After crouching on the cold emergency stairs for a while, Lee Joo straightened her knees. Her eyes spun as if her blood was rushing back, and she had to hold onto the wall with her hands. Her breath was choking as if someone was pressing her pubic bone with a fist. Her regular breathing flowed out in a disorderly manner. She wanted to cry, but no tears came out. It was because of her mother, who would be the most anxious if she collapsed. She was so good at holding back tears that it was almost painful. Lee Joo wiped her pale face and went into the hospital room.
“Who did you call?”
She heard Jung-hye’s voice from the bed, whom she thought was sleeping. Lee Joo, who had closed the curtains, asked Jung-hye, who was looking up at her.
“Did you wake up because of me?”
“No. I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
Lee Joo kneaded Jung-hye’s hand as she sat down on the cot. Jung-hye quietly looked down at Lee Joo, who was pressing her frozen left hand.
“Lee Joo, aren’t you seeing anyone?”
“No, I am not.”
I can barely muster the strength to live each day, so how could I possibly have time to date? Right now, increasing her relationships was the most useless thing for Lee Joo. Jung-hye looked at her with regret, perhaps because she had been expecting it.
“You never asked me that before. Why are you suddenly curious about that?”
“How much longer do you think I can live?”
Lee Joo’s fingers, which had been kneading Jung-hye’s stiffen, her hand lost it’s strength.
“I just want to see you get married while I am still healthy.”
Her eyes, which were raised, were empty, as if they had lost every single ray of light.
“Mom, I told you not to say that.”
“My daughter is the scariest when she made that kind of expression.”
Lee Joo pursed his lips and put Jung-hye’s hand under the blanket.
“Go to sleep.”
“I wish a prince on a white horse would come out of nowhere and take Lee Joo away.”
“Mom, there is no prince on a white horse in reality.”
Even if there were, how could a prince on a white horse take a woman who didn’t even have 1 million won in her bank account without going crazy?
“When are you going to get married? Or do you have someone you like?”
Park Young-ran’s voice echoed in Lee Joo’s ears as she lay in bed. That crazy prince would never become Nam Do-hyun, so why did he come to mind? She snorted. Isn’t this a story that can only be possible if you have a very thick bean cap? Lee Joo, who shook her head, tried to fall asleep.
Today was Saturday, so she was not restricted from going to work. Lee Joo left the hospital early in the morning and got on the bus. The owner told her to vacate the house right away, but she had nowhere to go. She planned to buy some time by meeting the owner. When the blue dawn receded and the sun rose, Lee Joo was able to get off the bus. She was about to stretch her legs while looking at the stairs that were hard to count.
Bang— Lee Joo’s upper body shook slightly at the sound of a car horn blaring right behind her. A loud car that didn’t fit in with the neighborhood was parked on the narrow road. Until three years ago, it was the car her father had driven. Lee Ju stared blankly at the car, not knowing that his father would come back alive.
A man in a black suit got out and approached Lee Joo, who was standing in front of the stairs.
“Are you Miss. Shin Lee Joo?”
“…Yes. I’m Shin Lee Joo. What’s the matter?”
Her heart raced when she saw a stranger asking her name. It was a feeling of anxiety. Every time someone asked her name like this, her father had borrowed money.
“Dad, where did you borrow money from this time?”
Judging from the fact that he drove that expensive car, he didn’t seem to be an ordinary big shot. She was even afraid that he might have used him for a financial transaction. Lee Joo unconsciously took a step back and put some distance between herself and the man. It was to escape if necessary.
“I need you to come with me now.”
“Who are you?”
The heavily tinted backseat window rolled down. A middle-aged woman turned her head to the half-rolled window.
“Get in.”
She immediately got in. Even though she was wearing sunglasses, she could tell that she didn’t recognize her at all.
“Who are you?”
The woman took off her sunglasses at Lee Joo’s question. The woman, who looked to be in her late fifties, lifted the corners of her red lips.
“Do-hyun is my son.”
There was no doubt about it. Her smiling eyes resembled Nam Do-hyun’s exactly. It was a little reassuring. Because she wasn’t a loan shark. Because her father wasn’t the one who borrowed money. It wasn’t a relief, but she had to run away. Not to get entangled with Park Young-ran. Not to be fooled by those red lips.
Park Young-ran took Lee Joo to a quiet café not too far from her house. Young-ran didn’t say anything to Lee Joo in the car. It was the same when they arrived at the café. She just elegantly raised her pinky finger and drank her coffee. Even the nervousness that came from that leisurely attitude resembled Nam Do-hyun’s.
“Why do you think I called you, Lee Joo?”
