Actually, It’s a Messy Melodrama Chapter 38

“I will take my leave.”

However, Youngmin’s expression as he turned away after a polite farewell looked considerably lighter. He might shield his grandson, whom he cherished more than his own child, in the moment, but he wouldn’t be able to stay still after hearing he was chasing after a bar boy. For now, that was enough.

Of course, he knew that this could work against him when he eventually got together with Cha Haeshin. But if he couldn’t stop Han Taejun now, it would be difficult to meet Cha Haeshin anyway. The priority was to separate Han Taejun from Cha Haeshin.

The expectations Chairman Han had for Han Taejun and for himself were worlds apart. Youngmin knew that the chairman didn’t trust him much. Therefore, it was highly likely that he wouldn’t care who his half-abandoned grandson met.

“Why did he have to do something so out of character……”

Youngmin muttered as he came out of the chairman’s office, rolling his tense neck from side to side. Han Taejun was the one who picked the fight first. Since he had only returned the favor, there was no need for Taejun to feel wronged.

There might be some retaliation, but Han Taejun would be dealt with like this, and now it was time to think about how to soothe Haeshin’s heart, which must be frightened by what had happened.

☂️

“Haeshin, are you really alright?”

The expression on Haeshin’s mother, Yoo Sunghee, who was perched precariously on the edge of the sofa with a bewildered face, looked overly anxious. Anyone would be consumed by anxiety if their son, who hadn’t been sleeping properly while paying off all sorts of debts, suddenly brought them to a new, wonderful house they would never have dreamed of.

“I’m fine. So sit comfortably.”

“I’m more comfortable on the floor. What if the sofa gets dirty?”

“Why worry about something like that? It’s okay if it gets dirty, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Still……”

Despite Haeshin’s words, Sunghee couldn’t easily relax. Take this house, for example. According to Haeshin, a boss he met at work took pity on his situation and rented it to them at a low price, but no matter how much Sunghee thought about it, she couldn’t understand.

What kind of boss in the world would just hand over a house because they felt sorry for a part-time employee? And not even a studio apartment, but a clean house with two rooms and a decent living room. Furthermore, Haeshin said he would be staying in a dormitory for work from now on and wouldn’t be able to come home often, which made her even more uneasy.

“You’re not doing anything dangerous, are you?”

“Hey, I told you it’s nothing like that. It’s just a really rich boss doing a good deed for a poor person. Don’t worry.”

Haeshin’s voice was light and bright. But Sunghee’s heart was still uneasy.

Sunghee had also noticed that Haeshin was different lately. It wasn’t anything particularly noticeable in his actions, but there’s such a thing as intuition, isn’t there? In Sunghee’s eyes, Haeshin seemed to have recently undergone a tumultuous emotional change.

It wasn’t incomprehensible. For a child whose life was already hard due to having the wrong parents to hear about his mother’s cancer diagnosis, how could his insides not be in turmoil? Sunghee was ashamed to face Haeshin.

“Haeshin.”

Sunghee called out to Haeshin with a desolate heart. At her heavy tone, Haeshin sat down quietly beside her.

Sunghee’s fingertips twitched as she stared at her gaunt son’s fingers, at an age when he should be in the prime of his health. She wanted to hold her son’s hand affectionately, but she didn’t have the audacity.

“Don’t push yourself too hard because of me.”

“……”

“It’s shameless of me to say this now, but……”

Sunghee’s voice trailed off. There were many things she wanted to say, but literally lacking the audacity, it was difficult to continue.

Haeshin was silently looking down at his mother’s hands. The hands, more wrinkled than her age would suggest, seemed to contain all the years she had lived through.

“I……”

Haeshin started to speak again, then stopped. He felt that if he said the wrong thing, all the emotions he had been suppressing might burst out at once.

The relationship between Sunghee and Haeshin was far more complex and difficult than that of a typical mother and son. They were comrades who had fought a war together, and survivors of the same hardships, but they were also each other’s trauma and source of guilt.

That was probably why they couldn’t be a warm and affectionate pair, not back when his father was alive, and not now.

There was a time when Haeshin resented his mother. He couldn’t understand the fact that she had never once properly rebelled, nor even tried to escape from his father, while watching her child face the risk of death time and time again.

His father did not provide for the family. In fact, he only drove the family’s financial situation further into ruin. Yet, why did his mother not make even the minimal effort to protect her young child? That was a question that remained unsolved for Haeshin even after he became an adult.

