I Became a Mother (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
“Huh? Since when have you been standing there, Father…?!”
What is this, Hong Gil-dong?
Why do you keep popping up out of nowhere whenever something happens to me?
Baby, who had just been loudly boasting about having Father chop off my head, suddenly fell silent like a deflated balloon.
“…….”
This guy acts so tough in front of me,
but the moment he’s in front of his own dad, he freezes like a mouse before a cat.
“Bring it here.”
At Kyo Hwan’s command, Seung Yul, lowering his eyelashes, rolled his pitch-black eyes as though weighing a sack of rice.
He clearly didn’t want to go fetch it—it’d hurt his pride in front of Hyo Jin—but he also seemed worried about the consequences if he outright refused.
“……You won’t bring it?”
Just as Kyo Hwan stepped forward, chilling the air with his cold presence, backup arrived.
“What’s all this commotion about?”
Hyo Jin turned around as if spellbound by the voice, smooth as jade beads rolling on a silver tray.
“They hired a new tutor, but it seems Seung Yul isn’t getting along with her?”
The elegant middle-aged woman with porcelain-white skin was Seung Yul’s grandmother, Lady Min Ja Hyun.
“Hello. I’m Bong Hyo Jin.”
True to her earlier warning not to greet them, the woman didn’t even glance at Hyo Jin, approaching Seung Yul instead with a gentle smile.
“Seung Yul-ah. Who made our young master so upset?”
Seung Yul scurried behind his grandmother like he’d just gained an entire army of reinforcements.
“The teacher said I’m nothing without my dad.”
“What?”
He played back the voice recording on his phone.
“Everyone here treats you like a spoiled prince, so you must think it’s fine to disrespect me however you like. Seung Yul, they’re not fawning over you—they’re fawning over Choi Kyo Hwan’s son. Take that away, and you’re absolutely nothing.”
Huh? When did he record that?
“Good heavens.”
Lady Min Ja Hyun, who had already disapproved of hiring a tutor, wrinkled her nose as if offended by the vulgarity.
“So this is the kind of woman they introduced after telling me to stay away from Seung Yul?”
That damn old fool of a father-in-law!
My daughter passed away ages ago—why’s he still acting like my son’s father-in-law?!
Just as she was about to fire Hyo Jin on the spot, a quiet chuckle interrupted her.
“Well, she did say what’s true.”
“What?!”
Lady Min Ja Hyun’s face flushed red and purple.
Hyo Jin could plainly see her biting back her anger—afraid to undermine her son’s authority in front of the staff.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Oh, no.”
After confirming Hyo Jin was fine, Kyo Hwan turned to Team Leader Nam standing behind him.
“Call Driver Seo and have him bring ten sturdy canes—not too thin, and not the kind that break easily.”
“Ten?!”
Team Leader Nam, along with Hyo Jin, blinked in wide-eyed shock.
“Come on, kid. Stop being childish. How long have you even been in Korea?”
Unable to hold back any longer, Lady Min Ja Hyun stepped forward protectively, her face reddening.
“Mother, please stay calm.”
Strangely enough, he never raised his voice in front of either his mother or Seung Yul.
His tone was so soft it almost sounded like he was reading a bedtime story or giving gentle advice.
Yet, the calmer he sounded, the more tense the listeners became, their shoulders hunching involuntarily.
“Just lay a finger on him, and I’ll report you to the police.”
“Go ahead and report me.”
“……!”
“He’d end up in the police station before I ever did if you left him alone.”
Right now, he’s just throwing objects and defying his teacher—but later, those objects will become people, and eventually, police officers.
“Choi Seung Yul.”
He looked at Seung Yul, who was hiding behind his grandmother, his eyes narrowing slightly.
“Did I or did I not tell you that if words don’t work, you’ll get a beating?”
There would be no more excuses about missing his mother—neither his grandmother nor his father would step in to shield him anymore.
“Come out. If you bring the helmet now, I’ll consider it a mitigating circumstance.”
He deliberately emphasized each word to heighten the suspense.
“One. Two.”
Eventually, unwilling to get hit, Seung Yul shuffled reluctantly over and picked up the helmet from the floor.
“Haaah.”
As the unbearable tension finally broke, Hyo Jin let out a sigh of relief.
But this wasn’t over yet.
“Apologize properly.”
Huh? Again?
“Say you’re sorry to your teacher.”
“Oh, no need.”
“Teacher, please stay quiet.”
Ugh. Hyo Jin clenched her jaw, feeling Lady Min Ja Hyun’s sharp gaze stabbing into her like needles.
“One. Two!”
The dreaded countdown began again.
“I was wrong.”
It wasn’t Seung Yul who broke the silence—but Hyo Jin.
“What did you do wrong?”
Kyo Hwan looked utterly baffbled.
“As far as I heard, every single word you said was perfectly accurate.”
To Hyo Jin—who had broken her promise—it sounded like sarcasm.
“But you yourself said it, Father: when a child misbehaves, the adult who failed to guide them properly is even more at fault.”
“So am I at fault too, then?”
“Huh?”
“You’re asking the child to apologize to me for something you say I did wrong. That makes it sound like I’m the one who messed up…”
“No, it’s not like that.”
Why does everything have to be so complicated? All I want is peace…
For someone who used to be a judge-turned-lawyer, standing before him felt less like facing a kid’s father and more like standing before a presiding judge.
“Could you please forgive him this once—for my sake? It’s entirely my fault for failing to guide him properly.”
“But you haven’t even started teaching my child yet.”
What nonsense are you spouting just because you walked in today?
“But it’s his first time.”
“First time?”
“Even the law shows leniency to first-time offenders.”
What does that have to do with this?
Kyo Hwan’s eyebrows knit together again, narrowing like the gates of heaven.
