* * *

Following the secretary down the hall, he felt his heart sink as he entered the room where his stepmother awaited.

Her cold, indifferent gaze struck a familiar dread in him.

The memory of her watching him collapse on the stairs, emotionless, flashed in his mind.

Subconsciously rubbing the scar on his knee, Jungin bit his lip and took a seat across from her.

“It’s so hard to even see your face.”

Her lips curved into a smile, but her eyes remained devoid of warmth as she sipped her tea. Just being in the same room as her suffocated Jungin.

“So, do you enjoy this?”

The woman was angry. It was clear her fury was directed at him.

The same expression she always wore before delivering punishment bore down on Jungin’s body.

“Answer when you’re spoken to.”

“A-ah… ugh…”

“Is it because you’re stupid? No matter how many times I teach you, you never change.”

Jungin’s shoulders trembled uncontrollably as he lowered his head, avoiding her gaze.

I want to run away. I don’t want to be here…

With an emotionless face, she raised her teacup and poured the scalding hot liquid onto the back of Jungin’s hand.

“Agh, ugh—!”

As steam rose, Jungin frantically clutched his hand, pain flashing across his face.

“With those filthy hands, you managed to ensnare my sons. Like mother, like son. Look at you, pretending to be innocent with that pretty face. It’s revolting.”

Tears welled up in Jungin’s wide eyes.

He bit down hard on his lip to suppress a scream, blood seeping through the tender skin.

His body remembered—he must never make a sound.

Madam Jang’s gleaming eyes fixated on the trembling Jungin.

It seemed he still hadn’t realized that his resilience only made her want to torment him more.

“Do you even know what your presence has done to this family?”

At her chilling words, Jungin’s gaze dimmed.

He knew his brothers’ relationships with their stepmother and father had soured because of him.

And now, after leaving the family home, things must have only worsened.

“Do you know what kind of deal I made with Jungjin?”

Deal? His brother, Jungjin, made a deal with her?

Madam Jang sneered at Jungin’s clueless expression.

“He’s going to marry the eldest daughter of Seonah Pharmaceuticals. The wedding will happen either this winter or next year at the latest. In exchange, I allowed you to live independently with him.”

So… that’s why Mother agreed to let me leave with my brothers.

He thought she had simply hated seeing him so much that she readily agreed.

Why had he never questioned it?

“And that’s not all. Jungjin has been following my orders for years. The university he attended, the study abroad, the company he joined—everything was decided by me. The same goes for Jungwoo and Jungseo. To keep me from touching you, Jungwoo gave up studying what he loved and joined the main office. Jungseo, who wanted to pursue acting, gave up his dream and obediently went to school. All for your sake.”

His brothers’ lives were controlled by her, all because of him.

“For me, controlling them through you was convenient. But why do you keep crossing the line? Why do you keep getting on my nerves, Jungin?”

“Why… why do my brothers have to live like this because of me? Why…”

I ruined everything.

My brothers sacrificed so much for me, yet I resented them for not visiting me.

I blamed them while they were suffering because of me.

Self-loathing twisted inside Jungin, gnawing at his body and mind.

I should never have been born.

“Yes, it’s all your fault. So live quietly, like a mouse hiding in the shadows. That way, I won’t be tempted to kill you.”

“Why… why do you hate me so much? Is it because I’m… the child Father brought back from another woman?”

Jungin had always wanted to ask but never had the courage.

Tears spilled onto the table as he spoke, and Madam Jang wiped them away, only to draw her sharp nails across his cheek.

“You have her face—the same one that betrayed me.”

“…Huh…”

“With that face, she smiled while stealing my husband and destroying my family. And now, you’re trying to steal my children with that very same face.”

So, his biological mother was the maid his stepmother had brought from her family home.

Was the betrayal that deep?

Is that why she took out her anger on him?

Bang! Bang!

“Lee Jungin!”

Suddenly, a loud voice called for him, accompanied by frantic banging on the door.

Amid the noise, the murmurs of others could be heard.

No, not here.

This was Beomhyeon’s hotel.

If word got out that he had entered a guest’s room like this, JS Hotel’s reputation would suffer.

Knowing how crucial the hotel’s image was, Jungin hastily tried to stand.

“What would happen if I killed you right here?”

“Don’t… please don’t… let me go!”

Before he could react, Madam Jang grabbed his wrist, her smile growing sinister.

“If I kill you, he’ll lose it and come after me, won’t he? Of course, I wouldn’t face prison time—I’d never dirty my hands like that. But Beomhyeon? He’s different.”

“Stop it! Please… I’ll do whatever you say. I’ll disappear, I’ll die if you want. Just please… don’t touch Beomhyeon or my brothers!”

It all came back to this.

Begging Madam Jang to spare him, Jungin’s plea was desperate and pitiful.

“Maybe… dying would be better for you.”

“Ah… ugh…”

“Don’t worry. Your mother went peacefully when she died.”

The words struck Jungin like a blow.

“You poor thing. Did that shock you? Don’t worry—I’m only joking. Why would a mother kill her child? You’ll fail to graduate anyway, so why not study abroad? Get married there and never come back.”

She said it was a joke, but Jungin knew she meant every word.

And what did she mean by “your mother too”?

He had heard his mother took her own life.

But was that a lie?

“Did… did you kill her? Did you kill my mother?”

Madam Jang’s lips curled into a smile as she bent down to stroke Jungin’s cheek. Then, in a voice as soft as a secret, she whispered,

“Shin Haekyung knew I wouldn’t let her live if I found out about you. That’s why she abandoned you at that remote orphanage.”

“…Ah… ah…”

“She probably thought hiding you would save your life. But look how things turned out.”

My mother didn’t abandon me.

She gave me up to protect me from this woman.

“Agh… ugh…”

Reeling from the revelation, Jungin clutched his chest and collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.

* * *