Actually, It’s a Messy Melodrama Chapter 61

Haeshin’s mother, Seonghee, gazed blankly at the white envelope placed in front of her. Outside the window, the darkness was gradually lifting and the day was breaking, but Seonghee had been sitting there for hours, staring only at the envelope, without moving.

‘Are you planning to use your only son as a gold digger just to treat your own illness?’

The words of the unfamiliar man who visited the hospital room yesterday hadn’t left her mind all day. The man, who introduced himself as someone sent by Han Sangwoo, the chairman of Myeongjin Group, told Seonghee the truth she had desperately tried to ignore.

‘Would CEO Han Taejun marry a person with no background like Cha Haeshin? He’ll just be treated as a prostitute to his taste and eventually be dumped. If your son wants to live off the money earned that way, then we won’t stop him anymore.’

The man constantly made no secret of his gaze, which seemed to despise Seonghee. Seonghee didn’t feel wronged by that look. She couldn’t stand the fact that she despised herself too.

‘Nevertheless, the chairman sent help because he understands your unfortunate situation. Use this money for your treatment and make sure your son doesn’t meet CEO Han Taejun anymore. If things drag on, your son will only be subjected to more unsightly things. Can you even live in South Korea after getting on the wrong side of the Myeongjin Group chairman?’

The man’s words were absolutely true, so Seonghee couldn’t say anything. Even when he left, saying he trusted her to make a wise decision if she truly was a mother who cared about her son, Seonghee remained seated with a dazed expression, just as she was now.

“I… my son…”

Her wrinkled hand clutched the envelope in front of her. The thick envelope looked like it contained a considerable amount of money.

Seonghee’s face contorted as she began to smile a grotesque, gap-toothed smile. It was a bizarre sight, hard to tell if she was laughing or crying. The paper envelope crumpled between her bony fingers.

She knew that she couldn’t afford this much medical treatment through normal means. Even working all night every day, repaying the debt was tough enough, so there was no way there could be another source of money.

Was it just good luck to meet a kind boss and receive help? She wasn’t a seven-year-old child; it was impossible to simply believe such a thing.

Nevertheless, Seonghee just remained silent. She didn’t press her son further about the unbelievable reasons he gave. While worried about whether she should accept this, she just wanted to believe her son’s words when he reassured her, saying it was fine and that there was no problem.

Because she wanted to live. Even though her life was worthless and wretched, dying like this felt too unfair and scary. Seonghee turned a blind eye to the suspicious circumstances. Yoo Seonghee, who had never been a good mother, finally pushed her son into the abyss with her own hands again.

Seonghee gently placed the tightly gripped envelope back on the bed. She carefully rubbed and smoothed the crumpled exterior with her palm. Although she didn’t know the exact amount, it would surely help her son.

Thump, thump.

A middle-aged woman, no different from a shriveled ghost, walked through the luxurious, empty hospital room. As she approached the window and opened it, the cold winter wind penetrated her hospital gown.

The woman’s face was filled with a look of ecstasy. The air of the winter dawn, far from being cold, gave her a strange sense of liberation. A belated regret washed over her: why had she lived so miserably, struggling and fighting, when letting go of her mental attachments made her feel so light?

After her husband, who beat his wife and son to death, finally grew tired and fell asleep, Seonghee would often contemplate, sometimes holding a knife, other times a pillow.

She considered and decided thousands, tens of thousands of times that if she killed this beast with her own hands, she would become a murderer, but at least her son could be free from this endless suffering.

But Seonghee ultimately did nothing until that animal rolled down the stairs and died on his own. She couldn’t even kill him, and she was too afraid to run away with her only son.

She was afraid of killing a person, afraid of raising a child completely alone, and afraid of being beaten to death by the husband who would inevitably find her, so Seonghee just endured it. She couldn’t even properly protect her son.

The woman leaned out the large window. A completely different scene from what she used to see from the very top of the shantytown unfolded below her eyes.

The only misfortune that a person, who was neither strong nor brave, could resolve for her son was herself.

The soul, which had been hurt, broken, and unrepaired for so long, thus threw herself into the winter dawn.

☂️

“Representative, can’t you handle spicy food well?”

Haeshin, helping Yeonghwa, the housekeeper, prepare breakfast, suddenly realized that no spicy food had ever been served at the table and asked.

“Yes. He can’t handle it well.”

“To the point where he can’t eat something like Buldak Bokkeummyun?”

“He probably even struggles to eat Shin Ramyun.”

“Wow.”

