Chapter 361

[Me: I’ve decided to send Chaeyul to his mother.]

[Me: You don’t have to worry.]

After sending that text to Jay, I immediately took out my phone and called Choi Jeokhyeon. As always, the call connected quickly, and I heard Choi Jeokhyeon’s gentle voice say, “Yes”. The moment I heard that, I skipped any small talk and went straight to the point.

“How’s Chaeyul?”

“His birth mother just picked him up. It took a bit longer than expected because she had to pack up all the toys he’d been playing with…….”

“Okay. She’s going to that house you arranged for them last time, right?”

“That’s right. The environment will be more than good enough, so don’t worry too much, Yutae-ya. Besides, even if you don’t get involved, there won’t be any major financial problems. After all, the assets Kang Hyukwoo amassed will end up being inherited by Kim Chaeyul.”

“Huh.”

“…Did something happen?”

“I practiced until late, so I’m a bit tired. And sending Chaeyul off has left me feeling a little unsettled.”

It was true that my mind had been a mess after talking with Han Seungbeom’s aunt, but I’d also had a lot on my mind about Kim Chaeyul. So technically, I wasn’t lying.

“Now, you can set your mind at ease. You’ve done your best.”

“…….”

According to Choi Jeokhyeon, Kang Hyukwoo’s funeral was eerily quiet.

Even though it was held privately, quite a few reporters showed up with cameras, yet none of them even glanced at the portrait of the deceased. He said it was a cold funeral, with no one sharing memories of the departed.

“Hardly anyone came in the first place. A few gangsters seemed to have shown up just to check things out, but even they left quickly.”

‘After everything he’s done, there’s no way anyone would mourn just because Kang Hyukwoo died.’

In my mind, funerals had always been places filled with whispers, finger-pointing, and quarrels directed at those concerned. Hearing that even that was absent left me with a strange feeling. I wasn’t sure whether I should feel envious or pity him.

But that uneasy feeling didn’t last long, probably because the only person who mourned his death was Kim Chaeyul, and even he hadn’t loved him wholeheartedly.

‘Ah, come to think of it, there was exactly one person who shed tears.’

In the latter part of the CCTV footage I received after the funeral, I spotted a young woman. The moment she saw Kang Hyukwoo’s portrait, she froze on the spot in disbelief, then soon collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

[“…He’s really dead?”]

Then her whole body trembled, and lying face down on the floor, she burst into laughter and screamed.

[“Aaah … God, thank you ……. thank you!”]

It was as if she were thanking the ‘ person ‘ who had killed Kang Hyukwoo.

As soon as I heard those words, filled with ecstasy, my heart seemed to drop, and I instinctively tore my eyes away from the screen. But even if I refused to look with my eyes, I couldn’t plug my ears, so I just sat there, blankly listening to that voice.

[“He’s finally dead. I’ve waited for this day for so long … It’s all over now…….”]

The woman letting out that gut‑wrenching wail, a scream that sounded as if all her insides were being ripped out, turned out to be Kim Chaeyul’s mother. Her face was so twisted and distorted that I couldn’t recognize her right away.

I heard that the moment the news of Kang Hyukwoo’s death broke, Chaeyul’s mother began the procedures to take her son back. The trauma of giving birth and then having her baby taken from her had ruined her health, and because of that, she had never been able to hold a stable job.

Even so, it seemed she had never given up on her son. What a relief.

[“Haha! Serves him right. Serves him right! Ahahaha!”]

But to be completely honest, she didn’t seem to be in a very normal state at the funeral.

She was so emotional and seemed so mentally unstable that I even wondered if she might need medical help. At one point, I even questioned whether it was right to entrust a young child like Chaeyul to someone like that, even if she was his blood relative. But after listening to Choi Jeokhyeon, I had no choice but to admit that I was wrong.

“That’s a completely normal emotional reaction.”

“It doesn’t look that way to me…….”

“What’s not normal is you, Yutae-ya.”

