My Bloody Valentine - 102

Chapter 102

“Han, aren’t you curious about your biological father?”

“Ah…”

Han tried to force himself to think about something else and tried to smile. But he kept getting lost in thoughts of Taeshin. Seeing this, Soyoung tried to distract Han by talking to him.

“What kind of person was he?”

“Do you know Joo Chanwoo?”

Han shook his head.

“He was a huge solo singer back in the day. I hosted a music show with him. You were born around that time.”

“So now…”

This time, Soyoung shook her head.

“He died in a motorcycle accident. He was at the peak of his popularity. I found out about you at his funeral.”

“Ah…”

Han had lost his father before he was even born. Soyoung continued to talk about how she found Han, which managed to distract him for a moment.

After finishing the long story, Soyoung sipped her tea and spoke with a determined expression.

“Han, you know… I’m going to reveal everything. Your existence.”

“…!”

With her divorce news being broadcasted as a special report, Han couldn’t imagine how much of a shock it would be to the public to find out that she had a grown-up son.

“If the method is wrong, it could cause unnecessary rumors and suspicions. So, I’m doing it properly.”

“…How?”

“I have a close entertainment reporter that I really trust. I told him everything, and he’s working on the first draft of the article now. Before it goes out, I’ll check it. Of course, I’ll make sure your identity is kept hidden.”

“I don’t think you need to reveal it…”

“It’s not for you. It’s for me. I’m really tired of hiding.”

Soyoung seemed to shudder as if she was truly fed up.

“Plus, there are already rumors going around. If people find out that I’m living with a younger man, a guy your age, it’ll be a big deal.”

“Ah… rumors…”

Her words reminded Han of a memory from the past. It was when he used to talk with Jeongi and Shin Soyoung about all the rumors in their room while stomping his feet on the bed.

“Um… Can I ask something else?”

“Sure, anything.”

Han hesitantly asked her.

“Your divorce… was it because of me?”

“No.”

Soyoung firmly denied it.

“He knew about you from the time we started dating. I really liked him. Maybe even more than your biological father.”

Han quietly listened.

“We got married because we loved each other, despite what people said. But he wanted kids because of his family situation.”

“…?”

“Even though he knew about my past, he said it was okay if we didn’t have children and could just live happily together. But I loved him too much. So I let him go.”

Han stared at Soyoung’s face, which was filled with emotion, then turned his gaze toward the garden, which was starting to show the colors of summer, lost in thought.

Suddenly, he remembered something Jina had said when he left Tacenda.

“Taeshin didn’t abandon you. He let you go.”

The words “letting go out of love” felt like something out of a cliché movie or drama. Could there really be such love?

❖ ❖ ❖

In the backseat of the sedan, Taeshin’s gaze was fixed on the window.

Everything outside the window looked monochrome, as if he had become colorblind. The people on the street, the sky, and the leaves of the trees swaying in the wind were all shades of gray or black.

His face, still and unmoving, lacked the usual vitality. His features had become sharper, and the shadows under his eyes grew darker. He almost looked like a wax figure.

His head felt heavy. The fatigue from not having slept properly was pressing down on his shoulders.

“Why don’t you take a quick nap on the way?”

Myeongseop, looking at Taeshin with concern, spoke from the front seat.

If Taeshin could sleep, he would have done so already. He replied in a tired voice, as if he were resigned to it.

“Did you hear anything?”

Myeongseop immediately understood what he was asking. Recently, Taeshin had been asking about only one thing.

“He stayed at Shin Soyoung’s house in Hannam-dong and only went out for the first time yesterday.”

“Where did he go?”

“He went to a photo studio in Apgujeong and then to the district office. He had his picture taken and applied for a passport.”

“….”

It seems that everything is going smoothly. He was timid like a sunfish, often shy and easily intimidated, but he wasn’t the type to be disliked by anyone. Rather, he was the kind who unintentionally earned too much affection from others, which had always tired Taeshin.

