If he went there without his underwear, as Assemblyman Cha had told him to… he knew it would make him look cheap. But then again, he was the one being sold and the other person was the one doing the buying. Whatever that person thought of him, his circumstances wouldn’t change. There was nothing left to change.
Even so… Yeonwoo let out a long breath. He thought he knew why he didn’t want to take it off — but he pushed that awareness aside. He stood frozen in the middle of the room, still deliberating, when footsteps from outside sent him scrambling to get dressed.
“Young master. Are you ready?”
Yeonwoo, having barely managed to get his clothes on, looked at the man who had walked in without knocking. It was a different hired hand from before. Six of one, half a dozen of the other — but he would have preferred the other one.
Unlike the petty harassment from most people in this house, this man’s cruelty was on a different level altogether. Every time they crossed paths, he would spew filthy remarks and grab at the waistband of his trousers. Being faced with this man right now, in this situation, was deeply uncomfortable. Sure enough, the man leaning sideways against the doorframe had the look of someone who had spotted an opportunity. Where Assemblyman Cha’s gaze was one of appraisal — calculating Yeonwoo’s worth — this man’s gaze was one of conquest, wanting to grind him down. Yeonwoo had no idea what he had supposedly done to deserve that look.
“Yes, I’m ready to go now.”
He loathed that look, but after today, he would never have to see this man’s face again. So he decided to endure just a little longer.
Yeonwoo slung his worn but clean bag over his shoulder. Perhaps because it only held his notebooks and his keepsake, it wasn’t heavy at all. Over thirteen years spent in this house, all of it fitting into this small, battered bag.
“Let’s go.”
But instead of stepping back outside, the man walked straight into the room. An impressively bold stride, given he hadn’t been invited in. He rubbed his palms together roughly and clicked his tongue.
“The Assemblyman asked me to check something on his behalf. Would you mind taking off your trousers, young master?”
The smirk on his face made it immediately clear — this wasn’t sincere, it was meant to humiliate him. I’m calling you young master, but I’m treating you like less than an animal. How does it feel, getting sold off to some pervert? It was written all over him. But knowing something in your head and feeling it in your body were two different things. The moment the man took one step toward him, Yeonwoo instinctively stepped back. He had no idea what kind of check was being suggested — but he knew Assemblyman Cha well enough. If Assemblyman Cha wanted something confirmed, he would do it himself. He would never entrust something like that to someone else.
“Hurry up. Do you think I have all the time in the world?”
The man’s tone was brazen as he spoke his lie. If Yeonwoo hadn’t known Assemblyman Cha’s personality, he might have broken down in tears — but years of experience told him this wasn’t the truth.
What this man was trying to do would diminish the value of the product. The words Assemblyman Cha had drilled into him — practically as a reflex by now — came to him even with his eyes closed. Not a single person’s hands must touch you — that’s how you get a high price. He had said it over and over again. So this was not something Assemblyman Cha had ordered.
Yeonwoo found the man puzzling. Even if the sole purpose was to give him a sense of shame and degradation… if Yeonwoo had actually taken his trousers off, the man would have had to deal with the risk of Assemblyman Cha’s fury. He knew that — and was doing this anyway. Why? Why does he hate me so much?
But the thought didn’t carry far. Living in this house, Yeonwoo had learned many things. One of them was that people didn’t need a grand reason to hate someone. So he decided not to wonder. Knowing the reason would only hurt him in the end.
“No.”
Yeonwoo pushed down the revulsion rising inside him. The man’s leering gaze crawling over him made his skin crawl. He had so many things he wanted to say. He wanted to shout — stop lying, who in the world would actually order something like that? But there wasn’t a single person in this house who would take his side. He knew that if they all banded together to frame him, not one of them would protect him. Yeonwoo forced down every word that had surged up to the tip of his tongue.
The man shrugged as if he had no choice. Then he reached out and grabbed the door handle, blocking Yeonwoo’s way out.
“Young master.”
“…What do you think you’re doing right now?”
Yeonwoo, heart hammering with fear, managed to raise his voice.
“It was just a joke.”
