Chapter 121
“What do you mean ‘receive’? They were the ones who sent someone over first asking if we needed anything.”
“That’s right. Someone went through the trouble of coming all the way here, how could we not even talk to them?”
When Uncle snapped back angrily, Hyung immediately added his support.
*Isn’t that still accepting things from him?* Cheong-yeon looked at the two with disbelief. But they didn’t seem to understand what the problem was.
Well, someone as principled as Do-heon might have felt a certain responsibility to support his spouse’s family.
Cheong-yeon tried hard to understand the situation between Do-heon and his family.
But there were still a few things bothering him. Even if they had accepted help during the marriage, why did they continue receiving living expenses and tuition fees after the divorce? And how often had they been receiving money without his knowledge?
“Don’t tell me, this apartment too?”
Cheong-yeon asked, glaring at the interior of the apartment that had felt off to him since he entered.
“We have our pride too, so we didn’t ask him to buy it outright—we just moved in on a deposit lease. That’s not too much, is it? Considering your ex-husband is a director at JT Electronics.”
“That’s right. Don’t criticize when you don’t know the whole story.”
So they had received the house too. Since both Uncle and Hyung were far from being economically active, they must have demanded everything from Do-heon, from interior decoration to furniture and even a car.
*Where exactly is this pride you’re talking about? You’re basically living off money from Moon Do-heon.*
“Dad… you could have at least told me.”
“Why would I need to mention every little thing? It’s not like we received anything significant, and it’s not like you’re the one giving it.”
*So I was the only one who didn’t know all this time.* Cheong-yeon muttered dejectedly.
Seeing how things worked in his family, he understood why Do-heon had acted so arrogantly. No one would think Yoo Cheong-yeon could escape from Moon Do-heon in this situation. It meant that neither he nor his family had achieved any independence from him.
After making such a bold exit, how must he have looked in Do-heon’s eyes?
Yesterday, he had even thrown a fit in the car, screaming that he couldn’t stand the sight of him. Thinking about it again, he couldn’t raise his head from the shame.
“But Cheong-yeon, I’ve been curious for a while but waited, thinking you’d tell me eventually.”
“…”
“Why did you get divorced? I still don’t understand.”
Uncle leaned his upper body toward Cheong-yeon and asked seriously. Cheong-yeon hesitated on how to answer.
Despite having prepared answers for such questions, he found it difficult to speak when actually sitting in front of his uncle.
“Say something, Cheong-yeon. And how did you end up acting? I was so surprised when a friend contacted me saying you were on TV.”
“…We just weren’t compatible. Dad, you know too. He and I came from completely different backgrounds.”
“Personality differences exist in every marriage. Why would you divorce over something like that? Everyone endures and lives with it. Unless they kicked you out first.”
I knew the conversation would go this way. Cheong-yeon swallowed a sigh and picked up the cup on the table to drink some water.
“Haah. If you were going to divorce, you should have at least held out until after your brother graduated and opened his private practice… This is so frustrating.”
That’s what he really wanted to say all along. Cheong-yeon turned his gaze away, feeling complicated.
“What can we do? He’s been thoughtless since forever. Dad, don’t you know Yoo Cheong-yeon by now?”
“Even so. Doesn’t your brother, who’s trying so hard despite our difficult circumstances, look pitiful to you…”
“Is that what’s important right now? And you don’t see how hard I’m working?”
Tired of hearing about his brother constantly, Cheong-yeon sharply cut him off.
Uncle’s eyes widened in surprise, perhaps because Cheong-yeon, who was usually quiet at home, had raised his voice.
“I was just saying… why are you getting angry all of a sudden? Especially when you’ve finally come home after so long.”
“…”
“Since you and Director Moon had known each other a few times since you were young, I thought you were getting along well even after marriage. When you suddenly said you were divorced, as a parent, of course I’d be curious.”
“Who? Me and Moon Do-heon?”
Cheong-yeon asked urgently, as if hearing this for the first time.
“…You didn’t know?”
Uncle tilted his head as if puzzled.
“This is the first I’m hearing of this.”
“I thought you naturally knew since you two got married.”
“What are you talking about? I met Moon Do-heon when I was young?”
Cheong-yeon quickly searched through his old memories but couldn’t recall anything. Besides, Do-heon had never mentioned it while they were living together.
“Come to think of it, you might not remember. You were in elementary school, and it was just once or twice that you briefly saw him because of your uncle’s work.”
Uncle, who had been surprised by this unexpected revelation, soon shrugged it off as if it wasn’t a big deal.
