Chapter 1.7

The man’s appearance was striking, almost to the point where it seemed a shame that his face was hidden by his long hair. Seo-hwa found herself momentarily dazed, staring at him, before snapping out of it and quickly averting her gaze. 

“Let’s… escape well, together.” 

Seo-hwa awkwardly smiled after speaking, feeling embarrassed by her own words. She found it absurd that she, who was also fleeing by clinging to her mother, was acting as though she were some kinds of savior in front of the man. 

The silent gaze he fixed on her made her feel itchy, and Seo-hwa hurriedly turned her back to him. 

Hoping she’d never cross paths with the man again in this place, she silently wished him luck. Leaving the door wide open for his escape, Seo-hwa exited the room and ran down the long hallway. 

She didn’t judge whether her decision was right or wrong. She simply focused on lightening the heavy weight in her heart. 

This was as far as Seo-hwa could go. Escaping safely was now up to the man. Feeling somewhat lighter, Seo-hwa left the house. 

A black sedan sped toward Seo-hwa and came to a sudden stop in front of her. Soon, the passenger-side window rolled down. 

“Why are you so late? Do you have the box?” 

“M-Mom.” 

“Seo-hwa, get in. Quickly.” 

Her mother’s expression softened into a warm smile only after confirming the box in Seo-hwa’s right hand. Climbing into the back seat, Seo-hwa sat stiffly, her back straight with tension. She glanced at the unfamiliar man in the driver’s seat, suppressing the questions that bubbled up in her mind. 

“Is this your daughter?” 

The man openly scrutinized Seo-hwa’s face through the rearview mirror. Seo-hwa clutched her bag tightly with both hands, growing even more tense. 

“Yes, my daughter. Isn’t she pretty? She takes after me.” 

Her mother’s voice carried a playful lilt. 

“Seo-hwa, try to get some sleep. It’ll take a while to get there.” 

“O-Okay.” 

Where they were headed, and who the man in the driver’s seat was—Seo-hwa swallowed her questions once again. Looking at her mother’s cheerful demeanor, she silently prayed that, for once, she wouldn’t be an unwelcome guest. 

‘Did he manage to escape?’ 

Inside the car, speeding smoothly along the road, Seo-hwa thought of the man on the second floor. She could already imagine how furious her father would be when he discovered both her escape and the man’s disappearance. By tomorrow, he’d likely be throwing things around the house, shouting in rage. 

The familiar sound of his yelling echoed in her mind like a phantom, piercing her eardrums. The more she thought about it, the more nauseous and suffocated she felt. 

It was strange. She had thought that leaving the house would finally bring her relief, but her heart remained in turmoil. 

“How does she look in person?” 

“Hmm, just as pretty as you said.” 

“Right? Our Seo-hwa takes after me—her face is so beautiful. Don’t you think she’ll be worth some money later on?” 

“What if she hears you?” 

“She’s sleeping, isn’t she?” 

Seo-hwa couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes. She instinctively understood that pretending not to hear or know anything was the only way to stay by her mother’s side. 

She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter, holding her breath to ensure she wouldn’t be noticed. 

Even when they reached their destination, she couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes. Her eyelids felt heavy, but unfortunately, her mind was painfully alert. 

The car, which had been speeding along, finally stopped in front of a detached house with a spacious yard. As soon as she stepped out of the car, the sharp scent of grass pricked her nose. 

“I’ll be starting the divorce proceedings with your dad soon. In the meantime, you’ll stay here. This man is a lawyer, by the way. This is his vacation home.” 

“You should’ve introduced me first. Look at how startled she is.” 

“Oh, I forgot with everything going on. This is a close friend of mine.” 

It was clear from the looks they exchanged that they were more than just close friends. Her father’s insults—calling her mother a wicked woman who abandoned her family for another man—flashed through Seo-hwa’s mind. 

Was it really… 

Was it because of this man that her mother had left her behind? 

“Hello.” 

