Flowers Are Bait

Chapter 26:

Chapter 26:

Splash-

The slash of water was just frightening now. This is crazy! Absolutely crazy! After getting into the bathtub, Lee-yeon turned her back towards the door and faced the wall. Although she was the one trying to deceive him, she felt like she was losing.

―Knock, knock.

He knocked on the bathroom door.

“C-come in.” Her heart raced. She had witnessed this man burying a person alive in the mountain two years ago. He had tried to kill her too!

Is it really okay to do this? I want to erase this moment. The foggy bathroom air made her feel dizzier.

“Lee-yeon.”

She had now become familiar with the sound of his voice calling her name. She was surrounded by warm air and hot water, but a coldness touched her heart. Kwon Chae-woo dragged the chair nearer to the bathtub.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Is it just the back you want me to wash?”

“Y-yes!” Lee-yeon intentionally made the water frothy to make more bubbles in the bathtub.

From the moment Kwon Chae-woo came inside the bathroom, she gazed straight at the wall. She thought it was immensely better to turn her back to him than to face him, in which case, he might see her chest.

“Are you wearing your panties?” She could hear his faint laugh.

She lowered her head onto her knees. Seeing her slump like that made him feel sad. He wanted to bite her nape. His emotions were all haywire. An unbearable desire settled within him. He pushed the chair back and stood up. “Who did this to you?”

A scar is a sign of abuse, thought Kwon Chae-woo. He didn’t need his memory to understand that. The scars looked as though her skin had been stabbed with a sharp tip, maybe the tip of a pen or scissors. He frowned.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Lee-yeon shook her head. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk about it, but she was just confused. This was all very new to her. Nobody had ever asked her about it in her entire life. Nobody had ever been interested in her life. So she didn’t know how to answer.

People had blamed her for it. Everyone had assumed she was a troubled child who was worthless so instead her family was the one having a hard time dealing with her. She had thought she deserved the abuse and neglect she received.

Lee-yeon splashed some water on her face and hoped her eyes would stop stinging. “My family.”

Kwon Chae-woo remained silent. His suspicions about Kwon Chae-woo being ‘gentle and kind’ began to grow stronger. What if he had done this too before he lost his memories? It wasn’t just the scars, he could see black spot were bruises used to be on her skin.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to believe me,” said Lee-yeon with resignation.

“I believe you,” said Kwon Chae-woo at once. Lee-yeon’s shoulders flinched. “Your family must have been pretty garbage to do this to you.”

“I don’t know, but there must have been a reason for it.”

“There’s no reasonstrong enough to hit a child until it leaves scars.” He clenched his teeth, suppressing his anger.

“It can happen even you love your child too much.”

He had rushed to her always from the moment he woke up, trying to get close to her, like an animal in heat. Kwon Chae-woo was wrecked with guilt. He could now guess the reason behind her aversion to touch, or any form of intimacy. Kwon Chae-woo froze as though the truth had hit him like a blow.

“Love can turn into anger so fast,” said Lee-yeon. “Humans are different from trees. They don’t love unconditionally despite their claims. When anything bears bad fruit, people can’t stand it.”

Kwon Chae-woo closed his eyes tightly.Everything made sense. He could finally understand her behaviors. He couldn’t brush off the thought that he might have been part of the problem. The way she was terrified of him could mean their marriage had also done terrible things to her.