The Cruel Beast’s Desire - Chapter 8

The child’s image overlapped with the one she’d seen at the hospital today. The child waving and greeting her had strangely lingered in her mind, making her steps heavy as she turned away.

‘Was it Ieum?’

As she recalled the child’s name, a smile spread across Hayeon’s face. And she waved back at the child, who was smiling brightly and waving at her.

Seeing this, Ji-hye cautiously asked,

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Ji-hye, I… I’ll do this shoot.”

“You don’t have to push yourself. I’ll find another model. There’s still time. Let’s say you can manage the shoot with the kid. But what about your face?”

Hayeon watched the child, dressed in a dress, running around to the rhythm of a children’s song.

“I can’t keep the child waiting any longer. Not when she’s so excited.”

“Hayeon… are you really going to be okay?”

“It seems like today is just a day for me to be involved with children.”

“What are you talking about? Speak plainly.”

Hayeon chuckled at Ji-hye, who frowned, not understanding.

“I meant I can do the shoot. Just renegotiate the model fee for the face exposure.”

Hayeon approached the child. And she bent down to the child’s eye level.

“Hello, I’m the model who’s going to be shooting with you today.”

“Hello. I’m Arin.”

The child placed her hands together on her belly and bowed. Hayeon stood up straight and bowed in the same way. Then she held out her right hand to the child.

“I’m Kang Hayeon. Please take good care of me today.”

The child giggled and took Hayeon’s hand. Her small hand was warm and soft. It felt like her heart was softening too.

“I’m Arin’s mother. Please take good care of us today.”

The mother, who looked just like the child, greeted her. The sight of her holding the child close in her arms looked so happy.

She thought of the child she had never held in her arms. The softened heart hardened again, causing a stiff pain.

“Me too.”

Her throat was choked up, making it difficult for Hayeon to say even those short words. Hayeon quickly headed to the dressing room to change her clothes.

Contrary to Ji-hye’s worries, Hayeon posed, holding the child model’s hand. Her stiff body gradually became more comfortable as time passed. Everyone in the studio did their best to make the child smile.

“Arin, look at the model unnie’s face and smile.”

“Wow! Our Arin is the best. You’re doing great right now.”

Arin giggled at the adults’ praises, who raised their voices to the fullest. When Hayeon smiled along with the child, the camera flashed.

The child, who had been holding Hayeon’s hand or being held in her arms, ran to her mother’s arms as soon as the shoot was over. Hayeon stared blankly at the scene.

“Hayeon…”

Ji-hye’s voice next to her was filled with worry.

“Arin’s mother must be so happy…”

“I told you I wanted to cancel the shoot today because of this.”

Ji-hye, who seemed to have a lot to say throughout the shoot, finally poked at her sore spot.

“I should go change into the next outfit.”

Hayeon quickly changed the subject and went into the dressing room.

The shoot progressed quickly so that the child wouldn’t be too tired, and it was completed successfully. As the child hugged a shark doll and left the studio holding her mother’s hand, Ji-hye breathed a sigh of relief.

“You worked hard. I’m glad it ended quickly.”

“I was so nervous that the child would cry.”

Only after the shoot was over could Hayeon smile comfortably.

“Hayeon-ssi, you have to do the next shoot. Hurry up and change your clothes.”

Manager Ma smiled, pointing to the hanger with the clothes. Ji-hye reacted before Hayeon, the model.

“Isn’t the shoot ending here today?”

“It’s because it’s Hayeon-ssi, not another model, that we urgently added a few more outfits for the next season. You’re not going to say no for just a few outfits, are you?”

Looking at the clothes hanging full on the hanger, it wasn’t just a few outfits. It was absurd to call it an additional shoot with clothes that would take a whole day to shoot on a separate day.

Ji-hye’s face quickly turned red. Hayeon, sensing the atmosphere, pulled Ji-hye’s arm. She went to the corner of the studio and calmed Ji-hye, who looked like she was about to explode.

“I’m okay, so bear with it.”

“What do you mean you’re okay? This is a broken promise. The couple outfit concept with the child and her mother, and even exposing your face, fine. Let’s say it’s okay because we negotiated to raise the model fee. But look at the clothes hanging there. It’s not just a few outfits that have been added.”

Hayeon was just as angry. But Hayeon was the ‘eul’ [the weaker party]. She couldn’t say she wouldn’t do it, especially since she was only temporarily shooting as a model, not an exclusive one. Moreover, it was a problem that could put her friend Ji-hye in a difficult position.

“We can’t just ditch and leave here. What if the CEO finds out later?”

When she mentioned the model agency’s CEO, Ji-hye’s eyes, which had been blazing with anger, quickly subsided.

“I’m a terrible person. Making someone who just had blood drawn… Ugh. I shouldn’t have brought you here, no matter how urgent it was.”

