I Became a Mother (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14
Taekwondo Dojang.
“Double thrust—One!”
“Yap!”
“Two!”
“Ya!”
“Three!”
“Ya!”
“Final round—Triple thrust—One!”
“Ya!”
Seung Yul punched forward sharply, his arms extending straight out in sync with the instructor’s powerful commands, letting out sharp kihaps.
Though beads of sweat dotted his forehead, his thrusts through the air remained steady and precise, and his eyes burned brightly with no trace of fatigue.
“Seung Yul! Seung Yul?”
Team Leader Nam peeked through the window on the hallway, whispered something, then gave a slight bow toward the instructor—whose eyes had just met his—as if asking for permission, before stepping into the dojang.
“Team Leader, what brings you here?”
Seung Yul, still catching his breath and pushing back sweat-dampened hair, suddenly raised his palm abruptly as if struck by a realization, stopping Team Leader Nam just as he was about to explain.
“Teacher, did you go off again to show off, leaving me behind? I already told you I understand.”
“Seung Yul. That’s not the issue right now.”
If only it were that simple—it’d be such a relief.
“Then…?”
Seung Yul frowned in puzzlement, completely unaware of Team Leader Nam’s inner turmoil turning black as soot.
“Did you… withdraw money from the account your mom left you?”
“Huh? How do you know about that, Team Leader?”
“Oh, you rascal.”
Team Leader Nam, whose last hope—that perhaps Seung Yul had fallen victim to a voice phishing scam—now crumbled entirely, felt his legs go limp. He collapsed onto the mat, then shot back up instantly.
“Hey! Even if that money was left to you by your mom, how could you do something so reckless without your dad’s permission?!”
Team Leader Nam, as chief secretary, had served directly under Kyo Hwan—a judge advocate major—since graduating from the Korea Military Academy as a second lieutenant, and had remained by his side ever since.
Because of that long-standing bond, he knew Kyo Hwan’s family history and temperament better than anyone, and he sensed an approaching tsunami-level storm.
Moreover, today was the late madam’s birthday.
Since the anniversary of her death happened to be Seung Yul’s birthday, Kyo Hwan—fearing his son might one day learn that his mother had died giving birth to him—had quietly commemorated only her birthday every year, alone.
And on this very day, of all days, such an incident had to occur.
Seung Yul had practically touched his father Kyo Hwan’s rawest nerve.
“Seung Yul, listen carefully. Your dad is furious because you touched the money your mom gave you. When you go in, he’ll definitely narrow his eyes like this and say—”
Team Leader Nam pinched his brow tightly between thumb and forefinger, lowered his voice, and cast a stern glance toward Seung Yul.
“Choi Seung Yul, come here. Come over.”
That’s exactly what he’d say, you fool.
“So… what should I do?”
Seung Yul, eyes wide from his full-throttle emotional performance, asked earnestly.
“Just apologize and admit you were wrong—no matter what! Just keep saying you were wrong!”
Kyo Hwan had never even remarried, still unable to let go of his late wife—and that was precisely why Team Leader Nam felt even more anxious.
“Don’t try to explain yourself or talk back—just keep saying you were wrong. Promise you won’t do it again. Got it?”
Emphasizing as if it were the only path to survival, Team Leader Nam led Seung Yul out.
★★★
Knock knock.
At the sound of someone tapping on the door, Kyo Hwan—who had been standing by his desk—put down the school pamphlet he’d brought home.
“Come in and stand close.”
While waiting for Seung Yul, textbooks and workbooks Kyo Hwan had pulled from his bookshelf lay scattered across his desk, betraying his inner turmoil.
“From now on, answer my questions honestly. I’ve already heard everything from school, so don’t even think about lying.”
Seung Yul, still in his dobok, braced his feet firmly as if preparing for the inevitable.
“Why did you touch the money your mom gave you?”
Team Leader Nam had told him to just admit fault, but Seung Yul had decided—since things had gone this far—to come clean.
Hadn’t Teacher said we didn’t actually do anything seriously wrong?
If anything, it was a good deed.
It wasn’t a lie—he just hadn’t told his dad beforehand.
“I wanted to do something kind.”
