The Cruel Beast’s Desire - Chapter 5

Yoonjae, dressed in a designer suit and standing in front of her rooftop room, was someone she had parted ways with seven years ago.

Hayeon couldn’t take her eyes off Yoonjae as he approached, hands in his pants pockets, step by step. His scent, carried on the gentle breeze, permeated her senses so vividly.

Finally, his steps stopped.

Yoonjae stood within arm’s reach. Strangely, tears threatened to spill.

“Things that were really difficult when I was Seo Yoonjae… ridiculously, everything is so easy now that I’m Tae Yoonjae.”

A clear sneer was etched on Yoonjae’s face as he spoke, one corner of his lip slightly raised.

It was directed at Hayeon, and no one else.

“For example, buying a dilapidated swimming pool building… or making someone who used to ignore me kneel… things like that.”

“……”

“It’s very easy.”

As the owner who bought the dilapidated swimming pool, finding out where the part-time instructor lived was now an easy task for him.

In the space where the question mark had disappeared, the emotions Hayeon had been suppressing began to stir.

Hayeon struggled to fill that space with another question mark.

“Why are you here? Or should I call you Executive Director now?”

Hayeon spoke sharply without realizing it.

Yoonjae’s hand gripped Hayeon’s chin with a strong force.

“Ah.”

His grip tightened, contorting Hayeon’s brow.

“If you were going to call me Executive Director, you should have been more compliant. Don’t you think so, Ms. Kang Hayeon?”

Hayeon grabbed his wrist, which was holding her face, and clung to it. She tried hitting his hand and trying to break free, but his grip only tightened.

“Ugh.”

A groan of pain escaped through her teeth. Her face was distorted hideously, but the glare in her eyes didn’t falter.

“L-let… go, ugh.”

“Why? It’s quite a sight.”

She trembled with humiliation, unable to guess why he was doing this. It was harder to bear than the pain. Tears she had been trying to hold back welled up in her eyes.

“I’ve seen Kang Hayeon with this face before.”

“Ugh.”

“That was… you said it was the first time.”

As if he had made up his mind, he painfully dragged out even the memories he had buried. Hayeon tried to shake her head, but even that was difficult in his grip. Eventually, Hayeon closed her eyes. Hot tears finally streamed down her cheeks. As if waiting for the moment Hayeon surrendered, his lips met hers.

“Hng.”

Something hot and rough invaded her lips. It rummaged through her mouth, carrying a familiar scent.

Her body, remembering the thrilling sensation he had given her, wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him.

Inhales and exhales, belonging to no one, mixed and entered her lungs. Every time his teeth grazed her inner flesh, a tingling pain and heat bloomed in her lower abdomen.

Even though his kiss was not gentle at all, Hayeon clung to him like a thirsty person.

Strangely, the tears didn’t stop.

After learning that she had been able to win his favor because of her resemblance to someone else, everything—his gaze, his touch, and his kisses—felt miserable and pathetic.

Even so, the heat inside her body simmered with the hot, rough kiss.

She had to stop.

If the kiss continued like this, she would crave something more than a kiss. She had to stop before what she had hidden deep inside burst out. But Hayeon’s body betrayed her reason and clung to Yoonjae, demanding something even hotter.

Only when she could no longer bear the rising breath did Yoonjae release Hayeon from his embrace.

“Haa, haa.”

She looked up at Yoonjae, breathing heavily. Her lips glistened with saliva, belonging to no one. There was a sneer on her lips as she wiped them with the back of her hand.

“Subduing a woman who cruelly abandoned me is also…”

“!”

“Easier now.”

Seeing his smirking face, the heat that had been rising cooled down in an instant.

Her body trembled with humiliation.

He brushed past Hayeon as if he had finished his business.

“Seo Yoonjae!”

Her low, suppressed voice was filled with hatred for him. The sound of his smirk was clearly audible in Hayeon’s ear.

“I guess you’ve forgotten, there is no Seo Yoonjae in this world. There is only Tae Yoonjae.”

The sound of his footsteps on the iron stairs echoed loudly. But Hayeon couldn’t move from that spot.

Abandoned?

That was what Hayeon should have said to him.

Seven years ago, it was Seo Yoonjae who threw the envelope of money at her in the hospital. No matter how much he had become Tae Yoonjae, even if it hurt her pride, that was the truth.

Even though she clenched her fists tightly, her body wouldn’t stop trembling.

