𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 ✓

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

HE bit his lower lip as he followed his wife into the vast kitchen, spotting his parents sitting on the small table next to the island. He avoided their gazes and glanced around the room.

"Good morning, everyone!" The couple greeted in a union.

The parents turned to Mal to give her a side smile, but to Hyunjin's dismay, they sent him a death glare and ignored his greeting. His cheeks turned light pink in embarrassment, causing his wife to send him a sympathetic smile and lead him to one of the stools.

"It's okay, baby, take a seat."

He obeyed.

She turned around to face the sink and grabbed some plates from the dish stand.

"So, slut," the mother began in Korean, "what do you plan on doing after knowing that you might be a father to an illegitimate kid at nineteen?"

Hyunjin's face dropped at the question. He gulped and closed his eyes at the nickname, the memories it gave him came flooding by.

"I... I-" he began, his voice shaky from fear, "I don't..."

"Oh, you don't know?" The father completed the sentence, his expression deadly as he glanced at his son up and down in disgust. "You always don't know, isn't that right? You never think about anyone. You never think about your family, your own parents. You only think about yourself, because you're a selfish slut."

He shook his head in disagreement.

"S-Stop calling me that," he questioned in a small voice.

The parents chuckled darkly to themselves.

"Oh, but you are a slut." The father deadpanned once again. "Isn't that what sluts do? Cheat on their wives, ruin the family honour and make other women pregnant?"

The boy shook his head, tears filling his eyes. He glanced at his wife, who was standing with her back turned, for help. Only for him to realize that she wasn't paying any attention to him.

Or at least he thought.

"You didn't answer us. What's your plan?" The mother asked, standing up from her seat to step closer to her son. "You're not going to get a divorce, that's for sure. So our only hope is to go to that woman you slept with and offer her money to abort the child."

He stared into her sharp, piercing gaze with his tearful eyes, shaking his eyes once again.

"I-I don't k-know," he squeaked out, his voice trembling, "Mum, I-I-"

That moment, when he closed his eyes, sharp, familiar pain shot up his right cheek.

His head turned to his side for a brief moment, his mouth automatically letting out a loud groan of pain. He raised his hand to clutch his aching face and allowed violent sobs to escape his mouth, falling back to the chair behind him.

"Don't call me that," she hissed, "you're not our son, slut."

He glanced into his mother's eyes only to find nothing but hatred and frustration, making his heart shatter into pieces. A familiar pair of arms immediately wrapped themselves around him, hugging him close and a more familiar voice whispered sweet nothings in his ear to reassure him.

"Hey- you're in our house! You have no right to hit him or treat him like that!" Mal yelled in Korean, holding him close to her chest. "He's your son for God's sake!"

"Not anymore!" The man screamed from his side of the table. "As soon as this is all over, you're not allowed to contact us nor come into our house anymore! Just forget that you even had parents, you fucking slut!"

The only things that were heard in the uncomfortable atmosphere were his sobs and whimpers of heartbreak.

"He didn't cheat on me!" The girl screamed. "He would never cheat on me! He wouldn't even hurt me, and I'm sorry I didn't believe that earlier."

He barely nodded through his tears.

"Tell you what?" Mal began, shoving her husband away gently to stand straight before her mother-in-law. "Why don't we go to Lauren's right now and after we settle for an agreement, we come back and I show you the footage of what really happened. How does that sound?"

The parents turned to glance at each other and thought for a moment.

The father rolled his eyes after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence.

"Fine, whatever!" He yelled in a louder tone, making his son flinch and barely cover his face in fear of being hit once again.

"You don't get to yell at him anymore," the girl spoke in a firm, threatening tone, "alright? That's enough abuse for one day."

She sighed heavily, closing her eyes to force herself to relax, noticing how red her face had turned. She wrapped her arms around her husband once again, planting kisses on his soft, blond hair and his face, basically anywhere she could reach.

He held onto her for comfort as he continued to cry, his voice becoming quieter and softer till it turned into soft, inaudible weeps of heartbreak.

"Don't worry, beautiful. You're going to be fine. You're with me, right?" She reassured, holding him close to her chest.

"Come on," she called out a few minutes later, "let's go get dressed. We'll get something to eat on the way."

Hyunjin obeyed, following his wife out of the room, soon enough followed by his parents to head to their bedrooms to change.

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