Sung Hyuk urgently pushed open the open gate and entered.

After running across the yard and arriving at the entrance, this time the front door was tightly closed. Only after pounding on it as if to break it down did the front door open.

As soon as he flung open the door, he saw a cell phone with a cracked screen. He shuddered at the thought that if it hadn’t been for the call, he wouldn’t have known what was happening to Young In.

Without time to take off his shoes, he passed through the hallway and arrived at the living room, where his eyes fell on Young In sitting slumped on the floor.

The sight of her wearing only one shoe was so pitiful it made his heart ache. He had guessed the single shoe he’d seen in the hallway was Young In’s, but actually seeing it with his eyes made him even more upset.

Sung Hyuk knelt down in front of her.

Seeing the red handprint on her cheek and her disheveled hair made his blood boil. Anger twisted his insides.

Unable to bring himself to touch Young In’s cheek, he withdrew his outstretched hand and silently stood up.

The look in his eyes, which had been full of sympathy, changed abruptly as soon as it left Young In.

Beom Jun, who had been rolling his frightened eyes back and forth, flinched when he met Sung Hyuk’s gaze.

The reason Kwak wasn’t by Beom Jun’s side now was because she had fled to the main bedroom the moment Beom Jun had hastily opened the door for Sung Hyuk. She didn’t want to be accused of standing by during Ah Rim’s outburst. So Sung Hyuk didn’t know that Kwak had stood by with her arms folded while Young In was being humiliated.

“Chae Beom Jun.”

Beom Jun was terrified just by hearing his name called and waved his hands in protest.

“It wasn’t me! I didn’t lay a finger on Young In!”

“Ah, so you just stood by while Chae Ah Rim went berserk?”

Ah Rim, who had been bewildered about how Sung Hyuk knew to come, flinched. She was furious at her stupid brother who had opened the door despite her pleas not to, scared by the threat to call the police.

Ah Rim took a hesitant step back, avoiding Sung Hyuk who was approaching her with a hardened expression.

It was then that Beom Jun stretched his arm out to the side, blocking between the two.

“You’re not thinking of hitting my sister, are you?”

“Is it okay for your sister to hit my woman?”

“It’s not right for a man to get involved in a fight between women, Sung Hyuk.”

“Fight?”

Sung Hyuk twitched his eyebrow irritably and quickly raised his hand. Then he grabbed Beom Jun’s hand hanging in the air and rotated it, lifting it towards his shoulder.

“Agh!”

A scream of pain erupted from Beom Jun’s mouth as his radius and ulna twisted.

Sung Hyuk looked down coldly at Beom Jun, who was on his knees trembling, and corrected his words.

“It would be one-sided assault.”

“That. That.”

Only after nodding his head frantically did Beom Jun escape the pain that felt like his bones would break.

“Ugh…”

Ignoring Beom Jun rolling on the living room floor while rubbing his wrist, Sung Hyuk shifted his gaze to Ah Rim.

“I don’t consider anyone who hits women or children to be human.”

His eyes were bloodshot as he murmured quietly.

“But if you lay a hand on Young In one more time, I’m prepared to give up being human.”

Ah Rim straightened her hunched shoulders as if she had never been scared. It was because his warning sounded like an assurance that she would be safe as long as she didn’t touch Young In.

“Wake up, brother. How can you, of all people…”

“Shut up.”

After hesitating for a moment at the fierce tone, Ah Rim opened her mouth again.

“You two met 3 years ago too, right?”

“So?”

“Think about it with your hand on your heart. Didn’t you meet secretly because you were ashamed of Young In too?”

“It seems Young In was ashamed of me.”

3 years ago, Sung Hyuk was secretly hurt by Young In not wanting to reveal that they were dating. But now he understood why. He could imagine how much Chae Ah Rim would have tormented and harassed Young In if they had revealed it then.

“In case you’re misunderstanding, let me tell you this – both 3 years ago and this time, I was the one who pursued her to meet. Young In wasn’t very interested in me then or now. She doesn’t like me as much as I like her.”

Ah Rim learned that it was Young In who didn’t want to make their relationship public. And that it wasn’t Young In who seduced him first.

She was angry to have to admit that Cha Sung Hyuk was head over heels for Chae Young In.

“I’m disappointed. Do you know how unattractive Cha Sung Hyuk is, clinging to such an insignificant woman?”

“Oh really? Then if I proposed to you right now, you’d say no?”

“…”

Caught off guard, Ah Rim seriously considered whether she could actually reject Cha Sung Hyuk’s proposal. In doing so, she missed the timing to retort that of course she would.