“Something kind?”
Oh no, that’s not it at all. Team Leader Nam sighed deeply, as if the ground itself might cave in under the weight of his misjudgment.
“So deceiving everyone by calling your teacher ‘Mom’ and withdrawing money on your own counts as ‘something kind,’ huh?!”
Kyo Hwan slammed his palm down on the desk with a loud crack, making Seung Yul flinch so hard his shoulders jumped.
“Choi Seung Yul, you’re a very bad boy! What you did wasn’t kind—it was very, very wrong!”
Kyo Hwan had never shouted like this before, no matter how angry he’d gotten—so both Seung Yul and Team Leader Nam, watching from the sidelines, were utterly stunned.
“Was your story about your eyes hurting at the hospital a lie too?”
“…!”
Seung Yul couldn’t utter a word, but Kyo Hwan already knew everything just from his eyes.
He’d believed Seung Yul had finally come to his senses after promising to listen well to both him and the teacher—but now he felt utterly betrayed.
He’d gone along with their arrangement, thinking his son got along well with the teacher, only to realize he himself had been played right in the palm of his son’s hand.
“Team Leader Nam. Go to my room and bring me the switch.”
“Sir…”
“Did you not hear me say, ‘Bring the switch’?”
Unable to disobey his orders in front of the child, Team Leader Nam had no choice but to leave the room, practically pushed out.
Click. At the sound of the door closing behind him, leaving him alone with his father, Seung Yul swallowed a dry gulp in nervous tension.
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
“If you did something wrong, you must accept your punishment.”
He tried following Team Leader Nam’s instructions a bit too late—but it didn’t seem to help much.
“Sir.”
Kyo Hwan approached Team Leader Nam, who had just entered, took the switch from his hand, and gently pushed him toward the door.
“Don’t let anyone in, no matter how loud it gets from now on.”
“What?”
Team Leader Nam, who’d only expected to fetch the switch—not to be thrown out like this—was even more flustered.
“Sir…?”
“Must I repeat myself again?”
Kyo Hwan shut the door forcefully, his voice charged with agitation.
Team Leader Nam could only stand there dazed, staring helplessly at the firmly closed door.
“Come here and roll up your pants. You’re going to get disciplined by your dad today.”
“…”
Hesitating, Seung Yul had no choice but to shuffle reluctantly toward the spot his father pointed to, slowly folding up the legs of his dobok.
With every fold, his mouth grew drier, and a chill ran up his bare calves.
He’d heard threats of punishment before but had never actually been hit—so even now, he couldn’t tell whether his dad truly meant to strike him or was just trying to scare him.
Convinced everything was ready, Kyo Hwan knelt down in front of Seung Yul and looked up at him.
“I’m going to strike you ten times. Count each one out loud as you receive it. If you whine or exaggerate the pain, I’ll add one more strike for each complaint. Understood?”
Seung Yul, who still didn’t understand why he was being punished, bit his lip tightly.
Whoosh.
At the sound of the switch slicing through the air, his knees nearly buckled instinctively.
“Stand straight. Didn’t I say complaints mean extra strikes?”
Helplessly, Seung Yul clenched the rolled-up dobok pants and tightened his legs.
“Stand straight. This time, I’m really going to hit you.”
Realizing those weren’t just empty words, Seung Yul gritted his teeth hard.
Whoosh.
“Aah!”
The first strike felt scorching hot—as if fire, not a switch, had landed on his leg.
“Aren’t you going to count?”
“Ah… one.”
He quickly pulled his hand away from rubbing his calf and straightened his posture—only for the switch to fall again immediately.
“Agh… two.”
He’d thought the second would feel easier—but it burned even hotter than the first.
Naturally, it took him much longer this time to soothe the flaming pain on his calf with his hands.
Whoosh. Unable to wait, the switch came down again—this time hitting his fingers.
“Aah!”
Startled, Seung Yul turned back, expecting at least a “Are you okay?” from his dad.
“Move your hand.”
“…!”
“Didn’t I say whining means extra strikes?”
In that instant, Seung Yul was so shocked by his father’s unflinching expression that he forgot the stinging pain in his fingers entirely.
