By Zephyria 
==
At the sound of the word ‘pain’ uttered by the madam, Eun-won recalled the news he had seen about the eldest son of the Baum Group dying after falling from a horse. Since he had never met the man, he didn’t feel any personal grief, but he remembered spending a few days searching for related articles, driven by a vague sense of discomfort and a sinking feeling in his heart.
“It was so hard after we let Yun-han go. I pretended to return to my daily life because I had so much work to do, but it wasn’t easy.”
“…….”
“Once I regained my senses, both I and Yun-han’s father thought of you, Eun-won.”
Hearing the soft, drained voice made him feel very strange. He couldn’t understand why she had suddenly called him to tell him such things.
“It must be uncomfortable for you to hear this all of a sudden. Because of how we acted toward you six years ago. I was too foolish back then. It was hard for me to accept that my husband had such a grown son.”
“…….”
“So, in a way, I was glad my husband ignored you and your mother.”
“…….”
“I’m sorry, Eun-won. I shouldn’t have been so cruel back then….”
At the sudden apology, Eun-won’s heart beat erratically. He had never thought about wanting an apology, nor had he ever wished for his existence to be accepted. The attitude shown by the man who was his father and the woman who was his stepmother six years ago was certainly something that could only leave a scar, but since he hadn’t spent every day remembering and resenting them, this apology felt all the more abrupt.
“It’s late, but if you’ll allow it, I want to be proper parents to you from now on.”
“…What?”
“Your father has changed a lot too. I think he had a lot of thoughts while sending Yun-han away. He regretted ignoring his own blood like that, and I agree with him.”
The madam, who had been staring silently at Eun-won’s hands folded on his lap, covered them with her own. Eun-won flinched, his shoulders hunching at the unfamiliar warmth enveloping him.
“Come home, Eun-won.”
“……..”
“Come and live as my son, our son, from now on. I want you to return to the place where you belong.”
Her tone was gentle and soft, but there was an undeniable sense of dissonance within it. Everything was too fast… too rushed. He had lived a severed life without any communication all this time… and suddenly he was a son…. It felt as if too many intermediate steps had been skipped, making it completely incomprehensible.
“I’m sorry for telling you this so late.”
“…….”
“I should have done this as soon as I knew of your existence…. I’m truly sorry, Eun-won. Will you give me a chance to be a mother to you from now on? I want us to be a family.”
Despite the suddenness, the confusion, and the lack of understanding, words like ‘family,’ ‘mother,’ and the feeling of warm body heat continued to prick at the depths of Eun-won’s heart. It was because these were things he could neither hear nor feel anywhere after being left alone in the world.
However, he couldn’t simply accept this unfamiliar hospitality all at once. How could he suddenly become family with people he had thought he would never meet again for the rest of his life until just an hour ago?
“…Thank you for your words. But… it’s all in the past, and it’s not something I dwell on much, so… you don’t have to worry about it….”
For a moment, the corners of the madam’s mouth, which had been wearing an infinitely gentle smile, stiffened. When she closed and opened her eyes, the kind, understanding smile had returned.
“I fully understand how you feel. I know this isn’t something to decide suddenly. I know all that, but seeing you again made me so happy and sorry… I think we became too impatient. I’m sorry.”
“…No…. It’s alright….”
“Still, please think about it just once, okay? It’s late, but from now on, I want us to get along well while I do everything you want.”
The madam was now holding Eun-won’s hands with both of hers, pleading. Seeing her eyes welling with tears, Eun-won’s heart softened slightly.
“……I’ll think about it….”
“Thank you, thank you so much. Your father will be happy too.”
Even though saying he would think about it didn’t mean he would move into the house, the madam smiled brightly several times and expressed her gratitude. The warmth touching his hands and eyes, and the fluttering heart caused by an awkward and somehow discordant feeling, failed to blend and instead formed separate shapes.
“Your father will be home soon; would you like to see him before you go?”
“…Ah, no. I think… it would be best if I left for today.”
“Alright then. It must have been hard hearing so much so suddenly, right? Let’s take it slow. The car is waiting, so take it home, Eun-won.”
“No, I’ll go on my own….”
“I brought you all this way, so of course I should take you back. Don’t feel burdened. This is something you deserve, and soon all of this will become natural and familiar. Oh, wait a moment.”
Smiling at Eun-won, the madam passed by him and headed somewhere. Eun-won stood still, trying to organize the events that had suddenly befallen him, but his thoughts wouldn’t coalesce easily.
