UTPT Ch 2

A few months before Lee Doyoon and Han Yihyun’s wedding.

Yihyun trembled at the sound of his father, Han Changwon, screaming from the shrine. He felt the urge to finish quickly and return to the annex, but a bad feeling gnawed at him.

His hands moved swiftly as he mixed the kimchi seasoning with the salted cabbage. The housekeeper had already left, saying it was time for her to go home after preparing only the seasoning, leaving the rest of the work entirely to Yihyun.

Because the people in this household only ate either freshly made kimchi or fully fermented kimchi, Yihyun and the housekeeper had to make it in small batches frequently. Since they never made it themselves, they had no idea how much effort it took, and every shortcut that could simplify the process was strictly forbidden.

Pre-salted cabbage was not allowed due to hygiene concerns, and red pepper powder had to be made by buying fresh peppers, drying them, and grinding them manually. Buying store-bought kimchi was, of course, unthinkable.

Though his hands were thin, they were surprisingly skillful, and he quickly coated the cabbage evenly. After packing the kimchi into a container, he removed the red-stained rubber gloves and placed them in the sink. With a click, he pressed down the lid and opened the kimchi refrigerator. At that moment, from the corner of the first floor, the shrine door burst open with a loud bang.

“Oh, CEO Geo. You weren’t always this cautious, were you?”

Han Changwon stepped out of the shrine while talking on the phone.

What should he do? Yihyun was no stranger to reading the hidden fury behind his father’s soft-spoken voice. From where he hid in the unlit kitchen, Han Changwon’s face looked no different from that of a goblin.

Black smoke swirled around Han Changwon. That dense, ever-darkening smoke was something only Yihyun could see.

“You said you’d let me in on the Jungjang District development project.”

Yihyun cautiously shifted his feet, moving his body behind the translucent glass door that separated the kitchen from the living room. The kimchi container in his hands was growing heavier, and he wanted to set it down somewhere, but making even the slightest noise would undoubtedly lead to disaster.

His loose socks had slipped halfway off, nearly causing him to slide, but he barely managed to regain his balance.

“CEO! CEO!”

Han Changwon hurled his phone to the floor. The back cover shattered with a loud crash, sending fragments skidding across the floor to Yihyun’s feet.

“That fucking bastard, Park Jaeman! You piece of shit!”

Han Changwon’s curses pierced the air. Yihyun had expected it, yet he was still so startled that he almost dropped the kimchi container. He barely managed to catch it, but one corner still struck the floor with a dull thud.

Han Changwon whipped his flushed face around and glared at Yihyun.

“What the hell are you doing here!”

“Ah…”

Yihyun lost his grip on the kimchi container, and it crashed to the floor. He stood frozen in place, trembling violently. Clenching his legs together in fear that he might wet himself, he struggled to stay upright, but it was useless.

Han Changwon stormed toward him, his breath ragged, and raised his hand high above his head. The large palm struck Yihyun’s cheek with force.

The single slap sent him crashing into the wall. Han Changwon wasn’t an especially large man, but Yihyun’s frame was far too small. His ears rang as if his eardrum had burst, the sounds around him fading in and out.

No matter how many times he was slapped, he could never get used to it. His head spun, his bones and everything inside him felt as if they were breaking apart. Dizziness overwhelmed him, and he collapsed to the floor, dry-heaving—only for Han Changwon to kick him in the stomach.

“You! Because of you! The gods have abandoned me! You cursed little shit!”

With each pause in his shouting, Han Changwon drove his foot into Yihyun’s stomach again. Feeling as if his intestines were being ripped apart, Yihyun hurriedly curled up. His back would hurt less than his stomach. Not getting hit wasn’t an option.

“I should have killed you back then. My mistake was letting you live just because your mother begged and begged for it.”

He had heard these words so many times that they were ingrained in his ears, yet they still made his insides churn. He bit down on his lips, refusing to make a sound. Han Changwon always hit harder when he cried or made noise.

That mother who had begged and begged had already lost her mind. If this was how he was going to live, maybe dying would have been better. If he had died right after birth, when he was so utterly weak, it would have taken little effort to end his life.

Whether back then or now, Han Changwon would not have felt a shred of guilt over killing him. Yihyun had no idea why such a man had kept him alive for so long. He tried to distract himself from the pain with other thoughts, but it was impossible. Han Changwon yanked his hair and slapped him again.

“There’s no place to sell off garbage like this.”

Han Changwon violently shook his head by the hair before throwing him down again. Yihyun barely avoided hitting the leg of a dining chair. If his head had slammed into it in his current state, he might have actually died.

How ridiculous. Just a moment ago, he had thought dying would be better, and now he was afraid of smashing his head and dying? He clenched his teeth in bitter self-mockery. The inside of his mouth was a complete mess, torn up from the slaps and filled with blood.

