Spark Chapter 5.2 - Red Sea

‘Hongjo.’

And yet, why you.

‘I love you.’

Not anymore.

Stepping into the bathroom and becoming naked, Cha Hongjo stood under the cold water, holding his breath. It was after he had experienced a sudden pain as if his chest had been kicked.

‘… It hurts.’

No, no.

Cha Hongjo wiped his face.

‘You shouldn’t hurt.’

It’s not Go Baekwoo’s fault.

His resentment was not justified. Blame should be borne by the one who made the mistake.

Like standing under a waterfall, his back felt heavy. He was somehow not collapsing. Of course, he had to endure even if it meant death. Even if his ankles were worn and he staggered. Because this time, it was his turn to walk.

“Cha Hongjo.”

It was after they had eaten rice with the beef bone soup his mother had made herself. Cha Hongjo had no appetite, so he barely ate, but the food was surprisingly delicious. Perhaps because of that, Go Baekwoo ate every last grain of rice, helped clear the table, and then spoke.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

It wouldn’t be a pleasant conversation. Cha Hongjo immediately guessed from Go Baekwoo’s tone.

“……Yeah.”

His mother, who had been hovering near the two men, looked around and then moved to the living room sofa. Cha Hongjo and Go Baekwoo left the empty kitchen and went to the bedroom. Cha Hongjo closed the door, and Go Baekwoo locked it.

Cha Hongjo sat on the bed, lit a cigarette, and waited for Go Baekwoo to speak. Go Baekwoo didn’t sit anywhere and remained still for a long time in the same position he had been in when he entered the room. Then.

“Answer honestly.”

Go Baekwoo began, almost muttering. Cha Hongjo raised his gaze, which had been fixed on his feet, to Go Baekwoo.

“Did you sleep with her? Jo Hyegyeong, that woman.”

He hadn’t slept with her after he opened his heart to Go Baekwoo. But he had before. How should he answer? Cha Hongjo thought for a moment, then moved his lips.

“I did.”

With that one word, Go Baekwoo’s face crumpled, and his complexion reddened. Cha Hongjo added.

“Around the end of December. Or was it January? That was the last time.”

“Not then. Recently, I’m asking if you slept with her.”

“…….”

Trust is like a delicate flower, once broken, it’s nearly impossible to revive. Cha Hongjo was prepared to understand even if Go Baekwoo didn’t believe him. The hypothetical situation of switching places was ridiculous, but if he were Go Baekwoo, he would have naturally dismissed it as a lie.

“……I did meet her. She came to the filming set. I didn’t know either, she came suddenly.”

Like the ending of the boy who cried wolf, who had habitually deceived. Cha Hongjo sat down on the tilted trust and made excuses.

“I told her not to come again, but she sent someone the next day.”

He cried out inwardly, hoping Go Baekwoo would recognize the truth.

“And… as you heard, as you saw, I received that drug.”

As Go Baekwoo had said, he shouldn’t have accepted it in the first place.

“I forgot I even received it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have left it in my pocket and thrown it in the laundry basket.”

“…….”

Go Baekwoo twisted his tightly closed lips and crossed his arms. He seemed to disbelieve him. Cha Hongjo found it hard to look directly at Go Baekwoo like that and lowered his gaze.

It was Go Baekwoo’s freedom to believe him or not, and even if he didn’t believe him, there was nothing he could say. He didn’t know what else he could possibly say.

“……Well, okay.”

There was one thing he wanted to ask.

“Did you come today because you were curious about that?”

“…….”

Go Baekwoo parted his lips as if hesitating. That moment was an eternity of hell for Cha Hongjo. “No,” Cha Hongjo interrupted, quickly spreading his palms.

“You don’t have to answer.”

This was his path to walk. He couldn’t ask Go Baekwoo to walk it backward.

“It’s fine……”

Cha Hongjo muttered in despair.

“Just……”

Since you came, it’s fine.

It was simultaneous with his thought. Knock, knock, the door sounded twice.

“……Hongjo? CEO?”

An anxious voice came from beyond the door. He had momentarily forgotten that his mother was outside.

🔥

He vehemently refused the offer to be driven home since it was late, but the stubborn CEO wouldn’t budge.

“I’m so sorry, you must be tired…”

Lee Gyeonghee finally gave up and got into Go Baekwoo’s car.

“It’s okay.”

It wasn’t okay. Lee Gyeonghee wanted to stop the car, which was going in the opposite direction of the ‘Flower Shop,’ right away. Today she had a good feeling about it, but if she stopped by Miyang City and then went back to the ‘Flower Shop,’ the game would already be over. Curses naturally came out. This was because of this Go Baekwoo guy, no, that Cha Hongjo bastard.

“Oh, thank you. To the CEO for various things……. And for taking good care of our Hongjo. It puts my mind at ease.”

“……It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.”

Lee Gyeonghee fiddled with her little finger, the severed part grotesquely distorted.

“Seeing you come all the way to Hongjo’s house today, really, what should I say……”

Her tongue moved cunningly on its own. Even though her mind was filled with the gambling table that would be blooming at the ‘Flower Shop.’

“Our Hongjo, even if he doesn’t show it, gets lonely easily.”

“…….”

“No one is without loneliness, but Hongjo especially… He didn’t receive a mother’s love when he was young……. It’s all my fault.”

“……Don’t say that.”

Go Baekwoo thought that Cha Hongjo and his mother were remarkably similar in the way they blamed themselves.

“It’s the truth.”

Lee Gyeonghee gave a deliberately bitter smile.

“Anyway. I’m relieved to have a wonderful person like the CEO next to Hongjo.”

“I’m… not that good either.”

“Hongjo will think the same as me.”

“……Um, Mother.”

Go Baekwoo, who paused for a beat before speaking, took his eyes off the dark road and looked at Lee Gyeonghee for a moment.

“Please speak informally.”

