CHAPTER 8
It was Mr. Haksu, who shared the same hospital room as her father.
He waved at Yumin when he saw her.
“Ah, of all times….”
Yumin let out a sigh and bit her lip.
Since she’d been caught by him, she had no choice but to go see her father.
Forcing a smile, Yumin ran toward Haksu.
“Sir!”
“Well, look at you, girl! Why has it been so long? Your dad’s been waiting like his neck would fall off!”
“I’ve been really busy with work lately, haha. You’ve been well, right? My dad’s doing well too?”
“We’re always the same. Go on in! Your dad might get so happy he’ll stand up and start dancing.”
“I hope so. I’ll head up first then!”
Haksu gestured for her to hurry along.
After bowing her head in greeting, Yumin quickly entered the hospital building.
Phew, that’s right, Hong Yumin.
Since it’s come to this, let’s go see him with a good heart.
Maybe seeing the one and only person in the world who’s truly on my side will give me strength.
As she resolved herself and walked, she soon arrived in front of the hospital room.
After knocking and opening the door, her father Jeonghun, who had been leaning against the bed looking out the window, turned his head.
He looked even more gaunt than the last time she saw him.
Her heart ached at the sight of her frail father, but Yumin controlled her expression and spoke brightly.
“Dad!”
“Huh?! Yumin! What brings you here without even calling!”
Yumin ran to his bedside, grabbed his hand, and said, “I came because I missed you! Huh? But your wrist seems even thinner? Are you eating properly?”
“Lately, nothing tastes good no matter what I eat.”
Yumin lightly smacked the back of his hand with a sharp sound.
“You still have to eat. Didn’t they say it’s dangerous if your immunity drops?”
“I said I don’t have an appetite, not that I don’t eat.”
Jeonghun chuckled.
Muttering, “I can’t with you,” Yumin plopped down into the caregiver’s chair.
Having seen his daughter for the first time in nearly two months, Jeonghun couldn’t stop smiling as he stared at her face.
“Dad, at this rate you’re going to bore a hole through your daughter’s face.”
“Oh dear, that wouldn’t do.”
Jeonghun pretended to cover his eyes with his hand.
“Ah, seriously.”
As if she had never worried about whether to come see him, Yumin burst into a bright smile.
Her father was like a ray of light in her life, which was otherwise trapped in darkness.
If she were to cut ties with the main family and leave, even that single ray of light would disappear from this world.
As that thought continued, a dark shadow settled over her mind.
Her father had become unable to move his lower body at all due to the accident during the factory fire.
Moreover, his condition had been extremely critical at the time, leading to multiple organ failure, and as a result, his kidneys were completely damaged, making regular dialysis necessary for daily life.
It meant he could never leave the hospital.
No matter how hard she worked after leaving the main house, it would be impossible to cover her father’s hospital expenses.
Knowing this well, the main family was tightening their grip on her with her father’s hospital bills and the debt from the factory fire.
“They say it’s a gift to the scapegoat who died in my place, so they’re fine with it.”
“If they’re crazy enough about shamanism, what do you think they wouldn’t do to you? Think about that. Do you understand?”
Even knowing the main family was trying to do something insane to her, she couldn’t escape this reality, and it felt suffocating.
“…Yumin? Are you worried about something? Your expression suddenly doesn’t look good.”
Her father’s concerned voice brought her out of her thoughts.
Yumin shook her head and stood up energetically.
“No, Dad! I just felt a bit stuffy. Want to go for a walk?”
“It’s still cold outside.”
“We can just walk inside the building. You must feel stuffy too.”
Yumin brought over her father’s wheelchair from near the door.
Straining, she helped him up as if lifting him and seated him in the wheelchair.
As she started pushing it, her father became as delighted as a child.
“I’m so excited! It’s been so long since I’ve taken a walk with my Yumin!”
His cheerful voice made her heart ache.
He must have felt far more suffocated than me, since he couldn’t even go for a walk without someone’s help.
“Oh right, Yumin!”
“Yes, Dad.”
“You know it’s your uncle’s birthday next week, right?”
“…Ah… already?”
“See? You forgot, didn’t you? Good thing I told you.”
“….”
“Buy him a gift and at least cook him some seaweed soup. Look around you. Is there anyone like your uncle? You have to treat him well.”
Yumin’s grip on the wheelchair handle tightened.
“It’s not easy to pay off all that debt and cover hospital bills for over ten years. And on top of that, he adopted you and raised you like his own daughter.”
When Yumin didn’t respond, Jeonghun glanced back at her.
Forcing a smile, she nodded.
“…Yeah. Of course, I know.”
“Right. Now that I think about it, if it were me, I couldn’t have done that much for Suji. He’s my older brother, but truly… an amazing person.”
As if overwhelmed, the end of Jeonghun’s voice trembled.
Looking at her father, Yumin silently asked herself.
Does he know what that uncle he’s so grateful to is doing to his daughter?
That they believe in a superstition that his daughter will die young and constantly pay shamans to perform rituals wishing for her death?
That because of that superstition, they’re pushing her to marry a shady middle-aged man?
And even then, is he still grateful?
She asked herself again and again.
The words that never made it out piled up like residue in her chest, staining her heart.
—
After a long walk, Yumin brought her father back to the room, said goodbye, and left the hospital.
Because her father had spent the entire walk praising her uncle, her heart felt even heavier than before she had come.
She even wondered if her father would understand if one day she left the main house because it was truly terrifying.
With her mind in turmoil, she wandered around the hospital building instead of going straight home.
Only when the acrid smell of cigarette smoke filled her nose did she stop.
She had come to the smoking booth within the hospital grounds.
As she turned to leave, she noticed something and stopped.
Someone in urgent need of cash.
No conditions, no guarantor, no collateral.
It was an advertisement stuck to the side of an ashtray in the smoking booth.
Normally she would have passed by, but today it strangely caught her attention.
She bent down and read the text again.
“…If there are no conditions, no guarantor, no collateral… isn’t this loan sharking?”
As she leaned over and muttered, the people smoking nearby flinched and stepped back.
“Whoa, that scared me.”
“Geez.”
Unbothered, Yumin reread the text several times.
“How much would they lend?”
Would 50 million won be possible?
With 50 million won, she could at least cover a few months of her father’s hospital bills.
“I wonder how high the interest is….”
Rather than being forced to marry Kim Byungtae and live as a plaything, it might be better to work like a dog and die of overwork.
“How much are you planning to borrow?”
At that moment.
Along with a low voice, a cool scent like fresh grass mixed into the smoke-filled air.
As her head began to go blank from the familiar scent,
a large shadow fell beside her, and someone bent down in the same posture as her.
Yumin slowly turned her head.
“…!”
Cold yet persistent eyes locked onto hers as he asked again,
“I asked how much you need.”
Her heart began to pound uncontrollably fast.
It was Seol Jaejun.
