A Taste to Spit Out - Chapter 34

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“Ms. Yun-hye, I have something I’m curious about.”

At that, Ms. Yun-hye, who had been wiping dishes with a dry cloth, turned to look at me.

“On the day my father died…”

Ms. Yun-hye, who had been staring intently at my lips, nodded. It was a signal for me to continue.

“Is it true that no one else was home?”

Once again, Ms. Yun-hye nodded. I stepped a little closer. My voice, now tinged with urgency, suddenly burst out toward her. My anxious thoughts, sharp with tension, pointed directly at her.

“Did my father tell everyone to leave? I mean, normally, my father never took a bath alone.”

“……”

“Then, do you know what might have been playing on the radio…?”

At that moment, Ms. Yun-hye flinched, her shoulders tensing up. Realizing this, I let out a small sigh, “Ah.” I had just remembered that she was the only one home that day. It was Ms. Yun-hye who discovered my father’s accident. The incident must have been just as traumatic for her.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

For a moment, I had forgotten and mistakenly thought Ms. Yun-hye understood my words perfectly. But in truth, she couldn’t hear at all. She also couldn’t speak. She was just very skilled at reading people’s lips. And she responded with her own lip movements.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know anything.”

“It’s not your fault, Ms. Yun-hye. It was just an accident.”

Flustered, I quickly waved my hands, trying to reassure her. I told her again, saying it was only an accident, so she really didn’t need to feel so guilty, and then hurried back into the room.

Once I returned to the room, I slid down against the door, sinking to the floor.

Why did everything fit together so perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle? Why was it that no one was with my father at the moment of his death? Why was there no one there to stop his death? To simply dismiss that incident as an accident… there was clearly someone who benefited from it.

“……”

I began to carefully organize the articles I had secretly read that morning, without Kang Yeol-jin knowing.

Kang Yeol-jin had been planning to build a golf course, but my father had continually opposed it. That was because of the opposition from environmental groups.

And exactly one week before the first shovel hit the ground, my father died. After that, the process moved along swiftly. With the death of the councilman who had been voicing opposition, the resistance quickly crumbled, and the mayor approved the construction without hesitation.

Was all of this really just a coincidence?

I approached the window, deep in thought. Down below, I could see Kang Yeol-jin in the garden. His broad shoulders, intimidating chest, and thick arms were all visible. In one hand, he held a hunting rifle.

He was returning from a walk with his ferocious hunting dog, its gums dark red and menacing teeth visible, like something out of a nightmare.

He smiled.

From the lowest point, he looked up at me, standing at the highest place.

By tomorrow, this house will be mine.

How long can you keep pretending to love me?

Suddenly, the door to the room I was in opened with a click. Kang Yeol-jin released the leash from his hand, and the large hunting dog stood still, not moving an inch. Kang Yeol-jin stepped into the room and wrapped me in his arms.

“I have a favor to ask.”

I gently grabbed the thick arm wrapped around my shoulder and casually brought up a question.

“What kind of favor?”

Your hot breath, which made me feel warm just by brushing against my skin, grazed the back of my neck. Since we were bound as alpha and omega, this kind of s****l attraction was only natural.

The fact that you’re drawn to me—on my end, it became a useful weapon I could wield at any time. I rose slightly on my tiptoes and whispered. Damp words slipped into the deep, intimate hollow of your ear.

One hand stroked your thick, itchy back as I spoke.

“Can I pick up the brush again?”

At that, you took a sharp, deep breath behind me.

“I want to smell the paint.”

Your eyes darkened, gleaming with something deep, as if you were watching a baby take their first steps, arms outstretched, or observing a tree that had suffered all winter but was now just starting to bloom. It was as if this moment had been long awaited.

“Of course you can. I loved it when you painted.”

A voice intoxicated with joy burst from my cheeks. His embrace tightened around me. He seemed to feel a sense of euphoria, but in the next moment, his smile faded at my unexpected words.

“I want to go back to school.”