* * *
When Dogun’s eyes widened and he reached out, Yeongdeok thought he was about to grab his collar.
But then, out of nowhere, Wonjin rushed over and wedged himself between them to stop the fight.
“Please, both of you, calm down. And, Yeongdeok, can I have a word with you over here?”
Without any explanation, Wonjin urgently grabbed Yeongdeok by the hem and dragged him away.
Figuring Chairman Cha had summoned him, Yeongdeok let himself be pulled along, but Wonjin brought him to a secluded corner of the ballroom.
“What’s this about?”
“I saw you in a difficult situation… so I took the liberty of stepping in. I apologize.”
Baek Wonjin, who was bowing his head in apology, caught Yeongdeok’s gaze as he looked past him at the two older brothers glaring at him from afar.
It was amusing how they resembled dogs chasing after chickens.
“I wasn’t in any trouble. You’ve done something unnecessary.”
“Your outfit today is quite bizarre… no, I mean, it’s rather creative….”
Wonjin glanced over Yeongdeok’s attire, but there were too many things to point out.
He decided to start by asking about the strange bouquet Yeongdeok was holding.
“That bouquet you’re holding… what on earth is it?”
“It’s a chicken bouquet. I made it myself.”
The chicken bouquet consisted mainly of fried chicken, accompanied by flowers symbolizing long life.
Although fried chicken is best enjoyed right after it’s cooked, the now-soggy chicken didn’t sit well with Yeongdeok.
Still, he thought it was a perfect birthday gift for Cha Heeseok.
After listening to the explanation, Wonjin’s gaze shifted to the flyers peeking out from the zipper of Yeongdeok’s crossbody bag.
His calculating eyes lingered for a moment, and even though Wonjin was an annoying person, Yeongdeok handed him one of the flyers.
Wonjin slowly read the text on the flyer.
“The definition and history of chicken, its advantages….”
Feeling perplexed, Wonjin adjusted his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and brought the flyer closer to his face.
The flyer, plastered with chicken photos, detailed the advantages of chicken in rainbow-colored text written in an outdated font.
Regardless of its legibility, the sheer assault on the eyes made Wonjin blink continuously as he read.
“Why do you have so many of these flyers…?”
Wonjin’s fingertips trembled with a cold sense of dread.
Flyers are for distributing, usually to promote something.
The fact that Yeongdeok had brought them here meant…
Realizing what Yeongdeok intended to do, Wonjin gasped and tried to say something. However, anticipating a barrage of nagging, Yeongdeok took off before Wonjin could even open his mouth.
Casually wandering around and waiting for the right moment to cause a scene, Yeongdeok noticed Seonwoo approaching him, dressed impeccably in a gray suit. His hair was neatly slicked back.
“Cha Yeongdeok, you really came?”
“Baek Seonwoo.”
“Look at your outfit. It’s impressive how little you care about what others think.”
“Are you picking a fight?”
“Of course not.”
As Seonwoo looked him up and down, his gaze lingered on the chicken bouquet, the megaphone around his neck, and the flyers.
He had promised to make this an unforgettable party, and it seemed he would. Seonwoo sighed.
“Can you handle the consequences? What if you get disowned?”
“If I get disowned, that would actually be great.”
A man acting like a madman and getting disowned—what a pathetic sight.
Yeongdeok had never heard of anything so absurd.
Seonwoo’s eyes momentarily flickered with a strange light at Yeongdeok’s confident and unwavering reply.
“Why are you doing this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Six months ago, you were acting like you’d die for the company.”
The Yeongdeok Seonwoo remembered was someone who cared for nothing but work and seemed incapable of feeling anything.
The image of him moving through life as if dead still vividly lingered in Seonwoo’s mind.
But now, suddenly, he had joined his younger sister’s obscure café, mingled with childlike gatherings, and opened a chicken restaurant. It was as if he had changed overnight.
“I honestly thought you’d go back to your old self soon.”
He had thought this was just a fleeting whim. But now, it seemed like that wasn’t the case.
“For someone who was so blindly devoted to work and the elders’ words, why?”
“Because I realized it’s a waste of time to be tied down by such things.”
Yeongdeok’s answer came without hesitation, and Seonwoo’s eyes wavered as if struck by a storm.
The person standing before him was no longer the dull, emotionless Yeongdeok.
It was as if the colors in him, long faded, had returned to life.
Seonwoo felt a peculiar chill run through him at that moment.
“Cha Dowon!”
The loud shout made not only Yeongdeok but also Seonwoo turn their heads in the direction of the sound.