“……Oh, how can I do that? You’re my son’s company CEO……”

Now that he mentioned it, that was true too. Lee Gyeonghee turned her whole body to stare at Go Baekwoo. He was the same age as Cha Hongjo, wasn’t he? Barely past nineteen years old. But he was already a CEO, and although she didn’t know the details, he clearly had a strong backing.

Well, then gladly.

“So…… shall I?”

“Yes.”

“Somehow, I feel more comfortable too.”

Language was both a barrier and a tie. Sometimes it separates people, but at other times it serves as a tool to bind people together.

“Really, thank you so much.”

There was nothing to lose and everything to gain from becoming close with Go Baekwoo.

Lee Gyeonghee constantly rubbed the severed part of her little finger.

“If I had a son like you…… just saying.”

She smiled darkly.

🔥

Cha Hongjo stopped by a stationery store, a place he hadn’t visited even as a child, and bought a notebook and a pen.

Two days remained until the last shoot. He had memorized the script to the point of wear. There was nothing more to do. It would have been less boring if Go Baekwoo were there.

‘Did you come today because you were curious about that?’

‘…….’

He wasn’t sure if Go Baekwoo, who had hesitated over him, would come today.

He needed somewhere to focus his restless mind. Then he remembered the letters from the ‘man’ and the ‘woman’. Recently, his mind had been filled with either Go Baekwoo or <A Thousand Flowers in Full Bloom>. Cha Hongjo decided to write a letter like the ‘man’ or the ‘woman’. No. It would be more accurate to call it a diary. Because it might not be delivered to the recipient.

Cha Hongjo spread the notebook on the table and took the pen. The first thing he wrote was today’s date.

March…….

Seeing the date he wrote, it would soon be April. He had lived without knowing how each day passed. What meaning would the date have, but he somehow understood why people wrote diaries. When did he meet Go Baekwoo? Summer of last year. Which month was it? June, July? He became sad when he couldn’t remember clearly. It felt as if Go Baekwoo had been slightly carved out of his memory.

He couldn’t write another letter after that and put a cigarette in his mouth. A dot full of hesitation was marked on the paper. He shouldn’t put a period yet.

He stood up, opened the window wide, let the cool breeze in, and returned to his seat. And he pondered until the long cigarette shortened and the fire went out.

The words he hadn’t been able to utter in his life had long since melted inside him, losing their form. There were many things he wanted to say, but it was daunting to write them down. So first, he wrote the word with the clearest form among the words that lived in his heart.

[Go Baekwoo.]

It was a simple beginning.

Cha Hongjo wrote another name below it.

[Cha Hongjo.]

First love. His epistle to the first owner of his heart began like that.

🔥

“Name?”

The gatekeeper, who used to ask ‘Madam, what’s your name?’ now acted impudently. Lee Gyeonghee clenched her teeth, then stated the name by which she was known at the ‘Flower Shop.’

“Snail.”

She then tried to brush past the gatekeeper’s shoulder but was stopped.

“Overdue debt.”

The gatekeeper muttered in a deep voice.

“You can’t come in until it’s cleared from the ledger.”

Lee Gyeonghee clenched her fist, which had only four fingers. As she jerked her head up, the shadowy face with a rugged impression was looking down at her. To him, she was no longer “Madam” in this place. It had been like this for a while, but she still found it hard to adapt.

“Don’t be so rude!”

It was the same not only at the ‘Flower Shop,’ but also at any other gambling house. They would greet her with ‘Madam, Boss,’ rubbing their hands together when she first stepped in, but once she had squandered her money, they would often turn her away. Being turned away would have been a relief. Hadn’t she lost the little fingers on both hands? She had lost money, had body parts cut off, and her life had been taken away. It wasn’t just Lee Gyeonghee. This was the set procedure for those who ultimately failed to escape the mire of gambling.

“……Later.”

Lee Gyeonghee trembled with her clenched fist and then calmed her voice.

“I’ll see you later.”

“…….”

“I’ll tear that disrespectful mouth of yours.”

Lee Gyeonghee glared at the gatekeeper once more before heading to the director’s office.

“Phew……”

It had been a while since she had raised her voice. Lee Gyeonghee realized that some of the pent-up frustration had subsided. This is why people needed money and backing. It was worth it to bow her head to someone much younger than her, to endure the anger that boiled up every time she saw that disgusting face that resembled Cha Hongjo so much, and to smile even when her cheeks ached.

Connections are connections, and bad connections are also connections. Connections couldn’t be severed by mere mortals. It was like that with Cha Hongjo’s father. Only when he was completely buried in the ground could she let go of that tiresome connection. If it was like this between a husband and wife who were originally strangers, then how much stronger would blood ties be?

Bad connections are also connections.

There is the expression ‘blessing of people.’ Like that, bad connections sometimes became blessings.

One day, she received a sudden contact from her ex-husband, who had been going from woman to woman. ‘Let’s get back together,’ he said. It was a ridiculous suggestion. She tried to refuse vehemently, but suddenly, she remembered the fortune that had disappeared along with her left little finger. It wasn’t much money in the first place, but back then, she was really on the verge of being homeless. That couldn’t happen. It would be better if she became homeless because she had no house. The problem was not being able to enter the ‘house.’

She would be a fool to refuse when he was offering to prevent that ‘problem’ from happening in the first place. So she reunited with her ex-husband. They made a promise to ‘tell [Cha Hongjo] slowly so he wouldn’t be confused.’

Cha Inyun, Cha Hongjo’s father, was born rich, unlike Lee Gyeonghee. He grew up in a wealthy family where he could play and eat without worry even during his school days. No one knew that the Cha family, which was so influential in the village, would suddenly collapse, but in any case, wealth played a big part in the reason Lee Gyeonghee dated and married Cha Inyun.

But the Cha family collapsed, and their assets were seized. The husband she married for money earned more than the average salaried worker, but he wasn’t in a position to support his wife’s gambling. The incompetent bastard. Still, if he hadn’t wandered around so much, she could have at least scraped by using his face. Cha Inyun brought his own demise.

