Thrilled by Madness - Chapter 92

Eom So Yeon, who disappeared while cherishing the memory of just one night, was already not alone at that time.

Was it because of the regret of not being able to be there while the child born that day grew up to be so smart and capable in this world? Her dark eyes were particularly moist.

Seo Jun, who came out of the room where Hyun Woo was sleeping, walked down the long corridor with wide strides.

As he got closer to the reception room, the voices of people became clearer. It was the sound of guests continuing their pleasant conversations after moving from the garden to inside the house as a light rain began to fall.

Jo Yeon Hee showed Yeo Jin the photo album of Hyun Woo that she had carefully collected over the years. About a dozen women gathered on the central sofa, all peering at those photos, were busy laughing as they listed the mischievous things Hyun Woo had done in the past.

In contrast, the men gathered near the reception room window were engrossed in more serious debates while moistening their throats with wine. It seemed that the gap between beliefs as doctors and reality was the same in Canada as in Korea.

Seo Jun, who naturally blended in to sit next to where Chairman Tae and Professor Eom were seated, watched So Yeon through the glass window as she busily moved about cleaning up the terrace where dinner had ended.

“…”

Looking so delicate as if not a drop of water would touch her hands, yet doing all the hard work alone?

Though not all third daughters from wealthy families would be like that, Seo Jun couldn’t help but recall the saying that one should take a third daughter without even seeing her face.

He could sense her sincerity in her bright expression as she deliberately helped the staff working late into the evening.

Although his mood had been somewhat damp when leaving Hyun Woo’s room just earlier, as Seo Jun continued to watch So Yeon’s bustling figure, he felt not only a sense of clear skies, but even his soul felt refreshed.

That was the reason for the arrogant yet charming smile playing on Seo Jun’s lips.

“Why did you give up on the path of being a doctor midway?”

Professor Eom suddenly asked Seo Jun, who was only looking out the window. He had become curious about this point while noticing Seo Jun unable to take his eyes off So Yeon.

“What’s the use of pledging to practice medicine with conscience and dignity? To fulfill my duty transcending race, religion, nationality, and social status? To not use knowledge against humanity? In hospitals that have already become interest groups, the stench pervades from top to bottom.”

At today’s gathering, everyone except the families of Chairman Tae and Professor Eom were white, so conversations had been in English throughout the party. For that reason, Seo Jun also candidly expressed in English the harsh realities he had experienced in the medical field.

“I was disgusted by the unethical act of compromising life with money. It was also a decision I made because I couldn’t respect those who recklessly wielded the double-edged sword that should have been used with caution.”

Professor Eom nodded towards Seo Jun as if understanding what he meant.

“I’ve felt similarly about that. Those who only know money do tend to be exceptionally clever. But don’t forget that there are also many doctors who strive to uphold common sense.”

Chairman Tae, who had been listening silently, also seized the moment to speak up.

“So that’s why you became an actor? A guy with guts like you would be perfect for business, but why do you insist on that path…”

Chairman Tae finished his words with a very brief wink.

How could someone who has the business world and even the political world in the palm of his hand not know about the subtly changing currents in the capital market? He’s really consistent in his habit of pretending not to know when he knows everything.

Seo Jun could also tell just from his father’s few words and fleeting expression.

There was no doubt that he had figured out that he was the hidden leader of , which had gradually overturned the obvious landscape where only strong companies survive, and had now rapidly emerged as a monster company that no entrepreneur could ignore or be unaware of.

It’s said that if the tail is too long, it gets stepped on. But Seo Jun, who had only kept his mouth shut until being stepped on, without any need to hide it particularly, responded with a relaxed gaze while making the same expression as Chairman Tae.

“Stubbornness is inherently reckless, isn’t it? It’s human nature to not want to do something when forced, and to want to do it when told not to.”

“Oh my, oh my, what a cheeky fellow! Anyway, you’ll soon find out through Hyun Woo. The heart of a parent raising a child, that is.”

“Well, I don’t intend to force Hyun Woo to do anything. Whatever he does, I’ll just support him.”

“You’ve already thought that far?”

“Why would I think about that? It’s only natural that one should decide one’s own life.”

The conversation between Seok Ho and Seo Jun was in Korean. So the gazes of the guests who didn’t understand what they were saying busily went back and forth between the father and son, and in between, Eom Eun Hyuk was briefly interpreting the rest of the conversation, excluding the very personal parts.

“Ho ho, Professor Eom. I apologize for showing you such a son-in-law, but what should I do with this fellow who tries to beat his own father to the end?”

