Chapter 9
[I am Mr. Hyun-oh’s husband.]
Hyun-oh’s eyebrows narrowed as he looked down at the message sent to him. There weren’t many contacts saved on Hyun-oh’s personal phone.
The most recent addition was Eunsol’s number. Under the name saved as ‘Lee Eunsol,’ the content of the newly arrived message was absurd.
The news that Eunsol had become Hyun-oh’s spouse had already spread through the industry. Because of this, there were many inquiries coming from various places, and Hyun-oh had instructed his secretary’s office to ignore unnecessary contacts.
Hyun-oh tapped the screen displaying Eunsol’s message with his fingertip. He couldn’t grasp why Eunsol had suddenly sent such a message.
Just as he was contemplating whether to call Eunsol and ask, his secretary’s cautious voice snapped him out of his reverie.
“Director. It’s a call from your mother-in-law. Since you didn’t answer the phone, she contacted me directly.”
“Which one?”
“The younger mother-in-law.”
A faint sigh escaped Hyun-oh’s lips. He had an idea of why she was calling.
“Give it to me.”
“Yes. Here it is.”
Hyun-oh took the phone handed to him by the secretary and spoke briefly. His indifferent voice traveled through the phone to the other person’s ear.
“Why did you call? You know I’m busy.”
—You really are my child, but how can you be so cold?
“I’ve been watching you for over 30 years, so isn’t it time to give up now?”
He was tired of the repeated arguments. It was a story he had heard from his mother since childhood.
‘You’re too cold.’
Saying he took after his father, she would click her tongue at her beautiful face. Hyun-oh would either remain silent or urge her to give up, as he did now.
—You’re my only child, can’t I even say this? At this age, having a new child is impossible.
“Use medical help. Who knows if it’s possible?”
He already knew that his mother had a new lover. It was before his father’s flesh had even rotted. Knowing that the trivial emotion called love between the two had long since disappeared, he felt no particular emotion.
It was just that his mother, who occasionally called him or visited him to bother him, was annoying.
—You say the funniest things. The last thing you said was funny.
A giggling laugh came through the receiver. Hyun-oh held the phone away from his ear with a blank expression.
These days, he had so much work that he couldn’t even sleep for two hours a day. Even pouring the remaining twenty-two hours into filling his father’s void with his own power wasn’t enough. He wished he could pay to extend the day to 48 hours.
Although only a few minutes had passed since he started talking to his mother, Hyun-oh was already feeling the impulse to end the call immediately.
The unproductive conversation was a waste of time.
—If you hang up, I’ll come see you next time.
It seemed his mother was indeed his biological child. Kang Ye-ryeong continued in a cold voice, as if she had seen through Hyun-oh’s mind.
Her voice, devoid of laughter, was identical to Hyun-oh’s, differing only in gender. The oppressive aura that could intimidate people with just her voice was formidable.
The driver, who was only a beta, shivered at the icy voice and cleared his throat unnecessarily.
—Let me see the child you married. I told you I’d find you another one, but you insisted on this one.
“I’ll introduce you properly soon.”
—I can’t wait. I heard you didn’t get a new house for your newlywed and just brought him to your old place? And you took him to a gathering not long ago.
“Stop investigating behind my back.”
—It wouldn’t have happened if you had taken my calls properly.
The conversation continued without an inch of compromise. Through the rearview mirror, the driver saw Hyun-oh’s expression growing colder and fixed his trembling gaze forward.
—Are you on your way to a business trip now? The child will be alone.
“…Be moderate.”
It wasn’t that he thought he needed to protect Eunsol. It was just that she was trying to invade his territory under the pretext of being his mother, which irritated him like a thorn under his fingernail.
—Remember, the position you’ll get, I got it for you.
“… “
Even the secretary sitting in the passenger seat began to watch Hyun-oh’s mood. The atmosphere in the car had become that cold and heavy.
The driver, who was a beta, unconsciously felt that an unusual pheromone was emanating from Hyun-oh.
Hyun-oh’s pheromone was so strong that even a non-alpha could feel it. Sweat broke out on the driver’s nape as he concentrated on driving to avoid an accident.
“If you provoke me any further, even your mother won’t be safe.”
—It’s amusing. Life is boring anyway.
The slightly wet sound coming through the receiver made Hyun-oh’s lips twist. His mother was the same now as she was when he was a child.
The image of her playing with her new young lover like a toy came to mind.
