PHUW 142

Haeri was half petrified, but Jeong Mok, unaware, suddenly began recounting an unbearably dark family history.

“My father had a severe case of morbid jealousy. In contrast, my mother was too much of a free spirit. The funny thing is, the two had a love marriage. At the time it was unusual. On top of that, it was a marriage where the man was at a clear disadvantage, so my late grandfather fiercely opposed it. According to the Chairwoman, half the reason my grandfather passed away early was because of my mother. They married like that, only for it to end in murder.”

“Ah.”

“Looking back now, my father was full of inferiority and a controlling maniac. I think he also had a touch of obsessive cleanliness. He did not show it outwardly much, but his pride was too strong. On the other hand, my mother was such a free spirit that anyone would be overwhelmed, the kind of person who was never suited for family life in the first place.”

Jeong Mok was not a talkative person. Especially about himself, he was not the type to speak first unless asked. Yet here he was, suddenly talking about his family, and in a way that sounded like something out of a crime documentary. It was bewildering, but at the same time, it was so compelling that Haeri felt almost guilty.

“At the time, a divorce suit was underway. My memory is hazy, but I think they even lived apart for a while. I think my mother once asked me if I really wanted to live with my father. I thought if not me, he would be all alone since my mother had other family and my father did not. Later I found out it was not that he had no family, but that he had cut ties with them.”

“Why did he cut ties?”

Haeri did not understand disowning family. As someone who had none at all, even a troublesome one seemed better than nothing. For example, when he had witnessed Sangjin’s death, if he had had even estranged family, he would have run to them.

“I later heard that they made her suffer at her in-laws’. At their first holiday visit after the marriage, they supposedly made her do all the dishes alone. Even if that was the atmosphere back then, my mother was someone who had never fetched even a glass of water for herself in her life. It must have been culture shock. But it’s not like she refused. She just hired a housekeeper and got it done. For that they nitpicked, saying she looked down on the in-laws because she had money. In the end, my mother declared it was either cutting ties or divorce, and my father chose to cut ties.”

“Ah.”

So there were people who would try to make even a chaebol daughter-in-law suffer at her in-laws’. Impressive. If it had been him, he would have bowed low, tried to stay in their good graces, and worked to get some scraps.

“For my father, it was a marriage he had defended even to the point of severing ties. But what was the point. Like any ordinary couple, love faded quickly. My mother, true to her free spirit, wandered outside, and my father could not tolerate that. Legally my mother was the at-fault spouse, so if he had just divorced, he would have gotten the house and money and lived well. The real problem was that my father was an inferiority-ridden lunatic. Today he would have been caught and involuntarily committed while screaming and raging. Back then it was just overlooked, and because of that, my mother ended up dead.”

His tone was flat. Haeri had no idea how to offer comfort.

“Did you witness the incident yourself?”

“Yes. That memory is still vivid. At first they shouted at each other, then my mother screamed and my father raged. Things broke. I was so scared I hid in my room. That room was the study, and later, when things quieted down, I went out and found… blood everywhere.”

Jeong Mok gave a vague smile. It was exactly the kind of smile that was not truly a smile.

“Ah.”

“My father, ha, pathetically hanged himself on a coat hanger. My mother… was in a state I can’t even put into words. It’s embarrassing, but I pissed myself right there.”

Jeong Mok laughed awkwardly.

“Of course you did. You were a kid. Even hearing this, I feel like I’d piss myself too.”

Haeri said angrily. It was not something to get mad about, but what was the big deal if a child had wet himself after witnessing his father kill his mother.

“I don’t have any special affection left for my mother. But my father is unforgivable. In fact, I don’t even like calling him father, so I usually just call him Jeong Yeongil. It’s disrespectful, but what I inherited from him wasn’t just my looks.”

“A father should act like a father to be called one. What’s wrong with calling him by name? If it were me, I’d have done more than that, I’d have hit him. My own grandfather bastard ran away to America and abandoned my grandma when she was pregnant with my mom, and my thug of a dad bastard also disappeared when my mom was pregnant with me. Honestly, that’s better. Why kill someone instead of just divorcing.”

“You think so too?”