To Chairman Tae’s sudden question, Professor Eom gave a fitting answer to the rhetorical question.

“Who would want a disobedient child? But speaking as a father with a daughter, a son-in-law with strong self-reliance like Tae Seo Jun would always be welcome. Because he wouldn’t make his wife and children suffer.”

As Professor Eom finished speaking, Seo Jun said he would go see So Yeon now and stood up from his seat.

“Then, please continue your conversation.”

Just as Seo Jun was about to close the swing door as he left the reception room towards the garden, it was then.

“Hey, Mr. Tae!”

Someone called out to Seo Jun.

The staff who had finished cleaning up had left, but So Yeon was standing under the porch, gazing at the garden getting wet with rain.

The soft light emanating from inside the house gently illuminated the surroundings, piercing through the darkness. On this atmospheric night, the occasional laughter of people permeated So Yeon’s heart like raindrops, warming it.

So Yeon stretched out her arm to catch raindrops falling from the roof in her palm. Her prettily upturned lips grew even more beautifully elongated. It was a beautiful smile.

But when had it started?

Seo Jun’s gaze, fixed on her smiling side profile from a short distance away, remained frozen without the slightest movement.

The person who had stopped Seo Jun earlier was the obstetrician who had performed Eom So Yeon’s surgery when she gave birth to Hyun Woo.

Introducing himself as such, he said he felt he should tell this to the man who needs to take responsibility for the child and a woman, and carefully brought up the story of that day’s serious and urgent situation, which was truly like a bolt from the blue.

Eom So Yeon, who could have lost her life the day Hyun Woo was born.

When severe labor pains began and she was moved to the delivery room, as the baby’s head rotated and descended in a certain direction, she experienced a rupture of the birth canal followed by acute hemorrhage.

The attending physician was also very flustered by this completely unexpected event, and in that critical situation, he decided on emergency surgery, but even that was delayed because the supply of rare blood type was not smooth.

At that time, when neither the life of the child nor the mother could be guaranteed. Even though she should have lost consciousness, Eom So Yeon was already like a living corpse, but her terrible will to accept death ultimately brought the child into the world.

However, after fighting for her life once again at the crossroads of death, she barely woke up from a coma after three days.

After hearing the details of that day from that doctor, Seo Jun had come out to the garden terrace, but he couldn’t take more than a few steps before standing rooted to the spot, endlessly gazing at Eom So Yeon.

Even though she almost died.

And yet, in front of me…

She said she was just happy and joyful to have given birth to the child?

Ha! What should I do with this foolish woman!

If something had gone wrong with you then, I…

The sudden throbbing pain in his chest was an excruciating pain he had never felt even once in his life. Seo Jun found it difficult to control the piercing pain in his solar plexus. No, it was already a pain beyond the level he could control.

Eom So Yeon and the baby, untouched by the light of this world, had almost completely disappeared from this world.

Because of him.

It was because of that.

“Oh! What is it?”

Seo Jun rushed over in one breath, grabbed So Yeon’s wrist, and pulled her somewhere. She had no thought of refusing, nor did she have the leisure to. Surprised, So Yeon followed Seo Jun, stumbling along without knowing what was happening.

The very end of the porch behind a pillar was a blind spot not visible from inside the house. Seo Jun took So Yeon there and hugged her tightly without any explanation. It was the moment when the burning sensation that wouldn’t easily subside was about to touch her tempting lips.

“W-wait…”

No matter how urgent, engaging in an act of affection here is too dangerous. With that thought striking her mind, So Yeon pulled her face back as far as possible.

“It would be embarrassing if someone saw us!”

“Would it be okay somewhere else?”

“W-well…”

“Then, let’s go somewhere quiet.”

Grasping So Yeon’s wrist again, Seo Jun ran towards the back of the garden where he had caught the fleeing Hyun Woo earlier.

At the edge of the garden, there was a marble staircase. As they descended those steps, the suddenly intensified rain shower seeped into the collar of Seo Jun’s suit. So Yeon’s white evening dress was also completely soaked by the rain.

As if intending to run faster, Seo Jun lifted So Yeon up in a princess carry.

The place the two entered like that was a glass greenhouse.

This place, where numerous flower buds burst with fragrance, enhancing the mood of the night, was surrounded by large trees, appropriately secluded and with a profound atmosphere. It was just the right place for a secret date.

“Why did we suddenly come here?”

So Yeon, put down on the floor, looked at Seo Jun with a penetrating gaze while shaking off the rainwater on her skirt.

Seo Jun, who turned on the switch to light the small lamps hanging from the greenhouse ceiling, looked around the cozy greenhouse and answered So Yeon’s question slowly.

