TWB 48

“Is she your girlfriend?”

When I simply nodded, my mother didn’t ask anything more. Not when we started dating, whether I had thoughts of marriage, or anything else. It was a relief. If she had asked, I would have had to tell her myself that she wouldn’t be invited to the wedding.

But would I even be able to marry Yoon Se-na? After listening to the recording, I began to doubt everything. Did Se-na know nothing about this situation? What did she mean when she said she was sorry while she was drunk?

“That person from earlier, he came to your brother’s funeral, didn’t he?”

My mother remembered Im Gyeong accurately.

“…Yes.”

“Are you close?”

“No.”

A flicker of disappointment crossed my mother’s face. Was it because she viewed making wealthy friends as proof of her son’s success? Or was she hoping for some crumbs to fall her way? I didn’t know the reason, and I didn’t particularly want to ask her.

“Please leave now. It’s almost quitting time, so the roads will be congested.”

Hee-shin opened his wallet and took out some cash. He folded the remaining cash, excluding the checks, in half and pressed it into his mother’s hand. After putting her in a taxi despite her refusals, he gave the driver extra for the fare and for his trouble.

The driver, who had almost refused after hearing the destination, checked the amount and immediately took off. My mother waved at me through the window as she grew distant. I waited until the taxi completely disappeared from sight before making my way to the hospital room.

When I entered the room, Im Gyeong and Yoon Se-na were sitting side by side. It was a bizarre sight. One of them had sucked my cock a few days ago, and the person next to him… well, we had already done everything there was to do… Moreover, weren’t they half-siblings?

If there were any writers of makjang dramas who had run out of material, I wanted to tell them they didn’t need to look far—just come to me. There’s a goldmine of material right here that you’d love.

“Oppa? Are you okay? Your relative…? Did they leave?”

“Yeah.”

I went to the bed and handed the wallet I was holding to Im Gyeong. Yoon Se-na’s gaze followed the wallet. Im Gyeong, receiving the wallet, didn’t say a word. He didn’t check the wallet, nor did he demand to know why the money was gone. He just stared blankly.

Meanwhile, a nurse came in and gave me a scolding. She asked how I could just pull out my IV on my own. As I sat quietly with the needle re-inserted in my arm, an awkward silence stretched between the three of us. Im Gyeong, who usually knew exactly how to get under my skin, kept his mouth shut tight like a clam today.

“I’ll give you the money later. Thank you for visiting despite your busy schedule.”

Wanting them to leave quickly, I spoke in a subtle, roundabout way. Instead of answering, Im Gyeong stood up. I thought he was leaving, but he tore open a coffee mix packet by the water dispenser and poured it into a paper cup.

Sensing this, Yoon Se-na chimed in.

“Oppa, aren’t you busy?”

“Aren’t you the one who just left work?”

“I took a half-day. I can just go home from here.”

“I’m free too. Nothing’s going on.”

“I’ll take care of my Oppa. You should get going.”

“Sena. I envy you.”

“Huh?”

“Having so many Oppas.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kang Hee-shin is Oppa, I’m Oppa. And who was it, that actor. Ah, his name was—”

In an instant, Yoon Se-na clenched her fists and bolted upright. Shit… Seeing her mutter that silently with her lips, Im [visit our site]Gyeong gave a thin smile and visit our siteheld out the coffee he had just [visit our site]stirred. His face was serene as he asked, Want a cup? With her lips trembling, Yoon Se-na lowered her voice, forcing a smile.

“Stop it and just leave. I want to be alone with him.”

“What to do. I’m an Oppa too.”

“Why are you? Isn’t your interest a bit too excessive?”

“Is that not allowed?”

A strange psychological war played out between the two. Hey, if you’re going to fight, go do it outside. What are you doing in front of a patient? Of course, I didn’t actually want them to fight. I just strongly desired to be alone right now. My mind was still in turmoil from the aftermath of the recording, and my mood had sunk to rock bottom following my mother’s visit.

In the midst of this, Yoon Se-na’s phone rang incessantly. After ignoring it at first, she had no choice but to answer and step outside. Hearing her mention something about a file, it seemed to be a work call from the company. In that brief moment, Im Gyeong shoved his hands in his pockets and stepped right up to me.

“Do you like it?”

“Like what?”

“The way these siblings are fighting over you. Does it look good?”

He was smiling, but his eyes were cold. Did he realize how childish and bratty he had just been? Not that he seemed to regret it.

“If you know, then leave. Why are you lingering without any tact?”

At those words, Im Gyeong laughed. His eyes were dark, looking as if they were on the verge of exploding. The voice from the recording echoed in my ears. Pawn, figurehead… Was that really me?

As my suspicions grew, the emotions I had suppressed began to surface.

“I want to be alone with her, so leave. Do I need to be more explicit?”

