To My Brother’s Friend - Chapter 50

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 50
“Sometimes I find myself craving the dasik you make for me, Hee-jo. It’s maddening how much I miss it.”
Chairman Beom Hun-young gazed out at the meticulously maintained gardens of Jeoksanwon beyond the large window, drawing deeply on his long pipe before exhaling a plume of smoke.
The acrid, potent fragrance of aged tobacco drifted slowly through the study room, weaving between the heavy antique furnishings that filled the space.
“Madam Jung does her best, but honestly, she falls far short of your skill.”
“….”
“I received the report on the results.”
“….”
“Isn’t that fortunate?”
As I inhaled, the acrid scent mingled with my breath.
Without realizing it, I smoothed the furrow forming between my brows and answered calmly.
“…Yes, Chairman.”
“You played the role of an affectionate couple quite well. This old man nearly fell for it himself.”
This morning, I had undergone a second pregnancy test.
The result was, “fortunately,” negative.
“Rumors are terrifying things. As they spread from mouth to mouth, they accumulate all manner of distortions, often becoming something entirely different from their original meaning.”
Tsk, how shameless.
Chairman Beom muttered in a tone of mild reproach before breaking into a benevolent smile.
“Your brother in heaven must be pleased as well. His sister has grown into a fine woman who would never resort to such vulgar tactics as using a child to trap someone.”
At the mention of Hee-jae, I drew a deep breath.
My hands, resting demurely on my lap, tensed with suppressed force.
“And I should express my gratitude to Han Young-sook, the master artisan. She is as much your family as your own parents, is she not? And she shares a special bond with her grandson, I hear?”
Caught off guard by the sudden mention of Seung-won, I hesitated briefly before shaking my head slightly.
“…I’ve only seen him a few times at the Transmission Hall.”
“Well, in any case. If Han Young-sook’s family is your family, then they are mine as well.”
Chairman Beom was speaking plainly.
That I would need to honor my promises going forward.
If I were to entangle Kwon Yeol in any way, to obstruct his future—
Then I would not spare those around me either.
“….”
Though I maintained an outward composure, my face had gone pale as I lowered my gaze.
‘She understands implications so well. And she hides her emotions so skillfully.’
Every time Chairman Beom looked at Hee-jo, his wariness stirred, yet simultaneously he felt a profound sense of regret.
Apart from his own grandsons, she was the only one so young who could master her emotions so completely, meeting his gaze without flinching and responding with such composure.
Her mind was sharp too—teach her one thing and she grasped ten.
Since Hee-jo’s appointment, the prestige of the Beomho Cultural Foundation had risen steadily.
While his daughter-in-law Jin Seo-ryeong had upheld traditional authority, Hee-jo captivated the public with a youthful, fresh sensibility.
It was undoubtedly Hee-jo’s achievement that elevated the foundation’s image to a new level.
‘If only her background had been different.’
Even if she had been the daughter of a small or mid-sized enterprise.
If only her parents had been alive so she could have fabricated such a story.
Yoon Jae-hyun, Hee-jo’s father and an alcoholic, had fallen asleep with a ramen pot sitting over the gas flame and suffocated to death.
Ha Ji-young, Hee-jo’s mother who had abandoned the home when she was young, drifted along the seaside before disappearing overseas, and all contact was lost.
It had been so long that not even a trace could be found.
All that could be painstakingly discovered was a vague rumor that she had gone somewhere in America.
Whenever Chairman Beom saw Hee-jo living in this world alone, without parents, he felt as though he were confronting his own past.
What followed that sense of kinship was fear.
There was nothing more terrifying than a person who had nothing left to lose.
Moreover, lately another kind of fear had awakened.
Every time Hee-jo, who resembled him, fulfilled her role perfectly at the Foundation, the brilliance she demonstrated might ultimately draw his acknowledgment.
That he might eventually accept Hee-jo as his own blood—Chairman Beom found this prospect deeply unsettling.
“I hear the evaluations of Kwon Yeol are quite excellent, given that he maintains a harmonious household in a stable manner. That’s largely thanks to you. Until the day you part, continue just as you are now so the next person can take over smoothly.”
