Chapter 10

Ji-hyuk brings a crystal glass filled with a deep amber drink to his mouth. He drank the alcohol in one gulp and put the empty glass down on the table.

The secretary next to him pushed a plate of fruit toward him. Ji-hyuk glanced at her. The secretary smiled shyly and furrowed her brow in puzzlement and discomfort.

She hadn’t gone to her room after all the work was done, and she was still preparing drinks and snacks for him.   

“Here you go, boss.”   

Just as the secretary was about to pour the alcohol into the glass, Ji-hyuk snatched it away from her, avoiding her touch. He glared at the secretary with cold eyes.   

“Why did you pour me a drink?”

“What? Ah…. Boss is that…….”

“Why did you pour me a drink?”

“What? Ah…. Boss is that…….”

Secretary Kim, unable to answer straight away and blushing, slammed her glass down noisily.

The taste of the drink was off.

There must have been one or two people like her before, and you wouldn’t know she was the second in the Soju group.

A wicked grin crossed my face, and then Secretary Kim, who did not say anything, must have read my expression correctly and then she spoke again.   

“I get yourself a drink. I told you not to drink alone.”   

Ji-hyuk’s eyes looked to Ms. Kim’s lips. I thought it was ugly, it was so red as if she had worn red lipstick.

“I like to drink alone, so please leave.” 

“Boss, I’m not…….”

“I’m asking you to leave. Is there something you want to say?”

His voice didn’t sound good because he didn’t like the way she treated him, she was his new assistant and she always came late.

Seeing her blush, he think of Yunseul again. The way she looked scared at him, and she took a bite of her lips, and looked him in the eye…….

He’ve never been like this before in his life.

“what’s going on?”

She glared coldly at her secretary, who flicked her hair to the side.   

“I hate it when my employees don’t work. I also hate being the only one working when everyone else has gone home. I know you’re new here, I am just explaining, but please don’t do this one again.”

Hw can feel Ms. Kim’s eyes on him as if she’s finally realized something is wrong.

His stomach turned at the thought of her not knowing what to do. Should he fire her?

“And please don’t pour me a drink from now on.”   

He worked in his car during a long flight and when getting off the plane.

His eyes were clouded by the never-ending flow of work, but having him break time interrupted without notice was not only an inconvenience, it was insulting. 

“If you do something like this again, please quit and leave immediately.”  

“…I’m sorry.”   

He didn’t know why these women were sticking around when he hadn’t given him any chance. Ji-hyuk passed around the glass containing wine.

Once Ms. Kim was gone, the hotel room fell silent. Ji-hyuk’s expression was also serene as he took a mouthful of alcohol.

The hotel room fell silent as the throaty secretary disappeared. Ji-hyuk’s expression was also silent as he took a sip of alcohol.

He cursed his brain for continuing to think about Yunseul against his will. He won’t think about her unless something is wrong.

On the day of his business trip, she fell asleep at dawn in a daze. She felt like crying, but she never cried and she seemed to be holding it in somehow.

He laid her on the bed and watched her for a long time, as she climaxed and cry but no sound came out. 

He stared at her for a while, until his assistant called him. He wondered if she would ever cry out loud.   

Her body, which was as white and clear as snow, flushed red at the slightest touch. The image made her stomach flutter.   

“Ha…. Damn.”

Yeah, he had to admit, she was fit. Why is it that time never seems to fly? He got the impression that this business trip was a unique one.

He felt like he needed a cold shower to cool down. Ji-hyuk hurried to the bathroom.   

* * *

YunSeul stood nervously in front of the jet-black door. She’s lived there since she was in middle school, but the place still feels strange.

No wonder she doesn’t have good memories of the place. She heard a woman working inside the house and the door opened.

Yunseul stared at the gate as if it was about to open, and pushed his heavy foot into the gap.   

Yun-seul was furious with her father for taking her mother away and not returning her phone calls, so she waited until nightfall to call him.   

As she walked through the garden, she felt dizzy and squeezed her eyes shut.

When she regained control of her breathing, she felt a little dizzy. She took another deep breath and quickly entered the house.

She was hesitant about coming there at first. She had to protect the baby.

When she got there, it had been quite some time since dinner, but there were no words from her in-laws.

Was Mrs. Seo lying to her? Yunseul took off her shoes put on slippers, and hurriedly observed the atmosphere of the house.

He swallowed dryly, noticing that the atmosphere was calming as usual.

“…Father.”   

Judging by the look on his face when he heard my voice, he must have known she was coming. .Yunseul bit her lip and glared at her father, who was sitting on the couch wiping off his favorite Nan.   

