Chapter 128

*This chapter contains descriptions of young person abuse and neglect. Please be advised when reading.

"Hu, huuk, huk..."

Cheong-ra started to cry, tears falling like beads, already frightened by the word "teachings." Baek Ri Yeong-hye wiped away the falling tears and picked him up. The maidservants and servants who saw the direction she was heading all hurriedly turned their heads away, pretending not to see.

There was a secret disciplinary space in one corner of the annex. As they approached it, Cheong-ra trembled violently with fear. His hand, desperately grasping Baek Ri Yeong-hye's clothes, became damp with cold sweat.

"Mother, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I won't do it again. I'll always keep my body neat and clean..."

Even though her young son, whom she cherished so much, cried and begged, Baek Ri Yeong-hye opened the door as if she couldn't hear him. Her eyes, which had been affectionate and gentle, now shone with a light similar to madness.

In the dark space, there was a large chest. It was just the right size for a small child to fit in. Cheong-ra's cries grew louder. He knew very well what was inside this chest. He had been locked in here more than dozens of times before. When Baek Ri Yeong-hye opened the lid, countless insects were swarming inside. Seeing this, Cheong-ra let out a scream that almost choked him.

"Cheong-cheong, your body isn't yours alone. You should always keep it pure, clean, and pleasing to the eye, but how can you act like this! You don't even repent for embarrassing your mother!"

Baek Ri Yeong-hye, whose attitude suddenly changed as if she were mad, shook Cheong-ra's body back and forth as she scolded him. Then she pushed her precious son into the chest full of insects and closed the lid. Soon, the sound of the child screaming in terror filled the annex.

The maidservants and servants in the annex who heard this sound squeezed their eyes shut. They felt terribly sorry for the young master who often suffered such harsh treatment from Baek Ri Yeong-hye. But there was nothing they could do. They were just servants bound to the Baek Ri household.

Moreover, what could they do when the head of the family and his wife turned a blind eye to what their youngest daughter was doing, calling it just a form of strict discipline?

Baek Ri Yeong-hye usually cherished her son dearly. Everyone could see how much she adored and loved her child.

However, she would suddenly change like a madwoman and find all sorts of faults. Examples included things like now: a broken fingernail, dirty clothes, or improper posture. She couldn't stand her child looking even slightly dirty or unsightly.

It was natural for children to get their clothes dirty while playing, but because of this, Cheong-ra couldn't play properly and was always anxiously minding his appearance. Nevertheless, he was often dragged away by Baek Ri Yeong-hye and subjected to hardships.

Being put in a box full of insects was just one type of punishment. Sometimes she would have painful and itchy insects bite the soles of his feet, making him suffer all night without sleep, or try to force-feed him insects until he fainted from crying and vomiting.

"You must always be clean and beautiful. Only then do you have value..."

Baek Ri Yeong-hye repeated these words like brainwashing while continuing the ‘treatment’. As this happened repeatedly, Cheong-ra became so terrified that he would have seizures and faint just from seeing insects. Even when he became like this, Baek Ri Yeong-hye didn't stop but gradually increased the intensity of the abuse.

As time passed, Cheong-ra gradually lost his ability to speak and his complexion darkened. Even when maidservants or servants who couldn't bear to watch anymore suggested separating the young lady and the young master, the head of the Baek Ri family and his wife, who cared more about their daughter than their grandson, pretended not to hear and turned a blind eye.

One day, as things continued like this, Baek Ri Yeong-hye's madness reached its peak. Just because his clothes were slightly disheveled, she dragged Cheong-ra to the disciplinary room in a mad rage.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this? Aren't you scared enough of insects yet? Why don't you listen... Don't you know how much this mother worries about you..."

Baek Ri Yeong-hye cried and shouted as she once again locked Cheong-ra in the chest full of insects. By this time, Cheong-ra's fear of insects had reached its peak. As soon as the insects started crawling on his body, Cheong-ra lost consciousness. He woke up again, but it was still dark inside the chest.

How many times did Cheong-ra repeat fainting after begging to be let out, screaming, and convulsing? A booming shout woke Cheong-ra from his unconscious state.

"Have you all gone mad? If Yeong-hye is doing such insane things, you should have stopped her, not let it get to this point!"

Startled awake, Cheong-ra trembled violently. His small heart beat rapidly. As he looked around, gasping for breath, someone holding him tightly patted his back. Only then did Cheong-ra realize he had been taken out of that dark, insect-filled small hell, and he relaxed his body.

