Side Story 2

When Eunhye entered the house, the people who were laughing and chatting around the living room table suddenly fell silent. Eunkyeong, who was tearing meat apart with gusto, looked up with a puzzled expression. While she had heard vaguely about the events that had unfolded around Siyeon, this was the first time she had seen Eunhye, a central figure in those events.

“Eunhye, you’re here. Have you had lunch?”

Siyeon’s mother, who was lingering in front of the entrance, greeted her warmly, and her father nodded, welcoming her as well. However, both of them wore expressions of concern, wondering what might happen.

“I have. My mother prepared such a lavish spread that the dining table legs were about to break.”

“Is that so? Shall we go upstairs to talk then?”

Sensing the awkward atmosphere among the people, Siyeon’s mother suggested going upstairs to talk, but Eunhye seemed to have no intention of doing so.

“Why should I go upstairs? Am I not allowed to be here?”

“Eunhye.”

Siyeon’s father’s voice hardened as he called her, but Eunhye remained defiant. 

“Even though it’s my birthday today too, you didn’t think of me at all? Well, with a fancy president as a son-in-law, why would you even think of me, who’s not even your real daughter, right?”

“Eunhye, isn’t it time for you to grow up? How long are you going to act like a rebellious teenager?”

“If you don’t know anything, just stay quiet.” 

When Yoonsoo made a comment, Eunhye shot him an angry glare. 

“You’re really shameless. When the boss was having a hard time, you didn’t even dare to show your face, but now that they’re living comfortably, look at how you’re acting.”

“Hey, watch your mouth, lady. No matter whose daughter you are, I’m not someone you can mess with.”

This time it was the team leader.

“Hey, I don’t want to deal with a brat like you either, but I’m holding back because of Siyeon. You’ve been shameless from the past until now. That’s why you’re getting what you deserve, facing consequences now.” 

“Hey old lady, are you done talking now?”

“Yeah, I’m done. What are you gonna do about it?”

As Eunhye, who was arguing with the team leader, stepped forward in anger towards her, Siyeon stepped in front of Eunhye to block her.

“If you’re going to pick a fight like this in front of my guests, then leave. I’m tolerating you for the sake of my parents, but if you continue to be rude, I won’t hold back anymore.”

“What are you gonna do if you don’t hold back? Huh? What are you gonna do if you don’t hold back?” 

Eunhye taunted Siyeon as if she had been waiting for this moment, poking her shoulder with her index finger. Siyeon frowned deeply, grabbed her wrist, and Eunhye widened her eyes.

“Let go of me. You’re not gonna let go huh?”

“I understand your frustration, but you’ve picked the wrong person to vent it on. Choose someone who can take your anger instead of throwing a tantrum like a child. Go do that in front of your parents.”

“This is ridiculous!”

Eunhye swung her other hand forcefully. After a loud smack was heard, the surroundings fell silent as if cold water had been poured over them. One of Siyeon’s cheeks turned red hot. 

“Siyeon!”

As the startled parents rushed towards Siyeon with screams, Siyeon, who had been holding Eunhye’s wrist, let go and struck her cheek just as hard. Eunhye, who received a slap from Siyeon, staggered and fell backward, landing on her butt. She seemed stunned, not expecting Siyeon to strike back in the same manner.

“Siyeon, are you okay? Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Seeing Siyeon’s reddened cheek, her mother, with tears welling up in her eyes, rushed towards the kitchen. Seeing her open the freezer door, it seemed like she was trying to get an ice pack. 

“What kind of behavior is this, causing trouble on a good day!”

 It was at that moment that Siyeon’s father yelled at Eunhye. 

“…Dad!”

“We tolerated whatever you did because we thought we raised you wrong. Every time you were compared to Siyeon, we couldn’t help but feel that way even more. No matter how much we dislike your biological parents, you are the child we raised for 20 years!”

The father, who usually didn’t raise his voice, raised his voice this time, causing Eunhye, who was sitting on the floor, to look up at him with a bewildered expression. His eyes were red around the edges.

“We thought you didn’t know right from wrong because we taught you wrong, but it’s not okay anymore. If you want to keep calling me Dad, apologize to Siyeon right away.”

“Why should I apologize to her? Why should I apologize to the thief who stole everything from me!” 

Eunhye, unable to contain her anger, stood up and shouted. 

“Get out.” 

“Dad!” 

Pointing outside with a stern face, Eunhye couldn’t hold back her anger and stomped her foot.

“What’s all this about?” 

At that moment, Ijun entered the hallway. 

He looked puzzled as he surveyed the chaotic living room. Siyeon’s mother, who was handing an ice pack wrapped in a towel to Siyeon’s cheek, along with everyone else who didn’t know how to handle the situation, all stopped in their tracks. 

“I… I let him in. It seemed like everyone was too busy to hear the doorbell.” 

Eunkyung, glancing at Siyeon, cautiously raised her right hand and spoke softly. However, no one paid attention to her words. They all just exchanged glances with faces full of distress. 

