“My existence is like that?”

Even without that, his irritation was rising.

Seung Jun knew his voice was getting louder but he couldn’t stop it.

“Do you not think about my position at all?”

Seol Ah just glared at him, gritting her teeth.

“What did I do so wrong? You didn’t even give me a chance to explain. The situation I was in…”

“Do I need to know about that?”

The corners of Seol Ah’s lips turned up.

It was a sad smile.

“I have no interest in the life of a chaebol young master, and I don’t want to know. All I think about is Yu Min.”

I hate myself for having even a shred of expectation for you. I’m sick and tired of wondering about your day.

“Don’t act all high and mighty using Yu Min as an excuse. You’re just a selfish mother absorbed in your own thoughts.”

Seung Jun clenched his jaw, feeling his teeth grind together.

“What did you say?”

Seol Ah’s face flushed red.

“How can you say that, what do you know to say something like that? Calling me a selfish mother?”

Seol Ah’s voice trembled.

“My existence is harmful to Yu Min? Then what about you? You think your existence will only be good for Yu Min? Having to work overtime even when the child is sick, not being able to buy him a single proper piece of clothing – you think an existence like that will only benefit the child?”

The words pierced Seol Ah’s heart like arrows. Her face that had been flushed red was now pale white.

A mother who wasn’t there even when he was sick, a mother who was only working even when the child was burning up with a fever.

Tears instantly welled up in her eyes that seemed at a loss for words.

‘This isn’t it.’

Only then did Seung Jun realize his mistake. He just didn’t like his efforts being disparaged. He was disappointed that she didn’t understand him.

Just as Seung Jun was about to speak again…

The door opened. They looked over in surprise to see Yu Min standing there, his face flushed bright red.

“Mister, go away!”

Yu Min was shouting loudly enough for the whole hospital to hear.

“I said go, mister! Go! Don’t ever come back! Go!”

“Yu Min, no. You shouldn’t act like this to mister.”

Seol Ah snapped out of it and tried to soothe Yu Min. But Yu Min pushed Seung Jun out without hesitation.

“Go, go! Mister go! Go, go!”

Seung Jun squeezed his eyes shut in front of the thrashing, crying Yu Min.

He wanted to believe it was just a dream.

He thought they had just started to get a little closer.

“Alright, I’ll go.”

Opening his eyes, Seung Jun looked at Seol Ah. She wasn’t looking at him.

“Today…I went too far. Forget it.”

Seung Jun turned around.

The go board set in his hand seemed to tug him endlessly downward.

I couldn’t even give you this.

If I give it, you’ll probably throw it away. Since I’m the person who said such cruel things to your mother. Then where should I take this?

“Elder brother.”

When he walked out, Jin Cheol was standing in front of him. He was holding a toy set, seeming to intend to bring it to Yu Min.

Yu Min probably doesn’t like things like that very much.

Seung Jun handed the go board set to Jin Cheol.

“Play with it together with Yu Min.”

“What? You’re not going in?”

At Jin Cheol’s question, Seung Jun gave a bitter smile.

“I don’t think it’ll work out today. Go in and play with him a lot.”

After patting Jin Cheol’s shoulder a couple times, Seung Jun turned and walked away.

Jin Cheol watched him go, tilting his head, before entering the hospital room.

The room was in an uproar.

Whatever happened, Yu Min was crying loudly and Seol Ah was hugging him.

“What’s wrong, Yu Min? Does it hurt a lot?”

At Jin Cheol’s voice, Seol Ah turned her head. A smile flickered on her tired face.

“No, he’s just throwing a tantrum. It’s okay.”

“Did you see mister on your way in?”

Yu Min asked Jin Cheol, sniffling. Jin Cheol looked at the go board set Seung Jun had handed him before leaving. Seems like something happened.

“Ah, no. I didn’t see him.”

“Tell him to never come back. I’m never going to see him again.”

Yu Min said indignantly, wiping away his tears. Even though Jin Cheol said he didn’t see him, Yu Min seemed to just want to say what was in his heart no matter what Jin Cheol said.

Jin Cheol quickly brought up a different topic.

“Oh, I bought you some toys I thought you’d like. I bought this one because it’s a new toy, and this go board set, you seemed to like it yesterday.”

Yu Min stared at the toy and go board in turns, then slowly picked up the go board. But then he pushed it back to Jin Cheol.

“I’m not going to play with this anymore.”

“Why? You had fun with it yesterday.”

“That’s…not true. It’s not fun.”

Yu Min picked up the toy Jin Cheol had bought. It was a toy that lit up and said English words.

“Looks fun.”

Yu Min pressed the button, speaking indifferently. Watching him, Seol Ah lowered her gaze. She took a deep breath, tightly clenching her trembling hands.

*

The vice chairman was in a foul mood.

Manager Nam had been on edge since morning. He nitpicked at everything.

Starting from why the Americano was so bitter, to why the meeting was starting one minute late, to why the company was so hot, to why the floor was so dirty.

And the peak was the planning meeting. It was a session for each company to introduce their new launches or key projects, but Seung Jun rejected each and every one as if he was dissatisfied with them.