“Because I wanted to be alone with Eom So Yeon.”

This place, where warm light had settled, exuded a romantic atmosphere like a midsummer night’s dream. On top of that, Seo Jun’s low voice. So Yeon’s heart couldn’t help but flutter at that fatal appearance.

“There are still many guests at home, what if they notice we’re gone and start looking for us? We should go back quickly.”

But dishonest words immediately flowed from So Yeon’s mouth.

“Eom So Yeon really worries a lot. If an adult couple, a couple who promised to marry, disappeared, the reason is obvious, so why would they look for us.”

“That’s what makes me more embarrassed.”

Eom So Yeon was a woman who cared more about her surroundings than herself. She was a fool who didn’t know how to desire, let alone care for herself.

As So Yeon perched on the workbench placed in the center of the greenhouse, Seo Jun sat down close beside her.

Seo Jun held So Yeon’s hand, as if his empty hands felt lonely. Even sitting side by side, the top of her head didn’t reach Seo Jun’s eye level. Looking down and up at each other like this, Seo Jun and So Yeon looked like affectionate lovers to anyone who saw them.

“Actually, I have something to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Why did you do it? A man of just one night, you could have easily given up.”

“W-what are you talking about?”

“I heard Eom So Yeon almost died. While giving birth to Hyun Woo.”

“…!”

So Yeon’s pulse raced as she saw his perfect features suddenly harden. Raindrops were falling heavily, striking the greenhouse glass. Her heart pounded loudly in sync with that sound.

“When I heard about you from that person who said he was your attending physician, I had nothing to say even if I had ten mouths. Because I didn’t know anything like a fool, not even that Eom So Yeon was carrying my child, even when you were enduring pain to give birth to my child!”

Seo Jun spoke in a firm voice. But in his trembling eyes, his crumbling gaze, intense emotion could be felt.

“…”

So Yeon, dropping her tensed shoulders, bit her lower lip hard instead of saying she would have done exactly the same even if time were turned back. At that moment, a sharp voice mixed with the sound of rain pierced her ears.

“Shall I tell you how pathetic a guy I am? Could I forget you if I tried? Should I somehow find you and tie you to my side when I’m discharged? No, should I just take all of you? When I was engrossed in such trivial thoughts…”

Cutting off his voice midway and letting out a self-mocking laugh, Seo Jun soon continued.

“You were the one who went between life and death on a cold operating table! Not once, but twice!”

Two years ago, Eom So Yeon also had a brush with death. How had he felt when he heard the report that the accident was due to Yoo Jung Hwa’s scheme? Seo Jun’s expression greatly frowned as he ruminated on those feelings again.

It was very rare for Seo Jun to reveal painful emotions. Encountering such a Tae Seo Jun for the first time, So Yeon’s neck area involuntarily flinched.

“Why are you pathetic, Seo Jun? It’s natural that you didn’t know since I didn’t tell you!”

He was clearly in pain because of her. So Yeon, who closed her large eyes tightly and then opened them, carefully poured out the events of long ago while holding her breath.

“The danger when giving birth to Hyun Woo was something no one could have predicted. As my mind was becoming dizzy, the sound of the baby’s heartbeat becoming too weak and dangerous woke me up. I heard them saying they needed to operate immediately, but it was uncertain if the baby could hold on right away.”

“So… you risked your life?”

“Yes.”

Because I was originally made that way. Even if the worst situation came, saving my child was entirely my responsibility to bear. Because any mother would have done the same. Above all, because it was a child I wanted and wished for.

So Yeon, who put that heart into her straight gaze, looked directly at Seo Jun. And taking a deep breath all at once, she spoke again.

“Yes, I did. I wanted to protect the child at least. I didn’t want to give up. Thinking it was the only connection to you, it didn’t hurt much, nor was I scared.”

“You say the pain of having every bone in your body crushed didn’t hurt that much? Ha…”

The more he heard, the more dumbfounded Seo Jun became, letting out a short, heavy sigh. Then he stretched out his fingers and pressed his temple.

“It’s all safely in the past now, isn’t it?”

“Because it’s in the past, we should act like it never happened? How typical of Eom So Yeon. And that makes me even more of a bad guy.”

His heavily distorted voice trembled slightly. Was that a bit strange? Without realizing it, So Yeon reached out to Seo Jun’s face, easily brushing aside the hand covering his eyes, and traced his cheek, almost too precious to touch for fear it might wear away.

But this moisture felt on her fingertips…

No way…!

Is this man crying?