My Bloody Valentine - 70

‘The children who arrived there thinking they were being adopted into a good home usually fell into despair and cried. But that child was so calm, as if he knew what situation he was in. When I asked, he indeed knew. He said he came instead of his brother. He was in a frenzy, saying he had to take him back. He missed him every day.’

Taeshin didn’t believe the director’s words that you would forget him and live a luxurious life after being adopted into a rich family. But later, he slowly began to doubt.

‘He was determined to save thirty thousand won to bring his brother and settle somewhere. Looking back now, it’s funny, right? Why thirty thousand won? But to a child with nothing, that was a huge amount of money. How intense must it have been for him to be so obsessed with money without even knowing the reason.’

He despised and hated him for that.

‘He escaped and nearly died several times. He almost died for real once. Maybe because it rained heavily on the day of the accident, or it’s like how old people with arthritis feel. Taeshin said his head, where he had surgery, hurts when it rains. It’s unbearable.’

Jina’s words kept circling in his mind.

While I resented you for not coming, were you desperately running towards me?

“Doesn’t he seem just like that Jindo dog? The one that found its owner after traveling hundreds of kilometers?”

“……”

Until he realized that the Taeshin he met here was the same one he was looking for, Han thought Taeshin might not even be in this country.

When he talked about Taeshin to Haejun, he clapped his hands as if he had a brilliant idea. He said that the kid named Taeshin must have emigrated abroad with his adoptive parents shortly after being adopted.

He suddenly left and couldn’t inform anyone because he was too busy, and after going, he struggled to adapt to life in a foreign country, missed the timing to contact, or forgot the orphanage’s name.

He said, just like salmon returning to their birthplace, Taeshin would definitely come back someday. Haejun spoke with full confidence.

Han partly agreed with Haejun’s words, like running a happiness simulation. Otherwise, there was no excuse for why Taeshin wasn’t looking for him.

So, Han still couldn’t let go. He clung to the hope that Taeshin would find him someday and to the letter Taeshin had left him.

Suddenly, he recalled the time he, in anger over being forgotten by Taeshin, had burned the letter. Han’s eyes swelled with transparent tears.

Taeshin hadn’t forgotten or abandoned him.

Meanwhile, Jina looked at Han with a look of reverence.

She knew that human history is a series of coincidences and inevitabilities. But sometimes, there are moments when these coincidences and inevitabilities overlap, like now.

Without knowing, Taeshin had already found the one he was desperately searching for and had kept him by his side.

“If Taeshin finds out that you’re the one he’s been looking for…”

“No.”

Han quickly wiped away his tears with the back of his hand and cut off Jina’s words.

“Please…pretend you don’t know anything…”

Why? If Taeshin knows who you are, he might treat you a little better.

Jina swallowed her words and nodded. Their history was layered so deeply that she couldn’t interfere.

“When I’m ready…I’ll tell him myself…”

“Alright.”

Han walked down the corridor with a blank expression, like a lost child. Without realizing it, he had arrived in front of his suite on the 15th floor and encountered Junho and his subordinate coming out.

Junho, now more familiar with him, asked with a friendly tone and a soft expression.

“Did you meet Manager Lim well?”

“Um… Is Director Jang Taeshin inside?”

“No, he should be at the office now.”

“The office?”

“Cheongsong Construction headquarters.”

“I want to meet him.”

Han mumbled to himself, bowing his head slightly. Junho, watching him, instructed his subordinate.

“Take him.”

“Pardon?”

“Escort him to Director Jang’s office.”

“Yes.”

Han’s eyes lit up as he immediately turned around and started following the subordinate. Watching Han’s retreating figure, Junho murmured with a slight smile.

“Our brother will be pleased.”

❖ ❖ ❖

The glass windows surrounding the tall, grand building looked like silver aluminum. Han felt overwhelmed in front of the enormous Cheongsong Construction headquarters.

Standing at the entrance where employees with ID cards around their necks hurriedly passed by, he felt discouraged. It was a place he thought he had no connection with.

