"?"
As soon as he stepped in, his eyes brighten up with a great divine holy light.
Not with actual light! But instead of haemin!
A White t-shirt and the same colored highly luxury brands pant reflect the rays of light and emit out the deepest irresistible beauty from him.
Long story short, He looked like a total girl killer!
"Woah!"
Without his realization, he finds his jaw dropped on the floor.
Hearing it, Aiden was startled.
"Oh! Newmoon! When did you arrive?"
Closing his mouth, newmoon answered with a blind eye, "Hyung! Is that you? I never knew you're...that.. handsome? Have you always been like that?"
"What do you mean by always been like that?"
He puffed out his chest and swayed his side hair too, "I've always been like this!"
With a 'Gah' sound newmoon was killed on the spot. From his breathtaking visual to his highly masculine body, he knew he was hot but didn't know the highly designable luxury brands outfit would add more fire to his appearance.
In front of him, Newmoon looked like an ant, surpassing the ugly appearance of squid too!
His eyes were already damaged by such holy light and now his pride, self-esteem, and confidence were crippled too..in a way where they never will be reborn again.
"God, how can you discriminate against your child huh?"
Newmoon roared internally pulling out his hair in despair.
"No wonder human beings do it too!"
He secretly sobs.
"Btw Hyung? Have your fever gone?"
"Oh yes! thanks to your medicine!"
"And talking about it, where did you vanish into the thin air earlier? Your grandma was asking me!"
With a slight pause, Aiden responded in a carefree tone, "Oh. I returned to my room. I know I won't be sleeping there with much noise anyway."
That makes sense too!
Newmoon stared at him from all the way top to bottom and he asked with a glazed expression.
"Are you perhaps going to meet your gf?"
With a 'Gah' sound, Aiden almost choked from his saliva. Painful clouds covered Aiden's face in seconds as if his words hit his sore spot.
For some reason, he felt hurt by newmoon's assumption," Unfortunately, No!"
"I am just going to hang out with my friend 'haemin' your classmate!"
Hearing the name 'haemin', His excitement went all downhill in a blink of an eye. All of the bitter memories surfaced above his conscious world.
"Well, now that he says so, I think so too!"
"Never mind Hyung. Next time I suppose, if there a chance-
"Let's Go Aiden, it's late!"
And a sentence like this never goes away from his mind when he heard his name.
His hands shook a bit in ranged and he thoughts internally, "For haemin? He is going to be all dressed up like a supermodel for not a girl but haemin?"
He clenched his teeth, "Haemin? But our exams are coming up..just a week later and he must be hella busy!"
Aiden replied, "Is that so? But he told me he had been prepared for it ages ago..and now is on the way to prepare for the second-semester exams!"
"???"
The unexpected response came out of nowhere like an invisible arrow and stabbed right in his heart leaving him to bleed internally.
His eyes stretched to a point of the demon in shock.
He could only whisper in a shuttering voice, "W..H..A..T?"
From such a topper like him, he had at least expected to hear he was on the revision process or at the end, but who would've known he would be on the preparation road to the second-semester exams?
"He is a beast!"
The only words which managed to evolve around.
As though it wasn't enough to shock him to death, Aiden added more, "Oh and he also told me that he was eagerly waiting to ace the whole department faculty."
Hearing it, Newmoon's feet got weakened and he almost toppled down. Newmoon had yet to touch the book and haemin already devoured!
A long 'Beeeeeeeppppp' started to ring in his head.
After being finally groomed up, Aiden turned over to stone froze newmoon, and whispered into his ear something before he went out.
The fact that newmoon's ears were buzzing off, he couldn't catch exactly what he said. But that wasn't the important matter to him at the moment.
He returned to his room in a soulless position and eventually plopped on the bed, rumblings to himself.
"This is the reason, why children should be given more almonds to eat up! Studies show too!"
Exhaling a long breath, he tossed to the other side.
"However, I indeed knew he wasn't a normal person since day 1!"
"For me, to cover up the entire syllabus in just a month like him.., I need to repeat the whole semester twice. Only then I could reach up to him!"
He still stares blankly at the space and confessed, "I might be..in my past..but not now, not anymore!"
He buried his head under the pillow and squeezed it hard for a few respective seconds before he felt irritated with himself and threw it away.
"Ughh~ I already felt like I lost a war, even before it starts!"
Those words of Aiden were hitting his mind quite sharply that they got engraved on his subconscious level directly.
~~~
Next morning:
As usual, the morning was filled with calm and sereneness. Newmoon had left home for his college. Surprisingly Aiden happened to be at home too! Walking out of his room he swiftly passed through the hallway aiming toward the kitchen.
"Where are you randomly heading to?"
Out of blue, a cold voice could be heard. Upon hearing it, Aiden's footsteps halted.
It was non-other than his grandma! Mrs.song!
