Chapter 53
- A Model Young Man
2023.06.22.
Ten-year-old Kim Tae-joon mostly threw toys in front of So-eun's house. Seven-year-old So-eun played well with that trash. She seemed to believe Tae-joon had gifted them to her.
Tae-joon didn't like that, so he often broke what So-eun was playing with. So-eun would wail and cry in front of him, but from some point on, she started fixing them herself. Tae-joon, thinking what could she possibly do at just seven years old, sat next to her and watched. He was honestly surprised. Despite not being able to speak properly and having poor motor skills, her eye for tools was more accurate than his. She had the knack for figuring out how toys moved and how to make them move again. A mere seven-year-old.
If his grandfather had discovered this child's talent early on, he might have offered to pay for her education as she grew up. Of course, that would have been a long time ago. But now, things are different. The child's father killed my parents. Han So-eun is just a murderer's daughter.
I wonder when you'll realize that fact.
"You can become someone who fixes toys later."
Tae-joon sneered as he watched So-eun's hands give useless toys a new purpose. So-eun smiled innocently and replied.
"Yeah! I'm good at this. I'll fix Tae-joon Oppa's too. Bring them all to me."
"......"
"I'll fix Tae-joon Oppa's toys from now on."
When will you realize you're a useless person?
As he quietly watched, his eyes somehow started to sting. He was reminded of his father meticulously fixing the cell phone he had deliberately broken. A surge of anger welled up, and Tae-joon punched So-eun with all his might and left her side.
Tae-joon watched from afar as So-eun, who had fallen backward from the blow, got up while rubbing her head and squatted back down in front of the toys.
A peaceful morning in So-eun's studio apartment.
Sizzle. Tae-joon woke up to the sound of the electric rice cooker and couldn't help but laugh as soon as he opened his eyes. So-eun, flustered by the noise of the rice cooker, was fidgeting in front of it, stamping her feet.
"Does standing there make the rice cook better?"
"No, no. I wanted to prepare breakfast without waking you up, Director."
I wanted to show you the magic of breakfast, where a table is set the moment you wake up.
She wanted to give back as much as she received, but it was impossible in this small studio apartment. Dejected, So-eun drooped her shoulders and reached out to open the refrigerator door. The cold air inside cooled her flushed face.
Tae-joon, who had already gotten out of bed, grabbed the refrigerator door from behind. The warm body temperature, contrasting with the cold air in front of her, enveloped her like a giant mountain.
"What are you going to make for me?"
"Do you like kimchi stew?"
So-eun reflexively tensed up because he never let her go when he held her like this.
"I love it."
But Tae-joon immediately released his arm after the languid reply. So-eun hesitated at his unexpectedly wholesome reaction.
Tae-joon, standing a step away, was of course also enchantingly handsome. His bare body, which he had thrown off his shirt last night because he felt stuffy, reflected the sunlight streaming through the window in every direction. On either side of the deep, straight line of his spine, the muscles subtly rippled with every movement, creating a beautiful symmetry. She didn't want to seem conscious of it, but she kept stealing glances like a thief. It was a magnificent body that irresistibly drew her gaze.
She couldn't understand his stubbornness in taking off his shirt because he felt stuffy and then hugging her so tightly that she couldn't move, but if she could see something so wonderful, she was willing to be generous about the stuffiness of the night before.
'Oh, I'm such a pervert, this is a problem.'
So-eun quickly averted her gaze when Tae-joon turned his head and met her eyes. Tae-joon teased her with a smile.
"Why don't you just stare openly?"
She tried to hide it, but Tae-joon could see exactly what So-eun was thinking.
"No. No, what am I doing, ugh."
So-eun denied it with a flushed face.
"What's wrong with it? Just think of it as Han So-eun's and make yourself comfortable."
Really mine? Is it really?
He said such lovely things, so she couldn't help but feel fluttery. So-eun swallowed hard, glanced at him, and asked seriously.
"How much do you have to work out to get like that?"
"I don't work out much."
"How many hours a day?"
"Maybe 15 minutes? No, 10 minutes?"
"What kind of exercise do you do?"
"Pull-ups."
Ah. So that's how you get like that by doing pull-ups for 10 minutes. I didn't know because I can only do it for 0.1 seconds. So-eun realized that she could never catch up to him.
Tae-joon got up refreshed. It was the first time in a long time that he had slept soundly in an unfamiliar place. No, it felt like the first time ever. It was also the first time that he felt so comfortable sleeping in a narrow bed, especially while holding a woman tightly. He wondered if he should really bring Han So-eun home or force her to live with him.
"Hurry up and wash up. I'll get it ready soon."
"If you treat me this well, I might just settle down here."
Pfft. So-eun laughed out loud at his sincere reply. As if it were absurd, as if he could live in a place like this.
"Oh, really?"
"Yes. I won't ask you to split the rent."
"Yeah. You shouldn't. Let's not do things like calculating."
Even as she playfully returned her lighthearted joke, she seemed happy as she laughed. It was a pure smile like the morning sunlight. Tae-joon wanted to stay in this moment forever.
After having breakfast at So-eun's house, the two left early.
