The Cruel Beast’s Desire - Chapter 10

“Do you think the person Yoonjae truly loves is Kang Hayeon… is you?”

“I… I trust Yoonjae.”

“Is that so? Then what about this picture?”

“He’s in the middle of a competition… why is he with you?”

“This is the Central Hotel. It’s the athletes’ accommodation, but I can go in. I’m the one Yoonjae is going to marry, and this hotel belongs to my dad. He’s providing it for the World Championships participants. For his son-in-law.”

“……”

“Don’t be mistaken. You’re just a shell. You can see how much you and I look alike if you have eyes. Isn’t that all it is? That dress you’re wearing now, Yoonjae bought it for you, right? Yoonjae gifted me this dress too. But what I received is the real thing… Don’t tell me you’re so stupid you don’t know what it means to receive a cheap copy of a luxury item as a gift? Oh, right. Your blood type is the same rare type as mine too. It seems like you approached Yoonjae pretending to be me… Don’t mistake a brief encounter as a substitute during a rough patch between Yoonjae and me as true love. You are not me.”

The voice of the woman who came to her seven years ago and spoke so confidently echoed in her head.

The person Seo Yoonjae loves, and still deeply loves even as Tae Yoonjae.

The woman he wants to protect so much that he’d face Hayeon again, whom he said he’d never see again.

It was miserable, but she had to admit it. He still loved her. He sought her out to protect her.

Hayeon opened her eyes, which had been closed, and looked at Yoonjae.

Her first love was such a cruel person. She still remembered the moments she thought were genuine, and she couldn’t help but laugh at how pathetic she was.

It would be better to earn the money herself and pay it back, even if her body was tattered.

“No.”

Hayeon continued, indifferently watching his brow furrow.

“What does protecting the person you love have to do with me?”

“Kang Hayeon.”

“Isn’t it funny? The person who said everything became easy after becoming Tae Yoonjae can’t easily have just one thing… and it has to be my blood…”

She knew he wouldn’t back down like this. But she didn’t want to succumb helplessly here. There was something Hayeon couldn’t give up, even for 2 billion won, or even several times that amount.

‘Seo Yoonjae, or rather, Tae Yoonjae… you’ll never know. Live your life never knowing. Because when you protected your love, I lost everything.’

For the first time since facing Yoonjae, Hayeon smiled. It wasn’t a forced smile, but a genuine smile that was so chilling.

“You lose it too. The sorrow of losing something that’s like your heart.”

There was no need to listen to him.

Hayeon turned away coldly and walked out through the doors she had struggled to pass through.

After leaving the Taewang Group building, Hayeon walked and walked. Even if she walked at a fast pace, it seemed like Yoonjae at the top of the Taewang Group building could see everything, so Hayeon went into the nearest subway station.

She took a subway without knowing where she was going and went wherever her feet led her. She got off the subway and walked and walked.

Even though she was completely out of Yoonjae’s sight, she couldn’t shake off the dirty and miserable feeling that had permeated her whole body when she faced him.

Hayeon’s feet stopped at the intercity bus terminal.

“……Ah.”

Hayeon stood blankly in front of the bus platform, holding the bus ticket she had purchased out of habit.

She would probably not be able to board the bus again this time and would have to turn back, but her heart was always towards the blue sea.

-Rrrrrrr.

Hayeon flinched, startled by the loud ringing of her cell phone. Her hand trembled as she took out her phone, fearing it might be Yoonjae.

[Ji-hye]

A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she saw Ji-hye’s name.

“Hello.”

[Hayeon-ah, Magic Wardrobe is…]

“I’ll do it.”

She answered that she would do it without even listening to the end.

Right now, it was important to work and earn money as much as possible.

[Really? It’s an exclusive model offer, are you really going to sign the contract?]

“Yeah, I need to work a lot. So, take all the jobs that come in.”

[Is something wrong?]

Hayeon closed her mouth tightly, not having the energy to explain in detail over the phone.

[Did your parents cause another accident? You said they took all the money you had last time. Did they take out a private loan or something?]

It was worse than a private loan.

Even though Hayeon didn’t explain in detail, Ji-hye noticed. A long sigh echoed over the phone.

[Okay, let’s make a lot of money and succeed, Hayeon. This unnie will bring you a lot of work.]

At Ji-hye’s words, Hayeon clenched her weakening heart tightly.

“Samcheok, the bus to Samcheok will depart in 5 minutes.”

Hayeon looked down at the bus ticket she was holding at the bus driver’s voice. Her steps were heavy as she had to turn around again today without being able to board the bus.

