The Cruel Beast’s Desire - Chapter 14

“What kind of zodiac-themed nonsense is this!””

A new curse word exploded from Ji-hye’s agitated mouth. Hayeon chuckled.

“Are you laughing now? Or are you so shocked you’ve lost your mind?”

She almost wished that were the case.

Her all-too-sane mind kept nurturing other ulterior motives.

“How could he spew out words about wanting to protect love to you? And you just let it go? You should have ripped his mouth apart!”

How would she have lived if she didn’t have Ji-hye, who got so angry and worried as if it were her own problem?

Hayeon leaned her head on Ji-hye’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Ji-hye.”

“Why are you saying that now! You heard that bastard’s nonsense and still said you’d do it?”

“Yeah, I will.”

She had to.

At first, it was a desire to protect everyone. But now, she decided to add another feeling to it.

“I’m going to destroy what that bastard calls everything.”

Perhaps surprised by the unexpected words, Ji-hye just stared with wide eyes, saying nothing.

“I lost everything… he should lose everything too. Everything… that’s what love is, apparently.”

“Hayeon…”

No matter how great his love was, he had wavered with her. There was a chance he might seek her out as a substitute again.

She decided to trust the desire she felt during the kiss in front of the rooftop room last time. If she could destroy everything he had, Hayeon was willing to be ruined.

She had sworn to the blue sea holding the child she saw yesterday that she would never collapse again.

“Ji-hye… just support me no matter what. Like you always have… just tell me I’m doing well.”

Ji-hye held Hayeon’s hand tightly.

“Do whatever you want. I’m unconditionally on Kang Hayeon’s side.”

She felt so shameless that she couldn’t even easily say thank you.

“But Hayeon, about Yoonjae… I looked into it a bit? He’s still unmarried. That woman definitely said the two of them were engaged back then. And she was heavily pregnant. Doesn’t something seem strange?”

It was painful to recall the memories, but Hayeon decided not to avoid them anymore.

“Ji-hye, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“That woman… Lee Joo-rin. Find out where she is now, what she’s doing.”

If she was Yoonjae’s true love, she had to know, even if it was to destroy it.

If she needed a blood transfusion, she would be in the hospital. At least, she hoped she wouldn’t run into her at Hayeon’s designated accommodation.

“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely find out for you.”

“Thank you.”

“But don’t push yourself too hard. If it doesn’t feel right, just back out, okay?”

Meeting Ji-hye’s worried eyes, Hayeon nodded.

“I will.”

Yoonjae’s secretary arrived at the appointed time. Just like when they met in front of his office, he was a person with no expression on his face. Or maybe he was just good at hiding it.

With her simple luggage, she followed the secretary.

Her lips felt parched with tension. Looking at the road the car was taking, she realized they were going to Hannam-dong. She had expected to be stuck in a rural area with fresh air, but it was unexpected that he would provide her with a residence in Seoul.

The car stopped in front of a house surrounded by high walls, and a heavy gate opened.

“This is…”

“The Executive Director’s residence.”

Hayeon’s mind became complicated at the dry answer.

She hadn’t imagined that she would be living in the same house as him. But it was actually a better condition for realizing Hayeon’s plan.

Getting out of the car and following the secretary, it seemed as if several houses were connected like a castle.

The place where Hayeon would be staying seemed to be where the employees working at the mansion lived. Entering, a small living room and kitchen were the first things she saw. There was one door that seemed to lead to a bathroom and two doors that seemed to lead to rooms.

It was a wider and more pleasant environment than her rooftop room. Outside the living room window, she could see a glass building like a greenhouse.

As Hayeon looked around, the secretary took out a piece of paper from his briefcase, as if to do his job.

“This is Ms. Kang Hayeon’s schedule.”

Hayeon accepted the schedule that the secretary handed her. The schedule, which started with waking up at 7 a.m., was filled with meals, exercise, and rest, all scheduled by the hour.

“This is the meal plan. If there’s anything else you’d like to eat…”

“There’s nothing.”

She cut off the secretary’s words and dismissed them. He continued the next explanation with the same expressionless face.

“There’s an exercise room and a swimming pool in that building over there. You can go there at the times listed on the schedule and do the prescribed exercises. Ms. Lee will bring your meals here.”

“Okay.”

“This is my business card. If you need anything else, please let me know through me.”

Hayeon stared blankly at the business card the secretary handed her.

“You can have one day off a week.”

A bitter smile came to her face at the words offering her a holiday as if he was doing her a favor.

“Okay.”

At Hayeon’s concise answer, the secretary stood up. After bowing politely as if it was ingrained in his body, the secretary left, and Hayeon took a deep breath.

It wasn’t as if she had been holding her breath, but she breathed heavily, strangely like someone who had come up to the surface after a long dive.

