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Chapter 15

Seok-eon, who had been about to close the door, eventually stepped back and sat down slowly. After glancing around, Hae-ju cautiously entered the room. Only after quietly closing the door did Seok-eon's face, illuminated by the desk lamp, come into clearer view.

"How did this happen?"

"It's nothing. Just a minor thing."

"How is this nothing?"

Hae-ju, unconsciously kneeling and leaning closer, examined Seok-eon's face as if studying it. The wounds were worse than they had appeared from outside. They were clearly not injuries from training.

His lip and forehead were slightly torn, with dried scabs forming, and his knuckles bore the remnants of rough abrasions. It didn't seem like he had received any proper first aid.

"I'll go to the main room and get some medicine..."

She tried to stand, but her body wouldn't move. Looking down in surprise, she saw that Seok-eon was holding her wrist. He warned her, his voice tired, "Don't do anything."

Caught in an awkward situation, Seok-eon was beginning to get a headache. Perhaps hoping that Hae-ju had fallen asleep had been wishful thinking.

"What are you planning to do?"

At her question, Seok-eon answered with a weary voice, barely managing to excuse himself. "It's too late. I'll leave early tomorrow. Just pretend you didn't see anything."

"Leave early and do what?"

"There's a first-aid kit in the taekwondo gym. I'll patch myself up there. Nothing's broken."

"You should go to the hospital...!"

"I'll handle it myself!"

His cold, boundary-setting words silenced Hae-ju.

"..."

Again, his distancing words made her feel helpless. Her place was always at that distance—nothing new. She regretted overstepping with excessive worry.

Normally, she would have obediently accepted his words and simply left. But seeing his wounded face, she couldn't bring herself to do so.

At a loss for words, Hae-ju lowered her gaze. Seok-eon was still holding her wrist. Without even thinking of pulling away, Hae-ju asked him, "Can I ask... what happened?"

Seok-eon, looking at her with unfamiliar eyes, replied in a languid voice, "...Don't worry about it."

She didn't like how he still kept his distance, but this time she absolutely wanted to know what was going on. Hae-ju finally stepped into his territory.

"Did you fight... with Kim Kyu-hong?"

Instantly, Seok-eon's eyes narrowed noticeably. "Where did you hear that name?"

"He's the kid who quit school after you injured him. I heard he's in a notorious gang now."

"Gang?"

Muttering to himself, Seok-eon suddenly chuckled as if the situation were amusing. At that, Hae-ju asked in disbelief, "You can laugh at a time like this?"

As she watched him struggle with his laughter, he suddenly winced—apparently from pain. "Ah...!"

"Are you okay?"

At her question, Seok-eon nodded, took a deep breath, and composed himself. After a moment, he continued in a businesslike tone. "...Kim Kyu-hong is doing MMA now. He made me a recruitment offer, and I turned it down. That's all."

"And this is the result of turning down an offer?"

"I broke his shoulder back then. He wanted to settle the debt, so I took a few hits."

"Really?"

"We're men—we can go at it like that. It's nothing. Don't tell anyone. Especially not my mom."

At his casual attitude, Hae-ju finally let out a relieved breath. As she relaxed, their eyes met. It was an unfamiliar situation. Hearing each other's breathing clearly, Hae-ju, flustered, quickly stood up.

"...I should go."

As she tried to pull her hand free and stand, her wrist was caught again, and she tumbled into Seok-eon's embrace.

"What are you—!"

At the sudden move, Hae-ju gasped in shock. Seok-eon held her slender waist with stronger force, making her face him. Her mind went blank—and then, without warning, she felt something soft on her lips.

She tried to push him away in surprise, but Seok-eon's right hand held the back of her head, pressing his lips against hers.

When her lips parted in shock, a hot, slick sensation surged inside. Seok-eon caught her retreating tongue and bit her thin lips with possessive intensity that made her shudder.

Never having experienced this distance with him before, Hae-ju kept trying to pull back, but her small struggles had no effect on him.

"Shh!"

His metallic command made her feel utterly exposed. Dizzy, Hae-ju unconsciously clung to his chest. She didn't know what to do with the hard muscle she felt beneath his shirt—her hands curled in helplessness.

"Ah."

