SMW 86

“Go buy some tteokbokki.”

The moment he entered the room, a blunt order was issued, and the book he was holding dropped to the floor. His grandmother’s eyes narrowed as she looked back and forth between the fallen cover and him.

“……What are you staring at?”

“I just thought, ‘Ah, Seol, you really are just a kid after all.'”

He stiffened at the grandmother’s beaming smile.

“Who said I was reading it? I just picked it up because I wondered what on earth this was.”

“What do you mean ‘what’? It’s a book.”

“I can see that. It’s just, it caught my eye…”

“It must have been that book. The one the stolen contentboy [visit our site][Read on Read BL Novels]you’re interested in enjoyed reading.”

“…….”

As he fell silent, unable to find a rebuttal, his grandmother clapped her hands as if amused.

“Oh my, what a coincidence. Could it be that you and that boy are destined for each other?”

If I tell her his name, she’ll go wild.

“It’s different from the one he has. He has the previous volume.”

“Is that so? Did you ask him?”

“……Not exactly. I just happened to see it sitting on his desk.”

“Hmm. So in the end, you’ve been peeking without even being able to strike up a conversation. Who knew my grandson could be such a loser?”

“Who’s peeking—”

He started to retort indignantly, but his mouth snapped shut. In stolen contentthe meantime, [unauthorized copy]his grandmother had picked up the book he dropped and was [Read on Read BL Novels]looking at him with a mischievous grin. She was playing with him.

“I heard this is good. They said it came out as a movie too; do you want to go see it?”

“No thanks. I hate childish things.”

“You shouldn’t say that without reading it. This grandmother never raised you to be someone who judges things by their appearance.”

“Don’t try to apply some unnecessary principle to this.”

“Then I’ll say something useful. Hurry up and go buy the tteokbokki.”

He was speechless at the sheer confidence of her command.

“You said three times a week! You’ve already hit three times this week.”

“What does that have to do with anything? You eat it when you want to eat it. That’s why I earn money.”

“……Fine, even if that’s true. Today is your turn to handle the meals. Don’t tell me you’re planning to make that the dinner?”

“If it’s not enough, buy some sundae and gimbap too.”

So it was dinner. For the record, he didn’t particularly like street food.

“I’m not eating. I’d rather make something myself.”

“Then buy it for me to eat alone. You figure out your own meal.”

As if the negotiation were over, the grandmother placed the book on the desk and set some bills on top of it. As she was about to leave the room, she turned back as if remembering something and added:

“Come to think of it, this worked out well.”

“……What worked out well?”

He asked back warily, wondering what she was going to say, and the grandmother gave a thin smile.

“You said that boy has the previous series. Once he finishes reading that, he’ll want to see the next part. Tell him you’ll lend it to him.”

“Why would I—”

“Why else? I’m helping visit our sitemy grandson, who’s been too shy to say visit our sitea single stolen contentword, seize his last chance.”

“…….”

“You want to get close to him, don’t you? Then grab the opportunity when it comes. Don’t end up frustrated later when you see that series already in his hands.”

With a final reminder to hurry up and buy the tteokbokki, she closed the door and left. However, tteokbokki was no longer on his mind. He stared at the book the grandmother had placed back on the desk, then opened his palm and looked down at it.

Last chance?

She wasn’t wrong.

At first, he had simply remembered the name. But as sounds gradually seeped into that memory, and then warmth and touch were added, he could no longer face Han Yeo-reum with mere memory alone.

To be honest, he still hadn’t been able to shake off the Yeo-reum who had approached him that day. Seasonally, summer was also approaching. Thus, it would likely take a long time to shake off this warmth.

In the meantime, he would have no choice but to continue agonizing and feeling confused.

Then, what must he do?

I should take the supplementary classes, right?

Clenching his empty hand, he sprang up from the chair. Instead of the cash the grandmother had left, he grabbed a piece of paper from his bag and ran out into the living room. He spoke to the grandmother, who was watching TV on the sofa.

“Grandma. I’m going to take supplementary classes during summer break.”

Summer was beginning. There was something he absolutely had to know before this hot and humid heat departed. Therefore, he had to seize the opportunity.

Thus began a certain summer day, and within that returning, scorching heat, he was finally able to find the answer.

That was the beginning of longing.

It was a certain summer day that he had thought was just another ordinary day.

“What do you want to do? Shall we go in together?”

As I stood silently in front of the CEO’s office for a long time, Baek Hee-won urged me in an anxious voice. If it had been anyone else sitting in that office, I would have turned around and walked out of the building immediately. I didn’t have the patience to deal with an unwelcome guest twice in one day. After all, as the heir to H.S. Group, Baek Seol-ha was in a position where he could afford to be that willful.

But there were only two people I couldn’t be that way with.

Madam Lee Eun-sook and his half-sister.

To Choi Seol, perhaps not, but to Baek Seol-ha, they were the mother who would have loved him more than anyone and his only cute younger sister.

“I’ll go in alone, so wait here. The car is fine, so don’t let anyone else in.”

After instructing Hee-won, I flung open the door to the CEO’s office. As I entered, the gazes of the two people sitting on the guest sofa shifted toward me.

“You’ve arrived, Madam Lee.”

“I heard you were touring the hotel, but you’ve come sooner than I expected.”

