Whisper Chapter 24

“……?”  

 

“I think I told you my age before. Don’t you remember?”  

 

“You said you are thirty-one.”  

 

“So you remember.”  

 

Lee Heewoo looked puzzled, not knowing why he suddenly brought up his age. Offering up her neck so obediently yet looking at him like that—Cha Gyeol’s lips twisted.  

 

“You’re old enough to know better, so don’t turn me into some trash who preys on a kid.”  

 

Cha Gyeol tilted his head slightly, tightened his grip on her nape for a moment, then let go. The sensation of her skin against his palm disappeared too soon, leaving behind a trace of regret. When he lowered his gaze to where he had grabbed, he saw the red imprint of his fingers. He hadn’t even held her properly, being mindful of his strength, yet the mark remained.  

 

“Do you… hate me?”  

 

Feeling a strange emptiness where his large hand had been, Heewoo lightly pressed her own hand to her neck.  

 

She didn’t know what he meant by preying on someone or being trash, but she needed him. She wanted to be by his side.  

 

For the first time in her life, she was allowing herself to be selfish. She had never once begged her grandmother for anything, yet with this man, she kept clinging. Did he dislike that? It didn’t seem like it. Heewoo recalled the kiss they had shared. If he hated her, he wouldn’t have done that, would he?  

 

Lost in thought, she unconsciously took a deep breath, inhaling Cha Gyeol’s scent.  

 

What should she do?  

 

Everything felt good whenever she was with him.  

 

Cha Gyeol, still wearing that crooked smirk, looked at Heewoo with darkened eyes.  

 

“You don’t seem to understand what I’m saying.”  

 

In an instant, he grabbed the back of her head and pulled her in. Her eyes widened in shock, and before she could react, a searing heat invaded her lips.  

 

Her frozen tongue was entangled and drawn in roughly. His lips and tongue swept through her mouth, as if claiming her, violating her with deliberate intent. Their first kiss had been far from gentle, but compared to this, it had been tame.  

 

Even as Heewoo squeezed her eyes shut, struggling to breathe, Cha Gyeol didn’t let her go. He pulled her head in tighter, deepening the kiss. When he finally sucked on her tongue and bit down on her lower lip, a faint moan escaped her.  

 

“Mmnh….”  

 

The metallic taste of blood spread between them. Cha Gyeol swallowed it along with his own saliva, a rush of heat flooding his head. His tongue continued to explore her mouth greedily.  

 

After what felt like an eternity, he finally pulled back, licking her swollen lower lip with his tongue. The plump, abused flesh clung to him as he pulled away.  

 

As Heewoo, gasping for breath, slowly opened her eyes, she found herself staring into a gaze as fierce as a beast’s.  

 

“You keep provoking me like this, making me want to do things like this.”  

 

His husky voice spilled out from lips just inches away. Cha Gyeol’s tongue flicked across her lower lip again, teasing, lingering. Between their ragged breaths, the slick sound of skin brushing against skin mixed in.  

 

“But you know, sweetie…”  

 

His gaze flashed sharply, and before Heewoo could react, her wrist was seized. Cha Gyeol guided her hand downward—until it rested over his half-hardened length.  

 

Her slightly dazed eyes went impossibly wide.  

 

Those clear, glistening eyes froze in place, her wrist trembling violently in his grasp.  

 

“What I really want is to shove this inside you.”  

 

As he rubbed himself against her small, pale hand, he hardened completely. Heewoo had stopped breathing.  

 

Cha Gyeol sucked on her lips once more before finally pulling away.  

 

A lewd, wet sound marked their separation.  

 

Seeing her face flushed crimson, yet drained of color in shock, he smirked wickedly. His gaze remained as predatory as ever.  

 

“…Ah, maybe you don’t even know what a hole is.”  

 

Muttering as if talking to himself, Cha Gyeol slid his hand between her thighs.  

 

Gasp!

 

Heewoo sucked in a sharp breath, hurriedly raising a hand to cover her mouth.  

 

“Don’t look away. I want to bury myself in this pretty little hole of yours.”  

 

Heewoo’s expression was one of utter shock, but Cha Gyeol found himself in even deeper trouble. It was as if he had willingly climbed into his own grave, nailed the coffin shut, and locked himself inside.  

 

Ever since he had started sucking on her tongue, his body had been in turmoil. Now, the unbearable heat was driving him to the brink of madness.  

 

His head swam with crude, indecent desires—to pull himself out and sink into her.  

 

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Cha Gyeol released her wrist and pulled her into his embrace instead.  

 

She slumped against him without resistance, her body melting into his arms.  

 

“You wouldn’t be able to handle it, baby. So don’t turn me into a monster.”  