It was about two months after she ‘reunited’ with her ex-husband, Cha Inyun. She incurred a gambling debt under Cha Inyun’s name, and it was soon discovered. Cha Inyun had raged, ‘You still haven’t learned your lesson after having your finger cut off.’ But what could she do? Lee Gyeonghee simply laughed cheerfully in front of the ranting man. There was no way to resolve a gambling debt other than repaying it in full.

To make matters worse, Cha Inyun’s company went bankrupt. The Cha family’s fortunes were truly ill-fated. Lee Gyeonghee clicked her tongue. Since they had already drifted apart because of the gambling debt, she didn’t feel sorry and didn’t offer any words of comfort. Well, since it was a company he had ruined because of his own incompetence, she doubted he needed any comfort in the first place, but since they were outwardly a loving couple, she pretended.

Cha Inyun lost his mind and drowned himself in alcohol. He was so lost in his sense of loss that he didn’t even know what Lee Gyeonghee was up to. At that time, Lee Gyeonghee incurred another substantial debt in Cha Inyun’s name. Then she practically lived at the gambling house for several days…….

She heard the news that Cha Inyun had committed suicide. She had just had a good run and recouped a little more than her initial investment. The debt incurred in Cha Inyun’s name. It wasn’t even a fraction of that amount, but she went to the funeral hall and paid her respects.

‘Honey……. Goodbye.’

She even said goodbye.

‘See you in the afterlife.’

The moment she finally severed ties with Cha Inyun was around five in the morning. As she was about to leave the empty funeral hall, which had no mourners, she quickly hid herself. It was right after she spotted Cha Hongjo coming in from outside.

She had completely forgotten Cha Hongjo’s existence.

The last time she saw him, her ‘son’ was only half her size, but now he was all grown up. He was the spitting image of his father. Although others said his features resembled hers, to Lee Gyeonghee, Cha Hongjo was undoubtedly Cha Inyun’s son. His outwardly nonchalant attitude despite having experienced the loss of his father. The way he looked at people and things as if looking down on them. The flashing, pale atmosphere like a ghost engulfed in flames that naturally drew the eye but made one want to avoid him…….

Annoying bastard.

That was the mother’s impression after seeing her ‘son’ for the first time in years.

And while Cha Hongjo was away again, she fled the funeral hall as if escaping, and thought she would never see that annoying face again.

But connections, like life, often deviate from predictions. As if to tease people.

Lee Gyeonghee soon had her right little finger cut off as well, and with only enough money for transportation, she returned to her hometown.

‘Ghost-possessed woman. Gambling addict. A woman who abandoned her child and even devoured her husband.’

That was the kind of ridicule and glares that welcomed her in Miyang City.

A short time spent in hell. Lee Gyeonghee, stopping by a small store because she was short on soju, casually turned her gaze and bought a magazine along with it. Even though it was the neighborhood where she was born and raised, there wasn’t a single person here to share a drink with. She doubted the words would register, but she thought it would at least relieve her boredom.

Eventually, Lee Gyeonghee returned home, sat on the floor, poured herself some soju, and brought the magazine closer. She hadn’t looked closely at the cover when she bought it, but the moment she read it, a phrase caught her eye.

[Director Kim Doyoung’s New Star, Cha Hongjo]

Since director Kim Doyoung was such a famous figure, she knew of him, but Lee Gyeonghee blinked and read the phrase again aloud.

‘Director Kim Doyoung’s new star… Cha, Hongjo.’

Could it be the Cha Hongjo she knew, the one she gave birth to?

The red Hong 紅 and begin Jo 肇 characters. Even the Hanja was correct.

Lee Gyeonghee quickly turned the page. Her curiosity was quickly satisfied. The same title as the phrase on the cover. An article and a picture.

‘…….’

Cha Hongjo.

‘……Ha, ah…….’

‘……Haha… Hahaha… Hahaha……!’

Hongjo, it was her son.

Of course. Her life couldn’t end so miserably and pointlessly. Lee Gyeonghee laughed the most heartily she ever had in her life. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

Ah, that’s right. She was different from Cha Inyun or Cha Hongjo. Just when she thought she was cursed with bad luck, good fortune would come and push it away.

🔥

Chairman Go, sitting in his study, stared at the documents brought to him by Secretary Moon for a long time.

The documents on the desk were a kind of report that Secretary Moon compiled three times a week, summarizing ‘business’ related matters in a clear and concise manner.

Among them, Go Daeil, who was staring intently at the reports on the accounting books of ‘Hi Entertainment’ and the ‘Flower Shop,’ as well as his son, Go Baekwoo, eventually sighed and took a sip of his drink.

‘What are you doing, kid. A student?’

It was a shame, considering how much his son, as CEO, was boosting Hi Entertainment’s stock price.

‘I work.’

‘What kind of work?’

‘Just, accounting at a small company.’

Has the time come to get rid of that Cha Hongjo kid?

[Gyeonggi-do OO City OO-dong Workplace Roster and Accounting Ledger]

[……Cha Hongjo (Eagle)…… Loan 0 won……]

Or.

[……Lee Gyeonghee (Snail)…… Loan 60,000,000 won……]

Should I step on the easier one first?

[*Cha Hongjo’s mother, Lee Gyeonghee, on March 27th around 5 am, at Gyeonggi-do OO City OO-dong Flower Shop director’s office, borrowed fifteen million won with Cha Hongjo as guarantor.]

Chairman Go pondered how to proceed without harming his son.

🔥

She borrowed fifteen million won from the ‘director,’ using Cha Hongjo’s name. Lee Gyeonghee even prepared documents to prove that she was Cha Hongjo’s legal mother. However, the director, as if he already knew, and as if he had expected it, gave a suspicious smile and readily tossed her fifteen million won.

It would have been nice if she could have gotten more. Fifteen million won might be a lot of money outside, but in the gambling world, it was no different from a child’s allowance. Unless she had a winning streak. And those days were rare. The money borrowed under Cha Hongjo’s name evaporated in the blink of an eye.

