Chapter 33

Chapter 33

“I must say,” Sung-Yoon said with a sly curve of her lips, “Tae Jin turned out even more handsome than we imagined.”

It was bait—and, true to form, Hae Jin took it.

“Right?” he said, practically glowing. “My kid turned out really attractive.”

My kid? Sung-Yoon’s brow rose. That was new.

“I thought you hated it when I called him that.”

“I do,” Hae Jin muttered defensively. “But when you say it, it sounds weird. Like you mean something else.”

She smirked. “And you don’t?”

His expression soured. The joke had gotten too close to something real.

Sung-Yoon noticed the shift and softened her tone. “You love him like a child. That’s all.”

It was a gentle lie, but one that eased the tension in his shoulders.

“As long as you know that,” he murmured.

Then his voice dropped.

“Why didn’t you tell me he could see you? And why did you bring him back?”

The warmth drained from his voice, replaced by something colder—wary and sharp.