Tae-joon, who had decided to drop So-eun off at work first and then go home to change before heading to the office, didn't go straight to the company but visited the counselor again. Yesterday, he had requested additional investigation into Yang Hee-wook's family. He wanted to know why Han So-eun had to step up for organ donation even though Kim Mal-hee had family. In fact, he had a pretty good idea, but he still needed to understand it properly.
Thus, Tae-joon received the first investigation report on Yang Hee-wook's family. They had all undergone health checkups early on, and it was confirmed that Kim Mal-hee's husband, Yang Gyu-chil, son Yang Hee-wook, and daughter Yang Heejin were all healthy, but none of them had stepped forward to donate their liver to Kim Mal-hee. Moreover, Yang Hee-wook's sister, Yang Heejin, had the same blood type as Kim Mal-hee.
A family full of selfishness put an innocent woman on the operating table.
Should I kill these guys first? Or think about it after killing them?
It was the first time he had felt murderous intent.
Song Mun-gyeong, the head of the department, greeted Tae-joon, who had come to work with a somewhat complicated feeling.
"Director, you're here. Are you feeling okay?"
"Yes. I'm fine. Was there anything unusual?"
"I'll report to you right away."
"Yes."
"And yesterday, Han So-eun Assistant Manager asked me if you were available for the TF Team dinner tonight."
At the name Han So-eun, Tae-joon, who was about to enter his office, stopped and nodded. He had been with her all morning, but he had forgotten about the dinner because she hadn't mentioned it separately.
Did she notice my heavy expression and become concerned?
"Are you going with us, Department Head?"
Tae-joon thought for a moment and made a suggestion to Mun-gyeong. He was receiving help from Mun-gyeong with the TF Team's work, so it would be good to spend time together.
"Yes. I will."
"Is there anything you want to eat?"
"I eat everything well, and I vaguely heard Park Bo-bae say she wanted to eat beef."
At Mun-gyeong's answer, Tae-joon imagined So-eun eating meat. But he couldn't bring himself to smile.
"You're going to drink too."
"......"
"Should we just replace it with lunch?"
Oh, what a model young man. So warm-hearted.
It was always a somewhat artificial kindness, as if he had an AI etiquette manual installed in his head, but he was still admirable. Mun-gyeong, the pregnant woman who had come to a happy misunderstanding, smiled contentedly.
"It's okay. And Park Bo-bae seemed to be looking forward to the dinner. Even if you change it to a lunch dinner, the three of them will probably spend time together separately tonight."
"Is that so? Then there's no need to move it."
Tae-joon also changed his mind at Mun-gyeong's opinion. He couldn't let them have a dinner without him.
Of course, it wasn't that Tae-joon didn't consider Mun-gyeong's feelings, but his feelings for So-eun always came first.
He answered politely and moved his feet, but no sooner had he taken a step than anger welled up.
The woman who likes alcohol so much.
He clenched his fist tightly at the frustration of not being able to feed her what she likes and turned around.
He felt like his anger wouldn't be quenched even if he killed those guys.
Words that hadn't been filtered blurted out haphazardly.
"What should I do if I want to kill someone?"
Mun-gyeong, the pregnant woman who had been admiring the back of this warm-hearted young man with a motherly smile, was taken aback by the words he suddenly turned around and uttered.
Was that really a question? Was there an error in the AI etiquette manual?
'As expected, you can't figure out these days' kids.'
It was a new side of the young man she had only known to be upright and polite. She was a little disappointed.
I don't know who you hate so much, but if you're really thinking of killing them, wouldn't it be better to just kill them instead of asking me? It seems easier to hire someone and kill them quietly?
'No, that's not it.'
I don't know who you hate so much, but if you were really thinking of killing them, you wouldn't even bring it up.
Mun-gyeong hesitated to answer and carefully examined Tae-joon's expression.
She could feel anger and murderous intent, but his eyes were trying to hold onto his personality. It somehow felt like a request for her to stop him. It was as if she had confirmed the Kim Tae-joon hidden in his true self, hidden within his fabricated personality.
She wondered how frustrated he must be to say something like this.
As Mun-gyeong stared at him for a long time without saying anything, Tae-joon's eyelids lowered.
"......I'm sorry. I said something I shouldn't have in front of the baby to be born. Please forget it."
"Anyone would say that. Don't cross that river, my love."
Mun-gyeong opened her mouth just as Tae-joon was about to turn around again. Tae-joon's feet stopped again.
"Anyone would say that, so should I be a little selfish?"
"......"
"Don't get blood on your hands, Director."
Mun-gyeong gave advice to the sincere young man who had already learned anger and hatred.
She wanted to tell him how to protect himself in this brutal world, where every moment was like a war, and she thought it was fortunate that he was relying on her.
"And one more thing. The best way to deal with the unbearable urge to punch someone is to take a few hits first."
"......"
"Endure like that and then strike accurately in one blow. You know what I mean."
Emotions are revealed through anger.
Color began to appear in the man who was always watched from the closest distance but always felt distant, somehow ambiguous and unclear, giving a strange sense of tension.
Mun-gyeong thought it wasn't a bad thing.
A subtle tremor ran through Tae-joon's sunken eyes.
Tae-joon smiled satisfactorily.
In fact, it wasn't a question of whether to kill them or not. It was a question of how to kill them.
In any case, the heartfelt advice from his senior in life, Mun-gyeong, seemed like it would be helpful.
