“Why do they call me the victim?”
“Because, obviously—”
“That player’s breathing was already heavy, and on top of that, her breath was hot. She was panting so damply that my pants got wet. If she’d kept going a little longer, I would’ve gotten hard.”
“AAAGH! Mr. Seo!”
“Do you understand? I almost got hard. And that’s despite being impotent and all.”
“AAAGH! Mr. Seo! Please! Your mouth! Your mouth!”
Information that absolutely must never get out came pouring out without restraint. The true nature of the shameless chairman, his weakness, and all sorts of other things… Nam, his secretary, looked around like a cat hissing defensively, as though even the tightly enclosed car could not be trusted.
Seo Hahyun paid him no mind and smiled languidly.
“See? I’m the one who should be pitied. That woman put things in my mouth without permission. So who exactly is the perpetrator?”
Ah… His eyes weren’t smiling at all…
The quick-witted secretary immediately lowered his gaze.
“But of all people, why did it have to be that player?”
As though replaying the incident in his mind, Seo Hahyun rubbed his groin. No one noticed the subtle movement in the darkness.
“You’re a Gong Eungil anti-fan, aren’t you, sir?”
“Hmm.”
He let out an indecipherable hum.
“You always glare at her like you want to crush her somehow. The captain of that last-place team who plays like they’re mortal enemies whenever they meet our team.”
“Yes.”
With the press of a button, a black partition rose to separate the space. The front seats were blocked off, cutting off the secretary’s voice.
Seo Hahyun was left alone.
“She’s always been irritating.”
Click.
His trouser buckle came undone.
After arriving at the mansion, Seo Hahyun headed straight to the dining room for the family dinner. His father, Chairman Seo, his younger brother Seo Taehyun, and his sister-in-law were already seated there.
“I’m late.”
“You certainly made quite a commotion.”
Chairman Seo was referring to today’s incident.
“So, hyung, what’s with being a club owner? It’s not like you’re some washed-up old man who’s been pushed out of management, or some old guy trying to make as much money as possible before retirement.”
And so the curtain rose.
A dining table filled with trivial conversation and laughter was, by nature, a breeding ground for vicious psychological warfare.
Tongues were sharpened like blades, and chopsticks were used to pin down opponents. The more flesh you chewed, the better it tasted, and wine glasses had to be filled with blood. All the techniques of social warfare were learned around this dinner table.
“Fortunately, you have that history of being a lunatic to fall back on. Otherwise, you wouldn’t even be able to compete with washed-up old men.”
“Ah, hyung… You’re seriously shameless.”
Seo Taehyun narrowed his eyes.
The brother sitting before him always flaunted weaknesses that could become a disgrace to the family.
You couldn’t attack someone who calmly recited his own shortcomings first. No matter how much you provoked him, you couldn’t drag him down.
That was why Seo Taehyun was always irritated.
“Oh, dear. What’s wrong with my brother-in-law?”
Taehyun’s wife, Seulyoon, joined in.
“My friends are always asking me to introduce them to you. You’re so popular.”
Seulyoon looked at Hahyun with a pleasant smile. Even their brief eye contact seemed filled with genuine affection.
“…Out of all the possible methods, you chose to defend me.”
Seo Hahyun lifted his wineglass listlessly. His eyes viewed his family with the same indifference one might show toward a pile of junk.
“You might as well claw at me openly. What is this half-hearted attempt?”
“…!”
“Your counterattack is still rather pathetic compared to your reputation, sister-in-law.”
He withdrew his gaze in boredom.
Yet somehow, that arrogant behavior was enough to provoke the couple.
Unable to capture Seo Hahyun’s attention despite their constant teasing and hovering, they were suddenly seized by the childish urge to compete.
If only they could tear off that leisurely mask of his.
So Seo Taehyun prodded at territory that even he usually avoided.
“Hyung, I’ve never once heard that you’re seeing a woman. Are you really not dating anyone? You’ve carried on like a madman long enough. Isn’t it about time you started seeing someone?”
“H-honey…”
“Don’t tell me you’re still waiting for that woman.”
“…”
“Don’t be an idiot. You really became a fucking mess because of someone. That low-class woman—”
“Interesting.”
Seo Hahyun cut him off, resting his chin on his hand.
“But at least you should say her name properly, Taehyun. Don’t mumble it ambiguously.”
“Th-that…”
“Hm? Come just one step closer.”
The corners of his mouth twisted viciously.
“That’s enough! Why hasn’t the youngest arrived yet? What time is it!”
Chairman Seo hurriedly cut off the brothers.
His thoughtless second son had touched Hahyun’s deepest wound—and, beyond that, a taboo of this family.
A strange tension settled over the table.
Just then, the youngest of the family, Seo Mina, came rushing in.
Her short hair was disheveled from hurrying, and the cold air seemed to cling to it.
“Why are you only coming now! There’s not a single thing about you that satisfies me!”
“That idiot has to actually do something properly for once.”
“Don’t be so harsh. The roads must have been crowded during rush hour. It’s not like Miss deliberately comes late.”
