Not going according to her plan, Yeonji chewed her lips while covering her face. Along with a tingling pain, a few tears gathered in her eyes.
“I appreciate your mother’s work.”
Yeonji dropped her hands from her face.
Hyukju still had a stiff expression. Looking at his appearance, which showed no emotion even when he was sad, made her angry.
Why did Hyukju come out like this because of what that woman Oh Eunsu said?
“Is this because of Oh Eunsu?”
“What?”
Hyukju looked at Yeonji with a sharp gaze.
“Is what Oh Eunsu said the reason you’re treating me like this, oppa? Does that woman not like that you and I meet? So, are you cruelly begging me like this because of that?”
As Yeonji spoke with a sneer, Hyukju’s eyes became chilly. However, oblivious to the cold gaze, Yeonji raised her voice.
“Such a laughable girl. You used to say you knew everything about my marriage and that you wouldn’t care about anything I did with Oppa. Now you’re changing your tune? If that’s the case, you should have told me from the beginning not to even look at Oppa. You pretended not to care, but now that it seems like I’m getting along well with Oppa, you’re doing this because you don’t like it, right?”
“Enough.”
Hyukju muttered in a low voice.
“I’m right, aren’t I!”
“Seoyeonji.”
Instantly, a heavy atmosphere pressed down on Yeonji.
Seeing Hyukju slowly tilting his head, Yeonji unconsciously clenched her fist.
“What do you know about Eunsu that you’re babbling about so recklessly?”
“…Oh, Oppa.”
Yeonji stammered. Contempt shone in Hyukju’s eyes as he looked at her. At the same time, when he glared at her fiercely, Yeonji’s body stiffened.
It was Hyukju’s face that she had never seen before.
He had never been affectionate toward her, but he had never shown a rough side. But now, Hyukju was engulfed in anger as if he would explode at the slightest touch.
The thought suddenly occurred to her that he wasn’t just doing this because of Oh Eunsu’s demand.
That man really wanted to abandon me.
Moon Hyukju came with a firm determination.
Realizing this, Yeonji was at a loss for what to do.
When faced with an inescapable dilemma, there was only one way for me to choose.
Yeonji touched her forehead with her hand.
“Oh, my head…”
She tightly bit her lower lip and wrinkled her face as it was. By now, Hyukju should have gotten up from his seat with a surprised face, but the opposite seat was quiet. Pretending to touch her forehead, Yeonji glanced at Hyukju.
It was an indifferent expression.
How could he be like that?
He wasn’t the Moon Hyukju she knew. He looked completely different today.
“You don’t seem bothered at all.”
It felt like my heart sank. Yeonji, with a voice that was trembling to an incomparable extent compared to before, asked reluctantly.
“W-What are you talking about?”
“I figured it out.”
Yeonji shut her mouth like a clam.
There was an impulse to bite her thumbnail. Unconsciously, she raised her hand to do so but hurriedly put it down. She shouldn’t show that she was anxious.
“I don’t want to investigate and nitpick each and every detail.”
“…….”
“Since digging won’t bring out any good stories.”
The reason Yeonji never revealed the fact that she worked as a hostess was also because of that time.
Hyukju pushed the chair under the table. Yeonji was bowing her head like a sinner.
Since meeting him, Yeonji had been in and out of the hospital repeatedly, using the excuse of feeling unwell. Occasionally, she mentioned feeling dizzy or having a headache, eliciting sympathy.
In reality, she suspected to some extent that it was a lie.
Because there was no problem according to the detailed examination.
Should I have investigated more at that time?
Even if she did, probably nothing would have changed. Hyukju’s reason for helping Yeonji was a kind of act of atonement.
He was grateful that she had comforted him beside his mother, whom he had ignored. He thought it was only natural to repay and that by doing so, he could wash away some of his past mistakes.
Looking back, it was a foolish thought.
If she wanted to show gratitude, she should have ended it within the bounds of appropriate compensation. Not leaving things ambiguous like this.
“You also don’t wish for me to see your bottom.”
Yeonji felt her blood freeze at Hyukju’s cold voice.
Staring intently at Yeonji’s face, which had turned pale, almost white, Hyukju continued speaking.
“Let’s stop. That’s why I came to say this.”
“……. ”
“Although we’ve never properly started.”
Yeonji dropped tears at Hyukju’s low, murmuring voice.
As Hyukju said, there was no way to define what kind of relationship they had. It was a relationship without a beginning, and talking about ending it was a ridiculous story.
If he unilaterally cut off contact with her, that would be the end of it.
Nevertheless, for Hyukju to come here and tell her it’s over was the final courtesy. Bursting into tears, Yeonji sobbed as if her breath was being choked out.
However, Hyukju left the store without a word.
Manager Song, who was waiting in front of the car, opened the back door.
Finally sitting in the driver’s seat, he glanced at Hyukju absorbed in his thoughts through the rearview mirror and asked.
“Is there anything you’d like me to do?”
“If there’s any doubt, I thought it would be better to find out.”
“What suspicion are you talking about?”
Hyukju took out his phone. When he turned on the screen, data related to Seoyeonji appeared.
Twenty-one, changed from Seoeunsung to Seoyeonji. His gaze lingered on the document that recorded the name change for a moment.
‘Since digging won’t bring out any good stories.’
He recalled the words he had just said to Seoyeonji.
Would it be wise to investigate when she was Seoeunsung?
Now, when they had no relationship at all.
Hyukju tapped his forehead with his finger.
“Deputy Director.”
“Call her Seoyeonji. Check her records from Seongsim Hospital to before she changed her name.”
“Seongsim Hospital might have gone out of business, so it might not be easy to confirm the records.”
“I just want you to confirm as much as you can find. It’s okay if it takes some time.”
“Understood.”
Hearing Manager Song’s response, Hyukju leaned back in the back seat, resting his head.
There was no one who lied only once. Lying usually involved repeating lies by telling another lie to cover up the first one.
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.”
