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“Together?”
“Didn’t you have lunch yet? I’ll make you some dumpling soup.”
“You?”
“Yes, I’ll—”
“Mrs. Oh!”
Suddenly, Chairman Choi called out loudly for the housekeeper who worked at their family home.
“Yes, Chairman! Did you call?”
The housekeeper hurried down from the second floor, her footsteps soft as if she had been cleaning.
“This girl brought dumplings. Make some dumpling soup.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
The housekeeper took the shopping bag from Sena’s hand.
“Father, I can make it myself.”
“What makes you think I’d trust your cooking?”
Why? Are you worried I might poison it?
Sena bit back a sigh that threatened to escape.
She hadn’t come here today to pick a fight or plead with Chairman Choi. Her goal was to improve her relationship with him so that Joo-Hyuk could feel more at ease when spending time with his father.
After hearing from Joo-Hyuk’s brothers that Chairman Choi loved Joo-Hyuk in his own way, she wondered if his coldness toward her might also stem from wanting to protect Joo-Hyuk.
If that were true, then she wanted to show Chairman Choi just how much she cared for and supported Joo-Hyuk.
“What are you doing standing there? Sit down. Are you planning to wait until the dumpling soup is ready?”
“Oh, no.”
At Chairman Choi’s question, Sena quickly sat down on the sofa.
He glanced at her briefly before picking up his book and resuming his reading.
As she sat there awkwardly looking around the room, her eyes landed on a small framed photo of three brothers standing side by side.
“Wow.”
Without realizing it, Sena walked over to the frame and picked it up to examine the picture closely.
It showed a middle school-aged boy, an elementary school-aged boy, and a child who looked about five or six—all lined up neatly.
Clearly, they were Joo-Hyuk and his two older brothers.
“Is this Joo-Hyuk and your sons?”
Chairman Choi glanced at her and nodded.
“Oh my, they’re so adorable! How did you end up with three such handsome and cute sons?”
“Haven’t you ever seen pictures of Joo-Hyuk when he was younger?”
“No, not at all. I don’t think Joo-Hyuk has any either.”
“We have them at home. Would you like to see?”
“Really? Yes, please! I’d love to!”
“Hmm.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, Chairman Choi set his book aside, stood up, and headed toward his study.
“Wait here. I’ll bring them.”
“Yes, Father.”
Watching Chairman Choi disappear into the study, Sena quickly returned to the sofa. The thought of seeing Joo-Hyuk’s childhood photos filled her with excitement.
A short while later, Chairman Choi emerged from the study holding a thick photo album and placed it on the living room table.
“Here.”
“Thank you.”
Taking the heavy album, Sena began flipping through its pages.
Photos of Joo-Hyuk as a newborn seemed to be missing—perhaps he kept those himself. The earliest photos in the album showed him at around five years old.
There were pictures of him wearing a kindergarten uniform, gazing intently at the camera with bright, intelligent eyes, and others of him laughing and playing with friends. Occasionally, there were group photos with his brothers or even Chairman Choi.
“This is Joo-Hyuk’s elementary school graduation photo.”
Chairman Choi, who had leaned in to peer at the album alongside her, pointed out one particular picture.
“So that’s why he’s holding flowers?”
“It was his graduation ceremony, and he also received an award as the top student representative.”
“Wow.”
Sena couldn’t help but marvel sincerely. Knowing how brilliant he had been since childhood made her feel inexplicably proud.
From the next page onward, the photos depicted Joo-Hyuk during his middle school years.
Something about the atmosphere felt different—not just because he had grown from a child into a young teenager. The cheerful smiles that dominated his earlier photos had noticeably faded.
“It’s because of your mother.”
Seemingly sensing Sena’s unspoken question, Chairman Choi muttered under his breath as though talking to himself.
“If only he hadn’t found out… Why did she go to him and reveal herself in such a state…”
He was likely referring to Joo-Hyuk’s biological mother visiting him to inform him of her illness.
“I explicitly told her never to tell Joo-Hyuk… Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Chairman Choi’s voice grew pained as deep lines formed on his forehead.
“If she intended to appear like that, she should’ve contacted us sooner to take him away instead.”
“…What do you mean, Father?”
Sena couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Huh? What?”
“You just said Joo-Hyuk’s mother contacted you first to take him away…”
“Huh?”
For a fleeting moment, Chairman Choi’s face flushed red, and he averted his gaze.
“W-When did I say anything like that?”
“Father.”
“A-Ah, you must’ve misheard me.”
No, she hadn’t misheard.
It was clear now: Joo-Hyuk’s biological mother had contacted Chairman Choi first to take him away. And given the circumstances, she must have already been ill at the time.
“Mrs. Oh, is the dumpling soup ready yet?”
