TIOAWN Chapter 23

My daughter, Seo Ha-yoon. Keep doing just as you are now.

 

Whenever she saw a satisfying painting, a gentle voice and soft touch would approach her.

 

Seo Ha-yoon, if you act uselessly one more time, I’ll throw you away. Remember that.

 

On days when nothing could be drawn despite repeated efforts to sever ties, harsh words would strike her like a noose around her neck, cutting off her nerves.

 

With vacant eyes and a half-dazed expression, Ha-yoon would weakly pick up a brush. Only then would she feel a slight relief.

 

Overwhelmed with fear, Ha-yoon bit her lips with her thumb and index finger. It was an unconscious habit, unaware that she had torn her lips.

 

Pop, pop. Red droplets of blood welled up. A suffocating sense of despair churned in her throat.

 

“Ha.”

 

With a sigh, a white puff of breath spread in the air.

 

Staring blankly at the sea, Ha-yoon groped around for a seashell.

 

Thunk, thunk.

 

As if digging into the ground, she moved her hand a few times, then looked up at the sky. A deep darkness poured over her.

 

Cha Moo-geon.

 

At the end of the boundless night sky, there he was, once again.

 

If only he would swallow me whole right now.

 

So she wouldn’t think of anything. So she wouldn’t do anything. Just, like that.

 

Spreading her palm wide, she lifted it toward the sky. The darkness seeped through the gaps between her fingers.

 

It was just like the way Cha Moo-geon interlocked his hands with hers so tightly.

 

His pronounced eyebrows, hair slicked back with no hint of carelessness, and a firm jawline.

 

As Ha-yoon’s fingers moved, Moo-geon’s face was engraved across the sandy beach.

 

***

 

Leaning his head back against the car seat with his eyes closed, Moo-geon sat in stillness.

 

The atmosphere inside the car was so dense with pressure that even breathing felt restricted.

 

It was enough to keep Kang-heon from even uttering the word “Sir” despite his lips parting and closing several times.

 

The muscles in Moo-geon’s arms, gripping the armrest, seemed to compete to show their intensity, creating the illusion that the snake tattooed on his skin might actually move.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

Taking a deep breath, Kang-heon glanced out the car window at Ha-yoon.

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

There was no need to ask twice. Without even mentioning Ha-yoon’s whereabouts, the car smoothly started.

 

As if there had never been any connection to Seo Ha-yoon. As if she were a complete stranger.

 

No one would dare to suspect that they had been physically intimate. Moo-geon had coldly cast Seo Ha-yoon aside.

 

“The moment I locate Seo Myung-sik—”

 

“Just bring him in.”

 

Moo-geon cut Kang-heon’s report short with a single command. His jet-black pupils, devoid of any emotion, fixed on Kang-heon with quiet intensity.

 

“Make sure those fools keep their mouths in check.”

 

The chilling warning was clear: if Kang-heon mishandled things like this again, his own neck wouldn’t be safe either.

 

“Clear out anyone incompetent from my sight.”

 

“I’ll follow your orders.”

 

Kang-heon straightened his posture and tensed, fearing demotion might become his reality.

 

“My apologies, Sir.”

 

Acknowledging his responsibility for failing to manage the staff, Kang-heon admitted fault immediately.

 

“Did I ever ask for an apology from you?”

 

Displeasure crept into Moo-geon’s tone at that moment.

 

Kang-heon, who had been awkwardly continuing the conversation with half his body turned, suddenly froze, the back of his neck stiffening. The oppressive atmosphere made it difficult to even turn his head.

 

“I’ll correct my behaviour.”

 

Fortunately, Kang-heon, quick on the uptake, didn’t make the same mistake again.

 

He bowed his head respectfully before straightening his posture again.

 

“Hoo.”

 

Letting out a long breath, Moo-geon crossed his legs and opened the center console, pulling out a cigar. Watching this, Kang-heon cautiously offered him a cutter.

 

For having lost Seo Myung-sik, Moo-geon’s reaction was unexpectedly calm, leaving Kiseok, who was driving, somewhat relieved. But Kang-heon was not. Already unable to ease his tension, the sight of the cigar only deepened his anxiety.

 

Whenever his boss, who rarely smoked regular cigarettes, lit a cigar—a process that took particularly long—it always meant something was bound to happen.

 

He hoped everything causing the stress would be resolved by the time the cigar burned out, but he couldn’t shake his unease.

 

After all, hadn’t they left Seo Ha-yoon behind, despite her lingering strangely in Moo-geon’s thoughts?

 

As Kang-heon tried to suppress his worries, the scent of the cigar filled the car.

 

Moo-geon pulled out the ashtray from the door trim and closed his eyes. By the time the cigar’s unique scent slightly dulled the fury burning up to his tongue, Ha-yoon’s voice suddenly echoed in his ears.

 

“Is it really because of me?”

 

Seo Myung-sik’s descent into a more wretched existence—surely, it was all because of Seo Ha-yoon. She could not possibly be uninvolved in this incident. Surely, that must be the case.

 

And yet, why?

 

Why did his guts feel twisted? Why did his blood rush so fast that even the cigar couldn’t quell his rage? Why, after leaving her behind, did he keep thinking about Seo Ha-yoon?

 

Why, indeed.

 

“I’m sorry. I s-sorry.”

 

Why did that measly apology matter so much? Was it because he couldn’t stand to see her face any longer that he turned his back on her?