“…” 

Then Ijun, noticing the red mark on Siyeon’s cheek, stared at her cheek intently. He seemed to be pondering in his mind what he was witnessing at that moment.

“Siyeon, what happened to your face?” 

Finally, he spoke up. 

“Ijun.” 

“Did she hit you?” 

Quickly grasping the situation, Ijun gestured towards Eunhye with his chin. The handprint on Eunhye’s cheek was not light, but he hadn’t noticed it.

“Tell me. Did she hit you?” 

“I hit her too.”

As he approached Siyeon slowly, Siyeon’s mother stepped aside. Not only she, but everyone around didn’t dare to approach the two. 

“No. Not that.” 

As Ijun cautiously raised his hand to her cheek with a frozen expression, vitality seemed to emanate from his eyes. 

“Did she make you like this?” 

“…” 

Under his imposing demeanor, Siyeon couldn’t move her lips any longer. She dared not even nod, simply gazing into Ijun’s eyes. 

However, even without her response, Ijun quickly found the answer. He swiftly turned his body towards Eunhye and approached her with determined steps. Eunhye, seeing him approaching with an intimidating demeanor, hesitantly stepped back. 

“No, she hit me too… Ugh.” 

Eunhye hurriedly tried to make excuses but couldn’t finish her sentence. Ijun roughly grabbed her collar, preventing her from speaking further. She tried to pry Ijun’s hand off and struggled, but he didn’t flinch. 

“Kim Eunhye. I can hit women too.” 

“W-What… ugh. Let go of me. Please.”

With Ijun’s calm words, her eyes widened in terror. Even Siyeon’s father, who had raised his voice to Eunhye just moments ago, was too shocked to say anything upon witnessing this scene.

“I already found it annoying how you cling around like a parasite everywhere, but do you want to die now than stop bothering Siyeon?”  

“Dad! M-Mom!” 

Realizing his words were not a joke, Eunhye called Siyeon’s parents with a pale face. The fear that he might actually kill her overwhelmed her. 

“If I see you near Siyeon again, you’re really dead. Got it?” 

“…”

Eunhye, her face turning pale with shame, nodded slightly, and Ijun, still gripping her collar, dragged her outside.

After throwing her into the yard as if she were luggage, he returned inside. He ignored Siyeon’s parents rushing outside and approached Siyeon.

“What’s this? It’s heartbreaking.”

He lowered his head and gently touched her cheek with caution, his forehead creased deeply.

“I hit her harder.” 

“You shouldn’t just hit her; you should have broken something.” 

“I’ll do that next time.” 

“There won’t be a next time.” 

Ijun cut in coldly. 

“If I hadn’t arrived early, you would have let it go.” 

“No, earlier… My father got really angry at Eunhye and told her to leave immediately. I hit her just the same.” 

“…” 

“It’s true.”

Ijun asked with a bewildered expression in response to Siyeon’s words. 

“Is the birthday party over?” 

“Oh, right!” 

Realizing only then that there were guests in the living room, Siyeon looked around apologetically. They all wore strange expressions.

“Well then… Shall we sit down?” 

“Uh? Uh, sure!” 

As Siyeon spoke confidently, Director Yang was the first to regain composure, and quickly nodded. 

People sat down and began finishing their meal. Siyeon cut half of her share of the cake and placed it on an extra plate in front of Ijun. Eunkyung brought up the story of the hairbrush given by Ijun as a gift to lighten the mood and handed Siyeon the birthday gift she had prepared.

It was then that her parents entered the house. Although they couldn’t hide their troubled expressions, they made an effort to smile in front of the guests. 

But even then, they couldn’t meet eye to eye with Ijun. Although they hated Eunhye for hitting Siyeon, it seemed like they felt uncomfortable witnessing Eunhye’s submission to Ijun. Ijun pretended not to notice the awkwardness between the two.

After the meal was over and everyone had left, Siyeon also bid farewell to her parents. 

“Thank you for organizing today’s birthday party. I’m sure it was a lot of work.” 

“It’s only once a year, what’s so hard about it? It’s natural to do even more.” 

Siyeon’s mother nodded in response to her farewell. 

“…Did Eunhye go home?” 

“She probably did. She seemed to understand what I said earlier, but… that doesn’t mean things will change…” 

Her mother sighed softly as she spoke. 

As if waiting for her, Ijun immediately spoke up. 

“I hope you won’t let Eunhye into the house anymore. I don’t want to worry about the possibility of Siyeon meeting Eunhye while she’s here.” 

Upon hearing Ijun’s words, Siyeon’s father looked at him for a moment before speaking. 

“…I was already thinking the same. It must be my fault for raising that child wrong.” 

“It’s her innate personality. You know that just by looking at Siyeon.” 

“It may be hard for you to understand us for not rejecting Eunhye, but when you become a parent yourself, you’ll understand that you can’t cut off the affection for a child you raised overnight.” 

Although Ijun didn’t seem to agree with him, he nodded obediently without further argument.