Chapter 5.3

As soon as she got outside, she called Moonkyeong. It was a call to confirm the facts, but she already knew the answer.  

Still, she wanted to confront her.  

“Seo Moonkyeong, did you get engaged to Managing Director Kim Seojun?”  

On the other end, a slow sigh was followed by a calm response.  

– Yes, it turned out that way.  

Even though she had anticipated the answer, Bora, consumed by agitation, repeated herself.  

“Is it really true? You’re marrying Kim Seojun, not Kim Seouk?”  

– Yes.  

Really? It’s not Kim Seouk?”  

– Yes. 

“Why? Why did the groom change all of a sudden? You didn’t tell me anything about this! Why didn’t you say anything?”  

– There’s been a lot going on. It’s hard to explain everything.  

“This doesn’t make sense.”  

After ending the call, Bora was overwhelmed with a sense of betrayal.  

Even after biting all her nails, her chest wouldn’t calm down.  

She opened the photo again to look at Kim Seojun’s face.  

His superior bone structure and striking appearance, so different from Kim Seouk, tore at her heart even more.  

Bora grabbed the employee ID hanging around her neck tightly.  

She couldn’t just stand by and watch.  

She resolved to stop Moonkyeong’s wedding at all costs.  

***

The Brown. An invitation arrived from the social club created by Seok Donggyeong, the ill-fated crown prince of SUK Group.  

Until recently, Moonkyeong’s status had been at the Green Label level, but it suddenly soared to the Black Label level, accessible only to the most prominent figures domestically and internationally.  

The invitation hinted at how her position had completely changed since her engagement to Kim Seojun of Leehan Group.  

She had always sent Bora to these social gatherings instead of attending herself. Bora enjoyed the dull and tedious atmosphere more than anyone else.  

“What should I do?”  

This time, her face was too well-known, so she could no longer send Bora in her place.  

The part about attending with Kim Seojun also weighed on her mind. During the engagement ceremony, everything had been so hectic that there was hardly any time to exchange words with him, but a social gathering? That was different.  

Her steps toward the practice room felt particularly heavy, and as if on cue, a call came from him.  

Since the engagement date had been set, he had been calling her occasionally like this.  

With Hyeran and Nam Leehyun taking care of most of the wedding preparations, there wasn’t much for Moonkyeong to worry about. Even though there wasn’t much to discuss with Seojun, he seemed to be reaching out more frequently in recent days.  

Moonkyeong answered the call just as it was about to end.  

“Yes.”  

– When does your practice end?  

“Six o’clock.”  

– Let’s have dinner together. I have something to talk about. I’ll pick you up.  

“No, just tell me the place, and I’ll go there.”  

– Alright. I’ll text you.  

She couldn’t help but laugh at his consistent and straightforward manner of saying only what was necessary before hanging up.  

He was such a steady person. Shortly after, a message from him arrived, indicating the meeting place and time.  

When she asked for the name of the restaurant, he unexpectedly sent her a car license plate number instead.  

Even though he didn’t explain clearly, she understood his meaning perfectly. He was telling her to get in the car when he came to pick her up for dinner, no questions asked.  

She wondered how he had the leisure to joke like this with the wedding approaching. She, on the other hand, still dreamed every night about running away from the wedding.  

Unaware of her feelings, the message he sent struck her deeply.  

The high, clear autumn sky was so bright and cheerful.  

Moonkyeong closed her eyes for a moment, as if mocking herself for being sold off to Leehan Group.  

Meanwhile, at the same time, Bora was wracking her brain.  

She had spent the entire day coming up with various alternatives, but there weren’t many actions she could actually take.  

As evening approached, she called Hyeran, starting the conversation by saying she urgently needed to discuss something regarding Moonkyeong.  

Even as she squeezed herself into a taxi, Bora tried hard to calm her trembling heart. She knew how much she stood to lose if this was discovered, but she was desperate to stop Moonkyeong’s marriage at any cost.  

In truth, from the moment she saw the engagement photos of Kim Seojun and Moonkyeong, her state of mind had already gone far beyond rationality. She couldn’t stand it anymore.  

She had lost everything, while Seo Moonkyeong lived a life gilded entirely in gold. It was unbearable.  

