Chapter 6
by Gideon“Yun-woo is a member of the Cha family, isn’t he? He should do what he can.”
“Grandmother!”
He couldn’t contain his anger and raised his voice.
“My father lived a full life before he passed away! And what’s there to say about Yun-seok? I told him so many times not to ride a motorcycle, but he went off and did whatever he wanted, and in the end, he took his own life! They all died for a reason. There’s no such thing as a family curse!”
“Don’t say such things. Our ancestors will be furious.”
“Grandmother, wake up!”
“I told you to shut your mouth!”
It was impossible to reason with Chairwoman Kang. She was completely irrational right now.
“Teacher Ko even saved Yun-woo’s life. Don’t you think that’s an extraordinary bond? Stop talking back and just marry her.”
“If you like her so much, you marry her. Adopt Teacher Ko as your daughter, or even have another son now and marry her off to him. Do whatever you want.”
That was one thing, but Yun-woo couldn’t be allowed to be used by Chairwoman Kang’s dogmatism and self-righteousness.
“What did you say?”
Chairwoman Kang trembled with fury.
“Do you think I want to welcome Teacher Ko as my granddaughter-in-law? Do you know what kind of family we are? Normally, someone of such humble origins wouldn’t even dream of it! I’m only accepting her so that you can live a good life. It’s not like I’m doing this because I like her!”
Then it’s even worse!
How can you do this to someone else’s precious daughter? Is this how a human being behaves?
“If that’s how you feel, then this works out perfectly. I have no interest in a granddaughter-in-law you don’t even like.”
“Yundo!”
Chairwoman Kang shouted his name, but Yundo walked straight out of the lounge. It felt as frustrating as talking to a wall.
Ignoring the Chairwoman as she chased after him, he stepped into the elevator.
“Don’t you dare regret this! Just do as I say!”
Chairwoman Kang insisted on her demands until the very end. Yundo was sick of it.
He called Chief Lee as he stepped out of the elevator. As he exited the lobby, a black sedan pulled up, and Driver Kim got out to open the rear door. The moment Yundo slid into the back seat, Chief Lee answered the phone.
“Ko Hyewan, Yun-woo’s tutor.”
A few seconds of silence passed. Despite the sparse information Yundo provided, Chief Lee understood perfectly.
“Am I just looking into her, or should I find her and bring her in?”
“Just look into her.”
“Understood.”
“Oh, and what happened with Grandmother’s appointment?”
“I made the appointment, but the Chairwoman adamantly refused to go. She was furious.”
“Then install CCTVs with audio recording inside the main house.”
“Yes, sir.”
According to Chairwoman Kang Ok-seon’s logic, Yundo was trying to kill Hyewan just to survive. He knew nothing about Hyewan, but that didn’t mean he had to accept the treatment Chairwoman Kang Ok-seon had described.
Hyewan finally dragged herself out of bed at ten in the morning. She’d gone to sleep early, but insomnia had kept her wide awake. After tossing and turning all night, she’d only managed to drift off after taking two sleeping pills past five in the morning. Even then, she’d slept for less than five hours.
She forced her sluggish body up and shuffled into the bathroom. After a shower in the cramped space, she emerged and pulled on a pair of pilled lounge pants. She ran a hand through her long hair, which fell past her shoulders, and checked her phone.
Still no notification for the deposit.
“He said he’d send it by this morning…”
What is this guy trying to do to me? She felt a surge of frustration. Cha Yundo was impossible to read.
She took a loaf of bread and a carton of milk from the refrigerator. After checking the expiration dates, she poured a glass of milk and took out a single slice of bread. She had skipped dinner the night before, but she wasn’t hungry. She had always been this way. Despite her mother’s exceptional cooking, Hyewan had lacked an appetite since childhood. She ate simply to survive the day.
The clock already showed 11:30. Yun-woo’s tutoring session was at 2:00 PM. After all the chaos yesterday, he hadn’t mentioned postponing or canceling.
“…What is he trying to do?”
Just as she was debating whether to call Yun-woo, the notification chime she had been waiting for rang. Hyewan hastily checked her phone, her face turning cold.
