TMYRA Chapter 18

Because He Loved That Woman

 

“Did you really come all the way here just to ask that? You could’ve called Jang Ji-cheol instead.”

 

“I made time to come because I wanted to see you, Sir.”

 

She had a curvy figure, and her smiling eyes oozed seduction, but no matter how gracefully she tried to act, her tone was still crude. She openly crossed her legs as if to tempt Mun-hwon.

 

Her tight, short dress clung to her body, teetering on the verge of revealing her underwear. Just like the countless women who had hovered around him before.

 

It was tedious and uninteresting. Mun-hwon took a drag from his cigarette and approached her.

 

“If you’re pulling this act just to get my guys hard, then you’ve half succeeded. Too bad, though. My dick doesn’t react to something like this.”

 

He grabbed a blanket from the side of the table and draped it over her body.

 

“If you want to shake your tits, go do it for Chairman Kim, the one funding you. As for KI, I’m acquiring it because it’s a worthwhile investment, so stay out of it.”

 

Se-yeon’s face hardened as she glared at Mun-hwon.

 

“Then what about me? What happens to me now?”

 

“You live your life. The contract ends this month, doesn’t it?”

 

“Extend it. You can renew the sponsorship.”

 

“And why would I?”

 

Se-yeon’s eyes flared as she glared at him.

 

“So, you’re saying there’s nothing left to extract from me anymore?”

 

“Something like that.”

 

“You got introduced to PDs through me, met film directors—who knows what you were looking for—but now that you think I’m of no further use, you’re cutting me off?”

 

“Usefulness, my ass. If you want to be blunt, the money you suck off Chairman Kim, I gave you for free. And I never even laid a finger on you.”

 

Se-yeon stood up and approached Mun-hwon.

 

She lifted herself onto her toes as if she was about to kiss him, but Mun-hwon merely looked down at her indifferently.

 

“Go ahead and throw yourself at me a hundred times. It won’t work. If I don’t get hard, there’s no way I’m putting it in.”

 

Mun-hwon gestured toward his crotch with his eyes. Se-yeon fumed, and when she realized she had no other options, she spun around.

 

“You’ll regret this later.”

 

With a loud bang, she slammed the door behind her and disappeared. After she left, Mun-hwon leaned back into the center of the sofa and stared at the ceiling. The high ceiling shimmered with a chandelier’s glow.

 

The floor was marble, and luxurious furniture, along with artwork from famous artists, adorned the space, creating the epitome of opulence. This was where Mun-hwon met with high-ranking executives and conglomerate heads, accepting their proposals in exchange for lucrative deals.

 

In short, it was a place where dirty money flowed. He let out a deep sigh. As the cigarette smoke scattered into the air, a woman’s face emerged in his mind.

 

She was beautiful. Elegant, yet kind. She was the woman who had visited him every year as he grew up in the orphanage without parents.

 

A famous actress who had sponsored the orphanage, taking the children out for meals—but she had a special fondness for Mun-hwon.

 

She would sometimes meet him separately, buy him meals, and get him clothes.

 

On those days, the older boys at the orphanage would beat him up and take his clothes away, but even so, Mun-hwon lived for those moments.

 

Because he loved that woman. As a child, Mun-hwon prayed every day. He wished she were his mother.

 

How happy would he be if she turned out to be the mother he had never met?

 

He never missed a single drama she appeared in, and he collected every article about her. Though the orphanage boys would steal and burn his clippings, and even block him from watching television.

 

Still, just waiting for the days she visited helped him endure his hellish life.

 

On his twelfth birthday, he had dinner with her. Like always, she arrived with her manager, took Mun-hwon to an extravagant restaurant, and showered him with gifts.

 

That day, they happened to run into one of her acquaintances at the restaurant.

 

It was a film director and a PD. They sneered at her, and she grew visibly flustered in their presence.

 

“Could he be a hidden son of yours? He kind of looks like you.” 

“Yeah, look at his eyes and mouth—they’re exactly the same. Maybe those rumors weren’t fake after all.”

“He’s just an orphan from an orphanage I sponsor.”*

 

She drew a clear line between them, avoiding eye contact with Mun-hwon. Even as a child, Mun-hwon could sense it. She wanted to hide him. She was ashamed of him.

