episode_0022

Tears streamed down my face, washing away the light makeup that covered it, leaving my eyes swollen.

Unable to face the chairman again with this bare face, I sat on the terrace, devouring the food in front of me.

*Sob, sniffle~!*

Trying to suppress my anger by wiping away the tears that kept flowing, I pushed aside the plate of spaghetti, which, although delicious, paled in comparison to what the old man used to make. Our old man could make it a hundred times better. I recommend that the chefs or cooks here at the hotel try switching roles for once.

“Why is the tomato sauce so thick? It ruined my appetite.”

As I piled complaints on top of the already stacked dishes next to me, the loneliness of the deserted terrace seemed to grow as I looked around.

I had asked for a drink, but was it to meet someone or to make it myself? I couldn’t understand why this man wasn’t coming.

It was scary to go outside right now, but shaking off the loneliness was not easy. Eventually, I peeked through the curtains and looked around the chairman’s room.

Perhaps due to the commotion earlier, I could see men in black sunglasses here and there, but finding the old man in the crowded room was not easy.

Come to think of it, what kind of person could attract everyone’s attention at a party of this scale?

“Uh… Sorry, am I late?”

A somewhat familiar girl’s voice was drowned out by the old man’s voice. Startled by the sudden appearance of the old man in front of me, I quickly turned my body towards the terrace.

“Hmph! I waited for so long and you didn’t come, how… Ugh, bring me a drink!”

As I came out onto the terrace and scolded the old man, I noticed that his ivory-colored shirt was stained. Unable to speak of my embarrassment, I felt lonely, but the words wouldn’t come out.

“Don’t look this way!”

“Okay, I won’t look.”

The old man who had approached suddenly snatched the glass from me, and I turned my head away to avoid his gaze.

“Ugh, so annoying!”

As I gulped down the lemonade in the glass, memories of the red marks on my wrist resurfaced. I should have beaten that raccoon to death, why couldn’t I move… Cry, fist, cry!

“Thank you.”

“Why… What are you doing, old man?”

Already boiling with anger, I turned away from the annoying voice, only to see the old man with his arms spread wide, palms open.

“I can’t comfort you, so just hit me until you feel better…”

He had comforted me before, but now he was suggesting this strange idea. The old man seemed embarrassed himself, glancing at me as if he had done something wrong.

Well, I did make a mistake. I forced myself to come to a party I didn’t want to attend, left myself alone, chatted with people, and even let that raccoon-like guy approach me.

Of course, these events were my own choice, but realizing that the old man had triggered them, I clenched my fists.

“The old man is really weird, right? Well, I’ll do as you wish, even if it hurts. I can’t bear the responsibility even if it hurts.”

“Sure, go ahead and hit me.”

Placing the cup down, I raised my fists and adjusted my stance towards the man.

Left, right, I lightly threw one-two jabs, and a change started to appear on the man’s face along with a slight tingling sensation.

“Hit harder, it’s okay. Keep hitting until you feel better.”

“Do you really not regret it, sir?”

If that’s the case, I’ll sincerely reciprocate the man’s kindness by hitting him.

– Thud! Thud! Thud!

With each punch, a different sound resonated, as strength gradually filled my fists, contrasting the previous feeble impact.

Even as the man received my punches with his palms, he remarked that hitting harder was fine, asking if I was only this angry.

Strangely, looking straight into the man’s face while punching gave me a sense of relief, as if the pent-up emotions in my chest were dissipating.

“Hah, hah, sir. Hit harder!”

Struggling to catch my breath, I managed to convey my message, prompting the man to reveal a determined expression.

“Alright, go!”

“Haah… Huff!”

*

Though it wasn’t directed at that raccoon, thanks to the man, I felt refreshed as I punched freely.

“Now… please stop… it’s exhausting.”

Exhausted, I spread my legs and sat down heavily, catching my breath, while the man wiped his palms and sat down in a similar position.

Both of us were sweating profusely, breathing heavily. I couldn’t help but worry if the man was okay, considering how much my hand hurt.

“I feel good… but what about you, sir?”

“If you’re happy, that’s all that matters. That was the intention from the start.”

“What are you talking about… you blockhead… but thank you.”

It was an unconventional way to vent, but it was a perfect fit for me. Breathing a sigh of relief, I lay down completely, gazing at the stars in the sky, continuing to talk to the man.

“Sir, if we end up living separately in the future, we’ll become strangers, right?”

“Hmm? Well… we’ll probably drift apart from our current relationship.”

By then, I would become just a plain Joo Eun-hye, not the man’s decorative wife. But having become so close to the man, it was disappointing to think we would become complete strangers.

“Then, you know.”

“Yes.”

“If we happen to meet by chance in the future, let’s pretend we don’t know each other.”

…

By then, as a plain friend, not a fake wife or husband, I wanted to maintain a relationship with Kang Seon-woo, despite the age difference.

“Just friends… no. I don’t want just friends.”

Wait a minute.

