Chapter 40: The Smile Beneath the Trap

“Hey, second son. Looks like you’ve got nothing better to do?”

“Haa… What brings you all the way here, noona?”

“What’s with that attitude? Aren’t you getting up? Who lounges around in broad daylight!”

After barely surviving the huge mountain that was Lee Ah-seong and quietly finishing breakfast alone, Go Ha-jin had tried to take a quick nap. He’d been exhausted from waking up at dawn. But an extremely unwelcome voice interrupted his sleep.

“So what did you come here for?”

Even so, since someone had come over, he couldn’t exactly pretend to sleep. He pushed himself up from where he’d been sprawled across the sofa and sat up. He hadn’t even heard the point yet, but just looking at Chae Jae-yi’s face was enough to irritate him.

“I heard Father bought you a car? Hand it over.”

Chae Jae-yi, Chae Woo-seok’s older sister, dropped herself onto the seat without even being invited and immediately spouted nonsense. Just as expected from the star of the raw-chicken assault incident, her manners were nonexistent.

Watching her, Go Ha-jin silently pulled out his phone instead of replying.

“What are you doing? I’m talking to you, how dare you ignore me!”

He filtered out the shrill yelling. The ringtone barely lasted before the other side picked up.

“Yes, Chairman. It’s Ha-jin. Did you get to work safely? Mondays must be tiring… Ah, you’re in a meeting? It’s just that Noona Jae-yi is demanding I hand over the car you gifted me, but I didn’t think it was something I could decide on my own…”

“What are you doing? What kind of pathetic act is this? You think Father would even blink because of—”

“The Chairman says to hand him the phone, noona.”

He held the phone out to Chae Jae-yi. A bluff? Not at all. Why waste his already limited energy when someone else could handle it perfectly for him? As soon as Jae-yi took the phone, Chae Il-joo’s furious shouting burst out loud enough to sound like speakerphone.

Ha-jin couldn’t make out the exact words, but judging by the way the color drained from Jae-yi’s face second by second, things were unfolding exactly as he’d hoped.

“…You, you’re insane. How dare you tattle to Father…?”

“Yep. I’m crazy. Totally out of my mind, so could you stop bothering me, noona?”

Woo-seok had told him already: he didn’t need to care about Jae-yi at all. She wasn’t someone worth gaining anything from, and she wasn’t particularly smart either. So Ha-jin decided not to bother acting polite around her.

Apparently she hadn’t expected this kind of attitude from him. Jae-yi couldn’t even respond properly, just gaping at him with eyes so wide they looked ready to pop out.

“You think I’ll just let this go? If I tell Father, you’re finished! Some nobody with no background comes crawling in and-!”

“Just stay still. Did you already forget who helped calm down the raw-chicken incident? And you do know how much dowry I brought into this family, right? Don’t forget that’s just pocket change to me. If you mess with me, I won’t sit back and take it. I’m very different from all those other people you look down on.”

Go Ha-jin stretched as he stood up. His words were aggressive, but his tone remained oddly emotionless. People who got emotional so easily were actually simpler to deal with. Just like Woo-seok said, she really didn’t seem very bright.

At this point, sleep was clearly out of the question. Better to go shopping or something instead. The sunlight outside was bright and warm, there was no way he was staying cooped up in this miserable house.

“You should leave now. And next time, try learning the basic manners of ringing the bell before barging in, noona.”

Chae Jae-yi stormed out of Go Ha-jin’s house with both fists clenched tightly, swearing she’d never forgive him.

****

“This bag is a limited-edition release, so the price is-”

“Excuse me, just tell me the price.”

Go Ha-jin genuinely couldn’t understand what the luxury store employee was saying. What exactly was the difference between “limited edition” and “limited release,” anyway?

To be fair, Ha-jin had an extremely youthful face, and his clothes didn’t display flashy designer logos, so it was hard for strangers to gauge his wealth. The employee clearly didn’t think he could afford the bag he’d been looking at and was serving him with barely concealed disdain.

