“Ma’am, please have some porridge, yes?”

Madam Hwang’s voice was heavy with worry.

Eunha opened her eyes weakly. Although her eyes had been closed, she hadn’t been sleeping. Sleep was impossible.

“I… don’t want any.”

“You really should eat… Goodness. This won’t do. Just one bite, please.”

Only her eyes moved as she looked toward Madam Hwang. The woman’s worry dragged her eyelids downward. No wonder—Eunha had been lying in bed for over ten days, unable to do anything.

The physician had come, run tests, put her on fluids. Still, she couldn’t get up.

“Just tell him… I ate.”

Before leaving for work, he had probably begged Madam Hwang to try to get her to eat something—anything. So Eunha asked her to lie for her.

She didn’t want to worry him anymore, but she didn’t want to do anything either. Eating, washing, even sleeping—she hated all of it.

“I’m worried about you, ma’am. Please… even just a little. You have to think of Hyesung.”

Eunha’s brow furrowed at the image of Hyesung crying, saying he didn’t want to go to kindergarten.

Right.

She should get up for her son. So why did everything feel so unbearable, so exhausting?

“Just leave it. I’ll eat later.”

Madam Hwang knew she was lying. Eunha had said the same thing every time, yet she had never lifted a spoon.

Unable to force her, Madam Hwang finally gave up and stepped out of the room.

Eunha raised her arm, but it trembled weakly — perhaps because she hadn’t eaten. She sighed as she looked at her arm, which was slimmer than it had been ten days ago.

She couldn’t keep worrying people like this.

Her mother was worried, too. Her mother was still in hospital, and Eunha hadn’t been able to visit her. If she saw her mother’s face, she knew she would break down and confess everything. Her mother’s heart was weak. She could collapse from the shock.

Thankfully, he had been taking care of things, and Eunha had heard that her mother’s condition was improving. She decided that she should at least call today.

The plan to see the ocean in the New Year was, of course, cancelled.

The year had changed by the time Eunha got out of bed.

She had wanted to see the ocean.

She had planned a trip to the seaside before, but something had happened and she hadn’t been able to go then either. Maybe she simply wasn’t meant to see the sea. She felt that seeing the blue waves might ease the weight on her chest a little.

But right now, even breathing felt suffocating. Something heavy was sitting on her sternum, blocking her.

Pressing a hand against her chest, Eunha got up from the bed. Perhaps because she hadn’t eaten, her vision spun. She closed her eyes, then opened them again just enough to steady herself.

Her mother, Madam Hwang; her mother-in-law, Hyesung; and even he were all worried about her. Ten days was long enough to be seriously ill, and if she stayed in bed any longer, he would probably force her to go to hospital.

She had to get up.

Eunha had to stop three times on her way to the bathroom. She was so dizzy that she had to stop each time. Her empty stomach churned with acid and her headache was relentless. Her hands were trembling so badly that everyone around her could see it.

“Ha… ah. Get a grip.”

Thinking of Hyesung, she turned on the shower. The water poured down. Each drop felt like a blade piercing her skin, yet she remained expressionless, almost indifferent.

Somehow, she managed not to faint and finished showering. She went to the dressing room, applied lotion and dried her hair. It was the same routine as always.

After getting dressed, she carried the tray of porridge that Madam Hwang had left for her and stepped outside.

“…Ma’am!”

Madam Hwang rushed from the kitchen the moment she saw her.

“Are you all right?”

She looked genuinely moved to see Eunha finally out of bed. Tears welled in her eyes, and Eunha felt grateful. She hadn’t been able to take proper care of Hyesung, using her illness as an excuse.

“I’m going to eat at the dining table.”

In her place, Madam Hwang had been watching over Hyesung with meticulous care. Hearing Eunha say she would eat, the woman broke into a bright smile.

“I’ll heat it up.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t think I can eat anything hot.”

She wanted something cold. Maybe it was because thinking about Lee Sun-han made her stomach churn and boil, or maybe her insides just felt too hot.

Lowering her gaze, Eunha began eating the porridge.

She hadn’t eaten for such a long time that just a few bites made her feel full. Still, she forced herself to swallow spoonful after spoonful.

She had to eat to regain her strength. She didn’t want to cause any more worry.

“Eat slowly. You’ll get sick if you rush.”

Noticing she was forcing herself, Madam Hwang returned with a glass of lukewarm water.

“It’s almost time for Hyesung, isn’t it?”