The faster she lost money, the stronger a certain expectation became. It was, ‘If I play just one or two more rounds here, I’ll win.’ Moreover, the other gamblers at the same table urged her to go to the director and borrow a little more. They instinctively felt it too. Who the real protagonist of this game was today……. Lee Gyeonghee was caught up in that delusion and visited the director’s office again.

But.

“No, no.”

The director, who had handed her a wad of cash without any verification earlier, now flatly refused. Lee Gyeonghee became anxious.

“Why, earlier……”

Slap!

A cracking sound rang out as Lee Gyeonghee was speaking. Startled, Lee Gyeonghee swallowed her voice with her mouth open. The director had clapped loudly with his thick hands.

“A chance is originally just once. Earlier, I gave it to you without checking anything. Right?”

“……That’s right. But, I can show you proof even now!”

Lee Gyeonghee confidently reached into her handbag. But the director shook his head before she could even take out the documents.

“No, not that.”

“Not that, then what? Do you want me to get a paternity test?”

“Madam Lee, you don’t understand at all.”

The director lit a cigarette, blew out a puff of smoke, and looked directly into Lee Gyeonghee’s eyes.

“You can trick people with paper all you want, but, huh? People can’t lie. At least not in front of me. Because I’ve seen all kinds of couples in this game.”

The director pointed his index finger at his own eyes.

“I can tell just by looking at their eyes.”

Hehehe……. The director chuckled, looking Lee Gyeonghee up and down, and Lee Gyeonghee hardened her face.

“So what do you want me to do?”

“What else. Bring your son.”

“……Him?”

“Who knows, you might be sworn enemies in reality even if you’re stamped as mother and son on paper, right?”

The director scoffed. He said that to ‘Snail,’ but in reality, he didn’t actually ask for the guarantor to be brought in, as long as he got the debt repaid by any means. However, this time was an exception.

Just thirty or forty minutes ago, Moon Gwanhee, Chairman Go’s tail, had visited. The fact that Chairman Go had sent Moon Gwanhee personally meant there was a very serious matter, so the director and the other members of the ‘Flower Shop’ couldn’t help but be nervous. And what they heard was.

‘If ‘Snail’ comes to borrow money again, tell her to bring ‘Eagle.’

When he asked what the reason was, Moon Gwanhee only said, ‘Those are the Chairman’s words.’ Who didn’t know that? He was very curious about the backstory, but the director didn’t ask any further. In this business, one had to be careful not only with what they said, but also with what they heard. If they weren’t careful, their ears could be cut off just for listening.

“If you understand.”

The director looked at Lee Gyeonghee’s hand tightly gripping the strap of her handbag. Only four fingers……. It was time to stop.

“Go and bring him.”

Judging by her appearance and behavior, this woman was destined to die an unnatural death.

🔥

In the late afternoon, the sound of the doorbell woke Cha Hongjo from his deep sleep.

“…….”

Cha Hongjo, who had been sleeping face down on the table, slowly lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. He checked the wall clock with his still blurry vision. Then he could be certain who the visitor outside his front door was without even checking. His mother.

He walked to the front door at neither a hurried nor a slow pace and opened it. The person standing before him matched his certainty exactly.

“Hongjo.”

But his mother was dressed quite differently from before, or rather, from how she had been recently. From the day she suddenly visited his company to the last time he saw her, she had always been dressed shabbily. But now, it was just like…….

“Were you… sleeping?”

It was similar to his childhood memories, back then.

“……Yeah.”

Her hair was tied back without a single stray hair. Her naturally pale skin was powdered even whiter. Bright red lipstick. Extremely stylish clothes. A small, expensive-looking handbag. And on it… her manicured hands.

The only difference from before was the number of fingers.

“Why did you come?”

Cha Hongjo closed his eyes tightly and opened them again, feeling a sudden wave of dizziness.

She wasn’t ‘that woman.’ Their attire was just similar. He shouldn’t judge the content by its container.

“I’m sorry, Hongjo… I’m sorry, but.”

‘Mother’ apologized to him. With a pained and sorrowful face, revealing her remorseful inner thoughts, she begged for forgiveness. He tried to forgive this ‘mother.’

“Could you… go somewhere with me?”

He had denied the past that made him who he was, and sealed the wound that would never heal.

“I’m so sorry to ask you suddenly.”

“……Where are we going?”

After betraying even himself.

“Well… there’s something, can I explain it when we get there? It’s very urgent.”

“Oh, wait. Let me get dressed.”

He accepted.

“Quickly, as quickly as possible… just come as you are, okay?”

“Okay.”

‘Mother’ is not ‘that woman,’ no, absolutely not…….

Cha Hongjo put on his jacket without looking directly at his mother.

The trauma replayed in his mind, gripping and shaking his heart.

🔥

Since it was the weekend, he wasn’t going to work. He woke up early, but lay blankly in bed, wavering over whether to go to Cha Hongjo or not.

He replayed the day he had suddenly gotten angry, the day he had found the pills in Cha Hongjo’s pants pocket.

He thought he would be fine after he woke up. So far, he had overlooked whatever Cha Hongjo had done, whether he had deceived or betrayed him. Because love was far greater than a mere emotion like anger.

Before, he had never even thought of words like ‘forgiveness’ or ‘reconciliation’ regarding Cha Hongjo. He thought this time would be no different. The simmering anger wouldn’t subside, but the longing he felt for Cha Hongjo also grew immensely, so in the end, he went to see Cha Hongjo again.

But when he actually faced Cha Hongjo, his vision turned dark red. Rotting, bloody emotions and dirty figures kept being cast over Cha Hongjo’s beautiful face. Disappointment, betrayal, and Ms. Jo.

I’m sorry I got angry. You must have been hurt, I’m really sorry…….

I’m okay, are you… okay too?

I missed you. That’s why I came, and even though I’m looking at you now, I’m still longing. I miss you. I love you.

