Chapter 5 (Part 5)

They arrived in Seoul.

What should have been a two-hour drive took just an hour and ten minutes.

Knowing how much he had sped for her sake made her feel quite uncomfortable.

Just before her tightly sealed lips dried up, Seo-hye barely managed to open them.

“I’m going to Cheongun-dong. If you don’t want to take me there, just stop the car anywhere nearby.”

She could feel him looking at her, but Seo-hye deliberately kept her gaze straight ahead, not turning to look at him.

“What are you going to do when you get home? Are you going to confront them?”

“Yes. I have to do something. Whether I confront them or beg, I need to find out where my mom is.”

“They’ve already decided to hide it, so they won’t tell you no matter how much you cry or beg. So don’t go.”

“Stop telling me what to do. I regret opening my heart to you and going to Okcheon with you.”

Silence fell.

Seo-hye closed her eyes. She didn’t want to speak to Do-jin like this.

But she realized she was a much weaker person than she thought.

She kept acting spoiled. She thought it would be okay with him. She thought he would lightly dismiss whatever she said.

Fearing she might say harsher things if she stayed any longer, Seo-hye unbuckled her seatbelt.

The car had stopped at a red light, and she intended to get out right in the middle of the road.

Anticipating her move, Do-jin grabbed her arm firmly.

“Fine. I’ll take you to Cheongun-dong, so buckle up again.”

“……”

“Hurry.”

Honk—!

In the meantime, the light changed again, and the car behind them honked when Do-jin’s car didn’t move.

With a troubled expression, Seo-hye reconnected her seatbelt to the buckle.

With a click, Do-jin’s car started moving again.

A heavy silence accompanied them until they reached the house in Cheongun-dong.

As soon as they arrived, before Do-jin could stop her, Seo-hye got out of the car.

As she was about to rush to the gate, she bumped into Hae-mi, who was just returning home.

When Seo-hye hesitated in surprise, Hae-mi glared at her and alternated her gaze between Seo-hye and Do-jin’s car.

Seo-hye swallowed her despair inside.

Since Seo-hye appeared with Do-jin, not with his secretary but clearly together, there was no way to stop Hae-mi from throwing a fit.

However, this wasn’t the place for that.

She couldn’t let herself be dragged by the hair and cursed at in front of Do-jin.

Quickly, Seo-hye pressed the bell and dashed through the open gate.

Hae-mi, perhaps trying to maintain her image, closed the gate as calmly as possible and followed Seo-hye inside.

Seo-hye hurried into the house without even thinking of watching Do-jin’s car leave.

“Mr. Kim. Where is grandfather?”

“He’s in the study. If possible, see him tomorrow. The Chairman is quite drunk.”

“No.”

Seo-hye gently pushed aside Mr. Kim, who was trying to stop her, and entered the study.

As she forcefully opened the door, she saw Hwa-woong seated with flushed cheeks, hiccuping as he looked at her.

Soon, he chuckled.

“You’re here? You’ve got one more thing to do.”

“Grandfather.”

Seo-hye walked around the desk to stand in front of him.

Then, without warning, she knelt down.

Hwa-woong briefly furrowed his brows, but then smiled, seemingly pleased with her demeanor.

“Why, do you have something to ask?”

“Grandfather… where is mom? Please, tell me.”

Seo-hye asked desperately.

In the car, she had pressed her eyes hard with her hands to avoid crying in front of Do-jin.

Perhaps because of that, the area around her eyes was swollen and red.

“…It was you, Grandfather, wasn’t it? Mom’s condition is already bad, how could you do this…? I’ll do as you say. What… what should I do for you? Please, tell me.”

As Hwa-woong remained silent, Seo-hye’s trembling hands clutched his knees.

“…First, just tell me where she is, or at least let me know if Mom is okay. Please?”

“You claim to be so worried about your mother, yet you’re sticking around with Seonghan’s grandson? Even taking him to the hospital?!”

Lee Hwa-woong pushed Seo-hye’s hand away, his voice filled with anger.

…How did he find out?

Well… it’s not like I’m the only one who goes to the hospital. Hwa-woong goes there too. Even Mr. Kim comes and goes.