Turning around he bowed her.
Mrs.song was sitting on the old wooden chair, drinking green tea in the morning while absorbing the warmth from the sun through the windows.
Putting the cup down on the table she continued in the same tone, "Don't you think you have a word to say to me?"
He deliberately spoke out in respect,
"Excuse my manners grandma, I didn't see you!"
Mrs. Song, "?"
At first glance it indeed looked like a peaceful and formal conversation between a grandma and grandson but to dive deeper.., their expression somehow wasn't matching their respective tone!
Soon to be said, the atmosphere filled up with stiffness.
As if grandma had waited forever and if she couldn't hold any longer she ranged, "With whom you're with last night?"
There she asked straightforwardly!
Aiden, "…"
Having not received any reply for a while nor any expression her old wrinkled face got more crippled in angst.
She bellowed, "With that orphan..again?"
Hearing the last sentences all of sudden Aiden flinched.
Veins popped out in his fists as he clenched and immediately afterward he replied in a cold and lowered tone, "I think I had made myself clear a hundred times back then..not to call him in that term GRANDma!"
"He has a name: Lee haemin! Not a name: Orphan!"
Witnessing how he was talking back in a such brutal way, even inflame the fuel in her anger, "HAH! So, now you are even shouting back at me huh? You ungrateful brat! Did he teach you this?"
The more she yelled the more her words were brutal.
"Where are your manners? You are the heir of our family..the only one, and yet you dared to act so recklessly? This time that orphan messed your mind in and out!"
All the time Aiden was speechless and didn't show any hint of change in expression unless the topic comes upon haemin name.
He gripped his fists even more and so were his teeth too!
"…"
While Mrs. song went on blabbering and raging at him for a long while and eventually came to a conclusion giving him the last warning.
Supporting her head in her hands, Mrs. Song sighed deeply, " Hah! Cut ties with him from now on. You won't be seeing him!"
"And by whose saying?"
Aiden argued with a great deal of foresight. "I'm not a child anymore. I'll do whatever my heart wants me to do!"
Stretching his bare back hair he exclaimed in a carefree yet small voice, "Anyway I am tired. I'll go back to my room. Thanks to certain someone I lost my appetite for today! and now I'm compelled to return back."
And then he began to walk off.
Seeing him turning a deaf ear to her words, she fumed with anger. she clenched her teeth and lost her mind as well. And why wouldn't she be? After all, nobody's pride would remain the same when their grandchildren pulled out this sort of activity!
She yelled loudly,
"Ha-ng on you Aiden brat! How dare you-
"-SHHH!"
Turning back around Aiden shushed her.
Randomly hinting through his eyes roll towards the other direction he clarified in whispering lip sync, "Don't forget we're on the Mrs.Kwon house!"
As soon as she heard it she was startled as if she realized something.
For some unknown reason, she swallowed her words inwards. God knew whatever the purpose was!
"…"
To talk about timing, a moment later Mrs. Kwon appeared from the opposite direction.
A serious yet worried look.
"What happened? Did he do something stu-
Massaging her forehead she tirelessly protested, "That brat- sigh! I guess I would die from the pressure of hi-."
Reaching out her hand on her shoulders, Mrs. Kwon rest comfortably assured her, "There, there. I understand!"
~~~
In a blink of an eye, Days went by. The fact Because exam weeks were coming to a neck apart all of the students were busy preparing for their exams. Likewise, newmoon too was one of them. However, something never changed between that period 'Aiden.' Despite receiving a warning, he was still hanging out with haemin as a free spirit. He looked like a wild boar hunting around its playful area.
Until one evening:
Around evening Newmoon decided to visit the library for further research on some important subject. Before heading out, he took his leave to Mrs. Kwon and Mrs. Song. Thankfully everybody happened to be at home. Surprisingly, even Aiden!
He ran downstairs while randomly putting his hand in his jacket's pocket. The moment he touched the bottom part of the pocket, He halted out of blue.
"?"
Meanwhile back at home, the whole ceiling was throbbing and echoing with the laughter of the people.
"Hahaha~!"
Soon, as it turned out that historic laughter was from non-other than Mrs. Song and Mrs. Kwon!
Both of them were drenched in the fragrance of the alcohol. If Newmoon would be there, then he would surely doubt their elite behavior.-
Who would have thought..a few miles away newmoon would be there..plopping down quietly at the corner of the front door, putting his shoes back while casually listening to their enjoyment too! It seemed earlier he returned only to get his phone which he forgot to bring along with him.
Wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes, Mrs. Song spoke out, "Oh..! That was hilarious! Haha! Oh by the way-
An air of seriousness leads her tone, "Who do you think is better between Newmoon and his noona aka your daughter-in-law?"
Newmoon who was about to stand up and opened the door got frozen up real hard, "…"
Silently and calmly Mrs. Kwon drank the last sip of the shot glass.