—I’ll take good care of your husband while you’re away on your business trip.
The call ended abruptly before Hyun-oh could say anything. It was as sudden as when it had come.
“Stop the car for a moment.”
“…Yes, Director.”
Hyun-oh got out of the car parked on the side of the road. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, his movements belying the calmness that contrasted with his hardened expression. He didn’t smoke much, but the call with his mother had gotten on his nerves.
“Which side should I touch first?”
As he scrolled through the phone screen with his thumb, black letters appeared. He put the cigarette he had been holding in his mouth between his fingers and pressed a phone number.
The call connection sound was cut short, and a middle-aged man’s voice came through.
—…What’s the matter?
“I called to greet my uncle.”
His tone was polite, but Hyun-oh’s voice was dry. The other person also seemed intimidated to be talking to his nephew.
“Recently, the club in Cheongdam-dong, did you lose it to my mother?”
—…If you called to talk about that, I’ll hang up now.
The man seemed to have his pride hurt. His voice trembled helplessly at the end.
“I’ll get it back for you.”
—…
Silence followed Hyun-oh’s words. It was so heavy that one might think the call had been disconnected. However, the faint breathing sound indicated that the other person hadn’t hung up.
“Send an email to my uncle. With that, you’ll be able to get the club back within a month.”
—…What’s the reason for helping?
Hyun-oh’s eyes darkened. Looking at the hazy smoke rising from the end of the cigarette, he brought up the main point in a calm voice.
“I want you to let my mother know that my uncle is still alive and well.”
—You and your mother…
A full confrontation with his mother would also be detrimental to Hyun-oh. He was gradually taking her interests into his own hands without her realizing it.
It wasn’t time yet. For now, he thought he would make her pay this much for invading his territory.
“See you next time.”
Hyun-oh hung up the phone, which was emitting a groan, and put it in his pocket. The cigarette smoke smelled particularly pungent today.
‘I want to smell the scent…’
Suddenly, the scent of Eunsol’s pheromones came to mind. Bringing Eunsol to his bedroom had been an impulsive act. And Hyun-oh admitted that this impulse had improved his life more than he thought.
After smelling Eunsol’s pheromones, sleep would pour down strangely. The insomnia that had clung to him like a second skin had disappeared. Thanks to this, Hyun-oh could get a good night’s sleep and leave the house even in a short amount of time.
Hyun-oh, who had put out the fire of the cigarette that had burned down, called someone on his phone.
—Yes, Director.
“Don’t follow me on the business trip, stay by Lee Eunsol’s side.”
—…By Mr. Eunsol’s side?
“Because my mother seems to be coming to meet him, contact me if anything happens.”
—Yes. I understand.
Since he had taken measures, Hyun-oh had done all he could. Although his mother’s nature was self-willed and didn’t care much about others’ feelings or situations, she wasn’t the type to be strong against the weak.
And Eunsol was someone who looked fragile to anyone.
‘…It seems like more troublesome things will happen.’
He had a bad feeling. But afterward, as he got back in the car and leaned against the headrest, closing his eyes, Hyun-oh showed no trace of emotion.
* * *
“Hello?”
“Ah, hello…”
After impulsively sending a message to Hyun-oh, Eunsol pulled at his hair until it scattered in the air.
He wished he could find the developer and ask why there wasn’t a function to retrieve sent messages.
While he was gnawing on the sofa cushion, forgetting to eat, the intercom rang from the direction of the front door.
The face reflected on the intercom screen was unfamiliar. A woman he had never seen before was looking intently at Eunsol through the screen, her face close to it. Even though Eunsol’s face couldn’t be seen from her side, her gaze was intense.
At that moment, Eunsol knew what it felt like for his heart to drop. A city legend he had seen once passed through his mind.
Like a person drenched in cold water, the frozen Eunsol came to his senses when the phone in his hand rang.
The woman on the screen nodded at Eunsol, who was looking at the phone screen with the phone to his ear.
As if possessed, Eunsol pressed the call button on the phone displaying an unknown number.
—I’m the person who becomes Hyun-oh’s mother.
With that, Eunsol pressed the button to open the door. The woman who entered through the front door had a bright expression. She looked more familiar with the house than Eunsol, who currently lived there.
Standing blankly in front of the front door, the woman waved her right hand at Eunsol with a leisurely smile. Her face, which looked too young to be the mother of an only child like Hyun-oh.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
