Chapter 195
Sung Yu-Da went to the study, leaving only Ha-Yeon and Sun-Woo in the living room. Ha-Yeon took a sip of tea that she hadn’t been able to drink because she had been trying to read the room. The tea was of superb quality, and it was still pleasant and scentful even after it had gone cold.
As she drank her tea, Ha-Yeon glanced at Sun-Woo. He seemed to be deeply lost in thought.
"You’re a better speaker than I thought," Ha-Yeon said, striking up a conversation for no particular reason other than to break the silence.
Sun-Woo's behavior had genuinely surprised Ha-Yeon. Even Ha-Yeon sometimes found herself struggling to speak in front of Sung Yu-Da. In contrast, Sun-Woo spoke confidently without any hesitation in front of her father. Sun-Woo didn't answer Ha-Yeon's question but regarded her with empty eyes. Ha-Yeon felt a chill down her spine as she met his cold gaze.
Sun-Woo lowered his gaze and finally spoke.
"I did a lot of preparation."
"What kind of preparation?" Ha-Yeon asked.
"Writing scripts. Sometimes I would rehearse in front of a doll." Sun-Woo replied with a slight smile.
Ha-Yeon initially took his words seriously but then realized it was a joke. Imagining Sun-Woo talking to a doll, she couldn't help but laugh.
"Haha, you have a doll at home?"
"Yes, I have one rabbit doll, almost your size."
“It must be cute."
"Yeah, that’s why I hug it when I sleep."
Ha-Yeon couldn't hold back her laughter.
"Ah, stop saying all this nonsense."
"But it's true."
"Then I can spread the rumor, right? Sun-Woo sleeps hugging a rabbit doll."
"Huh? No, you can't."
Ha-Yeon burst into laughter again, seeing Sun-Woo pretending to be flustered. He said things that didn’t make any sense with a serious, straight face, but strangely enough, it made her laugh, even though it wasn't hilarious. Sun-Woo always seemed sharp and serious, but suddenly showing his light-hearted side made her laugh out of surprise.
Ha-Yeon smiled.
"Come to think of it, we had a bet about our test scores, didn't we?"
"That's right."
"I'm curious about the results. I think I might have won."
"Where's this confidence coming from?"
"I did pretty well on the practical exam. How did you fare?"
"I did decently... no, I did alright."
"You don’t seem too confident."
"...I did well. At least better than you," Sun-Woo replied a bit curtly, his pride seemingly wounded.
Ha-Yeon laughed once again at his reaction. She then suddenly realized she felt comfortable. Until now, she hadn't had anyone she could have such relaxed conversations with. Her classmate Ra-Hee had been the only one she could comfortably talk to, but things between them had turned a little awkward. She didn't want to mingle with the other kids, and even when she did, it only made her uncomfortable and disgusted. It was easy to look through their obvious attempts to show off and boast.
"If, and I mean if, you win, what wish would you ask for?"
"Didn’t you just say you thought you won?"
"That's why I said if."
"Hmm..."
Sun-Woo was a bit different from others. Although he was a little arrogant, he wasn’t fake. Maybe that was why she didn’t find talking to him unpleasant at all. However, there was a high probability that she felt comfortable because he possessed the blood of purification.
Rather than finding his neat appearance, and his peculiar, no, his weird but charming personality, and his intelligence that had enabled him to easily take first place during the evaluations attractive, she was attracted to him simply because he possessed the blood of purification.
If it wasn't for the blood of purification, she wouldn't even look at someone like Sun-Woo. That was what Ha-Yeon was trying to tell herself.
"I think I would ask you to buy me a meal."
"Ha, just a meal?"
"It’s not just about the food, but rather who you eat with.”
"What? What do you...?"
"And you? What would you ask for if you won?"
"Yes, I am aware."
"I have also been away from the position of a cardinal for quite some time. I don't know much about the conclave either."
"I understand that members of the purification clan can participate in the conclave regardless of their position within the church through something called a pact."
"...No, even if I knew anything, I could not tell you," Sung Yu-Da said firmly.
