Chapter 04
At the end of the bumpy cement road climbing up a steep hill stood an old apartment building.
It was like a deserted island, an apartment where even the people waiting for the promise that redevelopment would happen ‘someday’ had grown tired and left. Lee Yeon had already been living there for nearly three years. She passed through the shared entranceway and sifted through the mailboxes.
The types of mail were always the same, starting with debt collection notices. Grabbing the stack of mail, Lee Yeon climbed the stairs and opened her front door.
“I’m home.”
As she stepped inside with her usual greeting, a pair of unfamiliar women’s high heels came into her view.
They were expensive shoes, the kind any woman would want to own, even if she usually had no interest in brands—shoes that required a burdensome financial investment to acquire.
For a moment, she wondered if her divorced father, after what seemed like a long period of solitude, was finally showing signs of seeing someone. But before she could even entertain that suspicion, her feet froze mid-step at the voices coming from the living room.
“I’ll take Yeon with me.”
“What? You show up after years and now you want to take her?”
“With your capabilities, can you even properly cover her tuition? Do you have any idea how much it costs for a law student?”
“Have you lost your mind!”
At the sound of her father’s furious voice, Lee Yeon clenched her pale hands. Her parents had divorced two years ago.
Now, Lee Yeon was just nineteen, about to start university.
It wasn’t as if their relationship had been wrong from the start. After her father was swindled by a business partner, the smooth marble floors turned into worn-out wooden ones overnight. Just like that, at seventeen, Lee Yeon had to move to this old apartment.
When reality hit, her mother constantly complained about how hard life was. While her father was out, trying to find the partner who had cheated them, her mother filed for divorce.
There was no changing her mother’s mind; she had already left. It was a notification that she had found a new man.
“What can you possibly offer her now? I’m going to ensure she gets a proper education from here on.”
“What? After abandoning your own child all this time, what now?”
“It’s not like I’m just taking her away. I’ll pay off all your debts.”
At the mention of clearing his debts—his Achilles’ heel—her father’s previously defensive voice fell silent.
“If Yeon can study in a good environment and even get married properly, wouldn’t that be good for both you and me?”
“Why, does the guy you’re seeing promise to provide the money or something?”
“Never mind that. Yeon will be here soon. Ask her yourself. If Yeon agrees, then you should let go.”
The conversation could only end once Lee Yeon appeared. She took a steadying breath and walked into the living room with a composed face.
“What brings you here?”
“Yeon, honey.”
Her mother, whom she was meeting for the first time in two years, was draped not in awkwardness but in sheer extravagance. Contrary to Lee Yeon’s feelings about this reunion, her mother rushed to her side in an instant.
Her father, watching the two of them, coughed awkwardly.
“You haven’t contacted me once since the divorce. What is this about?”
“Well…”
Her mother, wearing a troubled expression and furrowing her brow, covered Lee Yeon’s hand with her own. It had been so long that Lee Yeon couldn’t even remember the last time she had felt that warmth, let alone held any resentment.
“I know. That’s why I want to look after my daughter now, even if it’s late. I’ll pay off all your father’s debts. Isn’t that good?”
At that moment, Lee Yeon looked at her father’s face. In his unsettled eyes, she could see clear traces of hesitation.
He was caught in a tense balancing act between the desire to shake off the suffocating debt and his profound paternal love for Lee Yeon.
But the scale tipped decisively in one direction purely because of Lee Yeon’s words.
“I want to study properly.”
She had studied with fierce determination, and her dream was finally within reach, but even living doggedly, a swamp was still a swamp. Even in this shabby house, the only way her father could live a slightly more comfortable life was if Lee Yeon achieved her own dreams.
If her mother could provide support to make that happen sooner, there was no reason to refuse.
“What do I need to do?”
Facing her mother’s suddenly brightened expression, Lee Yeon’s choice was already a foregone conclusion.
***
At nineteen, Lee Yeon entered the upscale neighborhood where her mother lived and was able to focus solely on her studies during her time there. However, a few years into living together, her mother revealed her true colors.
The chairman of Jeong Yul Law Firm, which had long-standing ties with the Shin Yu Group—connected to her stepfather’s relatives—was seeking a marriage partner for his grandson. The Shin Yu Group connected him with her stepfather. Coincidentally, her stepfather had no children of his own suitable to carry on the lineage, and her mother had Lee Yeon.
‘Yeon, honey, it would really help your stepfather’s business. I know it’s a bit early, but what do you think about getting married? It’s a prestigious family, one that can support you in your studies and anything else.’
Citing it as a marriage essential for her stepfather’s business, Lee Yeon, who had just begun her fourth year of university, was now about to have a pre-arranged meeting with the potential groom’s family.
Lee Yeon arrived at the hotel a little late; she should have been there an hour ago. There had been a minor issue with a teaching assistant when she was leaving school.
‘Yoo Yi Yeon, just because people say you’re pretty, do you think you can look down on your seniors? Why are you being so uptight?’
The teaching assistant had been harassing her, intentionally putting his arm around her shoulders and such. When Lee Yeon couldn’t take it anymore and threatened to report him, he flew into a rage and pushed her.
‘What? Report? What the hell did you just say to me?’
Her wrist, which she had twisted when she broke her fall, was still throbbing. Covering the reddened wrist with her long sleeve, Lee Yeon headed to the hotel restroom.
