TMPW Ch 7 part 1

“Let’s have a child, Min Yuan.”

Yuan woke up with a start. She saw the familiar ceiling above her. She quickly sat up.

“Let’s have a child, Min Yuan.”

Seo JoonHun definitely said those words as he caressed her cheek.

With shock still lingering in her eyes, Yuan looked around at her surroundings. Her bed… She was in her room. The curtains were closed, blanketing the room in darkness. What time was it? What happened? She remembered JoonHun carrying her back to her room. She suddenly remembered what they had done in the dining hall that morning.

Oh my god! Just what did they… What was…!

Her vision turned pitch black. She didn’t know when things started to take a turn for the worse. First things first, she needed to get ahold of herself. No matter what…

“Hng.”

As Yuan was rushing off the bed, she felt a surge of pain in her lower abdomen and hips and doubled over. It was the result of their intense actions from yesterday and today.

This was the first time her body had become weak like this. It was all thanks to the fact that she had stopped working out 2 years ago in fear of being caught. Yuan clenched her teeth and got up from her seat. She looked at her smartphone on the bedside table and saw that it was a little past 4 PM. To think that she slept this late… And she had to go to the HyunJin house to have dinner today…

At that moment, she heard someone knock on the door.

“Young Madame?”

It was Choi Myung.

“Ah, yes?”

“Have you woken up?”

“Yes.”

“The car will be leaving at 6 PM. Please get ready and come to the dining hall. You should eat something light before you leave.”

Yuan didn’t move and just stared at the door. She remembered JoonHun telling her that he was planning on transferring Secretary Yoon to the main office. Did he really do it?

“Young Madame?”

“Ah… alright.”

She quickly answered and stood up. She didn’t know what was happening, but she needed to get ready for now. It seemed that after JoonHun had messed with her, she had fallen asleep. She took a few steps towards the bathroom. Suddenly, something began flow out of her.

Shocked, Yuan stopped in her tracks. It was his semen. Damn it…

She muttered. She recalled JoonHun’s voice as he brought up having a child.

Never. Absolutely not. Seo JaeHyuk’s grandchild… If she was to bear the next heir of the Seo family, she’d rather hang herself.

She needed to end things as soon as possible. No matter what.

Yuan wiped the steam off the mirror. She saw the reflection of her terrified, pale face.

Why are you like this? Are you crazy? Did you forget why you even married Seo JoonHun? No matter what happens, you can’t be with him.

She opened the cabinet and took out the USB and a thin pen. She had to leave no matter what it took. Her hand began to tremble.

Two hours later, Yuan looked as perfect as always as she approached the black car. Her clean, Prussian blue two-piece outfit suited her pale complexion. Her hair was tied back in a tidy updo, every single hair in place. She held a blue purse with golden embroidery as she waited for Choi Myung to open the car door. She carefully got inside.

“I will be assisting you for the time being.”

When she heard Choi Myung’s diligent voice, Yuan replied.

“I… will be in your care.”

She didn’t know what else to say.

Through the tinted windows, Yuan watched the city landscape of Seoul pass by. Underneath the neon signs, the people were busily crossing the street. Watching the restless people finish up their day, Yuan felt as if they were part of a tranquil painting. She clenched her cold hands.

Once a month. Yuan had to visit her in-laws once a month for dinner, and it was always torturous. Hiding their fierce ambitions deep within their hearts, the family members of HyunJin always wore a fake smile, but they weren’t the reason for her dread.

Seo JaeHyuk. She couldn’t stand seeing that man.

The cold gleam in Yuan’s eyes slowly faded away.

The car raced through the Seoul traffic and finally arrived at the SeongBuk district .

Unlike Gangnam, the surroundings here were calm and quiet. An overgrown forest surrounded the houses. Like enormous, sleeping dinosaurs, the black houses looked like they were breathing in the dark.

The garage door slowly went up and the car went inside. JoonHun’s car wasn’t here yet. Yuan got out of the car and headed for the elevator with Choi Myung.

“Did you come separately?”

When Yuan entered the house, JoonHun’s aunt, Kim HyoJung, greeted her first.

“Ah, yes. Have you been well?”

Yuan politely lowered her head as she greeted her. After JoonHun’s mother’s death around ten years ago, President Seo did not remarry. Thanks to that, JoonHun’s aunt, Kim HyoJung, became the de facto mistress of the house.

“Yeah. Did you gain some weight?”

Even as she glanced at Yuan’s slim figure, HyoJung took the first shot with her question.

“That’s what happens when a woman only stays at home and lazes around. Is there another woman in this world that has it as good as you do?”

Her open hostility was clearly reflected in her eyes.

Yuan knew how things were run in this house. It was no different than the R&K household. The thought of calling these people family felt absolutely terrible. They all didn’t hide their wild ambition.

President Seo’s household motto could be put into one phrase. ‘The winner gets all.’ It was run purely by logic and profit. A man who earned a lot got a lot in return. However, a man who lost wouldn’t even get the crumbs.

She found out about how JoonHun had entered this household after their marriage.

President Seo, who had no interest in marriage, had been seeing a woman for a short while. Because she had birthed his one and only son, he took her as his wife. However, that was the limit of their father-son relationship. Seo JaeHyuk only cared about whether he could hand over the company to JoonHun or not.