“Shut up, can’t you see what I’m doing?”

To her, it looked like he was just wiping the dust off the grass, but his father always told her that he had to concentrate when wiping the Nan.

“How insensitive you are.”   

She glanced at Nan, who was lined up side by side on the table. Yunseul walks up to her father, who is wiping Nan down with white gloves.   

“Dad, I need to talk to you.”   

His eyes widened in annoyance, and then he straightened up and took off his gloves.   

“…What is it,”

He said this even though he knew exactly what she meant and what happened.

“Mom, Mom… Where is Mom?”

“Aah, your mom?”

“Where did you hide Mom? Tell me!”

‘I told myself not to get excited and speak calmly, but because my father was acting like he didn’t know anything, I couldn’t help but raise my voice. ‘

The corner of her mouth lifted and his eyes sparkled for a moment.

“What the hell did you do to Mom?”

“…….”

Yunseul’s eyes widened at his father’s sudden reaction.   

“I got a call from my cousin.”   

Oh……. her mom said she talked to her dad.

“I feed me and raise you, so I have to reciprocate, but you can’t get pregnant like everyone else, so you get kicked out.”   

This wasn’t the first time her father had gotten angry at her for not doing anything right, so Yunseul stared at him.   

“Your mother-in-law told me to take you away!”

“…….”

“You act good in front of me, but you do bad things behind my back. I should’ve known when the bad rumors started! I’m done with that house.”   

He held out his hand and her stepmother handed him a briefcase.

“ What does this have to do with hiding my mother? You said you’d let her be free if I got married to him! It’s not her fault If I couldn’t get pregnant. My mom did not do anything wrong.”

“Take this!”

Her father yelled, throwing his briefcase in her direction. She bent down and picked up the briefcase.

“What is this?”

She asked, somehow reluctant to check the contents of the envelope.   

“Divorce papers. Write it down.”

“…What about my mom?”    

She should have planned a little faster. Her dad didn’t pay attention to her mother and he didn’t say anything, which surprised her.

“Just do what I say, and I’ll let you see your mom.”

“…What if we get divorced?…….” Then you make me do some other weird thing…….”?

“You were abandoned in that house anyway, so you should marry someone I can arrange for you.”

The words remarry choked her.    

The words she heard while passing by, “She will remarry the wrong person,” now ring in my ears. Yunseul crumpled the envelope containing the divorce papers.   

“… why are you doing this to me? what did I do wrong? you’re not even a thing!”   

She howled with all her might. She jumped up and down and cursed.

‘My mother had a weakened immune system because of her years in prison. Where did you hide her?

What if she gets pneumonia

After a moment’s hesitation, Yunseul burst into tears of self-pity.   

“Get her out of my sight”

her father ordered someone, and suddenly people dressed in black appeared and got her.

“Let go of me, let go of me, let go of me!”

They grab her arms and drag her away as if  she’s only moving at his command.   

“Let go! Let go of me, Dad!”  

Her whole body trembled, trying to escape the violence, but she did not move.

The men lifted her so easily and brought her to the second floor without hesitation. On the second floor were her and her step-sister’s rooms.   

The man who opened the door to the corner alcove threw herself in like a piece of luggage.   

Yunseul crouched on the floor and watched in dismay as the door closed. She realized she had a cell phone in her hand and laughed.

“…Don’t cry. Yunseul, don’t cry. Get a grip.”   

The tightness in her chest driving her crazy.

Yunseul, wrapped tightly around her stomach, kept telling herself not to cry and to stay awake, over and over again.   

* * *

“Ha…ah.”   

A deep sigh escaped Yunseul’s lips. She leaned back on the bed and pulled her knees up to hug her tightly.   

There was no clock in the room, so she didn’t know what time it was. From the food her stepmother had served, she could only tell it was mealtime.

She could be heard rustling around outside looking for a bowl. She had not had a proper meal for days during her detention.

She knew what was inside, but she couldn’t starve, so she ate just enough to keep her from collapsing.

She is locked up and her gynecologist appointment is overdue. Days passed without anything being done.

She knocked on the door, yelled, and begged, but they remained silent and only showed up once, threatening not to let her out until she signed the divorce papers.

He was going to keep me locked up until he got his way. He was the one who would probably lock her up for the rest of her life if she didn’t sign the divorce papers.   

She was caught off guard when she didn’t get pregnant in three years of marriage.

It is not until she is trapped in an alcove that she notices his presence behind her, making her father suspicious.

She was only allowed out of the alcove to wash and go to the bathroom, and even then her bodyguards kept watch.