“Is that even a question? Ask anyone, they’d all say the same. Unlike my grandma or my mom, your mother had family and money. Even as a single mom, she could’ve lived well. Seriously, why are guys with dicks like this? I’m one too, but I really don’t get it. If you did it, take responsibility. If you can’t, then don’t do it in the first place. Sure, it felt good when you came. But men in this country really need to reflect. I will never abandon a pregnant girlfriend or wife. And until I can take responsibility, I’ll be thorough about contraception. Pregnancy only hurts the woman. To kill the mother when there’s a child… Even if he was your father, he was a fucking bastard.”

Worked up, Haeri had been rambling when he suddenly came to his senses. A chilling presence was pressing from beside him.

A faint smile lingered on Jeong Mok’s face as he looked his way. At a glance, it seemed peaceful, like he was smiling out of boredom. It helped that the park really was quiet. But that was not all.

The way his eyes settled on Haeri was strange. It resembled what he had shown at the museum, but with a slight difference. Haeri was no psychologist, so he could not explain exactly what that difference was. The former had felt like an embarrassment at being seen together, but this one carried something fundamentally dangerous.

‘Madness. This is madness.’

Gulp.

He unconsciously swallowed dryly.

Meeting his gaze, Jeong Mok reached out an arm, wrapped it around Haeri’s shoulder, and pulled him in. Tension rose in his waist, but Haeri could not even blink. He let his head rest against Jeong Mok’s shoulder as the man directed.

“Does our Haeri want a girlfriend or a wife…?”

His tone carried no emotion, like a line out of a horror movie spoken by a psychopath. Chills ran down Haeri’s back.

“Anything else I can give you, but that would be difficult. So can’t you ask for something else instead? Ah, come to think of it, going out alone will be hard too. Living separately as well. Sorry for changing my words after saying you could do whatever you want. Our Haeri has to stay a bit cute, you know. What if someone steals you. I’m not confident, so I get uneasy. You understand, right?”

“Y-yes. Of course I understand. I was just saying.”

“Thank you.”

Jeong Mok pressed his face against the top of Haeri’s head.

Are you crazy, Ahn Haeri? In front of a man who said his father killed his mother because of morbid jealousy, you brought up girlfriends and wives? If not for dumb luck, you would be paying off that mistake for life.

Was it because he was too intimidated? Even on the brink of disaster, his damned mouth started moving on its own again.

“Then what else did you inherit from your father besides looks?”

Not his personality, please. Anything but that. All the circumstantial evidence pointed that way, but maybe, just maybe, it was not.

“Hmm, other than looks, probably introversion. My father wasn’t sociable. I don’t like being around people either, so that’s definitely from him.”

Now that he thought about it, after work Jeong Mok only spent time with Haeri and the black dog. He never met or even called anyone else. Did he even have friends? Surely not none at all.

“I thought your personality came from him too. But recently I heard from Chief Ahn that it might be from the other side. Chief Ahn used to be my grandfather’s secretary. My maternal grandfather.”

“The former Chairman?”

“Yeah. He said my personality is just like my grandfather’s.”

“In what way?”

“It’s embarrassing to say myself, but. Normally I put up with things so well it looks like indifference, but once a certain line is crossed, I’m merciless. Chief Ahn said that after seeing how I handled the Hongil Trading people.”

Handled? What kind of handling?

“What did you do?”

“This is really something I’d rather not say. It’s better you don’t know.”

Suddenly Haeri remembered what he had once heard. How he had beaten a man who attacked him at the convenience store nearly to death with his fists… Yes, better to stay ignorant.

“Was your grandfather obsessive… no, more like single-minded too?”

“Ah, that’s definitely from him. My maternal grandfather was a notorious womanizer. He had so many mistresses, but in the end only had two daughters. People said it was divine retribution for tormenting his lawful wife.”

Haeri was beginning to understand why the Hyeonsan family was so tolerant of his existence. When someone was said to resemble a madman who had killed with jealous rage, and who could also beat a man straight into intensive care, who would dare oppose whatever he did.

Bzzz.

A sudden vibration made Haeri jump. It was Jeong Mok’s phone.

“It’s the Chairwoman. One moment.”

While Jeong Mok answered the call, Haeri shot up from the bench and ran toward the black dog wandering in the distance.

Big dog, I’m screwed.