Chapter 43: The First Night, and the Real Omega

“All I want is for children not to be hurt because of poverty.”

Chae Jae-yi watched Go Ha-jin giving interviews surrounded by reporters, her eyes filled with irritation.

She genuinely could not understand the current situation.

From early morning, because of Lee Ah-seong’s orders, she had been dragged to some godforsaken place wearing shabby clothes she had never once put on in her life.

Crumbling buildings. Filthy children who looked like they ought to be begging on the streets.

And now she was expected to personally wash them, feed them, and clean up after them…?

The world had gone insane.

Sure, she had caused some trouble. But honestly, she still didn’t understand why it had become such a problem.

She had lived her entire life like that. This time she had simply gotten unlucky enough to be caught.

Besides, it wasn’t as though she had killed anyone. Yet now she was stuck doing volunteer work as a form of self-reflection.

If those reporters hadn’t been there, she absolutely would’ve run away halfway through.

“What a load of bullshit.”

And why, of all people, did she have to be paired with Go Ha-jin?

Jae-yi had definitely seen it. When Ha-jin left the house, he had been covered head to toe in items worth thousands.

But by the time he got out of the car here, he had changed into clothes shabby enough to pass for garbage.

Then he disappeared somewhere without showing his face for ages, only to suddenly emerge sweating the moment the reporters arrived and start giving interviews like this.

“I’m sorry, but… I’d rather not have photos taken.”

“But it’d be nice to get at least one warm picture of you with the children…”

“Oh dear… the kids might feel hurt. I’m only doing what should naturally be done, that’s all.”

‘What humility. What consideration.’

And yet, while saying that, he didn’t forget to hand over an envelope with the donation amount printed boldly on the outside, making sure the reporters got a good look at it before giving it to the director of the care center.

Maybe it was because Jae-yi was watching from afar. Or maybe because she already disliked him to begin with.

But Go Ha-jin irritated her to no end.

No one could possibly be that kind-hearted. At least, not according to her understanding of humanity.

“Well then, I have work piling up, so I should get going now. Reporters, please make sure to eat before you leave! I think Father made special arrangements for you all.”

Even at the very end, he looked bright and cheerful. He even had the tact to flatter his father-in-law.

The reporters may have come because they were being paid off by SHS, but even without that, Go Ha-jin looked exactly like the rumors described.

The true embodiment of noblesse oblige among Korea’s chaebol families.

Technically, today’s publicity event was supposed to focus on Chae Jae-yi volunteering alongside Go Ha-jin. But the reporters were still human.

It was hard to feel motivated to praise someone as rotten as Chae Jae-yi. Even now, she stood off in the distance with a sulky expression, completely oblivious to her own position.

“Doesn’t that person seem genuinely amazing? Even if it’s all for show, how do you donate that much money?”

“Seriously. That kind of thing is innate. Looks like SHS is going to benefit a lot from him.”

Overhearing the reporters’ conversation, Ha-jin quietly swallowed a laugh.

How did people only ever see exactly what they wanted to see?

Well… it certainly made life easier for him.

Since the reporters were still lingering nearby, Ha-jin pretended to do laundry.

If he dumped in extra detergent and made lots of foam, it would probably show up better from a distance. Maybe he should splash some water onto his clothes too. And smear a little foam on his face while he was at it.

He didn’t exactly enjoy doing laundry he wouldn’t even do at home, but if he thought of it as money, it became manageable enough.

“Hey. You must have a lot of money.”

Suddenly, soap suds splashed all over his face.

Without him noticing, Chae Jae-yi had walked up and lightly kicked the washbasin in front of him. Apparently she had failed to control her strength, because the soapy water splashed upward.

Ha-jin wondered how best to get rid of this nuisance. He didn’t even want to exchange words with her.

The reporters and the director stood with their backs turned in the distance. The foam on his face was annoying too… wait. Foam on his face…?

“Ah, aaah…! Why would you do this, Noona…?”

Go Ha-jin suddenly threw himself toward the basin.

He slammed his knees into it and hurled his upper body forward. The sight of him rolling across the floor drenched in soapy water looked exactly as if someone had shoved him from behind.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?”

“Why… why would you suddenly do that…?”

Jae-yi panicked.

Sure, she had lightly nudged the basin with her foot, but there was no way someone should dramatically topple into a basin that hadn’t even touched them.

And seeing his tearful expression almost made her want to reach out and help him up.

They said he was a superior omega, and apparently that really did make him different.

Still, she knew that cunning bastard was putting on a show, so she didn’t offer her hand.

“Are you alright, Mr. Ha-jin?”

“No, this is… Haah, honestly, that’s too much…”

The commotion quickly drew everyone over from afar.

The reporters and the director all reached roughly the same conclusion Jae-yi had.