Yunseul’s hollow eyes touched the window about two cheeks away.   

“…….”   

It’s not like she didn’t think about breaking the window and jumping out.

But what if she jumped and something happened to her? no way. So what’s the best way to get out of here?   

Given that she hadn’t been looking for her in-laws so far, her mother could have been right about her father and made him take her.

She rubbed the goosebumps on her forearms, remembering the cold look on her mother’s face the last time she saw her.   

‘I have to find her somehow. I have to find a way…’   

She looked at the divorce papers on her nightstand and sighed. She was happy when she was asked to divorce, but she didn’t know what kind of hell was waiting for her.

What’s worse, she didn’t even know what it was. She sighed and buried her face in her knees in frustration.

A few words were exchanged outside the door as if someone was talking to a bodyguard. Yunseul listened to the sounds outside.

The only people who would come up here were her dad. Her stepmother and Yoon Ina never came, as if they didn’t want to be seen.   

Gulp. At the sound of the door opening, Yun-seul’s head, which had been buried in her lap, quickly looked up.

“Yuck. Musty smell.”    It was Yoon Ina.   

“Don’t we get some fresh air in here? Doesn’t your head hurt?”

“…….”   

Yun Ina muttered inside the room as she plugged her nose with her fingers. The door shut behind her.   

She was ready to yell at Yoon Ina to leave when her eyes lit up as if she was discovering something amusing about being trapped, but she didn’t have the strength to scream, so she just shut up.

After all, she was the one who was going to have the most fun.

She remembered her stepmother and father making fun of her, making her the bad girl, and hiding behind them, laughing.

She approached them with the same expression   

“What’s wrong?”

Her voice cracked as she asked. She frowned as she felt a lump in her throat.   

“Just checking in on you.”   

Emotionless eyes stared at Yun Ina, who dared to call her “you.   

“Checking what?”

She tried to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. She noticed Yun Ina sneering with one corner of her mouth.   

“I thought seeing you trapped and unable to move was funny, so I came to watch.”

It annoys her, but she raises her chin as though she’s responding specifically to her.   

“I’m not your sister… No, you are not my sister anymore, are you?” “I didn’t know Seo Ji-hyuk was such a wonderful man.”

“…….”

“Because the rumors were so filthy, so I asked Dad if you could marry him.”

So her father chose her, not Yoon Ina, to be the daughter-in-law of that amazing Seoju group.

Yunseul’s eyes sank.  

 “It’s a waste, but what else can I do? What’s done is done.”   

“If I can’t have him now, you won’t be able to have him too.”

Yun Ina’s cheerful face appeared hideous to her.  This was Yun Ina’s work, the one whose father would go so far as to imprison her to secure a speedy divorce.

“Do you think I’m going to leave you as the Seoju Group’s daughter-in-law?”

“Do you think I’m crazy? Not at all, I wasn’t angry, I wasn’t angry, I wasn’t angry, I wasn’t angry, I wasn’t furious.”

There was silence in the room as Yoon Ina left after nearly half an hour of scolding.

Had she gotten used to the silence? She seemed to be able to exist without her noisy speech. 

Yunseul slowly got out of bed and walked over to the door.   

“…Excuse me.”   

He called out to the bodyguard guarding the door, but it was quiet outside. She knocked on the door a few times, and it opened.   

“How can I help you?”

a low voice said, and she swallowed dryly.   

“Some rice…. please.”

“okay?”

‘I could feel my bodyguard’s confusion at the unexpected comment. I shouldn’t have been surprised, though, since I’d been eating birdseed for days.’   

“And fruit.” 

“Yes, ma’am.”   

She breathed out a sigh of relief when she heard the sound of distant footsteps.  Her legs were weak from the lack of food, but Yunseul struggled with each step until she stood in front of the window.

She opened the small window, which was only about two cheeks wide, and the spring breeze pierced through her body.   

“……It’s cool”

She clenched her teeth as if they were screaming at her to stay awake. She walked to the bedside table with greater zeal than previously, picking up the envelope containing the divorce papers.  

Yunseul took a deep breath as she removed the papers from the envelope.

Her hands are trembling as she holds the divorce papers that she has been waiting for. Sweat has covered her hand holding the pen.

She wipes her palms on her thighs to remove the sweat. As Yunseul gripped the pen again, she squeezed her eyes shut and opened them.

Fortunately, her trembling eyes calmed down. Her steady pupils were fixed on the blank space to be filled.   

As she wrote her name, water dripped over the paper.

“Ah…. Why am I crying?”

Her pregnant hormones were the only reason she got emotional.