“Do a proper customer analysis first. You say the main target group is 30s to 40s. If you put forth purchasing power as the keyword, you need to create goods according to that. Let’s look at it again from the beginning.”

“Rustic life doesn’t mean you just want to live in the countryside. The human psychology is wanting to look at nature but still use a bidet toilet. If you fix up an abandoned house into a country home, no one will come.”

The executives of each company shrank back like an octopus at the point by point criticisms, unable to say anything.

They were plans the employees had squeezed out after being told to submit new business proposals somehow. After verbally tearing them apart one by one, Seung Jun angrily left the meeting room first.

Following after him, Manager Nam quickly held out a cold Americano.

Seung Jun gulped down the Americano in one go and looked at Manager Nam with furrowed brows.

“Is what I’m saying difficult?”

“No, it’s not difficult.”

“Then why does no one seem to understand? Trend analysis, customer analysis, I feel like I’ve been emphasizing it since the first planning meeting.”

That’s because it’s not as easy as you make it sound.

Manager Nam knew that not everyone’s mind worked as fast as Seung Jun’s, but he didn’t say anything more.

“Reschedule the meeting for next week. Discard everything from today. Next schedule is?”

“You have a dinner meeting with the vice president of Naeil Bank tomorrow.”

Naeil Bank was one of the banks the group did business with. The vice president was especially notorious for being a heavy drinker.

“I should probably change.”

“I’ll have it prepared.”

Seung Jun felt his jacket was soaked with sweat from getting so heated. Feeling the rush of heat, he headed to the vice chairman’s office.

As the artificially controlled air, with its humidity, temperature, and even oxygen levels regulated, hit Seung Jun’s nose, his brows finally relaxed.

A moment later, with a knock, a female secretary entered carrying Seung Jun’s new suit.

“Leave it there and go.”

“Yes, Vice Chairman.”

Her forehead with neatly combed hair was white and round. The secretary politely bowed and turned around.

At that moment, Seung Jun followed after her.

Blocking the door she was trying to exit, Seung Jun gazed at her blankly.

One corner of his lips turned up. Seung Jun lowered his lips onto the secretary’s fluttering eyelids.

The secretary blushed without any sign of dislike. Seung Jun stroked that cheek slowly with his thumb.

Seung Jun’s head lowered further. Tasting her lips. Red, glistening lips. Seung Jun’s eyes closed.

There was a knock.

“Vice Chairman?”

Seung Jun opened his eyes.

The secretary was standing in front of him, holding the clothes.

“Leave it there and go.”

Seung Jun repeated what he said in his dream. The secretary hung the new clothes on the hanger, politely bowed in front of it, and left the vice chairman’s office.

Her forehead isn’t round, her cheeks aren’t flushed, her eyes aren’t clear.

Not like her.

Seung Jun furrowed his brows. A self-mocking smile passed his lips.

He abruptly stood up and changed clothes. Taking off the damp clothes and putting on new ones made him feel refreshed.

He took a sip of the Americano on his desk and spat it back out. It had gone bland with the ice all melted, who knows when it was poured.

When he neatly tidied his appearance one more time in front of the mirror, there was a knock and Manager Nam entered.

“It’s time to leave.”

*

“Discharge?”

The doctor looked perplexed.

“Yes, there’s a hospital that took good care of him before. I’m moving him there. This place is good too, but it’s far from work and home, so…”

If it wasn’t a major illness and just enteritis, Seol Ah found the children’s hospital near home more convenient. She had wanted to move him for a while but hadn’t until now because Yu Min’s condition wasn’t very good.

“Then it’s a transfer. I’ll send a car for you.”

“No, it’s fine, we can take a taxi.”

“If you’re worried about the cost, it’s alright. The vice chairman already prepaid everything.”

She wondered if hospitals did prepayment too, but she also thought there wasn’t much Seung Jun couldn’t do with his wealth and power. Seol Ah decided not to make it an issue.

“I see. But for the transfer, I’ll just discharge normally and take a taxi.”

In the end, Seol Ah put Yu Min in a taxi as she wanted. His body had improved significantly, his former complexion returned.

His expression still wasn’t very good though.

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to the hospital near home that you were admitted to often. The doctor there knows you well and takes good care of you. You’re more comfortable there too.”

Yu Min didn’t say anything for a while after getting in the taxi. When they were almost at the hospital, he spoke.

“Are we running away secretly from mister?”

Seol Ah’s face stiffened.

Is that what this is? Since she didn’t tell him, it might be right to call it running away.

He asked for a chance to become a father, but she thought those chances might actually bring more confusion to Yu Min. Especially after this experience.

“Do you hate mister, Mom?”

Yu Min asked again.

Do I hate him? No.

More than hate, I’m worried. He probably rushed over forcibly after taking care of urgent things yesterday too. Even knowing his circumstances, I had no choice but to push him away.

I keep thinking of his shaken gaze at the end.

Was he hurt? Or is he so tough that he probably forgot about something like that already?

Without answering, Seol Ah stroked Yu Min’s head. Feeling the warmth, her eyes moistened.