Chapter 113
After a long silence, Hyeon-woo suddenly came to his senses, his face turning red in an instant. He belatedly realized McRae was staring at him silently. As Hyeon-woo lowered his head to hide his reddened face, McRae smiled faintly.
“Chattering away, how cute.”
“……”
“Are you usually this talkative?”
He was clearly teasing Hyeon-woo for rambling to himself. Hyeon-woo hastily replied.
“You thought I was being silly, right?! I saw it in a documentary, really. When they put water in a cup, bees really came to drink it!”
“I never thought you were being silly.”
“……”
“I thought you were being kind.”
McRae’s eyes, saying this, were kinder and gentler than ever, without a trace of mischief. Flustered by this, Hyeon-woo avoided his gaze and pressed his lips tightly together.
“You put the water in a shallow saucer like this so the bees wouldn’t drown, right? I should try the same thing at home.”
“……”
“Oh, but what should I do? I don’t have saucers like that at home…”
As McRae trailed off with a regretful expression, Hyeon-woo, his face flushed, hurriedly moved.
“I’ll see if we have any extras.”
McRae chuckled softly as he watched Hyeon-woo disappear into the store.
Anyway, I never get tired of watching him.
A pleasant smile spread across McRae’s face. It wasn’t his usual sly smile that Hyeon-woo thought was fox-like, but a transparent smile that was innocently relaxed.
McRae was heading to the parking lot with a blue paper bag labeled “Blue Door” in his hand. Hyeon-woo had approached him as he was leaving the store and handed it to him. Opening the box, he found a stylishly designed saucer set with a coffee cup. McRae’s lips curled up.
He had an innately kind and warm nature. That was easy to see just by watching Hyeon-woo work for a little while.
If a customer held out their card for payment in their left hand, the handle of their drink cup placed on the pickup counter would be facing left, and hot drinks ordered by children would have square ice cubes floating in them to cool the surface so they wouldn’t burn their mouths.
Watching Hyeon-woo made even McRae feel satisfied. But why did he act like a prickly hedgehog towards those who approached him with goodwill?
He was curious about the reason for such coldness.
Especially his attitude towards alphas went beyond caution to resemble distrust. He probably didn’t realize that his body language, exuding hostility, actually stimulated alphas’ base instincts.
If that’s how he’s going to be, he shouldn’t look like that. It’s unfair. Those innocent droopy eyes glaring like a wildcat were just too adorable.
Who could it be?
Looking at Hyeon-woo reminded McRae of an abandoned dog that had known human touch. A dog that chose to isolate itself to avoid being lured again by the warmth and comfort that embrace provided.
What kind of alpha had made Hyeon-woo like this? Could it be related to the reason he immigrated here with his family?
McRae placed the box on the passenger seat, started the engine, and drove off.
*
Recently, his father had become so busy it was hard to see his face. His mother’s face was always deeply shadowed after finishing a phone call with his father. When asked what was wrong, she avoided answering, saying there was nothing to worry about.
The silhouette of his mother lost in thought alone in the quiet house evoked a familiar sense of déjà vu. The dark living room with the lights off, a woman sitting alone at the dining table lost in thought. It was reminiscent of the atmosphere at Yejun’s house just before it was seized due to joint liability.
Hyeon-woo had a hunch that there was some problem with the investment business for their immigration visa. The one saving grace was that Marine Keenan, who was the same age as his mother, was providing great comfort by her side.
Every Saturday when the store was closed, Marine would go volunteer at a welfare facility on the outskirts of the city. Concerned about his mother sinking into worry whenever she was alone, Hyeon-woo caught Marine as she was leaving work and asked to join her next volunteer activity.
From that request, the three of them started going volunteering together every Saturday in Marine’s car. The welfare center was located in a small town called Euclid, about an hour’s drive from North Channing.
As they entered the center’s parking lot, they saw a few familiar cars. They belonged to volunteers from other cities. Today was the day they were scheduled to paint the run-down center together.
