Chapter 48
by GideonBefore Yundo could even catch his breath, Chairwoman Kang swept into the study.
“Hawaii? You’re going to Hawaii?” she demanded, cutting straight to the chase.
Yundo’s brow furrowed. “How did you find out? No one outside my office knows about this.”
“What…?”
Only then did Chairwoman Kang realize her mistake. In her fury, she had just admitted to planting a spy in his office.
But Yundo didn’t care anymore.
“That’s right,” he said. “Once Hyewan is well enough to handle the long flight, we’re leaving for Hawaii.”
“Why the hell are you doing this?!”
“Don’t you know why better than anyone, Grandmother?”
“Is it my fault she’s the scapegoat? And what makes you think things will be any different in Hawaii?”
“Stop talking about that damned scapegoat nonsense!” Yundo roared.
His clenched fists trembled violently. Fearing he might lose control and commit an unthinkable act of filial impiety, he shot to his feet. His aura was so fierce that Chairwoman Kang didn’t even dare to stop him.
When Yundo set his sights on a goal, he charged straight ahead. He would crush anything in his path to get there. Back then, he had been so cold and resolute that no amount of emotional appeal could sway him.
Chairwoman Kang gritted her teeth as she watched Yundo’s retreating back leave the study. Her wrinkled face twisted into a venomous scowl.
When Yundo emerged into the living room, Madam Park was waiting for him.
“Did you hear?” she asked.
“Just think of Hyewan and yourself,” Madam Park said, her voice calm and filled with genuine concern.
“This is the best we can do for now. Don’t let this shake you.”
He never imagined his mother’s words—the same words he’d once dismissed as weak—would become his greatest strength. Only now did he realize that Madam Park hadn’t been weak; she had simply been enduring. She had merely been drained from withstanding Chairwoman Kang’s relentless pressure to raise and protect her children.
He now saw the true strength of Madam Park, who had remained steadfast even after losing Yun-seok.
He understood now that if losing an unborn child he’d never even seen could tear his heart apart, then losing a child he’d raised for eighteen years was the worst experience and pain a human could endure.
“Yes, Mother. I’ll call you when things quiet down.”
“Alright.”
Yundo left the mansion, Madam Park seeing him out.
Chairwoman Kang had absolutely no intention of letting Yundo and Hyewan go to Hawaii together.
“Chairwoman, your expression is grim.”
At Chief Ma’s concerned remark, Chairwoman Kang shook her head.
“Chief Ma.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I made the best choice I could. But what am I supposed to do when that choice fails?”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve been planning to have them divorce in three years. Ever since I heard our eldest grandson was cursed, that was the only thing on my mind. But now things have spiraled this far. What would you do in my position?”
“I…”
Chief Ma was at a loss. He couldn’t think of a single alternative.
Yundo was completely out of his mind. He was acting so viciously, as if he’d kill anyone who dared touch Hyewan, that even speaking a single word to him was difficult.
“To keep Ko Hyewan from leaving Korea, it seems something needs to happen to Ko Min-suk. What do you think, Chairwoman?”
“I’m thinking the same thing.”
“Will you be leaving it to President Kang Deok-ho again this time?”
Chairwoman Kang shook her head after a moment’s thought.
“We can’t keep dumping all the dirty work on him. Chief Ma, find someone with a tight lip.”
“Understood.”
If Ko Hyewan couldn’t leave, Yundo couldn’t leave either.
Yundo set up a Christmas tree in Hyewan’s hospital room. Since they couldn’t go to Hawaii right away, he wanted to bring the holiday spirit to her while she was still there. Hyewan, seated in her wheelchair, helped him by hanging golden ornaments.
There were moments of joy and moments of sorrow, but she endured it all.
She had no choice, not for Yundo and Min-suk’s sake. According to Bora, Yundo and Min-suk would age a year for every day Hyewan spent in despair.
She was moved and grateful that they were making time for her, giving her their hearts despite their busy schedules.
“Have you told your family?” Hyewan asked as Yundo pulled a chair close to her wheelchair and sat down.
