Chapter 55

Yaein quickly grabbed Taeheon’s arm, her slender fingers digging in with desperate determination.

“You just need to live with me.”

Her clear, unwavering eyes locked onto Taeheon. When she spoke like that, it felt like he could believe anything—like even the things he was never meant to have could be his if she said so.

Even in the faint glow of the streetlamp at midnight, her eyes dazzled him. Taeheon’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Taeheon, let’s go back to Seoul.”

Yaein made the suggestion. But that couldn’t happen—not now. He didn’t want her anywhere near his father.

He reflexively started to shake his head when Yaein continued.

“I have an idea.”

***

Why is there still no word?

Yaein’s stepmother, Baek Sojeong, chewed her fingernail as she stared at a text reminder she’d just received.

[Sojeong, my youngest daughter’s getting married, so I need you to repay that loan from before.]

If she had the money, she’d pay it. But for now, she pretended she didn’t see it while desperately trying to think of a way out.

That family’s youngest daughter was way younger than Serin—how could she already be getting married? Sojeong grumbled.

Between the money poured into Serin’s exhibitions and her husband’s spectacular failure of a new business venture, there was no end to the financial bleeding.

And now the main source of money had been cut off. What else could she do but turn to acquaintances?

If only they hadn’t lost contact with Taeheon after that sudden divorce announcement. If she could still reach him, she wouldn’t have to beg her old classmates.

This was all because of Lee Yaein.

She stirred up trouble talking about divorce and then vanished. Sojeong rubbed her throbbing temples.

She needed to talk to Taeheon—there was a big expense coming up—but he wouldn’t answer his phone. Maybe it was because of the fallout with Yaein. The uncertainty gnawed at her.

She’d even considered visiting his father in the hospital, but he’d already been discharged. And ever since Chairman Kwon found out that Yaein was born out of wedlock, there was no hope of cozying up to him.

It looked like she’d have to call Yaein again. Just as she was dialing, another call came through.

As soon as she picked up, a syrupy voice blasted into her ear.

— “Sister, what should I do? Director Park says he won’t meet with Serin again.”

The caller was the younger friend who’d been setting up blind dates for Serin lately.

Sojeong had answered with a spark of hope, only for her tension headache to intensify. She rubbed her forehead.

“They only met once! He’s giving up already? Try to get them to meet one more time.”

— “Director Park’s pretty prideful. I think Serin said something that rubbed him the wrong way.”

“That girl’s been spoiled rotten and has no sense. I’ll make her apologize. Can’t you arrange just one more meeting?”

— “I don’t think that’s going to work. He was already fuming when he called me about it. It was really awkward for me, too. I’m caught in the middle and it’s getting hard.”

“Then… is there maybe someone else…?”

— “I’m sorry, sister. Honestly, how many times has this happened now? I feel like I’m going to lose all my contacts because of Serin.”

“You—still, maybe just—”

— “Really sorry. I have to go now. Let’s have coffee sometime.”

The call ended abruptly with a typical excuse. 

Sojeong, still holding her phone, clutched her neatly styled hair in frustration.

That useless daughter of hers only existed to drive her mother insane. Sojeong jumped up and flung open Serin’s bedroom door.

“You scared me!”

Serin, who had been lounging on the bed giggling, quickly sat up. Her face was puffy, and there were still mascara smudges under her eyes.

“You snuck in again at dawn drunk, didn’t you?”

Sojeong exploded in anger.

She had gotten Serin her own studio under the guise of being an artist, even helped her move out and live nearby. But she ended up a mess, blowing her deposit and just chasing after fleeting pleasures.

“Why are you yelling? My head’s already pounding.”

“If you hate the headache so much, maybe don’t drink like a fish. What on earth did you say to Director Park?”

“Oh right, Director Park. Mom, who even introduced me to that guy? What kind of person sends someone like that? Did you see how little hair he had?”

Serin’s whining deepened the frown on Sojeong’s face. Her blood boiled.

“You brat! How can you still be this clueless at your age!”

Sojeong kicked at Serin’s shin as she tried to climb out of bed. Serin shrieked and drew her legs in.

“Why are you hitting me? What did I do?!”

Her husband, who she thought matched her class as the third son of a chaebol, turned out to be a total loser who ruined everything he touched. And her only daughter was practically a freeloader, still living off her while throwing money around.

She should’ve married her off before her value dropped. Now, despite flaunting the title of “artist” and throwing herself at prospects, she got rejected thanks to her personality.

Every time she received a polite rejection from a potential match’s family, it ate away at her insides.

“Even Lee Yaein managed to marry someone decent. Why are you still like this?”

“She didn’t get there on her own! I told you, I was the one who said I should meet Kwon Taeheon!”

“Oh please, ‘meet him’? You called him a thug and were disgusted.”

“Well, you were the one who said we should push him onto Yaein and get it over with!”

“Why do you always talk back!”

After the shouting match with Serin, Sojeong stormed into the kitchen, seething. The heat rising inside her parched her throat.

Still, that girl did marry well.

