Chapter 27: A SECRET LOVE CHILD?

SONG SIHYUK was just messing with Lim Garam. He may have led a life of debauchery before meeting his precious wife, but he made sure not to get anyone pregnant. After all, his father raised him that way. My parents’ marriage was an arranged one, but they remained faithful to each other the moment they got engaged as teenagers. They made sure not to give me a sibling since they didn’t want kids fighting for their inheritance. And I adapted that mindset. "Hyung, let’s not talk about this in front of the child," Lim Garam said, mindlessly grabbing Song Sihyuk by the arm. "Can she be left alone for a few minutes?" "Sure. She’s not a baby anyway." "Let’s go then," Lim Garam said, and then he smiled apologetically at the kid. "Mija-ya, wait here for a moment. The adults will just talk for a moment." Mija just looked at Lim Garam blankly. That obviously made Lim Garam worry." "It’s fine— she’s not much of a speaker," Song Sihyuk explained. "But she understands what we’re saying." "Oh, I see," Lim Garam said, relieved. "Let’s go then, Hyung." Song Sihyuk wasn’t the type of person who’d let other people manhandle him. But he didn’t mind it when Lim Garam pulled him to the dining hall. Oh, I like this. Fortunately, before his mind got filled with lewd thoughts, his little bratty wife spoke. "Hyung, I have no intention of replacing the child’s mother since I’m sure her mother is irreplaceable to her. But I’ll do my best to raise her well if that’s what you want me to do. After all, it’s part of my duty as your spouse," Lim Garam said gently. It was obvious that the brat really cared about the child that he had just met today. "Did Mija’s Secondary Gender already manifest?" "No, not yet. But she’s probably a Beta," Song Sihyuk answered half-heartedly while looking at Lim Garam with amusement. After all, he didn’t expect his little brat to take his joke seriously. "I know that we didn’t marry for love. Even so, I still didn’t expect you to accept my supposed secret love child this easily." "Well, the child looks like she’s around 8-10 years old." "Correct." "So, that means you had her before we met. Whatever kind of life you had before we met is none of my business." "Huh? That’s it?" "Well, if you don’t want me to be involved in your child’s life, then I’ll respect your decision." Pfft. How can someone be this adorable? Song Sihyuk raised an eyebrow. "Lim Garam, are you fond of children? If I remember correctly, you wanted to be a teacher. But you dropped out of university after your group became successful." Yeah, he was updated with his little brat’s life despite being absent for the past few years. "My mother was an elementary teacher while my father used to be a professor at Yonhee University before he founded a successful hagwon." Hagwon aka a for-profit private educational institution. Song Sihyuk was reminded of Lim Garam’s family background. His family owned one of the biggest and most successful hagwons in Seoul when his parents were still alive. That was how they got rich. But Lim Garam’s stepmother mismanaged the academy after Lim Garam’s father died. That bitch embezzled the funds until the academy was forced to declare bankruptcy and shut down. "When my parents had free time, they would bring me to an orphanage where they volunteered to teach the less fortunate children. They did that because they wanted to share their blessing with kids like them since both of them grew up in an orphanage, too," Lim Garam said softly, his face beaming as if reminiscing about his parents brought him joy. "I admired my parents’ dedication to teaching kids, and that was why I originally wanted to be a teacher like them." "Your fans would cry if they heard you," Song Sihyuk said teasingly. "They almost lost you to the academic world." "I would still have been a celebrity either way." "Huh? What do you mean by that?" "I didn’t want to just become a teacher— I actually aimed to be a celebrity instructor in a famous hagwon," Lim Garam said smugly. "It’s a trend right now, you know? Students and parents nowadays prefer instructors who aren’t just smart and competent— they want them easy on the eye, too. Since I’m handsome and capable, I’m confident I would have made bank as a celebrity instructor had I not debuted as an idol." Pfft. Song Sihyuk couldn’t help but laugh while ruffling Lim Garam’s hair affectionately. "Why are you so