"We didn't know Yeong-hye would go this far. Really."

A familiar voice made a weak excuse. When someone else spoke harshly, the chest Cheong-ra was tightly held against vibrated.

"Don't say such nonsense. From what I heard from the maidservants, this hasn't been going on for just a year or two. Saying you didn't know is just an excuse."

"Then what can we do? My poor daughter, Yeong-hye, barely keeps her sanity by having a child. Just because a mother disciplined a bit..."

"Discipline? You call this discipline? What mother in the world disciplines her son like this! Is only Yeong-hye pitiful and not Cheong-cheong? Look at what state your grandson is in now, Father, Mother!"

Only then did Cheong-ra realize that the owners of the familiar voices were his grandfather and grandmother. They were kind people who always sighed whenever they saw Cheong-ra, always giving him something, patting his head, and comforting him.

"This can't go on. I can't stand by and watch a madwoman torture my nephew anymore. From today, I'll take Cheong-ra and raise him myself."

"Yeong-hyeon! How can you take our family's descendant to such a far place?"

"Then are you going to let your grandson wither away like this? Or are you going to drive your grandson mad too? Don't you care about Cheong-cheong because you have many grandchildren?"

A heavy, long silence fell for a moment. The sound of grandmother sobbing could be heard. Worried that something sad had happened, Cheong-ra wiggled his fingers. He wanted to comfort his grandmother. But before he could, the person holding him stood up.

Before he opened the door to leave, Cheong-ra could hear his grandfather apologizing.

"This grandfather is sorry, I'm sorry..."

Leaving behind the fading voice, the unfamiliar person moved without hesitation. Cheong-ra was confused, not understanding why the adults were acting this way. At the gentle question asking if he was awake, he finally raised his head to see who was holding him.

It was a handsome and beautiful person who looked just like his mother. Perhaps because of this, he seemed strangely familiar. Feeling Cheong-ra's gaze, the person managed a smile on his stiff face. Seeing the smile that resembled his mother's, Cheong-ra felt a little reassured.

"Cheong-cheong, do you remember me? I'm your maternal uncle. It's the first time I've seen you since you were very young. You've grown so much."

"Yes..."

The voice that barely escaped his throat was hoarse from screaming and crying for so long. Baek Ri Yeong-hyeon clicked his tongue lightly and called a maidservant to bring water for the child to drink. Only when the water touched his lips did Cheong-ra realize how thirsty he was.

"Slowly, you should drink slowly."

Baek Ri Yeong-hyeon looked pitifully at his nephew who was gulping down the water hurriedly. It was then that Baek Ri Yeong-hye appeared, with a pale face. She looked like a flawlessly beautiful and sorrowful beauty, but her eyes were unfocused and dazed. Baek Ri Yeong-hyeon glared coldly at his sister and spoke harshly.

"Enough! If you have even a shred of human feeling left, don't come near Cheong-cheong anymore!"

"My baby, my little jade..."

As if she couldn't hear Baek Ri Yeong-hyeon's words, Baek Ri Yeong-hye stared intently at Cheong-ra and muttered. Cheong-ra, for whom his mother had been his absolute world, whined to his uncle.

"Uncle, please put me down. Mother is calling me."

"Uncle?" Cheong-ra called again, tugging at his collar. Being locked in a chest full of insects had been a normal, everyday occurrence for Cheong-ra. So he didn't understand why his uncle was so angry at Baek Ri Yeong-hye.

"Mother..."

"You won't see your mother anymore. From today, you'll be staying with your uncle."

Baek Ri Yeong-hyeon turned away coldly and strode off. Baek Ri Yeong-hye gradually grew distant. Cheong-ra suddenly had the intuition that he wouldn't see his mother for a very long time. So he cried loudly and stretched out his arms.

"Mama, Mama..."

He couldn't even call her "Mother" properly as he usually did. Baek Ri Yeong-hye trembled as if she wanted to take her son back right away. A strange moan escaped from between her tightly closed lips.

But she didn't. Instead, with something clutched in her hand, she stood rigidly like a stake, watching her brother take her son away. She didn't blink once until Cheong-ra, held in Baek Ri Yeong-hyeon's arms, passed through the main gate of the Baek Ri household and became a distant speck.

And so, from that day on, Cheong-ra left the Baek Ri household forever.