A deep sigh escaped Hae-ju's lips. Nothing went as she wanted. His heart was pounding wildly, as if it might leap out of his chest. Had hearts always sounded like such massive drums?

Slowly looking up, she met Seok-eon's gaze, silently watching her. His left hand slowly rose, brushing the hair from her eyes, and he murmured as if to himself, "If you leave with that worried look, what am I supposed to do?"

"What... then?"

Still, she couldn't understand his enigmatic words.

"If this gets out, I won't be able to compete. Would you like that?"

Instead of answering, Hae-ju shook her head. Satisfied with her compliance, Seok-eon replied gently again, "Then smile. Calmly. As if nothing happened."

"..."

"Answer me."

He asked firmly, looking at Hae-ju with her still-confused eyes. Only after she finally nodded blankly did Seok-eon slowly release her wrist.

"I'm tired. Go now."

Suddenly cold, Seok-eon closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. Finally grounded in reality, Hae-ju pulled away as if shocked. As she hesitated, looking at him with closed eyes, Seok-eon slowly opened his.

"Why? Need something else?"

There was a clear trace of mockery at the corner of his mouth. Realizing that what he had done was merely a tactic to keep her silent, a wave of humiliation swept through her.

"You're truly the worst."

Seok-eon replied indifferently, as if he had already expected it. "...I know."

Hae-ju clenched her fists and stood up abruptly, then hurriedly opened the door and fled out. But her footsteps froze on the veranda.

"Aunt...ie!"

At the unexpected address, Seok-eon leaned away from the wall and looked outside. Standing in front of the doorway was Ja-young, wearing a cardigan over her pajamas.

"You two... right now...?"

Her expression was as if she had just witnessed an unimagined hell.

---

Two Weeks Later

On a fall holiday, not long before the university entrance exams, a taekwondo match was playing on the TV on the veranda. Ja-young, with a stiffer expression than usual, was wiping the floor with a rag. Watching from the side, Hae-ju approached and took the rag from her.

"Let me do it."

But Ja-young pushed her away, and the rag returned to her own hand. "I'll do it."

Ever since the incident in Seok-eon's room, Ja-young hadn't said a single word to Hae-ju. At a loss, Hae-ju watched her for a while, then quietly moved to the kitchen. Meanwhile, the other residents began to gather on the veranda one by one.

"Auntie, Seok-eon's match is just starting, right?"

"Of course."

At the mention of Seok-eon's name, Ja-young's face finally softened. Jin-suk, the twins' mother, came up with one of her twins and turned on the TV with the remote.

The channels scrolled endlessly until they stopped at a sports channel showing the taekwondo stadium. Unaware of the tension between Ja-young and Hae-ju, Jin-suk called out toward the kitchen, "Hae-ju! Seok-eon's match is just starting!"

Normally, Hae-ju would have said she was going to the library and left for her part-time job, but today she had agreed to watch Seok-eon's match with the family. Carrying a tray of apples, she stepped onto the veranda.

"Seok-eon will win gold again, right? Then he'll become a national team member immediately?"

The young man from the next room, who was preparing for the civil service exam, speared a piece of apple that Hae-ju had cut and added seriously, "I heard that winning this time will give him the points to qualify for the national team. Isn't that right, Auntie?"

"Of course...!"

Ja-young's answer was firm, but her face was unusually quiet. Normally, she would have clapped her hands and sought agreement from Hae-ju, but today she wouldn't even look at her. Unfamiliar with this version of Ja-young, Hae-ju awkwardly continued cutting apples.

"You must be so happy, Auntie. If your son becomes a national team member, he could even compete in the Olympics. Who knows? If he wins a gold medal, that's truly a dragon rising from a creek."

"That goes without saying. Only good things should happen to Seok-eon. He'll go to a good university, become a professor, marry a nice girl from a good family..."

At Ja-young's resolute reply, still avoiding her gaze, Hae-ju's fingers stiffened.

---

Fierce shouts filled the stadium. Though multiple matches were ongoing simultaneously, Seok-eon calmly put on his headgear and protective equipment, waiting for his turn.

Scream—

As Seok-eon's face appeared clearly on the screen, a sudden chorus of girls' screams filled the stadium.

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