He was going to whisper those words and hold him in his arms, but instead, he turned his back on Cha Hongjo and couldn’t even offer a warm greeting. He didn’t ask how the filming went, or if he was feeling well. And when he went into the room with Cha Hongjo, avoiding his mother, he truly…….

‘Answer honestly. Did you sleep with her? Jo Hyegyeong, that woman.’

He blurted out words he shouldn’t have.

‘Did you come today because you were curious about that?’

To the question he should have answered.

‘…….’

He hesitated.

Why did he hesitate? If only he could go back to that moment. He wanted to strangle himself.

There was only one reason he went to Cha Hongjo. Because he desperately missed Cha Hongjo. To have even a single strand of Cha Hongjo’s eyebrow in his sight. He had changed so that he could only breathe properly like that.

So now, he couldn’t breathe because he couldn’t bring himself to see Cha Hongjo. It was as if he had removed his own respirator.

Stupid bastard…….

Go Baekwoo cursed himself.

“Ha……”

He honestly was disappointed in Cha Hongjo and felt betrayed. That vile emotion was still wriggling beneath his ribs. But on the other side…….

“……Cha Hongjo.”

He wanted to be yelled at by Cha Hongjo. Even if he was immediately rejected, he wanted to touch him, even just once. Even if a bolt from the blue told him never to come again, he would wish for nothing more than to see Cha Hongjo for just one second.

“Hongjo.”

Conflicting emotions stirred and fought in his right and left chest. It felt as if his body would split in two.

“……I can’t do this.”

But love always won. He was always destined to choose the option closer to Cha Hongjo.

Go Baekwoo got out of bed. He got ready in a hurry, as if he were about to evacuate, and ran down to the first floor. And there, he ran into his father, who called out, “Baekwoo.”

“Where are you going?”

“Just to see a friend for a bit.”

“No.”

“Yes?”

It was an unexpected obstacle. Go Baekwoo stared with furrowed brows at his father, who hadn’t called him until late afternoon and then suddenly prevented him from going out.

“……Why, what’s going on?”

Once he had made up his mind to go to Cha Hongjo, every minute and second was precious, but first, he wanted to ask his father, who was blocking him, for a reason.

Chairman Go slowly scanned his son from head to toe before speaking.

“I know you’re going to see Cha Hongjo.”

“…….”

It was both a surprising and accurate prediction for Go Baekwoo. He widened his narrowed eyes.

“How… do you know?”

“How could a father not know what his son is doing?”

“…….”

How much did he know about what his son was doing and where he was going?

As Go Baekwoo pondered the question, his father called out to him again in his usual tone, “Baekwoo.” Go Baekwoo raised his eyes and met eyes that resembled his own, but with a completely different glint.

“Son.”

Even if swept away by a storm, Go Daeil didn’t want even a single strand of his son’s hair to be ruffled. Looking into his son’s eyes, which resembled his mother’s, a sudden surge of emotion welled up, but he endured it by tightening his throat. The emotions were regret, pity, and anger.

“This father has no questions for you.”

Even if he had promised his ex-wife, he shouldn’t have lived only looking after his son’s back. He felt an irredeemable guilt towards his son, who must have grown up with a void from feeling his father’s absence for years.

“Because I know everything you do, everyone you meet.”

Had his son become twisted trying to fill his father’s absence? Because of his worthless father, even though he was born a man, had he ended up meeting a man just like himself, straying from the ordinary path? Thinking so, he felt both pity and frustration.

“Do you understand?”

If a child goes astray, it is the parents’ fault.

Although the situation was different, Go Daeil had also heard similar words from his father during his childhood, words that reflected his current feelings. ‘It’s all my fault, your life is hard because I lived wrongly.’ Those were the first words of atonement, and the last will and testament, from his father, who had been harsh and fierce even to his own bloodline. He had made up his mind then. He would ultimately follow his father, but he wouldn’t let his own child be the same. He would pass down his position and wealth, but not his regrets.

“Don’t resent me.”

“…….”

“Cha Hongjo……”

Go Baekwoo couldn’t read his father’s expression, hardened like a stone wall over the long years, or what thoughts preoccupied him.

“……Hongjo, why?”

He was afraid of the words to follow.

As expected, his father knew, his words about knowing everything weren’t a lie. It seemed his father knew everything about him, even about Cha Hongjo. The gaze piercing him at this moment was proof of that.

“That child will come here.”

With his mother.

Go Daeil didn’t bother to voice what was about to happen. His son, whose face was etched with worry in a short time, stood frozen like a statue, and then,

“Father.”

“…….”

“Just in case, I’m telling you this.”

He suddenly sharpened his gaze like a blade and spoke.

“Don’t let anything happen to Hongjo.”

“……Huh.”

Chairman Go held his breath for a moment and then let out a sigh.

“Are you threatening your father?”

He thought Heejin had raised him like a flower, but it wasn’t quite like that.

“No. I’m asking you.”

Blood will tell, after all.

“Promise me, Father.”

Go Baekwoo pressed for a promise, emanating a murderous aura.

But his opponent was none other than Chairman Go. While it’s said that no parent can win against their child, that was only when the parent chose to yield.

“Son.”

Go Daeil declared to his son.

“I only make promises I intend to keep.”

An unusual air flowed between the father and son, who had been distant ever since their tearful reunion. A palpable tension. The son was already an adult, and the father was strong, too strong for that tension to be broken.

Thus, a hostile atmosphere permeated between blood relatives.

At the same time. Another pair of blood relatives, mother and son, were heading towards the Go family residence.

The wealthy built fences high up, where the poor couldn’t easily climb, and lived within them. Secretary Moon Gwanhee led the black sedan to the top. He glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror from time to time.

The mother, Lee Gyeonghee, clearly showed signs of bewilderment and even seemed somewhat angered.

The son, Cha Hongjo… his complexion was pale, beyond just white, like a terminally ill patient given a date. His black eyes, reflecting the sunlight like the sedan, were directed out the window, but they were unfocused. Because of that, he also looked like a madman momentarily paused right before going berserk.

