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Chapter 7
Parents. Birth.
Things that would never change no matter how desperately one struggled.
“Taesan is the eldest grandson of our family. My son passed away, and he’s the only eldest grandson left.”
It felt so unfair she could go mad.
But no matter how wronged she felt, nothing changed.
So she tried to accept it.
She tried countless times to give him up.
But Taesan was her heart. He was everything.
“That boy and you are worlds apart. The future head of Taejeong needs a wife worthy of the position. A woman who can support Taesan so he can soar even higher. And what can you do?”
Chairman Kang wasn’t wrong.
Hongsi was someone from the streets, while he was a noble man born with a golden spoon in hand.
“If I looked only at you as a person, maybe you would suit Taesan. You’re smart and kind-hearted. But can I really bring someone in as the lady of Taejeong based on the person alone?”
How ridiculous and shameless she must have seemed for daring to covet someone like him.
He could have ordered people to throw her out without another word.
“Your father gambled away every bit of the inheritance your grandfather left and died suddenly. Your mother, instead of living strongly, blamed her own child and eventually threw that child into a lake, calling her an evil spirit. How could I place such misfortune beside Taejeong?”
Yet Hongsi suddenly felt miserable all over again.
“I didn’t choose to be born like that.”
She hadn’t wanted to be born this way.
It hurt so much that simply because she had been born wrong, she couldn’t even freely love the person she liked.
“True. You didn’t choose to be born into that family.”
Chairman Kang nodded as though he somewhat understood her words.
That didn’t mean he intended to accept her.
He kindly explained why she could never be with Taesan.
“But you were born that way, so you must live according to it. I cherished you because it was unfortunate that your talents exceeded your station, but that’s all. If you had dared set your sights on my grandson, I would’ve thrown you out long ago.”
Holding back tears, Hongsi lowered her head.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’ll arrange a position for you in America. Go there and use your talents however you wish. That’s the only thing I can do for you.”
“Y-you don’t have to do that…”
“What? Refuse it and stay attached to Taesan forever? Take it, and let this be the end.”
“……”
Hongsi said nothing.
As though giving a final farewell, she bowed deeply with full respect before leaving the room.
The moment she stepped outside, the aunts swarmed her.
Aunt Jayoung stepped forward first and demanded,
“You really said that crazy nonsense about marrying the young master?”
Hongsi calmly nodded.
“I did.”
“Good grief!”
Jayoung smacked Hongsi hard on the back as if dumbfounded.
“You’ve completely lost your mind!”
The other aunts also chimed in, saying it was behavior worse than an animal’s.
Hongsi stood expressionless, enduring the blows without even groaning.
Her ribs, already bruised from falling earlier, throbbed painfully under Jayoung’s hits.
“How dare you talk about marriage?”
“Just because the chairman and the young master treated you well, do you think you’re some kind of lady now?”
“She’s gone completely insane.”
“You should’ve stayed in your place and never even applied to college. They spoiled you too much, and now your head’s gone crazy talking about marrying the young master!”
“We even arranged for your crazy mother to stay in a nursing hospital, and this is how you repay kindness?”
“The young master treated you too well—!”
“Are you bullying Hongsi?”
While Hongsi silently listened to the flood of scolding, Jung Heeyoung approached.
The startled aunts immediately stepped back and bowed.
“M-Madam.”
“Can people control their hearts that easily? Is Taesan some kind of king? Is this the Joseon Dynasty?”
“T-that’s not what we mean…”
“What happened to all that ‘Hongsi’s like a daughter to us’ talk? Was it all lies? What exactly did Hongsi do wrong? And what’s wrong with her anyway? Honestly, in terms of personality and character, Hongsi’s a hundred times better than Taesan, whose temper is absolute trash.”
Heeyoung’s sharp words instantly silenced everyone.
Clicking her tongue, she walked over to Hongsi and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Hongsi, want to have some tea with me?”
The room Heeyoung used for painting as a hobby was thick with the smell of oil paints.
In one corner were unfinished paintings, brushes, and paints.
The studio, which usually felt warm and pleasant, felt unusually uncomfortable today.
Maybe because of the trouble she had caused.