His jaw muscles twitched, indicating that he was gritting his teeth. Sung Yu-Da glared at Sun-Woo, his eyes blazing with intensity.
After a while, the pupils that had been trained down at Sun-Woo began to shake. On the other hand, Sun-Woo calmly looked back at Sung Yu-Da without any sign of wavering.
Ha-Yeon alternated her gaze between the two facing each other. Both of them seemed uneasy. For some reason, the atmosphere had suddenly become tense. Sung Yu-Da's finger trembled as he pointed at Sun-Woo's left hand.
"Where did you get that ring?"
"Are you talking about this?" Sun-Woo raised his left hand indifferently, showing the ring. "I bought it from a peddler a while ago. I wear it occasionally because it's pretty."
"...Be cautious with items of unclear origin. It could belong to someone from a cult," Sung Yu-Da said, his voice trembling slightly.
Sun-Woo smirked.
"Well, then, I guess I shouldn’t have worn it today," Sun-Woo said and took a sip of tea, raising the cup.
Clang!
Just as he was about to put the cup down, his hand slipped, and the cup fell to the ground. The teacup shattered loudly, its fragments flying in all directions.
Ha-Yeon flinched in surprise, hunching her shoulders.
Sun-Woo should have been surprised, but he remained calm. He glanced at the scattered pieces and slowly lowered his head.
"I'm sorry, my nerves caused my hands to slip. I will clean it up."
"No! ...No, it's fine. I'll call a servant to clean it up later."
"Oh, then... I'm really sorry. I will compensate."
"No, we have plenty of teacups. It's not that expensive," Sung Yu-Da said with a smile.
Ha-Yeon was puzzled.
The teacup Sun-Woo broke was definitely expensive. As far as Ha-Yeon knew, the teacup he had broken was a high-priced item worth a million to ten million won.
Something was off. Sun-Woo was in a situation where it wouldn’t have been weird to cower in apology, but he instead took on a confident stance. Meanwhile, Sung Yu-Da, who had every right to be angry, showed unusual patience. Their reactions were beyond Ha-Yeon’s understanding.
Sun-Woo looked at Sung Yu-Da with empty eyes.
"May I ask one last question?"
Sun-Woo asked without waiting for Sung Yu-Da's answer, "Sung Yu-Da, which candidate do you like the most?"
"...It's getting late. How about you go back now?"
Instead of answering, Sun-Woo smiled and nodded his head.
At first, Ha-Yeon tried to accompany Sun-Woo to the front gate of the mansion, but Sung Yu-Da stopped her. Sung Yu-Da called a servant and instructed them to escort Sun-Woo outside the gates. She watched Sun-Woo leave the mansion through the window.
Finally, when Sun-Woo completely disappeared from the mansion...
"Huh, huff. Ah...!"
Sung Yu-Da gasped for breath, leaning on the table. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead like rain. He stood up and roughly grabbed Ha-Yeon's shoulder. Ha-Yeon was startled by her father's sudden action, and she trembled in fear.
"Ha-Yeon, listen carefully. You must listen to me."
No, she wasn’t just shocked. She was terrified.
Sung Yu-Da's laughter was a facade that he put on for his guests. As soon as the guests left, Sung Yu-Da would quickly wipe cheerful expression on his face as if he were removing a mask and would return back to his cold and expressionless self.
Even that expressionless face was not Sung Yu-Da's true self. Layer after layer, he wore masks—he put them on, took them off, and changed them as needed. Due to this, Ha-Yeon always found it difficult to talk to Sung Yu-Da.
"He is not someone who possesses the blood of purification. Don’t be friendly with him, don’t talk to him, and don’t get close to him. No, if possible, don't even go near him."
"..."
"R-right now, I can't tell you why, but never... get close to him. Remember, Ha-Yeon. Ha-Yeon..."
However, this wasn’t a facial expression that Ha-Yeon had ever seen on her father's face. It was Sung Yu-Da's bare face, with the mask completely removed. Ha-Yeon trembled in fear as his face was more grotesque than she had imagined it to be.
‘It seems like Father doesn't really like me.’
Suddenly, Sun-Woo's words came to mind.