He barely managed to enter the lobby but felt lost. The subordinate who had been watching him from behind stepped forward and opened the speed gate with his ID card.

To the security team member who looked at him curiously, he said Han was Director Jang’s guest. As if it were a magic word, the security team member nodded, and Han was able to pass through the lobby without issue.

Most executives, except for the chairman, had their offices on the 38th floor. Han followed the subordinate from the elevator. Soon, they reached the front of the executive director’s office, guarded by two secretaries in suits.

“How can I help you?”

A secretary who had been staring at the unexpected guest with curious eyes asked. The man was so handsome that he wouldn’t seem out of place even if he were immediately taken to Tasenda’s second floor.

Han pondered how to introduce himself, his lips parting slightly. After hesitating for a while, feeling pathetic, he bit his lip and spoke as calmly as he could.

“…If you say ‘Lee Han,’ he’ll know.”

“Please have a seat and wait.”

The man, like a robot reciting pre-programmed lines, guided him flawlessly and then sat down, picking up the phone.

“Excuse me, Director. A person named ‘Lee Han’ is here to see you.”

While waiting, the secretary glanced suspiciously at Han.

“Yes, that’s correct. ‘Lee Han,’ he said.”

The man seemed puzzled as silence continued from the other end. He briefly took the receiver away from his ear before putting it back.

“Ah, I see. Yes.”

Hanging up the phone, the man stood and addressed Han.

“He’ll see you now.”

“Oh… Thank you.”

Han awkwardly thanked him and stood in front of the large double wooden doors.

He knew who was beyond the door guarding his view like a wall. Even though he had met the person this morning, he felt as nervous as if he were meeting a complete stranger.

Only then did he realize he had come here without any plan. He didn’t know whether to ask something or pretend not to know anything. He had come only with the thought of seeing Taeshin immediately.

Han steadied himself, gripped the doorknob, and carefully entered.

The office looked as spacious as Taeshin’s suite room. The giant windows showed a view of the building jungle, and luxurious office furniture was placed here and there, typical of an executive’s office.

Taeshin sat languidly behind a large mahogany desk, gazing contemplatively at Han as he entered.

“The sun must be rising in the west. You’ve come looking for me on your own.”

Though he said that, a thin smile curled on Taeshin’s lips.

As Han stepped closer to him, his vision blurred. Though the indoor temperature hadn’t changed, he suddenly felt a sharp cold and his eyes burned.

Memories from the moment he reunited with Taeshin until now flashed through Han’s mind.

He had been slapped twice by Taeshin and hugged a dozen times, growing to genuinely hate him. He despised and loathed every scar on his body.

But it turned out those scars were originally his. Taeshin had borne what should have been his burdens.

If he had gone to that adoption place, wouldn’t Taeshin have gone to a good family? He had hated Taeshin all this time without knowing anything. He couldn’t stand how pathetic he felt.

Tears that had filled Han’s eyes finally rolled down his cheeks. Taeshin’s eyebrows furrowed deeply.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Hic.”

“Who did this?”

Though his tone had changed, Taeshin often asked that when they were kids. And he would exact double revenge on the kids who bullied Han.

Han continued walking, circling the huge desk. He approached the person who had hurt him both physically and emotionally, whom he had hated so much.

Taeshin tilted his head slightly in confusion and turned his chair to face Han. Han stood between Taeshin’s spread legs.

Taeshin narrowed his eyes and asked.

“What’s this? Another one of your tricks?”

Though Taeshin seemed irritated by Han’s unexpected behavior, his right thigh was already swelling noticeably.

“…”

Without saying a word, Han reached for the scratch above Taeshin’s left ear. Unlike ordinary skin with pores, it felt smooth, like touching plastic.

Why hadn’t he noticed sooner?

“Taeshin…”

“…!”

Taeshin’s eyes, usually unperturbed, wavered for a moment.

Han’s trembling finger gently traced Taeshin’s scar.

“Did it… hic… hurt a lot…?”

A small crack appeared in Taeshin’s usually expressionless face.