She had no reason to cry over her long-awaited divorce.

Yunseul smiled bitterly and wiped her tears roughly with the back of her hand.

Soon, it started filling in the blanks.   

* * *

“…please, let me out please?”

“No.”

“No.” 

“Please. It’s been so, so… You know it’s been a while.”   

On the way to her father’s house. Yunseul pulled over, It had been too long since she’d been out.

She wanted to get out and get some fresh air. If she went to his father’s house, she would be locked in a room on the second floor.   

She was accompanied by three bodyguards who felt sorry for her, so she decided to do the all-or-nothing thing and beg for a favor.   

She grasped him as she stared pleadingly into the eyes of the bodyguard, who was emphatic in his refusal.  

“Just a minute. I’m stuck in that tiny room and… I thought I was going to die of suffocation. Can we just say we’re stuck in traffic, okay?”

She looked at him desperately, and a hint of concern crossed the bodyguard’s face. Not to be outdone, Yunseul begged and begged and begged.   

“…Sure, just 10 minutes.” 

“Thank you!”

‘Should I ask for help when people are around or lie and say I have to go to the bathroom? Then my shoulders dropped.’

‘What if I ran? What if I escaped my father’s grasp? He would find her somehow. And he’ll lock her up, even more strongly than he already has.’  

‘Maybe he’d put me in jail, maybe he’d put me in a hospital like he’d put my mom in, but for tonight, for the sake of the moon, I changed my mind about that.’

she decided to wait a little longer to run away and catch her father off guard.

As Yunseul exited the car, she looked at his bodyguard when the door wouldn’t open.   

“The door won’t open.” Open it, please.”  

“Get some air in the car instead. I’ll open the windows for you.” 

“Oh…….,” the bodyguard says,

“we’ll be outside, too,” he adds,

“so you can get some air in the car by yourself.   

The driver and bodyguard get out of the car. A gentle spring breeze streams in through the open window, blowing her hair around.   

‘My eyes turn to the jet-black sky. The man who saw the zen today said he only had time in the evening, so I saw the zen over dinner, and when I left the hotel, the world was shrouded in darkness.’

Suddenly, she remembered the man who had seen the good in her, and her brow furrowed. …she’d never seen such unintelligible garbage before.’

She even felt sorry for her father, who had let her marry a man who didn’t even like her. She sighed inwardly, wondering how much money he had to leave his daughter in the mud.

Just before the sigh came out, Yunseul pushed it down her chest. She sighed a lot, so she decided to stop.   

‘I felt bad for being such a bad mom.’ She shuddered and rubbed her dirty ears, scared out by the man who had been spouting dirty jokes the entire time she was eating.

Just then, she heard laughter outside the window. Yunseul’s eyes slowly shifted.

‘They are so happy’. She sees couples out for a walk, arm in arm, and moms and dads holding their children’s hands.   

Her heart tingles.  Like the dark sky, Yunseul’s eyes sank into darkness. A few minutes later, she arrived home and stopped to take off her shoes at the front door.   

…Whose shoes are these, do we have visitors? Yunseul didn’t usually have guests, so she glanced at the clean black shoes. she came around the corner and saw the living room.   

“…….”

She shook her head, wondering at the strange atmosphere of the house.

She didn’t want to see her father, stepmother, or Ina’s faces in any case. All she wanted to do was lie down and sleep.

As she climbed the stairs, her steps felt heavy.  She made my way to the second-floor corner room. There were no guards in the front of the room.

Was the guard going to the bathroom? The creaky old door opened. She entered a completely dark room.

……!! Yunseul stopped dead in her tracks. There was someone in the room.   

“Who are you?”

She turned to go back outside, but she could already hear the door closing behind her.

She swallowed dryly and squinted. The sole light of the darkness, the only light came through a window no bigger than two cheeks.   

“Who are you…….”   

Yunseul couldn’t speak and put her hand up to cover her mouth.  Even though she could only see the outline of his face, she recognized him.   

He slammed the open window shut and turned lazily, his expression unreadable in the darkness. With the window closed, she felt terrified, as if we were alone in the world. Yunseul shrank back.   

“…You said you were getting a divorce?”

‘I swallowed dryly, sensing his head tilt even in the darkness.’

She couldn’t see his expression because it was dark, but she knew what it was. He must be looking at her with a reproachful expression.

She disappeared to her parents-in-law’s house after her business trip, saying she was getting divorced. Her father must have sent him the divorce papers because he was holding them.

‘It’s not the first time I’ve seen that look of disbelief on his face.’   

“…I was going to tell him that my mom and dad have a contract that says if I don’t get pregnant within three years, they’ll divorce me.