It wasn’t a bank alert. It was a message from Kim Jin-myeong. Hyewan threw the bread she had been forcing herself to eat into the food waste bin.
Her already sinking mood hit rock bottom.
Kim Jin-myeong.
They had dated for three years, meeting as seniors and juniors in law school, but they had already broken up three months ago. Yet, he still couldn’t let go.
Did it take three years to end a three-year relationship?
He had already booked a wedding venue with the woman his family had chosen for him. What the hell was he trying to do now?
“Coward,” Hyewan sneered.
Kim Jin-myeong had insisted he would never break up with her, but he couldn’t overcome his mother’s opposition. Bae Jeong-ju was a woman with immense pride in her son and her family. Naturally, Hyewan, who had been raised by a single mother, would never have been acceptable to her. Moreover, Hyewan’s maternal grandmother, who had died when she was young, was also a problem. She had been a shaman who had undergone an initiation ritual.
“A shaman? How disgraceful! How dare someone with such filthy blood in her veins even look at my son?”
“Are you planning to keep dragging your feet until you get pregnant and force your way into my house? If not, why are you still clinging to my son?”
“I suppose your mother was just as desperate to get pregnant when she had you, wasn’t she? Like mother, like daughter—how can you be so identical? This is why they say blood always tells.”
Hyewan had never met her maternal grandmother. Shortly after she was born, her mother, Min-suk, had moved to Seoul, cutting all ties with her hometown and family.
But Min-suk hadn’t hidden the truth when Hyewan asked about her roots. She knew her daughter’s insatiable curiosity would eventually uncover the truth. She told her everything: about her grandmother being a shaman, how that had led to her mother’s own expulsion from the family, and even that her biological father was a piece of trash.
The fact that her maternal grandmother had been a shaman was surprising, but it didn’t affect Hyewan’s life. She was independent and diligent enough to save for law school herself, and Min-suk was the kindest, most devoted mother in the world.
Nothing had ever been a problem. Until her boyfriend’s mother showed up.
In dramas, overbearing parents would offer money to break a couple up. But Bae Jeong-ju was the exact opposite. She relentlessly tormented Hyewan and Min-suk, threatening to cut off their livelihoods.
Let’s just end it all, Hyewan thought. It’s not like I’m afraid of a piece of shit like her.
Just as Min-suk had done in her youth, Hyewan wanted to flee to a place where no one knew them. Wherever that place was, and whatever job she had to take, she would never let Min-suk suffer again.
Just as Hyewan steeled her resolve, her phone buzzed again.
Cha Yundo? Or Kim Jin-myeong?
Either way, this isn’t good.
Taking a deep breath, she flipped over the phone she had set face-down.
[ Teacher Ko, this is Yun-woo’s mother. Yun-woo hasn’t been discharged yet, so today’s lesson will be at the hospital. Please come here. I’ve already sent a driver. ]
Contrary to her expectations, the message was from Madam Park. Hyewan let out a long sigh. It felt as if a balloon that had been about to burst had finally deflated.
Did Cha Yundo actually approve of my tutoring? And does a hospitalized child really need to be tutored?
By the way, I’ve always turned down Madam Park’s offer to send a car, but today she just sent one without asking.
Hyewan stared at the message, biting her lip.
If she went to the tutoring session, she would have no choice but to see Cha Yundo. But if she didn’t go, she would have to sever all ties with her current reality and start over from scratch.
What should I do?
After a fierce internal struggle, Hyewan finally sent a reply.
[ Yes, ma’am. I’ll go to the hospital. Thank you for sending the car. ]
She couldn’t give up on the achievements she’d worked twenty-five years for, all because of Kim Jin-myeong and Bae Jeong-ju. She had studied relentlessly to become a lawyer, and now, all she had left was to attend law school.
Cha Yundo?
I’ll just ignore him. It’s mutual fault, anyway.
Setting her phone down, Hyewan quickly changed her clothes and brushed her teeth. She was heading back into the same battlefield she’d faced yesterday, armed with newfound courage.
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