“Take this and eat it. Our house pâtissier makes apple pie really well. You didn’t even get to taste it because you were uncomfortable.”
Without giving him a chance to say it was fine, the madam called a servant and handed over a box containing a large pie.
“Put this in the car.”
“Yes, madam.”
Looking at Eun-won again with a face full of smiles, the madam patted his back. That patting was so similar to what his real mother used to do that heat rushed to his eyes. Eun-won didn’t know what to do, his mind suddenly filled with thoughts of his mother. He thought he had become okay enough not to cry anywhere after three years, but it seemed he was wrong.
“Thank you for coming today, Eun-won. Let’s see each other again soon. I’ll contact you.”
“…Yes. I’ll be going now. Goodbye.”
The madam accompanied him through the garden to where the car was waiting and patted his back once more. Eun-won bowed his head in greeting and climbed into the back seat of the car opened by the driver. He kept tensing up, feeling unfamiliar with the multiple gazes fixed on him and the actions he had never experienced.
Knock, knock. With the sound of someone tapping on the window, the glass rolled down. Eun-won leaned over to look at the madam, who was meeting his eyes.
“Get home safely. It was truly lovely to see you today.”
Not knowing exactly how to respond, he simply bowed his head again, and the car began to move. Eun-won let out a slow, long breath as he watched the black-tinted window roll back up.
“I will take you to your residence.”
“…Yes.”
Eun-won looked at the driver, who didn’t ask for the address even though he had never provided it, and then dropped his gaze. There was no way people who could find the place where he worked wouldn’t know where he lived. It was unpleasant to realize they had run a background check on him, and it was a situation where he should express that unpleasantness, but he didn’t have the energy for that right now.
“…….”
So suffocating…. Looking at the pitch-black night outside the window, Eun-won sighed faintly again.
* * *
“Hey, I’m getting married.”
At the bombshell dropped in Cha Se-jin’s nonchalant tone, a shocked Do Hae-jun choked on his champagne, coughing violently. Kang Seo-hoo, who had been eating cheese while watching a soccer match, also looked at Cha Se-jin with a face that suggested he didn’t know what he had just heard.
“Doing what?”
“Getting married.”
“Whoa, shit. With Han Se-rin? It was worth digging through the gossip accounts and talking shit.”
“Hey, fuck. Are you crazy? Why would I marry that guy?”
“You’re not? Then who the hell are you suddenly marrying?”
Cha Se-jin, who tilted his head back to drain his champagne in sync with the angle of his glass, grinned as if it were amusing.
“I don’t know, either.”
“You don’t know?”
“Yeah, I don’t know yet.”
Only then did Do Hae-jun understand the meaning; he shook his head while pouring more champagne into Cha Se-jin’s glass.
“You’re going for the Gi Jae-hyeok route?”
“Who the fuck takes that idiot route?”
“Jae-hyeok also said at first that nothing would change after marriage. The problem is when you’re completely head-over-heels for the other person.”
“That’s why I’m asking who the fuck gets head-over-heels while getting married like that.”
“He said he’s built for marriage. That he loves it. I ran into him briefly at an event last week, and he asked me if I’m still living like this and told me to wake up.”
“What is that loser telling me to do? I’ll see how many years he keeps up that bullshit. Two years at most? Fuck, just wait until he tries to crawl back.”
Recalling his ex-friend who had completely changed the moment he got married, Cha Se-jin shook his head in disgust. Just thinking about it was so pathetic that curses came out naturally.
“Ah, whoever marries you is fucking pitiful.”
“Why? They’re marrying me, so it’s fucking great.”
Looking at Kang Seo-hoo, who was questioning what could possibly be great about it, Cha Se-jin crossed one long leg over the other and tilted his head crookedly.
To be honest, this arranged marriage was one where the other party would unconditionally benefit. Just becoming a member of the Sewon Group—which had no equal in terms of scale, reputation, revenue, or profit—was already a massive gain. And that wasn’t all; they would be tied to this Cha Se-jin under the name of a spouse.
In contrast, everything was a loss for him. Getting the title of a married man before even turning thirty was a loss, and although he didn’t know the face yet, it would be a loss if it turned out to be a face he didn’t like, as he’d have to live looking at it. And what if he hit his heat and ended up having sex with that disliked face…?
…Fuck, maybe I should just not get married. This won’t work.