“No, wait. You’ll be twenty soon, so I can just sell you off there.”

Han Changwon suddenly stood up and began pacing between the living room and the kitchen, mumbling to himself.

“You’re a woman anyway, and if I want a steady income, the royal family would be…”

While Han Changwon was distracted, Yihyun knew he had to get out of there. If he didn’t, a second round would surely begin, and it would be far longer and more brutal than before.

Yihyun barely managed to straighten his back, but he had no strength left. What should he do? As he struggled to force himself up, he vomited stomach acid onto the floor. Panicking, he wiped it up with the apron he was wearing. Oddly enough, he felt a little better after throwing up.

Quickly shoving the kimchi container into the fridge, he hurried down the stairs, intending to escape through the back door of the kitchen.

The moment he pushed open the door leading to the backyard, a hand reached out from behind, grabbing him. He was dragged back up the stairs. Against the harsh backlight from the living room, Han Changwon’s face was cast in shadow, his mouth curling into a twisted smile.

“Yihyun-ah¹.”

Goosebumps ran down his entire body. Even in his voice, Yihyun could sense the black smoke. He curled in on himself like a pill bug.

“…Yes.”

“You should be more filial.”

“……”

“You’ll listen to your father, won’t you?”

Father. That word, spoken by a man who had never once been a father to him, always made Yihyun crumble. It was a binding force that controlled both his mind and body—an unbreakable shackle.

“That’s right. Even ghosts avoid an unlucky twin like you, but you should at least repay the debt of being kept alive until now.”

“……”

“Just behave and do as you’re told, got it?”

Han Changwon patted Yihyun’s head a couple of times. Even as he trembled, Yihyun nodded. He had done so until now, and he would have no choice but to continue.

***

The drawing room was quiet.

Lee Doyoon sat across from the man who would soon become his father-in-law, Han Changwon, and the eldest son, Han Suhyun. As he silently surveyed the room, both men sat stiffly, unable to take their eyes off him.

Park Jaeman, the current leader of the opposition party, and Han Changwon were a well-known political duo. Because of this, the royal family had maintained ongoing contact with Han Changwon’s family. It was clear they weren’t exactly eager about it, but still, Han Changwon had been confident that his marriage proposal wouldn’t be outright rejected. He had expected a cousin of the emperor at best. But the crown prince?

Lee Doyoon was the crown prince, that is, the Emperor’s younger brother. Since the news that he had moved to the United States at the age of eight, nothing had been revealed about him except for his name, so Han Changwon had never expected the crown prince himself to directly step forward for this marriage arrangement.

Since the Emperor, who frequently appeared in the media, had a tall and attractive face, Han Changwon had assumed the crown prince would be similar. However, Lee Doyoon’s appearance stood out even more than expected.

He was nearly 190 cm tall, his body clearly strong from years of exercise. His evenly balanced features were remarkably handsome and harmonious—if not for his imposing aura, one could go on praising his looks at length.

Lee Doyoon barely concealed his displeasure as Han Changwon’s gaze swept over his face. Fortunately, that gaze was filled mostly with curiosity about the crown prince rather than suspicion over why Doyoon had agreed to this marriage arrangement.

Everywhere he looked in the house, he could sense the scent of luxury. The porcelain and paintings were clearly expensive, and even the sofa he leaned against exuded a softness and plushness beyond that of ordinary furnishings. In particular, the painting hanging directly in front of him was by an artist whose name even Doyoon, despite his background in engineering, had heard before. That artist’s recent work had reportedly set a new record for the highest auction price in the country.

A shaman family with ties to influential political figures… It was no surprise that they had wealth, but at this rate of extravagance, their funds would likely be depleted before long. Their performance in recent years had been disastrous, and the number of people seeking their services had significantly declined.

It was said that the men of this family inherited the blood of shamans and that when the eldest son approached the age of twenty, the divine spirit would pass from father to son. If that were true, then Han Changwon, soon to be Doyoon’s father-in-law, might have already lost his abilities.

But what about Han Suhyun, who was sitting idly beside him, his eyes darting around? Was he properly demonstrating his abilities? Doyoon couldn’t easily answer that question affirmatively.

Whether it was Han Suhyun or Han Changwon, whether it was their shamanic abilities or their talent for deception—if they were successfully using even one of those skills, their family’s situation wouldn’t have deteriorated to this extent. They had never once put their abilities up for sale in the market, yet now, they were so desperate for money that they were willing to sell their daughter into a marriage contract. That was clear evidence of their dire financial situation and the fact that the people who once fell for their tricks had stopped giving them money.

Honestly, looking at it this way, agreeing to a marriage contract with them was downright stupid… But Doyoon once again visualized the persona he had to portray. Someone who appeared outwardly cold and rational but was secretly obsessed with shamanism and divination. A fool who had no choice but to accept this absurd contract.