Lines That Were Never Drawn

After returning to the room, I sat beside Do Jiwan at his desk.

As I rested my chin on the table and stared at him, he frowned, clearly bothered by my gaze.

I reached out and poked his soft cheek.

“…What.”

“…….”

“Do you have something to say?”

I only smiled.

He let out a scoff.

The more time passed, the more curious I became about him.

‘Is he not close with his biological mother either?’

Shin Jiho hadn’t exactly had great relationships, but Do Jiwan’s world felt especially barren.

He didn’t seem to have close friends.

‘Does this person even have a line?’

When he was older, I had assumed I was outside his boundary.

But seeing him as a child made me wonder whether that boundary even existed.

‘Or was it never drawn at all?’

Maybe he was the only one inside it.

Maybe there had never been a need to draw it.

For some reason, that thought made me feel gloomy.

I pinched his cheek and pulled.

It stretched like cheese.

“What are you doing?”

He scowled deeply.

I poked the crease between his brows.

He looked incredulous.

“Are you crazy?”

He cursed me.

But he didn’t swat my hand away.

Time passed, and the day came for him to meet his biological mother.

Perhaps his stepmother knew.

Her expression was terrible.

The mother and son treated each other like strangers.

Neither cared about the other’s mood.

We drove far beyond Seoul, to a quiet villa in the outskirts.

“Jiwan!”

His biological mother was there.

She rushed forward and hugged him tightly, tears spilling as if she had longed for him desperately.

“I missed you so much.”

His father embraced her comfortingly.

“If you miss him, you can always come see him.”

“But… what if people find out I’m Jiwan’s mother?”

“….”

“How could I block my son’s future?”

She wept pitifully.

His father looked moved.

Then his phone rang.

“Yes. I understand. I’ll be there soon.”

“You’re leaving already?”

“I’m sorry. Something urgent came up. I’ll be back by evening. Spend some time together as a family.”

“I’ll wait.”

As soon as he left, her demeanor changed.

The pitiful woman vanished.

Annoyance replaced her tears.

“Is he insane? Always obsessed with work.”

“….”

“Son, have you been well?”

She smiled at him.

But her eyes held no affection.

Neither did his.

“You must have run out of money to come back to Korea.”

He spoke as if there were no other reason.

Instead of anger, she laughed deeply.

“That’s right. I ran out. I have to come cry once in a while for him to give me money. Isn’t that cheap?”

She laughed and grabbed a bottle of wine.

She slumped onto the sofa.

Jiwan sat opposite her.

I sat beside him.

“Life is so boring.”

She muttered, drinking.

Her face was youthful.

Her eyes were dull.

She asked,

“That woman doesn’t mistreat you?”

He shook his head.

She sneered.

“The precious daughter of a noble family. Too soft-hearted to even bully an eyesore.”

“….”

“If I were her, I wouldn’t leave my husband’s bastard alone.”

Her expression twisted cruelly.

Her nails scraped the wine glass like claws.

“She ended up having a child after all. I thought everything was settled.”

“….”

“Jiwan. Everything is yours. You’re the eldest son. Everything your father has belongs to you. Understand?”

He didn’t answer.

Her face twisted.

She grabbed his arm harshly.

“Ugh!”

“I said, do you understand? You can’t let that woman’s child take it! It’s all yours! Why do you think I left the country?”

She shook him violently.

He finally nodded.

Only then did she let go.

“Yes… I lost so much giving birth to you….”

“….”

“At least you must secure that company.”

She muttered, drinking again.

Even Jiwan looked fed up.

He stood and left.

She didn’t stop him.

She just kept drinking.

He went upstairs as if familiar with the villa.

He lay on the bed, eyes closed, irritation clear on his face.

I noticed the arm she had grabbed.

He was wearing short sleeves.

I gently lifted the fabric.

He opened his eyes.

“What.”

I kept lifting the sleeve.

He rolled it up himself.

The skin beneath was bruising.

Blood vessels had burst.

“That enough?”

He growled.

For the first time, his reaction was sharp.

Calmly, I touched the injury.

Divine power flowed from my fingertips in white light.

He startled at the glow.

I ignored his gaze and continued healing.

The bruising faded.

His arm became smooth again.

“You….”

His eyes flickered.

I pressed a finger to my lips.

A secret.

He closed his mouth.

And looked at me properly.

By evening, his father returned.

His mother acted sweet again.

After two weeks of false harmony, she received money and left overseas.

“Remember. It’s all yours.”

She couldn’t let go of her greed even at the end.

Time passed quickly.

Jiwan grew taller.

The top of his head, once at my chest, now rose above me.

We still never spoke.

But sometimes, he used my divine power.

“Ah….”

When he cut his finger on paper, he held it out to me naturally.

As if I were a portable bandage.

Pouting, I healed it anyway.

The cut vanished.

Just then, the door burst open.

It was his younger half-brother.

“Hyung, what are you doing?”

Unlike his mother, the younger brother adored Jiwan.

He moved to sit on my chair, so I stood up.

“…What.”

Jiwan looked annoyed.

But he responded.

Which meant he didn’t dislike him.

The younger boy grinned.

“Next week you’ll be in high school. I’m jealous.”

Two years apart, the younger admired him deeply.

Even Jiwan’s coldness seemed cool to him.

‘He’s blinded by admiration.’

After chatting for a while, the younger brother left happily.

Jiwan hadn’t said much.

But he hadn’t pushed him away either.

‘That’s what’s strange.’

He seemed gentle in moments like that.

But no one else approached him so openly.

‘Except… me?’

I had followed him persistently once too.

Was he weak against people who pushed in?

But he never truly opened space.

‘Maybe it’s just this. You bark, I ignore.’

That seemed more reasonable.

And easier on the heart.