The deceased cannot speak, so he couldn’t ask. But one thing he could be sure of.
Even if his mother had another man in her life, that couldn’t be the reason for suicide.
“Ha… This is killing me.”
Tae Joon splashed his face with water and looked at the tired eyes on the clock. It was already past 11 o’clock.
He must have been sitting in the parking lot for too long, completely unaware of how time had passed.
With a heavy heart, he finally got out of the car.
His steps toward home were incredibly heavy.
The sound of the doorbell made Seo Rin, who had been sitting on the sofa, turn her gaze.
A moment later, the door opened, and Tae Joon walked in. It was well past 11 o’clock, much later than she had anticipated for his return.
“Running late?”
“Yeah, the conversation took longer.”
He slumped down beside her. Just by looking at his tired face, she could tell it had been a challenging day.
Today, too, the truth had brought him a bitter day.
“Seems like it was tough.”
“A bit. I just… I don’t know how to take it all in.”
“What did they say?”
“…”
Tae Joon seemed torn between hesitation and inner turmoil. It seemed like he didn’t want to reveal a truth to her.
“If you’re not ready to talk about it yet, you can tell me later.”
“Thank you. Honestly, my lips… they just won’t move.”
He meant it. Ok Soon was a special person not just to Tae Joon but also to Seo Rin. Therefore, if it was a shocking truth to him, it could be equally impactful for Seo Rin. That’s why he couldn’t convey the unvarnished truth.
Maybe it was because she understood Tae Joon’s feelings.
Seo Rin patted his hand resting on her knee and quietly began to speak.
“But Tae Joon, you don’t have to take whatever that person said at face value. You’ve only talked to one person, and memories can be distorted. Besides, it happened a long time ago.”
“…….”
“So, you can listen to what other people have to say and make a judgment. I heard that you were in contact with a few more people today. But can today’s truth change what you heard from Park Gil Ja?”
Tae Joon was now uncertain.
This incident had made him fearful of meeting people.
But Seo Rin reassured Tae Joon, who was wavering.
“Regardless of the truth, people see what they want to see. I’m a prime example.”
“…….”
“Look at me, Tae Joon. Until now, I thought Dad was too strict with me. But every person I meet tells me that our dad loved me. He was a proud fool of a daughter.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Thinking of Chairman Baek, who had bragged about his daughter until his mouth went dry, Tae Joon chuckled and agreed.
At that moment, Seo Rin, who was deeply immersed in thought, looked into his eyes and spoke clearly.
“I… I also… I only saw the truth I wanted to see. Looking back now, Dad reached out to me several times, but I completely ignored those signals. Then, I started drawing Dad’s image the way I wanted it to be. That’s how… I thought I would be more comfortable. It was just an excuse for myself.”
“…….”
“The truth can be distorted. So, if you can’t believe it, listen to that truth until Tae Joon believes it. To more people, in various ways.”
“…….”
“Just like I did.”
The truth can be distorted.
As I empathized with Seo Rin’s perspective on this unbelievable theory, the meaning finally sank deep into my heart.
The reason was that the truth Park Gil Ja mentioned was also something she had heard from someone else.
Why had she overlooked this crucial fact? Park Gil Ja was, in the end, just another third party to that truth.
Only now did the weight of the truth that had been pressing heavily on her heart seem to lighten a little.
All of this was thanks to Seo Rin.
“Thank you. Your comforting words have made my heart feel a bit lighter.”
“I’m glad.”
“I’ll take a shower.”
Tae Joon got up and headed to the bathroom. However, even after he disappeared, Seo Rin’s heart remained heavy.
She had walked this path once before. A world trapped in distorted truth.
Because of that, she knew better than anyone how much chaos could ensue when the truth she had wholeheartedly believed in turned out to be something completely different, slowly emerging to the surface like a submerged iceberg.
She couldn’t just leave Tae Joon to end his tough day on such a heavy note.
She wanted to find a way to comfort his heart, no matter what it took.
Because that way, he could remember this day not as a relentlessly difficult one but as a day he could look back on with a sense of relief.
So, what powerful move could completely turn around this dreadful day?
“Tae Joon’s favorite thing…”
But strangely, when she tried to think of what he liked, all that came to mind were primal and instinctual things.
However, it was also a very surefire way to blow away this hellish day. Of course, as long as Seo Rin was willing to endure a little embarrassment.
A temptation to comfort him after his exhausting day.
Will it really work?
After thinking for a while, as if making a decision, Seo Rin got up from the couch and knocked on the bathroom door.
“Can I come in?”
“Yeah. Come in.”
As she entered the bathroom, she saw Tae Joon, who had already finished brushing his teeth and was now preparing to enter the shower stall.
“Why, getting ready to brush your teeth?”
“No. It’s not that…”
In response to his question, instead of a clear answer, Seo Rin pulled the waistband of her silk robe.
Upon doing so, the previously securely fastened front flap opened, revealing her figure through the thin slip.
“I’m here to comfort you.”
His dark eyes, now understanding the meaning behind her words, seemed to sink even deeper. He then gazed at her with a leisurely expression as she slowly removed the robe.
Her whole body tingled. With what she had done, she thought he would come closer and embrace her like a madman, but unlike usual, he remained still.
She realized she needed to increase the intensity of her seduction.
Approaching him, Seo Rin lifted her chin and initiated a kiss. Their soft lips met, but he didn’t react.
Despite having spent countless nights together, his lack of response made her feel as if her heart was pounding and her whole body was trembling with tension.
Come to think of it, this was the first time she had initiated a kiss with him.
It was also the first time she had attempted to seduce him.
And this first time had left even the formidable Baek Seo Rin feeling vulnerable.
What if he rejects me? What if I misread the mood and make things awkward? I just wanted to help you end your dreadful day on a positive note.
Her arrogant thoughts only made her more anxious.
How much time had passed?
Eventually, the heat that Taekjun had been holding back erupted from his lips. He gripped Seo Rin’s face, tilting her head to deepen the kiss.
Her lips, which had been passive all along, were now drawn into his silently. A soft moan escaped.
But Seo Rin couldn’t tell if it had come from her own lips or Taekjun’s.
As they briefly parted their lips to catch their breath, Taekjun gently pulled her close and whispered, “You have an incredibly enticing scent to me.”
“…….”
“I… might go insane.”
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