Hee-jo could not answer immediately, as though a cold lump of ice had lodged in her throat.
But Chairman Beom Hun-young did not press her, his expression relaxed as if he could wait that long without issue.
After all, he would inevitably hear the answer he desired.
“…Yes, Chairman.”
“Heh, good. Now I should begin practicing the title gradually.”
No matter how long you remained by his side, you could never become family—Chairman Beom’s words, drawing a line at every moment, became sharp shards that pierced deep into Hee-jo’s chest.
Then she let out a bitter laugh within herself.
Even in moments like this, what came to mind was the eldest grandson whom Chairman Beom cherished so dearly—the very person who had wounded her.
The only person in this desolate place who embraced her.
The one who always said it was fine, that she could do whatever she wanted—her husband.
How absurd it was that she could only find solace within a false relationship.
The fact that she could not escape by her own will was equally so.
“Just continue as you are. What I ask of you is all that you are capable of.”
* * *
That night, after her private meeting with Chairman Beom ended and she returned.
Hee-jo held Kwon Yeol tightly.
“Brother, ah….”
At the pitiful moan that pierced his ear, Kwon Yeol clenched his teeth.
As he tightened his grip around her and pressed down with force, Hee-jo’s body trembled finely.
Slap, slap—
The raw sound of flesh meeting flesh filled the silent room.
When Hee-jo showed signs of strain beneath the overwhelming pleasure, Kwon Yeol slowed his pace and tried to pull away.
But Hee-jo tightened her grip around his neck and clung to him.
“Don’t go.”
“You’re struggling, Yoon Hee-jo.”
“I’m not struggling. I want to stay connected to you… more.”
At those words, Kwon Yeol felt his reason snap like a twig.
Lifting Hee-jo’s body lightly, he positioned her face-down as he grasped her slender waist.
The moment she gripped the sheets tightly.
A forceful pressure surged into her from behind.
“Ah…!”
My body trembled mercilessly as my face pressed into the pillow.
The sensations overwhelming my entire being left me dizzy and breathless.
The warmth and overwhelming weight of his large hands pressing firmly against my back reassured me.
Barely lifting my head, I whispered in a breathless voice.
“Brother… I want to see your face.”
Kwon Yeol muttered a low curse before swiftly turning me onto my back.
He wrapped my pale thighs around his waist and pressed his lips against mine roughly.
Saliva mingled wetly between us, and a silvery thread stretched long.
In the blurred vision that swayed up and down, I gazed up at Kwon Yeol.
My slender fingers wrapped around his face.
“Brother, ah, you’re so hot….”
“Don’t say things like that.”
Kwon Yeol himself felt as though his entire body was burning.
The heat radiating from me and the sensation of my body tightening around him was driving him to the edge of madness.
Finally, as both of us reached our peak, our breathing intertwined. Kwon Yeol collapsed onto me before rolling us over, cradling me against his chest.
He positioned me to lie face-down on his chest, then wrapped both arms around me securely as he asked softly.
“Yoon Hee-jo.”
Kwon Yeol pressed his lips firmly against my white forehead, then slowly traced his hand down my smooth back.
“Why are you being so forward today.”
“Just….”
I clutched his shoulders tightly, whispering in a low voice.
“I’ve had a lot going on lately. I guess I’ve been stressed, so my energy drained a bit.”
I smiled as if nothing were wrong and burrowed deeper into his embrace.
As if Chairman Beom’s cold warning and the fragments lodged in my chest had never existed at all.
“When you hold me like this, I finally feel alive. It puts my mind at ease.”
Kwon Yeol pulled me closer, my face buried in his chest, and spoke playfully.
“If you keep doing this, you’ll exhaust yourself.”
Kwon Yeol cupped the back of my neck with his large hand and added softly.
“Looks like sleep is off the table for tonight.”
Usually, when he made jokes like this, I would flush red and hide in his embrace.
Then Kwon Yeol would find it endearing and comfort me while adjusting his hold—it was our daily routine.
But today, I was different.
“I don’t need sleep.”
I slowly lifted myself up from where I lay on his chest.
Straddling his waist, I met his gaze directly.
“I don’t want to sleep. I want to keep touching you… keep being close to you. All night long.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————