Chapter 14
“Hey, Pumpkin!”
How much time had passed? Baek I-hae had just finished making the yubu chobap for dinner and was preparing the water to boil for the ramen.
She turned her head as she checked the vigorously boiling water and started tearing open the ramen packet. She knew “Pumpkin” was the nickname aimed at her.
As expected, Seo-yeol appeared, huffing and puffing, and she let out a secret sigh.
‘Here we go again.’
Maybe it was because of the negative favorability points she’d gotten from Seo-yeol as a reward, but ever since then, he’d been seeking her out more often to pick fights.
‘I wonder what’s got him so mad this time.’
Most of the time, it was something trivial, so she’d just let it go in one ear and out the other.
This time, too, she deliberately stayed silent and didn’t respond, but Seo-yeol didn’t care and stormed over, fuming as he spoke.
“You said you’re going to the beach tomorrow? Dad’s so busy—why should he waste his time on someone like you?!”
“He’s the one who told me to pick a date when I wanted to go. I didn’t beg him.”
Of course, she had said she wanted to go.
Leaving that part out, she brazenly replied, and Seo-yeol approached with a sulky expression, taking big strides.
He was still shorter than her, so looking up at her didn’t feel particularly threatening.
“Cancel it right now! Who do you think you are? Who do you think you are…! Why should Dad go out of his way for you instead of me or my brother?!”
The main reason Seo-yeol tormented her was because of Seo I-heum’s favor.
As much as Seo I-heum’s favorability had increased, Seo-yeol’s had decreased. Of course, the numbers weren’t exactly proportional, which made it feel a bit unfair.
“If you want to go too, just say so. Why come to me complaining about something your dad already agreed to? If you don’t want to go tomorrow, then don’t.”
Seo Do-gyeom didn’t intervene in their bickering. He’d realized that even if he tried, Seo-yeol wouldn’t listen.
He would step in if words like “orphan” or anything overly harsh came out, but most of the time, he just watched like he was doing now.
At first, Baek I-hae had felt a little hurt by Seo Do-gyeom’s behavior, but even she thought it was the kind of bullying that was awkward to ask for help with.
‘In return, as long as I don’t go too far in what I say back to Seo-yeol, he doesn’t interfere.’
He was thoroughly neutral. You’d think he’d take his little brother’s side in situations like this.
“Ugh! I really hate you! Hurry up and go cancel it! Cancel it, I said!”
“Hey, hold on! Don’t shake me! The water’s boiling right now…!”
Seo-yeol started shaking her body as she stood in front of the gas range, and Baek I-hae panicked.
The moment Seo Do-gyeom stood up from his seat to stop them, the accident happened.
The pot tilted, spilling toward Seo-yeol’s upper body.
“…!”
Seo-yeol froze in shock, unable to dodge, but someone quickly wrapped around him. Thanks to that, it wasn’t Seo-yeol who ended up doused in the hot water.
“Baek I-hae!”
It was the first time Seo-yeol had heard Seo Do-gyeom shout like that. But that wasn’t what shocked him.
“……You beggar pumpkin?”
All that filled Seo-yeol’s view was Baek I-hae, biting her lips hard as if in agony and sinking to the floor.
‘This hurts like hell.’
Baek I-hae couldn’t even scream, fearing she might startle Seo-yeol, who had nearly gotten hurt. She just curled up and bit her lips, a sight so pitiful it made anyone watching ache with sympathy.
She had no idea how hard she’d bitten down, until her lips went numb. Her back burned as if someone had set it on fire.
Unconsciously, tears streamed down her face.
‘It hurts, save me. I’m not going to die like this, am I?’
Wrapping her arms around Seo-yeol had been instinctive. He might be cheeky, but he was still just a middle school kid.
If she’d left him alone, he’d have ended up with scars for life. That wasn’t something either Seo-yeol or Baek I-hae wanted.
‘At least it’s my back, so that’s a relief.’
She tried to think positively, but then a noisy commotion reached her ears.
She faintly opened her eyes and looked ahead, seeing Seo-yeol’s face, pale as a sheet and frozen in place.
When she managed a weak smile toward him, for some reason, his gaze wavered.
‘I didn’t expect him to be that shocked. He picks fights all the time, but deep down, he’s a softie.’
As she thought that, a familiar scent wafted over her. Baek I-hae knew exactly who it belonged to.
‘Seo Do-gyeom.’
[Baby gangster, Seo Do-gyeom is extremely flustered.]
They’d been sticking close lately, so his scent was bound to feel familiar.
At that moment, Seo Do-gyeom’s finger pried between her lips. Startled, she blinked, and he spoke with a rare frown creasing his face.
“You’re hurting your lips. Bite my hand instead if you have to. Seo-yeol! Snap out of it and go get someone else, quick!”
“Y-yeah!”
At Seo Do-gyeom’s bark, Seo-yeol finally came to his senses and hurried off.
In his rush, he nearly twisted his ankle, but he quickly regained his balance and dashed away.
