Chapter 118: CH 118

“Hey, you dumb bastard! Don’t you have internet access at home?”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down. Didn’t I tell you that you’ll get yourself in trouble if you don’t correct that personality of yours?”

The middle-aged man stepped in front of Leaf, who seemed on the verge of having a seizure. Seeing this, Leaf immediately came to her senses.

‘Oh my God!’ Leaf thought.

No matter how angry she was, she couldn’t believe that she had lost her temper and forgotten about the person standing next to her. It was true that she was gaining popularity, but if the middle-aged man wanted, her bright entertainment career could fall deep into an abyss. Leaf had only started talking to Yongno in the first place because she had felt like she was suffocating alone in the elevator with the middle-aged man.

“You’re her manager?” Yongno asked.

“What? Manager? Don’t you know who this is…”

“Leaf.”

“Oh, sorry. I’ll stay quiet.”

The lively Leaf soon became sullen; her shiny blonde hair seemed to lose some of its luster. However, it seemed that her anger hadn’t fully subsided yet, as she shot Yongno a glare when the middle-aged man couldn’t see. She was moving her mouth and rattling on without any sound based on the shape of her mouth. Yongno could tell that she was cursing him… ‘bad guy, evil boy, you’ll burn in hell, your family line will end with you…’ things of this nature.

Ding!

Soon, the elevator arrived at the ground floor, and all three of them stepped out. As Yongno made his way to the exit, the middle-aged man called out.

“What’s your name?”

“Yongno. Yoon Yongno. What’s yours?”

“Sungyeon. Kim Sungyeon.”

Sungyeon answered with an expressionless face while Leaf made a disgruntled expression from behind him. She seemed annoyed that Yongno was acting so carefree in front of Sungyeon, and she seemed to have a lot to say about it.

‘I guess he’s like an entertainment group CEO, or something along those lines.’ Yongno thought.

Yongno wasn’t completely aloof; he was able to read the room. He could tell that the man was in a high position, and he had no desire to learn anything further. Yongno wasn’t a celebrity, and he didn’t care about them, so what did it matter how high the middle-aged man’s position was in that world? Yongno didn’t have much contact with other people anyway, so he didn’t care if the middle-aged man was the president of Korea, let alone the CEO of some entertainment group.

“Dang, this apartment complex is wastefully large.”

Yongno mumbled as he walked toward the exit, which was about a hundred meters away. Although he was indoors, the space was large and vast. The first three floors had an open floor plan to offer rest areas, amenities such as food courts, and other convenience services.

“Hmm. You have a good voice, Yongno.”

“Huh?”

“Do you want to try singing?”

“No.”

Yongno lightly rejected the man’s out-of-the-blue request. The rejection was natural for Yongno, but Leaf looked incredulous, as though she could not believe it. How could he say no? She looked at Yongno as if to say ‘You are making a huge mistake’, but Sungyeon smiled, seemingly unbothered.

“I see. You’re not an average person.”

“Huh? I think rejecting your offer is the most reasonable and normal thing to do in this situation, no? There’s no reason why I should accept.”

When Yongno shrugged his shoulders, Sungyeon shook his head.

“No. Normally, in this type of situation, one would ask ‘why?’ or ‘you want me to sing here?’… no one just says ‘no’.”

“Then I must be an eccentric person.”

Yongno didn’t feel like talking. Although he hadn’t put much thought into seeing his family, he was still unhappy to discover that they were still afraid of him. If he enjoyed being in this position, he’d be a psycho. It was absurd that he’d give any thought or interest to a person he didn’t even know asking him to sing. However, the blonde girl, who had kept her mouth shut thus far, didn’t seem to be on the same page as him. She narrowed her eyes toward Yongno.

“Man, I’ve been quietly listening until now, but I just can’t…” Leaf started.

“It seems you’re frustrated about something. I’m sorry if you felt harassed,” the middle-aged interjected.

“Director? But that guy…”

“Leaf.”

“… I’m sorry.”

When she saw Sungyeon’s expression harden, Leaf dropped her head once more. Yongno felt a little bad for her, but since he’d probably never see these people again, he just bowed respectfully toward Sungyeon.

“Anyway, I’ll be heading off. Take care.”

“Right. Take care.”

Sungyeon nodded his head. Of course, from behind Sungyeon, Leaf continued to grumble and glare at Yongno. Based on her mouth movements, she was saying phrases like ‘bastard, devil, I hope you get into a car accident’… and other such curses.

“She’s an interesting kid.”

Though Yongno could make out her words, he didn’t mind being cursed out. Actually, Yongno didn’t mind people who approached him with truthful intentions, even if they disliked him. In any other situation, he may have wanted to talk to her, even if it meant hearing more of her curses. Perhaps he may have even sung a song, as Yongno actually liked singing.

“Whatever.”

Yongno quickly shook his head and continued walking towards the exit. DIO was going to open soon, and in order to get in right as it opened he’d need to hurry back home.

***

[Thank you for choosing Hoseo Airlines. You are on Hoseo Airlines flight 011, bound for New York. The estimated travel time is…]

Hearing the announcement, Eunhye laid her head back on the headrest. Though she hadn’t moved around much, she felt tired.

‘Am I really leaving?’

As she pondered this, a familiar face popped into her mind. It was the face of a boy who had been hurt by the world and lived a life of self-suppression. For Eunhye, that boy was like the sun. He had saved her from a hellish world. But now, all that light had been lost, and with each passing day her feelings diminished…

“I’ve noticed it before… you two always stick together, no?”