Whenever Yaein showed up at social gatherings after the wedding, it had irked her beyond belief. Sojeong poured herself a tall glass of cold water from the purifier, but it didn’t help cool her anger.

At least the girl had a decent face. And it wasn’t like she landed that match on her own merit. If it hadn’t been for Sojeong, Yaein would’ve ended up working some dead-end job, struggling to survive.

She should’ve just let her rot. Married her off, and the girl didn’t even show an ounce of gratitude. A girl like her talking about divorce? Seriously?

Still fuming, Sojeong checked her phone and suddenly smiled. As if her thoughts had reached her, a message had come through.

This time, it wasn’t a debt collector or a disappointing matchmaking update. It was a call from Yaein.

Sojeong’s eyes gleamed. ‘You’re mine now. I’ll make sure you cry for this.’

“Why are you only calling now?”

She raised her voice, lacing it with irritation. There was no reply yet from the other end of the line. Probably scared and fumbling for excuses.

“You’re always so selfish. You should’ve told us what’s going on with Taeheon right away so we could prepare ourselves.”

In truth, she didn’t care what was going on between Yaein and her husband, as long as the financial support continued. But with Yaein cutting off contact and Taeheon pulling away, she’d become desperate.

If Yaein’s husband really cut off their money for good, they’d be headed for bankruptcy in no time.

Her position as director of the arts foundation was also thanks to the deal she’d struck with Taeheon’s family.

Not that it was all take, Sojeong thought bitterly. It was mutual benefit.

Chairman Kwon Seonghwan never did anything without getting something in return. Since he wasn’t offering direct financial support, he’d found other ways to use them. When Sojeong’s position was in danger, Chairman Kwon had csisterngly reached out.

Nothing laundered money quite like art. Even Serin’s pieces had been handy for tax evasion.

Sure, it was profitable—but for Sojeong, it had been a bitter pill to swallow. The larger the sum involved, the greater the risk.

About a year ago, Chairman Kwon had discovered Yaein’s illegitimate origins. Taeheon, however, continued to support Yaein fully—with no conditions, unlike his father.

‘They say if your wife’s beautiful, even her family’s fence post is worth bowing to.’ Sojeong couldn’t understand what made him so obsessed with that girl. The irritation boiled over, and her voice turned even sharper as she spoke into the phone.

“Hey, are you still there? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

— “Please don’t scold her too harshly. She probably couldn’t call because of me.”

“Oh my… Taeheon.”

Sojeong immediately softened her voice, as if she hadn’t been yelling just moments ago.

“You should’ve said it was you, Taeheon. Why did Yaein call from her phone? I got confused for a second.”

— “Do you usually answer your stepdaughter calls like that?”

“What a thing to say. Don’t take it the wrong way, okay? That girl caused such a fuss saying she wanted a divorce without realizing how lucky she is to have landed such a good match. I’ve been so stressed over it. And with no way to contact her, I was worried sick!”

There was silence on the other end of the line. Had he hung up?

Just as Sojeong was about to check, a voice came through with a quiet exhale.

— “I apologize for causing so much trouble between both families.”

His lowered voice seemed to brush against her ear, silky and composed. At this level, even a thug wouldn’t be too bad to live with.

— “I’d like to treat you to a meal. It’d be great if my father-in-law and sister-in-law could join as well.”

“We’d be happy to. When would be a good day?”

Speaking sweetly, Sojeong quickly grabbed her calendar.

***

Yaein anxiously checked the dinner date. She had insisted on meeting as soon as possible, but now that it was near, her throat was dry with nerves.

She drained her glass of water and stood up from the dining table. Taeheon remained seated, watching her pace.

“If you ask, they’ll do it in the end—but they’ll try to delay as much as possible,” she said.

This dinner was the starting point of a plan Yaein had carefully devised.

“Especially Serin—she’ll definitely oppose it. But if we pressure her, she’ll probably give in halfway…”

Taeheon was silent. Last night, when Yaein had laid out the plan, he’d fallen into quiet contemplation. Just like now.

“Is there something that’s bothering you?” Yaein asked.

She only knew vaguely what her father-in-law was capable of. He had connections to politicians, judges, civil servants—she knew he’d do anything to protect his position.

It was up to Taeheon to decide whether their chances were good.

Was something bothering him? Yaein started to grow uneasy, but Taeheon gave an unexpected answer.

“I was thinking about your sister.”

“You weren’t listening to me, and you were thinking about Serin?”

Yaein asked, half-joking, though Serin’s name did sting a little.

“What kind of thought?” she asked.

“I was wondering if I could push that woman down the stairs too.”

Taeheon mimed a little shove into empty air. *Thunk.*

It was hard to tell if he was joking or serious. But Yaein could read him now—he meant it.

“You know you can’t,” she replied lightly.

And Taeheon knew she was serious too.

“Still, thank you for taking my side.”

Yaein gently stroked Taeheon’s head. She liked the feeling of his hair sliding between her fingers.

“I think you see me as kind of adorable,” Taeheon murmured, letting her touch him quietly.