TLR 34

Chapter 34

Lee Seol felt him inhale. Soon, she felt his sweet breath tickling the edges of her lips.

Junhyeok gently bit her lower lip to part her mouth, then slipped his tongue inside.

He gently stirred and rubbed the inside of her mouth, then pushed his tongue deeper. The more they repeated it, the less he got tired of it—if anything, it wasn’t enough.

As the wet sounds grew louder, Lee Seol pushed his chest away with her hands.

At least he wasn’t grabbing her hair—should she be grateful for that? Junhyeok ignored her and instead held the back of her head firmly with one hand.

She never thought she’d be dating like this past thirty.

It was fortunate that he was a chaebol and at least had a car. If he didn’t have a car, where on earth would they be doing this?

His hand, which had been persistently stealing her breath and saliva while playing, slipped under her white blouse. As he fumbled his way up, Lee Seol shook her head violently.

“Whew.”

Junhyeok exhaled his boiling breath into the air.

Lee Seol frantically tucked her rolled-up blouse back into her pants.

“I-I’ll be going now.”

“You won’t get far.”

As usual, he stood up as if he would tear through the fabric. Lee Seol pretended not to see anything and opened the door.

*Click*—as soon as the door closed, Junhyeok cursed. His frustration boiled over at his body, which he couldn’t control.

He lowered his gaze for a moment, then frowned and turned his head away. Having tasted the forbidden fruit, doing it alone was far from satisfying.

Junhyeok loosened his tie and stared straight ahead. His face was so expressionless that no one would believe he was imagining all kinds of obscene scenes in his mind.

How long had he been like that? A vibration sounded.

Junhyeok turned his gaze to his phone a beat late.

“Hello.”

– *Hello, Executive Director. This is Manager Park Kyung-chul. I hope you had a good dinner…*

“Just the matter, please.”

– *I apologize. The company we asked to handle the work just contacted me. You said to prioritize that task, so you had left work, but I’m contacting you…*

“Just the matter. Please.”

– *I apologize. Han Shin-chul has agreed to send his son to his wife.*

“Oh.”

– *However, Han Shin-chul strongly refused a few of our proposals, so I called to confirm with you, Executive Director.*

Junhyeok roughly wiped his face with one hand.

That bastard who abandoned his daughter was now trying to make a big deal by bringing his son along.

“Give Han Shin-chul everything he wants and wrap it up.”

– *I’ll do as you say. Have a pleasant evening.*

A pleasant evening can freeze to death. Junhyeok pressed the end button and muttered sarcastically under his breath.

“I guess I’ll have to vote for Moon Pil-yong.”

Not that those two would ever make it to the final candidates anyway.

He finally decided who he would vote for if Moon Pil-yong and Han Shin-chul ended up as the final candidates for the ‘Best Father of the Year’ award.

He couldn’t understand how a pretty and kind daughter like Lee Seol could be born from such human garbage. Of course, it was very understandable that that human garbage was Han Joo’s father.

Though he didn’t like the fact that the garbage would benefit unintentionally, Junhyeok decided not to worry about it anymore.

Anyway, she would be happy to see her brother, and as a bonus, her mother’s attention would also turn to her son.

It was the fourth Friday since she started working. After parting ways with Junhyeok, Lee Seol trudged up the hill.

“Mom, I’m home.”

Lee Seol said in a listless voice.

Still, she had contacted them sparingly during work hours, but today, Donghee had been singing all day long for her to come early, to come rushing home right after work.

Thinking about spending the entire weekend with Donghee made her feel as suffocated as if her stomach was heavy.

She thought she might be the only working person in the world waiting for Monday, which made her laugh a little.

“Mom, I said I’m home…”

Lee Seol raised her voice a little more.

“Sis!”

Ji-won pushed aside the slightly open door and came running.

Lee Seol’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

“Ji-won!”

Lee Seol immediately pulled her brother into a hug. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes.

“When did you get here, Ji-won! How did you come?”

“By plane?”

“Oh my god, Ji-won, it’s been so long. Ah, then Dad… did he come too?”

“Dad didn’t come.”

“What? Then you came alone on a plane? An international flight?”

“Yeah. Dad said I’m going to live with Mom now.”

“Hurry up and wash your hands and set the table. I’ve been waiting because Ji-won said he wanted to eat with his sister.”

Donghee, who had been hidden by the wall, poked her head out.

“Ah, okay.”

Lee Seol put down her bag and headed to the bathroom.