“So.”   

She couldn’t finish her words because he interrupted her. There was an intimidating aura around him.   

“Is this what you mean?”

He held up the papers and shook them slightly, demanding to see them. Yunseul’s eyes landed on the papers.

She thought she couldn’t see him because it was dark, but she could see the corner of his mouth lift.

The cold eyes remained the same, but the upturned lips bore into Yunseul’s pupils and refused to budge.   

“I’m only here because you want me to be,”

 he says, his pupils glowing cruelly. At the same time, the document in his hand is torn in half.   

“…….”   

Yunseul stood there shaking as he tore the page into shreds. The ripped paper was all over the floor, unidentifiable.  

“We talked about this before, right?”

“Ji-hyuk…….”

“I.”   

She paused for a moment and took a deep breath, which made Yunseul chew her lip as if she were holding back anger.   

Was he unhappy that she was the first to talk about a divorce that only he could talk about? Or was it because of his parents’ involvement?

She don’t know. Honestly, if there’s no love between them, wouldn’t it be better if they got divorced? He could meet more women and spend more time with his sister-in-law. She didn’t understand his anger.  

 “I don’t want a divorce.”

She should ask him why he doesn’t want a divorce, and she should beg him to divorce her quietly, but as soon as she look at his face, her heart explodes.

She try not to cry, but the tears never stop falling. Her determination to not cry in front of him, no matter what, is easily broken.   

After three years of not crying she feel as if something has broken, like a dike collapsing.  Something invisible that she was holding onto was gone. 

Soon, tears flowed and flowed, doubling my sorrow.

“…that my parents…. so promised……. …did you….”

…divorce, please. She could barely speak through her sobs. After waiting for her to finish without saying a word, he coldly turned around and opened the window.   

The musty odor dissipated as the window opened, and a cool breeze brushed across her face.   

Yunseul raised a hand to wipe away a tear, his relaxed gaze glued to her face.   

“Another woman?…….”

“I’m not getting a divorce.”

She don’t know why she felt so relieved to hear that. Ever since she was a child, she’ve been afraid of being abandoned.

She was afraid her mother might choose a man and abandon me, or that she would leave without telling me. Every day, she felt anxious.

When she moved in with her father’s house, she thought she was abandoned because her mom, who was in prison, did not visit her.

She pretended to be fine, but there wasn’t a single day that she wasn’t nervous. Every day was a living hell.   

“Let’s go home,” he says.   

Why…. His exact words are… reassuring, and the longing she’ve been tucking away in the pit of her stomach bursts forth.   

What if she take his hand? what happens if she don’t? There’s only one way to get away from my father, Seo Ji-hyuk. She knew there was nothing else.   

When Yunseul hesitates, unable to reach his outstretched hand, she lets out a small sigh. Yes, she will take his hand.   

Once she get out of here, she’ll be able to do anything, even run away. Besides, she need to find her mom.

“Let’s go home.”   

He looks her in the eyes as if he can see her pupils dilated. Yunseul would not have exploded like this if his eyes had been as cold as usual.

If his voice was cold, she wouldn’t have tears in her eyes. Yes, it was all because of him. It was because of Seo Ji-hyuk, who seemed to be being nice to her today.   

“Hmph…ugh…ugh.”   

Yunseul walked gently, and as she got closer, she noticed a familiar scent. It made her so happy that tears welled up in her eyes.  

Her head tilted to the side as she questioned his proximity.   

“…Uh…um…Marle….”

Her breathing was ragged from crying, and her words were not coming out straight.   

“What? I can’t hear you. Straighten up.”   

His voice wasn’t very calm, but she could tell he was holding back his anger, so she leaned in even closer and grabbed his forearm.   

“My Mom… My Mom….”   

She paused for a moment, and her face quickly scanned. She broke down and cried. She couldn’t find the words to ask for her mom, so she just sobbed nervously. She could feel his panic.   

“Haha, slow down.”

He would find out that her real mom was in prison, not the stepmother he knew, but Yunseul decided she couldn’t hide it anymore.   

Only he could find her.

“My mom is at… Please find my mom.”    Hot tears fell in a steady stream.   

“…Mom?” Yunseul quickly shook her head.   

“Didn’t your mom die?”

He asked, sure that he’d heard that before they married and was curious as to what happened.

“…My dad hides her…… from me….”   

He was silent for a moment. Yunseul’s sobs grew louder. It was the very first time she had ever told anyone.   

It was the first time she had asked for help since her neighbors told her that her mother had been beaten to death by her boyfriend, She  begged them to testify to the police but they refused.   

