The Cruel Beast’s Desire - Chapter 2

Bang!

As the violent sound was completely swallowed by the silence, Hayeon finally collapsed to the floor and sobbed. But that time didn’t last long. In-bong and Hyejeong, knowing that Yoonjae had been there, rushed into the hospital room.

“What did that bastard say? Huh?”

“Didn’t he give you anything?”

Hayeon, whose body hadn’t yet recovered, was sitting on the cold hospital floor. The first thing they should have done was to help her up or check on her. But her so-called parents were only interested in the side benefits. She knew that her parents were only interested in money, but this was too much.

“Ugh, frustrating! Hayeon, say something!”

“What did he say? Did he say he couldn’t give us a penny?”

In-bong was breathing heavily, ready to chase after Yoonjae at any moment. Hayeon could only shed tears at the miserable reality.

“I’ll get that bastard!”

“Honey! Here, here. There’s an envelope.”

Finding the envelope on the bed, her parents didn’t care about Hayeon, who was still sitting on the cold floor.

“How much is this? It’s a whopping 500 million won, honey! He said he was the son of a single mother and his in-laws didn’t know. And his mother doesn’t have money for treatment and is on her last legs. Where did this huge amount of money suddenly come from?”

“Wherever he got it, what does that have to do with us? I heard that the sasaeng fans who follow that bastard around have a lot of money. He’ll probably latch onto another woman who likes him and live off her again.”

It was painful to see her parents’ faces light up as they held the envelope of money that Yoonjae had given them. Having gotten what they wanted, her parents left the hospital room with only the envelope of money, as if Hayeon was no longer of any concern to them.

Left alone, Hayeon didn’t feel like she was alive, even though she was breathing.

Hayeon engraved this day deep in her bones.

The Kang Hayeon who believed in passionate love was no longer in this world.

7 years later.

Hayeon walked into the swimming pool with the attendance book in her hand. She wore a swimsuit and a swimming cap with the words “Haesung Sports Center” emblazoned on it.

“Instructor, can’t we skip the warm-up? We don’t have much time.”

It was a member who had only been in the beginner swimming class for a week.

“Warming up is essential before swimming.”

Hayeon smiled and put the whistle to her mouth.

-Beep, beep, beep

As Hayeon blew the whistle and demonstrated the warm-up exercises, the members in their swimsuits followed along.

Most of the members in the morning class were older women. As a permanent instructor for the beginner class, Hayeon had to teach new members every month. It was tedious and required a lot of physical exertion as she had to move around throughout the class.

“Eum-pa, eum-pa. Got it? Everyone, watch me again. Eum-pa, eum-pa.”

Even though she diligently taught them how to breathe, clumsy members frowned, saying that water had gotten into their noses.

“You have to exhale through your nose and inhale through your mouth.”

But the most difficult part for Hayeon wasn’t the physical exertion.

“Ugh, if I could do that in one go, I’d be a swimmer. I’m here to learn because I can’t do it.”

Few members listened well to the young female instructor. Most of them would get frustrated like this if they didn’t do what she taught them properly or if things didn’t go their way.

Hayeon didn’t lose her smile until the end.

“Yes, everyone feels that way at first because they’re not used to it. Let’s do it just ten more times and then practice kicking.”

“Hey, instructor. I didn’t register here to splash around with a kickboard like kids do. I came here to learn how to swim, swimming.”

There were many particularly difficult people among the new members this month. Their enthusiasm was already at the advanced level, but after a week, only half of them could properly float in the water, let alone breathe. Hayeon mentally engraved the word “patience” a hundred times and curled her lips into a smile.

“Of course, I know you came here to learn how to swim. But you can’t swim if you can’t kick and breathe. Even if it’s a little boring, you need to build a solid foundation to improve your swimming skills quickly.”

But their gazes were directed not at Hayeon but at the far end of the lane. Watching the advanced class doing the butterfly stroke like dolphins with flippers on their feet, the eyes of the members who had been swimming for only a week sparkled.

“Instructor, teach us that thing they’re doing at the end there. That’s swimming.”

Now they didn’t even attach the word “instructor” to “miss.”

Hayeon engraved the word “patience” again and again.

Changing her clothes and entering the instructors’ room, the atmosphere was more chaotic than usual. So-jeong, the yoga instructor, sat on the edge of Hayeon’s desk. Her flushed expression suggested it was about a man.

“Instructor Kang, have you heard the rumor?”

“What rumor?”

“Our center was sold to the Taewang Group.”

“Oh, really.”

Having been tormented by new members for two consecutive classes, she didn’t have the energy to give a more enthusiastic reaction than this. Hayeon was literally exhausted from having to hold up middle-aged female members who couldn’t even float in the water.

Even in her exhaustion, she couldn’t shake off the question of why the Taewang Group?