“As expected of the Chae family’s delinquent eldest daughter, she was bullying her brother-in-law even outside the house!”

“If she behaved like this even with people watching, what must she be like at home?”

“You’re all being fooled! This crazy bastard’s putting on a f*cking show right now!”

Jae-yi couldn’t withstand the criticism aimed at her.

Naturally not. She had never built up any tolerance for situations like this.

She had never lived a life that required patience, so there was no way she possessed any.

At Jae-yi’s desperate outburst, Ha-jin bit the soft flesh inside his mouth and lowered his eyes sadly.

Should he cry? No, that would be overdoing it.

“N-No, she’s right… I slipped and fell on my own… all by myself.”

Ha-jin covered for Jae-yi, but nobody believed him.

Which was exactly why he had said it in the first place.

****

“Chae Hu-nam!”

For a moment, Go Ha-jin questioned his own hearing.

‘Hu-nam? Hu… nam…? Who the hell was that?’

Lee Ah-seong stormed out in a rare display of completely unrestrained anger.

Ha-jin had entered the main house simply to greet him after returning, but instinctively took half a step backward.

Lee Ah-seong looked ready to charge forward and throw a punch immediately.

But his gaze was fixed entirely on one person.

“Dad! No, listen, Dad-!”

It was Chae Jae-yi.

Under normal circumstances, she would’ve exploded at being called “Hu-nam,” but judging from Lee Ah-seong’s state right now, she couldn’t even point that out.

He only ever called her Chae Hu-nam when he was halfway out of his mind with rage.

The last time had been during the raw chicken assault incident. Even though she had changed her name years ago.

“Will you shut your mouth? All you had to do was quietly take some photos and come back! And you still managed to create this disaster!”

“That’s not what happened, that crazy bastard-!”

Smack!

In the end, Lee Ah-seong’s hand lashed violently across Jae-yi’s back.

Just hearing the sound made it seem like her skin might’ve split open.

Even though this whole mess had technically started because of her own actions, Ha-jin still felt deeply uncomfortable watching Lee Ah-seong explode like this.

He almost regretted coming to greet him at all.

“You’re no different either. You know perfectly well Hu-nam needs support right now, yet instead of being more careful-”

After berating Jae-yi for a long while, Lee Ah-seong’s anger shifted toward Ha-jin.

Even though there was nothing he could realistically blame Ha-jin for on the surface.

How had he already heard about the incident so quickly?

“…‘I’ was the one who talked things over with the reporters, so they agreed not to publish articles about it. ‘Me.’”

He emphasized the word “I” twice.

A reminder not to forget who had cleaned up after his daughter’s mess.

Perhaps understanding that, Lee Ah-seong’s expression eased slightly.

“…Anyway. Hu-nam, go upstairs immediately. Don’t even think about leaving your room. Just looking at your face gives me a headache.”

His misplaced anger once again returned to Hu-nam, no, Chae Jae-yi.

Still, perhaps Lee Ah-seong was the only person capable of handling her unruly personality. Even glaring murderously, Jae-yi obediently headed upstairs.

Her stomping footsteps earned her another scolding along the way.

“Haah… how did something like that even come out of me…”

Ha-jin quickly hurried into the kitchen and brought back a glass of water.

“Please have some water, Father.”

“…Fine.”

Even swallowing water seemed difficult for Lee Ah-seong.

Ha-jin briefly considered ignoring him and leaving, but then remembered Woo-seok’s words and decided to humor him a little for now.

Hadn’t Woo-seok told him he could take whatever he managed to squeeze out of Lee Ah-seong and Chae Il-joo?

It wouldn’t be easy, but if he gained their trust, he might be able to extract things beyond imagination.

“Call that one over here.”

The moment he sat at the sofa table, Lee Ah-seong jerked his chin toward someone.

Following his gaze, Ha-jin saw “that one”… Tae Seol.

Quietly, he walked over and brought Tae Seol back with him.

Whatever he had been doing, Tae Seol was once again dressed almost like a maid, shirt sleeves rolled up.

“You called for me, Father…”

“The receipts.”

Apparently unwilling to waste even a single extra word, Lee Ah-seong spoke directly to the point.

He was probably referring to the receipts from yesterday’s shopping trip at the department store.

Ha-jin regretted not leaving earlier.

This was extremely uncomfortable. He shouldn’t have even sat down on the sofa.

It almost felt like he and Lee Ah-seong were ganging up together to bully Tae Seol.

“…Here…”

Tae Seol pulled a crumpled stack of receipts from his pocket and placed them on the table.

Lee Ah-seong tapped through them one by one with his fingertips, checking the details.

Then he grabbed the bundle of white paper and hurled it directly at Tae Seol’s face.

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