It wasn’t until the red light began to seep into the sky that seemed so close that the trembling of her body finally stopped.

Stumble, stumble.

She entered the house with weak steps and collapsed. She put her bag on the table and sighed.

“Haa… should I quit the sports center…”

Even in this situation, she was worried about how to make a living.

Just by buying the sports center as if he were shopping at a department store, he had become someone who could torment her.

“It’s easy…”

A self-deprecating laugh escaped, quickly turning into a sob. Hayeon hugged her knees and cried for a long time without making even a small sound.

The phone rang loudly, but she couldn’t answer it. Only after hearing the sound of the cell phone turning off after ringing and stopping repeatedly did Hayeon finally get up.

After washing her face with cold water, she felt a little more awake.

-Knock knock knock!

The sound of knocking on the iron door rang loudly.

“Hayeon-ah!”

It was Ji-hye’s voice. Judging by the way she was knocking as if she would break the door, she seemed to be the owner of the bell that had rung so loudly earlier.

It felt as if something that had been filled with anticipation was crumbling away. Afraid to ask herself what or who she was waiting for, she quickly moved her body.

“Wait.”

Hayeon barely squeezed out a voice and opened the door.

“I can’t live to my full life because of you.”

As soon as she opened the door, Ji-hye hugged Hayeon tightly. Hayeon forced a smile, not wanting to cry again.

“I’m okay…”

“Is that what someone who’s okay looks like?”

Ji-hye’s voice was tearful. She had to quickly change the atmosphere before they started crying in each other’s arms here. Otherwise, she would really cry all night long.

“Ji-hye-ya… I’m hungry.”

At Hayeon’s words, Ji-hye fell out of her arms. The warm warmth was gone, but it didn’t seem like she would cry anymore.

Ji-hye picked up the bag she had put on the floor.

“Take out the grill. I bought meat.”

“As expected, Lee Ji-hye is the best.”

A meat party was held on the rooftop deck.

“You have to eat! You have to eat to fight or ignore him. Eat a lot.”

Ji-hye diligently grilled the meat and piled it up in front of Hayeon.

“Even if I’m a carnivore, how can I eat so much at once? You eat too. You have to eat when it’s delicious. Ah.”

Hayeon wrapped the meat in lettuce and put it in Ji-hye’s mouth. Only after eating a moderate amount was Hayeon able to speak.

“Did you hear it from Seon-woo?”

“Yeah, he contacted me saying he couldn’t come to you today because it’s his ancestor memorial service. Why did that guy show up? What’s the reason for acquiring the sports center? How did he become a member of the Taewang Group?”

Ji-hye poured out words without stopping, as if she had been holding it in.

Hayeon pondered for a moment how much she should tell.

“There was a swimmer who everyone said was a role model when I was on the national team.”

“Was there?”

“A tragic swimming prodigy who died in an accident at the age of twenty-three.”

“Just the title makes me shudder.”

Ji-hye shuddered.

“Tae Woomin.”

“……”

“He’s Yoonjae’s biological father.”

“That person was the eldest son of the Taewang Group. Oh my god, this kind of thing really exists. I can’t believe it, really.”

Hayeon nodded silently.

Ji-hye took out her cell phone and searched for something, then immediately handed it to Hayeon.

“They’re exactly alike, exactly alike. His biological father and Seo… no, Tae Yoonjae look exactly the same.”

It was a blurry photo, but Tae Woomin’s features resembled Yoonjae’s. It wasn’t just their appearance that was similar. His talent for swimming was also inherited from his biological father.

Hayeon looked down at the cell phone screen and continued in a low voice.

“Yoonjae often came in with no-breathing in front of the finish line.”

“Ah! I know that. You’re talking about swimming without breathing, right?”

“Tae Woomin’s no-breathing…”

“His son did the same thing, it’s totally creepy.”

Twenty years after Tae Woomin’s death, a swimmer who used the same technique as him appeared like a comet. It turned out to be his son. It was ridiculous that no one had suspected it, even though they looked so alike.

Now she seemed to know everything.

Why Yoonjae’s mother was so opposed to swimming. Why she had to close her eyes every time her son cut through the water and entered the finish line.

How complicated she must have felt seeing her son, who looked exactly like the man she loved.

Hayeon sighed, recalling the smiling, kind, and beautiful face that had held her hand.

“But… Seo, no. Tae Yoonjae… didn’t he say anything else?”

It was an unusually cautious question from Ji-hye.

“He said I abandoned Yoonjae…”

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