By Zephyria 
“You brat. You don’t even know how to greet your father after all these years? That woman… how on earth did she raise this kid? Tsk tsk. Look at those eyes. Who the hell does he take after as he grows up?”
Kang Gil-su, the father who had vanished one day, suddenly reappeared. When he left, he had taken every piece of gold and everything else in the house, but he returned as a penniless wretch. Well, he hadn’t come back entirely empty-handed, as he had brought along a late-born half-brother.
As Kang Gil-su brazenly tried to enter the master bedroom, Hee-shin snatched his arm.
“Where do you think you’re coming back to! Get out, right now!”
Startled by the attitude of his grown son, Kang Gil-su roared.
“You little shit! Let go of me! Oh? You’re using force? You’re actually using force with me right now!”
“Get out! By what right do you come here! By what right!”
As Hee-shin tried to drag him out by force, his mother clung to him, trying to stop him. In that gap, Kang Gil-su shook off his son’s hand and instead delivered a sharp slap to his cheek.
With a loud smack, Hee-shin’s body reeled, and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. His mother screamed and blocked the way. “Why are you hitting the child! After everything, what gives you the right to do this!” Even as she yelled, she pushed Hee-shin’s back away from his father.
“Hee-shin. Go inside. Go inside, quickly. Don’t exchange a single word with your father.”
“This house is a complete disaster. Both the mother and the brat. Lower your eyes, you little shit! At this rate, he might just eat his own father alive.”
Instead of the mother pushing his back, Hee-shin glared at the small child standing beside her. The father who had disappeared eight years ago, taking all the money in the house, had returned. And he had brought a strange child he had never seen before. Judging by the child’s age, Hee-shin guessed it was the daughter of the woman his father had cheated with back then.
Long, unkempt fingernails. Dirty hair that looked like it hadn’t been washed in ages. Eyes cast down like a sinner, and small, trembling hands clasped together. To anyone, the child looked neglected.
Passing by the terrified child, Hee-shin entered his room and slammed the door shut. Damn it. He pulled out his desk chair, sat down, and buried his face in his hands. He could hear his father’s voice from outside. He wondered how a person could be so brazen. By what right did a man who didn’t care whether his family lived or died suddenly reappear?
He lay face down on the desk for a long time until it grew quiet outside. When he stepped out, the living room was empty. Instead, the sound of loud snoring drifted from the master bedroom. Upon checking, he found a table of alcohol set beside his father, who had fallen asleep with his belly exposed.
After staring at him for a while, Hee-shin turned to leave, but a voice called out from behind him.
“…Hit him.”
“…….”
“Kang Hee-shin! You little shit, mmm, hit Hyung, chomp chomp….”
Hee-shin froze at his father’s sleep-talking. His father was snoring peacefully as if nothing had happened. Suddenly, a buried childhood memory resurfaced. That man of a father used to make him and his brother face each other and slap one another whenever they did something wrong.
And those “wrongs” were trivial things. Spilling water, making a mistake on an errand, not understanding his father’s words the first time. Or things as minor as mumbling instead of answering properly.
At first, they resisted. Though they were young, they knew that hitting people like that was wrong. But that usually resulted in being beaten twice as hard, so eventually, they hit each other to minimize the pain. No, it was actually Hee-shin’s one-sided beating. His Hyung had always only pretended to hit.
The soft-hearted Hyung gradually withered away. He spent more and more days shut in his room, and just before their father left, he stopped coming out entirely. It was the same after he left. He kept the door locked and slowly faded away in there. The face that used to smile so innocently was now a blur.
Is he listening from inside right now? What is he thinking? Is he crying?
The sudden surge of old memories brought an unbearable wave of rage. He strode forward, snatched a pillow from beside the bed, and pressed it hard over his father’s face.
“Kgh-hk!”
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, his father flailed his arms. He clawed at Hee-shin’s forearm and struggled desperately to push the pillow away. When he was young, he had been beaten because he lacked strength, but not now! I could kill a piece of trash like you easily!
Rage turned into murderous intent, and he poured all his strength into his arms. Yes, just die. Someone like you should never have come back. A piece of shit like you isn’t a father! You piece of shit!
His father’s body jolted, and soon, screams and shouts erupted from behind.
“Kang Hee-shin!”
His mother grabbed his arm and tore him away, and the moment he could breathe again, his father pushed Hee-shin away. As he fell backward onto the floor, his father lunged at him like a demon, despite stumbling.
“You crazy bastard! You murderer! This little shit actually tried to kill me!”
Refusing to back down, Hee-shin tackled his father to the ground and strangled him openly.
“Just die! Just die and disappear, please! Please disappear from my life!”
His mother screamed, and eventually, she slapped Hee-shin across the face.
That single blow hurt more than the countless acts of violence he had suffered from his father. Yet, he didn’t stop because he believed this was the only way to end the pain. His eyes turned bloodshot with resentment, unfairness, and desperation.
Suddenly, with a loud wail, the child he had seen earlier popped out from somewhere. The child clung to Hee-shin’s arm, sobbing loudly. Don’t hit my daddy. Please save my daddy.
