PO 42

Han Jaegang’s eyes that looked around the living room burned with anger, and Kang Eonju and Lee Doyoung who had been entangled with Joo Yeongmo in a scuffle flinched and stopped moving.

Han Jaegang clenched his molars and although he usually was calm when he got angry, this time he found it difficult to suppress his rage.

“Didn’t you say Lee Woojeong didn’t come home?”

“…….”

“Then who is the person here?”

His grim voice echoed quiet interior, and the two who had been making a noisy fuss just a moment ago pressed their lips shut and only watched him cautiously.

Han Jaegang sneered coldly at their ridiculous appearance, and he shifted his gaze toward Woojeong in his arms, and the murderous look in his fierce eyes softened for a moment.

“Lee Woojeong.”

Han Jaegang called the name of the limp Woojeong and he tapped his cheek. The skin that touched his palm was cold and his complexion was terribly pale.

“Woojeong-ah. Lee Woojeong. Open your eyes.”

As he rubbed the corner of his eyes and kept tapping his cheek, Woojeong finally reacted, and a groan escaped from his wounded lips.

Han Jaegang confirmed first that he was safe, and only then he let out a sigh of relief, and fortunately the wound on the back of his head had stopped bleeding to some extent, and his breathing was relatively steady.

“Yeongmo-ya.”

Han Jaegang called Joo Yeongmo in a loud voice, and when he ran over quickly and discovered the bloodied Woojeong he gasped in shock.

“Come and support him.”

Han Jaegang carefully handed Woojeong over to the flustered Joo Yeongmo, and he dusted himself off and stood up, and he went out of the utility room and went straight toward Lee Doyoung.

Lee Doyoung stepped back with a frightened face at his murderous momentum.

“Explain why Lee Woojeong ended up in that state.”

Lee Doyoung, who had anxiously dodged his gaze, opened his mouth reluctantly.

“The, the kid didn’t come home for days without saying anything. I was so… worried. So I grabbed him and tried to reason with him a little.”

“I don’t really understand how reasoning leads to bloodshed.” Han Jaegang retorted in disbelief, he pulled a cigarette pack from his pocket, and he held one between his lips but without lighting it he started at Lee Doyoung and waited for an answer.

“It was just an accident. I only meant to scare him, but then…”

Lee Doyoung, who was usually good at talking, seemed so flustered that he didn’t even know what he was babbling.

“I was going to take him to the hospital. But then Jaegang-ssi barged in suddenly. I was shocked and flustered, so I had no choice but to hide him for a moment.”

Lee Doyoung glanced at Kang Eonju and exchanged looks, trying somehow to escape this situation, and it made his blood run cold.

“I really didn’t do it on purpose. Jaegang-ssi. Woojeong is my only brother.” Lee Doyoung, who kept avoiding his eyes as he continued, put on a sorrowful expression.

“…There’s no way I would have done that to Woojeong on purpose.” Only brother? That excuse went past shamelessness and it disgusted him.

When he faced Lee Doyoung’s brazen face, the image of Woojeong lying with a swollen face and a torn mouth came to mind.

Would it have any worth to deal with them any further in this situation? He grabbed the cigarette that he had between his lips and he threw it to the floor, and he raised his hand.

Slap-.

Han Jaegang hit Lee Doyoung’s cheek with a blank face, and before Lee Doyoung who staggered from the impact could regain his balance, he hit his cheek hard once more.

“Doyoung-ah!”

Pushed back by overwhelming force, Lee Doyoung crashed to the floor, and Kang Eonju who was aghast screamed and rushed at him.

“Ah. I only meant to scare him, and it turned out like this.”

Han Jaegang mocked with a cold laugh, and Kang Eonju tried to check on her son’s condition, but Lee Doyoung who was terrified covered his face and couldn’t even lift his head.

Kang Eonju suddenly seemed to regain her lost mind, and she raised her head and shouted at Han Jaegang.

“What is this? Who are you to come into another person’s house and act violently? However I treat my son, what does that have to do with you?”

