The Cruel Beast’s Desire - Chapter 30
“You don’t have to read to me today.”
Seemingly deeply upset, Ieum went upstairs to the second floor without looking back.
Only after Chief Jang followed Ieum did Yoonjae’s gaze turn to Hayeon. Judging by her bewildered expression, he didn’t seem to know what the problem was.
“Haa.”
Hayeon let out a long sigh. Yoonjae’s eyes turned sharp.
“I solved it, didn’t I? What’s the problem?”
“Who asked you to solve it?”
Annoyance surged at Yoonjae for ruining the time she had spent imagining and enjoying with the child all day, and her voice involuntarily rose.
“You were going to get permission because you wanted to do it yourself!”
“It’s too hard for Ieum to tend the garden herself. It’s dangerous if she gets an infection from touching the soil.”
“Why didn’t you just make the world a sterile room? Haa… Never mind. Never mind.”
Finding it impossible to communicate, Hayeon got up from her seat.
Just as Ieum had done, she turned her back without even looking at Yoonjae, and Yoonjae followed suit, grabbing Hayeon’s wrist and turning her around.
“How can you just leave like this?”
“What’s the point of talking to someone who says they’ve solved it?”
Hayeon shook off Yoonjae’s grip on her wrist and returned to her quarters.
Madam Lee clicked her tongue, placing the steaming teacup down.
“Goodness… Our Executive Director has such a strange personality.”
“Haa… I’ve been hit hard by two women, and the back of my head is still ringing. Please don’t add to it, Madam.”
Madam Lee clicked her tongue once more.
“That’s why I say he’s strange. He spends days agonizing over making a swing in the garden, even going so far as to order it himself, but why can’t he say a word about it?”
“When would I have had the chance to bring up the swing? You saw it all.”
Yoonjae reached for the tea, which hadn’t cooled yet, but then put it back down.
“Anyway, what’s our Executive Director going to do? If Teacher Kang and Ieum team up and take sides, I don’t think the Executive Director will ever win. What should we do?”
“Then you should have taken my side earlier.”
“Why would I? It’s much more fun to watch from the sidelines.”
“Haa.”
He drank the moderately cooled tea in one gulp and put it down. Madam Lee couldn’t hide the smile on her face, finding something amusing.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s just that it finally feels like a home where people live… I just find it all amusing.”
“Haa… The swing I ordered will be here tomorrow…”
“Why are you telling me that when it’s going to be useless? You should have bragged to the two women who got one over on the Executive Director. Tell them you found out about it and ordered it yourself without even asking Secretary Kim. Who knows, they might look favorably on you?”
Madam Lee picked up the empty teacups and headed to the kitchen, chuckling softly.
He couldn’t understand why simple things always got so twisted, and his head throbbed. He habitually reached for his medication, but Madam Lee glared at him and nagged.
“Don’t take any more medicine today, just go to sleep.”
He had avoided Secretary Kim’s nagging, but Madam Lee added to it. He felt like he had no one on his side in the house.
Chief Jang came downstairs, wondering if Ieum had fallen asleep. She sat across from Yoonjae, as if she had something to say.
“How is Ieum?”
“She’s asleep. She seems very disappointed. Executive Director, I don’t think you’ll be getting a hug or even a greeting from Ieum for a few days.”
His head throbbed even more.
“I hesitated to bring this up at a time like this.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Contrary to my worries, Teacher Kang is doing such a great job. I’m going to take some time off.”
Yoonjae was speechless at the unexpected words. Madam Lee, who had been listening from afar, approached.
“Chief Jang, are you going on that pilgrimage or whatever it is?”
“Yes, I feel like I won’t be able to do it if I get any older. It’s on my bucket list.”
This was also the reason why Chief Jang had been working out so diligently.
That bucket list was also Yoonjae’s mother’s dream. Although, she had passed away without fulfilling it.
“Including the preparation period, it’ll take about two months, right?”
“Oh my, how did the Executive Director know? Yes, about two months. That’s why it was difficult to tell you. I can’t leave my post for over two months while Ieum is sick.”
Chief Jang hadn’t taken a proper vacation in the past seven years.
After Ieum’s health deteriorated rapidly, she hadn’t even rested on weekends. It was a story she had hesitated to tell for a long time.
“After watching for a few days, I think I can trust Teacher Kang to take care of things. Ieum is very fond of her too.”
“Chief Jang, you’re not quitting, are you?”
“Of course not. I can’t quit because I’d miss our young lady.”
Chief Jang gave Madam Lee a warm smile in response to her words.
“I’ll tell Secretary Kim to look into plane tickets and accommodations. Have a safe and healthy trip.”
“You really don’t have to go that far… I’ll make sure to give Teacher Kang a thorough handover before I leave.”
“Yes, don’t worry about things here and have a good trip with peace of mind.”
“Yes, I will.”
Yoonjae was more worried about Ieum than Chief Jang’s vacation.
Yoonjae went up to the second floor and gazed at the sleeping Ieum for a long time. It was a night that troubled him in many ways.
On days like this, being in quiet water was the only thing that made him feel better.