 

Breathless with tumultuous emotions, Moo-geon’s breathing grew ragged.

 

Unconsciously inhaling while smoking the cigarette too much, the cigar overheated, sending a wave of hot air stabbing through his mouth.

 

His tongue went numb, and his sensitive inner walls felt as though they had been burned.

 

“If left like that, the body will rot. Or maybe we should report it to the police…”

 

Did she really think the police would only handle the corpse and leave it at that? Did she even consider the aftermath of her words?

 

Damn it.

 

Whenever Seo Ha-yoon came to mind, emotions surged uncontrollably. Like someone who had lost all reason, his hands and mouth acted on their own.

 

Moo-geon couldn’t understand his own behavior.

 

If only he had dealt with Seo Myung-sik from the beginning, there wouldn’t have been any need to get tangled up with Seo Ha-yoon.

 

Like the end of a cigar turning white and crumbling to ash, Moo-geon’s heart burned black, eventually turning to ashes.

 

Not even Seo Myung-sik could manipulate him like this—so who exactly was Seo Ha-yoon to him?

 

Thunk. The white ash fell onto the ashtray. Moo-geon set the cigar down on the tray, watching blankly as the embers faded away.

 

The red heat that once asserted its presence gradually cooled and was extinguished.

 

The emotions that clung damply to his heart and chest dried up completely.

 

At last, Moo-geon, having swept away all thoughts and remnants of Seo Ha-yoon, spoke lightly.

 

“There’s no need to report anything regarding Seo Ha-yoon from now on.”

 

Rubbing the charred end of the cigar, Moo-geon tried to wear down the unresolved feelings he harbored toward Seo Ha-yoon.

 

After taking her away so arbitrarily, she was discarded without so much as an explanation. To treat Seo Ha-yoon as if she were someone he never knew, cruelly and coldly—he had utterly abandoned her.

 

As Moo-geon pressed his thumb firmly against his forehead, a bright red object caught his eye in the corner of the car.

 

For some reason, it bothered him. Even without picking it up, he could already guess what it was.

 

Still, Moo-geon reached out and took hold of the crimson item.

 

“Cherry.”

 

It was obvious why such a thing had fallen onto the meticulously maintained car floor, which Kiseok managed without fail every day. Seo Ha-yoon must have brought it.

 

Red lips. A soft, yielding tongue. Breaths that tightly overlapped.

 

  

“Can I just eat one cherry now?”

 

Her innocent eyes had looked to him for permission over something as trivial as a single cherry. Her earnest gaze, filled with longing as she licked her lips, had seemed almost desperate.

 

What was so special about this cherry?

 

For someone who had likely grown up like a princess to treasure this enough to bring it here…

 

A spark ignited in his dried-up emotions. The heat that hadn’t been fully extinguished simmered faintly inside him.

 

Damn it.

 

“Sir, about Seo Ha-yoon—”

 

Just as she was already grating on his nerves. Just as her persistent presence was making him uncomfortable in more ways than one. Why must she—

 

Moo-geon raised an eyebrow and shot a sharp look at Kang-heon, his dissatisfaction evident.

 

“Do I really need to say it twice?”

 

He had already told him not to mention Seo Ha-yoon anymore.

 

The cold warning was sharp enough to feel like a blade at Kang-heon’s throat.

 

Kang-heon, who had been checking a report he’d just received on his phone and tablet, seemed to steel himself before speaking.

 

“Someone broke into Seo Myung-sik’s house while searching for Seo Ha-yoon.”

 

Moo-geon tilted his head slightly, gesturing lightly with his chin as if telling him to continue.

 

“Lee Sung-sik, the secretary of Jin Bo-young, the CEO of Gallery R.”

 

“Jin Bo-young? As in Jin Bo-young from Songhwa Group?”

 

Songhwa Group and Seo Ha-yoon. Moo-geon rubbed his temples.

 

“Yes, that’s correct.”

 

Ha. Moo-geon let out a soft laugh and leaned his arm against the car window.

 

Tap, tap, tap.

 

His elegant fingers rhythmically tapped the glass. His brow furrowed, and tension gathered in his fingertips.

 

Observing the mood, Kang-heon swallowed nervously and continued.

 

“While the reason isn’t clear, given their aggressive approach, it doesn’t seem like they have any favorable intentions toward Seo Ha-yoon.”

 

Relaying the reports from Hyunho and Jaegyu about how they seemed ready to drag her away by the hair, Kang-heon recited them.

 

Moo-geon picked up the cigar again. Just as it seemed he might shake off the ash and relight it, what he grabbed instead was a cutter.

 

Snip, snip.

 

The expensive cigar was being chopped to pieces, causing Kiseok, who was glancing at the scene through the rearview mirror, to flinch.

 

“Drag her away by the hair?”

 

The entire world treating Seo Ha-yoon harshly should have brought him satisfaction.

 

If punishing Seo Myung-sik’s daughter in his place eased some of the resentment lodged in his chest, it should have felt right.

 

So why did it feel so unpleasant? His guts twisted, and his mood soured.

 

The thought of someone else grabbing Seo Ha-yoon by the hair and shaking her was infuriating.

 

Seo Ha-yoon.

 

Just those three syllables were enough to shake him to the core, making him question everything.

 

He had decided to let her go. To stop involving her in his life and to stop entangling himself in hers. He had made that decision and left her behind on a vast beach less than an hour ago.

 

And yet, time and time again. In every little thing.

 

She was unbearably aggravating.