Pork kimchi stew, canned ham pancakes, stir-fried fish cakes, beef bulgogi, and more. A table 99% animal protein was set.

Lee Seol looked fondly at her brother taking a big spoonful of rice, then glanced at Donghee and whispered.

“Did Ji-won come today?”

“Yeah. He called in the morning asking me to pick him up at the airport, so I took a taxi and went.”

“Then why didn’t you say so then? Why did you just tell me to come early?”

“I did. I said let’s surprise your sister.”

“Huh? Ah, okay. Good job.”

Aside from being a bit taller and tanned, he was the same younger brother she remembered. Lee Seol looked at Ji-won again with a smiling face.

“But what’s with this house?”

Ji-won suddenly asked.

Lee Seol, who was about to take a bite, looked up.

“What about the house?”

Donghee asked with a kind smile.

“It’s disgustingly small, isn’t it? If there’s only one room, where’s my room? In the Philippines, we had a swimming pool at home?”

“Ji-won, you can use the room. Mom and your sister will sleep in the living room.”

“There’s no bed or desk either? What about a computer? I didn’t bring mine.”

“We can buy all that. Don’t worry, eat. Ah, Joo’s sister has a laptop. Do you want to use that for now?”

“That can’t run games.”

“Then Mom will buy you a new computer soon. And a bed and desk too.”

“How can you buy a bed and desk in this cramped place?”

Ji-won poked the ham with his chopsticks and muttered with a discontented face.

An awkward silence fell.

“Ji-won, didn’t your sister say even once that she missed you?”

At Donghee’s sudden remark, Lee Seol stared at her with her mouth wide open.

As the situation turned unfavorable, her intention was blatantly clear—to deflect the arrow this way and escape herself.

Well, okay. She hadn’t said it even once, just as Donghee said. She didn’t want to bring it up and hurt Donghee’s feelings unnecessarily.

“Really?”

“Really. Mom cried every night because she missed our Ji-won.”

“Wow, that’s really mean. Han Lee Seol.”

“Just eat your food, you pig.”

“Don’t call me a pig! I lost weight, you know?”

“It’s still the same.”

Lee Seol barely finished her meal, eating a little here and there. Even though she told herself it couldn’t be, anxiety kept creeping up on her.

—

* * *

Whether it was because of the tension from crossing the border or because he ate his fill, Ji-won fell asleep early.

Lee Seol called Donghee, who had been stroking Ji-won’s hair, out to the living room.

“Why? I was going to sleep next to Ji-won.”

“You’re not going to sleep right now anyway. So what did Dad say?”

“What do you mean, what did he say?”

“Did he contact you?”

“No?”

“No? He really just sent the child alone like that?”

“Like I said. Why would I lie?”

Donghee asked back with a puzzled face.

She was the one who was puzzled. Lee Seol organized her thoughts for a moment and opened her mouth.

“Ji-won must know Dad’s contact number. Where’s his phone?”

“I already checked his phone, but there’s no number. When I asked Ji-won, he said he didn’t know either.”

“Then Dad… what about that. There’s no way to contact that man?”

“No.”

Donghee stated clearly.

Lee Seol closed her eyes once and opened them. Then she brought up the story that had been weighing heavily on her mind throughout the meal.

“Then what about money? Didn’t he send child support?”

“He had about 300 dollars. Dad gave him 500, but he said he bought chocolates and game cartridges at the duty-free shop.”

“500? He only sent 500 dollars?”

“That’s a lot for a kid’s allowance. Why are you glaring at me like that?”

“Am I talking about the kid’s allowance right now? I’m talking about child support! You said Han Shin-chul said the kid would live here from now on! Then he should pay child support!”

“He’ll obviously pay. Shin-chul knows my account number. Or maybe he’ll contact us tomorrow, first thing.”

Donghee spoke in a carefree manner.

It seemed like when something was too absurd, laughter came out. Lee Seol laughed in dismay.

After being treated like that, does she still not know what kind of man her husband is? Where does that foundation of trust even come from?

“I’m going to see a lawyer tomorrow. To find out how to get child support.”

After all the laughter died down, Lee Seol said calmly.

In any case, it was better for her brother to grow up with her mother than under that crazy bastard Han Shin-chul.

“No. You absolutely must not see a lawyer. Just don’t do anything and stay still.”

“What? Why?”

“Don’t you still not know your father’s personality?”

“Do I really have to know that?”

“This is a test.”

Donghee said solemnly, with a face that was almost sublime.

Lee Seol suddenly wondered: was it really the right choice for her brother to grow up under her mother?