Your theory sounds, well… sound. I’d like to propose a counter theory.
I don’t think hajin was rejected for bullying his younger bro. Because she was already rejecting him during his drowning incident. He was a sweet, very young child then- yet she wanted him to die… to me that isn’t momma bear behavior. Letting a young child drown, who loves you so much, and is so sweet… what could he have even done to his brother, at that age, to warrant death?
Are we sure he’s her biological son? He looks like the dad, but maybe that’s why the dad didn’t question it? If the pregnancy with hajin’s dad was real… but she gave him a fake baby (hajin) so she could flee overseas with her real baby… then that would make sense. I think she just wanted to escape from him.
The affair rumors are because people think she’s dating her son. They think she’s a cougar. Hajin’s bro is the real son. Isn’t that why she said, “you know what that child is to US” rather than “to her”. The dad might not want to reveal this mess to the public. That’s why he’s chosen to reject his biological son. That’s also why the bro told hajin, “ you stole everything from me”
Also, the bro looks just like his mom.
That line about “you know what the child is to us” was about the illegitimate child and is essentially her collar to be a good wife. The condition of her being a good wife is probably that father ignores the mama-son dates and doesn’t hurt him. The father is so concerned with appearances, he would NEVER let an illegitimate or swapped son into his home. It just wouldn’t happen. We know for certain that Hajin is his son. I don’t believe Hajin would have been too young to hurt his brother. My older cousins used to absolutely terrorise me and they were 5-7 while I was 2-3. You can be a douchebag at any age and still be sweet and loving to the adults. Also Hajin does look like the father and although yes he doesn’t look the same as mama, if he was an illegitimate child, Hajins father would have hajins real mother nearby somewhere and Hajin would have known about it. She would have been his nanny and nursemaid. The affair probably did happen though. I know THIS affair report is about the son but I don’t believe that they were raised together and the only reason for that would be that he’s an affair baby.
Also about the drowning, a mother to a newborn can kill her baby even if she loves them very very much if she’s sleep deprived and in a survival state of being. A father can too but mothers all over the globe have snapped and killed their own precious babies due to this phenomenon of being so stressed and tired, they just couldn’t handle it. If she didn’t like hajin from the beginning because Hajin is the son of the abusive husband she has, it would make sense that in a high stress situation (her marriage), one small trigger can have her kill her son or just let him die. It’s not uncommon actually.
Well, I get that. Even parents that aren’t stressed out can harm their children. Mine actually did. I was in the foster care system for child abuse, before I got adopted.
Regarding hajin being a fake or not, there’s a loophole to what you said. If the mother handed over Hajin as a fake baby (substitute) to the dad (probably at the hospital right after giving birth, (never underestimate, what rich and famous people are capable of pulling off ) but presented all the medical evidence and paperwork for the biological child as if it were Hajin’s, then the dad might not have figured it out until after he had already presented Hajin to the public. I mean, the guy would be in a rush to present the child because that child is the leash on the Mom.
And we both get what this Guy is capable of when it comes to his public image. He would keep a fake son, and disregard the real one, if the public already believe that Hajin was his real son. Because admitting to a scandal like that would be more concerning to him than allowing the switch and hiding the real one. This guy has no love at all for his family.
But honestly, no matter what it is I don’t care as long as it’s a really high-quality twist. As long as the author can surprise me, and I don’t actually find someone who can speculate it to a T, then I’ll be a happy reader.
I’m sorry you went through that! My parents were really shitty and abusive too but unfortunately my child protective services are dog shit and they did nothing about it so I get how sucky the system is. I’m glad you ended up being adopted tho!
Yes but he would have found and kept the real baby too. Also, I’m pretty sure at the start of their marriage, she wasn’t as wealthy as she is now. I don’t think she had the means to pull off something like this and why would she hate Hajin if he’s a fake? There’s too many inconsistencies for that to be the case.
Sorry to hear you went through that too. The irony on my end, is that my adoptive parents were also abusive. Just in new/different ways. (Less physical towards me, more about toxic control, financial manipulation and abuse, and identity theft problems. The sky is the limit, when you know someone’s Social Security number, address, and their birthday.)
About the Mom lacking funds, It would work if the Mom planed this well in advance during her pregnancy. She can just use the dad’s money because they’re married. If it’s brand, new wife is broke, that’s gonna raise eyebrows. So she could withdraw funds because, when you buy stuff, you can always just sell it later. Especially if it’s really expensive stuff like, I don’t know- designer clothes, and watches. Some watches go for the price of a house. She could get her hands on a substantial amount of funds that way.
Or if she could use her name as the new wife of the mega rich, powerful guy. You’d be surprised how far being the wife of a super powerful guy can take you. As long as she’s not using his people to get stuff done, she could still get stuff done.
Ugh, spelling error. (Typo) Meant to say, “ if the dad’s brand new wife is broke, that’s going to raise some eyebrows to others.”
People would find it odd if his new wife had no access to money (despite them being married). At the very least, her clothes should be worth a car.
Nope because if she sells her clothes or her car or something like that, people will think poorly of her and her husband. Unless she’s stealing items to sell, she won’t be able to sell her own stuff. It’s a common mistake people make when making an exit plan. They think they can just pawn and sell items but that’s the first thing abusers will check for since it makes them look the worst and it’s always a telltale sign of abuse or addiction.
Hajin was born first. The father told the mother that she had to get pregnant and do her job as a wife or she’s done for (presumably she’s been having an affair and he threatened the partner). Mother found out she was pregnant with the affair partners child when Hajin was around 4-5 and had the baby. Instead of letting people know that she cheated and had a bastard child, daddy dearest forced her to stay in England with the kid for a bit and then dumped the child onto the grandparents and mother came home without the newborn after father threatened to do something with that child and her partner. Her affair partner is most likely dead. Hajin being the legitimate son and the eldest probably took after papa in his cruel ways and bullied the illegitimate younger half-brother. Mama bear did not like that and started seeing hajin as daddy 2.0 and was NOT happy. So she hates hajin for what he represents. Her golden baby boy could do no wrong because that’s her lovers son. The whole “swap” thing is about their stories in England. The butler said that Hajin was the one who lived with the grandparents in England but it was actually the illegitimate brother that was in England.
I think the mother did something wrong in the past before Hajin was born and that the father is holding it over her head like a guillotine ready to come down at any moment that’s he decides he’s had enough of her insubordination (because he treats her like his lessor rather than his equal). He probably abused her mentally this whole time with the fact that he could easily kill the last remaining trace of her dearly departed lover whenever he wanted to and that it’s by his graciousness that the child lives.
If you think something is wrong with my theory or timeline, feel free to correct me but I’m pretty sure this is it.