“Why’d you stupidly shield him like that?”
“……He’s your little brother.”
She mumbled weakly. Seo Do-gyeom looked down at her, now breaking out in a cold sweat, and wiped it away for her.
‘Isn’t he grossed out by this?’
Even as she thought that, seeing him take care of her made her want to act spoiled.
“Do-gyeom, it hurts so much. It fucking hurts, waaah.”
“You’re driving me crazy, seriously. If you can’t take it, bite my finger instead of your lip.”
“But then you’ll, sob, it’ll hurt you.”
“Whatever, just do it already.”
She mumbled her reply, and unlike usual, he urged her on.
Baek I-hae hesitated for a moment, then bit down on Seo Do-gyeom’s finger to endure the pain. Blood from her lips smeared onto his hand, and her canines pressed into his skin.
Even so, Seo Do-gyeom didn’t flinch once; instead, he stroked her hair.
It seemed like he was trying to calm her anxiety.
‘He’s so sweet like this—why does he grow up to be so cruel to the female lead?’
She just wished she could grow up ordinarily, love ordinarily, and live ordinarily.
With the last glimpse of Seo I-heum hurriedly dashing toward the kitchen with his entourage, Baek I-hae lost consciousness.
Seo-yeol stood trembling, his small hands clasped together, unable to stay still.
Everything had happened in an instant. When Baek I-hae, badly burned, passed out, Seo I-heum swiftly scooped her up and rushed out.
Seo Do-gyeom followed close behind, and another gang member tagged along to drive.
“Young Master.”
It was Uncle Seo-yeol who took notice of the young Seo-yeol, whom everyone else had overlooked in the chaos.
Though he was worried about Baek I-hae, he couldn’t just leave Seo-yeol behind in such a situation.
The household knew that Seo-yeol often picked fights with Baek I-hae. They also knew the reason was jealousy.
“She’ll be alright.”
Suspecting this accident was no mere mishap, Uncle Seo-yeol gently patted Seo-yeol’s shoulder.
As his large hand comforted the boy’s small shoulder, tears finally spilled from Seo-yeol’s wide eyes.
“Why… why did she shield me? All I’ve ever done is say awful things to her. She’s a girl; she shouldn’t have scars on her body. I’m going to be a gangster, so a burn mark or two wouldn’t matter to me!”
“She must have been worried about you, Young Master. She’s a kind person, after all.”
“Kind? She came into our house, took over the room like it was hers, and monopolized Father and Brother’s attention! What’s so kind about that?”
“You know,” Uncle Seo-yeol said calmly to the agitated Seo-yeol, who was trying to avoid facing reality, “she smiles in front of us, but sometimes, when she thinks no one’s watching, she cries alone, missing her late parents.”
“…What?”
“It’s true. A housekeeper who went to clean her room, not knowing she was there, saw it.”
In truth, she had been crying from the stress of feeling her life was threatened when Cha I-ryeong was around, but they had no way of knowing that.
“Even so, when you called her an orphan, she never got angry—she just smiled.”
“I… I didn’t know.”
“I understand. The boss told us to keep it a secret, so aside from Young Master Do-gyeom, who happened to see it, no one else would know.”
Seo-yeol’s eyes wavered. Now he understood why Seo Do-gyeom had always scolded him sharply whenever he called Baek I-hae an orphan.
Seeing Seo-yeol hesitate, Uncle Seo-yeol gave a gentle smile and added, “To the boss, she’s like a daughter who’s always nagging him. Do you know what she often says when she comes to the study?”
“…What?”
“She tells him to spend some time with young Master Yeol-i, who’s still a child. Or at the very least, to say something kind to you.”
“…”
“No matter how much he has to act tough for his job, or how much he cares deep down, she scolds him sternly, saying that if you don’t express it, even family won’t know how you feel.”
“I was a bit scared back then too,” Oh said with a laugh, and Seo-yeol’s eyes reddened at the words.
It seemed he’d finally mustered the courage to face Baek I-hae properly.
“What if she’s badly hurt? She passed out—surely she’s not going to die, right?”
“She’ll be fine. The boss will do whatever it takes to make sure of that.”
So how about we wait patiently, and when she comes back, you can apologize sincerely? At Oh’s question, Seo-yeol nodded.
He was crying his heart out like a child, and in that moment, he looked every bit his age. Oh wrapped him in a comforting embrace.
He was just a kid clumsy with expressing affection.
Having lost his mother young, with a gruff father and brothers, he must have been hurting a lot.
“I hope the young lady is okay,” Oh thought.
He’d reassured Seo-yeol that everything would be fine, but Oh’s anxious gaze drifted toward the front door.
Beside them, a faint status window flickered into existence.
[Hidden Quest Success!
“You’ve raised Seo-yeol’s favorability to its maximum and secured him as your greatest ally!”
Success Reward: Seo-yeol’s Favorability MAX, One-Time Escape Chance.
Failure Penalty: Seo-yeol’s Death.]
It was a status window that neither Seo-yeol nor Oh could see.
