The New Groom Chapter 29

“I’ve imagined plenty of times, sitting alone at home, jerking off and stuffing it into your hole, but I didn’t even cum once this week. I was saving it to shove my filthy cock into your back hole, you hear? You fucking bastard… ha… I think I’m getting hard again. Damn it. I’m going insane, seriously.”

It was foul language I could never get used to, no matter how many times I heard it. Lee Jeongrok couldn’t even counter it; he was just left in a daze. Joo Seungchan was even watching Lee Jeongrok straight in the eye while casually massaging the inside of his own thigh. It wasn’t hard to picture exactly what he was imagining while staring at someone else’s face.

Lee Jeongrok hurled the stack of documents at that brazen face. Joo Seungchan chuckled even after being struck. His lips, which had been bitten and torn by Lee Jeongrok a few days prior, were tattered with blood scabs.

“I’m looking forward to it. You fucking bastard. I’ll fill you up with cum until your stomach bursts, so don’t you dare jerk off either—just hold it in.”

“Y-you… you crazy bastard! Get lost!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll pick this up and then get lost.”

“I don’t need you to! Get lost! I said get lost right now!”

Grinning, Joo Seungchan picked up the reports scattered on the floor one by one and placed them on the table. As he sauntered out of the parlor, his crotch was noticeably bulging. Lee Jeongrok’s neck flushed bright red as he breathed heavily.

Suffering? Playing hard to get? Keep thinking that, you crazy psychopath. Tomorrow, you’ll never see me again.

Conscious of the employees’ gazes, Lee Jeongrok feigned calmness, but he cursed incessantly in his mind.

Fortunately, that evening, Hwang Imin delivered the news he had been desperately waiting for. She mentioned it in a casual tone while having lunch with Hwang Bosik, and Hwang Bosik had said, “What’s there to agonize over something like that?” and granted permission to replace him immediately. Lee Jeongrok reduced the grudge he held against his father-in-law by about one gram.

Hwang Imin said that all of the security personnel were scheduled to be replaced starting this coming Monday. She didn’t know who would be assigned yet, but she promised to let him know by Sunday evening. Lee Jeongrok cautiously asked where the replaced personnel would go. In particular, he pinpointed Joo Seungchan and asked about his whereabouts.

Hwang Imin asserted that she would ensure he was assigned to external work elsewhere and would absolutely not be allowed to set foot in the house. Seeing that Lee Jeongrok still looked anxious, she reassured him two, three times, telling him not to worry. Only then, feeling relieved, could he sleep like the dead that night.

It had been three months since he married into a lowly, vulgar family, and Lee Jeongrok was having the happiest day of his married life.

It was Friday. If he could just endure today, it was goodbye to Joo Seungchan forever.

As if he knew nothing, Joo Seungchan watched his trashy soap opera as usual. Whenever their eyes happened to meet, he gave an unpleasant, smirking grin. Let him grin as much as he wanted, as much as he could. He was willing to endure just for today. Lee Jeongrok had the busiest day of the week and left work right on time.

When he arrived home, he went out of his way to shake hands with the security team.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

The driver’s face was still swollen like a full moon. Secretary Yoon’s swelling had gone down quite a bit, but the bruises were spreading in increasingly colorful patterns, making him look like a purple sweet potato from a distance.

“Good work.”

He offered a handshake to Joo Seungchan as well. Joo Seungchan was lighting a cigarette, looking blank, and stared at the hand extended toward him. With the cigarette still in his mouth, he smiled broadly and took his hand. He had expected him to do something strange, but he shook his hand with unexpected simplicity.

As Lee Jeongrok turned away, he felt like he was flying, tasting an intense sense of liberation for the first time. Finally, as of today, he had escaped from a terrible nightmare.

In an uplifted mood, Lee Jeongrok proposed eating out first for the first time since their marriage. The menu was decided as Chinese, following Hwang Imin’s preference. He followed along without a word. He didn’t swear or act sarcastically in his mind. He even had a drink. Maybe two, no, about five. It was hard liquor, so he got tipsy quickly.

