WWBU - 60

“......”

“But, you know.”

“......”

“This mental stress, this shock, seems unavoidable.”

Hyun-soo, her eyes already reddened, looked at Ji-young. She was afraid of the words that would follow, the truth that would pour out of her mouth.

“My son has become disabled.”

Hyun-soo frowned. Tears she had been holding back fell from both eyes.

“He can’t keep a woman by his side properly. Even if he does, he can’t have physical contact. In short, he can’t have sex.”

“......”

“He says it’s disgusting. So disgusting he doesn’t want to do anything. He can’t even get married, let alone continue the family line, because he can’t desire another person. If that’s not being disabled, what is?”

Hyun-soo, unable to bear it any longer, collapsed and covered her face with her hands. Her palms were soaked with tears.

“Is it okay to cripple someone and then just die? Is it?”

“Heu...”

“We can’t bring the dead back from the grave. As a mother, I want to, but as a human, I can’t go that far. However.”

“Heuk, eup...”

“If the mother did it, shouldn’t the child take responsibility?”

Hyun-soo’s shoulders shook. Ji-young’s face, covered with a chilling expression she had never seen before, became even more angry as she saw her crying without answering.

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

“I’m sorry, heu... I’m sorry, I’ll, heuk... I’ll do everything...”

“Who asked you to say such things?”

Hyun-soo, who had been crying with trembling shoulders, wiped away all her tears and took a deep breath. Finally, having stopped crying, she met Ji-young’s eyes.

“Please give me some time, just a little time.”

“How shameless.”

“It’s not that I absolutely refuse. It’s just that I need time to accept this fact, that’s why.”

Ji-young looked at Hyun-soo, who was pleading, with an inscrutable, indifferent face. Then she clicked her tongue and turned her head.

“Alright. I’ll give you some time. But I think the answer is already decided, for me.”

“......”

“While you have time, make up your mind. You’ll have to turn my son, who your mother made like this, back into a proper human being.”

Hyun-soo just bowed her head like a sinner and clenched her fists.

Ji-young, having finished speaking, called Mi-ryeong and went into her room. Without leaving a greeting, without even looking at her.

Hyun-soo, her face covered in tears, staggered up and headed to her room. Opening and closing the door, she entered her own space, cut off from the outside world, and her legs gave out. She leaned against the door and slid down. Again, tears fell.

Such a thing had happened without her knowing. When, how?

She was grateful and resentful that he hadn’t expressed anything to her, hadn’t said a word, even though such a thing had happened. She felt so mortified by the shame that surged within her that she just wanted to die.

What was her mother thinking? She wanted to bring her dead mother back to life and ask her. Are you crazy? What are you doing? Get a grip, don’t do that!

“What should I do...”

She knew that it was a wound that wouldn’t disappear even if she brought the dead to apologize to him, and her heart ached. Knowing that, Hyun-soo’s tears wouldn’t stop.

‘He can’t keep a woman by his side properly. Even if he does, he can’t have physical contact. In short, he can’t have sex.’

‘If the mother did it, shouldn’t the child take responsibility?’

Ji-young’s chilling voice echoed in her mind. And at the same time, a thought slowly raised its head. He can’t have physical contact, he can’t have sex? Then what about the nights they spent together?

Hyun-soo blinked, puzzled. Tears dripped down her blank face, down her dry cheeks.

There were three possibilities. Ji-young was mistaken about Guk, Guk had lied, or everything about Guk was true, but he could only have a relationship with her.

Looking at it, the last assumption was the least likely of the three. Why, what was so special about her that he could only have a relationship with her? But if that was true... if that was true, then she would be the only one who could help him. As Ji-young claimed, this marriage had to happen.

When her thoughts reached that point, her head ached as if it would break. It seemed like there was no way for her to get out of this situation unscathed.

How did it come to this? If she hadn’t come into this house in the first place. No. If she hadn’t met her sponsor again. No. If Yoon Guk hadn’t come to our house 10 years ago.

Hyun-soo buried her forehead in her knees, thinking of the endless “what ifs.” She felt like her soul was bruised beyond her heart.

The dizzying and chaotic events didn’t end there. The storm that would truly blow her mind began to rage the very next day.

Early in the morning, Chairman Yoon, who had received a report from his secretary as soon as he opened his eyes, became angry.

