MHD - 24

Chapter 24. Lisianthus

Long, pale fingers held the clean towel and moved diligently.

The towels used in the annex were usually rough, but the one Jaehyuk held was soft and fluffy, making her foot feel oddly ticklish. Hee-soo frowned deeply as she looked down, but she didn’t pull her foot away.

Was it really such a big deal for a handsome boy to kneel before her and carefully tend to her foot? What was so special about this moment?

Her chest pounded as if her heart had taken over where rational thought should have been. It felt strange.

Even though Jaehyuk had jokingly called himself a pervert, his hands never went above her ankle. Instead, he carefully dried the water off and then gently slipped her shoe back on.

The pain that had been creeping up her calf had already subsided.

“A physical therapist will come by later. Wait for them in your room.”

Ice therapy and drying her foot were one thing, but arranging for a physical therapist? His kindness felt excessive.

Hee-soo’s mind raced, trying to figure out his intentions, but her heart was beating too fast. Her brain seemed to have shut down, leaving her unable to think clearly.

Unintentionally, she blurted out gruffly:

“What do you want from me?”

“Nothing like that.”

There’s no way that’s true.

As if reading her disbelief, Jaehyuk picked up the ice basket, stood up, and lightly chuckled.

“When you like someone, you don’t necessarily expect anything in return.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

The words slipped out reflexively, but as soon as they did, she realized how strange they sounded.

Wait, what? Did he just say… “like”?

Her eyes widened as she looked at Jaehyuk again, only to notice his face was slightly flushed.

“What I mean is, I can’t stop thinking about you. I tried not to show it, though.”

“W-what are you talking about? All of a sudden.”

“Figure it out yourself. I’m leaving.”

This guy knows how to mess with people’s heads.

But before Hee-soo could even process her reddening cheeks, Jaehyuk abruptly stood up and walked toward the main house.

“Hey!”

She called out urgently, but he only raised a hand in acknowledgment without turning back.

His retreating figure looked unfamiliar, taller than she remembered. Jaehyuk was no longer the ten-year-old boy who used to be her height.

By now, he had grown significantly, and his shadow stretched long across the grass as he walked away.

“What the heck, Lee Jaehyuk.”

Even after he disappeared from sight, Hee-soo continued to stare in the direction he had gone. Her heart refused to calm down.

From that day on, she found herself stealing glances toward the main house more often.

If their eyes met by chance, she quickly turned her head away. Her face would flush, and her heart would race, making her eager to escape the situation.

And yet, at night, she couldn’t help but reminisce about how he had knelt before her and tended to her foot.

Whenever she thought of those long, white fingers wrapped around the towel, her chest tingled, and she couldn’t help but smile. Smiling while thinking of someone—this was a first for Hee-soo.

On ballet performance days, her peers would receive large bouquets of flowers from their parents who came to watch. But no one ever came for Hee-soo.

After the performances ended, Hee-soo would rush to the dressing room faster than anyone else. She hurriedly changed out of her costume and left the room, wanting to avoid seeing her friends carrying bouquets.

On stage, she received the most attention, but offstage, no one ever came to celebrate her. It was painfully lonely.

Despite clawing her way to become the principal ballerina and delivering the most outstanding performances, her heart felt empty. Celebrations were always something she had to do alone.

As always, both joy and sorrow were hers to bear alone.

The fact that her mother wasn’t her biological mother was something Hee-soo had vaguely sensed since she was young.

On the day her parents sent her to the Kangrim Cultural Foundation, the documents handed to her revealed that they weren’t biologically related.

Seo Hee-soo, adopted in year 00.

In the documents she secretly peeked at, it stated the dates of her biological parents’ deaths and explained that her uncle, her father’s younger brother, had adopted and raised her.

She had lived pitifully, begging for affection.

How many nights had she cried into her blanket, wondering, “Maybe I’m an abandoned child.”

Ah, so it was true.

When she finally faced the truth, she felt a strange sense of relief. But afterward came the real problem. The secret of her origins didn’t hurt as much as the fear that followed.

Am I really all alone? What happens if these people leave me too?

At such a young age, the fear of being completely alone in the world was an overwhelming emotion to bear.

So she pretended not to know. She was afraid that if she said anything, the family who visited her just once a year might disappear completely.

All they did was take her out for a simple meal at a nearby restaurant on her birthday. But even that was precious to Hee-soo.

It was the only day someone came to see her.

On one of those days that felt like it would never end, someone finally brought her a bouquet of flowers.

It was Jaehyuk.

“I had some free time, so I thought I’d drop by.”

Pretending to be nonchalant, he thrust the bouquet toward her. She took it without thinking and burst into tears. Everything she had thought about him before that moment vanished as if reset.

“Why are you doing this for me?”

“Because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

He had come all the way to the theater by taxi, without a chauffeur, when he could have been studying or attending private lessons. And there he was, holding a huge bouquet of flowers, saying he did it simply because he “couldn’t stop thinking about her.” Why did those words make her cry so much?

“If you don’t mind, I’ll visit sometimes. Eh? Why are you crying?”

“Hmm… sniff.”

“Don’t cry… I’ll come more often.”