About an hour ago. He had three of the ‘Flower Shop’ guys follow Lee Gyeonghee. If it were just Lee Gyeonghee, he could have sent only one person, but since he didn’t know how her son would react, he added two more.

Lee Gyeonghee headed to Cha Hongjo’s house as instructed by the Flower Shop director. Soon, she came out with Cha Hongjo. Moon Gwanhee, who was waiting with three strong men after being notified in advance, had the mother and son get into the car. Lee Gyeonghee seemed quite flustered when she saw the familiar faces of the Flower Shop’s men, but soon returned to her nonchalant expression. Her mind was completely occupied with thoughts of the gambling table.

In any case, the two of them got into the car unexpectedly obediently. However,

‘Mom.’

Cha Hongjo did ask a question.

‘Don’t you have anything to say?’

Cha Hongjo asked, glancing alternately at Moon Gwanhee and his mother.

He wasn’t a stranger to Moon Gwanhee, Go Baekwoo’s father’s right-hand man, having at least crossed paths with him while coming and going from the company. So, seeing him appear suddenly, he guessed that things weren’t going to be ordinary.

To that, Lee Gyeonghee said,

‘Mom, you trust me, right? Hongjo?’

At that moment, Moon Gwanhee and the three Flower Shop men had the same thought.

‘No matter what people say… you have to trust Mom, okay?’

Truly cunning.

She sought out her son, whom she had practically abandoned, for gambling money, and incurred debt in his name without his permission. And yet, she managed to put on an unjustly wronged and pitiful expression and say such things. In many ways, in a negative sense, she was an extraordinary woman.

Then, as they neared Chairman Go’s residence.

Cha Hongjo, at the question ‘Mom, you trust me, right?’ released the thoughts he had been desperately suppressing, holding back all sorts of surging imaginations. He finally regained focus in his vision and checked and double-checked whether this was the same place he had visited once before. There was no doubt. The car stopped at Go Baekwoo’s, no. Go Baekwoo’s father’s house.

‘Pretty boy, you really are the young master.’

It was Go Baekwoo’s father’s house.

Sure enough, as they passed the parking lot and came around to the front yard, Go Baekwoo was there to greet them.

“……Cha Hongjo.”

“Young Master, hello!”

Go Baekwoo and the three strong men spoke simultaneously. Cha Hongjo. The three syllables of his name were buried under the loud voices. But Go Baekwoo didn’t even glance at them. Moon Gwanhee soon dismissed the Flower Shop workers.

“Please come in.”

He guided Lee Gyeonghee and Cha Hongjo inside as if escorting them. Go Baekwoo deliberately paused, then slowly followed behind the ‘mother’ and ‘son.’ As if trying to hide his father’s voice, which continued to echo behind him.

‘I only make promises I intend to keep.’

As if to delay conveying the shocking truth he had just heard, the conversation he had just had, to Cha Hongjo even a little.

‘……So, why did you call for Cha Hongjo?’

‘His mother.’

‘…….’

‘Lee Gyeonghee, you’ve met her too.’

His father knew everything, as if he were a god overlooking all worldly affairs.

‘Yes, I’ve met her.’

He had assumed his father was angry simply because he was meeting Cha Hongjo, the man. That’s why he immediately warned him not to lay a finger on Cha Hongjo.

‘She incurred a debt under her son’s name.’

Cha Hongjo’s mother, Lee Gyeonghee. When the unexpected person became the topic of conversation, Go Baekwoo lost his grip.

‘A debt?’

‘A gambling debt.’

‘……What, Cha Hongjo too.’

He was about to ask, ‘Do you know?’ But his father cut him off and continued.

‘They’ve lived like complete strangers. What do you think the reason is for her seeking out her son?’

It meant that Cha Hongjo didn’t know that his mother had borrowed money for gambling.

‘She’s a beast wearing human skin. The son who’s been deceived by such a mother is just as foolish.’

Chairman Go continued.

‘Baekwoo, this father wants you to meet someone suitable for you.’

‘Ha, someone suitable for me?’

Go Baekwoo scoffed. Chairman Go was unfazed.

‘Yes. Someone who won’t hold you back. Whether it’s a woman… or a man.’

‘……What about you, Father? You also lived like a stranger for over ten years. Whether Mother and I… lived miserably or not……!’

‘No. That’s… different.’

This time, Chairman Go was shaken as never before.

‘Heejin, your mother, didn’t want to raise you to be like me. I felt the same. I wanted you to grow up strong… but… I still didn’t want you to… live like me.’

That’s why he had promised to let his ex-wife raise Go Baekwoo until he was grown.

But what kind of feelings would a child harbor if his father was alive but never showed his face? Chairman Go didn’t want to be met with hatred greater than longing when he went to get his son later. So he faked his death and watched over his son from a close yet distant place. The process wasn’t easy for Go Daeil either.

‘……You brought me here anyway. And I left Mother behind and did everything you told me to.’

‘That’s why I’ve given you everything you wanted.’

In the end, it was him, the father, who had yielded, he was saying.

Go Baekwoo sighed and wiped his dry face. The topic had inadvertently shifted. Fine. Whoever did what, none of that mattered more than Cha Hongjo.

‘I understand what you’re saying, Father. But.’

He brought the conversation back to the starting point.

‘Since I’m your son, you should understand too, Father.’

Go Baekwoo looked directly at his father, who had failed to become his ideal or his double.

‘If I didn’t like someone holding me back, I would have cut them off myself.’

‘…….’

‘It’s not that Cha Hongjo is holding me back, it’s that I begged him to. I asked him to hold me back.’

‘……Ha.’

Chairman Go furrowed his brows.

‘……Yes, I understand.’

Did he only understand? His answer was ambiguous.

While Go Baekwoo was lost in thought, which wouldn’t help resolve the current situation, they arrived at the reception room.

“Please have a seat, the Chairman will be here shortly.”