“Okay, so stop crying.”

“…Hm…Ugh.”

“Don’t worry, I will do my best to find your mom…….”

She burrowed into his arms, swallowing my breath as if holding something back. For a long time, she cried and cried like a child.   

“Where’s your phone?”

he breathed against her earlobe. Yunseul’s shoulders slumped.   

“…My father took it.”   

She was ashamed of herself for crying in his arms now that she had calmed down. To put it mildly, it was insane. She was crying in the arms of Seo Ji-hyuk, not anyone else’s.   

Two weeks of being locked up must have done something to his head. He didn’t push her away, he didn’t order her to stop sobbing, he didn’t get angry with her, he just waited till she was done crying.    

“Let’s go downstairs.”

“Yeah.”

She sighed and nodded. She follow him as he walks ahead, the shredded paper crunching underfoot. When she stop walking, he urges her to hurry.   

Yunseul steps up beside him, and only then does he move his feet. It seemed to be waiting for her, and her cold heart melted.   

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she found his father, stepmother, and Yun Ina waiting for him.   

“Did you come down?” her stepmother’s voice was creepy.   

“I made some of your favorite food. Eat and go.”

She couldn’t believe her stepmother was being so nice to her.

“No, I should go.” 

“Don’t. Your mom worked so hard to make this, and you’re just going to leave her upset?”

She look at her stepmother, who says she’s concerned because she’s getting slimmer these days.  Her lips are still dry as she lies.  

“Yes, sister your mom worked hard on it.”   

Yunseul was puzzled by her new title for Yun Ina. It was ridiculous to call her sister, and even more ridiculous to call her mother.

She treated herself differently now that she had him on her back. She wanted to see more of his father’s, stepmother’s, and Yun Ina’s confused expressions.   

“Okay, Ji-hyuk. Let’s have dinner.”    

She was grateful that he complied without saying anything. When she looked at the table, her stomach twisted; she wasn’t hungry.   

What had he said to his father, and had he filed for divorce? She watched him eat and fumble with his spoon.

 She had no appetite. What happened to……. Did he only post foods he didn’t like?   

“You seem to be getting along well.”   

The sound of her stepmother’s voice made Yunseul’s head turn. When she looked at him, their eyes locked for a moment, then dropped.   

“That’s not possible, he’s family, hahaha.”

The sight of her father cowering was refreshing, but at the same time, she wondered why she was so afraid of him bowing to power.

“Sister, eat some of this, it’s your favorite.”   

She stared at Yun Ina sitting across from her. The fiery, fox-like girl who made her move. Yunseul put the spoon she was fiddling with down on the table.   

“…I’m full, Let’s go?”

When she asked him to leave, he put his spoon down.   

“Oh no!!! Why do you want to leave, don’t you like the taste?”

“I worked hard to cook this….”

 she said, her voice shaking so much that she could feel her stepsister swallowing her anger.   

“I don’t like the food, it’s not tasty, it’s not delicious”   

Yunseul looked at Yun Ina with straight eyes.   

“Huh?”

“And that’s my least favorite food, that is not my favorite.”

“…what…….”

She watched the corners of her mouth quiver.   

“I don’t have a favorite, not that you’d know.”   

She smiled, as wide as she could manage.

“Ji-hyuk, let’s go.”   

As she stood up, he followed, and as soon as she turned around, Yunseul’s face turned cold. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

As they passed through the living room and headed for the front door, he suddenly grabbed her arm and whispered something in her ear.

Yunseul’s eyes widened. She sucked in a breath as if promising something. They moved quickly to the front of her father’s rare Nan, which he treasured as if it were his own life.

She don’t know much about Nan, but she remember her father bragging about her many times. He stared coldly at Nan, who looked so noble for taking care of the flower beds.   

“What the hell are you doing…?”

her father asked afterward, wondering why she was standing in front of him. With a colder face than before, Nan lifted the luxurious flower pot and smashed it to the ground.    Boom!

The pot is shattered. The sight of the shattered egg made her feel a little better.   

“What do you think you’re doing!”

her father yelled, and now she wasn’t afraid. As she stares at his father, he approaches.

“I’m sorry, father-in-law. I’ll send you a nan that’s nicer than this one.”

He apologized, and his father couldn’t even look angry, only red-faced. Yunseul bit her lip to keep from laughing, wondering why it was so funny.   

His apology would be useless if he laughed there. He burst out laughing a few moments later, as soon as they got into the car.

* * * *

As they walked through the garden, he continued to giggle behind her, his shoulders shaking. Yunseul’s ears turned red.   

