CHAPTER 77

 “Why are you here…at this hour without even contacting us…?”

In the dim evening light, Siyeon’s eyes widened in surprise as she saw her parents standing in front of the entrance. Her father’s expression was hardened, and her mother’s eyes were swollen. They seemed to have been upset by the incident regarding Eunhye.

“Come inside for now.”

Ijun led the two of them to the living room politely but not warmly. When Siyeon attempted to go to the kitchen to make tea, he gently grabbed her shoulder and sent her a look, indicating she should sit on the living room sofa.

He soon disappeared into the kitchen, and Siyeon sat facing her parents.

“You should have called ahead. We might not have been home.”

“Your mom couldn’t sleep thinking about you after your call, Siyeon. So, we came to find you.”

“…Okay, Dad.”

At the word ‘Dad,’ Siyeon’s father paused for a moment, then, after a few seconds, he opened his mouth again with a heavy expression

“…I’m sorry.”

“….”

“Your mother acted rashly. Siyeon, you’re married to Jeong Ijun, you’re successful in your career, and you’re living well. But Eunhye, she quit her job and looks so pitiful, even worse than when she was with Gwihyeon. It was wrong of your mother to ask you for such a favor, and I hope you understand.”

“….”

Listening to her father’s words, Siyeon recalled the image of her mother Ichon-dong, screaming and crying, asking why Siyeon couldn’t sympathize with Eunhye. She had asked if Siyeon couldn’t help Eunhye who was suffering. Now, Siyeon was hearing a similar plea from her biological parents.

‘Don’t you have any sympathy for Eunhye? She’s finally starting to find her way and seek happiness, and you just want to block her path… Siyeon, please, can’t you help Eunhye find happiness?… Siyeon, look at us, the ones who raised you… I’m begging you like this.’

“…Ichon-dong parents once asked me to take care of Eunhye, even if it’s just out of gratitude for them raising me. They asked me to consider Eunhye’s well-being at least for that gratitude. At that time, I thought it was absurd because they weren’t my biological parents. Biological parents seem to understand and move on more easily from their own children’s small wounds than from a raised child’s broken arm. But I have my biological parents too.”

“Siyeon, why are you saying such things?”

Her father called her with a sorrowful expression.

“However, today I heard the same words from my biological parents. It seems like mother has forgotten all the words she said when I was hospitalized.”

“Siyeon, your mother still sees Eunhye as immature because you’re too mature and composed. It seems she still sees Eunhye as a child. It was difficult for her to ignore a child crying out for help in this world. I’m sorry for making you upset. Your mother made a mistake.”

Siyeon lowered her gaze. Was she upset with her parents? No, the pain in her heart felt like being sliced by a sharp knife, and she couldn’t fully express it with the word “upset.”

She also wanted to have parents who unconditionally sided with her, like Eunhye has. She didn’t want to hear “You’re fine, so understand her,” but rather wanted to hear that despite hurting her so much, showing compassion wouldn’t hurt.

“…Just wait a moment.”

Rising from her seat with a bitter expression, Siyeon went into the room. In the meantime, Ijun appeared in the living room holding four teacups. He placed a cup in front of each of them, then placed two cups in front of himself and sat beside where Siyeon had been sitting.

“…Siyeon must have been very upset. I’m sorry, but please comfort her.”

Siyeon’s father spoke with a heavy expression.

“Why do you think Siyeon would be upset?”

Ijun questioned her father’s words.

“She might have felt awkward and upset to help someone else’s daughter, especially the daughter of an enemy family.”

“Siyeon isn’t upset, Father. She’s despairing.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You both suggested to Siyeon that since she has money and success, it wouldn’t hurt to help Eunhye a bit from her suffering.”

“That’s absurd!”

He widened his eyes and jumped up. Siyeon’s mother had the same shocked expression.

“How could you say such a thing? After 25 years, we finally found our real daughter, our precious daughter, and as parents, how could we even think of such a thing!”

“Then, did you not say such things?”

“I never imagined Siyeon would think like that. I thought she’d be okay since she’s reliable and mature…”

Shocked by Ijun’s words, the mother covered her mouth with one hand, unable to continue speaking.

“You both seem to have no idea what Kim Eunhye and her family have done to Siyeon. Well, you wouldn’t have made such a request if you knew.”

“What are you talking about?”

Ijun chuckled briefly.

“Kim Eunhye already knew who her biological parents were when she was twenty. She kept silent about it until she turned twenty-five. She had to keep quiet because Siyeon had to take her place, take the blame for her. It was because of Eunhye’s grandmother that they were switched. She heard from a famous monk that Eunhye’s life would be in danger, so she switched the children to save Eunhye. Since Siyeon is someone else’s child, she just needs to keep Eunhye alive, whether Siyeon lives or dies.”