cute, Garam-ah?" "I’m handsome, not cute." "Okay, handsome-cute brat," Song Sihyuk said, still smiling. "I’m glad that you’re willing to look after the child." "I just feel bad for Mija for having a father like you, so I thought I should at least be a decent adult to her." "Yah." Lim Garam shrugged unapologetically before changing the topic. "I’m sure you’ve already ran all the necessary tests to make sure that Mija is your child. But she must look like her mother. She doesn’t resemble you. Not that it’s a bad thing." "Of course, Mija doesn’t look like me because she’s not my child." "What?" "We’re not even remotely related to each other." "Huh?" "You just took my joke too seriously, brat." Lim Garam looked confused at first, and then his face turned red as if he was embarrassed. "You just lost your hyung privilege, Song Sihyuk-ssi!" As if that wasn’t enough revenge, Lim Garam also hit Song Sihyuk on the arm. Of course, that didn’t hurt at all. In fact, getting hit by a pillow would have probably hurt more. For a man, Lim Garam is soft. But he’ll get angry if I say that, won’t he? Song Sihyuk didn’t say that out loud, but he couldn’t help laughing at how cute Lim Garam was for falling for his bullshit. As a result, Lim Garam hit him again and again. That only made him laugh even more. "You’re really annoying, Sihyuk-ssi!" "I’m sorry— you’re just too cute." "Whatever, Sihyuk-ssi." "Yah. Call me ’hyung.’ There’s a five-year gap between us." "That gap was closed when you married me when I was barely an adult." "Aw, my brat is upset," Song Sihyuk said, cupping Lim Garam’s face between his hands. Before his brat could complain, he already dropped the ’bomb’ on him as a distraction. "Mija is SG Group’s new shaman." "Shaman? But she’s just a kid." "That doesn’t matter. She inherited her precedence spiritual ability when the latter died." "Oh." "Do you believe me?" Song Sihyuk asked. "A chaebol is talking about a shaman. Don’t you find it strange?" "Not really. As long as it’s not a cult, it’s fine with me." "Fair enough." "Plus, I’ve seen a documentary before about a famous shaman that serves a chaebol family. They didn’t name which chaebol family it was, but the documentary seemed legit." "You’re talking about the shaman serving the Ilsung Group." Lim Garam gasped as if he were really surprised. "Really?" "Yeah. I can introduce you to Shaman Jung if you want to meet him. The Ilsung Group’s oldest grandson is a close dongsaeng of mine." "I’m not really interested in meeting Ilsung Group’s shaman," Lim Garam said while shaking his head. "I’m just amused to know that the shamans serving the chaebol families are legit." He looked around, and after confirming that only the two of them were in the hiding hall, he stood on his toes and whispered. "So, does Mija have spiritual power?" Pfft. This brat is really cute! "Yes, Mija has a powerful spiritual force. I would have thrown her away otherwise," Song Sihyuk said unapologetically. "The child specializes in curses, though." Lim Garam looked surprised. "But she’s just a child..." "Well, it is what it is." "That’s sad." Haaah. My brat has so much empathy for other people. "Why do you want to introduce Mija to me?" Lim Garam asked curiously. "Does she have to do with your disappearance four years ago?" "Not her," Song Sihyuk said, sighing. "Her precedence actually cursed me." *** GARAM couldn’t believe what he was reading. A few moments earlier, Song Sihyuk handed him a slightly thick medical report— and each page explained all the accidents that the Alpha had gotten into for the last four years. There was even an instance where he was hospitalized for a year. And the cause... "Are you telling me that you got hurt a lot during the time we were apart because SG Group’s previous shaman cursed you?" Garam asked, lifting his head to look at Song Sihyuk who nodded casually— as if it were not a big deal. "And the curse only ended after you found Mija?" "Uh-huh," Song Sihyuk said, nodding. "I didn’t contact you because doing so would mean sharing my misfortunate with you." That sounded like bullshit. However, before Garam could say anything, Mija finally opened her mouth for the first time ever. "Everything that Song Sihyuk Ahjussi said was true." Pfft. Lim Garam looked at Song Sihyuk teasingly. "Ahjussi." *** Please ADD <SECRETLY MARRIED TO A CHAEBOL ALPHA> to your LIBRARY to be notified when an update is posted. Thank you! :>