As if she was taking her time. With a 'thud' sound on the table, Her wrinkled brows slightly twitched and the radiation of her eyes became sharp.., "Cut the formalities!! Call her BITCH!"
"??"
Newmoon flinched. He seemed as though Newmoon couldn't believe his earing, his whole expression was pale as white paper. For a moment he thought he misheard her and he turned around towards them with a complete dumbstruck look.
Hearing the last sentences Mrs. Song burst out into laughter once again, "Oh right, 'NICKNAME'. It slipped through my mind for a second. Haha! This alcohol is messing my head real bad!"
Mrs. Kwon placed her hand over her forehead in a way as if Jina's name gave her a headache as her eyes got darkened, "That bitch is a complete nuisance!"
Immediately afterward Mrs. Song questioned back, "Come to think of it, Wasn't you the one to pick her up on your own decisions? Now seeing how you are-"
Upon hearing it, Mrs. Kwon flinched and a seconds later her brows drowned, "And that's the most regretful decision I had ever made in my entire life of living!"
Another confession sliced right through newmoon's heart making him shocked to death, "???"
If it hadn't been enough, Newmoon's whole sense of hearing began to shut down. Suddenly he felt his whole body get heavy to a point where his knees couldn't support him any longer and he eventually tripled back a bit. Hadn't he leaned against the wall, would he have fallen back ages ago?
"Oh! So, you do know what you had done wrong after all huh? Not bad Not bad! However, one thing has been bothering me for a long time…!"
Mrs. Song asked in a serious tone, "To be honest, what exactly did you see in her when making such rash decisions? What exactly drove you out?
As soon as Mrs. Kwon heard it, the corner of her lips pulled into a twisted smile.
While on the other hand, Mrs.song went on dragging out,
"To this day I couldn't figure out why. Like as I had known you ever from teen, You aren't a type to-
"-Don't even get me started!"
Waving her hand, she gulped another cup of soju all in one sip!
Then, she exclaimed, "At the first meeting, She seriously pulled off as a vibe of Naïve, innocent and cultural little girl, Most importantly with an original bare face without any hint of makeup just like a typical girl who was being raised in the countryside!"
"Somehow it left me a great impression!"
"Quickly afterward I talked with my one and only sweet cutie little daughter 'Suji" about her that very night. The fact we had been searching exactly just a model like her, luckily suji agreed with my decision too! So we jumped off into the main topic immediately without wasting a single time! A sweet girl who-
"-Hey! Cut the crap!"
For some reason, Mrs. Song interfered right in the middle.
She said bitterly, "Save that words for someone else instead! I ain't gonna buy it! And on top of that weirdly enough, such type of glorious, elite, and warm compliment somehow doesn't suit your tongue."
Only then, did Mrs. Kwon laugh grimly and starts to confess, "Haha, indeed you are my close friend."
"Long story short, All we ever wanted was a countryside bumpkin daughter-in-law to whom we could keep her under our whole control!"
Newmoon,"???"
Listening to it, the only supporting wall got dissolved too and the next moment he find himself on the floor. His back had long given up. Not only this, he still felt as if the whole ground was shrinking him into an underworld hell. His eyes sprang wide open not even naming to blink once as though they got stuck into something invincible.
While on the other side, Mrs. Kwon went on blurting out the truth, having no idea what the saying, "Walls has ears too" was implying right at the moment.
"- Just like a doll, a puppet..who can listen well to us. And only answering in 'YES' despite the questions."
"Adding another factor, my son's age was setting down too, nearing crossing 45! All the business partners and relatives gossip about his marriage and come up with the arranged purpose too! But I had to decline all of them cause they were all from affiliate and influential families which would lead to a catastrophic mess in the future if following our plans. So, sticking to our ideal model we accept that bitch as our household daughter-in-law..' only for that respective reason' despite her poor academic as well as the financial background of their family."
If it was a past newmoon then, He would've run away already, rather than confronting them but after all who was he in the end? What power does he hold in the household? And first and foremost how would he confront them and what will be his first words?
"How dare you backbite about your own daughter-in-law and my noona huh?"
"Who in the world is your puppet?"
"How dare are you claiming her as a doll as if she is a thing?"
Would he seriously say that? Even if he would or the question was reasonable he dared not stood in front of them. As his habit comes up, he had a hard time gathering his courage.
Unfortunately, all he could do was clenched his fists, control his conscious self, and constantly listen to them. Neither he could move the muscles of his body nor did he have the gut to rose a voice against them. He could just whimper in pain, disgust, and angst.
"But after her arrival in our household, her entire attitude and behavior suddenly shifted in a way just like how the chameleons change their color according to the environment."
She clenched her teeth, "Naïve my foot! She is way more stubborn. Only my one and only son can control such a wild bear bitch!"