She turned on the faucet, wet her hands under the pouring water, and then turned it off.
Staring at her damp fingertips, Lee Yeon lifted her head.
The face in the mirror was unnervingly calm.
Within just a few days, the meeting had been arranged, and now she had to face the family of a complete stranger.
Why was she being dragged into this situation? She couldn’t quite believe it herself.
A suppressed sigh escaped her lips once more.
Finally steadying her nerves, as she was leaving the restroom, Lee Yeon coincidentally saw a woman wearing the exact same dress and let out a short laugh.
Was it just a common design? Dismissing it as unimportant, Lee Yeon encountered an unexpected situation just minutes later.
As she stepped into the lobby, a very angry woman stormed up to her. The woman abruptly alternated between looking at a photo on her phone and Lee Yeon’s appearance, then narrowed her eyes. The moment she finished her confirmation, her attitude changed instantly. She shoved Lee Yeon’s shoulder and raised her voice.
“It’s you, isn’t it? Must feel good stealing someone else’s man?”
Fortunately, Lee Yeon’s reflexes were quick. She instinctively caught the woman’s wrist as she tried to push her.
“Excuse me. I think you’re misunderstanding something.”
“Let go! What misunderstanding? How dare you play the victim! That dress! My boyfriend bought that for me, didn’t he?”
Could it really be because of this dress, which she had no say in wearing?
A disbelieving laugh escaped her lips without her realizing it. At that moment, the fuming woman, unable to contain her anger, raised her hand sharply. Just as she was about to strike Lee Yeon, her eyes met those of a man turning the corner into the lobby.
The man, with his sharp eyes, clicked his tongue, his expression twisting as he gave Lee Yeon a dismissive, almost contemptuous glance before indifferently turning his head away. The uncomfortable feeling lingering, Lee Yeon forced herself to calm her breathing and did her best to pacify the woman.
“Look, please just listen to me for a moment.”
That’s when it happened. The woman who had been wearing the same dress as Lee Yeon earlier came out of the restroom. The woman who had been attacking Lee Yeon saw her and was taken aback.
“What… what is this?”
In the meantime, the woman’s boyfriend, who had arrived late to the lobby, grabbed his furious girlfriend with an apologetic look.
“Hey, stop it, I said.”
“Do I look like I’m not angry? How dare you stand there after cheating on me!”
The woman who had exited the restroom, seeing the two people tangled up and struggling right next to Lee Yeon, backed away as if frightened. Noticing this movement, the angry woman glared sharply at her boyfriend.
“Don’t tell me it’s her?”
She pointed her chin towards the retreating woman as she asked. The boyfriend reluctantly nodded.
“My girlfriend seems to have made a mistake. I’m sorry.”
He apologized to Lee Yeon. The girlfriend, finally realizing the situation, also bowed her head.
“I’m sorry. I misunderstood.”
Meanwhile, the woman who had been discovered tried to carefully slip out of the lobby. Not missing this, the angry woman raised her voice again.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going!”
The boyfriend’s face turned pale, and the woman trying to escape widened her eyes in shock.
Unable to control her fury, the girlfriend shook off her boyfriend’s arm and recklessly charged at the other woman.
“How dare you lay a hand on my boyfriend and try to run away!”
As the other woman startled and tried to step back, the girlfriend’s hand grabbed a fistful of her hair. A scream erupted.
“Ahhh! Let go! Honey, help me!”
In an instant, their hair was tangled together. The still-furious woman, grunting aggressively, pushed even harder. The boyfriend, who had taken a step back, could only watch the two women with a pale face, not knowing what to do.
“Excuse me, stop this.”
Unable to stand by, Lee Yeon pushed herself between the two and pulled one of them back. But the excited woman flailed her arms wildly, lashing out.
In the process, while trying to intervene, Lee Yeon was struck hard on the arm by a wayward hand. It was, unfortunately, the same arm she had injured earlier. Gritting her teeth against the throbbing pain, she managed to separate the two women.
Catching her breath, Lee Yeon looked at the still-screaming, hysterical woman and spoke firmly.
“Break up with him.”
Then, she shifted her gaze to the other woman, whose hair was a mess and who was trembling uncontrollably.
“And you, apologize to her.”
The two women stared blankly at Lee Yeon. Lee Yeon brushed off her wrinkled skirt and finally shot a cold glare at the man.
“Responsibility involves making choices. If you can’t handle keeping them both, then let them both go.”
At Lee Yeon’s words, the woman who had been resentful of her cheating boyfriend burst into tears. The flustered man, at a loss for what to do, could only look on nervously.
As the situation finally calmed down, Lee Yeon glanced at her wristwatch. Much more time had passed than expected. Hurriedly straightening her clothes, she headed towards the restaurant.
Spotting the reserved table in the distance, where her family and a white-haired elderly man sat across from them, Lee Yeon rushed over hurriedly.
The moment she reached the table, she bowed deeply.
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
While checking her mother’s reaction—who was frowning—Lee Yeon turned her head towards the seat opposite her, and her face instantly stiffened.
“This is Cha Woo-kyung. Say hello first. Yeon, honey.”
The man she had encountered earlier was looking at her with the same disdainful, contemptuous expression in his eyes.
