SMW 80

For someone who was ostensibly the president’s secretary, his facial expressions were a complete mess. He was going to have a hard time once he moved over to Baek Han’s side.

“Who is it? Is it someone from a branch family?”

Whoever it was, it seemed everyone today had completely ignored the basic social etiquette of giving prior notice.

“If it were them, they wouldn’t have cared whether you burst through the door or not.”

“Then who?”

“Mrs. Lee Eun-sook and your half-sibling.”

“…….”

This time, it was my turn to be shaken. Only then did I step away from the door and ask Hee Won in a low voice.

“Since when have they been here?”

“About thirty minutes.”

“Thirty minutes?”

When I pressed him on what they had been doing all this time without contacting me, Hee Won quickly offered an excuse.

“Mrs. Lee said that since they could just wait, there was no need to contact a busy person. Still, I did my best. I escorted them to the room, served tea, and answered various questions they had. By the time I heard you had arrived, I couldn’t help it.”

“What did they ask?”

“Huh? That… things like when your inauguration ceremony is?”

What a headache. Whether I had an inauguration ceremony or not, I was already in the president’s seat, so I couldn’t understand why everyone was so keen on getting a report about it. I looked back at the firmly closed door of the president’s office.

Stepping foot in here, opening that door—it had been horrific from the first moment until now. After suppressing that feeling day after day, I finally exploded that one day; by the time I came to my senses, I was already driving down the highway. I had hoped never to return if possible, yet here I was, standing before the door again. Somehow, the thought of opening it felt even more terrible than before.

It was a position I never wanted in the first place. Neither the successor to H.S. Corporation, nor the president’s seat, nor the relationships with the people inside that room. Things I would have lived my entire life without knowing if that man hadn’t started it were now forced into my hands, demanding a choice. Because of that, the phrase ‘in the first place’ could only lead to regret.

If only I hadn’t accepted that man’s proposal from the start. If only I hadn’t gone to the high school he wanted. Then neither Grandma nor I would have ended up like this.

But at the end of the regret brought by that phrase ‘in the first place,’ I ended up attaching the words ‘nevertheless.’ Because nevertheless, wasn’t that where I met you in that high school?

Han Yeo-reum.

For you, the first memory of me might have been on a sweltering summer day. But for me, the first memory of you was a bit earlier than that. It was a spring day that I thought was just an ordinary day. Until then, my spring days had been racing toward the absolute worst.

「Are you kidding me!」

Despite my shout echoing loudly through the air, the middle-aged man didn’t even blink. My anger flared even more at the sight of this man, who called himself my father, merely gazing at me as if he were some kind of king.

「You gave me such a grand excuse about Grandma, so I followed you to see what nonsense you were spouting, and you want me to change schools? Who gave you the right?」

「Why are you so angry?」

「……What?」

「Not only do you live in a shabby hillside village, but the school you were assigned to is of low quality. I’m telling you I’ll send you somewhere better, so I truly don’t understand what your complaint is.」

「Whether it’s shabby or not, I’ll handle it. Stop interfering in my life.」

「My, I didn’t know you’d say something so childish.」

The man sighed as if he were disappointed.

「Normally, I would have sent you to a place that matches the family’s status, but since you’ll need an adjustment period, I’m sending you to a regular school nearby. Though, of course, that doesn’t quite satisfy my tastes either.」

「So why does the school I attend have to satisfy your tastes?」

「Because you are my son.」

I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at the words spoken with such confidence that they sounded like a given. That man seemed to have a supernatural talent for hitting exactly the points that pissed people off.

「Son? Do you think you’re qualified to say that after ruining a young woman’s life and abandoning your child?」

「I tried to take in both you and that woman. It was she who rejected it and left of her own accord.」

「At best, you probably just wanted to provide a luxury villa and make her act as a concubine.」

The man’s eyebrow twitched, perhaps Read on Read BL Novelsdispleased that I had hit the nail on the head. But that was all. He neither denied unauthorized copynor made excuses. Truly, he was a man from whom nothing was to be expected.

No, was he even human to begin with?

「Listen carefully. You have no right to act as my parent. My only blood relative and guardian is Park Bong-hee, my grandma, and her alone. My jaw is aching from talking, so carve this into that empty brain of yours this time.」

「Seol-ah.」

「I told you not to call my name like that!」

Every time that man called my name like that, I got goosebumps. It wasn’t just because of the voice putting on a kind, hypocritical facade of a parent. I could always feel a thick sense of possessiveness in the way he called me. It was horrific, as if he were exercising the right of ownership over me by calling my name.

「I thought you took after me quite a bit in terms of intelligence, even if you don’t look like me, but perhaps it’s because you’re young that you still struggle to understand your place.」

「It seems you’re the one who can’t read the situation. I am still young. Aren’t you embarrassed to be threatening a seventeen-year-old?」

After remaining unresponsive regardless of what I did, he finally stolen contentstolen contentseemed [Read on Read BL Novels]to have grown annoyed. The man, showing his displeasure by raising an eyebrow, twisted his lips.