Lee Joo’s lips moved at the softly flowing question. Could it be that she had been caught at Do-hyun’s house by her poor hide-and-seek skills? But I didn’t remember meeting Park Young-ran to think that way.
“Do you have any idea?”
“…I don’t know.”
I tried to avoid the question for now. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself by making a guess.
“That’s right. It’s not like that, I guess.”
Young-ran, who was looking down at her coffee cup, lifted her eyelids. In an instant, a cold light seeped into her brown eyes.
“But shallow tricks don’t work in front of me.”
“Huh?”
“When I went into the bathroom yesterday, the inside of the shower stall was wet. I thought it was strange. If Do-hyun had washed, he wouldn’t have worn the clothes he wore at work again.”
Lee Joo’s eyes widened quietly. Young-ran hadn’t come to Lee Joo without any certainty. She had come to harass Lee Joo with solid evidence.
“As expected, when I asked the security office, they said a woman had come up.”
My heart seemed to be hanging on the tip of her long lips that were turning cold. The tips of her fingers on her knees also seemed to be cooling down.
“I got Mr. Lee’s personal information at dawn.”
Young-ran tilted her head to one side, wiping her dry skin with her hand.
“I didn’t know that your father was the CEO of White Star Travel Agency. This is fate. My husband and I have had several interactions.”
Young-ran waved her hand to change the subject, as if the conversation was going nowhere.
“That’s not something I should be concerned about. What I should be concerned about is the relationship between Miss. Lee and Do hyun.”
After the long story, Young-ran finally revealed her true feelings.
“Did you and Do hyun use contraception?”
“Huh? What did you just say…?”
Did I hear wrong? Contraception? She had never heard the word contraception directly from anyone in her life. Furthermore, she never imagined that it would be Nam Dohyun’s mother who would do it for her. Park Young-ran smiled at Lee Joo, who seemed to have been hit in the head.
“Pretending not to hear? Or being pretentious?”
It was a meaningless smile, devoid of emotion. She quickly sorted out her confused thoughts and answered.
“We’re not the kind of relationship you think we are.”
“Not mother, but madam. Please call me that.”
Yeong-ran added, politely correcting her title.
“I don’t mind if I, Lee Joo, meet Do-hyun.”
“… ”
“Men know. You need to vent your lust periodically to relieve stress and make your head work better. No matter how hard I try, I won’t block Do-hyeon’s vent.”
Vent. Without raising her voice or frowning, Yeong-ran dug into Lee Joo’s insides. Every word she said felt like a landmine that would disappear without a trace if she stepped on it.
“I understand that you misunderstand the relationship between the CEO and me. I can’t explain everything to you, but nothing happened at home that day that you’re worried about.”
Even though it was all a misunderstanding, Yeong-ran didn’t even pretend to listen.
“How many times do you think I’ve done this? I’ll say it like Lee Joo.”
Goosebumps appeared on the back of Lee Joo’s neck at the sound of her laughter.
“Do you know why I leave Lee Joo alone?”
Park Young-ran, who had suppressed her laughter, continued in a gentle tone.
“She’s not worth letting go.”
“…”
“She’s the worst woman Do-hyun has ever met.”
She looked down at Lee Joo, who was wearing clothes that didn’t even cost ten thousand won. She had lost her father, lost money, and had nothing but a half-face. It was enough to pique his son’s interest. He must have brought Lee Joo into the house because he had some kind of protective instinct. How can a person only eat rice? Sometimes, they crave instant food like that. After finishing what she wanted to say, Young-ran stood up from her seat, touching the table.
“Don’t block Do-hyun’s path by carrying a child just to straighten out your fate.”
Young-ran shuddered as if she was sickened just by the thought.
“Having a child is the hardest thing to deal with.”
Young-ran, who had twisted her toes, reached out to Lee Joo urgently as if she had forgotten something.
“Oh, don’t tell Do-hyun that you met me today. Absolutely not.”
A good mother. A caring mother. A mother who was like a friend. She wanted to stay by Do-hyun’s side like that. However, if she acted so softly, it would be hard to shoo away the fly that had landed on Do-hyun’s shoulder. So she had no choice but to quietly wave her hand from behind. Since she had even covered his mouth, Park Young-ran left the cafe with light steps.
Lee Joo, who was sitting in front of the round table, felt dizzy. She really shouldn’t have gone to Do-hyun’s house that day. She had gotten caught up in something useless and ended up losing everything.
‘Poor thing.’ The daughter-in-law who was going to marry into that house.
“Who would worry about whom?”
I was going to be kicked out of the house. Lee Joo sighed and looked up at the bright blue sky.
“It’s clear.”
I was getting sunburned like this. The weather was so clear, unfortunately.