Maybe Professor Seong saw us. Yeah, that’s probably the most likely.

What was I thinking, taking Do-jin there when I knew all of this?

Her pupils dimmed.

She realized she had ignored everything because she liked Do-jin, because she liked the way he made her feel warm and comforted despite the itch in her heart.

“…I’m… sorry. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. If I don’t meet him… it should be fine. I won’t attend that class if you say not to. So please…….”

Seo-hye’s face turned pale, her lower lip trembling violently. Her voice shook so much that it made anyone listening feel anxious.

“Just tell me where Mom is… Please just take her back to the original hospital…”

Seo-hye pleaded desperately, tapping her chest as if trying to dislodge the blockage in her heart, but Hwa-woong continued to feign indifference.

The smell of alcohol was so strong that she feared he might not even remember their conversation the next morning.

At the end of it all, she felt an impulse to grab him by the collar and ask how he could hide her mother and then sit there drinking and laughing so comfortably.

But she restrained herself, clenching her fists so tightly that her palms nearly burst.

“Please… just tell me… I’ll do as you say.”

“You need to paint one more picture. I’ll tell you where she is once it’s completed, so focus on that.”

He spoke clearly, as if the drunkenness was an act, stating his demands to Seo-hye.

“Okay. I’ll paint it. What… what should I paint?”

Seo-hye lifted herself up from her numbing knees.

“It’s a painting for the Chairman of Seonghan. It seems like it’s meant to be a gift somewhere, and it needs to be quite valuable. So, put your heart and soul into painting it.”

Seo-hye nodded and quickly ran toward the door.

Whether it takes a day or two, she thought she could just paint like crazy without sleeping and hand it over.

With that thought, as soon as she stepped out of the room, a thud sounded, and stars sparkled in her head, causing her to stagger.

Seo-hye barely steadied herself by holding onto the wall.

Only after refocusing her eyes did she remember the forgotten Hae-mi.

Hae-mi, eyes filled with venom, raised her hand toward her once more.

Seo-hye had neither the strength to block it nor the leisure to take the hit.

She barely twisted her shoulder inward, and Hae-mi, missing her target, screamed.

“How dare you dodge my hand?!”

While Hae-mi screamed and stomped her feet in frustration, hurling all sorts of curses, Seo-hye quickly dashed out the front door to avoid her.

Seo-hye didn’t have the time to deal with her right now. Instead, she needed to quickly paint the picture Hwa-woong instructed and find out where her mother was.

She immediately went down to the storage room and stood in front of the easel.

She grabbed five or six colors of paint that came to hand and squeezed them onto the palette.

She needed to mix the oil, but her hands were weak, causing her to fail in adjusting the amount.

But there was no time to think about that.

She hung the canvas and looked around for a brush.

Already in a daze, she didn’t even check if the storage door was properly closed, nor did she notice Hae-mi entering.

Thud-!

Suddenly, a heavy blow struck the back of her head, causing her head to jerk forward.

Losing her balance, she fell to the floor along with the palette she was holding.

A sticky sensation clung to her face.

“You crazy girl, do you care about painting right now? Aren’t you going to properly explain why you came in Won Do-jin’s car? Huh?!”

Hae-mi screamed loudly enough to tear Seo-hye’s eardrums and kicked her in the back as she tried to get up.

Seo-hye wiped the paint off her mouth with the back of her hand and barely managed to stand.

“…Today… there was a class at the hotel. I won’t be getting a ride again.”

Paint had seeped into her lips, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.

She pulled the sleeve of her dress further down her palm to wipe the inside of her lips.

“Again? That sounds strange. So it wasn’t just today, was it? Right?”

Hae-mi suddenly screamed like a madwoman, kicking the easel and knocking over the paint box with her hand, shouting furiously.

She even managed to find the brush holder Seo-hye hadn’t found and cruelly threw it at her, who didn’t resist at all.

Her head was spinning, and her ears were ringing, preventing Seo-hye from thinking of stopping Hae-mi. She just hoped Hae-mi would finish venting her anger quickly and leave.