Those Called Parents - 3
Today I was in a good mood.
A few days earlier, the massive raid on that multi-hundred-billion-won illegal gambling den had made headlines, and as the tipster I had just been paid the thirty-five million won informant reward.
"Heh...! Heheh...!"
"That good, huh? For a guy who drops a hundred million on a single bet, it's not even real money."
"Does money just grow out of the ground? And the ones who already have plenty always love it more."
"Haah... Anyway, why the hell did you go that far? You could've just handed it over to the cops or the prosecutors from the start."
Park Daeseok shook his head with an incredulous look. I stopped walking for a moment at his question.
"That only works when the authorities actually do their jobs properly."
"What...?"
Domestic violence.
It is a truly horrific crime.
But in this country, the police cannot respond to it aggressively. Even if they get a call and show up, they cannot make an arrest unless they catch the perpetrator in the act. They could, in theory, take various circumstances into account—but most of the time they simply do not. If anything goes wrong, the abuser can turn around and sue them, dragging them into a messy lawsuit. So unless it is a flagrant offense, they usually just advise the family to talk things out amicably and leave.
After that half-measure, the abuser—now even more enraged by the police visit—often unleashes far worse violence. And more than anything, the victims themselves lack the will. After all, the person putting food on the table is still the husband. The people who suffer domestic violence are usually the ones who would have nothing to eat starting tomorrow. So they endure the horror and keep living. They have to eat, after all. Sometimes they even send the police away themselves, insisting it is just a private marital matter. Gaslighting, as people call it—they live completely conditioned by it.
"So Hayeon's mother too..."
"I talked with her briefly. She barely has any will to divorce. And more than that, it would take far too long."
"Time??"
I had learned that through Yun Jiyeon. If it went to contested divorce instead of mutual consent, it would take months at minimum. But within those months Lee Hayeon had to debut. Naturally the man calling himself her father would claim legal rights and try to drag her career through the mud, using it as leverage to demand money. Just having a father who was a domestic abuser, alcoholic, and gambling addict would mean debuting while carrying a time bomb that could explode at any moment. So mutual divorce was the fastest, cleanest solution. The papers inside the clipboard had been the mutual divorce agreement.
Knock knock knock—
I knocked and entered the hospital room. Hayeon's mother, who had been lying in bed, sat up and greeted me and Park Daeseok.
"You've come...? I feel so shameless, imposing on you like this. I'm truly grateful and so sorry..."
"Not at all~ Imposing? Please don't say that."
"Ma'am, this is lunch, and these are some snacks for when you get bored. Ah! I got the doctor's permission for everything, so there's no problem eating them."
"Thank you..."
Hayeon's mother was currently hospitalized. It was not because of the remaining bruises or any major illness, but because prolonged stress and depression had left her unable to take in proper nutrition. In short, she was suffering from mild anorexia and malnutrition.
"Daeseok, give us a minute."
"Sure. Ma'am, I'll come visit again next time."
"Yes... Take care on your way..."
Hayeon's mother gave a small bow in farewell to Park Daeseok, then looked at me with worried eyes.
"Is it... that I have some serious disease...? Or is it about the hospital bills..."
"Oh no, not at all~ Nothing like that."
"Then..."
Still fretting, she watched as I handed her the clipboard I had brought in my bag.
"This is..."
"It's a mutual divorce agreement."
"What?? D-divorce...?"
"First, I sincerely apologize for preparing these papers on my own like this. But for Hayeon's sake and for yours, I hope you will sign them."
"But... if I divorce... I have nowhere to go right away... and no money..."
"I'll help with that part. I'll arrange a place for you to stay, and make sure you can earn a living as well."
"......"
Her face was full of anxiety. Even with an offer this solid, she could not accept it easily.
"You're worried, aren't you?"
"Pardon...?"
"That if Hayeon debuts and fails, I'll pretend I never knew you. That I'll take the place away again, that you'll lose the job I found for you."
"I-I'm sorry..."
"Don't be. Of course you'd worry about that. But do I really look that untrustworthy? I thought I had a fairly reliable face. Hahaha~"
I tried my best to lighten the mood, but the effect was minimal. Worry and anxiety still filled her expression.
"Um... CEO..."
"Yes, please speak freely."
"Even if... I say I'll divorce... my husband won't accept it..."
"Ah! You don't need to worry about that part at all."
"Pardon...?"
"He already agreed."
"What do you mean..."
I opened the clipboard she was holding for her. Inside, the mutual divorce agreement already bore her husband's seal, stamped clear as day. The lawyer had filled in the rest of the information. No one was going to do a handwriting analysis, after all.
"How is this..."
"He said he was sorry for everything, and even promised he would never appear in front of either of you again."
"R-really?? Why all of a sudden..."
"Who knows. Maybe he had a change of heart."
I answered with a faint smile. And he really would not show up again if he could help it. No—he would not be able to.
Thanks to my tip, the illegal gambling den had been raided that day, and all the money there had been seized by the police. But the building in the back where the mid-level manager had his office was the exception. I simply had not mentioned that place.
Rattle—click!
I left the hospital room with the clipboard.
"How'd it go?"
I stared at Park Daeseok, who looked ready to die of curiosity, then nodded.
"She signed."
"Yes! Ahh, that feels good! But... nothing's actually going to happen to that guy, right...? You know..."
His expression was worried. Park Daeseok knew, after all. That the mid-level manager and his men who had not been arrested that day had dragged Hayeon's father off into the hills behind the place. Ruthless gangsters who had just lost every last won in the gambling den, and a debtor with no ability to pay. What must have happened to him by now... I did not particularly want to imagine it.