Ijun took a sip of tea from his cup. He had no intention of considering Siyeon’s parents’ feelings. He hoped her parents’ hearts would ache just as much as Siyeon’s pain.

Although he respected her parents for her sake, if they hurt her, they were nothing more than outsiders making life difficult for Siyeon.

“…Is that really… true?”

“Yes. Eunhye’s parents abandoned Siyeon as soon as they found out about their biological daughter’s existence, and my brother, who was supposed to marry Siyeon, was secretly introduced to Eunhye. My brother knew he was worthless to Siyeon and had given up long ago. I misunderstood Siyeon for that reason. I wasn’t late at the wedding because of an accident, they had to chase after me while I was trying to leave the country. I thought Siyeon was going to marry my brother but when it didn’t work out, she tried to marry me.”

“That’s absurd…”

Ijun had no intention of glorifying or covering up his past. He hoped Siyeon’s parents would understand exactly what kind of pain and wounds they and others had inflicted on her. He didn’t consider the shock and pain her parents would feel at all.

“When my brother collapsed, Kim Eunhye came to me. She said she loved me. She asked me to divorce Siyeon, whom I had already married, and marry her again instead. She kept bothering me until I had to change her department. Eunhye then submitted a resignation letter. Everyone knows this story, including Siyeon.”

“Siyeon… she didn’t say a word like that to us.”

Even though Siyeon’s parents were turning pale, Ijun didn’t stop speaking.

“It’s not that she didn’t say it, she couldn’t. Siyeon mistakenly thinks of herself as your protector. She thinks she has to take care of you and show you only good things to reassure you. So even if I treated her so rudely before, she couldn’t say a word to you. She even begged me pathetically once to pretend to get along with her in front of you.”

“How could you… towards our Siyeon…do that? I didn’t even… know about that… I thought you were doing well…”

Seeing Siyeon’s mother crying silently, Ijun chuckled dryly.

“Are you saying that I should have treated her well even when you, her parents, don’t even respect her, your own daughter?”

“When did we ever disrespect our daughter? She’s my daughter whom I met after 25 years. I’ve been living each day thinking she’s too precious to waste, and I entrusted her to you, but how could you do this to my daughter?! How?!”

Siyeon’s father shouted, breathing heavily.

“How could you ask Siyeon to let someone like Kim Eunhye into our household? When did you ever jump to her defense around the enemy? And now you want to reconcile with Siyeon and make her interact with Eunhye again? Did you want Siyeon to obediently call Eunhye her sister and serve her well?”

“No… I never wished for that. I… really didn’t know…”

Siyeon’s mother burst into tears, burying her face in her hands. Her father just stared at the floor in bewilderment.

Observing the two of them, Ijun calmly sipped his tea. Inwardly, he thought it was a lost cause to become a beloved son-in-law in the future with his unnecessary honesty now.

At that moment, Siyeon reappeared in the living room. Sensing something was amiss with her parents’ mood, she looked at Ijun as if to ask what had happened.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing happened.”

Ijun said casually as he sipped his tea.

“Father, what’s going on?”

“…”

“…”

Siyeon asked, but he didn’t respond. He just stared at the floor with a troubled and sullen expression.

She sat down after placing a USB on the table close to her parents. After a long silence, her father spoke in a somber voice.

“What’s this?”

“Please give it to Eunhye. Then she’ll be able to get what she wants.”

“What’s inside this…?”

“Gwihyeon-oppa regained his memory. He’s hiding the fact, but… this is evidence that he regained his memory and is lying about it. Giving this to Eunhye will be a big help in achieving what you both want.”

The parents’ gaze turned towards Siyeon.

“What do we want…?”

“You want Eunhye to marry the Baekya Foods’ eldest son. If you hand this evidence to Eunhye, she will take care of the rest.”

Her father turned his head sideways and closed his eyes tight, while her mother clasped her hands tightly with a pale face.

“If you give this to us, won’t you be in trouble?”

“I’ll handle it.”

“Why should you handle it…?”

Instead of answering her mother’s question, Siyeon gave a faint smile. There was still the seventeen-year-old Siyeon inside her, yearning for her parents’ affection. She wanted to break free from those emotions now.

“Because you both want it.”

Her mother burst into tears again, and her father glanced at her with a stern face. When Ijun reached out his hand beside her to hold hers, Siyeon turned her head towards him.

“I’ll apologize in advance, Ijun, if I’ll put you into a difficult situation.”

“It’s okay. I’m on your side no matter what.”

“……”

“You’re the most important to me.”

Siyeon, who had been silently staring at him, chuckled softly.

Mischievous Ijun. 

He deliberately threw out bone-chilling words in front of her parents to make them uncomfortable. But at this moment, it was actually nice of him to do that.