“You didn’t know there would be this much shooting. Let’s hurry up and shoot instead of wasting time like this.”

At Hayeon’s words, Ji-hye grumbled as she picked up the clothes.

“I should have been suspicious when you said you’d buy me beef. You’re really getting your money’s worth.”

She felt a little dizzy, but it wasn’t to the point where she couldn’t shoot. It was better to do something like this than to be alone at home.

Since she didn’t have time to think about other things, she was a little freer from what had been tormenting her since yesterday. Hayeon tried to comfort herself with the fact that she could even earn money.

In a situation where she might have to quit the sports center because of Yoonjae’s sudden appearance, she had to work hard to earn money.

The shoot, which was said to be just a few outfits, didn’t end until dawn. It was so late that most restaurants were closed, so they could barely eat a bowl of hangover soup, let alone beef.

“I should be buying our Hayeon-ssi meat… I’m sorry for feeding you hangover soup. Next time we shoot, I’ll definitely treat you to a dinner at a beef restaurant.”

There was no hint of apology on Manager Ma’s face.

Hayeon forced a smile with a tired face.

“Yes, please buy me Korean beef next time.”

“Oh, of course.”

Seeing Hayeon smiling through her pale face, Ji-hye drank cold water with a reddened face.

That day, Hayeon returned home and was bedridden for a whole week.

Ji-hye visited Hayeon’s house whenever she had time, taking care of the sick Hayeon by providing meals and medicine. Today, she brought porridge from the morning.

“I’ll change my last name if I ever work with Witch’s Wardrobe again.”

Ji-hye placed the bowl of porridge in front of Hayeon, expressing her resentment.

“Why are you so angry? It can happen when you work.”

“You’re so easygoing. How can you say that after being so sick?”

Hayeon smiled weakly.

After being severely ill, she felt rather relieved.

“It’s just that various things overlapped. Suddenly…”

Yoonjae appeared.

She swallowed the rest of the words along with the porridge. Eating only porridge for a week was also a chore.

“I don’t want to eat porridge anymore.”

“I made rice anyway. Mom packed side dishes and everything, and I put it all in the refrigerator.”

“Please thank your mother for me.”

Thinking of Ji-hye’s sincerity, Hayeon forced herself to swallow the porridge that wouldn’t go down.

“What about Seon-woo?”

“He’s having a hard time covering my morning classes, but he came by yesterday on his way home from work. He came the day before yesterday too. It’s a nuisance to everyone.”

“No wonder the refrigerator is full of fruit.”

It was all bought by Seon-woo. Even though she had no appetite and couldn’t eat it, Seon-woo came every day with his hands full of something.

“That guy is really devoted.”

“He’s been a friend since we trained together as kids. Seon-woo is all about loyalty.”

“Is that all it is?”

“Huh?”

At the question, Ji-hye shook her head and sighed.

“Seon-woo… must be burning inside right now.”

“Why is he burning inside?”

Ji-hye sighed even louder. Then she took out the mail from her bag.

“I brought all the mail with me on the way up. It’s been piling up for a week.”

“Oh, thank you. Go to work now. I’m all better now. Don’t come here today, go straight home. Your mother must be worried.”

“Even if you didn’t tell me, I can’t come here today. I have a shoot in the countryside, so I have to move there in advance tonight. It’s a dawn shoot.”

Ji-hye continued to nag as she put on her coat.

“Don’t cry because you miss this unnie. Eat well. I put side dishes in the refrigerator, so heat up the soup and eat it.”

“Thank you, and have a safe trip.”

“I’ll call you.”

After Ji-hye left, a heavy silence weighed on Hayeon’s heart. She couldn’t keep going on like this, so Hayeon deliberately moved her body. After doing housework and taking a shower, her body felt much lighter.

As she wrapped her wet hair in a towel, the mail that Ji-hye had brought came into view. Most of it was bills, but Hayeon checked each one just in case.

She paused as she flipped through the mail. Her heart pounded the moment she saw the Tae Wang Group logo stamped on the white envelope.

“Why is this…”

Her anxiety, which had been present ever since she saw Yoonjae again, was reaching its peak.

The sender of the mail was Tae Yoonjae.

With trembling hands, she checked the contents and collapsed on the spot.

All this time, nothing had happened, but it was the calm before the storm.

[Debt Confirmation]

This was what had been making Hayeon anxious.

She covered her mouth with her hand, unable to make even a small sound.

‘I met a good investor and expanded my business. Don’t worry. They’re not the kind of guys who handle money roughly in the market. A real businessman invested, saying the prospects were good. You know Tae Wang Group, right? It’s them, them.’

Why hadn’t she thought of it?

Hayeon couldn’t even cry at her own foolishness. Her parents’ reckless borrowing of money was too absurd.

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