Prey (Lee Seohan) - Chapter 125
“Where exactly did you rack up that debt? The lab keeps getting calls asking for you. You need money now because of that debt, don’t you?”
Seol Hee-nam, who had been angrily yelling moments ago, suddenly changed his expression and forced a smile.
“What are you talking about? I don’t have any debts… Those calls? It’s just some personal matters. Nothing serious.”
His voice softened as he spoke, and then he shifted to a more persuasive tone as he addressed Cheol-eum.
“Lee Cheol-eum, think about it carefully. Do you think I’m doing this for my benefit alone? You’ve been working so hard on your research, haven’t you?
Hardly sleeping, barely coming home. If we sell this groundbreaking technology for the highest price, it’ll be good for you too, won’t it? Right?”
“No.”
Cheol-eum shook his head firmly.
“Not now. I have a place I’m waiting for.”
Even in the darkness, Seol Hee-nam’s face twisted at the resolute reply. Frustrated, he raised his voice again, looking agitated.
“You’re living in this rundown place with your kid, barely getting by, and you still want to nitpick?! How long are you going to make your wife and Suho suffer? Do you think this is the time to be picky about which company to choose? Even if it’s not perfect, you should look at reality and compromise a little!”
“……”
Cheol-eum’s gaze faltered for a moment but soon steadied as he shook his head again.
“I have my reasons.”
“Lee Cheol-eum!”
A voice filled with anger echoed through the alley at night.
Jeonghan froze in place, watching, when Eunju gently tapped his shoulder from behind.
“Um…”
“Shh.”
Eunju placed her finger lightly over Jeonghan’s lips, then took his hand and began walking back toward their multi-family housing unit.
As he quietly held his mother’s hand and walked, Jeonghan asked,
“…Mom, why is Dad fighting with Mister Hee-nam? Did Dad do something wrong? Is that why Mister is angry?”
Eunju looked down at Jeonghan with a smile that seemed somehow sad.
Even as they walked through the dim alley lit only by the amber glow of the streetlights, Jeonghan could feel it.
The faint sadness lingering on Eunju’s face.
“……”
Glancing back briefly at the two men behind them, Eunju gripped Jeonghan’s hand a little tighter. Continuing to walk, she said,
“Suho, your dad…”
Holding Jeonghan’s small hand firmly, Eunju spoke.
“Your dad is waiting… for us.”
“For us?”
“Yes, for us.”
Eunju, who spoke while gazing at him with calm eyes, gently stroked Jeonghan’s head.
“So, we need to wait together too. Okay?”
“Okay. Got it.”
Though he didn’t fully understand, Jeonghan nodded.
At that time, young Jeonghan couldn’t have known.
That his mom, who he believed was Han Eunju, was actually Do Miran, one of the country’s most prominent chaebol daughters.
That she had fallen in love with an orphan and an ordinary company researcher, and they had eloped for love.
That the researcher, in his desperate attempt to gain recognition from her family, was working to invent groundbreaking technology.
That he planned to perfect that technology and present it to Cheonkyung, her family’s company.
And that Seol Hee-nam, his colleague, had discovered this and was fighting to sell the unfinished technology to Cheonkyung’s rival company.
Cheol-eum ultimately refused Hee-nam’s relentless pressure.
No matter how large the sum offered, money was not what he sought.
All he wanted was to be recognized by the family of the woman he loved.
Cheol-eum’s sudden death in a car accident occurred less than a month later.
His sudden passing cast a heavy pall over the funeral.
Only Cheol-eum’s colleagues and Eunju’s neighbors attended, and the air was thick with sobbing and wailing.
Eunju, her face pale, greeted the visitors with quiet composure.
Young Jeonghan didn’t fully understand what a funeral was.
He didn’t know why people were crying so much in front of his father’s picture, unable to keep themselves standing.
Seeing Han Eunju standing as if she might collapse, Jeonghan’s friend’s mother, Hyeonjeong, spoke up.
“Han Eunju, go and rest with Suho for a bit. Eat something at least. I’ll stay here and watch over things. There aren’t many people anyway.”
When Eunju didn’t respond with her vacant gaze, Hyeonjeong sighed and gently patted her shoulder.
“You need to take care of yourself, for Suho’s sake.”
“…Thank you.”
Eunju, hearing the words “for Suho’s sake,” nodded weakly and took Jeonghan’s hand.
A moment of hesitation.
Jeonghan, startled, looked up at Eunju with wide eyes.
