed the urge to rip him apart and turned to take Ji-an away—only to meet a pair of wide, unblinking eyes.

Ji-an, who had apparently woken up at some point, was on his hands, awkwardly pushing himself up. His large eyes darted back and forth between Ideun and the old woman, growing impossibly rounder.

“Are you crazy?!”

The sharp cry shattered the silence, cutting through the heavy atmosphere.

“You must be out of your mind! Grandma, no! No, it’s okay! It’s all in the past!”

Ideun watched as Ji-an, after glaring at him, suddenly crawled over to the old woman in a panic. The words spilling from his lips nearly drove Ideun mad.

How could he be so kind, to the point of absurdity?

That kindness—that unwavering sincerity—was what had allowed Ji-an to survive until now. It was why he had forgiven Ideun and accepted him. But how…?

Without another word, Ji-an clung to the old woman, patting her chest as if to comfort her. And then, with urgency, he called out, “Secretary Lee! Hurry, get Dr. Kang!”

“Seo Ji-an.”

Ideun called out to him, watching as he held onto the old woman, who was clutching her own chest in pain.

“Grandma, you can’t lose consciousness. Dr. Kang is coming, okay? Hang in there.”

Ji-an was crying, desperately reassuring the old woman, yet he wouldn’t look at Ideun.

“You… you….”

Ji-an, who was trying to support the old woman, and the old woman herself, who pointed a trembling finger at Ideun—the entire scene was utterly absurd.

A cunning old fox had ensnared a foolish child completely. There was no other explanation.

“Dr. Kang is unavailable, so we urgently contacted Dr. Choi—”

Secretary Lee rushed in, and a nurse, always on standby, followed with a medical kit, immediately checking the old woman’s blood pressure.

“Ji-an.”

“Are you okay? Grandmother? Grandmother, you’re okay, right?”

“Seo Ji-an.”

“…Grandmother.”

Ji-an, who was crying and calling out to his grandmother, as if he couldn’t hear anything else, fainted before the elderly woman did.

***

Just minutes ago, Eunsook had been gasping for breath, but now she was calmly breathing as if nothing had happened. Suppressing her complicated emotions, she gazed out the window. Ji-an, who had been crying beside her, fainted, and Ideun carried him out of the room without hesitation. The servants hurriedly followed, but Eunsook remained seated on the cushion.

“Call Secretary Baek.”

Even when told that her blood pressure was still high, Eunsook waved off the attendants beside her. Something had gone terribly wrong.

When Ideun returned from studying abroad, he was already an adult. Her grandson, who had grown two heads taller than her, and she were not affectionate by nature. She had assumed he rarely visited her because he didn’t want to rely on her financially, believing he was simply immersed in the fierce struggles of life.

She recalled telling him at some point not to dwell on his parents and to focus on his own path. Who would have thought that even after burying them in her heart for decades, she would miss them this much?

Secretary Baek killed my own blood? And how did Ideun find out?

And the partner for Ideun’s treatment… Wasn’t it supposed to be proceeding well under Dr. Kang’s supervision?

“Call Dr. Kang too. Whoever arrives first, bring Dr. Kang in first. Have Secretary Baek wait outside.”

Eunsook clenched her teeth, recalling the words Ideun had spat out through gritted teeth. If there was a misunderstanding, it was a grave one, and in both instances, Secretary Baek was involved.

“That bastard pulled a stunt.”

But was Baek Sang-hoon really bold enough to orchestrate such a thing? No. He was sharp with numbers, loyal, and discreet. He had never mishandled any task entrusted to him.

He was the son of Baek Gi-woon, a man who had helped her during hard times. After Baek Gi-woon’s sudden death, she had found his young son crying alone at the funeral. The boy was around ten years old.

She had taken him in because she could afford to feed another mouth. He proved to be intelligent and self-sufficient, so she took more notice of him. He had won a full scholarship and entered a prestigious university, and when he said he wanted to work for her, she let him.

And then time passed.

Her children caused her grief, and she had no answer for it. She sent them abroad, hoping they would learn more, but who could have predicted they would end up leaving her like that? Since Baek was already in the U.S., she had asked him to look after them.

But that bastard killed my own child?

It was supposed to be a car accident. She had even received all the related reports. They had been on their way to the airport, preparing to return to Korea on a flight she had arranged. While driving down a winding mountain road, the car had overturned.

It was a miracle that Ideun had survived with only minor injuries.

If only she hadn’t called them back, they could have lived happily.

Ideun came to Korea, and time passed like this. But now she was being told it hadn’t been an accident?

Eunsook’s hand tightened on the teacup resting on the table.

“Madam, we lost contact with Secretary Baek a few days ago after he said he was traveling out of town.”

Eunsook lifted her gaze to look at Secretary Lee.

“…Find him. No matter what, drag him in front of me. If not, I’ll go see him myself. I have something I need to confirm.”

In the heavy silence, Eunsook methodically sorted through the tangled mess in her mind. And when she saw Dr. Kang enter with a disheveled appearance, Ideun came to mind.

Secretary Baek had gone missing, and Dr. Kang appeared injured. The excuse that he had been hurt in a car accident while taking a scenic drive was no longer believable.

On top of that, Dr. Kang had subtly hinted at wanting to retire, saying he was getting too old for this work.

“I understand. Dr. Kang and I are old now. It’s time to step back. But before that, you must tell me everything you’ve left out of your reports. This isn’t just about anyone—it involves my grandson and his future husband.”

Dr. Kang tried to mask his expression, but he was not as composed as Secretary Baek. Eunsook saw the flickers of fear, regret, dread, and guilt pass across his face.

“Secretary Lee, tonight will be long. Send the lower staff home. We might have to leave on short notice, so only you and a few others should remain. You understand what I mean, don’t you?”

“Madam, if… if I tell you everything…”

Hearing Dr. Kang’s desperate voice, Eunsook closed her eyes.

What was money, and what was work? She had been blinded by greed, blindly pursuing wealth without considering the consequences. Now it was time for her to face judgment.

She had failed to judge people properly. She had trusted others with her family. She had blindly believed that the reports she received were truthful.

What was the point of business success and having the most powerful figures in politics and finance bowing to her? They weren’t bowing to her—they were bowing to her money.

Listening to the gut-wrenching confessions spilling from Dr. Kang’s lips, Eunsook couldn’t even let out a sigh. But if she were someone who crumbled under guilt and regret, she wouldn’t have built an empire.

Once Dr. Kang finished confessing, Eunsook finally opened her eyes.

“I even made that child do such things… I must bear the weight of my own sins. It’s wrong to make the young suffer.”

With that, Dr. Kang was dragged out of the room, his arms firmly held on either side.