Flowers Are Bait

The entire nation was buzzing.

No matter which channel you turned to, news about Hwaidome kept coming. Keywords such as Suguk Pharmaceutical, Summer, Hwaidome, confinement, torture, had already taken over various portal sites, and different media outlets were constantly reproducing the horrific details of the illegal experiments.

“Police conducting an investigation into illegal experiments carried out a raid on Suguk Pharmaceutical for two and a half hours this morning. They secured materials related to the hallucinogenic drug ‘Summer,’ including research lab CCTV footage and records. The subjects were the ethics research team at Suguk Pharmaceutical and Professor Jo Kyeongcheon’s lab at D University. Reporter Lee Myeonggyeong reports.”

Lee-yeon turned off the TV, feeling layers of accumulated exhaustion just from listening. Suddenly, a moist cherry tomato was placed near her lips. Cold fingers lightly touched her gums, almost like a mistake.

“Mr. Kwon Chae-woo, isn’t this not the right time?”

She frowned, her face expressing concern, as she turned off the completely darkened TV. The world was in an uproar about the hallucinogenic drug tha was created from people who were tortured, but Kwon Chae-woo seemed indifferent, as if deliberately avoiding looking across the river.

Ironically, ever since Lee-yeon decided to be hospitalized for stability, he had stuck around like glue, refusing to leave.

He raised another topic instead.

“Right, why refuse to sign the marriage certificate now?”

“I can’t just ignore this, ah—”

He continued fondling Lee-yeon’s thumb as he picked up a Shine Muscat to feed her.

“Is signing important right now?” Lee-yeon glared at the unnerved man.

Kwon Chae-woo’s main concern was undoubtedly their marriage declaration.

“Everyone is making a fuss about your brother being missing!”

As Lee-yeon shouted with a pale face, Kwon Chae-woo tilted his head.

“Are you worried about that now? Kwon Kiseok? Are you worried for him?”

“No—”

“Concerned if his body will be found? Or maybe he can’t even eat and is on the run?”

He stared sharply at Lee-yeon as if demanding an answer.

“Answer well. Say ah—”

Holding a cherry tomato, he gently tapped Lee-yeon’s lips. She rolled her eyes but obediently opened her mouth, and in that moment, the sharp gaze of the man softened. Lee-yeon moved her jaw briskly, swallowing the bursting juice, before finally speaking.

“My point is, it’s because I’m afraid Mr. Kwon Chae-woo might be harmed!”

“That won’t happen.”

Suguk Pharmaceutical would suffer an irreparable blow, and the corruption ties between the Kwon family and the government would be exposed one after another under Kwon Kiseok’s name.

What needed to crumble under the weight of all the crimes was Kwon Kiseok, not the Kwon family. At least, not yet.

The moment the Kwon family collapses will be when Kwon Chae-woo decides, and until then, he planned to exploit them as much as possible. Behind his leisurely smile, Kwon Chae-woo thoroughly concealed his cruel intentions.

“Right now, the one causing harm to me is Ms. Lee-yeon.”

“What?”

“The vegetative patient took the beating without any fear, but doesn’t the child’s dad receive any?”

Lee-yeon shrugged, urging for the fruit as she opened her mouth. Kwon Chae-woo, behind a nonchalant facade, had sinister plans deeply hidden.

“Were you planning on raising your child with someone else?”

Cough. cough.

Kwon Chae-woo’s eyes suddenly narrowed as he coughed violently. “Look at you. You are so guilty.”

“Cough, what are you saying…!” Lee-yeon said.

“But why did you turn red and overreact?”

Kwon Chae-woo coolly recited as he traced his fingers from her ear to her collarbone.

“Lee-yeon, I told you. I’ve bitten chickens to death and know how to tear down a roof. Why should I be content with just sucking on your fingers?”

”

He put the fruit plate on the nightstand and brought his body close to her.

“I have no intention of becoming a concubine.”

His nose touched her exposed neck where veins could be seen. Lee-yeon swallowed dryly, feeling a tingling sensation as his breath grazed her sensitive skin with each word he uttered.

“But I won’t be able to have you unless I’m your top dog. Damn it, I’ll kill everything below me.”

“Stop! The baby could hear you!”

“Well, the baby should know how much Daddy loves Mommy.”

“Whatthe—”

“And Lee-yeon knows, too; managing and disposing corpses is my side business.”

While Lee-yeon was dumbfounded, Kwon Chae-woo wrapped her tightly in his arms and persistently sucked on her neck.

“Do I look like a man who would live as a loyal husband for a lifetime? No, there are many more things I could offer besides that.”

The strength in the arms that embraced Lee-yeon increased.

“But still, a marriage registration…”

There wasn’t really any other reason.

Perhaps because they had already dealt with a forged marriage registration, Lee-yeon couldn’t find much meaning in a single piece of paper. With the experience of living together and having a child, the legal relationship felt somewhat pointless. Where was there a closer bond than this?

Kwon Chae-woo, frowning as if he was deeply contemplating, seemed to be taking a step back, given Lee-yeon’s suggestion that they could register their marriage when the situation stabilized.

However, when he found it challenging to handle the complicated emotions, he often exhibited such a temperament.

“…What? Marriage registration!?”