Sneering as if he had expected this, Sung Hyuk turned his body and whispered gently to Young In.

“Let’s go.”

The moment he embraced her frail body, a sharp cry was heard from behind.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Sung Hyuk turned around and answered dryly.

“My house.”

He added one more thing.

“Young In, I’m not sending you back to this house anymore.”

Sung Hyuk moved his steps, leaving behind the trembling Ah Rim and Beom Jun who was still sprawled on the living room floor.

As they entered the hallway, Young In whispered with a troubled face.

“Put me down.”

“Just go.”

Sung Hyuk went to the shoes he had passed by earlier and bent his knees slightly. Young In picked up the overturned shoe.

“How did you know to come?”

“The phone didn’t hang up, so I heard Chae Ah Rim yelling.”

“Ah…”

While they paused briefly at the entrance, Young In pleaded once more to be put down. Sung Hyuk couldn’t insist anymore.

He picked up the bag and cell phone lying on the floor while she put on the shoe that had come off.

“It seems to still work, so let’s buy a new one tomorrow.”

Young In just nodded silently as she received the cracked cell phone.

After opening the front door and letting Young In out first, Sung Hyuk followed and stood facing her.

“It must hurt a lot.”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

Young In looked him straight in the eyes and raised the corners of her mouth.

“Don’t make that face. I’m fine.”

“What kind of face am I making?”

“It’s all my fault. I’m so sorry.”

Sung Hyuk gently brushed her disheveled hair behind her ear while gazing sadly at her swollen cheek.

“It’s all my fault. I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? What did you do wrong, senior?”

“You ended up like this because of me, didn’t you?”

His heart ached at the sight of her trying to appear cheerful despite her pale face.

“How is this because of you, senior?”

“If I had just left alone the person who said she didn’t like me, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Young In blinked her wide eyes.

“I may have pretended not to like you, but I never said I didn’t like you?”

“Really? I thought you didn’t like me coming on to you?”

“Liar. If you really thought I didn’t like it, you wouldn’t have come on to me.”

“You’re right that I was certain you didn’t dislike me, but I can’t guarantee I would have given up cleanly even if you really did dislike me.”

Because everything was an exception when it came to the woman named Chae Young In. Predictions based on general situations and subjects were of no use.

“Let’s go.”

Young In grabbed his arm with a darkened expression.

“But senior, I don’t think it’s right to act like this.”

“Then how should I act?”

“…”

“Regardless of the reason, today wasn’t the first time, was it?”

“…”

Young In answered with silence.

“It wouldn’t be much different no matter how I act.”

“I guess so…”

Young In nodded in agreement. She thought she’d have to accept being called ungrateful no matter how he acted.

“I can’t stand to see you living in this house. Stay at my place.”

“I’m not the age to run away from home.”

“You’re the age to leave home.”

They both burst out laughing at the same time.

“Let’s go.”

Sung Hyuk wrapped his arm around Young In’s shoulder, having made up her mind, and took her to the car.

When he got into the driver’s seat, she had turned her body to the left. Her expression clearly showed she had a lot to say.

“There’s something we need to clear up.”

“What is it?”

“I think your misunderstanding is bigger than my sister’s.”

“Misunderstanding?”

“How can you conclude that I don’t like you as much as you like me, when you don’t even know how much I like you?”

She knew what he meant by those words, but she couldn’t just let it slide.

“How much do you like me then?”

Caught off guard by the counterattack, Young In blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“…A lot.”

Even after saying it, she felt self-loathing, wondering if this was really the best answer.

“What kind of answer is that? Something kids learning to talk would say?”

Flustered by the pointed remark, Young In quickly passed the ball back to him.

“Well, how much do you like me then?”

“I like you the most out of all living creatures that exist in this world.”

Young In’s chest tightened at his unhesitating answer. Even knowing she didn’t deserve to hear such words, tears welled up in her eyes for no reason. But words she didn’t mean flowed from her mouth.

“Your parents would have been hurt if they heard that…”

Sung Hyuk shrugged indifferently.

“What can I do, it’s the truth. You should give up early too.”

“Give up what?”

“Our child will probably not care about their parents at all once they find someone they like. Where do you think my blood came from?”

“…”

Young In tried to calm her pounding heart.

Although the word ‘marriage’ had come out of his mouth before, it was the first time the words ‘our child’ had come out today. The weight of a child was different from marriage.

It felt real that this man was seriously picturing a future with her.

“Have you cleared everything up? Can we leave now?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

“Let’s go, to our home.”

“…”

Our home…

Young In repeated his words inwardly.

She knew that ‘our home’ he had mentioned earlier and ‘our home’ he was saying now had different meanings.