The Cruel Man
He was a cruel man. Tae-yeon stood there without a word, her body frozen in place. Her heart pounded fearfully, gripped by terror. The face of the pregnant woman she had seen moments ago flashed before her, and her hands trembled.
“What happened to the mother of the baby? Is she dead already?”
“No. Not yet.”
The words told her she was alive. Somewhere in this hospital lived a mother, and she had to lie here pretending to be in labor, with Hyun-seo calling the child his own.
Hyun-seo continued in a businesslike tone, as if issuing instructions.
“First, tell your mother that you’ve given birth. I’ll be there with you. Say the baby is ours and we’re getting married soon, and she’ll forgive you.”
“My mom can’t handle the shock.”
“It’s not shock that you’ll cause, but joy. You’re becoming the wife of a man like me.”
He said it as if it were obvious, but Tae-yeon shook her head.
“Do you think Mom will believe it? It hasn’t even been three months.”
“Then make her believe. That’s your ability, isn’t it? I don’t hire employees who lack ability. If you didn’t have that ability, I wouldn’t have started this. It’s about resolve.”
She had no words. Tae-yeon closed her eyes and thought. Her mother would believe. If she said they had taken a bath together, that would be believable enough.
Since her mother had been hospitalized longer, Hyun-seo must have considered that as well.
Hyun-seo picked up Tae-yeon’s phone from the table and handed it to her. He wanted her to call her mother right now, in front of him.
“Right now?”
“Today. We have to finish this. It’s getting hard to make excuses for more time.”
Tae-yeon took the phone and called her mother. As the signal began to ring, her heart grew heavier.
“Tae-yeon-ah. Where are you?”
“Mom. I’m in Seoul.”
“Really? You just arrived?”
“Mom. I… I gave birth. I had a baby.”
“What? What are you talking about? You gave birth to a child?”
Hearing her mother’s startled voice, Tae-yeon looked at Hyun-seo standing beside her. He nodded toward her, as if urging her to continue.
“When I said I was going on a trip, it had already been over six months. The baby came earlier than the due date. Maybe because it was difficult. It’s the baby of the president of our company. The heir.”
“What? Where are you now? Which hospital?”
At that moment, Hyun-seo took the phone from her side.
“Hello, this is Choi Hyun-seo. I’ll come pick you up right now. I’ll explain properly when I see you.”
“Okay. But… is it a boy? A girl?”
“A healthy boy.”
“Really? You gave birth to a boy? Our Tae-yeon?”
After hearing her mother’s words and exchanging greetings, the call ended. Hyun-seo put the phone down and gave the next order.
“Let’s go to the neonatal ward together. The baby has been moved to the neonatal ward, so I’ll accompany you. Anyone seeing you, a mother who just gave birth, would find it hard to walk, right?”
She couldn’t refuse, but his long arm wrapped around her shoulder. And he began to walk slowly. Wearing only a patient gown, Tae-yeon followed him, supported by his arm. His firm arm and the deep woody scent that entered her lungs every time he breathed made her head spin.
When they reached the neonatal ward, it still didn’t feel real. But Hyun-seo’s voice rang out right beside her.
“Choi Hyun-seo, the child of Min Tae-yeon.”
Saying that, the nurse smiled and brought the baby. The baby was already awake, mouth slightly open, then closed its eyes again.
“Ah! This child…”
Tae-yeon’s lips trembled as she looked at the baby and moved her own lips. Hyun-seo continued.
“Our child.”
It was an indescribably fragile life, but even just looking at it made one gasp in admiration. At the same time, the image of its mother came to mind, and her heart ached.
The nurse, holding the baby, smiled and said,
“It was born a little early, so its weight is a bit less than the others. But it’s healthy, which is great. It’s so handsome, you must be pleased. Well, after seeing the parents, it has no choice but to be handsome.”
It was a child born earlier than scheduled, just as Hyun-seo had said when he told her to return home quickly. As she looked at the baby, the name Yun-woo came to mind.
“Yun-woo.”
Tae-yeon’s lips moved slightly. Hyun-seo said,
“It must be hard, so stop talking.”
Like a husband, like a caring husband to his wife. As they turned to leave, Tae-yeon noticed the nurses whispering while looking at Hyun-seo.
Any man who draws the eye so much. But inside him lay an indescribable cruelty. To Tae-yeon, who had once loved him, he was the cruelest man possible.