Having rushed to Seongbuk-dong straight after work, her employee ID badge still hung around her neck.  

When Bora’s urgent call came, Hyeran immediately asked her questions as she entered the house.  

“What are you talking about?”  

Bora first sank into the spacious sofa. Every time she visited, she couldn’t help but notice how serene and stable the interior of Professor Do Hyeran’s Seongbuk-dong residence was.  

She liked sophisticated, urban designs, but this kind of atmosphere wasn’t bad either.  

While running her fingers through her long, straight hair, she deliberately stalled for time. Unable to hold back, Hyeran sat across from her and asked again.  

“What do you mean? Are you saying Moonkyeong said she wanted to die?”  

Bora nodded heavily. Her face, portraying seriousness, showed not a hint of guilt.  

“Yes. She told me privately that she would rather die before the wedding. She said there’s no way she can marry Kim Seojun, even if it kills her. She said she’d rather die.”  

“When did she say this?”  

“This afternoon. I had a brief call with her, and that’s when she said it tearfully.”  

Without any change in her expression, Hyeran scanned Bora from head to toe.  

From her hairstyle to her fashion, aura, and even the way she applied her makeup, Bora had, at some point, come to resemble Moonkyeong so closely that she no longer looked like the girl Hyeran had once known.  

If one didn’t look closely, one could easily mistake her for Moonkyeong. Hyeran asked again.  

“Are you sure Moonkyeong said that during today’s call?”  

“Yes, I heard it clearly.”  

Every call Moonkyeong received on her phone was copied and transmitted to another device within five minutes. Bora, unaware of this, was lying.  

Hyeran remembered every word of the conversation Moonkyeong and Bora had earlier that morning.  

At this moment, Moonkyeong was likely having dinner with Seojun, and there had been no noticeable change in her demeanor.  

Hyeran smirked at Bora’s audacious lies.  

“Park Hanju.”  

Hearing her old name for the first time in years, Bora stiffened, her cheeks hardening. She swallowed nervously, and her gaze instinctively dropped to the floor in the suffocating tension.  

Her employee ID badge bore the name Park Bora, not Min Bora, but Park Bora.  

Hanju had changed her name as soon as she left the orphanage upon becoming an adult.  

She had told Moonkyeong that she wanted to preserve her original name until the end, but that wasn’t the truth.  

In reality, she wanted to steal Moonkyeong’s life. She repeated to herself every day: ‘The one who should be in that place is me, not you.’ That was why she changed her name.  

She had wanted to abandon the name Hanju, a name that symbolized being chosen by no one.  

On the day their fates diverged, Hyeran had not taken her in.  

The last time Hyeran had held her hand gently and said, ‘Let’s go, Hanju,’ was back then.  

Hyeran had always been warm to Moonkyeong but cold to her. Bora quickly hid her displeased expression and straightened her back.  

“Professor, I changed my name a long time ago. I’m Bora now, Park Bora.”  

“Alright, whether you’re Bora or Hanju, it doesn’t matter to me anymore. Shall I tell you a secret?”  

“……”  

“That day, did you ever regret it or blame yourself? For standing up first, which led to Moonkyeong being chosen instead of you? But let me tell you something. I liked her from the beginning. I just wanted to see what kind of presence you were to Moonkyeong.”  

From the start, Hyeran had favored Bora, not Hanju. Not the current Park Bora, but the nine-year-old Min Bora, who had seemed so strong and intelligent.

The year she sought out the orphanage, she was prepared to use any means necessary to make her husband, Seo Jaewoo, a National Assembly Member.  

When she first met the two children in the director’s office, Hanju greeted her warmly, while Bora, who would later become Moonkyeong, greeted her politely but seemed wary of people.  

Unlike Hanju, who clung to her and tried to strike up a conversation, Bora didn’t say a word.  

She merely observed her outfit and bag with quiet eyes.  

It was somewhat intriguing. The ambition was evident, but the nine-year-old’s effort to conceal it was rather endearing.  

When Hyeran told the children that the first one to stand up would be given the opportunity, she hoped Moonkyeong wouldn’t stand.  

A child full of ambition but capable of feeling and giving love would be easier to mold. Perhaps that day, she wanted to test Moonkyeong.