“It’s thirty-nine million won.”

“I’ll take it. Put it on this card.”

“Y-Yes…? P-Please wait just a moment…!”

Only 39 million won. Compared to the stress Go Ha-jin had suffered today, even buying ten of these bags wouldn’t make up for it.

After having his energy drained all morning, finally driving the new car he’d been gifted to a department store luxury boutique made him feel like he could breathe again.

But only briefly. His phone suddenly rang loudly.

“…Hello?”

“Did you just say “hello,” like that? You couldn’t even talk properly face-to-face before.”

“What are you talking about? What do you want?”

It was Chae Woo-seok. For some reason, his teasing voice sounded almost cheerful.

“You’re really going wild with my card, huh?”

“You told me to use it, remember? You said it didn’t matter since we’re married now.”

In exchange for transferring Blue Moon to Woo-seok, he’d promised Ha-jin could use his unlimited credit card after the marriage. Apparently the purchase notification had arrived immediately.

“When did I say you could use it that freely? Even if I did, I didn’t expect you to spend the price of a car in one go. Do you even know how much your husband earns to spend like that?”

“When have you ever ridden in a 39-million-won car to say something like that?”

“Anyway. If you keep wasting money like this, you’ll get scolded, Ha-jin. At this rate we’ll end up starving together.”

For the first time today, or rather, for the first time since getting excused from breakfast duty, Go Ha-jin genuinely smiled. Normally he should’ve found Woo-seok’s clueless comments annoying, but strangely enough, hearing his voice felt surprisingly nice.

“I wish it were for me. But it’s actually a bribe for Father. I may have caused a little trouble today…”

“I heard. You picked a fight over the underwear laundry thing? Honestly, that’s such a trashy subject.”

“…How do you already know about that?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t have ears inside that house? Anyway, good job. With breakfast too.”

Terrifying. Whoever his informant was, it had to be one of the people Ha-jin had met earlier today, yet he had absolutely no clue who. There were clearly factions even among the servants: Woo-seok’s side, Lee Ah-seong’s side, Chae Il-joo’s side, and so on.

He made a mental note to watch his words and actions carefully no matter where he was in the house.

“Then… buy me dinner later. I barely ate breakfast, so I’m starving.”

“It’s barely past lunchtime. Are you treating me like some unemployed bum?”

Since when had Woo-seok ever worked that hard? Sure enough, after grumbling briefly, Woo-seok agreed to an early dinner.

Just as Ha-jin was leaving the department store carrying the newly purchased bag…

“Oh, Seol-ssi…?”

In the boutique next door, he spotted a familiar figure. Tae-seol. He was carrying an alarming number of luxury shopping bags in both hands. And when Ha-jin greeted him, Tae-seol looked visibly startled.

“You came shopping too? If I’d known, we could’ve come together. What did you buy that’s so heavy? Want me to carry some?”

“N-No! It’s okay…!”

Even among omegas, Tae-seol had a particularly delicate build. With those oversized shopping bags weighing down both arms, he looked unsteady enough to topple over.

Ha-jin reached out to help since one of his own hands was free, but Tae-seol stepped back two paces almost as if avoiding him, forcing Ha-jin to awkwardly withdraw his hand.

“Then… maybe coffee? I was just about to head to a café myself.”

“I should get going now… Excuse me.”

The avoidance was obvious enough that Ha-jin couldn’t press further. He ended up walking in the same direction behind Tae-seol, though only because the exit was that way too.

Even after Ha-jin received his valet-parked car in the lobby, Tae-seol was still standing there waiting for a taxi.

“Want a ride?”

He hesitated over whether to just leave, but at least asked. They weren’t strangers, after all, they were technically family. Besides, building a little rapport wouldn’t hurt.

“It’s fine. Please just go. Ah, and… please keep it a secret that you saw me today.”

“Sure… I can do that. Then get home safely.”