Moon Gwanhee pointed to the empty seats on the sofa for the two guests. There were two long sofas facing each other across a table, and a single-seat sofa at the head of the table. Lee Gyeonghee sat on the long sofa on the left, and Cha Hongjo sat on the opposite sofa a little later. Go Baekwoo naturally took the seat next to Cha Hongjo. Sitting close, as if for anyone to see.

Secretary Moon left, and an uncomfortable silence enveloped the three of them. Go Baekwoo openly stared at Cha Hongjo, then, realizing the presence of another person, averted his gaze. Lee Gyeonghee, who seemed to have been watching him, met his eyes directly.

‘She incurred a debt under her son’s name.’

Lee Gyeonghee.

‘A debt?’

‘A gambling debt.’

Smiled.

The woman who had secretly incurred a gambling debt in Cha Hongjo’s name looked different now. Although the area under her eyes was hollow, her neatly arranged hair and elegant attire were impeccably put together. She looked like a different person. Her face, which naturally brought Cha Hongjo’s features to mind, was beautiful. But beauty sometimes enchants and deceives, stabbing one in the back. Like now.

He had acted affectionately towards this woman, calling her ‘Mother.’

Go Baekwoo clenched his fist on his thigh. His reddened knuckles soon turned white. Blue veins bulged on the back of his hand and arm.

Pathetic. Even after hearing Cha Hongjo’s story, he had been polite to this woman out of selfish, future-oriented calculations. He was so pathetic he wanted to die. He felt ashamed in front of Cha Hongjo. Yet his gaze turned towards Cha Hongjo once again. He would have nothing to say even if Cha Hongjo gouged out his eyes without warning.

“…….”

The one with no room for excuses could only keep his mouth shut. Even the one who could rightfully speak remained silent. The one who foresaw the impending unusual reality also didn’t make a sound.

It was when everyone was swallowing dryly. A heavy presence, like silence itself, fell upon the three of them. Go Baekwoo, Cha Hongjo, and Lee Gyeonghee simultaneously raised their heads towards him. Chairman Go walked over with a resolute air and settled into the seat at the head of the table, as was his due.

“Go Daeil of Geumyang Loans.”

Chairman Go made the unnecessary introduction, if only formally. It was ingrained courtesy.

Lee Gyeonghee, a regular at the ‘Flower Shop,’ which was connected to Geumyang Loans, also knew who ‘Go Daeil’ was. Cha Hongjo was already acquainted with Chairman Go, and Go Baekwoo went without saying. Therefore, there were no greetings, replies, or self-introductions in return. Go Daeil neither expected nor felt the need for any response. He went straight to the point.

“Cha Hongjo.”

The first person Chairman Go looked at was Cha Hongjo, the most clueless person in the room about the situation. Cha Hongjo, his lips firmly closed, didn’t answer but only met his gaze.

“Do you know why you’re here?”

“No.”

Cha Hongjo answered without hesitation. His tone and demeanor were the same as usual. Except for his complexion, which resembled a terminally ill patient.

“Since you don’t know anything.”

“I don’t know anything.”

Go Daeil’s gaze shifted to his son, Go Baekwoo.

“Baekwoo, you explain it to him.”

Go Baekwoo almost retorted, “Me?”

As expected, his father was a formidable man. He intended for him to explain the whole story, which would surely plunge Cha Hongjo into despair, and for the sense of betrayal Cha Hongjo would feel towards his mother to spread to him as well. In other words, his intention was to naturally distance him from Cha Hongjo this way.

He couldn’t pretend ignorance in this situation. Go Baekwoo, acutely aware of the cold sweat seeping between his fists, managed to open his mouth, “……Cha Hongjo.”

“……Before I explain it to you. Let me ask you one thing.”

He simultaneously looked at Lee Gyeonghee. Lee Gyeonghee, disgustingly lowering the corners of her eyes, replied, “Ask me anything, CEO.”

“The apology you gave to Cha Hongjo, was it sincere?”

Say yes. Go Baekwoo urged Lee Gyeonghee with a fierce gaze. If Lee Gyeonghee was also addicted to gambling, she would surely fabricate a “yes.” She had to. So that Cha Hongjo wouldn’t be hurt… But.

“As if.”

All or nothing.

Lee Gyeonghee, the corners of her lips tilted upwards, let out a chuckle. Lee Gyeonghee’s hollow eyes turned towards her ‘son.’

“Whenever I see him, I just want to… bury him somewhere in the mountains!”

Lee Gyeonghee burst into hearty laughter as if she had told a very funny joke. Then she instantly returned to an expressionless face. Her eyes, which had looked like rotten frozen fish, now gleamed. It was a madness emanating from hatred.

“Hmm, did you get your answer, CEO?”

“…….”

Go Baekwoo couldn’t bring himself to say anything and checked Cha Hongjo’s expression.

Cha Hongjo looked like a mummy, nothing but skin and bones left. Like a bloodless corpse, its insides removed and its skin embalmed.

Lee Gyeonghee, looking at her own flesh and blood, let out a sharp laugh.

“Ah, this is fun……. Our son, his expression…… Haha, it would be perfect if he just died like that. It’s so funny.”

Lee Gyeonghee wiped the tears from her eyes and turned back to Go Baekwoo.

And Cha Hongjo, staring at his ‘mother’ who was no longer looking at him,

“……Mother.”

Muttered as if in a daze.

“……You really are.”

That was when it happened.

“Don’t call me Mother!”

Lee Gyeonghee shouted in a voice filled with malice.

“Why am I your mother!”

“…….”

Cha Hongjo felt no emotion at her words. There were no thoughts or feelings. He couldn’t even tell how he felt.

He simply heard the woman’s voice muttering, “Such an unlucky bastard anyway,” fade away. Go Baekwoo’s voice urging her to stop, “Please stop!” grew distant, and the whole world.

“…….”

Turned white and scorched.

“There’s… more…”

Cha Hongjo muttered as he got up.

