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chapter 12
Yuseong stared in awe at the lavish spread of wine appetizers that had been prepared in an instant.
“You’re really good at cooking, Mr. Kwon Suhyeok?”
In such a short time, Suhyeok had perfectly put together carpaccio and a caprese salad.
“I’ve lived alone for over 17 years. Cooking is a given.”
“Seventeen years?”
If she subtracted 17 from his age…
Finishing the calculation, Yuseong’s eyes widened.
“You’ve been living alone since your third year of middle school?”
Wasn’t that way too young to start living alone?
Seeing the surprised look on her face, Suhyeok filled her wine glass as if telling her not to worry about it.
“Here. I did what you asked, so just eat.”
What on earth had happened twenty-some years ago for him to choose not to return to the Kwon family?
‘I’ll ask today, no matter what.’
Determined, Yuseong lifted the wine glass he had poured for her.
“Thank you for the food!”
She went to clink glasses with him—but in front of him was only a glass of water.
What is this? Am I drinking alone?
“Aren’t you drinking, Mr. Kwon?”
“I have to drive you home later.”
“What? I can call a taxi, or I can have Youngmin or Changmin pick me up.”
At the mention of Youngmin and Changmin, Suhyeok frowned.
“Those twins from earlier?”
“Oh, yes. I’ll properly introduce you next time. They’ve been working as my security for about five years now—honestly, they’re pretty much my closest friends at this point.”
They were the friends she’d met when she entered Shinyang Trading at twenty.
They were her age, and to Yuseong, who’d had no friends in high school due to bullying, they had become precious—and her only—friends.
“Come to think of it, it looked like Youngmin got hurt earlier… I hope he’s okay.”
“…”
“Are you okay, Mr. Kwon?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“You’re really not drinking with me?”
“Right. You go ahead and enjoy a lot.”
…Why does it feel like he’s sulking?
‘…I must be imagining it.’
So Yuseong ended up savoring the smooth white wine all by herself.
Eating the snacks he’d made, sipping the wine.
The only sound interrupting the silence was her murmuring, “It’s so good,” a few times.
‘Ugh… this silence is driving me insane.’
Unable to stand it any longer, she finally spoke first.
“Um… Mr. Kwon. Thank you again. For helping me with my revenge, and for agreeing to the contract. Really, thank you.”
She even bowed slightly in the middle of eating. Seeing that, Suhyeok set down his glass.
“No need to thank me. I’m just repaying a debt to your father.”
“Well, about that…”
Unable to suppress her curiosity any longer, she shut her eyes tight and asked:
“Could you tell me more precisely… what exactly that debt was?”
After hesitating a moment, he began summarizing what had happened in the past—
what he had gone through,
and why he ran away from the Kwon family.
“…So that’s why Chairman Shin warned me like that the day he took you home.”
Even the vicious warning Byungo had delivered earlier.
“How… is something like that even real….”
Yuseong stared at him, jaw hanging open.
His childhood had been so dark that it was difficult to even put into words.
He had been from the same orphanage as her.
And the reason he had stayed celibate was because of her father’s threats….
‘Then… all of this is because of me?’
Her head spun, as if overloaded.
Kwon Suhyeok, who had lived at Haesong Orphanage.
Eight years older than her….
Yuseong wracked her brain, trying to recall him from her childhood.
“Then… Mr. Kwon… Are you….”
“Do you remember now?”
Ah. That oppa!
With that realization, her eyes lit up.
“The one who skipped stones seven times in a row?”
“Of all things you could remember… that?”
“At least I remember something! I was like six years old!”
She beamed.
The memory was faint, but it was still there.
When she had entered Haesong Orphanage—the second orphanage of her life—
he had been the handsome oppa who scolded the older boys who bullied her.
“Mr. Kwon, you helped me even back then.”
Looking at the grown man sitting in front of her, her eyes sparkled.
Now that she looked closely, his face wasn’t unfamiliar.