The “secret” probably meant not telling the Chae family he’d been out shopping. Ha-jin thought he understood why.

If even he was this stressed after just one day in that house, what must it be like for Tae-seol, who’d endured years among them? Maybe shopping like this was the only way he could cope.

Still… how had he become so wary of people?

…If there really wasn’t anything special between Tae-seol and Woo-seok, would things feel different? Would Ha-jin be able to pity him purely, without all this bitterness twisting in his chest?

Even though he already knew the story, thinking about Woo-seok and Tae-seol together again left an unpleasant knot in his stomach.

Ha-jin’s car departed first, and soon after, the taxi carrying Tae-seol left the department store as well.

Watching both cars leave, another pair of eyes curved into a smile.

****

“Nothing else is gonna happen today, right?”

“You’re the one who already won everything, what are you talking about? Shouldn’t my family be the ones praying nothing happens?”

“What do you mean I won…? Even if I did, it doesn’t feel like winning at all.”

Woo-seok was in an exceptionally good mood. His fingers tapped lightly against the steering wheel as he drove. In just one day, Go Ha-jin had caused several massive incidents. Ruining breakfast, the underwear-laundry fiasco with Lee Ah-seong, and even handling Chae Jae-yi.

Listening to Ha-jin recount everything over dinner had nearly made him burst out laughing. He’d expected Ha-jin to do reasonably well, but this was beyond expectations. At this point, even Ha-jin’s complaints sounded more like exaggeration than genuine suffering.

“Anyway, just keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t act stupid and confront them head-on, okay?”

“Obviously. I’ll handle things carefully so they can’t pick on me. But your sister really is okay, right?”

“Don’t worry about her. She can’t even manage her own life.”

Their conversation stayed pleasant all the way back home. Talking openly with Woo-seok had eased a lot of the frustration bottled up inside Ha-jin.

Even if all Woo-seok did was casually tell him “good job” or “well done,” it still gave him strength. He felt like he could walk back into that house now and face the Chae family with a smile again.

“Hurry and give him the gift. We’re saying ‘we’ bought it together, okay?”

“How touching. I’m gonna cry from gratitude.”

“As long as Woo-seok-ssi stays in Father’s good graces, my life gets easier too.”

By then, the car had already stopped in front of the main building. Woo-seok handed the keys to a waiting employee before heading inside with Ha-jin.

“You’re both late.”

It seemed dinner had already ended. Lee Ah-seong sat alone on the living room sofa, sipping tea. The enormous house felt strangely empty and quiet.

“Yes. I asked hyung to eat out with me.”

“…I see. Good.”

Anyone could tell he wasn’t pleased that Ha-jin had eaten outside. Or perhaps he disliked the fact that Ha-jin and Woo-seok had eaten together alone. Even so, Ha-jin pretended not to notice and plopped down beside the sofa enthusiastically.

“Father, we bought you a present. Open it quickly.”

“…A present? From Woo-seok?”

How “we” somehow translated into “Woo-seok” alone was beyond understanding. Regardless, Lee Ah-seong looked extremely pleased once he opened it.

It was just a somewhat unique briefcase, but he couldn’t remember the last time someone had given him a gift outside of special occasions. Especially if it came from beloved Woo-seok.

“Our hyung picked it out. Do you like it?”

“Ah? Ah… yes. Thank you.”

Watching the faint flush on Lee Ah-seong’s face, Go Ha-jin almost found him… cute. Was that really how much parents loved their children? Since he’d never had kids himself, he couldn’t understand it at all.

Just as they were about to stop basking in the moment and head back home, another person entered the living room.

“You called for me… Father?”

It was Tae-seol. Apparently Lee Ah-seong had summoned him before Ha-jin and Woo-seok arrived.

“You. You really think this family is a joke, don’t you?”

And in an instant, Lee Ah-seong completely changed. His voice and expression turned sharp and cold unlike just moments before.

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