Love Born of Pity Chapter 53

Do Yeonjae’s expression was grave. Not only was he annoyed that he couldn’t immediately leave due to his dinner plans with Kang Gyumin, but he also encountered an unfamiliar figure in the tablet he’d been glancing at throughout his work.

The cafe owner, without being asked, contacted Manager Kim and informed him about the man. He said it was the man who had run into Kwon Jiho at the cafe before. The one who had become acquainted with Kwon Jiho after mistaking him for someone else.

He couldn’t hear clearly because the cafe was noisy, but he said the man had talked about Kwon Jiho’s eyes and asked if he still hadn’t told his partner.

“What partner?”

“That’s all I heard.”

“Fucking… That ophthalmologist’s business card from the trash can, that was that bastard, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. The cafe owner said the last he saw, the man was asking Kwon Jiho what he did for a living and then they left together.”

Do Yeonjae’s fiery gaze seemed to pierce the tablet screen. Manager Kim couldn’t say a word as Do Yeonjae listened intently to the conversation with the volume turned up to the maximum. Even if Kwon Jiho himself was unaware, Do Yeonjae was certain that the bastard had more than just a passing interest in what was his. Manager Kim stopped him just as he was about to rush to the academy.

“…Ha.”

Manager Kim flinched at the low sigh.

“Those fucking bastards, they think they can just waltz into the academy like it’s a mill just because they’ve met a few times. Should I just kill them all? Wouldn’t that be easier?”

Manager Kim shook his head vehemently at Do Yeonjae’s mumbling, unsure who he was talking about killing or who he was asking. He shook his head horizontally, in a very exaggerated motion, in case Do Yeonjae misunderstood.

A youthful voice came through the speakers at maximum volume. Manager Kim sighed softly at the shameless voice that was clearly trying to guilt-trip Kwon Jiho.

Do Yeonjae closed his eyes tightly as he listened to Kwon Heeyeon’s rambling. How could family, a younger sibling, act like that? He felt pathetic for having thought that the little shit might feel guilty.

“It’s Kwon Heeyeon. She seems to be walking just fine. How about we disguise it as a car accident and kill her?”

“Excuse me?”

“Or we could make her go hiking as part of her rehabilitation and disguise it as a fall. I know a few people who can make Kwon Heeyeon disappear completely, as if she never existed. Should I hire them? But then again, Kwon Jiho would be upset, right? He’d be shocked if his sister was murdered. He’s so soft-hearted.”

Do Yeonjae talked to himself. Manager Kim waved his hands frantically as he watched his boss, whose eyes glittered as if he were about to put his words into action.

“O-Of course, of course. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. We can’t break the law. As you well know, sir, Mr. Kwon Jiho might collapse from the shock. And these days, things aren’t like they used to be. Whether it’s a car accident or a fall, they almost always figure it out.”

While some cases remained unsolved, there were also many instances where unexpected evidence revealed staged scenes. Besides, even with a professional who leaves no traces, you couldn’t be completely assured with contract killings. What era were they living in? As a secretary, he had to stop impossible things from happening.

“Rather than the staged accidents or contract killings you mentioned, a disappearance would be… No, that’s not it. First, please calm down. I’ll send someone to confirm what happened with the caregiver.”

Do Yeonjae, spewing curses, made horrifying remarks about how a body would disappear without a trace if dissolved in hydrochloric acid in a drum. Manager Kim barely managed to calm him down as he raged about getting rid of Kwon Heeyeon, whether by filling her stomach with cement or melting her away, and removing her from Kwon Jiho’s sight.

“Rescheduling the dinner…”

“That would be difficult. It was a meeting proposed by the Chairman himself.”

“Saying that something urgent came up…”

“Sir…”

Do Yeonjae’s eyes fell on Kwon Jiho, who was huddled under the counseling room desk. He felt a mixture of pity and a tinge of regret that he couldn’t be there to comfort him, thinking that holding him at a time like this would make Kwon Jiho more dependent on him.

“The timing is really fucking awful.”

Do Yeonjae groaned quietly, still clutching his tablet until the lights dimmed as they moved to the conference room with Manager Kim. Kwon Jiho still hadn’t emerged from under the desk. His face was flushed, as if he were suffocating, and his lips moved rapidly.

