Chapter 092: Negotiation

After making the calls, Yumi stormed over to the dining table and sat down.

Her lips trembled, and she could no longer hold back her tears.

Overwhelmed by frustration and the grievances of the past few days, she began to cry.

Sob, sob, sob…

Jihoon, who had just begun to relax when the noise outside stopped, heard Yumi’s crying as soon as he emerged from under the covers.

He quickly got out of bed and pressed his ear against the door, listening to her sobs.

He gritted his teeth and touched his cheek, where a clear handprint was still visible, red and inflamed even after a night had passed.

This was evidence of how hard Yumi had hit him.

As he touched the mark, he winced in pain… it still felt burning and tender.

After crying for a while, Yumi gradually quieted down.

She went to the bathroom to wash up, realizing that her morning makeup had been completely ruined.

Soon after, she emerged from the bathroom with slightly swollen eyes and sat on the sofa, silent and motionless, as if lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Jihoon was not having an easy time in his room either.

Since returning to his bedroom the previous night, he hadn’t left once.

Although he could skip meals, avoid sleep, and stay in his room, there were certain biological needs that couldn’t be ignored—he desperately needed to use the bathroom.

He paced around his room anxiously.. he certainly couldn’t relieve himself in his bedroom.

Finally, Jihoon couldn’t hold it in any longer.

He opened the door and rushed straight to the bathroom.

As he left his room, Yumi’s body trembled slightly, but she didn’t turn to look at him.

She just sat on the sofa with her arms wrapped around herself, lost in her own thoughts.

After relieving himself in the bathroom, Jihoon rubbed his lower abdomen, which had been aching from holding it in for so long—he had really been at his limit.

As he prepared to leave the bathroom, he hesitated, unsure of what attitude to adopt—should he act indifferent or angry?

In the end, he walked out with his head down, glancing sideways at Yumi, who still refused to look at him.

He hurried back to his room, and Yumi acted as if he didn’t exist, not even granting him a glance.

Back in his room, Jihoon grew increasingly uneasy.

Yumi’s behavior felt unusually off, and he began to feel afraid.

He was still a child, after all, and couldn’t fully grasp what Yumi was thinking.

Perhaps she was truly pushed to her breaking point.

After thinking it over, Jihoon decided to surrender.

He obediently walked out of his room and slowly approached Yumi, standing in front of her with his head down.

Yumi continued to stare straight ahead, as if she hadn’t noticed him.

“So you finally decided to come out…”

After two minutes of silence, Yumi finally spoke, as if waking from a trance.

Her tone was icy, sending a chill down Jihoon’s spine.

Jihoon didn’t know how to respond.

For the first time, he truly felt the authority Yumi had honed over years of being a teacher.

“Do you plan on never going to school again?”

Yumi asked, her expression unchanging, when Jihoon didn’t answer.

“I’m not going until my face heals. How am I supposed to explain this mark to my classmates?”

Jihoon finally spoke up, touching the handprint on his cheek with a hint of grievance.

As a boy, he cared about his pride.

If he went to school with such a clear handprint, everyone would know he had been hit.

No matter who had done it, it would be deeply humiliating.

His reason was actually quite justified.

Hearing this, Yumi finally looked up at Jihoon.

When she saw the handprint on his face, her cold, detached eyes flickered with a trace of surprise.

After hitting him the previous night, she had looked at her hands and wondered if she had struck him too hard.

Now, seeing the mark on his face, she realized it was even more severe than she had imagined.

After a few moments, Yumi sighed, stood up, and went to our bedroom.

She opened the bedside drawer and rummaged through it for a long time—apparently looking for medicine.

Jihoon remained standing foolishly in front of the sofa.

“Sit down…”

After a while, Yumi finally found the medicinal liquid and walked over to Jihoon, speaking softly.

Yumi opened the bottle, dipped a cotton swab into the liquid, and began applying it to Jihoon’s face.

Her expression was filled with heartache, but even more so with worry.

What was she supposed to do now?

She didn’t want things to continue like this with Jihoon, but he was going through puberty, and his development had taken a wrong turn—he had developed strong feelings of attraction and even love for her, his adoptive mother.

Yumi felt helpless.

She didn’t want to give in to Jihoon, but she also didn’t want to hurt him.

As she applied the medicine, she sighed repeatedly.

“After applying this, the mark should fade by tomorrow. Then I’ll cover it up with some makeup. Let’s both rest at home today, and you can go back to school tomorrow.”

After finishing, Yumi screwed the cap back on the bottle and prepared to return to the bedroom.

“I don’t want to go to school anymore…”

Just as Yumi reached the doorway, Jihoon’s voice came from behind her.

Though his volume was low, his tone was resolute.

Yumi turned around, her full chest heaving with emotion.

Her anger had reached its peak.

She glared at Jihoon, but this time, for some reason, Jihoon met her gaze with equal stubbornness.

In the space between their eyes, I could almost see two bolts of lightning colliding and intertwining.

After a moment of silent confrontation, Yumi closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Then she slowly turned and went back to the bedroom to put the medicine away.

When she returned to the living room, she sat down on the sofa next to Jihoon.

It seemed Yumi had made a decision.

What followed would likely be a deeper conversation and negotiation between mother and son…

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