“There’s nothing more I need to hear.”

“Sit down.”

Go Daeil stopped him. Cha Hongjo turned his gaze to Chairman Go with sunken eyes.

Why was he trying to make him sit down?

“No.”

Everything was pointless now.

Cha Hongjo took a couple of deep breaths to steady his ragged breathing and spoke for the last time.

“Don’t worry about any problems. I won’t interfere.”

And after glancing down at Go Baekwoo for a moment.

“Don’t… stop me.”

He turned his back. Cha Hongjo, as he had done one day, ran away using every ounce of his breath. “Cha Hongjo!” Go Baekwoo shouted, chasing after him. “Go Baekwoo, come and sit down!” another man ordered. But the sound of running footsteps chasing him didn’t stop.

“Young Master, go back!”

Eventually, even the sound of Go Baekwoo shouting, “Let go!” faded away along with the desperate cry of “Cha Hongjo…!”

“…….”

And disappeared.

One by one, piece by piece, everything, everyone, the world.

Desolate.

🔥

He shook off Moon Gwanhee and ran out, but Cha Hongjo was already gone. Moreover, the main gate, which had a security system, perhaps on his father’s orders, wouldn’t open. Unlike the place he lived with his mother, the main gate of this house was too heavy and solid. The walls were so high that even a cat couldn’t climb over them. Go Baekwoo, staring helplessly through the bars of the gate, ran back the way he came.

“Open the door!”

Consumed by the thought of needing to go to Cha Hongjo, he didn’t even realize he was yelling at his father.

Even Chairman Go Daeil, whose expression rarely changed, scowled fiercely at that moment. “Sit down,” he said, suppressing the urge to scold his son severely for the first time. But his son had lost his reason. He looked like a beast, only capable of yelling, not speaking.

“……You.”

Go Baekwoo, having failed to negotiate with Go Daeil, immediately turned towards Lee Gyeonghee. Lee Gyeonghee had an expression as if she were watching a comedy show. She wasn’t human. Even the word beast was too good for her. Even beasts who couldn’t even utter their own names wouldn’t treat their offspring like that.

“Is it funny?”

Go Baekwoo lunged at the demonic woman.

“Are you even human?”

“Haha… Ack!”

He strangled the demon’s throat. Lee Gyeonghee’s face instantly turned crimson, and she tried to shake off Go Baekwoo’s grip on her arm. But it was impossible. The sole witness, Go Daeil, simply watched.

“If anyone’s going to die, it’s going to be you.”

He intended to let his son vent his anger freely. It wouldn’t matter even if she died like this, as she was a person who wouldn’t be missed. He had also intended to get back the debt he had forgiven…….

“Because you ruined it.”

“St… Stop…!”

“You’re the one who’s going to die.”

Go Baekwoo’s thumb, pressing against Lee Gyeonghee’s throat, was as white as a magnolia petal. Lee Gyeonghee’s upturned eyes resembled a half-bloomed chrysanthemum.

“Gah… Ugh……”

“Don’t close your eyes.”

This land was shedding winter’s icy grip and donning its colorful spring attire.

“You don’t even deserve to close your eyes peacefully.”

Only Cha Hongjo’s world, and their space, remained bleak and gray.

Only the night remains unchanged with the seasons. Always bringing darkness. It was an unfailing event.

Cha Hongjo, stopping by his house, packed some clothes and hailed a taxi. His destination was the neighborhood where the last shoot would take place tomorrow.

“I’ll get off here.”

“Yes, sir.”

At the foot of a steep hill. As he got out of the taxi, a cold drop of water landed on his cheek. Cha Hongjo, thinking he was crying, wiped his cheek. His face was expressionless.

Then, plip, plop……. The water that landed on his forehead and shoulders began to pour down everywhere. Cha Hongjo looked up at the sky. It wasn’t his tears, but the spring rain falling from the moon.

Refreshing.

Cha Hongjo, completely soaked in a short time, entered a motel and rented a room. The motel room, filled with the smell of mildew, quickly became damp with the rain. The blanket was damp. The pillow was damp. His cheeks, his hair, his whole body was damp.

Cha Hongjo was drenched by the rain, even under a roof.

Exhausted…….

He wanted to sleep.

The downpour stopped only when the flames were extinguished.

🔥

He went to Cha Hongjo’s house at the appointed time, but there was no answer, he rushed to the company, but they said CEO Go wasn’t there either. Park Solchan was burning with anxiety.

Director Kim Yongmin also seemed clueless, so he decided to send someone to the CEO’s house. Park Solchan had to appear on set and explain the situation himself, so he grabbed the steering wheel again.

What should he say? Should he say he was sick?

Racking his brains for an excuse all the way to the set, Park Solchan parked his car halfway up the hill of the shantytown. The excuse of illness would be the best, after all. He decided that as he got out.

But the excuse he had barely managed to come up with became useless. Cha Hongjo was at the filming location. It wasn’t even time for filming to start yet. He was relieved, and at the same time, worried.

“Mr. Hongjo…?”

Park Solchan approached Cha Hongjo, who was smoking alone amidst the staff setting up cameras and arranging props.

“When did you get here?”

Cha Hongjo, who had been looking down at the ground, sitting in a folding chair that seemed to be Director Choi’s, slowly raised his head and looked at Park Solchan.

“Early.”

“Oh, that’s a relief. I went to your house, but you weren’t there……”

“Were you worried?”

“Oh, yes. I was very worried. You didn’t contact me……”

“Worried.”

Cha Hongjo interrupted him, got up from his seat, and muttered, “You don’t have to be,” as he put his arm around Park Solchan’s shoulder and patted him lightly.

“I came, didn’t I?”

“……Yes, yes, that’s right.”

Park Solchan felt that Cha Hongjo was slightly different than usual. It was hard to pinpoint exactly, but somehow……. He was already a strange person, but his aura had become even more peculiar. Perhaps it was because he was preparing to immerse himself in the ‘man’ character before filming started.