Kwon Jiho covered his lips with his trembling hand and squeezed his eyes shut. He seemed to be barely holding back tears. Or it could be a seizure. Poor thing. If he were in Kwon Jiho’s shoes, he would undoubtedly feel rage towards Kwon Heeyeon, but there was no way that gentle soul would harbor such feelings.

“Ha…”

The atmosphere in the conference room instantly froze at Do Yeonjae’s sigh. Even the presenter stopped speaking and cautiously watched Do Yeonjae, who was seated at the head of the table. He waved his hand dismissively, as if to ward off the focused gazes, and pressed his fingers against his eyes.

♬⋆.˚

Mihong was the first to arrive at the academy. The child, once again making cute roaring sounds like a dinosaur as she rushed in, looked around with wide eyes, searching for Kwon Jiho, who wasn’t there to greet her.

“Teacher, Mihong is here.”

Taking off the hood of her blue dinosaur outfit, she scurried around the academy. She opened the doors of each practice room, tilted her head, and even opened all the cabinets. She couldn’t find Kwon Jiho under the table or beneath the legs of the grand piano.

Mihong spun around in place and stopped in front of the closed counseling room door. “Teacheeer,” she called, drawing out the word, then turned the doorknob and stepped inside.

“Teacher? Mihong is hereee.”

A small sound, like a contained wave, indicated a presence. Mihong approached the desk, wondering if they were playing hide-and-seek. He wasn’t sitting in the chair. The counseling room wasn’t large, so even a child could see everything with a quick glance.

“Teacher, are you playing hide-and-seek?”

Mihong walked around the desk, spotted a foot sticking out from underneath, and squatted down.

“Come out when I say ‘Ready or not, here I come’?”

“…”

“But actually, I already found you. But Mihong is a dinosaur today, so I can’t go under the desk, so I’m sitting here.”

Without knowing why Kwon Jiho was under the desk, Mihong chattered away about her day. Wiggling her squatted feet, she told him about who she’d argued with at school, which side dishes from lunch were delicious, and even about her younger sibling, who was barely a month old.

“They’re so tiny. Mihong held them too. Sitting on the sofa.”

“…”

“Teacher, did you know? You have to wash up before holding a baby. Mihong didn’t know. So when I go home, I wash up right away. And change into clean clothes. And… Oh! Daddy keeps telling me I have to protect my sibling. So I decided to learn Judo. He said if you do an overhand throw, you can win any fight. I’ll show you later with Lim Eunsol.”

Her voice, which she’d been rattling off while nodding her head, gradually trailed off. When Mihong finally closed her mouth, Kwon Jiho’s breathing calmed. He slowly moved, pulling himself out from under the desk. Mihong immediately jumped up.

“Found you!”

Mihong raised her hands high and hugged Kwon Jiho tightly.

“Next time Mihong hides, Teacher has to find me.”

“…Okay. I will. Mihong came early today, huh?”

When he asked in a voice still thick with unshed tears, Mihong nodded. She deliberately avoided looking up at his face, thinking that her teacher might be embarrassed if she knew he’d been crying.

“Mihong has chocolate. Should I give some to Teacher? Daddy said eating sweet things makes you feel better. That’s why when Daddy is angry, we have sooo much chocolate at home. I have some of that, should I give it to you? It’s called… Moo, Moo-wak-ga? What was it again? Anyway, Daddy said it has fruit in it.”

“It’s not Moo-wak-ga, it’s Moo-hwa-gwa (fig). Teacher is okay, so Mihong can eat it.”

Kwon Jiho gently stroked Mihong’s hair. He should apologize for showing her this side of him, but the words wouldn’t come easily. Unable to take his hand away from her soft hair, he just moved his lips silently. Mihong tugged lightly on his clothes. Blushing shyly, she nibbled on her pink lips.

“Teacher… then can I have two stickers today?”

“…Huh?”

“Can I have one before the other kids come?”

At her innocent request, Kwon Jiho couldn’t help but laugh. His tense body relaxed.

“Yes, I’ll give you one.”

“Yay! I won’t tell anyone. It’s a secret, a secret.”