Now the arrows were directed at the youngest.
The stress that had accumulated from dealing with Seo Hahyun would now be released through Seo Mina.
Someone easy to blame.
The emotional trash can everyone in this suffocating family shared.
The three siblings had different mothers, and from childhood, each had to fight to protect their place.
Mina was the child who had lost first.
She had grown up outside the family and only entered the Jegyeong household around the age of seven, which made everyone treat her even more like an unwanted odd piece.
“Once you get married, don’t consider this your family home anymore. Think of it as burying your bones in your husband’s family and live without ever looking back.”
“…”
Mina lowered her calf-like eyes.
“Honestly, what a useless girl. Father, the more I think about it, the more I feel like sending a defective product over there will only damage our family’s reputation.”
“It’s mutual. They don’t exactly have a useful product either. Let’s just be satisfied with tying up each other’s troublesome children and getting them out of the way.”
Hahyun merely glanced at his youngest half-sister, who seemed completely out of place here, as though she had been mistakenly invited to this house.
She was devoid of spite and stubbornness, just a somewhat vacant child—
“…”
At that moment, his eyes met Mina’s.
He hadn’t realized how long she had been staring directly at him.
Surprisingly, Seo Mina’s gaze was extremely insolent.
That couldn’t be right.
His youngest sister had always been timid, constantly afraid, wary of everyone, and enduring everything like a fool.
But now, a vivid and heated emotion was shooting straight toward Hahyun.
Anger…? No, resentment…?
He was bewildered, but showed none of it.
She was six years younger than him.
The period when they had been close had been brief as a summer shower, and for the rest of their lives, they had remained distant half-siblings.
It wasn’t as though she had suddenly hit puberty now…
Is it because of the arranged marriage?
Meanwhile, Chairman Seo’s nagging continued.
“Once you’re married, try to live a little more normally. Shrinking away from people, avoiding them, keeping your mouth tightly shut and not saying a word when you’re having one of your episodes—all of that lowers your value. So continue your speech therapy until the wedding.”
“…”
“Oh, Father-in-law. Miss will do just fine.”
Seulyoon spoke sweetly.
Chairman Seo clearly saw through his daughter-in-law’s carefully prepared flattery, yet he still backed down.
“Right, Miss?”
“…”
“I’ll be bored without you around, Miss, but don’t worry. I’ll make sure Father-in-law doesn’t feel lonely while you’re gone. So don’t worry and just relax.”
There was no warmth behind her gentle smile.
“But, Miss, do you have any friends to invite to the wedding? You should at least have someone to catch the bouquet…”
“Hmm…”
Seulyoon tilted her head with an exaggerated hum.
Mina, uncharacteristically, answered quickly.
“I-I-I do…”
“Speak properly! Don’t act so deficient!”
Chairman Seo slammed his spoon down.
Startled, Mina merely fidgeted with her fingers beneath the table.
“Damn it! I’m not raising children. I’m raising patients! Nothing but patients!”
Chairman Seo glared at even his eldest son as though he were dissatisfied with him.
The arrows turned back toward Hahyun.
“Once the youngest gets married, you’re next.”
“Surely not.”
“Why not? Everyone else gets married!”
“Who would put a tuxedo on a bastard who has somehow stitched together nothing but his outer shell and pretends to be human? Young ladies who know the value of their lives don’t do such things.”
His tone was casual, his expression bored.
“They instinctively know that if they get deeply involved with me, their lives will be ruined. Aren’t they rather smart?”
Scritch.
The cutlery scraped against the plate.
Dark red juices seeped from the steak Seo Hahyun had just cut.
“So be satisfied that I’m still alive. Before I deliberately destroy myself again.”
A chill swept over the dining table.
Each of them was being crushed beneath memories they could not speak of.
Terrible memories of the past.
But Chairman Seo gritted his teeth at his son’s threat.
He didn’t want to admit it, but his eldest son had died a long time ago.
His desires and emotions had all died with him.
How could something with nothing inside, with only a convincing outer shell, be called alive?
There was none of the fierce, noisy scent unique to the living clinging to him.
Not knowing exactly why he was so angry, Chairman Seo’s veins bulged as he shouted.
“Who told you to have the greatest love story of the century? Did I tell you to bring home the President’s daughter? Just get married and make it look right, you idiot! I care more about my reputation than your happiness. I’m a scoundrel who only cares about the result, no matter how you get there, so figure it out yourselves and bend a little! You were lucky enough to be born rich, so stop complaining!”
Chairman Seo pounded the table with his clenched fist before turning to Mina.
“You, make absolutely sure you’re ready to leave!”
“Yes…”
“Have you thrown away everything you don’t need?”
“Father, what does she even have?”
Taehyun sneered.
Seulyoon grabbed her husband’s forearm as though trying to stop him, but she too seemed to be one of them, unable to hide the strange smile creeping across her face.
Mina fidgeted with the fluorescent-colored T-shirt hidden beneath her overcoat.
Her touch was filled with lingering attachment.