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Not everyone in the world lives by suppressing their emotions the way you do. In situations where losing reason is natural, staying rational might actually be the unhealthy response.”

Indeed, how many people in the world could stay rational when the disaster that had completely ruined their life was finally gone? It was impossible from the start to go through a long life always acting rationally and logically, producing only the best, most respectable outcomes in every moment.

Her tears were like a rite of passage. It was the act of confronting and embracing the pain in her heart to release the sorrow of the past and move forward.

I understood that, and I knew full well that Choi Jeokhyeon was saying it out of concern for me, yet I couldn’t help but think that if the same situation happened to me now, I wouldn’t be able to act the way she did.

‘…Then what about Chaeyul?’

As Kang Hyukwoo’s only family, Chaeyul had to remain at the funeral the entire time, and they said he was terrified by what he saw. After all, who wouldn’t be frightened to see someone rejoicing over their own father’s death?

It was only natural. He was still a child, and the pain the victims had suffered was far too cruel and difficult for him to comprehend. That was also why I could never stand in front of Chaeyul and say, “ Your father caused me this much pain .”

‘Everyone would be happy if I just kept quiet, and yet you want me to throw that away for such a trivial reason?’

Choi Jeokhyeon probably wouldn’t like this side of me. He’s always put me first, so seeing me go out of my way to suffer for someone else must drive him crazy.

But I had grown far too used to living this way, and knowing that, in the end, it would lead to a better outcome, I had no intention of changing.

‘I have too many people to take responsibility for, so I can’t afford to be weak.’

That didn’t mean I couldn’t understand Kim Chaeyul’s mother either.

As for Kim Chaeyul and his mother, I believe it’s a problem that time will naturally resolve. Chaeyul will eventually learn about each of the wrongs Kang Hyukwoo committed, one by one, and slowly erase him from his heart.

I only wished for that child, who was caught up in the matters between me and Kang Hyukwoo, to suffer no more and to live a happy life from now on.

As I lifted my head with that thought, I saw the sky, which had been clear just moments ago, gradually darkening as rain clouds suddenly gathered. We were supposed to film some shopping content at the department store, and at this rate, I might end up getting caught in the rain.

“…Thanks for helping me. I have a schedule right now, so I should get going.”

“Alright. Call me when you’re done.”

“Okay.”

After finishing the call, I checked my phone and saw a missed call.

[Missed Call (1): 7]

It was from Jay. He must have seen my text and called, but I hadn’t noticed because I was on the phone with Choi Jeokhyeon.

‘Why did he call?’

I tilted my head in brief puzzlement, but after noticing how late it had already gotten, I slipped my phone into my pocket and started running.

‘Well, if it’s something important, he’ll leave a message.’

***

Fortunately, this shoot was a self-produced content arranged by the agency, and since Han Seungbeom’s aunt’s shop was located in Cheongdam-dong, where many agencies were clustered, it didn’t take long for me to join the members.

“Hyung, why are you so late!”

“I got here on time, didn’t I? I’m not late. Why are you so excited, anyway?”

“Once we’re done shopping, let’s go to the lounge. Today.”

“Haha, sometimes I feel like Yuda sees Nicholas as just a VIP free pass.

Hearing that, Lee Hwayoung made a somewhat annoyed face, then immediately glanced at me to gauge my reaction before quickly turning his head away.

‘Well, well.’

Still, maybe he’d finally started to tolerate them after all the time they’d spent together, because he didn’t snap back with his usual “ Shut up ” or “ Get lost ”. Strangely, that left me feeling a little moved. While I was roughly ruffling Lee Hwayoung’s hair with such parent-like affection, Lee Danbi spoke with a vacant expression.

“That’s all part of the department store’s marketing strategy, and you’re falling for it.”

“Nuh-uh, huush, you have to say it nicely. We never know when we might get a department store advertisement. Danbi, no more of that ‘jaded by the world ‘ 1 talk today. PD-nim, please edit this out.”