“What is all this! What are you talking about!”

Chairman Yoon’s roar echoed loudly in the wide room. The secretaries, the public relations manager, and two employees flinched and bowed their heads. Only Yoon Guk and Yoon Han stared at their father.

“That’s... it’s not mentioned by name, but it seems they’re making such guesses secretly.”

“Huh, how dare they bring such ridiculous gossip!”

Chairman Yoon’s face, filled with anger, became even redder. Unable to contain his anger, he even slammed his fist on the armrest of the sofa. The atmosphere became even more solemn.

The reason Chairman Yoon was so angry and the employees came to the owner’s house was due to a certain situation. It was because of an initial article published in an economic newspaper.

The content was as follows. The son of a certain group was actually a bastard and had held an orgy party with same-sex partners in a resort suite near Yangyang last month.

At first glance, it was gossip that could be ignored, but for some reason, the incident was becoming widespread as one person was highlighted as the protagonist.

As you can see from Chairman Yoon’s anger, the person pointed out was Yoon Guk, the eldest son of the HK Group and managing director of Hotel Onyx. The reasons given by the gossipers were his past, when he appeared as Chairman Yoon’s son only after becoming a high school student, and the fact that the famous resort near Yangyang was only the HK Group’s.

A silence fell, as if even the sound of an ant crawling could be heard. Because of the atmosphere, no one even thought of touching the simple refreshments on the table. Except for one person, Guk.

He calmly looked at Chairman Yoon, picked up his teacup, and took a sip of tea. It was a fragrant but bitter flower tea. Chairman Yoon’s face became more wrinkled as he watched him slowly savor the steaming tea. Even though he was his son, he became angry every time he acted so leisurely and made him anxious.

“Yoon Guk.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

It was a place where not only he and his brother, but also company people were present. So whatever Chairman Yoon said, it would be from the perspective of an owner of a company, not a parent. Knowing this, Guk answered by calling him that from the beginning. Chairman Yoon’s eyebrows twitched.

“Answer any questions honestly.”

“Yes.”

“Are you related to this ridiculous rumor?”

The room fell silent in an instant. Everyone’s attention was focused on Guk’s mouth. He chuckled in this situation. Chairman Yoon’s face became more wrinkled as he saw him sitting there drinking tea. Even though he was his son, he became angry every time he acted so leisurely and made him anxious.

“What do you think?”

“What?”

“Do you really think I’m related to that dirty rumor?”

“This guy...! Can’t you answer honestly?”

Guk, putting down his teacup and taking a deep breath, opened his mouth. His eyes, looking at Chairman Yoon, were filled with a kind of weariness.

“No, I’m not.”

“You’re not?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Of course, you shouldn’t be.”

He was worried that his son, who didn’t meet women properly, might meet a same-sex partner. You might criticize it as outdated thinking that should be buried, but in his standards, it was absolutely unacceptable. If the eldest son, who was the face of the group and had to continue the family line, was the protagonist of such a ridiculous rumor, how could he endure the intense shame? But since he said no, Chairman Yoon was secretly relieved and cleared his throat.

“You’ve all heard. Block all related articles by any means necessary. Money doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, I understand, Chairman.”

“It would be better to just give them some money and shut them up. If that doesn’t work, we’ll need something else. Listen to them first. Block the rumors first. Protecting our image is crucial.”

“Yes.”

“Yoon Guk, Yoon Han, you two are my right-hand men and the face of HK. We must resolve this issue at all costs. If you want to continue working under me.”

The people, who had hesitated for a moment at Chairman Yoon’s words, bowed and accepted his orders. Han shook his head and picked up a cookie, crunching it. Guk, beside him, merely looked at Chairman Yoon and the employees with dry eyes.

However, things in the world, especially people’s rumors, are not something you can manipulate as you please.

As allegations of secret funds by high-ranking politicians surfaced, public opinion surged, and pressure from those circles began to affect the business world. A play to divert public attention was unfolding.

The gossip, which seemed to be subsiding, reignited like a spark on dry straw, causing people to gossip everywhere.

The chaebol son’s identity is a bastard, he enjoys homosexuality, he had an orgy... all sorts of sensational articles poured out, increasing curiosity about who the protagonist was.

Online, lists were compiled, photos were added, and they spread across various bulletin boards and communities. Naturally, Yoon Guk was among them.