Chapter 1.10

For a moment, memories of her father hitting her flashed through Seo-hwa’s mind, and her vision blurred. 

It felt as though she was the one being hit, her body aching as if she had been struck. 

But it seemed she was the only one unsettled and frightened by the situation. 

“Is the cleanup you do…?” 

“When Seo Young-hoon causes trouble, I pay people off and make sure they stay quiet. So the rumors don’t spread.” 

The man casually pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the blood off his hands as he spoke. 

“Shouldn’t we… report this? Is he even alive?” 

“Yeah, he’s breathing.” 

His dark eyes showed no sign of unease. 

Instead, he seemed more interested in Seo-hwa’s visibly shaken state. 

“Are you really scared?” 

He leaned forward slightly to meet her gaze and asked in a gentle tone. 

“How could I not be? That wasn’t just some minor scuffle….” 

“A personal doctor is already on standby, and the compensation has been handled thoroughly. There won’t be any problems later.”  

She hadn’t asked out of curiosity about whether he had handled the cleanup well, but he explained the process in an indifferent tone. He added that the man who had been beaten had willingly offered himself up for money, so there was no need to worry. 

The ease with which they justified violence with money and hit people without a second thought made her uneasy. What made her feel even worse was the sense that she was the only one bothered by it. 

“No matter what, doesn’t it bother you? Even if you’re just following Seo Young-hoon’s orders… still…” 

The words Seo-hwa couldn’t bring herself to say to Seo Young-hoon spilled out toward the man instead. 

‘How could he remain so calm after witnessing such a scene?’ 

She found it puzzling, but at the same time, her own inability to say anything in front of Seo Young-hoon weighed heavily on her mind. 

The man raised his eyebrows as if he didn’t understand her confusion. He stared at her for a long moment, his gaze seeming to ask what the problem was. 

Then, as though he had suddenly realized something, he nodded. 

“Why wouldn’t it bother me?” 

“…” 

“I feel heavy-hearted too.” 

His voice, which had sunk slightly, conveyed that he shared the same weight of emotions Seo-hwa was feeling. 

Was he sincere? 

Seo-hwa stared into his eyes, wondering whether his words were genuine. 

But despite his claim, the corners of his lips still curved upward in a playful smile. 

“Then why…” 

Why did he look like he was enjoying himself? 

Seo-hwa bit her lip and swallowed the rest of her sentence. 

Her voice shook slightly, just as her body trembled pitifully. 

She was pale, trembling as though she had been the one subjected to violence. 

The man, who had been watching her with an odd expression, finally spoke again. 

“But what can I do? For now, I have no choice but to endure it.” 

As soon as those words left his lips, Seo-hwa let go of the suspicion that had momentarily risen within her. 

She saw her own reflection in his face. 

‘I have no choice but to endure it for now.’ 

Those were the exact words she repeated to herself every time Seo Young-hoon tormented her. 

Whenever she felt furious, humiliated, or like she might go crazy from the misery, she would chant those words like a mantra: ‘Endure it for now. If I endure it long enough, maybe someday I’ll escape this cycle.’

That thought was what kept her going. 

It wasn’t as though she had never tried to escape. 

She had tried twice. Once in the winter when she was sixteen, and again two years ago. 

But both attempts ended in despair. 

Her attempt to escape in the winter when she was sixteen only solidified the shackles she lived under now, and her attempt two years ago only fueled her father’s fury. 

Both times, all she was left with was regret. 

On the day she wandered nearby, unable to run far due to lack of money, and was eventually dragged back home by her father, the beating she endured was far more painful than anything she had suffered before. 

You little brat, trying to run away again?

I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…

Do you think I took you in just to see you act like this? You owe me at least some compensation for what I’ve done for you!

After that, she became too scared to run away. 

The fear of the punishment she would face if she was caught paralyzed her. 

She felt as though invisible chains bound her. 

Even though she knew she needed to escape if she didn’t want to live like this forever, her body had turned to hardened clay. 

That was why she obediently catered to Seo Young-hoon’s whims. 

She knew she was being foolish, but she didn’t know how to stray from the path that had been laid out for her. 

She simply endured it. 

Repeating to herself that for now, she had no choice but to endure. 

But what can I do? For now, I have no choice but to endure it.

This man resembled her. 

He seemed to have witnessed countless scenes like the one she had just seen for the first time today. 

Perhaps he lived in an even harsher world than she did. 

Was his indifference a result of the familiarity that had accumulated over time? 

“…What about you?” 

“…” 

“How long are you going to endure it?” 

Seo-hwa asked the question she had always directed at herself for the first time to someone else. 

She wondered if he knew the answer to the problem she had never been able to solve. 

Anxiously, she waited for his reply. 

“Until I no longer want to endure it.” 

His answer was clear. 

It was the most straightforward solution, yet also the hardest to put into practice. 

“What will you do when you no longer want to endure it?” 

Seo-hwa grew curious about his plans. 

Unlike her constant uncertainty, the man seemed to have a clear plan. 

“I’ll end it. This nonsense.” 

His gaze and voice carried no hesitation. 

She didn’t know exactly what his ‘end’ entailed, but at least he wasn’t powerless like her, simply waiting for things to change. 

Unlike her, who had resigned herself to passing each day in despair, he seemed to distinguish between his present and his future. 

At that moment, Seo-hwa felt deeply ashamed of herself. 

This man always seemed to make her feel ashamed. 

“…What’s your name?” 

For the first time, Seo-hwa wanted to know his name. 

Someone who was similar to her, yet different. 

She was curious about him. 

“Yooheon.” 

This time, he answered her question without asking for anything in return. 

‘Yooheon.’ 

Seo-hwa repeated his name silently to herself. 

“Now you’re curious about me?” 

His smile as he spoke those words made Seo-hwa unconsciously hold her breath. 

The chaotic neon lights of the club seemed like stage lights, illuminating his radiant smile. 

“Anything else you’re curious about?” 

“No. Not right now.” 

“So cold.”  

“…I’ll make sure to bring the handkerchief next time.” 

With those words, Seo-hwa turned her back weakly. She walked aimlessly, recalling Yooheon’s confident expression as he spoke of eventually escaping his circumstances. 

The reflection of her figure in the building’s glass window looked utterly pathetic compared to Yooheon.

She remembered how she instinctively clamped her lips shut and bowed her head when Seo Young-hoon had shouted angrily. 

She felt ashamed of herself, not only for failing to stand up but also for daring to criticize Yooheon’s sense of morality when she herself couldn’t act. 

How long are you going to endure it?

Until I no longer want to endure it. 

Unlike her, who flinched and shrank at even the slightest reaction from Seo Young-hoon, Yooheon stood tall like a firmly rooted tree. 

No matter how fiercely the wind blew, he held his ground, unwavering in his domain. 

A bitter sigh scattered into the air.