Chapter 7 (Part 2)

When Seo-hye opened her eyes, the whole world was pitch black.

She couldn’t tell whether it was day or night. It seemed like something was covering her eyes.

Moreover, her arms, tied and bent behind her back, ached considerably, indicating a significant amount of time had passed.

Rattle-!

Her body shook violently, as if they were speeding down a rough, unpaved road.

Even in this helpless situation, Seo-hye struggled to keep her wits about her.

Thinking back, she was struck on the head by someone at the hotel, and now she was being moved.

Who on earth would do such a thing… No, isn’t it already obvious who it is?  

Since the article about Do-jin and Hae-mi’s marriage was published, it was clear her grandfather intended to hide her for a while.

She resented Hwa-woong and struggled fiercely to free her wrists.

“Ah…!”

In the process, she was cut by the sharp string.

Perhaps because of the stinging pain, her mind suddenly cleared, and a thought flashed through.

Her frantic hand movements stopped.

“……”

More than the pain of the cut.

It was because Do-jin, who was fed up with her miserable life of even being kidnapped by her family, might just forget about her out of annoyance and marry Hae-mi, leaving her body frozen with despair.

After entering the house in Cheongun-dong, Seo-hye tried not to cry unless it was related to her mother.

So, unless it was related to her mother, she didn’t shed tears.

Except for last time, when she had her landscape painting intended for her mother taken away.

But now, tears were flowing uncontrollably.

It was shameful that only in this situation did she become certain of her feelings for Do-jin.

If it had to be like this, she should have swallowed her pride and shown more affection.

She should have erased her hostility a little sooner and revealed her feelings to experience some happiness.

“…No…”

But she immediately muttered that it wasn’t true.

Anyway, he is a man who will end up with her sister. It was fortunate that she didn’t show affection to someone whom the whole world said would marry her sister.

“Hoo. Hoo.”

Seo-hye took deep breaths, trying to steady her unstable breathing.

Now, she needed to think about how to respond after the car stopped, rather than about Do-jin.

If they realized she was awake, the perpetrators might threaten her further or, in the worst case, kill her.  

For a moment, the thought crossed her mind that dying like this might be the greatest revenge on Hwa-woong, but she had to dismiss such a terrible thought since her mother was still alive.

It was then.

Creak-!

The car came to a stop.

The driver’s door opened, and footsteps approached.

Seo-hye bit down hard on the inside of her mouth to keep from screaming and held her breath.

Clunk-

As soon as the trunk opened, the kidnapper checked if she was alive by placing a hand under her nose.

Then he hoisted her over his shoulder.

With every step he took, Seo-hye’s body jolted several times.

The man stopped. The sound of him fiddling with a lock followed.

Creak-!

Soon, a rusty door opened.

As they entered, a musty smell of dust and cold air rushed into her nostrils.

It wasn’t the warehouse in Cheongun-dong.

However, she could faintly sense the scent that had been refined here for a long time.

An ordinary person might dismiss it as just the smell of an old building or mold, but Seo-hye could tell.

The scent of ink.

“Have the Hwaseong studio cleared out, Mr. Kim. I can’t go there anymore because of that brat Hwa-jun.”

Suddenly, she recalled what Hwa-woong had told Mr. Kim ten years ago when she first came to Cheongun-dong.

And she realized where she had been taken.

***

Hae-mi gave up on practicing for the performance scheduled for next month and turned the steering wheel, changing her destination.

Since the practice was for a performance organized by the city ballet company she belonged to, skipping it wasn’t much of a burden.

And even if she missed one more session this time, there was no one to give her a hard time. The director subtly favored her because she was the granddaughter of the painter Lee Hwa-woong, so the other members didn’t openly express their dissatisfaction.  

Her car stopped in front of a famous open bar in Cheongdam-dong.

After getting out of the car, she went straight into the bar.

It was an ordinary bar that opened in the evening, but since one of her high school classmates was the owner, it was known as a gathering spot where they called each other during the day to have drinking parties.

Today, she had received a sudden call to gather while on her way to practice for the performance.

“Hae-mi, you’re here.”

Classmates who had already arrived waved at Hae-mi.

