CH 64

Though Jaeho always brown-nosed Mr. Cha, he was never capable of providing satisfactory results for his father himself. He relied on ruining others’ achievements to make himself look better, all the while pretending to be an angel.

But this method still let him climb his way up. Muyeol was too blunt, and compared with him, Jaeho used his gentle way of talking to persuade others. 

Mr. Cha had actively made the two brothers butt heads throughout their lives. Back when the two of them were interns, Mr. Cha openly promoted whoever managed to satisfy him, and relegated the other. It was their father’s way of training the two to become the CEO. He treated them like his possessions, controlling their every move. The humiliation caused by the insults his so-called father had hurled at him over the years was engraved in his bones now; Muyeol would clench his teeth in determination, burning with desire to acquire the CEO’s position.

But one day, Jaeho made a huge mistake. After interfering with some work and taking all the credit for it, he was reported to the HR. This was around the time when abusing one’s power and influence had become a great issue for the society, and Jaeho ended up becoming an example for all to see. Since he had breached the financial statute, he had to undergo an investigation.

This caused problems for Mr. Cha’s corporate lobbying, so Mr. Cha demoted Jaeho and sent him to work at the subsidiary company in the US.

And now, after three years, Jaeho was returning. This meant that Mr. Cha considered Muyeol to be a threat to his position. He must have been uncomfortable after seeing Muyeol’s blatant provocation. Mr. Cha did not want to give up his authority, ever. Muyeol assumed, Mr. Cha was bringing Jaeho back to the main company for this very reason.

Muyeol had expected this. He had even prepared a plan for it. But finding out Jaeho was returning as the executive director drove him crazy. Now their abilities would be compared publicly again.

Ever since Mr. Cha pretty much assassinated his character through the repeated paternity tests, Muyeol disliked receiving attention from the public. He had had enough of being watched with eyes filled with sympathy, pity, or insults.

His birthday was still the worst day for him. And it would be abnormal if it didn’t drive him crazy.

Muyeol kept running a hand through his hair, trying to suppress the irritation to prevent himself from falling under Mr. Cha’s control. He took a deep breath, and suddenly, something caught his eye. 

He stared at it in wonder, as if he had never seen it before. ‘Were Yiyoung’s feet always this small? I wonder if her shoe size is 5.’ 

Muyeol looked up, staring straight ahead into the air. Then, he looked to the right, dead silence responding to his every move. But then he saw it, the light seeping through the small crack between the door.

He breathed out his lips, realizing that Yiyoung was in her room.

Almost as if something suddenly dawned on him, Muyeol took off his shoes and went inside, the silence of the house finally breaking.

He was still focused on the light spilling through the door. Knowing Yiyoung, she was too focused on something to hear him. Muyeol guessed she wouldn’t pay any attention to him even if he did a strip show right next to her. He frowned, disappointed with himself for thinking of something so filthy.

However, strangely enough, all those unpleasant feelings from before were fading away. He didn’t feel so irritated anymore. Muyeol looked up at the ceiling, drawing his breath as he reminisced about what she had said to him before. 

“It’s only been a short while since I started living with you, but it’s been a great source of comfort for me. Knowing that I live with someone else, hearing the sound of you living, moving about in the same house; I liked all of that.”

His mouth lifted into an unnoticeable smile. He looked at the door again.

These days, Yiyoung was working day shifts. And right after returning home from work, she would study until it was time for sleep. She never seemed to go out shopping or watch TV. Her life only consisted of the ER, studying, and home. She didn’t seem to enjoy her life.

Whenever she couldn’t save a patient, her habits would become worse. She would stay up all night going through all the data, trying to find a solution for the patient’s problem for next time. Muyeol realized this when he ended up coming home late from work one day. 

Not to mention, each time a patient in her care lost their life, Yiyoung would puke guts out. She had faced many deaths while working at the ER, but she still couldn’t get used to it. Sometimes, she couldn’t keep food down her throat for over a week. 

But Muyeol considered this reaction for hers to be good, though he did think she would call him crazy for thinking so. However, he believed that it meant that she valued each and every person’s life.

A doctor who was used to their patients’ deaths seemed like a failure. So Muyeol understood why Yiyoung tried so hard and studied all night. He admired her perseverance, except one thing: her job required her to have immense physical strength, but she didn’t exercise at all.

He had a lot of great equipment set up in the gym, but all she enjoyed were the breathing exercises. Despite downing alcohol to make herself fall asleep every time, she did not exercise to make up for it.

A sudden sound came from her room, and his blank expression cracked. Muyeol immediately turned around to find the door open, her silhouette visible against the bright light. 

“Oh, you’re here?” she said.

Muyeol waved at her and went toward his bedroom.

“Good night,” she called out from behind him.

Muyeol simply waved again. He couldn’t face her, not with the way his lips were perking up. Just a small gesture on her part made his heart race, an uncontrollable smile gracing his face. 

But a shower allowed him to calm down and put on his usual expression again. He ruffled his wet hair before going to the kitchen to get some water, only to see Yiyoung there.