At Haeshin’s exclamation, Yeonghwa subtly turned her head to check behind her. Taejun hadn’t come out of the bedroom yet. Haeshin cracked an egg into a bowl and continued.

“I wondered why spicy food never appeared. I like spicy food, you see.”

“Representative prefers sweet foods, rather.”

“So that’s why he ate candy.”

“Huh?”

“No, it’s nothing. I just thought that I relieve stress by eating spicy food, but Representative probably relieves it by eating things like dessert.”

“It’s less so these days, but at one point, there was never a time when the house was out of cake.”

Haeshin burst into laughter. He couldn’t help but laugh imagining the third-generation chaebol, who looked endlessly cold and rational when expressionless, a representative of one of South Korea’s leading conglomerates, and a man with a physique comparable to an athlete, shoveling down sweet cake. Honestly, the sight seemed quite cute.

He was giggling, having the trivial thought of suggesting they eat delicious cake together next time, when a voice suddenly spoke up from behind.

“What are you two whispering about?”

“Oh? Representative, you’re out?”

Haeshin turned around warmly without showing any signs of surprise. In fact, he was very happy. The distance between Taejun and Haeshin had blurred surprisingly over time. Taejun looked at the egg in Haeshin’s hand and said.

“You’re someone who’s supposed to be going to work, why are you doing chores first thing in the morning?”

“Oh, this is not work. I’m just cracking a few eggs. I’m bothering everyone because I’m bored.”

“I told you that you don’t need to help…”

Yeonghwa quickly spoke, worried that it might look like she was making the representative’s guest work, but Taejun raised a hand, as if he understood everything.

“Yes, I know. The problem is with him, doing things he wasn’t asked to do.”

Yeonghwa barely managed to suppress the laughter that was about to escape and continued.

“Shall I serve the meal right away?”

“Let’s eat as soon as it’s ready.”

“Yes, Representative. It will be ready soon.”

Yeonghwa, who answered with a slight bow, naturally lifted her head. At the same time, her eyes met Taejun’s in the air, who was still standing and looking towards the kitchen.

An awkward silence flowed. Yeonghwa waited, naturally assuming Taejun would leave the kitchen immediately, but Taejun did not turn away, even with a very awkward expression.

“Right, um, understood.”

Taejun finally answered awkwardly after a long pause and turned his body. Yeonghwa, who was gazing blankly at Taejun’s retreating back with a puzzled face, soon directed her gaze toward Haeshin behind her.

She immediately understood why Taejun, who rarely came to the kitchen, was loitering around. People without quick wit usually couldn’t work in a house like this for long. Yeonghwa quickly took the egg and bowl from Haeshin’s hands.

“Mr. Haeshin, that’s enough, please go out now.”

“Huh? It’s fine. It’s not hard, I’ll just do this much.”

“No, no. Don’t worry about things like this and go take care of Representative.”

“Oh, Representative isn’t a child, what would I even…”

“Listen to me. Just go.”

Yeonghwa practically chased Haeshin out of the kitchen. Yeonghwa didn’t know much about Haeshin, but she knew a little about who Han Taejun was.

Since Haeshin came to the house, Taejun’s atmosphere had definitely changed. He wasn’t originally a particularly picky person or one who was rude to the staff, but because of his formidable family background and his not-so-friendly personality towards everyone, there was an aspect that made him difficult to approach.

However, after Haeshin arrived, Taejun definitely gained a more human touch. Especially recently, he always seemed inexplicably tense, as if he were being chased by something, but since Haeshin came, he had loosened up surprisingly and even smiled. It was impossible not to know that the change was due to Cha Haeshin.

Yeonghwa, watching Haeshin walk toward the living room, hurried back to her task, thinking she should make the spicy food Haeshin liked during lunchtime when the Representative was away.

☂️

“Why are you out here?”

“Just because. I thought you might be bored without me, so I came to keep you company.”

“What nonsense are you talking about now?”

“Did you sleep well? Any nightmares?”

Regardless of the look of disbelief on Taejun’s face, Haeshin said what he wanted to say. At the word ‘nightmare,’ Taejun paused for a moment in thought, then answered.

“Yeah. Now that you mention it, I slept well without any dreams.”

“That’s good.”

“I guess so…”

Taejun murmured. Taejun dreamt almost every night. Even if they weren’t terrible nightmares, after having dreams where he wandered through certain days of the time he had repeated, it was not only unpleasant but also felt like he hadn’t slept at all.

But last night, he truly slept soundly without dreaming at all. Not waking up once throughout the early morning was one of the first times it had happened since he began the regression.