 

And that realization wounded him every single time. Her gaze always wavered between pity and the uneasy discomfort of facing a secret she wished to bury. Sometimes, it was full of love—other times, it was the look of someone glaring at a person they hated to death.

 

“Still, he looks too much like you. Hey, kid, stand up for a second. Let’s compare your faces.”

 

One of the men forcibly pulled Mun-hwon up.

 

“What are you doing to a child?”

 

She finally raised her voice in anger.

 

“You can say whatever you want about me, but leave the boy out of this.”

“Now this is getting even more suspicious.”

“You’re just doing this because I rejected your film offer, aren’t you?”

 

At her sharp remark, the men exchanged amused smirks.

 

“Well, that’s part of it.”

“Like I told you, I don’t take on roles like that.”

“What’s wrong with a little nudity in an artistic film? Rejecting a role over that is just unprofessional. What’s the big deal about sex between a man and a woman? It’s as ordinary as eating. You must’ve done it plenty of times, so don’t act all high and mighty.”

“There’s a child here. Watch your mouth.”

“He’s not even your kid, Go Hye-jung. He’s just an orphan with no parents. Should I introduce you to a good journalist? With his delicate features, he could pass as one of the kids you sponsor. Imagine the PR boost for you if you did a photoshoot with him.”

 

Her manager, seemingly unable to take it any longer, finally stood up.

 

“Director, I was just thinking of treating you to a drink. What a coincidence, running into you here. Would you happen to be free right now?”

“Well, if you’re buying…”

“I know just the place—great drinks and a fantastic atmosphere.”

 

He winked slightly at Hye-jung and Mun-hwon before getting up from his seat.  

  

“The next project is something you usually discuss with your original manager. Why don’t you and I take our time, have a drink, and chat about various things? Shall we go, then?”

 

After sending the men ahead, he whispered to Hye-jung in a low voice.  

  

“I’ll take care it. Enjoy your meal.” 

  

After they disappeared, Go Hye-jung ate slowly and smiled at Mun-hwon.  

  

“I don’t think those people won. They’re mistaken. It’s not over yet. They spread bad rumors about me to other directors and PDs and blocked my casting, but I won’t fall because of something like that.” 

  

At that moment, Mun-hwon had thought those words were impressive. It was an old memory—why was it surfacing now, of all times?  

 

It must be because Moon Soo-ah had said something similar. Because she had the same expression on her face. An unwavering determination that refused to crumble and a coldness that refused to let anyone in coexisted.  

 

Even the way his own reflection was captured in those deep eyes felt the same.  

 

I must not love her. I must not like her.  

 

And yet, that very gaze was directed at her. Through Moon Soo-ah, he was reliving the woman he had wanted but could never have.  

 

“Shit.”  

 

A curse slipped from his lips.  

 

She had no experience with men, and he was her first, yet she was bold, neither shrinking back nor showing fear. The way Moon Soo-ah overlapped with Go Hye-jung unsettled him.  

 

He briefly considered whether he should just remove her from his sight completely. Then, Mun-hwon made his decision with ease.  

 

If he wanted something, he should take as much of it as he desired. He would make everything—her heart and mind—his. He would make her see only him and crush her completely.  

 

  

A way to get revenge on Min Ihan and erase his own trauma. It seemed like a pretty decent plan. Mun-hwon dismissed it as nothing significant.  

 

***  

 

Bo-kyung could not bear her anxiety. Even as she paced restlessly around the house, her chest felt suffocated. Seeing one of the house staff cleaning nearby, she snapped at them for no reason.  

 

“I told you to clean thoroughly. What the hell is this mess?”  

 

She berated them, calling a spotless area dirty, yet even that didn’t ease her frustration. So, she drank a few glasses of alcohol.  

 

“I can’t just sit here. I need to call Ihan again.”  

 

She picked up her phone but couldn’t bring herself to press the call button. She had already called several times, but Ihan hadn’t answered. If she called again, he might find her annoying. She should stop now.  

 

“Moon Soo-ah. If only you had done things properly. If only you had acted in a way that completely won over Ihan’s heart.”  

 

Bo-kyung bit her nails anxiously.