“Haa… I can live here, right?”

With a long sigh, Hayeon steeled herself for the days ahead.

It was around lunchtime that Hayeon was able to see another person for the first time since setting foot here.

A middle-aged woman was holding a lot of something in her hands.

“Nice to meet you, teacher. I brought lunch.”

“Ah, hello.”

Hayeon, who had been blankly sitting on the sofa defenselessly, greeted her, and the woman with a friendly impression smiled.

“I received the message. I was told to make you as comfortable as possible.”

“Yes…”

Telling her to call her Ms. Lee, she quickly set the things she had brought on the table.

“The Executive Director eats his food blandly. So, all the food in the house is seasoned to this level.”

She had no appetite, but Hayeon didn’t have the slightest right to refuse the meal. As Hayeon picked up her spoon with difficulty, Ms. Lee carefully examined Hayeon.

“It’s unfamiliar now, but you’ll gradually get used to it.”

“Yes.”

“If you need anything, you can talk through the intercom over there. Either I or Chief Jang will answer, but we’re busy with other things, so we sometimes can’t answer.”

“Yes.”

Looking at the quiet, almost silent house, Hayeon carefully asked.

“Who lives here with the Executive Director?”

“The young lady.”

Hayeon bit her lip at the word “young lady.”

“The Chairman comes occasionally, but he’s almost always abroad. He comes to Korea once a year, and then he stops by briefly. He spends most of his time at the villa before leaving the country.”

She felt drained that Hayeon was being brought into a house where two people lived. It meant that she was nothing.

“The people who work here are me and Chief Jang. Chief Jang is dedicated to the young lady. Right now, the young lady is hospitalized, so he’s there. The other people commute to work, so you’ll hardly run into them, so it won’t be uncomfortable.”

“Yes.”

Ms. Lee, who had been quietly watching Hayeon eat, pushed the side dishes towards her.

“Your face looks rough and you don’t seem to have an appetite…”

Unlike her friendly impression, Ms. Lee keenly recognized Hayeon’s condition.

“I’m okay.”

“I talk too much, right? It’s strange, I’m not unfamiliar with you even though I’m seeing you for the first time. It’s like I’ve seen you somewhere, and I’m so happy as if I’ve known you for a long time, so I’ve been talking a lot. You can put the dishes in the sink.”

“Yes, I will.”

Even after Ms. Lee left, Hayeon barely ate her rice. After clearing the dishes, a silence without even the slightest noise flowed tediously.

Hayeon looked at the schedule that the secretary had given her. Seeing that it was rest time after lunch, she was reminded of her schedule when she was a swimmer. Hayeon felt suffocated by being inside the house, so she went outside for a walk.

She passed the well-maintained lawn and went to the place where the swimming pool was.

“Did you have a good lunch?”

Ms. Lee greeted her.

“Yes.”

“Today is the day we’re changing the water in the swimming pool. So, it’s noisier than usual.”

If this was considered noisy, how much quieter was it usually? It felt like she couldn’t even breathe deeply here.

“Did you come to the garden?”

“I came out for a walk.”

“The teacher’s accommodation is connected to the swimming pool. And to the main house too. The Executive Director really likes to exercise. And he works hard at it too.”

Listening to Ms. Lee’s words, Hayeon’s gaze was entirely on the swimming pool. She was happy that she could swim here too, which she used to do every day.

“Ms. Lee, can I swim here too?”

“Of course. Just avoid the Executive Director’s swimming time.”

It was an opportunity to run into Yoonjae without any business.

“But teacher, did you bring your swimsuit?”

She didn’t know there was a swimming pool, so she didn’t bring one. With Ms. Lee’s help, Hayeon ordered a swimsuit to the address she found out.

Thanks to teaching early morning classes at the sports center, she naturally woke up at 5 a.m. as usual.

Even though she had been busy working, Hayeon had been living a regular life in her own way.

Following the schedule that the secretary gave her wasn’t that difficult. The hardest thing was the too-quiet daily life, more than the bland food.

Hayeon naturally spent more time with Ms. Lee. Because she was a person without malice, Ms. Lee told her a lot of stories. Thanks to that, Hayeon was able to find out a lot of information about Yoonjae.

She told her that Yoonjae had gone on a business trip the day Hayeon entered this house, and that he had slept at the hospital last night.

“It’s been a while since he’s come home… I wonder if he’ll be very late.”

Before she knew it, Ms. Lee was speaking comfortably to Hayeon.

“The Executive Director?”

Ms. Lee nodded.

“When will the young lady be discharged from the hospital?”

“Well… she suffered so much from the side effects of the transfusion last time… she’ll probably have to stay for another month.”

Support The Cruel Beast’s Desire