Chapter 5 (Part 7)

The place where Do-jin arrived after crossing the yard was a storage room.

And upon seeing the inside, Do-jin’s expression became excessively grim.

The traces of having to paint under such poor conditions were evident.

In the midst of it all, Seo-hye, looking disheveled, was tidying up her surroundings, unaware that Mr. Kim and Do-jin had arrived.

Her pretty face was smeared with red and yellow paint, as if something had happened.

Her small, once-white hands were covered in blood.

Unaware of the pain, she kept picking up the fallen brushes from the ground, sighing repeatedly.

Watching her, Do-jin felt an unbearable tightness in his chest.

What on earth had happened in that short time?

He wanted to shout, asking how she hadn’t defended herself until she reached this state.

“First, please take her to the hospital. If she stays at home any longer, it might be dangerous.”

At Mr. Kim’s words, Do-jin furrowed his brows and looked at him.

“…It seems the artist is becoming increasingly excessive.”

Do-jin’s sharp gaze seemed to pierce through Mr. Kim’s murky eyes.

“You know where Ms. Seo-hye’s mother is, don’t you? There’s no way you wouldn’t know.”

“First, please take care of Miss Seo-hye.”

Without responding, Do-jin approached Seo-hye.

As his footsteps drew near, Seo-hye, who had been picking up items while looking at the ground, slowly raised her gaze.

Her eyes, which had been firmly set, softened and welled up as soon as they met Do-jin’s.

He grabbed her shoulders and helped her stand up.

“…What were you doing?”

Her eyes, which had been devoid of emotion, started to glisten with moisture at Do-jin’s voice.

“You never listen. You insisted on coming home.”

“…”

“Do you think doing this will somehow make them tell you where your mother is?”

Glancing sideways, Do-jin spoke as he looked at the traces of Seo-hye’s attempt to paint.

“Isn’t it time to stop being foolish?”

“…If I don’t live foolishly, how can I stay in this house? I’m different from my sister from the very beginning. I was never meant to be welcomed here, so what can I do? They said they’d treat my mom if I at least stayed, so I foolishly stayed…”

“…”

“I was swayed by what you said, Won Do-jin. I thought maybe you’d treat my mom more comfortably than my grandfather would. But… now that’s not possible anymore.”

Looking at Seo-hye’s sorrowful face, Do-jin felt as if the ground beneath him was sinking into the abyss.

He sighed deeply and spoke.

“Come with me.”

“Didn’t you hear me? I can’t take a single step outside this house anymore! So please, stop it!”

Seo-hye pushed against his chest to keep her space and bent down to lift the box of paints.

Do-jin grabbed her hand and made her stand straight to look at him.

“Why can’t you leave? It’s entirely possible if you just set your mind to it. Should I show you how?”

Seo-hye opened her mouth wide as if to say something in frustration, then closed it again.

“What?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I’ll find your mother, so give me another reason why you can’t leave.”

Seo-hye closed her eyes and muttered in resignation.

“There are many reasons besides that. My family, especially your grandfather, Chairman Won, none of them want us to meet.”

“Then we just need to make them want us to meet.”

Suddenly, he clasped Seo-hye’s left hand, interlocking their fingers tightly.

“How about we show your family something, Ms. Seo-hye?”

Then he forcefully led Seo-hye, who was trying to step back and refuse to go, outside.

Crossing the yard and stepping out the gate, he spoke heavily.

“Shall we do it here?”

“Do what….”

“The sight of you crying under me. It’s insanely beautiful.”

He released Seo-hye’s hand and cupped her face with both hands.

“Wh-what, wait a minute! Won Do-jin!”

At the moment Seo-hye twisted her head to escape and stop him, Do-jin pressed his lips against hers.

The unpleasant scent of paint quickly overwhelmed him. She had a lot of bitter paint in her mouth, from her lips to the inside.

What had she done to end up with paint all over her mouth like this?

Seo-hye struggled, grabbing his arm, but he only deepened the kiss, extending his tongue further.

He wondered how ridiculous she must have looked, with tears welling up, defying him like that. Did she even know how she looked while holding on to her pride?

It was a truly bitter and unpleasant kiss.

Trying to remove the imperfections from her mouth was not a refreshing task.

He lowered one of her hands and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her even closer.

Her body, which had been stiff with tension as she tried to break free, gradually lost strength, to the point where she would collapse if he didn’t support her.

Do-jin slowly pulled his lips away.

Seeing Seo-hye looking up at him with a bewildered expression made him feel like he was looking at a baby who had accidentally smeared paint all over themselves while playing, and he couldn’t help but smile.