When I greeted the elderly woman sitting on the guest sofa, a flat response followed.

“……You could have contacted me in advance to say you were coming.”

“I was flustered coming here directly from the airport. Besides, we aren’t exactly in a relationship where we greet and welcome each other warmly.”

“Mom.”

Min-a, who had been sitting quietly Read on Read BL Novelsbeside her, called out to her cautiously. However, [stolen content]Madam Lee’s demeanor remained unshaken.

“Sit down. It’s uncomfortable to have a conversation while you’re standing there.”

“I understand.”

Only then did I walk over and take a seat on the sofa opposite the two of them. After a brief silence, she spoke again.

“The tea is taking a while to be brought out.”

“I told them not to bring any.”

“That wasn’t a very good decision. Just because you don’t want to drink it doesn’t mean the tea becomes useless. Especially when a guest arrives, it serves as a quite useful tool when one wants to avoid eye contact or hide their emotions. Just like you and I right now.”

“Mom!”

Min-a’s voice rose again as if to stop her.

“Mom, why are you doing this? You promised me you wouldn’t speak that way anymore.”

“Be quiet. I have something to say to him alone, so Min-a, step out for a moment. Tell Hee-won to brew another cup of tea, or ask him to show you around the company, [unauthorized copy]Read on Read BL Novelsor go to that dessert shop you wanted to visit so badly.”

“What do you have to say? Didn’t you come to congratulate my brother on his inauguration as CEO? Who was the one who told me not to bother the people working…”

“Baek Min-a.”

At her firm voice, Min-a flinched, then abruptly stood up with a pouty expression.

“Fine. I’m leaving, I’m leaving. See you later, Oppa.”

Not long after Min-a left, the secretary brought in the tea. For a while after that, silence filled the room. Having looked at my face only once immediately after I entered, she kept her gaze fixed on the teacup she held, just as she had mentioned. I knew well what emotion she wanted to hide.

“The inauguration…”

“I heard there was an accident?”

When I first spoke, she set down the teacup and looked straight at me as if she had been waiting. Her gaze seemed to linger briefly on my casted hand. This time, my gaze dropped to the teacup.

“It was nothing major.”

“The nominal heir of a corporation gets into a car accident, and you say it’s nothing major? I heard the collateral branch of [visit our site]the [Read on Read BL Novels]Yu-seon side caused a stir this time as well.”

My eyes widened slightly and shifted from the teacup back to her.

“There’s no need to be so surprised. Even if I’ve completely washed my hands of this family, there are always corners where news reaches me.”

“I’ve caused you concern.”

“Concern… Yes, I was concerned. Honestly, I didn’t want to be, but since you are living the life of my son, I couldn’t simply ignore it.”

There was no intent to sarcasm or blame in her words. There was only a situation that, even after ten years, remained absurd and baffling to her. Because of that, I had no choice but to return my gaze to the teacup. As she said, the teacup was proving to be an excellent tool.

“The collateral branch will be clearly dealt with because of this incident. There will absolutely be no harm coming to Min-a, so you no longer need to worry.”

While attention was currently focused on Baek Seol-ha, the second child, Baek Min-a, also strictly held the qualifications of an H.S. Group heir. Thus, as a parent, she must have been anxious about the Yu-seon collateral branch continuing to threaten this bloodline. Sure enough, a flicker of relief appeared on her face as I glanced at her. However, she didn’t let it show. Instead, she brought the teacup to her lips.

After a moment, another question returned.

“What will you do about the inauguration? When I asked Hee-won earlier, it seemed you hadn’t set a plan yet.”

“I will make it so that you don’t need to worry about that either, Madam.”

“That’s a bit problematic.”

She wore a faint smile, as if she were being sincere.

“What would the public say if the parents didn’t attend the inauguration of their eldest son as the CEO of H.S.? Besides, that person won’t be able to attend, so I should at least be there.”

At the word ‘parents,’ my body instinctively tensed. To some, parents might be longing and warmth, but to me, the repulsion stemming from that title was indescribable. And I wouldn’t be the only one feeling that repulsion.

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

It might sound cold to some, but asking her to attend would actually be a cruel thing to do. I didn’t know what her marriage to H.S. Chairman Baek Han-gu had meant to her life, but it must have been decent enough until she had two children. After all, it wasn’t a marriage of love, but one arranged for the matrimonial ties between conglomerates as the youngest daughter of a famous automotive conglomerate, so she likely hadn’t placed much meaning on it. Aside from the first son being physically weak from birth, he was kind-hearted and the second daughter was lovely, so it must have been a happy enough family.

Until the kind son died and an illegitimate child appeared to replace him.

“I will create a reason that won’t leave a stain on you or Min-a and leak it to the press. In any case, the inauguration will be held privately with only key company personnel. Even after that, Baek Seol-ha’s face will never be revealed to the public.”

How could I not know the heart of someone who had been robbed of even the chance to mourn the death of a beloved family member? Given that, I could not bring myself to ask her to attend the inauguration and play the role of a benevolent mother with a smiling face.

To me, Baek Han-gu was the perpetrator, stolen contentbut for the [Read on Read BL Novels]mother and daughter, Baek [stolen content]Han-gu wasn’t the only perpetrator. I was included as well.

“I am not unaware of the heart with which you are striving so hard.”

She spoke, having listened quietly to my words.