Chapter 16 – Lifeline
“Are you going to give me that coffee over there?”
So-yeon noticed the famous brand coffee quietly placed on his desk.
“I did say we should have tea.”
At least he wasn’t a man of empty words.
At that fact, dimples formed, and a charming cuteness blossomed on both cheeks of So-yeon.
“Can I finish this coffee before I go?”
Despite having been on the verge of tears just moments ago, her bold request was commendable.
“Of course, Ms. Eom So-yeon.”
Gesturing lightly towards the sofa for her to sit, Seo-jun moved his long strides toward the desk.
Lowering herself onto the sofa, So-yeon gently smoothed down the pleated mini skirt that had risen halfway up her thighs with both hands.
It was at that moment.
Something rather large suddenly landed on her lap.
“Ah!”
The luxurious shopping bag, with its dignified logo embossed on the outside, did not seem like a common brand.
Inside was a large brown leather bag, big enough to fit a laptop. So-yeon, taken aback, held it in both hands and examined it carefully.
It was a design with zipper decorations that could be used as both a sally bag and a backpack.
“Surely, you don’t mean to give this to me?”
“Why not?”
When So-yeon blinked her large eyes and asked, Seo-jun, who elegantly placed two cups of coffee on the table, sat down beside her without further explanation.
Her attire, far from high-end brands, was quite humble. Even though celebrities usually had at least one, she’d never been seen with even a common luxury bag.
Having stopped by his usual store yesterday, Seo-jun suddenly thought of it and bought one for her as well. There wasn’t much else to add as a reason.
Even a joke about picking it up on the way seemed too grand, so Seo-jun explained with just two indifferent words.
“Why this?”
“Just because.”
“…….”
Giving such an expensive item… just because?
Well, he was a man who only showed anger, so there couldn’t be another meaning.
After staring at Seo-jun’s sharp features for a while, So-yeon tilted her head slightly and brought the straw of the coffee cup to her lips to sip it.
***
“Sent it, didn’t I? That money you love so much! Isn’t that enough? Why are you calling again!”
A shrill voice screamed out from inside a luxurious villa in Banpo-dong. It was Yoo Jung-hwa, speaking to her father in a voice that seemed to spit blood.
“Do you want to see me go crazy? Am I your vault? How much more do I have to squeeze out for you to stop?”
- No matter how useless I am, I’m still your father. How can you speak with such a vicious tongue?
“Shut your mouth! Why can’t I?”
Just hearing the voice of her father, worse than an enemy, made Jung-hwa tremble with rage. Her hand, clutching the phone, shook violently. Once delicate during her dream-filled youth, now her long hand was left only with the greed that had consumed her.
“Because of you, what happened to Mom! How have I live! And still, all you talk about is money, you call yourself my dad? Ha! Don’t make me laugh!”
As her daughter continued to rant, Yoo Byung-hwan momentarily lost his words, repeatedly calling his daughter’s name.
- Yoo Mi-kyung, Mi-kyung…
“Don’t call me that! It gives me the creeps!”
The name she discarded long ago made her grind her teeth just hearing it. As the name flowed from the palm-sized device, her tearless eyes filled with red malice and convulsed.
A rare beauty, perhaps appearing once in a hundred years.
In reality, Yoo Jung-hwa, who seemed to have grown up with nothing but flower paths due to her stunning beauty, had a life that was the complete opposite.
In a childhood where Yoo Jung-hwa did not exist, only Yoo Mi-kyung did, she often envied orphans.
Despite having a robust physique and working for a respectable company, Yoo Byung-hwan saw money only as something to gamble with. One day, overwhelmed by poverty and her husband’s violence, her mother ran away from home.
What the 8-year-old little girl had to endure afterward was nothing short of a nightmare.
Jung-hwa, who had to do laundry, cook, and handle household chores with her small hands, often had to endure the cold of winter with just a thin blanket. She even had to borrow money from house to house in the neighborhood to ensure the day passed peacefully.