"You're worrying about the weirdest things. We just reported illegal activity, nothing more. Don't think about it any further."
"Did you... plan even that far...?"
"No."
"Really??"
"How was I supposed to know there was a separate office back there, or that the guy who went to gamble would just happen to be getting beaten up in it?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
Things had simply fallen into place perfectly. Originally I had planned to pay the gangsters to force him to stamp the seal and nothing more. Then, once he was arrested on gambling charges, I was going to sue him for habitual domestic violence. But the situation lined up just right, and I figured that if the mid-level manager was not caught, he would drag Hayeon's father away with him—so I simply never mentioned the office in the back. Of course the police eventually hit the place later, but by the time the detectives stormed in, the office was already empty.
"By the way, where did Hayeon go?"
"Yeah, where is she."
For several days now Lee Hayeon had not shown up at the practice room. She had let the company people see her like that, and the members she was about to debut with as well, so coming back would not be easy. I had planned to persuade her to return while I was at the hospital, but the girl I expected to find at her mother's side was nowhere to be seen.
"Should've asked where she went before leaving..."
"Maybe she went to practice?? Sunwoo, I'm heading to the company! You do whatever!"
"Hey! At least give me a ride—how is he that fast...?"
In an instant Park Daeseok had vanished, weaving through people who hastily made way for him, and shot out through the hospital lobby entrance. It was only a ten-minute drive, and he could have dropped me off at home first.
"Well, it's a hospital, so catching a taxi should be ea—"
Blood is thicker than water.
I never believed that nonsense. If it were true, I would never have been abandoned.
No matter how long you've been apart, you recognize them at a glance.
I never believed that either. I remembered neither face nor voice—nothing.
And yet why...
No, why...
Why...
I hoped it was not him.
I prayed it was not.
I did not even want a reunion.
Slowly I turned my head and looked again at the man who had just passed beside me.
A face I had never seen before.
Utterly unfamiliar.
And yet my heart felt as if it were being wrung out.
"Vice Chairman, it would be better if you returned even now..."
"This is the last time."
Mid-forties? Early forties?
If he took good care of himself, he could even be late forties.
Hair neatly swept back.
A cold impression that could easily come off as icy.
Tall, solid build.
Luxury brands covering his body.
And a personal secretary trailing him.
I did not know him.
Even digging through every memory of my previous life, I had never seen this man once.
And still, why...
Why did this heart ache and sting so badly...! Just why...!!
Step—
Without realizing it I took a step toward the man who was walking away.
I did not want to know.
I did not want to confirm it.
He had simply never existed from the beginning.
There was no place in my current life for anything called parents.
And yet my two legs moved against my will.
If I just reached out now, I could grab the man's shoulder...
"CEO...?"
"......"
At the soft voice calling me, I turned my head.
Lee Hayeon stood there holding a single triangle kimbap in her hand.
"Are you all right...?"
"Hah... hah... hah..."
I gasped for the breath I had been holding all this time.
I... hadn't been breathing...
"Ah!"
I turned my head back forward.
The man who had been close enough to touch was nowhere to be seen.
He was probably already riding the elevator going up.
"CEO..."
"Hoo..."
I lowered the hand I had been holding out awkwardly and turned around. Then I forced a smile toward Lee Hayeon, who was watching me with worried eyes.
"You look even prettier from skipping practice."
"Pardon...?"
"If you've rested enough, come back now."
"That's..."
"Before that, let's go eat first. Not something like this."
"Ah..."
I plucked the triangle kimbap she was clutching in both hands with my fingers and started walking toward the lobby entrance.
"Not coming?"
"I... I should stay with Mom..."
"Your mother's eating right now. I bought her something delicious, so don't worry and come eat with me. I'm hungry."
"......"
"Sigh... At this rate I'll starve to death."
I walked back the distance I had covered, took Lee Hayeon's hand, and held it.
"Ah..."
"Let's go."
Even as we walked toward the lobby entrance, my eyes kept glancing back over my shoulder.
No. Don't think about it.
"They were people who never existed in my life to begin with, after all."
"Pardon...?"
"Ah... just talking to myself. It slips out like a habit sometimes. So what do you like?"
"I can eat anything well..."
"Hmm... Anything... That's the pickiest order of all..."
"Um, CEO..."
"Yes, if there's something you want, just say so. I can eat anything too."
"It's just... could you let go of my hand a little now..."
Following her gaze downward, I saw our hands still tightly linked between us.
"Ah! Sorry! I didn't mean anything by it..."
"Pfft...!"
"Haha... You're not misunderstanding, right...?"
"I like tteokbokki. The really spicy kind."
"Deal."
It was not far enough for a taxi, so we walked about ten minutes to the snack shop Lee Hayeon said she often went to. It was not a famous chain—just the kind of neighborhood snack place you would find anywhere.
And there...
I tasted hell.
"Hhk... hhk hhk... It's dog-level spicy...!!"
"Haaaa!! Sssss!! Haaaa...!!! Boss, some milk here...! Milk, hurry... hhk hhk..."
"Aigoo~ That's why you should've stuck to level one like usual. Why show off and order level ten? At this rate your boyfriend's going to die. Both of you, before you go home, stop by that university hospital over there and get a gastroscopy. Got it?"
We had definitely walked there.
But on the way back we rode an emergency ambulance we had frantically called.
"Ha-Hayeon!!"
"Mom... hhk... It's too spicy... hhk..."
"CEO! What on earth happened?!"
"I-I'm sorry... The tteokbokki...! Augh!! Bathroom...!!"