“…Don’t laugh.”

She turned her head away from the window, unable to face him as he continued to laugh, even though she told him not to.

She could feel his gaze on her flushed cheeks, so she stubbornly kept her eyes on the window. How long had it been?  

 She hadn’t eaten or slept in about two weeks, and she was exhausted. Her body felt heavy like she was sinking into the depths of the ocean.

Her eyes were heavy and she couldn’t lift them back up.  Sure enough, she felt her body tilt sideways, but she couldn’t open her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.   

* * *

Suddenly, his senses were alert to a heavy hand on his shoulder. Ji-hyuk turned his head to see what was weighing on his shoulder.   

“…….”

…she was asleep, her head resting on her shoulder. Ji Hyuk’s jet-black pupils took her in.   

Her eyes were puffy from crying so much. Her eyebrows wiggled as she didn’t like the redness on her whiter-than-snow skin.   

‘ Honestly, I was embarrassed. I don’t know how much I was embarrassed by her crying into my chest. I had just realized that she was capable of crying like this.’   

For three years, she hadn’t cried no matter what. But to jump into his chest and cry like a child. He was more than puzzled, He was embarrassed.

No, he was shocked. The woman who never seemed to cry, the woman who had no expression or emotion, the woman who was almost not human, grabbed his arm, buried her face in his chest, and took off her mask.   

And when she asked him to find her mom, Ji-hyuk realized at once. There’s something wrong in there.

Every time she breathes, she can smell it.

She was so angry at her for signing the divorce papers and the fact that she was going to the zen center, but the moment she saw the look on her face, the weight of what had happened in the two weeks she’d been gone, my anger disappeared.   

She could feel it all, being dragged away and locked in a musty smell room that wasn’t even a room. She feel a sinking feeling in my stomach at the realization that she has spent the night in a musty-smelling place.

Ji-hyuk pulls his tie down roughly. Still, the frustration doesn’t go away. He stares at her sleeping face with dark, sunken eyes.   

Tears are mixed with her sleep. He clicks his tongue and the driver notices.    Ji-hyuk’s brow furrowed.

He didn’t know anything about her. It hadn’t occurred to him to find out about her, because his mother would have done it for him.

But he should. He was sure of it when he went downstairs to eat, and his stomach twisted at the sight of everyone but her, smiling happily, looking so familiar.

He could still see her floating as if she were the only oil that couldn’t be mixed with water.   

Why she’d always been so depressed and apologetic, acting like she’d never smiled before. Now he understood a little.   

Ji-hyuk took out his cell phone, moving as little as possible so as not to wake her. He pressed the call button, and as if he’d been waiting, the person on the other end picked up.   

“Mr. Park, it’s me.”

He was the one who would handle things behind the scenes that he couldn’t reveal. He was the one he trusted and had been with him since his brother died and he made the decision to take over.   

“I need you to look into something. Dig deep.”

From the other end of the receiver, he heard a stiff yes. Ji-hyuk glanced at her.   

“I’ll text you.” 

-Yes, okay.

He texted Mr. Park right after he ended the call. He instructed him to find out more about Yunseul and her family, especially her biological mother.   

He smiled when he saw her face, sleeping comfortably like a child. He raised the corners of my mouth as he realized he had learned a lot about her today.

When she slammed her father-in-law’s nan on the floor, I was surprised at first, but then I realized that she had a temper like this and laughed.

I told him it was okay to make him angry, but I never thought he’d do something like that. I can still hear my father-in-law yelling at her for destroying over 300 million Nan. 300 million wasn’t the problem.

 As someone who loves Nan, it was easy to see how much he must have wasted. How he took the most expensive and valuable nan out of all the nans and destroyed it. It was so cool.   

Some houses are like this, some are like that, but I wondered. He had been lonely as hell before her mother’s remarriage, but he was beginning to wonder about her life, which he had never wondered about before.

It wasn’t love or anything, just curiosity, nothing more, nothing less.

“We’ve arrived.”   

At the driver’s words, he turned his head and looked out the window to see a familiar building. Despite his mother’s careful care of the flowers and trees, Ji-hyuk was strangely uncomfortable in this house.

“Don’t turn the car off, get out.” 

“What? Oh, yeah. Okay.”   

I knew turning off the car would wake her up. Judging by the way she was sleeping, she probably hadn’t gotten much sleep, but I wanted to let her get some more.

I was alone with her in the car after the driver got out. She dropped her head gently, and I realized she was uncomfortable, so I reached out to touch her.   