When they returned to the room, Hyun-seo said as if confirming,
“Yun-woo. From now on, he’s Min Tae-yeon’s child. Understand?”
“Yes. I know very well.”
A moment of silence passed. He sat on the sofa. Tae-yeon, sitting on the bed, didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t lie in front of him, and she couldn’t do anything else either. The awkward, heavy air was too much for her to bear, and sweat broke out on her forehead.
However, Hyun-seo checked his phone casually and made calls, continuing his work without interruption. For nearly an hour, Tae-yeon sat quietly on the bed. The silence was broken by Hyun-seo.
“Your mother will be here soon. She said she’s almost there.”
“Yes.”
“Be good in front of your mother. Express the joy of having a son, and show your brave love for me.”
Brave love toward him! Does this man know I was in love with him?
“Officially, you, the manager, fell in love with a chaebol third-generation heir and got pregnant with the child. So it’s brave love, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
A sigh of relief escaped her. As if a thief stealing her own heartbeat. And as he said, her mother entered the room shortly after.
“What is this, Tae-yeon-ah? You gave birth? So you were traveling around Europe because your belly was full?”
Kyung-ja was too surprised to speak properly. Her daughter had lied to her mother. Looking back, the photos she had sent throughout the trip had only shown the background and her face. There hadn’t been a single photo revealing her body.
She hadn’t thought it strange, just that her daughter was good at taking photos. But the reason was this. Kyung-ja looked at Tae-yeon lying on the bed and turned her gaze to the man beside her. At that, Hyun-seo bowed respectfully.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t greet you earlier, Mother. I am Choi Hyun-seo.”
“What kind of work is this? Giving birth? Making a child like this…”
Surprised, Kyung-ja was only concerned about her newly born daughter. How could one give birth like this? Suddenly, without anyone knowing.
Toward Kyung-ja, whose heart was filled with resentment, Hyun-seo bowed his head.
“I’m sorry. We will marry soon.”
“Mom. He’s the president of our company.”
“I know. You told me. The son of the owner of Miwoo Group. No matter what, you’re my precious daughter. Even if you’re not a chaebol…”
Unable to finish her sentence, Kyung-ja could no longer say anything. The family was too high. She had worried that her daughter, who worked herself to death in difficult conditions, would find a kind man to marry.
She had thought someone like her former landlord’s son, Shin Noel, would be ideal. Shin Noel was kind, worked at the same company, knew each other’s situations well. She had thought that kind of person would be her son-in-law. But even that was too low because he was the landlord’s son. She had thought it impossible. But the owner’s son?
“Why did it have to turn out like this? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Why didn’t you have a wedding, and just gave birth to the child?”
At that, Hyun-seo’s deep voice came from beside her.
“I’m sorry. The opposition in our family might be strong. We wanted to marry without opposition and without noise as much as possible. I’m truly sorry.”
With a face that was incomparably polite and truly apologetic, bowing all the way, Kyung-ja sighed. There was nothing to say to that. Of course, in a major conglomerate, it was impossible to say that her daughter living in a one-room apartment was fine. So giving birth to the child first was rather considerate. After saying that, she couldn’t object anymore. Fortunately, the child was born.
Tae-yeon smiled proudly and said a little exaggeratedly, putting strength into her voice to fulfill her duties.
“It’s a boy. We already named him.”
“You already named him?”
“Hyun-seo-nim named him. He wanted a boy a lot, and he likes that it brings face to the family.”
Did such a face exist in her small daughter?
Kyung-ja nodded at her loving daughter.
“Well, since it’s like this, congratulations. What’s the name?”
“Yun-woo. Choi Yun-woo.”
“Really? Let me see.”
“I’ll take you, Mother.”
Mother. The word “Mother” came from Hyun-seo’s mouth. Kyung-ja’s mouth opened. And Hyun-seo looked at Tae-yeon lying on the bed and said,
“Tae-yeon-ah, I’ll take my mother around with me.”
With an extremely gentle touch, he brushed her forehead and stroked her cheek. The way he did it looked so tender and loving that Kyung-ja felt relieved.
Tae-yeon tried to smile while looking at Hyun-seo smiling at her. All she could do was marvel at how well he was acting, who had just called her “Manager.”
“Tae-yeon-ah, you’ve worked so hard. I’ll show you our Yun-woo’s mother.”
Hyun-seo held Tae-yeon’s hand and kissed the back of it.