「You seem to be misunderstanding something; this is not a threat. It is a notification.」

「Who doesn’t know that? What does it matter if it’s a threat or a notification.」

「It seems some education is necessary.」

Despite his age, the man called his secretary with a smooth hand devoid of wrinkles and took a document.

「I heard the old woman’s heart has been acting up lately.」

「What are you talking about right now…」

「Since I heard she was unwell, I wanted to introduce her to a good hospital as a reward for raising you this much, but the old woman is so stubborn that I couldn’t even bring it up. How about it? You could try persuading her yourself, or I could visit her personally once more.」

「What on earth are you doing right now?」

「Threatening.」

「……What?」

As I asked back blankly, the man handed the document back to the secretary instead of answering. Before long, that document was pushed toward me. I hated receiving anything from that man, but this time, I couldn’t refuse. My gaze fixed on Grandma’s name written on the top line of the document.

「This is…」

「I heard she had an examination a week ago, so I looked into it further. Her chronic illness has worsened significantly. While she might buy some time with steady medication, they say surgery is difficult in cases like this. Especially since even a little stress could be dangerous, shouldn’t you be the one to ease her worries?」

「So, you’re saying if I don’t listen to you, you’ll put stress on Grandma?」

「Now you’re finally using your head.」

A hollow laugh escaped me at the man’s satisfied smile. But that was all. Unable to offer any further rebuttal, I couldn’t take my eyes off the document in my hand. The medical certificate stolen contentthat should have originally gone to my maternal grandmother had been intercepted Read on Read BL Novelsand ended up in that man’s hands. It was a world where illegality was easy for those [unauthorized copy]with money. He was a man who could change the school assigned to me by the state simply because it didn’t satisfy his tastes. There was no telling how he would choose to stress Grandma.

「If you obediently go to the school I designate, I’ll leave you alone for the time being. That old woman will also be able to spend her days in peace, knowing nothing.」

If that man had never appeared in the first place, our lives would have been peaceful. I glared at the man, clenching my teeth. I wanted to pour out some venomous words. If I could, I wanted to swing my fist. But the more I wanted to, the heavier the weight of the medical certificate in my hand pressed down on my shoulders. A notification and a threat were indeed different. Eventually, when I slumped my shoulders helplessly, another document was pushed in front of me as if waiting for this moment.

「These are the materials for the school you’ll attend and the documents required for admission. Familiarize yourself with them before returning home, and make up a suitable excuse for the old woman. As I said before, it’s no good for us to get agitated, so behave yourself.」

Having barked his orders, the man stood up. As he approached, attended by his secretary, he murmured softly just before passing by me.

「Son, this is how you threaten someone.」

「…….」

「Well then, don’t cause any trouble and attend school quietly. Let’s see each other again soon.」

「You caused quite a stir again today.」

It was a lunch break so peaceful it was boring. As I lay on a corner of the rooftop gazing at the sky, the inevitable intruder appeared.

「Get your face out of my sight.」

「That’s harsh. Don’t you think it’s about time we became a bit friendly?」

That was the funniest thing I’d heard since that man showed up and pulled the ‘I am your father’ card.

「Is there any reason for me to become friendly with the guy sent to monitor me?」

「Well, honestly, I know I’m an uncomfortable presence for you, but it’s not like you lose anything by keeping me around. Even if it’s monitoring, it’s just watching what you do all day by your side; isn’t it actually more helpful? I’m working hard to clean up after you every time you cause trouble, worried that your image might suffer.」

「The teachers don’t even touch me, so why bother.」

Baek Hee-won. He was the monitor that man had attached to the school. He was a guy who had come to me and [unauthorized copy]stuck by my side with confidence, as if he stolen contenthad no intention of hiding [visit our site]it from the start. Because of that, I didn’t even feel like getting angry. Although it was annoying when he acted this noisy. In truth, he wasn’t the only eye that man had planted.

This place was a prison that man had built.

This school was about a thirty-minute walk from home. After enrolling, the first places I went, even before the classroom, were the faculty office and the principal’s office, and it was a fact I realized after visiting them a couple of times. It was a trivial realization—that I could easily obtain the key to the rooftop, an area forbidden to students.

「You really don’t get it. Adults can be bought with money, but kids can’t. If it weren’t for me, you’d have already been branded as the youngest son of a mobster among the students. It’s only because I’ve been diligently talking that you’ve become the handsome guy who has a shitty personality but a warm heart. Would you rather spend all three years with a murderous atmosphere around you?」

「It’s already too late.」

Whenever I entered my assigned classroom, the noisy space would instantly sink into silence. Even now, two months later, there were countless kids who couldn’t even meet my eyes. The one who made it that way was none other than me.