Was there any field in Korea that the Taewang Group’s hands didn’t reach?

Half of the cell phones used by Koreans were Taewang Electronics products. The computer she used to write her lesson plans was also.

The towering apartment building visible far outside the window was built by Taewang Construction.

Was that all?

From department stores to cars, Taewang Group products could be seen everywhere she turned.

She couldn’t understand what they saw in this dilapidated sports center that made them acquire it.

“The Taewang Group’s executive director was very active in the acquisition, saying that our center was a place where he could greatly develop it.”

Whoever he was, his judgment was terrible. She didn’t know how much influence he had within the Taewang Group, but it was clear that this investment would fail miserably.

Unless their intention was to tear down this shabby center and build something else.

“He’s still in his twenties. Late twenties… I wouldn’t mind dating a younger man.”

She had said the same thing a few days ago when she saw a trainer who was three years younger than her, right?

The Taewang Group’s executive director who acquired the center became So-jeong’s new target.

So-jeong, who had sighed as if the world had ended when she turned thirty-two years ago, overcame her depression about her age by broadening her dating spectrum.

Whatever it was, she wanted So-jeong to go back to her seat. She wanted to quickly write her lesson plan and go home.

“The Taewang Group’s executive director, he used to be a swimmer.”

Hayeon’s hand, which was writing the lesson plan, stopped.

“Swimming?”

“Instructor Kang, you said you used to be a swimmer too, right? Do you happen to know him?”

“……”

The hand holding the pen trembled.

If he was in his late twenties and used to be a swimmer, he was someone Hayeon could have run into while she was swimming. Even though there were many people she had run into like that, there was only one face that Hayeon thought of.

“I think he was an athlete around the same time as Instructor Kang… Have you ever heard rumors of an athlete from a chaebol family?”

“No.”

“Well, even if there was, the level would have been different. Swimming pools, coaches. He would have trained with the best in Korea, no, the world. There’s no way he would have trained in the same place as ordinary people.”

Perhaps because she couldn’t get any more information from Hayeon, So-jeong picked up the attendance book and left the instructors’ room.

-Thud

The sound of the door closing startled Hayeon.

She laughed at herself for having such an absurd thought.

She had loved a man who had nothing but his body.

“He’s the son of a single mother who doesn’t even know who his father is, break up with him immediately!”

“I love Hayeon.”

“What’s so great about love that you’re trying to ruin my daughter’s future! What do you have besides your terminally ill mother! I can’t stand to see my daughter suffer. So, break up with her.”

There was a time when she believed that the man’s earnest vows would last forever.

It was the arrogant delusion of a naive twenty-year-old.

She firmly believed that her love was eternal, that there would never be a day when her burning love would disappear.

How foolish that belief was.

How arrogant it was to claim that her love was unwavering. She realized it painfully only after facing the stark reality of betrayal.

How shallow the man’s vows were. How cunning and treacherous the desire that wavered at the temptation of the female body was.

It was a harsh first love that she experienced at the age of twenty, when everything was clumsy.

But Kang Hayeon was no longer a naive girl who didn’t know the ways of the world.

She had become stronger over the past seven years. And she decided not to worry about someone she would never see again.

“Aren’t you gone yet?”

A voice that suddenly cut in broke Hayeon’s reverie.

It was Seon-woo, who used to be a swimmer and now works as a swimming instructor. He was the same age as Hayeon, so he was the friend she had encountered the most throughout her career as an athlete.

How could she only think of one person when there were so many people around her who used to be swimmers?

Blaming her simplicity, Hayeon focused on the monitor.

“Oh, I’m organizing the lesson plan. I’m almost done.”

Hayeon’s seat as the morning class instructor was shared with Seon-woo, the afternoon class instructor. She had to move so that Seon-woo could sit down.

Because it was a daily log, Hayeon quickly finished writing it. She saved it and quickly got up from her seat.

“You don’t have to rush, why are you in such a hurry?”

“I have to go quickly.”

“Part-time job?”

Seon-woo knew Hayeon’s schedule well.

“No, hospital.”

“Ah… Has it already been three months?”

“Yeah, three months have passed so quickly. Good work.”

As Hayeon packed her bag, Seon-woo, who had been hesitating, carefully opened his mouth.

“Shall we have meat for dinner? We have to have meat for dinner on the day you go to the hospital.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s call Ji-hye too and have meat together. We can eat at your place too.”

Seon-woo quickly added when Hayeon’s answer was delayed.

“No, I want to rest at home today. The class was hard because new members came.”

She could easily refuse because she was comfortable with Seon-woo.

“Ah, new members came.”

That alone explained all of today’s hardships.

“I’m going.”

After patting Seon-woo, who was disappointed, on the shoulder, Hayeon left the instructors’ room. All she wanted was to finish her schedule today and go home to rest.

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