TPYH 06

Chapter 06

The first night…

Saying that, twenty-nine-year-old Baek Jooheon felt even more raw, somehow sharper than before.

And just as much, it was harder to read his intentions.

Haryeong glanced up briefly at Jooheon’s eyes, which were filled with both chill and heat, then slowly lowered her gaze to the hand he had caught.

His long, straight fingers wrapped around her hand as if holding it firmly.

She remembered that she had secretly liked this hand before.

“Let go. It hurts.”

In truth, it didn’t hurt at all, but for some reason, if she didn’t say it, it didn’t feel like this man in front of her would release her hand willingly.

Whether it was her clumsy excuse or not, Jooheon slowly twisted his hand and let hers go.

Haryeong quickly took her freed hand with the other and sprang up from the bed, putting distance between them.

It was then that something strange caught her eye in the palm she had just freed.

She quickly opened her hand to examine it.

Right below the clearly marked life line, a faint date was written.

A date she could never forget in her life.

It was the day Doyoon had been kidnapped, the day his small body had gone cold.

For a moment, it felt as if all the blood in her body froze, but Haryeong forced herself to keep her expression neutral.

Moreover, on closer inspection, she saw smaller letters beneath the date, with a strange word written.

“Name.”

Name…? What did it mean?

Before she could think it through, the letters faded in an instant.

Then, on Haryeong’s pale palm, they vanished as if a ghostly illusion.

“What is he doing? He wasn’t even holding my hand hard enough to leave a mark.”

The cold voice beside her snapped Haryeong back to reality.

She couldn’t let Jooheon see her actions as strange, even slightly.

Feigning indifference, she clenched her palm and greeted casually.

“I’m fine now. I’ll go out. There seem to be plenty of other rooms on this floor anyway.”

Jooheon said nothing, just stared at her intently.

Haryeong met his gaze, pretending to be calm.

She already knew that he alone used the third floor and that there were plenty of empty rooms. She had known this right after their wedding.

So it wasn’t unusual that she chose to use another room first.

The only difference was that she chose it herself before he could tell her to leave.

Naturally, she had no intention of sharing a room with the man who had essentially caused her child’s death.

“…Do as you please.”

His voice sounded suppressed, somehow restrained.

He seemed angry, perhaps, but she didn’t care to know his feelings.

Without hesitation, Haryeong turned away from the room that had only brought her pain.

But before the relief could reach her, a bigger, heavier wave of suffering struck her.

“….”

She couldn’t say a word. Nothing at all.

It was because of the door she saw immediately opposite, as soon as she stepped out of Jooheon’s room.

In her most recent memories, that door had been pastel-colored, resembling puffy clouds against a blue sky.

On the rainbow-shaped nameplate, in crooked but endlessly lovable handwriting, was the room owner’s name.

Now, it was just a plain door among countless empty rooms.

Doyoon’s room.

Haryeong clenched her fists without realizing it.

Her nails dug into her palms, but she didn’t even feel the pain.

The pain of losing a child that could not be described in words…

Only that pain consumed her at this moment, tearing at her heart.

This time, she vowed never to let the same tragedy repeat.

With that resolve, Haryeong walked toward the last room at the end of the corridor she normally used.

Soon, the third floor fell into complete silence.

The next morning came.

Haryeong, who hadn’t slept a wink, got up and rubbed her dry eyes.

After tying her messy hair into a single knot, she checked the time—it was about when Jooheon would be getting up and washing.

Back in the old days, that was the time Haryeong would prepare breakfast for the Baekya household.

But before that…

“What are you doing here?”

With a rustle, the familiar face of the elderly woman snapped toward Haryeong.

As expected, the scene from the past was repeating itself.

Grandmother Choi was rifling through the bedding as usual.

“You… didn’t sleep here?”

Instead of answering, she was met with another question.

Haryeong quietly stepped into Jooheon’s room, barely making a sound.

For a moment, the slight embarrassment of being caught seemed to flicker across Grandmother Choi’s eyes, then it quickly turned into fierce anger.

“You won’t even answer me when I ask?”

“I already asked first. I wanted to know what you’re doing here.”

In truth, Haryeong already knew the answer.

Why Grandmother Choi’s wrinkled hands were rummaging through the pristine bedding.

It was to check whether the newlywed couple had actually spent their “first night” together.

In her previous life—no, in the old days—Grandmother Choi had shamed her terribly on Haryeong’s first night.

Even though it was obvious they slept in separate rooms, Grandmother Choi rummaged through the bedding in front of her anyway.

Not satisfied with that, she even tried to check Haryeong’s clothes—and her underwear.

The reckless grandmother had scolded Haryeong harshly:

“That vile girl shall never bear the seed of the Baekya family.”

When Doyoon was born, the first person to take him away was Grandmother Choi herself.

Her eyes were filled with a strange desire, almost as if she wanted him to call her—not Haryeong—“mom.”

That desire stemmed from the tragic history of the Baekya household.

The Baekya family prized sons above all, in fact, any children at all.

The roots of this went further back. The Baekya family was known publicly as a family of independence activists. Choi’s father and husband had worked hard in the anti-Japanese movement before passing away.

Afterward, Choi carefully selected a daughter-in-law. Her family had wealth that consistently supported the independence movement.

That financial support had helped the Baekya family grow to what it was now.

Baek Ilhwan cherished his wife deeply, but sadly, she passed away right after giving birth to Jooheon.

The Baekya family had suffered endless accidents and illness over the years, making their tragedy all the more profound.

Because of this, Jooheon was the sole heir of the Baekya family.

Given these circumstances, Baek Ilhwan naturally expected heirs from his new daughter-in-law, Haryeong. Not realizing the true intentions of her mother-in-law, Choi.

“Are you really here to check if I slept with Jooheon?”

“…You, you…!”

Haryeong’s blunt, provocative question turned Grandmother Choi’s face pale.

Of course. She had surely been told her daughter was obedient and gentle.

But that was the old Seo Haryeong. Things were different now.

Slowly, Haryeong looked at the elderly woman before her.

Grandmother Choi’s hands, clutching the bedding tightly, trembled in anger.

Old, frail, veined hands.

Why had she feared this grandmother so much? Why had she endured so much silently?

She had always cried silently, letting her grief and resentment eat away at her heart, unable to tell anyone.

Seo Haryeong had been nothing but a tool to her father, a being of lower status than even the servants in the Baekya household.

But now, that would all change.

“Don’t worry. I will never bear a child for the Baekya family.”

“…!”

Grandmother Choi, who had never expected Haryeong to whisper such a chilling promise, inadvertently dropped the bedding she was holding.

It smelled only of Baek Jooheon.

“You… what do you mean by that…?”

With a look of disbelief, Choi glared at Haryeong, who was slightly taller than her.

Haryeong smiled faintly, leisurely, at the diligent grandmother so early in the morning.

“That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

“…”

The realization that her thoughts had been read spread across Grandmother Choi’s wrinkled face.

For a moment, she raised her hand toward Haryeong.

Haryeong knew exactly what would follow. The humiliation of that wrinkled second finger poking her forehead was still etched into her body.

But this time, she wasn’t going to let it happen.

She would not allow that finger to press her down while spouting vile words.

“Is someone outside?”

“…!”

Unfortunately, the tension was broken by the sound of Jooheon coming out of the bathroom.

The sound of the door opening followed.

If the confrontation continued, Jooheon would soon come out.

Hesitating, Grandmother Choi lowered her hand, turned silently, and stomped down to the first floor in a huff.

Haryeong followed leisurely, taking the stairs down.

It was the first step toward completely discarding her husband, Baek Jooheon.