Yoonjae pulled up the blanket that Ieum had kicked off and covered her, then headed to the swimming pool.
He liked that he didn’t have to think about anything else when he was swimming. But today, he couldn’t concentrate on swimming at all.
Even while swimming, all his attention was focused on the entrance.
At the slightest sound, he would stop swimming, wondering if Hayeon had come. He didn’t wipe the water dripping from his face with his hand and was lost in thought.
He heard very faint footsteps. He made eye contact with Hayeon, who was wearing a swimsuit and hesitating at the entrance.
Knowing that Yoonjae was in the swimming pool, Hayeon turned around. Seeing Hayeon’s back as she walked away quickly as if running away, Yoonjae burst out laughing.
“What she wants… I know one thing.”
Yoonjae got out of the water and strode towards where Hayeon had disappeared. Hearing Yoonjae’s footsteps, Hayeon turned around, and when their eyes met, she walked even faster.
Despite Hayeon’s efforts, the distance between the two did not widen but narrowed.
Just before she was caught, Hayeon suddenly stopped and turned around.
“Why are you chasing me?”
“If I’m chasing you, does that mean you’re running away?”
“I’m not running away, I’m avoiding you.”
He didn’t know what the difference was, but he knew that she didn’t want to see Yoonjae right now.
“Is it because of what happened this evening?”
“That too, but…”
Hayeon wrapped the towel around her shoulders tightly.
“Are you avoiding me because you think something will happen if you’re with me?”
Hayeon’s gaze wavered, and her face quickly turned red. He had only intended to swim together and send her back, but she made him want to do something else.
“If you came to swim… let’s swim together.”
“…”
“Let’s go, let’s go swimming.”
Hayeon looked at him with suspicious eyes as he gestured towards the swimming pool.
“Really… we’re just going to swim.”
“That’s what I said.”
Only after Hayeon moved towards the swimming pool did Yoonjae follow.
He followed a step behind, looking at Hayeon. Her shoulders were tense, as if she was nervous.
“How are you going to turn your arms properly if you’re so tense?”
“I’m not tense.”
Thanks to her quick pace, they quickly arrived at the swimming pool. He entered the water first and waited for Hayeon to finish her warm-up and come in.
“The rules are the same as last time. I’ll start first, and you’ll start five seconds later.”
“It’s no fun if we just do it. Let’s make a bet.”
“Okay. The winner gets to make a wish.”
He was going to bet something else, but Hayeon brought it up first.
“It seems like there’s something you desperately want.”
“I’ll tell you after I win.”
He didn’t want to let her win today. Yoonjae was the winner of the race, which was more intense than ever. Hayeon, seemingly frustrated, let out a rough breath and puffed out her cheeks.
“I lost because I’m not in normal condition yet.”
He was curious to know what Hayeon desperately wanted that she would sprint with such a poor condition.
“A bet is a bet. I won.”
“I know. Who said anything? So, what do you want?”
“You said I couldn’t say what I wanted to say.”
“…”
“I want to hear what you couldn’t say today.”
Hayeon’s dark eyes sank. After being silent for a long time, Hayeon slowly opened her mouth.
“Are you going to do this every time we bet?”
“If you have a lot to hide, I’ll keep doing this.”
Hayeon bit her lip. She couldn’t say anything because she couldn’t figure out Yoonjae’s true intentions for doing this.
Her head was complicated as she chose what she could say in today’s bet.
“Today… okay, let’s do what we couldn’t do earlier.”
“Anything is fine. Just be honest.”
“What’s the difference between home and a hospital for a child?”
“What?”
It was an unexpected story.
It completely overturned the expectation that Yoonjae and Hayeon would talk about something they hadn’t been able to talk about.
“Not being able to go anywhere, not being able to do anything, just spending time like that… How is that any different from a prison? Even adults find it frustrating, so it must be even worse for a child.”
“Is that what you wanted to say?”
“I know you’re worried. Of course, you are, since the child is sick. But this is too much.”
Hayeon was angry. And she was passionately defending Ieum.
“I know she can’t go to school yet. She can’t even go outside, but she’s going to do something fun, and you won’t let her because you’re worried about infection.”
“That’s…”
“Do you even know what Ieum was thinking when she decided what to grow on the farm today? It was what Madam Lee likes, what Chief Jang likes, and what her dad likes.”
As she spoke, something welled up in her chest.
Hayeon stopped speaking for a moment and took a slow, deep breath.
“When she needs to touch the soil, she can wear gardening gloves. And she can wash her hands thoroughly.”
“Is that really what you wanted to say but couldn’t?”
“For now, this is it.”
She hadn’t said everything, but she felt a little better about the frustration she had felt all evening.
“I’ll tell the gardener.”
“There you go again… You’re so good at leaving things like that to the experts…”
She knew better than anyone how Yoonjae had reacted when she told him to leave Ieum’s counseling to the experts. It was as if he was treating her like someone who disliked and avoided children.
Yoonjae raised both hands as Hayeon grumbled.
“Let me finish.”
Yoonjae’s voice was full of annoyance.
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