[It doesn’t sound like you’re at home… Hayeon-ah, where are you going?]

“That’s…”

[If it’s Samcheok… you’re perhaps…]

Ji-hye couldn’t easily continue the next words.

The silence between the two grew longer.

Hayeon mumbled as if talking to herself, looking at the bus ticket.

“Just I feel suffocated…”

[Hayeon-ah, instead of just buying a bus ticket once a month… go.]

She didn’t know Ji-hye would know.

Perhaps she was desperately hoping someone would push her back. A tearful voice leaked out between her trembling lips.

“Can I… can I go?”

[Ugh, this frustrating Kang Hayeon! Go! Get on the bus quickly!]

Hayeon bit her inner cheek.

[You haven’t gone for 7 years. What’s the point of being so tough when you’re alive? Why do you only buy bus tickets every time and never actually go… you live with it in your heart every day.]

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry that I couldn’t even hold her in my arms once before sending her away…”

The bus door was slowly closing. Hayeon’s heart grew impatient.

[Go! Go and tell her. That you think about her every day. That you’ve never forgotten her. Tell her you love her. She must have been waiting. I would go with you if I had time but I have to go to the countryside today…]

“No, I can go alone.”

[So, you can go alone, but why have you been stubbornly holding on all this time? Kang Hayeon! Go! Have a safe trip. And make sure to tell Imo that I love her.]

“Okay, I’ll definitely tell her.”

Hayeon hung up the phone and ran to knock on the bus door.

“Excuse me, driver! I need to get on. Please open the door.”

As soon as the bus door opened, Hayeon got on right away.

The bus was empty because it was a weekday, so she sat in any seat. Her heart was pounding and her butt kept wiggling.

She couldn’t take her eyes off the window, hoping to see the blue sea that was so dazzling it made her eyes hurt. After passing through mountains and many tunnels, she finally saw the sea.

The blue sea holding a child was so dazzling that Hayeon shed tears silently.

Yoonjae leaned back deeply in his chair and closed his eyes tightly. He frowned slightly, annoyed by the secretary’s report.

“After donating blood, Kang Hayeon left the hospital and worked as a fitting model at a studio in Cheongdam-dong. It ended at 4 a.m.”

“What time?”

“4 a.m.”

Yoonjae’s brow furrowed even more.

“Then that means she was filming for twelve hours?”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t just any day, it was the day she donated blood. Even if she was careful, she would be dizzy, but she was filming for twelve hours.

“Unlike what she has done so far, this filming will expose her face completely.”

He didn’t like it.

“Take care of it.”

“Yes. After returning home at 5 a.m., Kang Hayeon did not leave her house for a week.”

It was a reported fact.

Kang Hayeon didn’t come to the sports center for a week.

“During the week, Lee Ji-hye and Kim Seon-woo visited her house every day.”

“Who?”

“Lee Ji-hye and Kim Seon-woo.”

He could accept Ji-hye, but Seon-woo going to Hayeon’s house every day bothered him. When he ran into them at the sports center last time, Seon-woo was holding Hayeon’s hand.

Just friends was a lie. At least to Seon-woo, Kang Hayeon was a special person.

The secretary continued the report.

“The place Kang Hayeon came to after leaving her house for the first time in a week is here.”

Yoonjae looked at the place where Hayeon was standing. It was still a chilling gaze as if Hayeon was still there.

Does Kang Hayeon know what it means to lose the person you love?

Well, a woman who gave up her child so easily wouldn’t know such a thing. Even if she knew, she would have refused.

She was a woman who donated blood regularly for him.

“After leaving here, Kang Hayeon took a bus to Samcheok from the Gangnam Express Bus Terminal.”

Yoonjae opened his eyes and looked at Eun-gi, his secretary.

“Where did she go?”

“Samcheok. It’s a small city in Gangwon-do. It has a beach. On the map, it’s about an hour further down from Gangneung.”

He had expected that Kang Hayeon would naturally run to her parents.

Kang Hayeon’s parents in the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do were diligently squandering the money they had received from him.

It was a move that didn’t deviate from his expectations at all.

But Kang Hayeon went to Gangwon-do.

She moved in a completely unexpected direction.

He had already investigated how Hayeon had been living for the past 7 years two or three times. There wasn’t even a single thing from Gangwon-do in it.

Why did she go to a place where there was no connection at all?

Was there someone else there who would help Hayeon or someone she had relied on in the meantime?

He was on edge about her unfamiliar destination.

“Who is the person she met there?”

“There is no one she met. She went to a beach and cried.”

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