“Yes, my mother approved. Won’t your mother be disappointed?” he asked, inquiring about Min-suk’s reaction.
“She is, but she said living abroad while we can is a good idea. She told me to tell you to go wherever you want and do whatever you want, without worrying about her.”
“Is that so?”
“I think my mom’s so resentful because she never got to live like that. She told me that me living a free and happy life would be the greatest filial duty I could ever fulfill.”
Most parents, like Min-suk and Madam Park, support their children. Why is Chairwoman Kang like this? How much must my father have suffered? Yundo simply couldn’t understand her.
“Hyewan. Once you’ve settled into Hawaii and finished your treatment, what if we bring both your mothers here? And Aunt Gyeong-ae and Yun-woo, too?”
“Would that be okay? Would they really agree to that?”
“My mother and Yun-woo will do whatever I ask.”
I will get them out from under Chairwoman Kang’s shadow, no matter what. Even now, it’s already too late.
“I’m one hundred percent in favor. Mom and Aunt Gyeong-ae have worked their entire lives. I just want them to live comfortably. But won’t it be too much for them?”
“Trust me. Your husband is more than capable.”
“I’ve always trusted you.”
Hyewan took his hand.
“I’ve said this in passing before, but this time I want to say it seriously.”
“Say what?”
Yundo tensed. Seeing the anxious flicker in his eyes, she spoke.
“It started with a sense of responsibility. I didn’t dislike you, but it wasn’t love. But now, I love you, Cha Yundo.”
Yundo froze.
“I knew I loved you from the start. That’s probably why I acted out sometimes, even without realizing it.”
He shook his head urgently. “No. You never did. You’re the best woman and the best wife.”
Hyewan stroked Yundo’s sunken cheek, a testament to his weight loss. He leaned into the warmth of her hand.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Even now, after all this had taken a toll on her precious baby, her career, and her health.
“Why the sad face? Is my love sad?”
Hyewan, always sensitive to Yundo’s mood swings, tried a joke. She wanted to put him at ease, no matter what.
“Yeah, I’m sad.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because I can’t take my pants off.”
Unable to tell her the truth, Yundo suppressed his surging emotions and replied with a joke of his own.
“Ugh, seriously!”
As she tried to pull her hand away, he quickly interlaced their fingers.
“I can’t go six months without it.”
“…I heard you can.”
Hyewan countered a beat late.
“Heard what?”
“People say they’ll still do it even if their leg is broken.”
Yundo immediately pulled her wheelchair around to face him.
“Hyewan, what kind of things are you listening to?”
“The people I met in the rehab clinic told me.”
“My wife’s gotten feisty, hasn’t she?”
“I’ve always been feisty. That’s why I seduced you the day we met.”
“I seduced you.”
“If I were so innocent, would I have slept with you?”
He smirked, a hint of arrogance in his voice.
“I’m dependable, aren’t I? And I look clean—no diseases or anything.”
“Is that so?” she murmured, her gaze turning meaningful.
“Hey, what?” he whined.
“Did you say that to other women too?”
“And you?”
Hyewan’s smooth brow furrowed.
“There’s no point in digging up the past, is there?”
“You’re right about that.”
“To me, you’re the best man in the world.”
“You always manage to smooth things over so effortlessly.”
“Kiss me.”
Hyewan pressed her lips out.
“Just a kiss.”
She tugged his collar, pulling him in for a kiss. As her moist tongue swept over his rough lips, his breath deepened. He drew closer, cupping her cheeks as he devoured her tongue. Hyewan gripped his arms tightly, as if they were her last lifeline.
Seeing Hyewan’s composed demeanor, Yundo gradually found his own peace.
In contrast, Hyewan’s spirit slowly withered. She couldn’t fall asleep without sleeping pills. She made excuses, claiming it was a combination of her chronic insomnia and the aftereffects of the accident, but that wasn’t the truth.
Whenever she closed her eyes, Haetsal appeared before her.
When she was alone in the silence, she felt a bubbling sensation in her womb. She had never felt a definitive kick, but she convinced herself that this bubbling was Haetsal’s way of communicating with her.
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