His hand patting her back was so warm, and for days afterward, she was enveloped in the lingering scent of the flowers.

That’s how Jaehyuk became everything to Hee-soo during that time.

At every ballet performance, she received enormous bouquets of flowers—ones so big and beautiful that everyone around her envied her.

Eventually, she began to wait for him. Like a fox waiting for its prince, she became tamed by his presence.

The performances that used to make her feel depressed no longer did. Her life gained a sense of ease, and light began to shine through her previously gloomy days. She stopped lashing out at those around her.

Could it be that exchanging emotions with someone felt this good?

Ah, so this is what it means to become kind when you care for someone.

Life had always been a continuous darkness for Hee-soo, but she hadn’t realized it until now. Only after seeing the sun’s light did she realize that she had been living in the night.

Experiencing emotions she had only read about in books made everything feel new. It was as though she had discovered a universal truth no one else knew. Everything in the world seemed beautiful.

Lisianthus.

It was the flower Jaehyuk always gave her.

“...Its meaning is ‘unchanging love.’“

That’s how his confession began—with flowers.

Ah, so that’s why I shouldn’t have believed his countless whispers promising he’d never change.

She didn’t know back then. She didn’t know that those who see the light are destined to face an even deeper darkness. Loving Jaehyuk was akin to embracing despair.

Why didn’t I know? Why?

Is that why I’m still unable to escape this endless night?

“Hng…”

Hee-soo was crying.

Jaehyuk silently watched her sobbing, clutching the blanket.

When he called out to stop her as she turned away in a rush, she suddenly collapsed to the ground before he could react.

Rushing over, he noticed her breathing sounded strange, her face was flushed with fever, and her entire body was burning hot.

In a panic, he carried her and contacted his personal doctor. Thankfully, the doctor could come immediately, so Jaehyuk brought Hee-soo to his house. The roads were clear since it was late at night, and as soon as they arrived, he arranged for a quick examination.

“It seems to be stress-induced anemia, and there are signs of a cold. I remember reading an article about her having panic attacks in the past, so I assume she’s on some medication…”

After leaving instructions to contact him again once she regained consciousness, the doctor had been gone for several hours.

Jaehyuk gave Hee-soo medicine for her fever and sat beside her, watching over her the entire time.

Every now and then, she whimpered in her sleep, trembling like a baby, curling up tightly and crying. It was impossible to look away.

“You’re always like this.”

Unconsciously, Jaehyuk raised his hand toward her forehead several times but stopped himself each time.

She still didn’t hold back, lashing out with words like thorns. And yet, she couldn’t handle the aftermath, eventually driving herself to the edge of a cliff.

Another tear welled up in the corner of Hee-soo’s eye and trickled down.

Watching it silently, Jaehyuk muttered under his breath:

...Don’t cry in front of me. I won’t comfort you anymore.

Enough. That’s enough.

Jaehyuk stood up from his seat. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was already 2 a.m.

As he was about to leave the room, an incessant vibration echoed from somewhere nearby, grating on his nerves. Tracing the source of the sound, he found it coming from the bag Hee-soo had been carrying.

Who could be contacting her at this hour?

Almost entranced, he pulled out her phone, intending to put it back in the bag—but as another vibration buzzed, the screen lit up.

“Hey, why aren’t you answering? I’m telling you to go see him first thing tomorrow.”

Frowning at the sender’s name, “Cha Joo-won,” more messages began flooding in. The phone vibrated relentlessly, its screen flashing continuously without pause.

When Jaehyuk touched the screen, it unlocked immediately—no password set.

“An entertainer who doesn’t even lock their phone… that’s a first,” he muttered under his breath.

He briefly wondered what would happen if someone else had seen it, but then realized it made sense for someone who rarely left the house. As if reflecting the days she spent locked away indoors, Hee-soo’s phone was completely defenseless.

“You’re just wasting time with auditions and nonsense, aren’t you?”

“If you try disappearing, I’ll expose everything.”

Jaehyuk’s expression darkened as he scrolled through the messages. He opened the chat history between Hee-soo and Cha Joo-won.

Even as he read, new notifications kept popping up.

“The day after tomorrow at 2 p.m., visit KY Entertainment.”

“I’ve done my part. From now on, you’re responsible for whatever happens next.”

“Not only will I make sure you pay damages, but I’ll ruin your reputation so badly you won’t be able to show your face anywhere.”

“Be prepared.”

Jaehyuk’s jaw tightened as he absorbed the threatening tone of the messages. His fingers hovered over the screen, hesitating for a moment before continuing to scroll. Each line seemed to dig deeper into Hee-soo’s fragile state, exposing the pressure she had been silently enduring.

His gaze shifted toward Hee-soo, still curled up in bed, tears streaming down her face even in sleep. The sight twisted something inside him—a mixture of anger, pity, and frustration.

What kind of life had she been living? And why hadn’t she told him?

The room felt suffocating all of a sudden. Clenching his fists, Jaehyuk turned off the phone and placed it gently back in her bag. He stared at her trembling form for a long moment, unsure whether to stay or leave.

“...Why do you always push me away?” he whispered softly, almost to himself.

But deep down, he knew—he couldn’t walk away. Not this time.