Chapter 46: Unexpected
A DNA test is a test conducted to identify criminals, locate missing persons, or confirm biological parentage.
If Ha Ilwoo’s father brought it up in relation to young Ha Giyeon, there could be only one intent: a paternity check. Though Ilwoo usually accepted his father’s opinions to a certain extent, this was the one thing he could not.
“Please don’t say ridiculous things like that.”
To conduct a DNA test meant not only doubting whether the child was his—it meant suspecting his own partner, Lee Mihyun. Ha Ilwoo didn’t easily trust people, but he did trust Mihyun. He had built that trust through years of marriage, and he didn’t believe she would ever do something so irrational as to ruin her own career.
Once broken, trust could never be restored. That was why he stopped thinking of Ha Giyeon as a child who resembled either of them. He felt no need to care about a boy who wasn’t exceptional like Ha Dohoon, and he didn’t wish to force himself to love him. In the end, it would only hurt them both.
What Ha Giyeon needed was financial support, and that alone. If he was raised in a good home, ate well, wore nice things, and received a proper education, then he would turn out fine. Misery came from a lack of money—so with money, Giyeon would be happy.
That was why Ha Ilwoo devoted himself even more to his business. The attention he might have given Ha Giyeon, he /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ poured into his work instead. The same was true for Mihyun.
But Ha Dohoon was different.
Unlike his parents, who found the boy uncomfortable, Dohoon lingered around him—as if he felt some attachment to him as a brother, as the older sibling. He practiced helping the boy say his name.
There was nothing wrong with a big brother caring for his younger sibling. If anything, Ilwoo found it admirable—Dohoon, as the firstborn, was truly commendable.
Perhaps because of that, as he grew up, Ha Giyeon became increasingly dependent on Dohoon. Not only that, but he would force himself to show up at the table even when he was sick, desperate to be noticed, trying so hard to strike up conversation despite his visible discomfort. But to them, everything Giyeon did was just annoying. Even when he came downstairs trembling in fear because of thunder, Mihyun coldly sent him away, and Ilwoo ignored him.
Letting Giyeon sleep in their room would clearly be inconvenient and affect their condition. They didn’t want to hear any loud crying, either.