“……”
“The way you reacted makes me look like a scoundrel, and that doesn’t sit well with me. I’d like an apology.”
What a load of garbage. He’s the one who did something wrong — why should I apologize? Yeonwoo’s eyes widened. Once, he would have felt wronged enough to cry — and he still would have apologized. Because refusing to bow his head would have brought retaliation too terrible to face.
But not now. They were never going to see each other again anyway. He had no desire to give an apology he didn’t mean.
“I’m not happy either.”
It must have been an answer the man hadn’t expected, because his face twisted into something ugly.
“What did you say?”
“Move. Let me through.”
Yeonwoo shoved the man’s hand to the side. Perhaps because he hadn’t anticipated any resistance, the man’s hand fell away without a struggle. And the moment Yeonwoo opened the door, he came face-to-face with someone he had no desire to see. Cha Jeongsik.
“Look who finally came out — our little bastard.”
He hadn’t thought a single person would be there to see him off as he was about to be sold. Not that he believed Cha Jeongsik was here out of good intentions. He wasn’t naive enough for that.
“I’ve been waiting. What took you so long?”
Cha Jeongsik stood there with a mild smile, looking unburdened and bright. He seemed in a good mood — maybe he’d just let him go? For just a moment, Yeonwoo thought that since the thorn in his side was about to disappear for good, Cha Jeongsik might leave it at that and go back inside.
“I heard you finally got sold. That pretty face of yours — it’s going to get ruined now.”
Of course. Yeonwoo sighed inwardly and looked at him. He just wanted this to be over quickly — say what you have to say, or let me go.
“I mean, he’s my father and all, but really. Of all people, how did he end up selling you to him?“
Cha Jeongsik shrugged and laughed. He grinned like he was having the time of his life. The malice was practically oozing out of him. Yeonwoo stood quietly and listened.
“You haven’t forgotten the advice I gave you, have you?”
“……”
“I was going to remind you, just in case you had.”
He lowered his voice and leaned down toward Yeonwoo. It was a face Yeonwoo had seen countless times. An expression that said I hope you fall apart. I hope you sink to the very bottom and suffer.
“If you’re going to end up in a psychiatric hospital anyway — you’d be better off just dying. Understand?”
“……”
“I’ve been a little strapped for cash lately. My allowance got cut, and life’s been miserable. But if you die, a little something might trickle down to me too.”
“……”
“And while we’re at it, the stain on our family would disappear. Isn’t that what you call killing two birds with one stone?”
He didn’t want to respond to that — but Cha Jeongsik made it clear he expected an answer. Blocking his path, chin tipped up with that overbearing air that was the spitting image of Assemblyman Cha. The gesture said plainly: what are you going to do if you don’t answer?
In his heart, he wanted to say — the stain on my life was you and your family! If I can get out of this place safely and never see your face again, that’s two birds with one stone for me too! But…
“Not going to answer?”
Once, Yeonwoo had wanted to be close to Cha Jeongsik. He had been the first family Yeonwoo had ever had. But not anymore. The fact that he had ever entertained such a thought, even for a moment, disgusted him. However young he’d been — how had he thought he could get along with someone like this?
“But.”
On any other day, he would have just said yes and left it at that — but right now, he didn’t want to. He couldn’t be as cutting as the words he’d rehearsed in his head, but there was something he needed to say.
He knew full well he was the illegitimate child who had forced his way into a comfortable family. But was that his fault? He hadn’t chosen to be born. He hadn’t chosen to come to this house. It was Assemblyman Cha who had made him exist, and Assemblyman Cha who had gone out of his way to adopt him from the orphanage where he’d been living just fine.
So if anyone deserved the blame, it was Assemblyman Cha — not him. That was simply correct.
And yet, the man who was the cause of everything — he couldn’t say a single word to him. So why was he being so cruel and vicious toward someone who had done nothing wrong at all? Once, that question had eaten at him. But not anymore. He didn’t wonder, and he didn’t want to ask. He’d decided to simply accept that some people were just born that way.
“Why would I die?”
“What the hell did you just say to me?”
