Chapter 6
“Our little one, well, she’s already past the age to marry.”
“Why are you picking a fight out of nowhere, oppa?”
“Just look at your spending habits. With that kind of financial sense, who’s going to take you?”
“Worry about yourself. Single men shouldn’t be running their mouths.”
Among her three older brothers, it was always the second, Haekyung, who delighted in teasing her the most. Looking back, the past four years she had spent abroad had been less about running away and more about a test of independence.
Not that she had truly been alone. Jeongmin, after returning to Korea, still flew to London from time to time, and her uncle lived nearby. She had simply grown accustomed to life without the protective fences of family.
“Ah, right—the message earlier.”
On her way to the bus stop, Haein suddenly remembered. She unlocked her phone, realizing she hadn’t checked her latest texts because she’d been busy paying the bill.
The new messages were from Jeongmin, written with a tone of cautious warning:
[Oh, I forgot to mention this.]
[By now someone should’ve arrived to clean the place for you.]
[It’ll get noisy, so maybe stay somewhere else for a while. The family home would be good.]
[You still haven’t called the elders yet, right?]
Haein frowned as she scrolled through the messages. The unease she’d felt when Jeongmin had insisted on sending someone to clean her place suddenly sharpened into certainty.
“…He planned this, didn’t he? Ha…”
He had forced her hand. Since she hadn’t yet called home after returning, he’d deliberately nudged her toward it.
Always meddling in things that aren’t his business. She grumbled under her breath, then instinctively switched over to her call log and pressed the speed dial.
It was her mother. She hadn’t called in nearly a month, her schedule packed with exhibitions.
As expected, the phone was answered quickly.
“Mom, it’s me, Haein.”
Her mother’s worried tone came rushing through the speaker before she could say more.
“You’ve been so quiet lately. Did something happen?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“Good. If nothing’s wrong, that’s a relief.”
Her mother exhaled softly, clearly reassured.
“Mom, I’m twenty-eight now.”
“Of course I know. My daughter’s at the age for marriage.”
What she meant was that Haein was no longer a child. Still, Haein wrinkled her nose as she adjusted the strap of her bag.
Anyone overhearing might think she was constantly causing trouble.
“Come on, I just got back to Korea, and you’re already treating me like a walking disaster?” she teased.
When her mother learned she had returned, she immediately summoned Haein to the family estate. It had been four years since she had last set foot in Korea.
Even her parents had never once come to visit her abroad, respecting her wish for distance.
“Am I… about to get scolded?”
Sometimes the things you dismissed with ‘surely not’ turned out to be the very things that caught you. With that uneasy thought, she found herself standing at the tall iron gates, staring up at the mansion she had grown up in.
It was the same house as always, yet after years away, it somehow felt unfamiliar.
Taking a breath, she rang the bell and stepped inside, her thoughts tangled.
It felt as if she had returned to the moment she had once fled in desperation.
Had she been selfish, running away like that? Surely her parents had struggled to clean up after her departure. These thoughts swirled until she found herself already at the front door.
“Haein?”
Her mother appeared, rushing out to greet her. Forcing a bright smile, Haein ran forward and threw herself into her arms.
“Mom, I missed you so much.”
“You could’ve at least called before showing up.”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
Her mother pulled her nose in mock-scolding, clearly both relieved and exasperated.
“One more surprise like that and you’ll give me a heart attack.”
“Still, I called right away, didn’t I?”
Her mother narrowed her eyes, unconvinced.
“You sure you called as soon as you landed?”
“Of course! What do you take me for?”
“Mm-hmm. Shall I check the arrival time?”
“…I’m sorry. I’ll call ahead from now on.”
Admitting defeat, Haein sat down on the sofa with her. Her mother had always seen through her lies with ease.
Still, it was morning, and Haein had come straight home. Her mother’s scolding never ran deep.
“What about lunch?”
“I’ve been too busy to even think about eating.”
“Good. I thought you might be hungry, so I prepared something.”
“Wait—don’t tell me you’ve already eaten?”
“I was waiting for you.”
Haein’s lips curved despite herself. Even at nearly thirty, she was still treated like the family’s baby.
Soon, the table was covered with dishes—far too many for just two people.
She couldn’t have made all this in under an hour… could she?
“Are we expecting guests?”
“No, it’s all for you. I wanted to make sure you had plenty.”
Before Haein could protest, the sound of the front door opening reached them.
“Who could that be at this hour?”
It was Haekyung.
Of all her brothers, why did it have to be him? She scowled as she turned, only to see him freeze in shock at the sight of her.
“About the investment—yes, I’ll have the papers by—” He stopped mid-sentence, staring wide-eyed.
“…You… you little brat.”
At the same moment, elsewhere—
Jung-ho stared down at his phone, dumbfounded. The call with Haekyung had abruptly cut off, right after he thought he’d heard something strange.
“Did he just say… ‘brat’?”
The word replayed in his mind. There was only one person Haekyung had ever called that.
The family’s cherished youngest.
The fiancée who had vanished overseas with another man.
The one who had been missing for four years.
Lee Haein.
“…Finally.”
After all this time, she had returned.
