Chapter 6.2

[Mom, please hug me too.]  

Waking from his sleep, Seojun looked at Shin Jueun and Seouk, who were embracing each other on the bed next to him.  

Originally, it was a room shared by just him and his brother, but on nights when there was thunder and lightning, the most beautiful mother in the world would stay with them all night.  

Of course, the only one allowed to share the bed with their mother was his brother.  

His mother always told him to yield to his brother.  

He could understand.  

His brother had been frail and sickly from a young age, so he was always told it was his duty as the younger sibling to protect him.  

It was true.  

Unable to fall asleep because of the loud thunder, Seojun eventually got up and moved to the bed where his mother and brother were sleeping.  

Their father was away on a business trip, and the only people in the house were a few employees.  

It would be rude to ask someone who wasn’t family to hug him in the middle of the night.  

Seojun had always liked the warmth of people.  

He loved the scent unique to each person when they hugged him.  

Surely, his mother would understand today.  

Wanting to at least touch her back, he lay down next to Jueun and turned in the same direction.  

As expected, the best thing in the world was his mother’s scent.  

Seven-year-old Seojun wrapped his arms around Jueun.  

[Kim Seojun, get up right now! How many times have I told you? You’re not allowed to climb into your brother’s bed without permission. Go back to your bed, now!]  

Awakened by his mother’s sharp voice, Seojun rubbed his eyes.  

Only after confirming that Seojun had returned to his own bed did Jueun turn off the lights and leave the brothers’ room.  

When Seojun woke again, it was because of the commotion coming from downstairs.  

It sounded like something breaking, or adults having a heated argument.  

Though mixed with the thunder and lightning, it was clear that something serious was happening downstairs.  

Seojun woke Seouk.  

[Brother, wake up! Brother!]  

Seojun shook Seouk’s body, who was a deep sleeper.  

Seouk, who often pinched and hit Seojun, pushed him away with an annoyed expression.  

[Ugh, stop it! Don’t wake me up!]  

[Broooother! Listen! Don’t you hear something?]  

Finally, Seouk opened his eyes with difficulty.  

The loud noises were now clear even to Seouk, who was on the second floor.  

The commotion, as if a war had broken out, made Seouk scream and hide under the blanket.  

Seojun shook his head in disbelief and grabbed the doorknob.  

[Aren’t you going to check? Mom might be in danger.]  

[Are you crazy? Don’t you remember what Mom said? If anything happens, stay where you are and don’t move.]  

[Then you stay here. I’ll just go down for a moment.]  

[Hey, wait! Take me with you! I’m scared!]  

Seojun boldly descended the stairs, and the terrified Seouk followed a few steps behind.  

Downstairs, a mysterious woman soaked in rain was kneeling before Jueun, shedding tears and pleading.  

Judging by the broken ceramics, which their father cherished, and the scattered shards around the room, there had been some physical altercation.  

Blood pooled on the young woman’s instep where the shards had fallen, but she didn’t seem to feel any pain.  

Seojun looked at her with curious eyes.  

[What’s she saying?]  

Behind him, Seouk tugged at Seojun’s sleeve and whispered.  

But Seojun couldn’t understand her words either.  

[I think she’s Japanese. She’s speaking Japanese.]  

Seojun turned around and kindly explained to Seouk.  

At that moment, two bodyguards burst into the house. They were the men who always stayed close to his brother during major events.  

[Huh?]  

As soon as the Japanese woman saw the bodyguards, she stood up and headed toward the stairs to the second floor.  

At the same time, her eyes met those of the two brothers hiding there.  

The woman seemed confused. Although Seouk was one year older than Seojun, he had always been frail since childhood, so his build was smaller, and Seojun was much taller.  

Just before the bodyguards could grab her, the woman embraced Seouk.  

She repeated the same words over and over, as if chanting a spell, while sobbing.  

Seeing Seouk being held, Shin Jueun lost her composure and pulled out the gun attached to the bodyguard’s waistband.  

To everyone’s shock, the gun was pointed directly at Seojun’s head.  

Jueun aimed the gun precisely at Seojun’s head and used it to threaten the woman.  

***

When Seojun woke up from his sleep, he sat up in bed.  

It was that nightmare again.  

Two or three times a year, especially on the eve of something important, the memories of that night would resurface and leave scars on his heart.  

It was then that he learned Shin Jueun wasn’t his biological mother.  

After all, no mother in the world would point a gun at her child’s head.  

Kimura Miyu. That was the name of the Japanese woman he saw that day.  

At the time, he couldn’t understand a word she said, but now he knew.  

The words Miyu had repeatedly cried out while holding Seouk that day meant, ‘Give me back my child.’ 

“Foolish.”  

A mother who couldn’t even recognize her own child.  

She should have hugged me instead of my brother back then.  

If she were going to meet such a miserable end, she should have at least done that.  

Seojun left his room and gazed at the outside world from the spacious living room.  