“Yes. He should be home soon.”

It seemed Secretary Yoon was handling his pick-ups and drop-offs.

“Today’s one of the days without after-school classes, right?”

Lying in bed had made her lose all sense of time. Swimming and taekwondo classes weren’t on Wednesdays… were they?

“Yes, he has no classes today.”

Eunha reached out and turned on her phone screen. Ah… it was Wednesday. Time moved on so cruelly well.

“It looks like a lot of snow fell.”

When she stepped into the living room after finishing her porridge, the terrace was blanketed in white.

“Yes, it’s been snowing heavily since yesterday. They say it’ll continue until tomorrow.”

“When Hyesung gets home, we should make a snowman.”

“Oh dear. You’ll catch a cold, you’re not well yet.”

Eunha reassured her, saying she would dress warmly. She hadn’t done anything with Hyesung lately; even if she couldn’t build a snowman, she wanted at least to stand beside him while he touched the snow.

“…Mom? Mom! Mom!”

Eunha turned toward the sound of her son’s voice.

“Hyesung!”

“Mom! Are you okay?”

He had even begged not to go to kindergarten so he could stay by her side, a rare stubbornness for him. His tiny hands clutched her clothes tightly. She felt a sting in her nose, guilty for making him worry.

“I’m sorry. Mommy’s really okay now.”

She tried to sound strong as she said she was better, and Hyesung finally lifted his face from her chest. Then he studied her carefully, scanning her features as if testing whether she was truly fine.

The dizziness had faded since eating. She felt she could go outside and watch him play in the snow for at least an hour.

“A lot of snow fell. Don’t you want to build a snowman?”

“…How did you know?”

Hyesung, who loved the sound of rain, loved snow just as much. When he was younger, she had struggled to stop him from trying to eat the falling snow. He especially enjoyed touching it and stomping on it.

“Should we go outside together?”

“Really? But what if you get sick again…?”

“If I dress warmly, I’ll be fine.”

Only then did the worry fade from his face, replaced by the bright, warm expression of a child in spring sunlight.

Eunha told him to wait a moment while she went to the dressing room and wrapped up warm.

Since catching a cold would be disastrous, she wrapped a scarf around her neck and put on gloves. Seeing her all wrapped up, Madam Hwang seemed reassured and didn’t stop them going out onto the terrace.

Snow covered their ankles as Hyesung ran around like an excited puppy. Eunha followed him step by step.

“Mom! I can pack snow really well now! Look!”

Not so long ago, he would get upset when he couldn’t mould snow properly. As she watched the snowball in his hands grow bigger and rounder, Eunha smiled with a sense of quiet pride.

With every breath she took, a puff of white vapor rose into the air and vanished.

If only her worries could vanish just as easily!

Eunha crouched down beside him. He really was skilled, even with his small hands. He had always been good at building Lego sets, too — perhaps he was just born with a talent for creating things.

“Hyesung, Mommy has something she’s curious about.”

“Mm… what is it?”

His lips stuck out in concentration.

“When you made the Christmas tree… and when you blew out the candles… you made wishes, right?”

“Mm-hm… a wish… yeah. I made a wish.”

She had always wondered what her son wished for—what he wanted so dearly. Maybe now, while he was distracted making a snowman, she could ask.

“What was that wish? What did you wish for, Hyesung?”

She waited as he continued shaping the snow, patting it with his mittened hands.

“…My wish. Hyesung’s wish is…”

Eunha stared at his lips—bright red from the cold.

“I wished… for a baby sibling.”

Hyesung stopped what he was doing and gave her a big, toothy smile.

“Suyeong bragged that his baby brother was born. Mom, I want to have a sibling too.”

Eunha had never imagined that would be his wish.

When she didn’t respond, Hyesung abandoned the snowman and grabbed her hand tightly.

“But even so, I like Mommy the best. Even if I get a sibling, Mommy is number one!”

He whispered like it was a secret. Eunha pulled him into a tight embrace.

“Aah! Mom! I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!”

Even though he was complaining, he was laughing happily.

What if he gets taken away from me?

What if they say that the daughter of a murderer shouldn’t be allowed to raise a child?

What if they take him away?

Even now, all she could think about was her own safety.

She was trash.

She couldn’t bring herself to tell the truth; she was only concerned with avoiding exposure.

She truly was Lee Sun-han’s daughter.

Filthy blood in her veins. Filthy Lee Eunha. Foolish, pathetic Eunha.