Chapter 7
“My heart races just thinking about the woman I married being in my house. After all, I’m a man too.”
“My heart races.”
“Races.”
“Oh my… he said his heart races!”
Jaehoon had already gone into his room, but Dayun stood there in a daze, unable to believe what she had just heard. Then, as her face turned red, she cupped her burning cheeks and tried to suppress the smile that kept creeping onto her lips. She found herself staring at the door Jaehoon had disappeared behind.
Meanwhile, inside his room, a faint smile appeared on Jaehoon’s face.
“She’s still so young.”
He muttered to himself without realizing it. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned to look at the phone resting on his bed. The smile quickly vanished, replaced by a hardened expression.
“Sigh…”
A deep, suffocating sigh escaped his lips. It was because of the phone call he had received last night—from his birth mother, not the woman he called “Mother” at his family home. The conversation went like this:
That evening, after leaving Dayun behind, Jaehoon had visited Hyeyun, who was drunk. Even though he had sent Dayun away, guilt gnawed at him. For the first time, he thought that maybe Hyeyun had done something wrong. After all, to the world, it must have seemed like both he and Dayun had married for money.
When Dayun disappeared from his sight, Jaehoon couldn’t help but glare at Hyeyun in frustration. But what could he do? She had already passed out from drinking.
“Sigh…”
Jaehoon let out a deep, irritated sigh. He wasn’t sure why he felt this way—or maybe, deep down, he knew but didn’t want to admit it. Frustrated, he took Hyeyun home and then returned to his own house. Once back, he hesitated in front of Dayun’s door, debating whether to knock.
“I’m coming in for a moment.”
There was no response. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly opened the door and peeked inside. He felt that, at the very least, he should apologize on Hyeyun’s behalf. But the room was empty.
“Ah…”
Seeing the empty room left him feeling strangely hollow. He had gathered the courage to apologize, but there was no one to receive it. And then, another feeling crept in—worry. What if she was crying somewhere?
Lost in thought, Jaehoon returned to his own room. Just then, his phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Son~~”
“Mother?”
It was his birth mother.
“Yes, my son! My baby boy! It’s your real mom!”
Her high-pitched, ear-scratching voice told him she was drunk.
“Have you been drinking?”
“Haha, just a little? I was feeling so lonely.”
“Where are you? Should I come to you?”
“Huh? No, no. I just got home. I just wanted to ask you for a favor.”
“A favor?”
Hearing that word made Jaehoon uneasy. Still, he tried to keep his voice steady.
“Jaehoon, I know you married that girl as part of my revenge. But I want you to do it properly.”
Yes, the real reason Jaehoon had agreed to marry Dayun was because of his birth mother. To her, Dayun’s family was nothing but a cruel fate. Dayun’s late mother—her birth mother—was Jaehoon’s father’s first love, a woman he never forgot even after marriage. But she had married someone else, while Jaehoon’s father had been forced into a loveless marriage. That marriage only brought pain and loneliness to Jaehoon’s birth mother.
When she learned about Jaehoon and Dayun’s arranged marriage, she had made a desperate request: “Make that woman’s daughter suffer as I have suffered.”
Unable to refuse his mother, Jaehoon chose a loveless marriage, leaving his true love, Hyeyun, with nothing but an excuse about a contract.
But lately, he had started to question if this was the right choice. Not only was he unhappy, but so were Dayun and Hyeyun.
“Properly?”
“I want that girl to truly fall in love with you. That way, her suffering will be doubled.”
Jaehoon felt like he couldn’t breathe. He hesitated.
“Do we really have to go that far? If you think about it, she hasn’t done anything wrong. She doesn’t even know her birth mother was my father’s first love.”
“No, we have to. Her only crime is being born as that woman’s daughter.”
“……”
“Jaehoon, my son, you know better than anyone how I have suffered every single day. I cried every night. I was always lonely. And do you know what angers me the most? My family was destroyed, but that woman’s family was always happy.”
“Sigh…”
“I know this is hard for you. You’re kind, after all. But can’t my kind son help his mother just this once? I can’t stand to see that woman’s family happy.”
Jaehoon wrestled with his thoughts. He wanted to end this. He wanted to say no. But she was his mother. He knew her pain too well. How could he ignore it?
In the end, he gave in.
“Alright. I’ll do as you say.”
Lunchtime arrived. The dining table was filled with delicious food, and Dayun looked at it with satisfaction.
“Wow~”
A happy smile spread across her face. The thought of sharing their first meal together as a married couple made her heart flutter. Everything was ready—now all that was left was for Jaehoon to come out.
“I should call him… Is he still sleeping?”
Nervously, she approached his door and gently knocked.
“Jaehoon, lunch is ready. Jaehoon?”
No response.
“Is he still asleep?”
Carefully, she opened the door and peeked inside. Jaehoon was lying on the bed, covered with a blanket, his eyes closed.
“Still sleeping…”
Unconsciously, she stepped closer. His pale skin, sharp nose, and soft-looking lips… The closer she got, the faster her heart pounded. Slowly, she sat down and gazed at his face.
“Wow…”
He was so handsome. She wanted to touch his face—just like that time back in college. Back then, she had poked his cheek while he was asleep in the club room.
“Hehe… it was so soft back then…”
Just as she was lost in her thoughts—
“What are you doing?”
“Ahh!”
Jaehoon’s sudden voice made her yelp in surprise and fall to the floor. Flustered, she stammered.
“Uh, I-I was just… L-lunch is ready! I was waking you up!”
Her voice grew smaller as she took in his messy hair and sleepy, piercing gaze.
“Just… eat your lunch.”
With that, she dashed out of the room. Alone, Jaehoon smirked.
“She hasn’t changed.”
He had known all along. Back in college, when she had poked his cheek, he wasn’t actually asleep. And even then, something about her had unsettled him.