Looking at the child’s messy face, the strength suddenly drained from Hee-shin. As his grip loosened, his father coughed violently and rolled away to escape. As he stood up shakily, his vision blurred. Only then did he notice his Hyung’s door, which was open by a few inches.
Hyung….
Why are you just watching from there? You want to kill him too. You can’t forgive this man either.
Just as he began to walk toward the door in a daze, a piercing scream erupted from behind. “Honey!” Turning around, Hee-shin saw his father charging at him with a fruit knife.
Hee-shin slowly opened his eyes, realized it was a dream, and rubbed his face. A dog of a dream. He had these once in a while just when he thought he’d forgotten. He sat up, and the sound of low conversation drifted in from outside. Putting on his robe and stepping out, he saw Yoon Se-na sitting on the sofa, on the phone.
He lightly touched her shoulder from behind, then went to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water and wet his throat. The back of his neck felt stiff, and he had a slight headache. It was always like this after a nightmare. He wondered how much effort he had put into the dream for it to feel this way.
Having finished her call, Se-na came over and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Sleep more. Why are you up already?”
“You’re up early yourself, Darling.”
“My mom called. She wants to go shopping later today. I start working at the headquarters next week, after all.”
“We should have a celebration party.”
“Later. When there’s something truly worth celebrating.”
To others, Yoon Se-na might look like a spoiled rich-girl princess, but in reality, she wasn’t. She was more ambitious and greedy for work than anyone. Perhaps it was natural. Being the child of the third wife with four older half-siblings, her position was precarious. The fact that Chairman Yoon was the kind of man who could take a fourth wife at any time also played a part.
“Shall we go inside and wash together?”
She had moved from behind him to the front, wrapping her arms around Hee-shin’s neck and looking up at him intently. Her delicate features were lovely, and the line of her mouth was especially beautiful when she smiled. For a moment, he had the foolish thought that her mouth looked remarkably like Im Gyeong’s.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Hee-shin smiled and erased Im Gyeong from his mind.
“Because you’re pretty.”
Yoon Se-na brushed back Hee-shin’s messy bangs. After a light kiss, her hand slid inside his robe and began to grope his body.
“If you want, we can do it one more time right here.”
Hee-shin smiled and gently pushed her hand away.
“Don’t tempt me. I have to go to work. Later.”
At those words, Se-na frowned slightly.
“Can’t you take today off?”
“Do you want me to become unemployed?”
“This is annoying. I heard other people do it ten times a night if their partner is pretty.”
“That’s a nymphomaniac. Excessive sexual desire is a condition that requires treatment.”
At his serious tone, Yoon Se-na burst out laughing. In the playful and erotic atmosphere, Se-na, still clinging to his neck, pressed her lips deeply against his. While their tongues entwined, Hee-shin’s phone interrupted them.
Ignoring it, they continued kissing and shifted around until they settled on the sofa. After pushing Kang Hee-shin halfway down onto the sofa, Yoon Se-na climbed on top of him. Even as she slid the strap of her slip down her shoulder, the phone continued to ring incessantly. He glanced at it, but Yoon Se-na cupped Hee-shin’s cheek.
“You should focus on me.”
He smiled and moved her hand away. Calls at this hour were often urgent messages from Chief Oh, so he couldn’t keep ignoring it.
“Sorry.”
Smiling, he sat her back on the sofa and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be right back.” Then he entered the bedroom. As he found his phone and checked the caller, Hee-shin’s face visibly stiffened. He hadn’t saved the number, but he already knew whose it was.
Since there was no sign of it stopping, he finally pressed the call button.
“Hello?”
—Sorry. Did I wake you up?
“What is it this early in the morning?”
—Are you alone?
“…Yes.”
—It’s nothing else, but about last time—
“Oppa.”
Yoon Se-na had entered the bedroom. While he gestured for her to be quiet, he heard a laugh from the other end of the line.
—You’re not alone, then?
“Tell me the purpose of your call.”
—Fine, then. I found out who requested the kidnapping of Kim Jun-gu.
He instinctively looked back. Yoon Se-na was gone. He entered the opposite bedroom and closed the door. When he asked, “Who is it?”, Im Gyeong didn’t answer. Thinking he had hung up, he checked the screen, but the timer was still running. After a short wait, his voice came through.
—Forget it. I’ll tell you later.
Suddenly feeling a surge of irritation, Hee-shin snapped.
“Are you kidding me?”
—My mood suddenly soured.
“What?”
—I’m hanging up. It’s time for breakfast.
The call was cut off unilaterally, leaving him staring at the phone screen with an absurd expression. He considered calling back to ask, but when he stepped out, Yoon Se-na was perched on the sofa. Her cheeks were puffed out like a pufferfish, looking angry.
“Why are you so busy every single day?”
He set the phone aside and tried to soothe Yoon Se-na. “Don’t be mad. Want to continue what we were doing?” As he took off his robe, a message arrived from Im Gyeong. Upon checking the message, the smile completely vanished from Kang Hee-shin’s face. Yoon Se-na, standing before him, asked what was wrong, but this time, he couldn’t answer.