After meeting his biological mother and building a mother-child bond late in life, Han, who would go abroad and experience many new things, was living peaceful days. This image of Han was easily pictured in Taeshin’s mind.

In Taeshin’s imagination, the place where Han was now was a bright, sunny midday, not a night stained with bl00d, revenge, and indulgence—things that were better left unspoken.

“Make sure to mark everything thoroughly,” he was told.

“Yes, Director.”

Although it was called marking, it was more like long-range protection.

Oh Seongjin had been killed by the underworld, his subordinates were all killed by Taeshin himself, and some were handled by others. Furthermore, according to what Woosin had told him recently, the remaining underworld members had been caught by Interpol or forcibly deported.

But Taeshin insisted on keeping security personnel close. He wanted to block any possible danger, no matter how small.

His dry eyes stared blankly at the passing scenery. The sedan, which had left Seoul, was now heading toward the peaceful suburbs, passing through the bustling city.

“The development team arrived in the morning. You just need to go, look around, and approve it,” said the voice from the passenger seat.

“…”

“…Director?”

“…Okay.”

Even his flat voice was soaked in fatigue. He was on edge, and if anyone happened to annoy him, he felt he might punch them right away.

The place they arrived at seemed to have been an empty lot for some time, looking like a set for a dystopian movie. The crumbling buildings were covered in resilient ivy, and it was hard to even guess what had been there before.

The sedan stopped in a parking lot at the bottom of a small hill. Two cars from the Cheongsong Construction development team had already arrived beside it.

“Director, you’ve arrived.”

The head of the development team, Han Jiyoo, greeted Taeshin warmly. She was in her 30s, a highly capable person with the rare title of team leader, and she was also in charge of the townhouse project.

“Where should we start?”

“Let’s go this way first. I’ll show you where Building A, the main building, will be placed among the three buildings.”

Taeshin’s shiny shoes crunched as they stepped on the weed-covered ground, heading inside the parking lot.

“Let me first tell you about the history of this place, Soro 3-ri. It’s known to have existed since the Three Kingdoms period, located about 16 km from the historic Jinmyeong Fortress…”

Taeshin twirled his finger in the air, signaling for her to get to the point, as if she were about to start telling stories from the distant past. Jiyoo quickly swiped through the pages on her tablet.

“Ah, yes. To summarize, Soro 3-ri, which is part of the Pine Creek site, has 32 residents in 22 households. Most are elderly people living alone…”

Taeshin’s gaze swept across the flat land in front of a small mound. A wide yard filled with weeds and two buildings, three stories and one story high, stood in front of him. Beyond that, there was a shabby greenhouse.

Beep—.

Suddenly, there was a sharp ringing in his ears, and he felt a pain like a needle piercing through his head. He stood frozen, unable to scream in the intense pain, clutching his head with his hand.

“Director! Are you alright?” Jiyoo, standing behind him, asked urgently. He took a deep breath, managing to calm the headache before straightening up and responding casually.

“Continue.”

“Then I’ll continue. Most of the residents accepted the compensation we offered…”

Just then, the sharp ringing in his ears came again, and he began to hear the sound of children laughing. It seemed to be coming from inside one of the buildings.

“Sigh… Sorry, let’s take a break,” Taeshin said, shaking the cigarette pack from his pocket. Jiyoo quickly nodded and took a few steps back.

Taeshin irritably lit a cigarette, but for some reason, the lighter wouldn’t work well today.

Whether the noise was coming from inside the building or the greenhouse behind it, the sound of children laughing and chatting grew louder. Taeshin glared at Jiyoo, nervously crushing the cigarette in his hand.

“Sigh… Let’s get those kids out of here and then talk.”

Jiyoo blinked a couple of times before asking again.

“…What?”

“The kids’ laughing and talking are so loud that I can’t hear anything.”

Standing next to Taeshin were five employees from the Cheongsong Construction development team and Myungseop. They all wore the same expression, their faces saying they didn’t understand what he was talking about.

One of them, looking pale and scared, asked.

“Kids laughing and talking…?”