CH 12

“Muyeol, I’m sorry. But Mom is a woman. Can’t you just give me your blessing? Can’t I be happy?”

“So you need my blessing?”

“Yes, I do.”

Muyeol gulped several times, trying to calm himself down enough to be able to meet Madam Kang’s eyes. “Okay. My blessing for you is this. Let’s not meet again.”

“Muyeol…” 

“Next time I see you, it won’t be like this. We will only meet on official occasions.”

“Muyeol, you’re young, and that’s why you’re acting like this. Can’t you understand—”

“I said, official occasions only.”

“No, you can’t. You can’t do that. You’re just angry right now…” Madam Kang shook her head.

“Why not? I’m the son of my father, right? Why can’t I?” Muyeol scolded her.

That day, the light disappeared from Muyeol’s eyes.

* * *

19 years later…

Madam Kang’s hands shook as she stared at the document in her hands. She had been trying to comprehend it, but couldn’t make out a single word through the tears that blurred her vision.

“Was there really no other option? H-he’s your brother…” she muttered.

“That’s why I’m trying to help you,” Muyeol swiftly replied.

“But… this is all my fortune. Not to mention, it’ll be Hyunseo’s in the future.”

“Then, just leave it. It’ll be great for you, and he’ll remain a good-looking guy drugged up to his eyeballs, unable to fight back and always hiding behind someone’s back.”

“Muyeol!” Madam Kang protested.

Wearing a flawless suit that perfectly fit his figure, Cha Muyeol was now the 32-year-old director of S Corp hospital, and also the managing director of S Corp’s holding company. He was the very definition of perfection.

Muyeol carelessly glanced at his watch. “You have two minutes to make your decision. You can either give me your share of the stock or just leave the issue alone.”

“What happened to you? You have no reason to behave this way…” Madam Kang whimpered.

“It’s about time for me to own something as well. You also acted like this before,” Muyeol said, his low tone sounding nice yet condescending.

“Still…” Fat tears rolled down Madam Kang’s face. Her husband’s business was on the verge of collapsing, so she had most of her shares to keep them afloat. The only thing left now was the S Corp’s company stock that she had saved for her younger son, Hyunseo. Through them, she was able to earn some money. It wasn’t enough for them to live luxuriously, but it allowed them to live like a normal family. And… to even have the chance to wield some power in the future, she needed to have these last shares.

“Two minutes are over. Goodbye.” The hard-headed man stood up immediately. Muyeol walked past her like a quick gust of wind, and Madam Kang instinctively reached out and held onto the sleeve of his coat.

“Okay… I will sell it, just like you asked. I mean, if it’ll help you, then I will do it.”

Muyeol pulled her hand off of his sleeve, one finger at a time. “You have to say it correctly. You’re not selling for my sake. You’re selling to save your trashy son.”

Madam Kang clenched her eyes shut when she heard Muyeol call her son trashy. From the moment he was born, Hyunseo had been a lovely child, unlike the cold-hearted Muyeol. Madam Kang loved him from the bottom of her heart. But her love had spoiled him rotten, and the kid quickly turned into a trouble-maker. When he got kicked out of school, it was decided that he would be sent to the United States. But once he got there, he became involved in the world of drugs.

And it wasn’t just once or twice. He got addicted, hard, and no one was able to pull him out of the grave he had dug for himself. His life of crime continued, and in the end, he ended up with multiple charges for assault and larceny.

Madam Kang had spent a ton of money to wipe his records clean, but his last offense was too serious; he had murdered someone. Madam Kang immediately set out to hire the best lawyer out there. She couldn’t allow him to go to jail. Her Hyunseo was too young, and he would die in a place like that.

“Okay. I understand what you’re saying. I’ll sell it to you. Do you want me to sign here? Can you lend me your pen?” Madam Kang stuttered out.

Muyeol pulled out his pen and handed it to her. As she signed on the agreement for the transfer of stocks, Madam Kang wiped her tears with the palm of her hand. When Muyeol grabbed the signed papers, she added, “You’re not doing the right thing. Even if you hate him… he’s still your younger brother. He’s my son.”

“Mr. Cha said the same thing. That even if I hated him, Jaeho was still my older brother, and that I couldn’t treat my older brother like that,” Muyeol huffed.

Madam Kang’s skin prickled with horror. She had completely forgotten about what Muyeol had to Jaeho.

Muyeol was in his senior year when it happened. He snapped and almost beat Jaeho to death. After the incident, Jaeho moved to the United States and did not come back to Korea for several years, and everyone whispered about how the reason he could not return was that he was scared of Muyeol.

That was right… Muyeol was also a monster. Madam Kang overlooked it somehow, that monster-like personality of his that he had inherited from his father. No wonder he was treating his younger brother so cruelly.

“Why didn’t you listen to him? Would it kill you to live like a normal human being? You possess so much, and at the end of the day, it’s all because of me,” Madam Kang wailed.

“You and Mr. Cha are so stupid,” Muyeol sneered.

“What? What did you just say?”

“I never hated your trashy son or that son of a b**tch.”

“Then, why? Why are you being so cruel?”

Muyeol scoffed frigidly, “I hate you two.”

“What?” Madam Kang sputtered.

“I hate you because you never shed a single tear for my sake. And I hate Mr. Cha because he continued getting those paternity tests until I graduated from high school.”

“How can you say such things… You really are a monster.”

Muyeol laughed coldly in response. “Of course. I need to live too. How else would I go on if I act like one?”

He patted the sleeve that Madam Kang had grabbed, straightening out any wrinkles that she might have caused. “Goodbye, Madam.”

The moment he called her ‘Madam,’ she raised her voice, “What? You just called me ‘Madam’? You really—I can’t believe you’re my son!”

“You received the shares. Why didn’t you raise me well?”

“You’re my son! How dare you talk to me like that?”

Muyeol faced her calmly, “That’s precisely why I’m like this, Madam.”

“Muyeol!” 

Mr. Cha was a monster. Madam Kang was an egoist. And Muyeol was a result of their union.

“Leave before I change my mind.”