Chairman Choi abruptly stood up and headed toward the kitchen, clearly trying to avoid further discussion. His flustered demeanor spoke volumes.
This wasn’t something that could be dismissed as a simple slip of the tongue—it was too big of a revelation. If the timeline had been reversed, Joo-Hyuk’s anger would lose its direction entirely.
But still…
“Madam, please have your meal.”
Startled by the housekeeper’s call, Sena rose from her seat with a troubled expression.
The faint smile of young Joo-Hyuk in the photo album seemed to stare back at her accusingly, weighing heavily on her heart.
---
For reasons unknown, Sena’s mood, which had been stable for a while, turned gloomy again today.
Her expression was undeniably dark, even though she insisted nothing was wrong when asked.
“Sena.”
After watching her blankly stare at the living room floor for about 30 minutes with the TV on in the background, Joo-Hyuk couldn’t hold back any longer and called out to her.
“Yes?”
“You’ve been staring at the floor for the past 30 minutes.”
“Me? I was watching the news… Oh…”
She bit her lip as she noticed a drama playing on the TV screen instead of the news.
“The news ended ages ago.”
“…Right.”
“What’s going on with you?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’?”
Her obvious flustered response confirmed that she knew something was off but was trying to deflect.
“You know you’re acting strange again, right? It feels like you’re hiding something from me again. Are you lying to me?”
He grew frustrated because he thought they were done with these kinds of arguments.
How much longer would he have to wait for her to fully open up to him? A wave of disappointment washed over him.
“It’s not like that!”
Sena shook her head vigorously, her expression on the verge of tears.
“Then what is it?”
“It’s… about your mother.”
“My mother?”
Her unexpected answer made Joo-Hyuk furrow his brows. How could she possibly know anything about his mother, whom she had never met, and look so troubled?
“What do you mean?”
“I visited Father’s house today.”
“To Father’s? Alone?”
“Yes…”
“Why would you go there by yourself…?”
Joo-Hyuk exhaled deeply, stopping himself from raising his voice out of frustration. He reminded himself that his concern for her shouldn’t come across as anger.
Besides, there was a more pressing matter to address now. He could deal with this issue later, after hearing her out.
“So? What did you hear that has you so worked up?”
“Your mother contacted Father first.”
“…What? What are you talking about?”
“She asked him to take you in—your mother reached out first.”
Joo-Hyuk shot up from the sofa, glaring at Sena with piercing eyes.
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”
His voice trembled with rage.
Sena carefully recounted everything that had happened at his father’s house earlier.
“When I asked Father again, he denied ever saying that, but I clearly heard it myself.”
“Haa—.”
Joo-Hyuk dragged his hands down his face and collapsed back onto the sofa. His face, visible through his fingers, was contorted with pain, shadowed by heavy anguish.
“I was trying to figure out how to tell you.”
“You weren’t trying to hide it?”
“No, absolutely not. I just needed time to process it before I could explain. My mind was all over the place.”
Her voice quickened with indignation.
She had no intention of hiding the truth or lying to him. She simply needed to sort through her thoughts before speaking to him. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to convey the situation properly, and she might get swept away by his emotional turmoil. Someone had to stay rational and prevent an overly emotional reaction.
“What have I… No, no, this can’t be right.”
Joo-Hyuk muttered, his face clouded with confusion.
While his disillusionment with his father’s business dealings was one thing, this revelation about his mother was a devastating blow. He had spent years feeling betrayed by her and harboring hatred for her abandonment and death.
“What you did was the right thing.”
“But that doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do as a son.”
“Regardless of what we learned today, you were never going to be praised as a dutiful son anyway.”
“That may be true, but still…”
“Don’t regret what you did, Joo-Hyuk.”
Sena patted his back gently, offering comfort.
Watching his bewildered state somehow cleared her own foggy mind. Words of reassurance flowed naturally from her lips.
“More importantly, now that the misunderstanding with your father has been resolved, try to work on improving your relationship with him.”
Though Joo-Hyuk didn’t respond, Sena was certain he would make an effort to mend things with his father. That was just the kind of person he was.
“You’re right. There’s no changing what happened so long ago.”
Joo-Hyuk turned to her, his face slightly brighter.
“Then it’s your turn to face punishment.”
“Punishment? For what?”
“You kept lying to me every time I asked what was wrong.”
“I told you, I wasn’t trying to lie!”
“A lie is still a lie.”
His sharp, piercing gaze locked onto hers.
Before she could protest further, his lips silenced her. His tongue slipped into her mouth, claiming hers.
“Ah.”
In an instant, his hand slid under her pajamas, unhooked her bra, and cupped her breast. Her skin prickled with goosebumps as his fingers brushed against her sensitive peaks.
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