The dazzling, glittering car lights filled the night endlessly.  

He thought about pouring himself a glass of wine but changed his mind.  

Instead, he took out a bottle of soju, Seo Moonkyeong’s favorite, from the refrigerator.  

Without any snacks or a glass, he drank it straight from the bottle, then opened his phone.  

In this dull world, Seo Moonkyeong was still the most intriguing thing.  

That foolish girl, knowing full well that Do Hyeran was wiretapping her, yet unable to escape.  

After staring at his phone for a while, Seojun called Chief Secretary Yoon.  

“Sorry to bother you at this hour, but I need a helicopter. Please prepare it right away.”  

Who would have thought he’d cause such trouble just twelve hours before the wedding?  

He had underestimated Seo Moonkyeong.  

To think she’d reassure everyone and then run away at the last moment.  

He quickly finished the remaining soju.  

***

The silence in the hotel corridor was broken by Seojun’s cold voice.  

“Seo Moonkyeong.”  

“……”  

“Did you have fun? I’ve noticed since long ago—you really enjoy playing around.”  

His tone was scolding, as if criticizing her for causing trouble even on the eve of the wedding.  

Moonkyeong glanced toward the elevator.  

If only I could buy time until the wedding… Could I escape?  

As if he could read her mind, Seojun took a deep breath and pressed his forehead.  

It seemed like he was trying to calm his anger or perhaps telling her not to waste time with pointless actions.  

“I already saw your running skills last time, so I’ll pass today.”  

“……”  

“On the night before the wedding, I have no intention of running either. Open the door.”  

Seojun motioned toward the hotel room door with his chin.  

When she opened the door, Seojun immediately loosened his tie.  

Before she could ask how he found her, he answered first.  

“Considering I searched every hotel in the country to find you, you should be begging for forgiveness right now. Got it?”  

“……”  

“You don’t even realize the trouble you’ve caused, and yet you look so shamelessly composed.”  

As he sat on the sofa, Moonkyeong straightened her back and sat across from him.  

There was something she needed to confirm first.  

“Did you come alone?”  

“Ha.”  

Seojun let out a laugh, as if her question was absurd.  

“Why? Do I look like I’d struggle to drag you back by myself?”  

“It’d be harder than with a group.”  

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of using any force.”  

“Thanks for that.”  

“By the way, you went to great lengths to leave no trace. Were you planning to run away and ruin both families?”  

Moonkyeong nodded.  

After the wedding, once the news of the bride’s escape spread, she planned to bid Hyeran a final farewell and disappear somewhere.  

Seojun sneered at her.  

“Did you really think you’d get away with causing such a mess? What’s your plan?”  

“That plan is for me to know. Since we’re not allies, I see no reason to report it to you, Managing Director.”  

Her defiant response only fueled his persistence.  

Noticing this, Seojun gave her a moment.  

Even during the pause in their conversation, he scrutinized her every move.  

When his emotions had somewhat calmed, he spoke again.  

“Tell me the truth. Why do you hate this marriage so much?”  

For the first time, his voice was warm and gentle, as if genuinely listening to her.  

It felt like he was loosening the suffocating constraints that had been forcing her into a narrow box.  

Her throat tightened, and a strange ache formed in her chest.  

Moonkyeong lowered her head before meeting his gaze again.  

“Managing Director, I… I want to meet an ordinary person, fall in love beautifully, have children, and build a peaceful family. That’s my dream. I want a life where, if my child cries, I wake up with a messy face, hold them, kiss them, and ask why they’re crying. I want to be the kind of mom who hugs first and asks questions later.”  

“I’ll let you leave when you want to.”  

“What?”  

“Twenty billion won. I’ll give you that money at the time of your choosing. With that amount, you can go anywhere overseas and live freely, without anyone finding you.”  

Not understanding his words, Moonkyeong ran her fingers through her hair.  

Why? Why would he? 

But the words that came out were different.  

“How can I trust you, Managing Director?”  

“Don’t trust me. People aren’t meant to be trusted. But decide. You need to make a decision now so I can plan what’s next.”  

“Next?”  

She recalled the day she left the orphanage, hesitating whether to stand or sit, and Hyeran’s words that she wouldn’t give her a second chance.  

Moonkyeong was confused. His proposal was undoubtedly an opportunity for her.  

But how could she trust him? How could she trust a man who said no one should be trusted?  

As her response delayed, Seojun glanced at his watch.  

The bride, who should be wearing her dress by dawn, was wasting time here, and it frustrated him.  

In the end, he shouted first.  

“Seo Moonkyeong. I’m telling you, I’ll hide you!”  

The places in your mind, the ones in your plans—they’re all wrong.  

Hide by my side and start over. Think it all over again from the beginning!  

Seojun extended his hand, and Moonkyeong finally took it.  

And so, twelve hours later, she walked down the aisle in a pure white wedding dress.  

It was the historic day when the first daughter-in-law entered the Leehan Group under Chairman Kim Seokyeong.