Mark came out of the kitchen holding a plate, the confusion that had colored his face earlier gone. With a light smile, he put the plate down on the coffee table, and added another pillow behind Ga-yeong, making her look up at him with a smile:
"Thank you."
She had been sitting for a while but she still could not stand up yet. Looking down at Alex on her lap, she showed a tender smile, with none of the previous helplessness. Softly stroking his short brown hair, she let out a light, whispery laugh:
"He fell asleep while listening to our son's heartbeat, and the latter also calmed down, like he fell asleep too, only turning occasionally to make himself more comfortable. I feel like I am taking care of two babies."
Mark let out a light laugh along with Ga-yeong before explaining:
"He met with the chairwoman for lunch today. That is why he came running here."
Ga-yeong raised an eyebrow, then laughed:
"Is it because of the heirship of the Group again?"
Mark took a seat on the armrest beside Ga-yeong after picking up the plate again, and shook his head:
"He might tell you that if you ask him, but he has always had ways to muddle his way through that subject."
Ga-yeong looked up, curiosity on her face:
"Then?"
Looking down at Alex, Mark calmly replied:
"If I have to guess, it should be because the chairwoman brought up what happened ten years ago."
The light tone of the answer made the atmosphere turn subdued and doused the amusement in Ga-yeong's chest. Taking a careful breath to avoid startling the two sleeping babies, Ga-yeong quietly asked:
"Actually, what happened ten years ago? Neither you nor Leyna ever elaborate when the topic comes up. You always find ways to skirt around it."
Distracting himself by rubbing his finger over the edge of the plate and tightening his hold on the spoon in his other hand, Mark soundlessly exhaled and lightly replied:
"An accident. Ten years ago, Alex had an accident, but more than that, he got betrayed."
The first part was just as Ga-yeong had guessed from the bits and pieces she had gathered, but the second part shocked her so much that she exclaimed in a loud whisper:
"But he doesn't show any sign!"
"Indeed, but have you ever seen him love someone again? Here, eat."
Mark sadly shook his head, and brought the full spoon to Ga-yeong's mouth to satisfy her craving that had been left unfulfilled by her lunch.
"Wait!"
Taking in the food with wide eyes, Ga-yeong didn't bother chewing and instead stuffed the food against her cheek to be able to voice her astonishment in a muffled tone:
"He was in love before!?!"
Looking at Ga-yeong's stuffed cheeks, Mark smiled lightly before he nodded:
"You could say that. It was more of a youthful romance, but it was his first one, and it ended in a tragedy."
Ga-yeong was shocked, not only by the news, but also by the way things ended. A horrifying possibility came to her mind, and her heart skipped a beat in fear, but more in disbelief:
"It couldn't have been the chairwoman, could it!?"
Mark froze, and in the next second, the corner of his mouth twitched. Looking at Ga-yeong, his dark eyes shone with so much helplessness that he seemed unable to decide how to set her brain straight. In the end, he could only let go of the spoon to tap her on the forehead, looking torn between tears and laughter:
"Can you not think so little of the chairwoman? She is your superior, and she is a great woman. She has no need for any adornment for her status, or the status of her family. Moreover, don't you see how her other sons got to choose their own wives and their own lives? Even Alex has been left to play to his heart's content until now. Moreover, even if there were to be an arranged marriage, wouldn't he have been left to have some fun before being chained with an engagement? Exactly what goes through your head when you are bored?"
Ga-yeong flinched at the admonishment. Even she did not believe that the chairwoman would go that far just to break her son's relationship. Brought back to reality by the helpless tap of her husband, she also felt embarrassed at the reckless leap her brain had done. She smiled sheepishly:
"Hehehehe, blame it on the hormones from the pregnancy… I was just very surprised. I didn't know Alex went through something like that."
Mark went quiet. He looked down at Alex, then exhaled and looked at the curious —read gossipy— look of the pregnant woman who was eagerly waiting for the rest of the story. Seeing him back from his thoughts, she asked in a low voice with an embarrassed grin:
"So, what is the tragedy you talked about?"
Mark shook his head with a smile, but continued after taking a breath:
"Alex has always had a precocious mind. He seems casual and appears uncaring, but he actually has a heart underneath. And, beneath the surface, he can be very warm."
Thinking of Alex's heart, Ga-yeong smiled warmly, commenting as she threaded her fingers through his soft hair:
"I know, I have experienced that."
Mark nodded, and continued, his voice dropping:
"Ten years ago, the girl he liked, the only girl he has ever liked, backstabbed him in one of the worst possible ways, and she left him with scars not just outside, but also inside. He almost died. He actually did die, as his heart stopped that day. His survival itself was a miracle."
Ga-yeong's features softened in melancholy, her eyes rippling with pain as she looked at Alex who was so calm, so quiet, and with no inkling of the scars he was bearing. Recalling the smiles and smirks he always had at his lips, recalling his reckless behaviors and his fun-seeking endeavors that always got his bright smiles on magazines' covers, her lips curled into a miserable smile, her eyes turning misty with the ache inside her chest as she remarked:
"But he remains so warm!"
Saying that, she raised her head and turned sideways to avoid letting her tears fall and disturb Alex's moment of quiet. That was how much she felt for him, how much she hurt from the truth behind the bright smile. And she was mature enough to understand that there must have been more to the story.
Mark looked at her, then at Alex, quiet sadness swirling in his own eyes:
"You would think that he does not care about what happened, especially after a decade has passed. But for those of us in the know, we understand that it is far from the truth. However, there is nothing to be done, so we are all waiting, and hoping."
Ga-yeong sniffled. She looked down at Alex and didn't continue with the subject. She pushed down her sadness, because like those who had known before her, she could do nothing, only cradle the broken heart of the young man with as much affection as he held for her.
With a deep breath, she brought back the topic that had had her call out to her husband with a whimpering tone earlier right upon his return, though this time, she whined with a bright, hopeful voice:
"Mark, help me~"