Chapter 22

“Is it an urgent call?”

“…Yes, well.”

“It’s Gi-hyeon, isn’t it?”

Jo Yeon-oh offered absolutely no confirmation—neither nodding nor parting his lips to answer—but the woman sitting directly across from him accurately deduced the truth, letting out a soft, quiet sigh.

“You need to bring Gi-hyeon with you next time. It’s been entirely too long since I’ve seen him; I miss him.”

“…”

Instead of replying, Yeon-oh brought his teacup to his lips.

The rich, earthy aroma of green tea brewed from twice-roasted leaves naturally permeated the air. The scent was undeniably pleasant, but it utterly paled in comparison to the mesmerizing fragrance he had inhaled at So Gi-hyeon’s apartment yesterday.

…What exactly was that scent?

It was an intoxicating aroma so violently, overwhelmingly sweet it made his tongue physically ache.

“Spacing out while an elder is speaking to you… you and Gi-hyeon are exactly the same in that regard.”

“…Because we’re friends. We’ve been glued to each other for so long, I suppose we’re starting to resemble each other.”

Whenever Gi-hyeon was mentioned, Yeongwon observed her typically stoic, taciturn son suddenly become remarkably talkative, despite simultaneously projecting an aura of intense displeasure.

The dining table was lavishly arranged with thinly sliced raw sea bream, rich monkfish liver stew, deep-fried cherries, soy sauce meticulously blended with a specialized dashi broth, and piping hot refined rice wine infused with a sea-breeze-dried sea bream tail. The alcohol, naturally, was entirely for Yeongwon’s consumption.

Yeongwon’s son actively despised drinking; ironically, the one who happily matched her drink for drink had always been Gi-hyeon. Yet, at some unspecified point in the past, her violently stoic son had abruptly stopped bringing the boy around entirely. As the sole, precious treasure left behind by her late, beloved friend, she desperately wanted to shower Gi-hyeon with affection, but Yeon-oh relentlessly blocked every single avenue, making it impossible to care for him.

“How has Gi-hyeon been doing lately? Is he well?”

“…”

Yeon-oh briefly debated casually dropping the fact that they had slept in the same bed just last night, but considering his mother’s relatively fragile disposition, he ruthlessly suffocated the impulse, silently picking up a slice of raw sea bream with his silver chopsticks instead.

“Say something. I asked if Gi-hyeon is doing well.”

Watching her son instantly clamp his mouth shut again, Yeongwon shook her head in mild exasperation.

If she was destined to birth a son, she had desperately wished for an Omega. Alternatively, a reliable, incredibly affectionate son like Gi-hyeon would have been an absolute blessing. Instead, she had been cursed with a son who was fiercely stoic, aggressively taciturn, and consistently projected an aura of terrifying, absolute indifference.

However, she knew with absolute certainty that there was exactly one singular person in the universe capable of violently demolishing every single one of her son’s impenetrable walls.

“You certainly have a lot of interest in him.”

Casually swiping the tip of his chopstick across his lower lip, Jo Yeon-oh delivered the response with a distinctly disrespectful, heavily guarded attitude. Realizing he was throwing up his walls again, Yeongwon let out a tired sigh.

However, considering the absolute horror show of her son’s adolescence, the fact that he possessed a Beta male best friend was likely an absolute miracle. Back in middle school, her son had exhibited violently hypersensitive, practically allergic reactions to the mere presence of Beta males.

…I only feel profound guilt for failing to provide him with a stable, loving family environment.

Consequently, her heart naturally bleeding with affection for Gi-hyeon was entirely unavoidable.

Furthermore, the fact that Gi-hyeon had been forced into an early military discharge due to a devastating accident that permanently compromised his ankle was a source of deep, persistent anxiety for Yeongwon.

“You really… Every single time I even mention Gi-hyeon, you get so incredibly defensive. You aren’t my only son; Gi-hyeon is my son too.”

“…”

He clamped his mouth completely shut.

Watching him drop his chopsticks entirely, Yeongwon let out another quiet sigh. “…Don’t take this the wrong way. Your grandfather is growing incredibly anxious because you seem entirely utterly uninterested in marriage. Are you even seeing anyone?”

“I’m not seeing anyone. And I have absolutely zero intention of doing so. Is he officially declaring that I have to tie the knot before he’ll hand over the Chairman’s seat?”

“It’s not exactly a hard ultimatum, but…”

“It’s not an ultimatum, but he desperately needs me to get married, he desperately expects me to inevitably have affairs, and he desperately needs me to flaunt all of that absolute garbage directly in front of my future children, right? That psychotic trend died out ages ago. The current meta is actually maintaining a happy, functional family.”

Shocked by the sheer venom, Yeongwon dropped her chopsticks. Even years after divorcing Jo Yeon-oh’s father, the absolute, agonizing guilt that continuously haunted her had just been violently weaponized and spat directly from her son’s mouth.

“How can you say something so incredibly cruel?”

“Exactly. So why do you insist on forcing me to sit here until I’m pushed to say things like that? When I see my mother, I desperately want to only say pleasant, happy things to her. Just like a perfectly normal son from a perfectly normal family.”

“…”

“You should go on a trip. Nice or Sicily. It’s nice and far away.”

Lifting a pristine napkin to dab the corners of his mouth, Jo Yeon-oh stood up immediately.

Even as Yeongwon scrambled to rise in alarm, he ruthlessly turned his back and swiftly exited the private room. Waiting outside the sliding doors, Manager Yoo wore an intensely awkward, deeply apologetic expression. Yeongwon immediately hid her face in shame.

After all, she would eternally remain a sinner in the eyes of her son.

***