*
Despite being told it was when he was young, the fact that he had met Do-heon before was hard to believe. He had no memory of it, and there was no photographic evidence.
Well, considering that his uncle had been Do-heon’s bodyguard, it wasn’t impossible that he and Do-heon might have crossed paths. These days, bodyguards only accompanied people at major events or overseas schedules, but when Do-heon was a student, he would have gone to school with bodyguards every day.
Or it could be a lie distorted by his uncle for his own benefit. After all, his uncle’s conclusion was that “since they knew each other since childhood, they felt more comfortable asking Moon Do-heon for help.”
Either way, it felt strange. If what he said was true, did Do-heon remember him? Is that why he married someone like him, an unworthy Recessive Omega? Or…
“Cheong-yeon! Your expression is too dark. Let’s see a brighter smile!”
“Oppa, your face is too gloomy…”
At the director’s shout, the child actress in Cheong-yeon’s arms muttered glumly. Only then did Cheong-yeon shake off the distracting thoughts.
Right, he was in the middle of a photoshoot.
Belatedly recognizing reality, Cheong-yeon smiled as he gazed at the brightly shining lights.
“That’s much better. Now let’s smile a bit more brightly here.”
Following the director’s request, Cheong-yeon smiled brightly, curving his eyes. The child actress, seemingly accustomed to such situations, also smiled cheerfully at the camera.
“More! Like an innocent child!”
“Heh…! Like this?”
“Yes, that’s it! That’s the one!”
The director enthusiastically pressed the shutter, shouting loud enough to bring down the studio. Then he signaled them to pause while he changed the lens.
During this time, staff members who had been waiting nearby quickly approached to fix Cheong-yeon and the child actress’s hair.
When the director picked up his camera again after finishing the setup, the busy staff disappeared instantly, leaving only Cheong-yeon and the child actress in the frame.
“Cheong-yeon, did you know? You can’t wink with your left eye and poke your right cheek.”
*Come on, I’ve been an idol trainee—do you think I wouldn’t know that?*
“Is that not possible?”
Despite his internal complaints, Cheong-yeon winked and poked his cheek, pretending to play along.
“I can do it.”
“Ha-yul can’t do it though?”
The child actress Ha-yul, with pigtails and arms wrapped tightly around Cheong-yeon’s neck, mumbled while poking her own cheeks repeatedly.
The sound of the shutter clicked busily amid the warm laughter erupting from all around.
“Aww… why can’t I do it?”
“Oh, you two are so adorable.”
Unlike Ha-yul, who was upset that she couldn’t do it as intended, the director was overjoyed, clearly having captured the shots he wanted.
“Ha-yul, look at oppa. First, try winking like this.”
“Like this?”
“And then poke your cheek like this.”
“Like this? Oppa, did I do it?”
“Yes, you did! Wow, Ha-yul, you’re amazing!”
Although she failed again by closing both eyes, Cheong-yeon praised her in an exaggerated voice as if she had accomplished something remarkable.
This prompted applause from around them, congratulating Ha-yul on her success.
“Ha-yul, you’re so cool!”
“Really amazing. Even the noonas and oppas can’t do this.”
“Wowww, really? Really?”
*Ah, I’m sure Kwon Hye-na told me not to do things like this.*
Cheong-yeon belatedly remembered Hye-na’s advice about not smiling too freely and maintaining his image as an actor. He could already envision Hye-na jumping up and scolding him with flying spit when she saw this photoshoot.
But the response from everyone was so enthusiastic that there was no room to think about his image as an actor. He also had to match the child actress’s energy.
“Now, shall we look at each other and smile? Like an oppa and little sister, as if you’re crazy with affection! Like you’re dying from adoration! Like the nation’s brother and sister. Kyaak!”
Besides, how could he resist when the director made such requests?
In the end, Cheong-yeon erased Kwon Hye-na’s advice from his mind and smiled brightly at the child actress.
After finishing the photoshoot and heading to the waiting room, Cheong-yeon noticed the corridor atmosphere was different from usual.
Two sturdy men in suits who looked like bodyguards were standing in front of the door, and the usually noisy corridor was empty of people.
“…”
Cheong-yeon rolled his eyes, looking around. It was strange that there were no staff members running around to clean up props when the shooting was over. And this wasn’t just any photoshoot—it was for a famous fashion magazine.
*Could Do-heon have come here?*
Among the people Cheong-yeon knew, only Do-heon could cool down such a busy and chaotic studio like this.
“Please go inside.”
As Cheong-yeon approached the waiting room, one of the bodyguards who had been standing motionless like a statue opened the door for him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