His mood remained light as air. For some reason, Hwang Bosik commented that Lee Jeongrok held his liquor well and poured him a few more glasses. Tomorrow was the weekend anyway. He didn’t have to go to work, so what would it matter if he had a few more? Thanks to that, the Hwang family finished the meal in a harmonious atmosphere.

Lee Jeongrok, who had a hangover from overdrinking, stayed in bed throughout Saturday. Still, his condition was good. It hadn’t been his intention, but perhaps because he had worked so hard all last week, he found the leisurely weekend particularly special. He spent the entire day killing time, mindlessly alternating between watching OTT content and napping. Hwang Imin had been out since early morning and returned home late at night. By the time she returned, Lee Jeongrok was asleep. It was only on Sunday evening that he finally found a chance to have a proper conversation with his wife.

After spending the weekend lounging around, Lee Jeongrok finally managed to get up in the evening to attend to minor tasks. He had been looking through a few emails in the second-floor study before he took out his fountain pen collection and was practicing his signature with a flourish. A knock sounded. Through the slightly opened door, Hwang Imin peeked her head in. She was still in her outdoor clothes, as if she had just returned home.

“Honey, are you busy?”

“I’m fine. Come in.”

Lee Jeongrok hurriedly hid the paper where he had practiced his signature and gestured.

Hwang Imin entered the study and sat on the wine-colored leather sofa placed in front of the bookshelf. She pulled over the whiskey and glasses sitting on the table and poured a little alcohol. Lee Jeongrok, who had overdone it with the drinking a couple of days ago, felt nauseated just looking at the liquor, but he sat in the head seat, feigning nonchalance. The couple lightly clinked their glasses. Inside the glass-enclosed fireplace, a log fire, projected as a video, burned bright.

“What were you doing?”

“Just… work.”

Lee Jeongrok, who had been loafing, said without batting an eye.

“I was also looking at the schedule for the inspection with Father-in-law.”

It wasn’t a total lie. He had, in fact, checked his work emails. Hwang Imin didn’t ask in detail. She just nodded her head and took a sip of her drink.

His wife was somehow dazed. It felt different from usual. Lee Jeongrok wasn’t very close to his wife, but even to his eyes, she seemed visibly abnormal.

“Is something wrong?”

Thinking this was the time, he put down his glass and asked. Leaning his body forward, Lee Jeongrok touched his wife’s knee lightly.

“Are you hurting somewhere? Your complexion looks bad.”

“…”

“Are you okay?”

Hwang Imin, who had been staring down at her glass, raised her head. Lee Jeongrok was startled. Tears were shimmering in his wife’s marble-like eyes.

“Why did you lie?”

“…What?”

“Why, why did you lie?”

It was merely a single, out-of-context question, but it was enough to terrify Lee Jeongrok. He wore an expression of having been caught off guard, his mouth hanging open in a daze for a moment. That ridiculously defenseless expression was fully exposed to his wife sitting right in front of him.

Lee Jeongrok was a man who was rarely intelligent, but high intelligence did not guarantee flexible thinking. It was for this reason that he couldn’t hide his expression even while intuitively realizing what his wife’s words meant.

Hwang Imin let out a long sigh and dropped her head. Tears fell, dotting her knees.

“I heard everything from Inho and Secretary Yoon.”

Unlike her calm voice, her slender shoulders were trembling.

“The reason Seungchan hit the two of them. It was completely opposite to what you told me. Inho and Secretary Yoon were criticizing you, and Seungchan happened to hear it and hit them…”

“It’s a lie.”

Lee Jeongrok blurted it out. Hwang Imin looked at him without a word.

“It’s a lie. I, I heard it clearly. Behind the collection area… I heard Manager Joo… clearly insulting me.”

“Do you mean Inho and Secretary Yoon lied?”

“Yes. Manager Joo must have bribed them into silence. You saw their faces, too; look at how viciously they were beaten. Right? Isn’t it plausible that they were scared? I, even I was scared.”

“…”

“Don’t you believe me? I saw with my own eyes that Manager Joo was spouting such trash? Are you saying you believe the underlings’ words more than your own husband’s?”

“…Is that really true?”

His wife’s hand, clutching the glass tightly, had turned bone-white. Lee Jeongrok nodded his head, unable to bring himself to meet her eyes.