“Ian!”
“Jamie!”
Jamie, who had been waiting desperately for Hyeon-woo to arrive, came running out to the yard.
“Ian! Welcome!”
“Have you been well, Jamie?”
“Yes! How about you, Ian?”
“I’ve been well too.”
Hyeon-woo’s lips spread into a smile at Jamie’s bright grin.
“Look at this, Ian.”
Hyeon-woo’s gaze followed Jamie’s pointing finger to her belly. It had grown even larger since he last saw it. Last week had been the 40th week, so the birth was really just around the corner.
“Aren’t you scared?”
“No, I’m okay.”
Jamie smiled bravely.
“Actually, I was scared all along, but with Ian and Maya here, I’m okay. I’m not scared anymore.”
“You’re amazing, Jamie.”
Hyeon-woo was genuinely proud of Jamie. There was a time when life had dwelled in his womb too. Even though a long time had passed, the fear, sorrow, and desperately lonely days he felt back then were still vivid as if they were yesterday.
Whenever he saw Jamie, he kept being reminded of himself from that time. The same age, gender, trait, and even the fact that she was enduring all this alone without anyone by her side. Maybe that was why he was particularly drawn to Jamie and his heart went out to her.
Jamie, too, followed Hyeon-woo like a real sibling, sincerely cherishing him. Hyeon-woo’s heart ached at how happy she was that their black hair was the same. It was because Jamie’s loneliness was palpably transmitted to him.
Through Marine, he learned that Jamie was a Korean adoptee. After repeated failed adoptions, she was left at an orphanage, and when she became an adult, she was suddenly pushed out into society. After moving from place to place without a proper home, she ended up at this center that supported youth who had aged out of the foster care system.
Jamie had borderline intelligence due to brain damage that occurred during her birth process. She had difficulty adapting to society, but because she didn’t fall into the disability category, she couldn’t receive proper legal protection. She struggled with both peer relationships and academic progress due to racial discrimination, and eventually dropped out of school.
Jamie sincerely loved the baby in her womb, but she found it extremely painful to recall the day she became pregnant.
At that time, when one of the staff members saw Jamie, soaked in alpha pheromones with her lower body badly torn, they sensed the situation and tried to initiate reporting procedures. However, for some reason, many of the center’s officials maintained an uncooperative attitude.
When Jamie finally managed to stand in court, she got entangled in the defendant’s argument that they were in a consensual relationship and ended up giving an irrelevant statement. The trial ultimately ended with no charges filed.
Later, it was revealed that the perpetrator’s parents were long-time sponsors of the center, and the employee who realized why everyone had been so tight-lipped about the incident quit, unable to bear the injustice.
Not long after, Jamie’s pregnancy was discovered, but by then, there was no one left to fight for her.
“Ian~! Come over here!”
Marine, who was with another volunteer in the distance, waved at Hyeon-woo.
Mint-colored paint, rollers, and ladders were set up at regular intervals along the old building’s wall. Hyeon-woo, wearing protective clothing, mixed in with the people and began applying fresh paint to the wall.
The work only finished after half a day had passed. They gathered in front of the center’s front yard, which had become unrecognizably clean, to take a commemorative photo before having an early dinner.
Sensing that the volunteers were about to leave, Jamie clung to Hyeon-woo and cried, begging him not to go. After barely pacifying Jamie with a promise to return on her delivery date and meet again then, Hyeon-woo got into Marine’s car. Then he voiced the question that had been troubling his mind all day.
“What happens after Jamie gives birth? Does the center provide support?”
“Not likely.”
Marine smiled bitterly.
“Unless Jamie becomes economically self-sufficient, it would be difficult for her to stay there with the child. The center won’t help with a child support lawsuit against the sponsor either. Adoption to another family might be the best option.”
Hyeon-woo’s face darkened at Marine’s regretful voice. He felt uneasy.