He raised his hand to her glossy lips.

Without caring about getting his hand dirty, he wiped away the saliva and paint mixed with his own from her mouth.

At that moment, he heard the sound of the front door of Seo-hye’s house opening.

Do-jin’s gaze briefly shifted upward, and he caught sight of Hae-mi hurriedly coming out.

Just as Seo-hye was about to lift her gaze, Do-jin captured her lips again.

Ignoring her hands trying to push him away, he entwined his tongue with hers even more. Her labored breaths rushed into his mouth.

Meanwhile, all the blood in his body seemed to rush downward, making him rigidly aware of her presence against him.

A soft sigh escaped from her lips. The excitement filled his mind so completely that he wanted to lay her down and taste every part of her right then and there.

He moved more roughly, as if to completely melt her away. Only when Seo-hye’s breathing became so ragged that it started to fade did he finally let her go.

His gaze, heavy with excitement and sensuality, was fixed on her eyes before gradually sliding downward.

He gently rubbed her lips with his thumb, where much of the paint had disappeared since he first saw her, and asked quite tenderly, 

“Thanks to you, Seo-hye, I’ve tasted paint I never needed to try in my life.”

Seo-hye’s eyes were filled with a mix of emotions.

Excitement, complexity, fear. And a slightly softened hostility.

It meant that the expression she wore, as if she could stab him to death upon learning that her mother had disappeared from Okcheon, had faded.

This alone lifted some of the weight from his heavy heart.

“Where shall we go first? To the hospital, or should we continue?”

“…Continue what….”

“After a kiss, what’s next? Both of us taking off our clothes and playing more intensely?”

Seo-hye blushed and quickly turned her head away.

Then, she spotted Hae-mi standing on the stairs, looking at them with a shocked expression, and her shoulders flinched noticeably.

Do-jin gently cupped her cheek, telling her not to be surprised.

He rubbed her soft cheek with his palm, urging her.

“Choose quickly. I’m getting a bit impatient.”

Seo-hye couldn’t move. It was as if she was completely wrapped in his voice, unable to escape. Perhaps because she had a feeling she couldn’t break free.

Or perhaps because she knew she’d be tormented by Hae-mi if she went back inside.

“…Then, the hospital….”

Do-jin lowered his hand and lifted her other hand.

The tender skin was scraped, and some areas had peeled off. The blood had already clotted, and it was surprisingly not strange that scars remained.

“…Alright, we should head to the hospital first.”

Do-jin personally opened the passenger door and helped her get in.

Hae-mi glared at Do-jin with bloodshot eyes.

No, to be precise, she was glaring at Seo-hye in the passenger seat.

Do-jin stared at her coldly, then moved to block Hae-mi’s view of the passenger seat.

Hae-mi was flustered and didn’t know what to do. She then quickly turned around and tried to run back into the house.

“Ms. Hae-mi.”

Hae-mi slowly turned her head.

“If you lay a hand on Seo-hye again, you won’t be able to dance or do anything else. Remember that.”

Startled, Hae-mi let out a hiccup and sank to the ground.

Do-jin turned his gaze away mercilessly and headed straight to the driver’s seat.

***

After going to Seonghan Hospital, Seo-hye had a simple hand X-ray taken.

Fortunately, there was no issue with the bones, and after getting a dressing, she was able to leave the hospital.

In the meantime, she went to the restroom to wash off the paint from her mouth and face, allowing her rationality to return enough for her to think clearly.

Do-jin remained silent the entire drive, considering Seo-hye’s feelings.

This time, it was Seo-hye who broke the heavy silence first.

“…What happened to my mom? There’s still no news, right?”

“Not yet. But we’ll find her soon. It seems that Lee Hwa-woong’s driver knows something.”

Seo-hye’s eyebrows raised evenly.

Of course, there was no way Mr. Kim wouldn’t know what Hwa-woong was up to.

However, he was Hwa-woong’s right-hand man. No matter how much they tried to make him talk, he wouldn’t open his mouth.

“I’ll handle extracting your mother’s location from that person, so just relax and get some sleep.”

“It won’t be… easy. He won’t open his mouth at all.”

Seo-hye sighed in frustration and gripped the seatbelt tightly.

“Wouldn’t he open his mouth for about a billion won? Or is that too little?”

Seo-hye looked at him with bewildered eyes, unable to tell if he was joking or serious.

“How much do you think is appropriate?”

“Are you… serious right now?”

“Isn’t it a small price to pay to bring your mother back?”

The atmosphere inside the car, which had been cold, began to heat up.

It was on the verge of exploding.