Im Gyeong, who had been a few steps away, closed the distance in a large stride and reached out. Before I had a chance to push him away, he grabbed me by the collar and yanked me toward him. Then, without warning, he crushed his lips against mine. When I tried to push his shoulders away in surprise, he grabbed the back of my head with one hand and gripped my neck with the other as if he were going to strangle me.

His tongue forced its way in, relentlessly sucking on my teeth and membranes. Helplessly overwhelmed, I bit his lip and shoved his shoulder. He unauthorized copycopy">unauthorized copypulled away, and a small bead of blood began to form on his lip. Seeing Im Gyeong still smiling even after being bitten, rage surged through me.

“You, fuck—!”

Just as I was about to curse, Yoon Se-na’s voice drew near. I hurriedly wiped my lips just as the door slid open. Im Gyeong leisurely stepped back and shoved his hands back into his pockets as if nothing had happened, biting his bloodied lip inward.

“This is so annoying. I have to go back to the office.”

I couldn’t say anything to the complaining Yoon Se-na. My sucked lips stung, my gripped neck felt stiff, and I was terrified it might show. While cold sweat ran down my spine, Im Gyeong was looking at me with a composed face. Only then did I finally speak.

“Take your Oppa with you. I want to rest too.”

Yoon Se-na looked back. You heard him, right?

Im Gyeong, who I thought would resist, complied readily.

I hated the sight of him still biting his lip and smiling mysteriously.

After the two of them disappeared, I rinsed my mouth and scrubbed my lips hard with a tissue. Son of a bitch. While cursing him in every way possible in my head, the fruit basket Im Gyeong had brought caught my eye. I almost threw it out because I couldn’t stand the sight of it, but I stopped, thinking the fruit had done nothing wrong. Fruit is expensive these days.

That’s when a card caught my eye. Ha, how pathetic, a card too. As I opened it, I expected him to have scribbled some nonsense like before. But the moment I saw the words written on the card, I was speechless.

<I’m sorry. In many ways.>

---

“I need to talk to you.”

Yoon Se-na, who had followed him, took Im Gyeong and shoved him abruptly into the car.

“I told you I’d handle it. Why did you come all the way here to spy on me?”

Spy… Im Gyeong murmured the word to himself.

“I trust that you’ll handle it well. I came here for another reason.”

“What is it?”

“I was worried about Kang Hee-shin.”

At those words, Yoon Se-na snorted. Worried? Who’s worried about whom? Who do you think caused this? Of course, she didn’t intend to blame Im Gyeong. She had viewed it as an opportunity herself. That was why she couldn’t firmly refuse when she received the proposal from her father and Im Gyeong.

“Don’t worry about anything else. Just think about what will fall into your lap.”

Yoon Se-na’s cheek twitched. Currently, the fashion business was managed by her aunt, Yoon Jung-hee. However, she had misappropriated company funds for personal use, and evidence had been found that she attempted to sell off parts of the company. Chairman Yoon, who had said he only had his children, seemed to have no intention of letting it slide this time.

She hadn’t known this would become an opportunity for her. But to seize the opportunity, she had to let something else go. When Chairman Yoon asked which of the two she would choose, Yoon Se-na chose the company. The time she spent agonizing over the decision was neither long nor deep. She loved Kang Hee-shin, but he was not enough to satisfy all of her desires.

“I chose the company, but honestly, I don’t want to give up the person either.”

“I wonder if Kang Hee-shin feels the same.”

“You don’t need to worry about that, Oppa.”

When she snapped at him, Im Gyeong nodded. Only then did the mark of a bitten lip become visible. It wasn’t there when they first met… She had pretended not to notice the strange current between the two of them, but a lingering feeling of unease finally brushed against her mind.

“…What happened to your lip? Are you hurt?”

“I was bitten.”

Im Gyeong’s expression looked as if he were openly mocking her.

Yoon Se-na gripped the steering wheel tightly.

“Get out now. I have to go.”

Im Gyeong got out obediently and walked toward his own car. Recalling the chilling atmosphere in the hospital room, her stomach churned. She started the engine, shifted gears, and slammed on the accelerator. The car suddenly lunged forward, [stolen content]stolen contentstolen content -->style="font-size:0;color:transparent;display:inline;">unauthorized copycharging toward Im Gyeong, before screeching to a halt right in front of him.

Im Gyeong’s face as he looked back was like a calm wave. Neither surprised nor flustered.

Seeing that, her heart sank. She opened the door and leaned her head out.

“…Sorry. I stepped on the wrong pedal.”

Im Gyeong smiled generously. Go safely. Don’t get into an accident. As she turned the wheel and left the parking lot, her hands were shaking violently. I’m crazy. What was I trying to do… Despite taking deep breaths several times, her heightened emotions did not easily subside.