Then Jung Heeyoung sat beside her and applied ointment.
Startled by the stinging pain, Hongsi pulled back.
“I’m fine, ma’am.”
Heeyoung firmly sat her back down and spread the ointment carefully.
“Fine? Your face is all bruised.”
Hongsi shifted uneasily like someone sitting on thorns.
With a troubled expression, Heeyoung sighed.
“I spoiled Taekyung too much. I honestly wonder who he got that awful temper from. Why couldn’t he be gentle and patient like our Hongsi?”
After finishing the ointment, Heeyoung carefully took Hongsi’s hand.
“Our Hongsi is so pretty. Honestly, I wish you were Taesan’s partner.”
Startled, Hongsi looked up at her.
“W-what do you mean?”
She wished she were Taesan’s partner?
Naturally, Hongsi had expected criticism like from the aunts, the chairman, or Taekyung.
But now this woman was saying she hoped Hongsi would end up with Taesan.
As Hongsi looked confused, Heeyoung burst into laughter.
“It’s not because I’m not his biological mother that I don’t oppose it.”
“I never thought that!”
“I know, dear. I’m joking.”
Lightly patting Hongsi’s shoulder, Heeyoung smiled brightly.
“To be honest, Taesan was really something before he met you.”
She clicked her tongue while recalling the time Hongsi and Taesan first met.
“Well, he went through such terrible things at such a young age. He wouldn’t speak, and he’d panic and have fits whenever someone got close to him. But after meeting you, he started talking, and now he’s become the proper heir to the Taejeong Group.”
It was something everyone had told her.
That until meeting Hongsi, Taesan had shut everyone out and suffered from mutism.
Since he had spoken with her from their very first meeting, Hongsi still found it hard to imagine Taesan ever being mute.
“Who else but you could tolerate that awful personality of his?”
His personality really was pretty terrible. Without realizing it, Hongsi nodded in agreement before suddenly freezing.
Heeyoung burst out laughing.
Flustered, Hongsi hurriedly added,
“B-but he’s nice to me.”
“Right. Taesan cherishes you far more than Taekyung does.”
Then Heeyoung suddenly leaned closer, her eyes sparkling.
“If you like Taesan, don’t give up. I’ll help you.”
Hongsi swallowed nervously.
“B-but…”
“What? Are you scared now?”
More than scared, she felt wary.
Kindness never came without a reason.
No matter how ignorant she was, she knew this much.
That Heeyoung wasn’t supporting a marriage with Taesan out of pure sincerity.
“I’ll back you up completely.”
Whether it was Chairman Kang telling her to prepare for America or Heeyoung insisting she’d push her toward Taesan, both were no different from pushing Hongsi off a cliff.
“Just trust this auntie.”
Hongsi looked at Heeyoung with a confused expression.
“I really like that oppa.”
Leaning one arm against the window frame, Taesan wore a complicated expression.
“No… I love him.”
Hongsi liked him. Loved him.
He had never imagined such a thing.
Not once had he ever thought of Hongsi that way.
Taesan’s life could be divided into before and after meeting Hongsi.
Before meeting her, his life had been a continuous hell.
The accident his mother caused.
Losing both parents and surviving alone.
And then he met Hongsi.
Different, yet similar.
Someone who had nearly been killed by her own parents.
And yet Hongsi was brighter than anyone else despite it all.
Even after enduring something so horrific, she wasn’t dark.
She sparkled as though she carried all the light in the world inside her.
Sometimes he seriously wondered if something was wrong with her because she smiled all the time.
She smiled even when Taekyung hit her, and even when classmates bullied her.
One year, when Taesan collapsed from the trauma that always resurfaced every August—
“Mom’s hand is medicine… no, is it a child’s hand? A baby hand?”
Ridiculously enough, Hongsi sat in his room, gently rubbing his stomach with her tiny hand while he lay sleeping.
He had no idea what she was muttering to herself, but she babbled on while awkwardly patting his stomach.
“A baby hand is a healing hand.”
“What are you doing?”
When he suddenly woke up, Hongsi jumped in surprise, rolling her big eyes nervously before speaking in a tiny voice.
“I thought maybe this would help you feel better…”