 

Only when she was in his arms could Lee Heewoo finally breathe properly. She burrowed even deeper into his embrace.  

 

It was the moment Cha Gyeol truly realized, deep in his heart, that he was utterly doomed after digging his own grave so neatly.  

 

***  

 

For the first time, the window in the room was opened. Heo Gwiryeon carefully and slowly sat down on the chair that the servant had brought for her. Her strength had waned to the point that her face was unrecognizable. She leaned her frail body against the chair, gazing outside. The mountain behind the mansion appeared blurry. She blinked a few times, adjusting her focus, and after a moment of stillness, the green landscape became slightly clearer.  

 

It was mid-August, the peak of summer, yet the room remained cool. As she stared absentmindedly at the mountain, where rocks were scattered sparsely, Heo Gwiryeon recalled Sausan (禗祐山).  

 

The mountain where Heo Gwiryeon and Lee Heewoo had once been—Sausan (禗祐山)—had belonged to her family for so long that even she didn’t know when it had been passed down. At first, there was only a single house on the mountain, which had not originally been a shrine.  

 

Born and raised there, knowing nothing but the mountain, Heo Gwiryeon simply lived as she had been told. It was only natural for her to lie with the man chosen for her, bear a child, and pass down the spirit, as had always been done.  

 

But then, for the first time, a son was born instead of a daughter. The day he was born, Heo Gwiryeon’s mother passed away.  

 

She occasionally wondered—what if her mother hadn’t died so suddenly?  

 

Most likely, she would have been given another man and told to bear another child. Since a male child was useless, he would have been sent away somewhere.  

 

Upon seeing her son, Heo Gwiryeon decided to put an end to it in her generation.  

 

She could not pass this—this kind of life—on to her child.  

 

As he grew, her son resented her. He still did. But back then, she had known even less than she did now, and the idea of sending him away had never even crossed her mind.  

 

Would it have been better if she had sent him away when he was younger?  

 

Heo Gwiryeon grasped the window frame, closing her eyes briefly before opening them again. She could feel that her time was truly running out.  

 

She had never once properly held the bloody infant her son had left behind. She had been too afraid that the gods would find out.  

 

Watching from a distance as the child played alone, she had, for the first time, felt something close to happiness.  

 

Feeling such emotions had seemed like a sin, and so she condemned herself.  

 

***  

 

Knock, knock.

 

Along with the sound of knocking, the door opened, and a servant entered with a meal. Seeing Heo Gwiryeon looking out the window, the servant set the tray down in the center of the room.  

 

“Madam, please eat.”  

 

For the first time, the servant spoke to Heo Gwiryeon, who rarely ate. Her head slowly turned, her gaze landing on the meal.  

 

“The Assemblyman is very worried about you. If you don’t eat, we’ll be in trouble.”  

 

The servant, speaking in a selfishly pleading tone, looked at Heo Gwiryeon. If she died and they had to deal with the corpse, not only those assigned to the annex but even the household staff would be affected.  

 

No one dared enter this room, which had been decorated like a shrine. If the great Assemblyman had kept a shaman here, she must be no ordinary shaman, which made it all the more unsettling. The people could clearly see that the shaman had been wasting away ever since she had locked herself in this room.  

 

“I made porridge with pine mushrooms. I barely seasoned it, but I brought soy sauce just in case.”  

 

“…I have a son.”  

 

Heo Gwiryeon’s gaze remained fixed on the meal, while the servant’s eyes widened in confusion.  

 

“P-Pardon?”  

 

“…Go to the hospital.”  

 

With that, Heo Gwiryeon turned her head back toward the window. The servant stood frozen for a moment, dumbfounded, before hurriedly leaving the room.  

 

Heewoo, Heewoo…

 

Was she doing well?  

 

She had thought that once they were separated, that would be the end of it.  

 

But the hard lump in her chest ached more with each passing day.  

 

She had been waiting for death, but she knew now—she couldn’t rest easy in the grave if that sweet, lovely child was left to suffer.  

 

***  

 

After returning from an external assignment, Jang Pal-yong entered the Io Errand Center office and was startled to see Chief Kim sitting there. He glanced nervously at the closed door of the CEO’s office.  

 

“Wh-What are you doing here? Where’s Boss Cha? No, wait, what are you doing here?”  

 

He fumbled over his words, not knowing what to ask first.  

 

Thinking that the office must be quiet since Cha Gyeol was absent, he turned to the employee sitting at the desk.  

 

“The boss stepped out for lunch,” they said.  

 

Phew, thank god.

 

“I mean, it’s not like I’m not allowed to be here. Just stopped by while passing through.”