★★★
“Alright, everyone knows clapping is good for your health, right? Let’s stretch once, and before we begin training, give yourselves a nice, healthy round of applause!”
Clap clap, clap-clap-clap! Clap-clap-clap-clap, clap clap!
The kitchen door burst open as Butler Pyo and the maid gathered.
“Butler Pyo, why haven’t you been answering your phone?”
Team Leader Nam, having sprinted across the garden at full speed, asked without even catching his breath.
“Huh? I had it on vibrate—we were in training. What’s wrong?”
Only then did Butler Pyo pull out his phone from his pocket and check his missed calls.
“Where’s the elder madam?”
“The elder madam? She went to the hospital with Madam Wang—it’s Madam Wang’s scheduled health checkup day. Why? What’s happened?”
“The director is disciplining Seung Yul, and it doesn’t look like it’ll end quietly.”
That’s why he’d come looking for the elder madam.
“What?! Why are you telling me something this important only now? Hurry! If the madam finds out later, she’ll blow up at us for just standing around!”
Butler Pyo immediately abandoned everything—training or not—and pushed Team Leader Nam toward the main house.
★★★
Whoosh!
“Aah!”
“Stand up. Again—nine.”
“Why do you keep saying nine? Huhh.”
Having gritted his teeth through what he’d thought was the final strike several times already, Seung Yul finally burst into tears.
“Stand up. Didn’t I say whining means extra strikes?”
Kyo Hwan repeated the same number each time Seung Yul sank down or failed to count.
“Stand up. Does this mean you weren’t even prepared to be punished like this when you did such a terrible thing?”
“Huhh…”
Seung Yul had expected his dad wouldn’t understand even if he told the truth—but he never imagined he’d actually be beaten.
Why didn’t his dad flinch even a little when he said he was in pain?
Teacher would wipe his tears whenever he cried.
“Choi Seung Yul. Who’s your mom? You have a real mother who gave birth to you—how dare you go around calling a tutor, who’s barely been in our home, ‘Mom’?”
You never even got to call your own mom “Mom” while she was alive.
“Stand up. For the sake of your late mother, I absolutely cannot let this go. You need more discipline to come to your senses.”
Whoosh. The switch, laden with emotion, snapped uselessly on impact—but his hand immediately reached for another broken piece.
“Sir. Please calm down.”
Team Leader Nam burst through the door, arms spread wide, blocking Kyo Hwan who stood holding the switch aloft.
Meanwhile, Butler Pyo quickly pulled Seung Yul into his arms.
“Step aside. Didn’t I say no one was to come in? Choi Seung Yul—come out now!”
“He’s already been punished enough. If you hit him more, Seung Yul will get hurt. The late madam wouldn’t have wanted this either.”
The late madam…!
“…!”
Kyo Hwan, glaring fiercely at Team Leader Nam with tension in his eyes, finally had no choice but to lower the switch.
“Go wash your face.”
Watching Seung Yul limp away with Butler Pyo—not in repentance but whining like a baby—Kyo Hwan’s eyes nearly rolled back in frustration.
“Choi Seung Yul. Walk straight!”
Huh… Seung Yul felt utterly wronged. He wasn’t whining—he was limping because it genuinely hurt.
★★★
What’s happened to our baby? It’s already been an hour since she saw him—still in his dobok, not even changed—getting out of the car with Team Leader Nam and heading into the main house.
Thud thud. At the sound of footsteps approaching from outside, Hyo Jin, who’d been sitting on her bed, leapt to her feet.
“Father, what about Seung Yul?”
“Your luggage will be sent via Driver Seo—leave this house immediately.”
Kyo Hwan, stepping through the door, refused to even look at her, as if he couldn’t bear to face her for another second.
“What…?”
Leave the house immediately?
“Then… what about Seung Yul?”
Was this really how they’d part—with no farewell?
So repulsed was Kyo Hwan even by hearing his son’s name from her lips that he roared, as if to forcibly seal her mouth shut.
“Don’t ever think about seeing my son again—just leave this house immediately…!”
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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Took back his own words real fast, funny man. Wonder what her message is
He really is a bad father. Kinda sad how he just left his son alone.