On days without a single penny, the presence of begged money was essential; otherwise, her father would cruelly beat her.
People who clicked their tongues in pity.
People who gave her a little money out of sympathy.
She became accustomed to watching for signs among them, but that wasn’t even considered hardship. The real misfortune began when she turned 15.
Having passed through that pitch-black tunnel, Jung-hwa became an actress thanks to her exceptionally attractive appearance. She cut ties with her father as soon as she changed her name.
But the bond of blood was so tenacious.
No matter how much she changed her phone number and moved to hide, her father always found her or contacted her. It was difficult to sever ties with a father who knew her past.
Top star Yoo Jung-hwa had to be someone who grew up in a wealthy family, showered with love, not someone from a slum.
Yoo Mi-kyung was a person entirely different from the Yoo Jung-hwa the world knew. No, she was a person who didn’t exist at all. Her parents were overseas Koreans, and having grown up in that affluent family, Yoo Jung-hwa, who knew no lack, was a princess from birth.
Jung-hwa didn’t think of the packaged self as a lie. Erasing Yoo Mi-kyung, who suffered from a miserable environment and unfortunate family history, was necessary to become the Yoo Jung-hwa welcomed by everyone. Therefore, she merely chose the persona everyone liked.
Her parents couldn’t help her succeed as Yoo Jung-hwa.
Her mother, forced to work as a maid at the house of the president her father served, always returned home exhausted. Then one day, she disappeared without a trace. After that, young Jung-hwa had to do everything from small errands to being a maid in that house.
In her younger days, her father was obsessed with climbing the corporate ladder by sacrificing his family; now, he was extracting her backbone to gamble in the stock market. If only he had lived decently with the money given, but instead, he squandered it all and still stretched his hand out to his daughter.
“How can you be my dad? You’re just a leech sucking my blood!”
- Mi-kyung, it’s hurtful when you act like this.
“I told you, you’re not my father!”
At Yoo Byung-hwan’s absurd words, Jung-hwa lost her reason and raged. She writhed in hatred that gnawed at her bones and flesh.
- Just remember, you didn’t become a celebrity on your own. By keeping your secret, I’ve fulfilled my duty as your father. You know what that means, right?
“You crazy… Who do you think made me like this!”
The me who became obsessed with money and fame to the point of abandoning the man I first loved! My greed, gasping for more even when I have enough, whose fault is that!
This world was a hellish sewer, and Yoo Byung-hwan, who threatened his daughter so viciously, was a beast and a devil.
Yoo Jung-hwa felt that way.
- Stop talking and send more money. More than what you sent today…
“Please stop!
Thud!
Jung-hwa hurled the phone at a framed photo of herself on the art wall, then rushed to the minibar in a frenzy.
“You bastard…! I’ll kill you, I swear!”
A mother who ran away to save herself? A father who thought of his child as a money machine? Ha, don’t make me laugh! You made me more of an orphan than an orphan!
Grabbing a bottle of whiskey, Jung-hwa poured the large amount of alcohol down her throat.
Gulp, gulp, gulp…
Even while swallowing the undiluted spirit, she tasted no bitterness.
Because the filthy, hellish life of Yoo Mi-kyung was far more bitter than the strong whiskey.
***
A luxury sedan smoothly stopped in front of the building where So-yeon lived, entering the Dogok-dong apartment complex.
“No, it’s fine. You can stay seated.”
Seeing Manager Bong unbuckle his seatbelt to open the backseat door for her, So-yeon quickly dissuaded him and hurriedly got out of the car.
“Thank you for dropping me off.”
Bending slightly to speak through the open window of the closed car door, So-yeon politely greeted Seo-jun, who was sitting and looking at her.
“…….”
Typical of Eom So-yeon.
Delaying his reply for a moment, Seo-jun chuckled. Watching her leave much faster than she arrived, he couldn’t help but laugh.
