CHAPTER 37: MY FOLKS ARE WORRIED?

Johan hadn’t really thought through his actions until he found himself standing in front of his house. Only now did he start having second thoughts about leaving Mia like that.

At that time, it seemed like a good move, a way to make her realize just how much of a slut she could be and would probably make it easier for her to accept her true nature. But now, he worried it might have the opposite effect.

"Well, it’s too late to go back now," he sighed. At least this way, when she goes to sleep tonight, she would have a clear memory of the pleasure, and it wouldn’t be so easy to get him out of her mind.

Before he could push the door open, it suddenly swung wide. His aunt, who had seen him from the living room, rushed toward him.

"Yohan, where have you been?" she asked with warm concern, something he had hardly felt since the death of his parents.

Yohan was caught off guard, it wasn’t only her but Cassie also stood right behind his aunt, staring at him with worried eyes.

"We heard that some gangsters broke into the massage parlor and destroyed everything," she said.

"Oh, that. I handled everything without much trouble," Yohan chuckled, there was no need to make them worry.

"Thank goodness. I was worried something might have happened to you," his aunt said, brushing his hair aside to look more closely at the bandage on his forehead.

"Are you injured?"

"I’m fine, just a scratch."

"What happened to the people that attacked you?" Cassie asked from behind.

"The police took them away."

"But why would they do something like that? What kind of animals would even..." Vivian’s voice trailed with concern. Even the way she caressed his head, so carefully, was unexpectedly comforting.

"Only God knows. It was probably just random and I was unlucky, or should I say they were unlucky, since they couldn’t get away with it."

"See, I told you he was fine."

His uncle returned his attention to the program on the TV, even turning up the volume so he could hear better. When Yohan stepped in, he was the only one who didn’t even bother to get up.

’He couldn’t even pretend to care’ Yohan shook his head. It wasn’t like he was looking for pity, but the contrast with his aunt’s reaction made his uncle’s indifference hard to ignore—especially when he was his elder brother’s son.

’Well, that’s his business. It’s not like I expected him to be any different. Before I came back to the past, he was practically the reason my whole life was shit. He took everything from me and then threw me out into the streets for the dogs to devour’

"Yohan." His aunt drew his attention back. "You should go shower while I reheat some food for you to eat."

"Okay," Yohan said with a smile. It seemed that, even after everything that had happened between them, she still felt responsible for him. It was too difficult for her to put her motherly instincts aside. Not that something like that was going to stop him from claiming her for himself.

Just as he was about to head inside, his uncle called out to him.

"Yohan—"

"Huh? What?" He paused.

"Now that the shop is in this condition, why don’t we just go ahead and sell it? I already have a few people interested—"

"I told you, I’m not selling my parents’ legacy," Yohan cut him short.

"How can you even say that when you haven’t even seen the condition of the shop?"

"What else is there to see? I know it was badly damaged, and I know we’ll have to spend money to repair everything that was broken. That’s money we can’t afford to waste,"

"You’re sounding like I asked you for the money. I can handle everything on my own."

That statement was enough to spark his uncle’s interest. He already knew Yohan had managed to pay back the debt he owed the loan sharks, and now he was claiming he had even more money.

"Are you sure about that?" his uncle asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I’ll handle all the repairs first thing tomorrow."

His uncle smiled. "Nephew, I didn’t know the shop was now earning profit."

It was rare for his uncle to address him that way, but money always had a way of putting a smile on his face. Yohan was sure his uncle always imagined his future as some kind of millionaire instead of ending up as a marketer for some shitty company.

Even so, he tried to live above his means—buying a house in an expensive neighborhood, driving a foreign car, and wasting money on other luxuries.

Still, Yohan had to give him some credit. The fact that he could afford all of it on that shitty salary must mean he was scraping very hard, taking risks and fucking people up along the way, even if that person ended up being his brothers son

"Yohan, if the shop is doing so well, don’t you think it’s high time you start paying some rent? You know it’s not cheap feeding and clothing you," his uncle said.

"Honey, you shouldn’t be requesting something like that from Yohan. Especially after what happened today," his aunt tried defending him.

"What’s wrong? It’s not like I’m telling any lies. We deserve some form of compensation if he’s going to continue living under our roof," his uncle argued.

"Fine," Yohan agreed before they could say another word. "Just tell me how much it’s going to be."

He turned to his aunt. "Think of it as my own little way of appreciating all the things you do for me." He gave her a small smile, then continued inside.

She kept watching him as he walked away until he disappeared into his room.

"Does Yohan seem any different to you lately?" she asked.

"Oh, you noticed it too, Mom?" Cassie cut in. "He looks more handsome... even a little taller now."

"I was actually talking about how different he’s been acting these days. Like he suddenly became more mature."

His uncle hardly gave them a glance. "He’s growing up, of course. He’s going to become mature. He can’t be a kid forever. It’s high time he started acting like a man. I was starting to think he’d leech off me for the rest of his life."

Cassie and her mother were already used to his harsh words, so it came as no surprise. Still, Vivian couldn’t just ignore it.

"Honey, you shouldn’t say things like that," she sighed.