“Hehehe. She is my girlfriend. She’s pretty, right?”

“How cute. You guys sure do stick to each other.”

When they were young, Eunhye was always byYongno’s side. When they were in school, when school was out… she was always with him. The world without him was too scary. Without him, Eunhye couldn’t muster the courage to go to school, walk down the street, or even stay home.

“I’m back!” Yongno shouted.

“Welcome back. Did you come with Eunhye?” His mother, Miran, shouted from the kitchen.

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“Yes! Do you have something refreshing… oh yeah, today is Taewoong’s birthday, right?”

Eunhye recalled the smell of delectable food wafting throughout the house. Seaweed soup was gently boiling in a big pot, and a large cake had been placed on the dining table.

“Did you prepare a gift for your brother?”

“Ahem. I’m always prepared, shouldn’t you know that by now? Of course, I’ve prepared something. Oh, I’ll help you with that!”

Yongno made his way towards Miran and helped carry the dishes to the dining table. He was doing well, but Miran couldn’t help but be surprised.

“I-it’s fine. Just rest. Oh, your father wants to speak with you, so go to his room.”

“Dad wants to speak with me? Why?”

Miran turned her head to the side and glanced at Eunhye. It was only for a split second, but Yongno understood his mother’s meaning.

“Eunhye, can you wait here for a sec?”

“C-can’t I go with you?”

“It seems like dad has something he wants to speak with me about privately. I’ll be back soon, so just wait here for a moment.”

“O-okay…”

Thinking that Yongno might be put in an uncomfortable situation if she continued to press him, Eunhye just nodded her head. Yongno smiled brightly, gently patted her on the head, and then went into his father’s room.

“Uh… can I help?” Eunhye asked Miran sheepishly.

“It’s fine. Go ahead and relax on the sofa.”

Though Miran smiled, Eunhye felt that it was awkward and artificial. It seemed as though she was concerned about something, as if she had done something wrong. Feeling a sense of nervousness after seeing Miran’s smile, Eunhye walked around the house until she arrived right in front of Yongno’s father’s room. She wanted to wait there until Yongno came out. However, she heard Yongno speaking from the other side of the door.

“So, they’re saying that I shouldn’t be taking Eunhye around anymore? It’s only been two months, but they’ve already forgotten what position they’re in. Have they gone mad?”

“Yongno, your manner of speech is too rough.”

“Ah, right. Well, I guess it can’t be helped. Even if they’re disgusting human beings, I guess they’re still parents, so they may be able to realize their mistakes and change for the better. I’m not related to her and I’m young, so I probably can’t be with Eunhye forever. But those disgusting people…”

Eunhye was frightened out of her mind and ran to the living room before she could hear more. Yongno’s words ‘I probably can’t be with Eunhye forever’ kept repeating in Eunhye’s mind.

‘We can’t be together?’

Just the thought of this caused her great concern. For Eunhye, the only safe and peaceful space was by Yongno’s side. Even though her parents had become a bit more cautious around her recently, she still felt it hard to face her disgusting monster-like father and scary goblin-like mother.

As these thoughts swirled through her mind, Yongno stepped out of his father’s room.

“Sorry, I was gone for a bit, huh?” he said.

Just then, a voice called out from the front door. “I’m back home!”

“Oh, my older brother is back! Taewoong, happy birthday!”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Eunhye said, still preoccupied.

Afterward, a common and simple family birthday celebration commenced. They ate their food, sang happy birthday, blew out the candles, and cut the cake. It was the typical image of a happy family, but Eunhye, who lived her life constantly mindful of others, felt a strange tension in the air. There was a sense of nervousness and anxiety within each of them.

“Ooh. Chocolate cake. Is it okay that we’re having my favorite cake on your birthday?” Yongno asked his brother.

“Hmm? Oh, I’m not that particular about cake.”

“I thought you liked fresh cream cake?”

Yongno was about to start distributing the cake when Miran spoke up.

“Yongno, can you go get the milk?”

“Milk?”

“Y-yeah. The cake is too sweet to eat by itself.”

“Okay.”

Eunhye whipped around and followed after Yongno, who had run over to the refrigerator. She didn’t feel comfortable staying with the other family members, who all emanated an air of nervousness.

“Hey, Yongno.”

“I know.”

“Uh… huh?”

Eunhye was taken aback by Yongno’s response. He reached into the refrigerator, took out the milk, and whispered,

“You were gonna say that something seems off, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I can’t read other people's emotions, so I can’t be one hundred percent sure of the reason. Maybe they’re planning on announcing something significant after the birthday party… whatever it is, I don’t think it’s good news.”

Eunhye felt uneasy. She was afraid that the adults would try to separate him from her. Ultimately, Eunhye knew that it’d be nearly impossible to completely get away from her father and mother, who were her legal guardians. However, Yongno knew their weaknesses and protected her from their wrongdoings… but Eunhye knew this couldn’t last forever. However, at that moment, Yongno tightly grasped Eunhye’s hand with a confident expression on his face.

“Don’t worry, Eunhye. I’ll protect you no matter what.”

“… Okay.”

While Eunhye nodded, Yongno caressed her hair. Eunhye was tall for her age, but Yongno was relatively tall as well. Their heights were nearly identical.

“Here it is! Low fat milk!”

“Oh. Good. Here’s your cake.” Miran held out a plate towards Yongno.

“Huh?”

Yongno was slightly taken aback, but since it was a small matter, Yongno didn’t give it much thought and started to dig in.

Soon, Yongno spit out what he had in his mouth.

“Yongno?”

“Everyone, stop eating.”

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