With Pantheion’s activities coming to an end, I couldn’t help questioning what any of thar even meant. But in the end, I decided to keep my mouth shut in the face of Do Yuda’s bold ambition to, in turn, bleed the department store dry and live well off it.

“Since today’s filming is about giving the members one last healing time before the final concert, please enjoy shopping however you wish.”

Once filming began, Do Yuda clung tightly to my arm as we walked, stopping almost every twenty steps like the very embodiment of greed, practically drooling over every item on display.

“Wow, that looks delicious. Buy me that one, hyung.”

And every time he said that, I would…….

“Okay.”

“Isn’t that cute?”

“I’ll buy it for you.”

“What about that one?”

“Get it.”

At first, when I bought him something at the food court, Do Yuda grinned with a mischievous, little-brother smile, showering me with flattery and aegyo . But the farther we went toward the sections with pricier items, the more he began to break into a cold sweat.

“Noo, what’s up with you, hyung? Are you crazy! You’re actually buying me everything!”

Then suddenly, he let out a shout of pure shock right in my ear, and for a moment, I thought my eardrum was going to burst.

“…What’s the big deal about me buying it for you?”

“Even if you’re going to buy me stuff, there’s got to be a limit! Don’t you know how to say no, hyung? I was only asking as a joke, but you just keep buying without stopping. You don’t even care about getting anything for yourself! Seriously, you’re a bad guy. Keep this up and your whole household’s going to collapse!”

“Why? It’s not even a burden. If you want it, of course I should buy it for you.”

When I replied in that flat tone, Do Yuda mouth dropped open with a, “Wow.”

“As expected from the man with 18 trillion 9 billion won in royalties.”

“What are you even saying? Don’t talk nonsense.”

I brushed off that ridiculous comment, paused in thought for a moment, and then said, “I want to give you guys pretty much everything you want. So don’t feel burdened, just pick whatever you like.”

‘…Because this might be the last time.’

Then, the Pantheion members, who had been cheerfully laughing as they watched the whining Do Yuda, suddenly widened their eyes and turned to look at me. The next thing I knew, they were all dragging me off with faces that looked downright angry.

“Hyung, buy yours first.”

“Alright, what do you like? I’ll help you pick.”

Though I was thinking, ‘ Why on earth are they acting like this? ’, I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud under their sheer pressure, and in the end, I just let them lead me around the store.

‘I don’t particularly want anything.’

Then I spotted the brand of dress shoes Choi Jeokhyeon often wore and gradually slowed my pace. Seeing that I’d finally shown interest in something after seeming indifferent the whole time, Baek Kiryang’s eyes sparkled with delight as he asked.

“Ah, come to think of it, Seungbeom wore those shoes quite often. Are you thinking of buying a new pair?”

I shook my head at that question and gave a short reply, “…No, I just wanted to gift it to someone.”

“You, hyung, buying a gift? You’re the one who always says picking gifts is a hassle and just tells us to pick what we want and you’ll pay. You know, when people do something they don’t normally do, trouble usually follows.”

“…….”

That’s right. This wasn’t like me.

Choi Jeokhyeon would definitely find it strange if he received this as a gift.

Do Yuda’s words made me belatedly realize that, and my mouth instantly fell shut.

But after a moment’s hesitation, I finally managed to open my mouth.

“…Even so, I want to give it to him.”

“…….”

“That was the very first thing that person ever gave me.”

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Translator’s Corner:

The concept of Choi Jeokhyeon’s first gift to Seo Yutae was shoes and Seo Yutae’s first gift to Choi Jeokhyeon is going to be the same pair of shoes ….. the author is very, really, truly, genius … it really felt like everything was planned perfectly from start to finish … everything has MEANING. this story is actually so crazy the only thing stopping me from writing 10 pages of review on NovelUpdates was because it would be too obvious it was me.

For reasons I’m not going to explain, I’m recommending this song ^^

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