I stared at her as she slept against my thigh. Her hair spilled out and covered her face. Ji-hyuk frowned. He carefully pulled the hair away, revealing her white, fair face.   

The corners of her eyes are crushed from crying so much. She doesn’t even know how to cry. I click my tongue and rub my thumb across my eyes.

It came out of nowhere. He stops. She whimpered and pouted her lips as if to tell me not to touch her.

“…….”

Ji-hyuk’s eyes stare at her over and over again. Why is she so red? Only her lips are red as if she’s painted a bright red color in a pure white sketchbook.

I can’t take my eyes away from her blood-red lips. My fingers itch, and I twitch uncontrollably. Her pouting lips gently opened. Ji-hyuk’s hands brushed against her plump lips.   

Surprised by the soft touch, Ji-hyuk quickly pulled his hand away. Crazy.  He must have finally lost his mind.

He’d noticed the divorce papers on the bed in the master bedroom as soon as he returned from his business trip, and he’d heard that she’d gone to visit Zen while she was on her way to her house.

He’d come back from dealing with a never-ending pile of work, only to be told that she was watching Zen with another as$h*le.

His eyebrows wiggle, but then calm down at the sight of his crushed eyes. Ji-hyuk closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the leather chair.   

It’s been a while, and she hasn’t woken up. She was sleeping too soundly to wake her, so Ji-hyuk carried her into the house.   

When he set her down on the bed, she immediately curled up.  He wondered if she was uncomfortable in her clingy dress and pouted his lips.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he watched her sleep. …she looked stuffy. Ji-hyuk moved his hands behind her curled-up back.

He pulled down her zipper, revealing her white shoulders. Her face relaxed. He pulled her dress off.   

Sleeping in just her underwear, he slowly ran his hands down her body from head to toe.

…Is her bra too small? This time it was her bra. She wore a small bra and her br*asts looked like they were about to pop out.

And her pink n*pples were peeking out. Ji-hyuk swallowed dryly and reached out.  All he wanted to do was make sure she was comfortable.   

As soon as he undid the hooks of her bra, her br*asts bounced and spilled out. Ji-hyuk’s eyes widened slightly.

He almost grabbed her br*asts. With a crumpled face, Ji-hyuk pulled the covers up to cover her body.   

Sighing, he pushed himself up and went to the dresser to get a t-shirt, which he then put on her.   

He did this on purpose because he didn’t want her to wake up with only one pair of underwear on.

Somehow, she didn’t move as he undressed and dressed her, and she stared at him as he washed up and finished.   

I turn to call a doctor, but she opens her eyes slightly.   

“…I’m just sleepy… Yeah…….”   

I was intrigued by the idea of talking in my sleep, so I didn’t say anything, just held her gaze.   

“…Because I couldn’t sleep… I’m anxious… So…….”   

She closed her eyes again, but after a while, she opened them and continued.   

“…Don’t call the doctor… I’m just sleepy…….”

She closes and opens her eyes again.   

“…I’m going to sleep.”   

It’s as if she’s going to talk until she answers. Again.

“Doctor…. Called…. say….”   

She chattered away.  

 “…Okay, go back to sleep.”

Only when she heard his answer did she relax and fall asleep. The furrows in his brow disappeared when he saw her sleeping.   

I turned off the light and lay down next to her, and she flew into my arms as if seeking warmth.   

Perhaps she had no idea what she was doing in her sleep. Still, if she knew I’d been cuddling up to her, she’d make up some reason to never share the same bed again, and I felt a twinge of bitterness.   

I can smell the sweetness in her even exhale. And the familiar scent of her body hit my nostrils.

The corners of his mouth twitched as she clung to his side, stealing his warmth. He closed his eyes tightly.   

The next day, Ji-hyuk opened his eyes and looked over.   

“…….”

She wasn’t there. Ji-hyuk wiped his face on the bed, where the smell was gone as if she had never been there.   

He went to the bathroom to wash up, but it was empty. She wasn’t in her dressing room either.   

Had she run away? Ji-hyuk opened the door to the living room.   

“Really?”

He stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of her cackling laughter. I’d never heard it before.

Before I knew it, I was moving my feet toward the kitchen where the sound was coming from.   

“Oh, yeah, that’s so funny.”

“Really?”

“Oh, that’s so funny.”   

Ji-hyuk’s eyes widened as he reached the kitchen. The sight of her laughing and talking to Mrs. Seo caught his eye.   

She can’t be laughing like that. But then she catches herself and the smile wipes off her face.

As if she hadn’t laughed in a while, she looked at herself with her usual melancholy face and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. …Why do she feel so bad? Ji-hyuk’s face stiffened.