But knowing it was entirely his subjective feeling, Seo-jun slowly withdrew his smile and spoke.
“I don’t know when the shooting will end tomorrow, so I’ll call you after I finish work.”
“If you don’t have time, don’t push yourself. We can do it the day after tomorrow.”
“I’ll handle that myself.”
“Okay.”
They didn’t just have coffee in the director’s office. The two had a brief rehearsal there. Reciting lines with Tae Seo-jun right in front of her made So-yeon’s heart pound, making her feel uneasy about her breathing not being natural.
After about an hour of practice, they left the company and had dinner together.
The unexpected gift of a bag and the fact that So-yeon offered to treat him to her favorite cold noodle restaurant, in return for the chicken he bought last time, felt good. Watching him enjoy the noodles with beef pancakes filled her heart with satisfaction.
However, as Seo-jun increasingly used informal language, So-yeon felt somewhat strange. It felt like they had gotten a step closer, yet she also felt a cautious concern about whether it was okay.
‘If you’re upset about it, then Ms. Eom So-yeon, why don’t you speak informally too?”
The words he had said floated in her mind.
“Go ahead inside.”
When Seo-jun’s short words came again, she unconsciously responded informally.
“Yeah, take care.”
Having said it herself, So-yeon quickly ran to the building entrance, unable to handle it.
“…”
“!”
“!”
It was a surprise hit, but Seo-jun merely smirked amusingly. The ones truly startled were Manager Bong and Park Seong-ho in the front seat.
“You heard that, right? She said ‘take care’. So, let’s go.”
At Seo-jun’s joking instruction, the sedan started moving, and she, who was secretly watching from inside the building, finally got on the elevator.
So-yeon looked down at the shopping bag clutched tightly in her hands with soft eyes.
Regardless of the process, it was the first gift she received from the man she only wanted to look at. That alone made her happy as she gently lifted the corners of her lips and got off the elevator on the 7th floor.
As she entered her home and took off her shoes.
“You’re back earlier than I thought.”
“Ah! You scared me!”
Do-soon, who had come running to the entrance, greeted So-yeon.
Living in a slightly smaller unit next door, Do-soon often came over, surprising So-yeon like this.
“Can I sleep over here tonight?”
“Who could stop Yeo Do-soon if that’s what she wants?”
As they entered the living room, Do-soon was already distracted by something else.
“What’s this bag?”
Her eyes widened at the shopping bag in So-yeon’s hand.
“It looks expensive. You didn’t buy it, did you? Who gave it to you?”
Though not stingy, Do-soon knew that Eom So-yeon, who was frugal with her spending, wouldn’t spend a fortune on a bag.
“Oh, this…? My eldest sister sent it to me, and I forgot it in the car trunk.”
“It’s pretty! If you don’t use it, give it to me!”
“I can’t!”
Expecting to be grilled if she honestly said it was from Tae Seo-jun, So-yeon mumbled vaguely and quickly walked to the dressing room.
“Hey, look at this!”
Trailing behind, Do-soon clicked her tongue in disappointment as she glanced at one side of the closet.
“You just keep them piled up and never use them. What crime did these bags commit to never see the light of day?”
As she said, all the luxury bags on the shelf were new, with tags still attached, given by family members over time.
So-yeon didn’t use these bags because they weren’t something she acquired with her own means, and she felt that precious items should match the user’s status to shine, which she felt she hadn’t reached yet.
“Come on, give me one.”
Do-soon said it half-jokingly.
Yet, feeling particularly generous today, So-yeon, who had many reasons to feel sorry for Do-soon, was unexpectedly generous.
“Okay. Pick one you like.”
“Are you serious?”
“Except this one.”
Nodding once, So-yeon hugged the bag from Seo-jun tightly to her chest.
As if it were her lifeline.
As if saying with her entire body that anything else was fine, but not this.
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