Chapter 080: Morning After

Without the intoxication of desire to control her, Yumi was no longer someone he could conquer or manipulate.

Jihoon stood at Yumi’s door for a moment, pursed his lips, then returned naked to his own bedroom.

Yet sleep eluded him completely.

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night for both of them.

About half an hour later, Yumi stopped crying.

She wiped her tears dry and picked up her phone.

She stared at it for a long time, until finally, a flicker of resolve shone through her tear-filled eyes.

Yumi dialed the number.

At this hour, she must be calling me.

I even saw the contact label she used—it was my name.

“Sorry, the number you dialed is turned off or out of service; SORRY…”

The familiar sound of a phone shutting down echoed through Yumi’s receiver.

Her phone slipped from her hand, landing limply on the bed as she began to cry again.

Outside the door, Jihoon had heard Yumi tapping her phone keys.

When he heard the shutdown tone through the receiver, he exhaled in relief—yet tension immediately replaced it.

He could easily guess who Yumi was calling.

Though he disliked me, I was an adult. Dealing with a kid like him would be easy.

So despite his initial relief, fear gripped him harder. He knew Yumi might confront me about everything, and then he’d be in real trouble.

Jihoon, who had been about to return to his room, suddenly lost the courage to leave after hearing Yumi’s call.

He desperately wanted to know her every move. 

In the end, he could only stand helplessly outside her door, never mustering the courage to open it.

As time ticked by, Jihoon grew utterly exhausted.

He collapsed onto the floor outside Yumi’s door and eventually drifted into a deep sleep on the cold tiles.

He was utterly drained tonight.

As a novice, ejaculating twice in a row had severely depleted his energy.

And as a child, his heart was far more burdened than an adult’s should be. Yet he could still sleep through it all.

Inside the room, Yumi remained utterly unaware of the events unfolding outside her door. She lay in bed, calling me intermittently, again and again.

By morning, she still hadn’t gotten through to me, and she slept on.

Sitting on the hotel bed, I finally finished watching the night’s footage. That video felt interminably long to me.

Because of it, I felt my life’s trajectory had undergone a complete upheaval.

My entire existence had changed.

My family, my wife… I felt as if I’d lost all motivation.

Sadness couldn’t begin to describe my state of mind.

I pushed all thoughts aside.

This wasn’t over yet.

The video was far from finished. I’d make decisions after seeing everything through.

At least tonight, Yumi still had a reason for me to forgive her.

By the time morning arrived, Yumi should have been up preparing breakfast, then waking Jihoon so they could get ready for school.

Yet she lay in bed with her eyes open.

Throughout the night, she’d occasionally weep, occasionally close her eyes, but mostly she’d stayed awake.

Perhaps she’d been thinking deeply, making decisions for herself—how to handle Jihoon, how to clean up the mess, Should she confront me? And so on.

Long past the time they should have left for school, Yumi showed no sign of getting up.

Jihoon, oblivious, was still sound asleep on the floor outside her door.

It was clear Yumi had no desire to attend class today, and Jihoon wouldn’t be going either.

Yumi hadn’t called in sick to school.

Was she planning to throw caution to the wind and give up on life?

No, that couldn’t be right.

I quickly flipped through the calendar and found the date of the video.

It turned out to be a weekend… both of them had the day off and didn’t need to attend classes.

It seemed Yumi wasn’t planning to get up and make breakfast.

Was she even going to leave her bedroom today?

Perhaps she’d spend the entire day lost in thought.

But skipping meals was one thing—nature calls.

She couldn’t avoid using the bathroom.

Another while passed, and it was already 7:30 AM.

Yumi reluctantly got out of bed to head to the bathroom.

She walked very quietly, slowly making her way to the door.

The Yumi I saw now bore no resemblance to her usual polished and beautiful self.

She looked like a madwoman—no makeup, hair disheveled, tear stains still visible on her face.

I had never seen Yumi looking so utterly defeated.

“Click…”

The door opened.

Looking down, Yumi caught sight of Jihoon sound asleep right by the doorway.

Jihoon was a heavy sleeper.

Every morning after Yumi finished making breakfast, she had to call him at least twice before the reluctant lad would finally get up to wash and get ready.

Today, with no one to wake him, he was still fast asleep right outside Yumi’s door—not even worried about catching a chill.

Saliva dripped from the corner of Jihoon’s mouth, pooling on the floor beneath his face.

Seeing him like this, he truly looked like an innocent child.

Yet no one could have imagined that when this boy was aroused, he became a beast, raping his own adopted mother.

In the past, Yumi would have gently bent down, patting his cheek a few times with a kind smile, “Sleepyhead, time to get up…”

But times had changed.

Now, staring at this child on the floor, the very child she most dreaded seeing, Yumi bit her lower lip.

Her eyes burned with hatred, yet traces of love lingered within them.

That complicated look of both love and hate kept flickering across her face.