Yeongdeok’s father, Cha Hyungook, was striding toward them, his face flushed with anger.
“What kind of mess is this? Have you decided to completely lose it since you left the company?”
Having closed the distance, Hyungook grabbed Yeongdeok by the collar and yanked him forward.
“If you keep behaving like this….”
Before Hyungook could finish his sentence, Yeongdeok shoved his shoulder, causing him to stumble back.
Yeongdeok calmly stepped forward, closing the distance, and stared directly at his father.
“It’s been a while, Father.”
“You…”
“You still have that habit of using your hands first.”
Yeongdeok’s pitch-black eyes gleamed with a wild intensity as he grabbed his father’s wrist and pulled him forward with force.
“Don’t you agree?”
Hyungook could only groan in response, unable to escape Yeongdeok’s grip.
As he looked at his father, who had once seemed like an imposing mountain but now appeared small and fragile, Yeongdeok laughed, noticing that people’s eyes were beginning to turn toward them.
He slowly released his father’s wrist, remembering why he had come.
Regaining his composure, Yeongdeok climbed onto a round table adorned with vases and dishes.
It wasn’t very high, but from up there, he could see everyone clearly.
His brothers, his pale-faced mother, and even… his grandfather.
Yeongdeok switched on the megaphone he had brought.
“Testing, testing.”
After confirming the sound was spreading, he looked in the direction of where Cha Heeseok was seated.
His face was flushed red, looking as though he might explode at any moment.
“Happy birthday, Grandfather.”
“That crazy bastard?”
Heeseok, frail as he was, shot to his feet and pointed angrily at Yeongdeok.
From his perch above, Yeongdeok looked down at him and spoke into the megaphone.
“It’s just your grandson showing you a little affection, so be kind about it. Oh, and Mother.”
Kyungsook, whose face was drained of color, looked terrified of what Yeongdeok might say next into the megaphone.
He opened his mouth, as if he was going to expose everything, but then closed it again, smiling slyly.
Coming down from the table, he kicked it over and scattered the chicken flyers he had brought.
The murmur of the crowd grew louder.
Despite knowing that he probably looked like a lunatic to others, Yeongdeok paid no mind as he stirred up the hall.
For the first time, he truly felt like he had let go of everything.
It was refreshing, like that thrilling sense of freedom he had experienced when he indulged in reckless behavior during the previous cycle.
After stirring up the crowd by scattering the flyers, Yeongdeok approached Heeseok and presented him with the chicken bouquet he had carefully held.
“A gift, Grandfather.”
Heeseok’s face, clearly suppressing rage, appeared before Yeongdeok. He looked like he was on the verge of erupting.
While Yeongdeok was waiting for Heeseok’s reaction, his mother, Park Kyungsook, approached.
The moment Yeongdeok turned his gaze toward her, her hand flew up and struck him across the face.
With a short, sharp sound, Yeongdeok’s head turned to the side, and his sunglasses fell to the ground.
As he slowly rubbed his cheek and looked forward, he saw Kyungsook’s tearful face.
“You lunatic….”
Yeongdeok gave her a loose smile.
“Cha Dowon, have you lost it? Why are you doing this….”
She buried her face in her hands, sobbing. Yeongdeok felt no pity for her.
There was no such emotion.
All he tasted was the blood in his mouth as he took a step closer to her.
“Stop pretending to cry, Mother.”
* * *
The drama…
coldddd
good job
The drama unfolds
Family dram🤨
Gosh, here we go.
I need more points😭
Kami sama
I don’t have mony anymore😭😭
I don’t have points anymore 😭😭
I will die without reading next chapter 😭😭😭
I can’t wait for ittt😭🫂
Literally waiting for another sale on unlimited mana so I’ll cop it 😭😭
Me tocó 😢
But this just shows how alone Yeongdeok truly was in his past life😭
It’s just a bunch of mixed feelings :’)
I know i should be proud of him but i cant help but feel so sad in this chapter
Thank you for the chapter !
Omg the drama
This is the only novel I use all my points for🫠🫠🫠
fr I’m so obsessed lol
I feel so heartbroken for yeongdeok 😢 he was truly alone in the family, no one approached with good intentions in this party except for woonjin and he hated him before regression. and the implication that yeongdeok’s father had hit him before….. my poor baby boy💔
honestly seonwoo and yeongdeok could’ve become salvation for each other if only they didn’t clash personalities
Thanks for the chapter
Um misto de emoções esse capítulo 😢
Damnnnn
a lot is being exposed about the environment Yeongdeok was growing up too…
Thanks