Suppressing the questions that surged within her, Seo-hwa forced a smile. 

What did it matter? Whatever the reason, her mother had come back for her. She hadn’t been abandoned… 

“So, Seo-hwa, you’ll be living with this man for the time being. Is that okay?”  

The red lips of her mother, curling upward in a smile, felt strangely unfamiliar to Seo-hwa that day. The cold gaze of the man who scanned her from head to toe was equally unsettling. Yet, Seo-hwa nodded her head vigorously. 

“My daughter understands me well, just as I expected.” 

Even if it meant doing so, she didn’t want to be abandoned. 

Her mother was the only person in the world whom Seo-hwa loved, and the only person from whom she wanted love. 

At the time, she didn’t know. 

That in just over a year, she would be abandoned again and sent back into her father’s arms. 

That the things she had believed to be love were nothing more than tools for someone else. 

* * *

As she traced the memories from when she was sixteen, Seo-hwa instinctively touched the rim of her right ear. The scene of a golf club flying toward her face flashed through her mind, and for a fleeting moment, she thought she could hear ringing in her ears. 

The memory of that day always came with pain. 

The man she encountered at the summer party undeniably had the same features as the boy who had been locked away in the attic. Though his features had matured and his aura had changed since then, the sharp, piercing gaze that seemed to constrict its target remained the same. 

This isn’t our first meeting. 

What? 

We lived in the same house.

Why had she only remembered now? He had said it so plainly. 

That man… 

Seo-hwa began to understand, albeit vaguely, why he had approached her and meddled in her affairs. 

Perhaps he was happy to meet her again, a childhood connection from long ago. Simple joy, or perhaps a sense of familiarity born from shared memories. Something lighthearted like that. 

But for Seo-hwa, it wasn’t the same. Their reunion wasn’t welcome—it was uncomfortable. His presence dredged up old memories and added new irritations to wounds that had been festering for years. 

She didn’t want to revisit those memories, nor did she want to share her pain with him. 

She wished their connection was nothing more than a fleeting breeze, a coincidence that would pass by. 

‘…What’s the point of thinking about it? I won’t see him again anyway.’

She shook her head, trying to scatter the persistent thoughts. 

* * *

Seo Young-hoon openly displayed affection with other women in front of Seo-hwa, even after the summer party. 

Yet, in front of Seo-hwa’s father, Woo Jung-hwan, he confidently identified Seo-hwa as the woman he would eventually be engaged to. 

The more he did so, the more her father pressured her. 

Seo-hwa had to be a flawless, beautiful doll that could be presented at any moment. 

Her father had set rigid, subjective standards and forced her to conform to them. She wasn’t allowed to laugh with her teeth showing—it was too vulgar. If her posture faltered, it lacked grace. If she wore clothes that revealed her thighs, it looked cheap… 

The problem was that these standards changed depending on her father’s mood. There was no correct answer; only the endless routine of trying to gauge his feelings day after day. 

In that monotonous routine, one thing had changed: the presence of the man she had met at the summer party. 

“Hello.” 

Contrary to her expectations, Seo-hwa encountered the man frequently after the summer party—always in situations where she wished she could disappear into a hole. 

“You look beautiful today, too.” 

Inside the club Seo Young-hoon had summoned her to, Seo-hwa quietly closed the door after witnessing him kissing another woman. 

And then, as if on cue, the man appeared before her again. 

“…How long have you been standing there?” 

“Since you took a deep breath and opened the door.” 

“…” 

“No, wait—maybe since you sighed with that annoyed look on your face?” 

“…You saw everything.” 

Although Seo-hwa had realized their connection during that summer party, she never let on that she recognized him. 

It wasn’t just because she felt embarrassed about how pitifully her life had turned out after telling him to “escape well.” 

It was also because she couldn’t reconcile the boy who had always been silent and withdrawn with the man whose personality now seemed completely different. 

She hadn’t figured out how to face him, nor had she summoned the courage to bring up the memories of the past. So, she chose to remain silent.