JoonHun and his cousins were all rivals fighting to become the heir to the company. From a young age, the three of them had their skills and their accomplishments thoroughly analyzed, and based on that, they received shares of the company. How they were treated depended on how clever their projects were and how much profit was gained.

Having the best performance, JoonHun would be the successor to the company. Having survived up to now with their shabby skills, it was only a matter of time before the cousins’ roles in the company were minimized.

‘The Tropical’ was Seo JoonHun’s most promising project. When that project went up in flames, what would his future look like?

In the end, the always-victorious Seo JoonHun would end up losing everything. In some way, JoonHun putting half of his assets on the line to save this project was understandable. However…

Yuan clenched her hands as she quickly brushed off the thought. What’s done is done.

“Have you visited the new hotel your uncle has opened recently?”

HyoJung entered the dining room and began to adjust the flower centerpiece on the table.

“Yes, I have. Aunt, you’re the one who decorated it, right? The interior was very elegant.”

“Isn’t it? Haa… Do you know how hard it was to editing those designs? Every design that was brought to me was absolute dog shit… Fuck, those lowlives are being paid for nothing…”

As expected, it started. The banquet of Kim HyoJung’s rough curses.

It was as if someone had painted a piece of shit gold. Yuan felt as if she could actually smell that sickening scent. She didn’t say anything and calmly stayed where she was.

Kim HyoJung continued to curse endlessly. From the design of the plates on the table, the cleanliness of the windowsills, and even the behaviors of the employees. She had a plethora of topics to curse about. Right around the time Yuan really thought she’d lose her mind, President Seo, Uncle Seo MoonHyuk, and JoonHun entered the dining room.

At that moment, Kim HyoJung finally shut her mouth. Yuan glanced at JoonHun. He looked calm as always. He was speaking to his father about something. For some unknown reason, Yuan’s heart felt heavy, but wasn’t because of Seo JoonHun. This was a reaction to Seo JaeHyuk, her father-in-law.

“You came?”

JoonHun’s uncle, Seo MoonHyuk, greeted Yuan first.

“Ah, yes. Have you been well?”

Yuan gently lowered her head. MoonHyuk looked a lot like President Seo, but he was even more vulgar. President Seo didn’t greet Yuan and just stared at her. She felt as if a cold blade was cutting through her chest.

“Have you been well?”

Yuan erased her emotions and calmly greeted him.

“Yeah.”

He didn’t say anything else. However, President Seo left JoonHyun and approached her. With a gracious smile on his face, he looked completely different than when he spoke to his actual family members. President Seo didn’t even show this kind of attention to his son, so Yuan became nervous.

“Yes?”

“Your face has become thin. Are you feeling sick?”

“No, sir.”

Yuan lowered her eyes as always and politely responded. President Seo looked at Yuan for a bit before speaking.

“Alright, come and sit.”

Yuan silently followed him inside. JoonHun and Yuan, President Seo, the aunt and uncle, their two children and their respective spouses. When all nine of them had found their seats around the table, the dinner banquet dishes came out.

Inside the gold-accented room with many priceless paintings on the walls, Yuan was served the food prepared by the best chefs. Even with all this, she couldn’t find any satisfaction.

“How is the Dubai matter coming along?”

JoonHun’s uncle, Seo MoonHyuk, raised his liquor glass as he asked.

“You’re not planning on losing all that money, are you? All the stockholders are panicking right now.”

His snake-like eyes turned to President Seo as he spoke.

“You all claimed that this was the golden goose, but it’s just a total shitshow.”

“Watch your language, Uncle.”

JoonHun spoke coldly.

“The project is moving forward as planned, and we’ve also found some clues related to the culprit.”

Yuan’s hand holding her fork stopped moving.

“You’ve got something? Who is it? Who is this bastard?!”

The uncle’s voice instantly became sharp.

“As we were following the trail of money, we came across a strange name.”

“So who is it?!”

“I can’t possibly reveal that here.”

“What did you say?”

A silver knife fell onto the plate with a clang.

“You bastard…”

Boom! Seo JaeHyuk banged his fist down on the table. Everybody stiffened in shock.

President Seo’s menacing eyes glared at Seo MoonHyuk. Seo MoonHyuk turned his head away as he cleared his throat awkwardly. President Seo silently began to cut his steak.

Yuan didn’t move an inch. What did JoonHun find out? Whose name?

She lifted her head and glanced at him. He was looking at Yuan. Apprehension crept over her. He was looking at her coldly as if he knew everything. Yuan’s heart twisted inside her chest.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

She heard President Seo’s voice. Startled, Yuan turned to look at him. As if he was truly worried for her, President Seo was gazing at Yuan with concern.

“Is the food not to your liking? You ate this so well last time, so I specifically chose this dish again…”

“No, it’s delicious.”

Yuan carefully replied.

“If you don’t like it, just ask them to make you something else. No need to force yourself to eat it.”

“…Yes, sir.”

She quietly answered and turned her head back. President Seo’s kindness was dreadful. His reason for choosing Yuan as his daughter-in-law made her sick to her stomach. As he gazed at her profile, she could guess who he was seeing instead, and it made things even worse.

However, President Seo wasn’t the main problem. She had no idea what clue Seo JoonHun had found, and it was driving her crazy. She raised her head again. Those endless black eyes were still looking at her.

That gaze was quite different from the one this morning. She felt as if it was going to burn her alive. Yuan didn’t move a muscle.

She had a bad feeling about this.