Neither were his eyes.
He had been the one who told her the meaningful secret—
that Chairman Shin had tons of money but no children—
smiling handsomely as he did.
That oppa had been Suhyeok.
“Just like my father was a benefactor to you, you’re a benefactor to me.”
It felt like she was always the one receiving help from him.
“…‘Benefactor’ is a first for me.”
Turning sharply away, he took a sip of wine.
‘What the— is he embarrassed?’
Seeing this unexpected side of him, and knowing he was someone from her childhood, made her strangely comfortable.
Yuseong, encouraged, filled her glass again and raised it.
“Then to commemorate this connection! Just one more glass?”
Clink—
Suhyeok smirked faintly as he tapped his water glass against hers.
And so the clinking sounds continued… dozens of times.
…
…
…
Puuuuu—
Suhyeok watched as Yuseong, sitting opposite him, kept blowing air like a dizzy child.
“You said just one more glass. What is this?”
Without noticing, they had already emptied three bottles of wine.
“Kwon Suhhyyyeooo… hic… Mr. Kwon…”
At some point, Shin Yuseong had turned into a complete drunk.
‘A kid is a kid. She sure can chatter endlessly.’
Her small red lips moved nonstop.
“Reaaally? You don’t have any experience with women? Because of my dad?”
“Yeah. It’s all because of your dad. So take responsibility.”
Hic.
At that, Yuseong stared at him, then slammed her palms on the table and bowed her head.
“I’ll! Apologize on his behalf! Now you can date, hic, as much as you want, freelyyyy!”
“Hah….”
He lifted her head back into place and glared.
Why is taking care of a drunk kid this exhausting?
“Hey, brat. Is that something a future wife should say?”
You’d upset your husband, saying things like that.
But she blinked, confused, not understanding.
“So what, you’re going to go around meeting lots of men too?”
“I will never be able to meet a man in my entire life… hic.”
“Why?”
“My body… earlier… it was gross, right?”
She smiled awkwardly.
“Has anyone ever told you your body is gross?”
“Uh… yes. And it kind of does look weird even to me.”
Her lips shut tightly afterward.
This really won’t do.
Watching her lips stay tightly closed for a long moment, he slowly began unbuttoning his shirt.
“…!”
Her eyes grew wider with each button undone, and the sight of bare skin made her hiccup violently.
His chest muscles were perfectly sculpted,
and below them, his eight-pack abs looked like something drawn by an artist.
Shirt fully removed, he stood and—
“W–wait!”
He guided her to the sofa and sat her down, then turned his back toward her.
“Here. Look.”
“…!”
The long, deep scar running down the center of his back made her instantly sober.
“This is… what…”
“When I was nine. Ha Myungsook poured boiling water on me from a kettle. This scar is from that.”
“Aah….”
Ha Myungsook—the one he wanted revenge against, the main culprit who tormented him.
Thinking of that woman, Yuseong swallowed her fury and gently touched his scar.
If it was still this large and dark now,
his childhood back must have been utterly ruined.
How could anyone do something like that to a nine-year-old…
“She was insane… that must have hurt so much….”
“Shin Yuseong.”
“Yes?”
“So at the very least, your body—
is never disgusting to me.
Because I’m the same.”
“O-oh….”
Her hand froze on his back.
So he had shown her his shame, his vulnerability—
just to comfort her.
Her eyes burned, but she forced the tears back.
She pulled her hand away from his back and lifted her own shirt.
“I—I have a similar scar too!”
When he turned around, his face hardened at the sight of her exposed skin.
“See? Right here on my stomach…”
She didn’t even seem to notice her shirt had ridden up enough to show her underwear.
“I have a scar similar to yours.”
She pointed to the long scar above her navel.
“You’re right. It’s similar.”
He slowly traced the scar on her stomach with his fingertips—
just as she had touched his.
“…!”
“It must’ve hurt.”
But his tone—
was far more intimate, far more deliberate.