“Your son? Which son are you talking about? Look here, Kang Eonju-ssi. Do you think I came here all the way without knowing anything?”

“What do you know? Should I call the police?”

“Call them if you want.”

“Madam Kwak, call right now for trespassing!”

“You opened the door yourself and urged me to come in, and now you call it trespassing? And besides, isn’t it strange for someone who hid an injured and unconscious person inside the house to bring up the police?”

Kang Eonju couldn’t answer, and Han Jaegang lowered himself and pushed aside Kang Eonju who blocked his way.

“Argh!”

Han Jaegang seized Lee Doyoung’s shoulder and forced him to look at him, and his delicate face was engulfed in fear.

He had always tormented Woojeong from the absolute position of the stronger, yet when he himself became the weak one he only trembled in terror.

Han Jaegang mercilessly held his shoulder in a strong grip, and Lee Doyoung’s face twisted.

“Aak!”

“What did you do to Lee Woojeong?”

“It hurts!”

“I have no taste for repeating the same question twice, so answer properly.”

“Woo-Woojeong tried to run away, so, so I, I hit his head, ugh.”

“With what?”

“A flo, flower vase.”

Han Jaegang finally knew why Woojeong had bled and collapsed, and veins pulsed on his forehead.

He had already known that they weren’t people with sound minds, but when he saw them commit such an act and then act this brazen, it made him almost laugh in disbelief.

Han Jaegang raised his head and looked around the living room floor, and the scene of the incident had been entirely cleaned with not a trace left, and the strange atmosphere inside the house seemed to have been because of that matter.

“Where did you dispose of the broken vase?”

“I don’t know, just…”

“Don’t you still understand the situation?”

When Han Jaegang retorted and moved his body, Lee Doyoung reflexively covered his head and shrank down.

He had never gone through such a thing in his life, and he only tried to protect himself.

“Executive Director. Let’s first move Lee Woojeong to the hospital.” At Joo Yeongmo’s urgent voice, Han Jaegang swept his hair back, and as he looked down with scorn at the mother and son who sat holding each other, he turned his head toward the kitchen.

“Did you perhaps clear it away?”

“Yes, Madam told me to clear it away…”

“Hand over that item to the person there and pack your belongings. You can come with us.” Han Jaegang spoke politely to Madam Kwak, and thanks to her cooperation he was able to quickly understand and handle the situation inside the house, and Madam Kwak no longer needed to remain in this house.

Han Jaegang exhaled a long breath and went back to the utility room, and Joo Yeongmo didn’t know what to do as he supported Woojeong.

“Ask Madam Kwak and collect the vase shards. Take careful photographs for evidence.”

“Yes, Executive Director.”

“I will go to the hospital, so contact me, and escort Madam Kwak to the Snow Reflection Residence.”

“Understood.”

Han Jaegang wrapped his arm around Woojeong’s shoulder and slid his hand under his knees and lifted him up. The hand that clutched his clothes tightly without even opening his eyes was pitiful.

Han Jaegang who walked across the living room halted for a moment, and he looked down at the mother and son who sat huddled together.

Regrettably, their foolish behavior had provoked him in earnest. Han Jaegang who knew better than anyone how to send that kind of human into ruin intended now to show it clearly.

Clumsy authority couldn’t move at all in front of greater authority, and when they properly received the price for all the misdeeds they had committed, the day would come when they themselves would regret it bitterly.

It wasn’t something to feel relieved about that Woojeong was at the Snow Reflection Residence. He should have already assigned the right person and kept him safe, and instead of leaving the house with Woojeong asleep, he should have woken him and explained.

Han Jaegang who had thought regretting the past was foolish now went over each of his actions one by one and regretted them.

Wouldn’t it be better to eliminate this house once and for all? It was, to Woojeong a long terrible and loathsome memory.

As Han Jaegang stepped out of the entrance, he pressed his cheek against Woojeong’s forehead that he held in his arms, and when he felt the warmth of his body heat only then did he feel relieved.