Small and Fragile Things - Chapter 55

Muk-hyun headed straight for Seo Yuseon’s guesthouse. At the entrance, Il-hyun’s secretaries were stationed, and the moment they saw him, they went on high alert.

“I’m sorry. The Vice Chairman ordered that no one be let in.”

“Didn’t you hear? The Vice Chairman is being rushed to the hospital right now.”

“Huh?”

Only then did they notice Muk-hyun’s right hand was covered in bl00d. Their faces went pale.

“Go.”

At the cold command, they didn’t hesitate and stepped aside.

Muk-hyun pushed open the door alone and staggered as his vision blurred for a moment. Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes briefly and endured the familiar pounding headache and exhaustion.

His nerves were on edge from being overstimulated too long. No wonder his body was wearing out—he hadn’t slept properly in days. Damn it.

He shook his head hard once, then straightened up and took a deep breath. One deep breath was enough to calm his face, at least on the surface.

“…….”

On his way here, he’d made a decision that had been dragging on for too long.

Maybe even thanks to the unexpected help from Choi Il-hyun, Choi Jihyun, and his half-siblings.

Even those foolish bastards were trying to use Irang for their own purposes. If they were cunning foxes, what did that make the sly Choi Jung-do? And Director Gu—who knew what vile tricks he’d pull. Then there was Kim Deok-gyu, who would probably mobilize the authorities to chase her to the ends of the earth.

Those ruthless people would never give up until they got what they wanted.

So there was only one choice. She had to be sent away.

Maybe sending her back to Kim Deok-gyu wasn’t such a bad option after all. He could keep an eye on her up close.

Whether by using someone else or personally, keep watch without blinking, and if things looked wrong, pull her out then. If she was doing well, that was all that mattered.

Right. She’d already suffered enough. No need to lead her into a mess instead of a bright future.

She had so much life left to live. It was too precious to be wasted just tiptoeing around him or running away.

Muk-hyun pushed his selfish desires aside and moved toward where she was.

“Oh my, Muk-hyun. You’re here? Where are the kids?” Seo Yuseon was drinking wine alone late at night.

On the table were flowers, candles, and pretty snacks. She was dressed in a silk dress that always showed off her sleek figure.

“I’m taking her with me.”

It wasn’t an answer or a complete sentence, but Seo Yuseon immediately understood.

She stared silently at Muk-hyun, standing like a statue. Then she set down the swirling wine glass and clicked her tongue.

“No wonder I didn’t want to take her in.”

Her wine-colored dress revealed curves that made your head spin whenever she moved. Her ageless beauty was stunning even without makeup.

But Muk-hyun’s gaze on her was ice-cold.

“She’s pretty. You know I don’t hand out compliments like this easily. Out of all the brides I’ve seen lately, she’s the best looking.”

“She’s just a woman I keep around for business. The Chairman mustn’t know about this.”

“Business? The Chairman knows about her too?”

“I think the Vice Chairman messed up, but I’ll quietly handle it.”

Seo Yuseon quickly sized up the situation and didn’t ask more.

Even if she was a woman who spent her days in parties and drinks, she’d been by Chairman Choi’s side for decades. Maybe she understood Muk-hyun better than anyone in the Choi family.

If Muk-hyun was the Chairman’s dog, she was the flower he kept alive.

One chained with a leash, the other trapped in a gorgeous vase—just different forms of captivity.

Muk-hyun studied her steady eyes that clashed with her staggering, drunken movements.

“Il-hyun almost ruined your plans.”

“Unfortunately, he’s in the hospital now.”

“…If he did something wrong, he deserves a beating. He grew up too soft.”

That was a bit unexpected. Muk-hyun raised an eyebrow at her blunt reply. Seo Yuseon smiled, folding her eyes.

“It wasn’t me who raised him like that, it was the Chairman. Don’t blame me, kid.”

“I see.”

“But what can you do? He’s all grown up now. He’s gotta handle his own mess and take responsibility. You did well.”

Her eyes briefly flicked to Muk-hyun’s bloodied hand, his glance flickering upstairs.

They looked at each other again, but neither showed an ounce of emotion.

It wasn’t so much disdain as just emptiness—like two paintings or porcelain figurines hanging somewhere in the Choi family, merely existing side by side with no connection.

Only Seo Yuseon, being a little older, added one last comment, unable to keep silent about what was so obvious.

“Do you love her?”

Muk-hyun chuckled as if he’d heard a joke.

“I told you. She’s merchandise for a deal with the Chairman.”

“Don’t you know the saying ‘possessing something makes you desire it more’?”

“Even if that’s true, is that love? You know my origins. How could I believe in something like love?”

“Our Director Choi really lacks mood. Women don’t like that, you know? You should pretend you know. There’s no word sweeter than love.”

With a slight curl of her lips, Seo Yuseon turned away without another word.

When Muk-hyun stepped onto the stairs to the second floor, he paused and glanced back.

Seo Yuseon smiled as if she’d been waiting for him to ask. He felt annoyed, like she was reading his mind, but he asked anyway.

“What is love?”

Maybe he’d decided it was a question he couldn’t avoid.

Or maybe, she was just the only person he could ask something like that. It was a sudden impulse.

“That’s why I like you. You’re cute.”

“If you don’t know, just say you don’t know.”

Seo Yuseon’s lips lifted gently.

“Have you heard the phrase ‘If you love them, you wish for them to live’?”

Muk-hyun had never heard it before, but somehow, he felt he shouldn’t ask her to explain.

Yet there was no turning back.

“Love is what makes a person live. It’s from the Analects of Confucius.”

Her eyes gleamed, watching him like she’d caught him off guard.

***

Muk-hyun carried the sleeping Irang and left. Ignoring Seo Yuseon’s ridiculous excuse that she’d given Irang some wine to calm her trembling nerves, they moved to the closest place he had.

For three days, he didn’t step outside the house. No visitors, no calls answered.

“What are you doing?”

Irang, standing on tiptoes looking out the window, turned toward him.

Muk-hyun held a steaming basin and had a towel draped over one shoulder as he watched her.

“Come here.”

He wrapped a thin blanket around himself and silently watched Irang walk over. Her exposed white shoulder showed a clear hickey.

His eyes darkened, knowing there were many worse marks hidden beneath.

“It looks like it’s raining outside.”

“I know.”

“Can I open the window? I want to hear the rain…”

“No. You’ll catch a cold.”

Since she woke up, Muk-hyun hadn’t asked about that day.

Irang confessed that a man with a tattoo appeared, and she ran away, but Muk-hyun didn’t press.

When she asked if he was angry, he smiled softly. When she apologized, he gave her a cold look. When she tried to make amends, he returned it with a fierce passion that left her in tears.

“Let’s do a compress.”

Muk-hyun put down the basin, and Irang naturally sat at the edge of the bed.

She tried to hug a pillow, brushing off the blanket, but Muk-hyun stopped her.

Her body was covered with the marks of their fierce passion. Muk-hyun’s gaze lingered on her scars, then paused on a different kind of mark.

“You’ve got more knife scars than I do.”

It was the first time he’d ever mentioned her surgery scars, and Irang couldn’t hide her surprise.

“T-that’s not a scar from a knife, it’s from stitches. I fell when I was little…”

“Sounds like you played dangerously. Did you climb a tree or something?”

“Maybe… I did?”

Irang laughed awkwardly and covered the scars with her arm.

Without meaning to, the smooth, pale skin of her baby-soft chest caught his eye — the firm, reddish flesh standing out like a ripe fruit.