Since Hae-mi’s family lived quite well, her classmates naturally treated her like a princess.

“Ah, I told you not to gather so suddenly like this. If I get the message after arriving at the practice room, I can’t get away.”

Hae-mi took off her coat and tossed it towards Ji-eun, who was the closest.

Ji-eun’s expression stiffened for a moment, but she awkwardly smiled as Hae-mi stared at her.

The owner, Hyun-ah, who had been somewhere else and came out to the bar late, shouted at Hae-mi.

“Wow, the Seonghan daughter-in-law is here?”

……Ah, so this is why they wanted to meet?

It seemed they had seen the article about her and Do-jin yesterday and arranged this sudden gathering.

Hae-mi felt a tickle at the corners of her mouth from pride, but she tried to keep her expression in check.

“We haven’t even had the engagement ceremony yet.”

“Hey, your face is all over the internet. You’ve become a celebrity, huh?”

Hyun-ah opened the whiskey she had set out in advance and offered a drink.

“I thought it had fallen apart because it was quiet for a while. I’m so jealous. Did you save a country in your past life or something? I heard the Seonghan grandson is super handsome.”

Hyun-ah and Hae-mi laughed and toasted together.

The rest of the friends, including Ji-eun, exchanged awkward glances and then belatedly started pouring drinks into their cups.  

It was always like this. The gatherings were always led by Hae-mi and Hyun-ah, and the rest would try to please them while watching their moods.

Among the group, Hae-mi and Hyun-ah had the best family backgrounds, which naturally solidified this dynamic.

“Where are you having the engagement ceremony? At Seonghan Hotel?”

Other friends chimed in and asked.

“Hmm, not sure? Probably, right?”

Hae-mi, basking in everyone’s envy, began to drink more than usual.

She repeatedly shouted that she would cover all the drinks today, and from then on, all sorts of bottles started lining up on the table.

The drinking party, which had started around noon, continued until dusk, and as the store’s opening time approached, Hyun-ah staggered up and went to lock the store door.

“We’re not doing business today.”

Those who were secretly worried about having to end the party by the store’s opening time cheered at Hyun-ah’s announcement.

As a second round of drinking was about to begin, Hyun-ah made a bombshell statement.

“But seriously, what era is it that the eldest daughter is getting married?”

The atmosphere grew quiet, but Hyun-ah continued to chatter excitedly.

“No, what I mean is. Haha, guys, have you ever seen Hae-mi’s younger sister?”

Hae-mi’s expression hardened completely.

“I once went to their house during university, and caught a glimpse of her. But wow, she’s like a celebrity, a celebrity. Her looks are no joke.”

“……”

“Uh… I mean.”

Hyun-ah giggled.

“She’s so pretty you’d think they’re not even real sisters. But frankly speaking……”

“Hyun-ah, you must be drunk! Stop it!”

Seeing Hae-mi’s eyes turn fierce, her friends began to intervene.

Hyun-ah was known for picking fights indiscriminately whenever she got alcohol in her system.  

Of course, because she was closest to Hae-mi, she had maintained boundaries until now, but this time she completely crossed the line.

“If I were that Seonghan guy, I wouldn’t choose you, I’d choose your sister. Hmm, our Hae-mi has a good figure. The elders see her as graceful because she does traditional dance. But there’s nothing else, is there?”

Unable to hold back any longer, Hae-mi stood up roughly, her face flushed.

“What the hell is this b*tch saying?!”

“What, what? b*tch?”

“You’re so jealous that I’m marrying Seonghan, you can’t stand it? So now you’re showing your true colors, huh? But why?”

As the atmosphere grew more intense, everyone got up to hold Hae-mi’s arms and calm her down.

“A girl who sells drinks like you couldn’t set foot in the Seonghan family even if you died and came back to life!”

“What? A girl who sells drinks? Are you done talking?”

Suddenly, Hyun-ah jumped onto the table and grabbed Hae-mi by the hair.

In an instant, chaos ensued.

Hae-mi, who was relatively less drunk than Hyun-ah, hit Hyun-ah’s head several times, causing her to fall asleep right there.