Tragically, it was only after experiencing Jin Youngmin that Haeshin came to understand, if only a little, the heart of his mother who had done nothing. His mother had probably been certain that if she ran away and got caught, even more terrible days would begin.

In reality, there’s no telling how vicious his father would have been to a wife and child who ran away. But his mother, who had married at a young age and suffered abuse and brainwashing for a long time, would have already become a person incapable of dreaming of a hopeful future.

Nevertheless, Cha Haeshin was still fighting and struggling without giving up, but he thought his mother must have had her own struggles that he could never fully know. And so, Haeshin shook off his long-held resentment toward his mother.

“You might have a lot to be sorry for to me, but……”

Swallowing many words he couldn’t and didn’t want to say, Haeshin slowly opened his mouth.

“Mom, I’m a more selfish person than you think.”

“Haeshin……”

“I’m always living for myself. I’m not sacrificing myself for you. So don’t worry about me, and for now, just focus on your health.”

In fact, Haeshin hadn’t been able to properly care for Sunghee during his countless regressions. Whether he cared or not, time would rewind, so in a way, it was natural. But it was also inevitable that a faint sense of guilt continued to accumulate.

“I’ll take care of my own affairs. I’m an adult now, you know.”

Separate from understanding her, Haeshin did not follow in his mother’s footsteps. He had decided not to. Rather than cowering in fear and settling, Haeshin intended to endure, fight, and struggle to the end to escape this hell.

And Haeshin hoped his mother would be by his side when he finally escaped this long tunnel. When that time came, Sunghee and Haeshin would be able to confess their old wounds and inner thoughts and finally return to being a normal mother and son.

Gazing at his mother’s hand, which he still couldn’t hold, Haeshin steeled his resolve.

☂️

“The basics have all been prepared, but if you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to tell the housekeeper.”

“Yes, thank you. But, by any chance, could you perhaps speak to me a bit more… casually? It’s probably not possible, right?”

Haeshin, who had been shown his living quarters in Taejun’s house by Secretary Choi, carefully brought up what he had been wanting to say for a while. At first, he hadn’t thought much of it, but now that he would be seeing Secretary Choi more often, his overly polite attitude, which didn’t suit him, felt a little uncomfortable.

First of all, he wasn’t Secretary Choi’s superior, so he didn’t deserve this kind of treatment, and it was also a problem that his attitude subtly triggered Haeshin’s trauma.

‘You must not come outside. I apologize.’

‘The department head ordered that the door must be kept locked. I apologize.’

‘Are you hurt? Please wait a moment. I will try to contact the department head.’

The men Jin Youngmin had placed by his side under the pretext of protection had bound him, watched him, and stood by during Jin Youngmin’s abuse, all with a polite attitude. Secretary Choi was not like them, but after being subjected to that for years on end, it was inevitable to develop a trauma from the tone of voice alone.

“No, it’s fine for me, but I was just worried it might be uncomfortable for you, Secretary.”

That being said, he didn’t want to be fussy with Secretary Choi. Trauma or not, that was his own problem, and since Secretary Choi was close to Taejun, it was important to gain his favor.

“I am comfortable with this. It’s partly out of courtesy since you are the CEO’s guest, but I am also naturally formal in my speech. Please don’t mind it.”

“Okay, I will. Um… thank you for picking me up today as well.”

“Don’t mention it. It was the CEO’s instruction, so you can direct your thanks to the CEO.”

“Still. You went through the trouble. Thank you!”

Haeshin bowed his waist and thanked him again. Secretary Choi responded with a slight nod of his head, then this time, he took out a cell phone from his pocket and held it out to Haeshin.

“The CEO recommended that Mr. Cha Haeshin change his phone number for his safety. You can use this phone from now on.”

“Ah… I can change my number myself, but……!”

“Buying a new phone is nothing to the CEO, so you can just accept it.”

“Yes, thank you. I’ll use it well.”

“Your thanks should go to the CEO…….”

“Yes! I’ll thank the CEO, too.”

Haeshin smiled brightly with a cheerful face. About a year after their marriage, Youngmin had suddenly bought him a new phone, which had a location-tracking app installed on it. Haeshin quickly pushed aside the useless memory and accepted the phone Secretary Choi offered.

“If you have to go to work now, I can give you a ride.”

Haeshin, who was staring blankly at the clean, scratch-free screen, hurriedly shook his head.

“No, it’s fine! It’s not time yet, so please don’t worry about it and go.”

It suddenly struck him how much things had really changed. Starting with Secretary Choi, who was standing right in front of him. A person he hadn’t even exchanged a single conversation with in countless timelines was now looking out for him and offering him a ride.