Oh Lord. The path You’ve set before me is truly narrow.
Hyo Jin spoke with the desperate earnestness of a defense lawyer making a final plea before sentencing.
“Father, I’ll guide him properly from now on. Seung Yul-ah, you’ll listen carefully to your teacher from now on, won’t you?”
Let’s cooperate, okay?
Since when did we get so chummy? Annoying.
“Yeah.”
But honestly, what choice did Seung Yul have?
Immature as it was, if he didn’t want a beating, cooperation was his only option.
“Choi Seung Yul, follow me.”
Kyo Hwan turned and walked out, his eyebrows furrowed.
“Teacher, please come along too.”
“This is all your fault. If you hadn’t resorted to violence—”
Kneeling on the floor just like Seung Yul—arms down, not raised—Hyo Jin sat across from him on the sofa in the sealed study, effectively sharing his punishment as if seated in the “thinking chair.”
“It’s your fault, Teacher. You broke your promise.”
Seung Yul lifted his eyes defiantly, as if to say: even if my mouth is crooked, my words are straight.
“Can’t you open those pretty eyes properly?”
He doesn’t dare move a muscle in front of his dad.
“Written contracts take precedence over verbal ones, right?”
“Fine. Then let’s write one—a proper contract.”
Ugh, what a reckless brat.
“Then who’s the client here?”
“Obviously…”
Seung Yul lifted his sharp chin with haughty confidence.
“Do you happen to like mackerel?”
“No. I never eat fish.”
“Then why do you keep trying to eat me raw? You’re even younger than me.”
“You promised first!”
“That was before I knew what kind of person your father was.”
After witnessing his stubbornness firsthand, Hyo Jin knew she couldn’t risk such a dangerous gamble.
“Just this once—can’t you make an exception? I’m not asking you to become my real mom, just to pretend for one day.”
And even that was for just one day.
“I don’t even understand why I’m taking this risk. I’d rather just tell your dad the truth and be done with it.”
But if his temper blew up later and everything came out, it’d be even worse.
“I already told you—Dad would never understand.”
“Don’t worry. If he scolds you, I’ll explain everything to him properly.”
Having just seen how utterly ineffective that approach was, Seung Yul gave a cool, cynical smirk.
“Won’t you get fired too, then?”
Seriously? I went out of my way to reason nicely, and now you want to pick another fight?
Is this a family trait? Both father and son.
“You’d better worry about your own legs getting beaten black and blue by your dad. Didn’t you hear him order canes earlier?”
Click—the sound of the door opening behind them made Seung Yul’s half-lowered arms snap straight up.
In Kyo Hwan’s large, pale, delicate hands was the cane Driver Seo had actually brought.
Wait—so he wasn’t bluffing? He was really going to go through with it?
“Choi Seung Yul, have you thought about what you did wrong?”
Gulp. Just from the show of force alone, Hyo Jin could hear Seung Yul swallow hard.
“Put your arms down and come closer.”
Thud thud. As he tapped the cane against the hardwood floor, Hyo Jin instinctively hunched her shoulders.
“Why did you hit your teacher?”
Kyo Hwan’s frown had softened slightly as he looked down at Seung Yul approaching him.
If only that frown would part like the Red Sea—if only Seung Yul said the right thing, they might still get out of this.
But Hyo Jin couldn’t predict what would come out of Baby’s mouth.
Surely he wouldn’t confess the whole truth—that she’d promised to act as his mom?
That would be a real disaster.
“The teacher made me feel bad first.”
Boss Baby spoke up, gazing at Hyo Jin with determined eyes.
What are you looking at? Are you really planning to confess and drag us both down with you? Hyo Jin shot him an angry laser glare.
“What exactly made you feel bad?”
At Kyo Hwan’s question, the clashing gazes of Seung Yul and Hyo Jin crackled with high-voltage electricity.
“That you treat working adults like dirt, acting like you don’t even know you’re nothing without Dad?”
Excuse me, Father? When did I ever say “nothing” meant “dog hair” or that I “disrespected adults like dogs”? I just said “you’re nothing.”
Hyo Jin’s face burned crimson from the AI-perfect replay of her own voice—she felt like she might vanish from sheer embarrassment.
“Of course, hearing that directly might make anyone angry.”
Huh? Earlier you said every word I spoke was perfectly correct.
“But does that give you the right to throw a helmet at your teacher or swing your fists?”
So it’s clear—Seung Yul was in the wrong?
“When you’re that angry, just curse silently in your head.”
Excuse me, Father? So you were silently cursing me earlier? Why not just say it out loud instead?
“If you don’t like hearing that kind of thing, then behave so people won’t say it. Do you think your teacher would’ve said it without good reason?”
Ugh, why keep jerking me around like this?
“Will you do it again?”
Thud thud. Tapping the cane against the floor, Kyo Hwan pressed the question.
“Will you do that to your teacher again?”
“No.”
How could he possibly say yes in that situation? His dad would make him roll up his pants right then and there.
“Apologize to your teacher. Promise you won’t do it again.”
Baby reluctantly turned toward Hyo Jin, his lips twisted into a deep scowl.
“It’s fine. We already promised to get along nicely, remember?”
Hyo Jin spoke quickly, clearly not wanting to accept a full bow.
“Teacher, please stay quiet.”
Ah, sure. Even Father wouldn’t tell me to “stay quiet” if he saw that defiant look on my face.
“Choi Seung Yul, are you going to apologize or not?”
Kyo Hwan raised his voice, as if scolding him for just standing there.
He could only see Baby’s back, after all.
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
Baby glared with wide-open eyes, as if challenging her to a fight.
“Good. Then don’t do it again.”
Let’s take this outside.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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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.