If we become ordinary friends, I won’t be able to see the way he held the raccoon’s wrist as if to break it, or how he wouldn’t let go of me until I stopped crying, right?

I don’t like that…

“I want a relationship more special than just friends.”

– Crack

Lost in thoughts about how my relationship with the man would turn out, I suddenly heard the sound of curtains opening on the opposite terrace.

The man, who had been looking down at me, also closed his mouth and turned his gaze towards the other terrace.

In the silence of the darkness, the man and I listened quietly to the voices of two men and women.

“Madam, you shouldn’t act like this. What if the boss notices?”

“No one’s here, so he won’t find out, Director. And remember, we agreed not to use honorifics when it’s just the two of us.”

On the terrace across, a man in his late twenties seemed to be cornered against the railing by a woman, struggling as he was held by her.

But wait, she’s his wife? Both of them look around the same age, one being a wife and the other a director?

“However.”

“Shh, what happened here is our secret. And I need to break up with that filthy guy and be with you again…”

Oh, so they were in that kind of relationship? It seems like the woman was forced into an unwanted marriage with the man.

So, as the man leans in to kiss her, he unbuttons the button of his tuxedo jacket…

“#$&*%-$…♡””$%♡♡%$$♡♡”

…!!!!!

…

..

.

“Sir.”

“Uh, uh!!”

As the man and woman engaged in their passionate display of affection, I and the man who had become completely flustered witnessed the moment when the woman tried to remove her dress on the terrace.

Already feeling embarrassed from sweating, both of us were in a state of shock witnessing such a scene, and we quickly left the party, heads down and hands tightly clasped together.

I couldn’t even say a word to the man from the moment we left the party until we arrived home, and I ended up throwing off my dress and collapsing onto the bed without a word exchanged between us.

If I ever get invited to another party, I must never go near the terrace again.

#

Six years ago, my father had a daughter who was the same age as me, his illegitimate child. Despite being only a year apart, having a sister was incredibly special to me as I had always wanted siblings.

However, the sister I met was so worn out that it was difficult to even speak to her.

According to what my mother told me, she used to have a bright personality, but ever since her birth mother passed away in an accident, she had changed like this.

After learning this fact, I visited the separate house where my sister lived frequently to see her smiling face, but the more I tried, the more my grandparents insisted that I should not be friends with such a tainted child, causing a rift between me and my sister.

But I really wanted to become close to my sister, so I ignored their advice and tried to get closer by visiting her several times, giving her my cherished idol album, or listening to music together.

However, after my efforts, my grandfather struck my sister’s cheek and smashed the album I gave her, and I gave up.

I never showed that I was secretly meeting my sister, but there were servants who acted as their eyes.

Realizing that getting close to my sister would only bring harm to her, I distanced myself from her.

What’s even worse is that my father sees my sister not as his daughter, but as a woman.

Fortunately, my grandparents pressured my despicable father, who had lustful intentions towards my half-sister, preventing the situation from escalating further, but my sister’s situation did not improve.

It’s been six long years. Unable to see my closed-off sister suffer from afar, I made the decision to send her to the youngest grandson of the Taebaek Group chairman with my mother.

My mother said that the man is modest and without greed. So, I made the judgment that it would be better for my sister to be with him in this hellish place than to stay here.

“What in the world just happened…?”

A banquet hosted by the Taebaek Group.

Right here, where I came with my parents, I saw my sister.

The older sister, who could only be seen in photos, was peeking out from behind the terrace curtain, looking around as if searching for someone.

Just as I was about to speak to the sister I finally reunited with, a man named Kang Sunwoo, who was entrusted with her care, interrupted.

“What the…?”

This damn man, who ruined the long-awaited reunion, casually spoke to the sister and entered the terrace where she was, closing the curtain behind him.

Alone in this social setting, on an empty terrace, going out and closing the curtain… Does it not mean to not disturb their time together?

“No way…?”

It couldn’t be. Mom had said that he was a clean person without greed. He wouldn’t do the things I was thinking…

After being dazed for a while, I regained my composure and listened carefully to the two people on the terrace together.

– Thump! Thump! Thump!

Then, I heard the sound of the sister’s breath hitching as if flesh was touching flesh.

[Ah, ah, sir. Harder!]

…Sister?

[Got it, dear!]

Wait…

[Haah… Hoo!]

‘What… What are they doing!?’

Startled, I took a step back and imagined the sister’s appearance in my mind’s eye, turning into a rabbit.

But that couldn’t be. The sister, who doesn’t easily open her heart to others, with that man in less than two months…

[I feel good… What about you?]

[If you’re happy, that’s all that matters. That’s what I intended from the start.]

[What are you saying… You airhead… Thank you, though.]

Ha… Hahaha…

Ahhhh!

After spending a long time on the terrace, the sister and Kang Sunwoo finally showed up at the gathering.

Both covered in sweat, their clothes were black, so the stains weren’t very noticeable, but they were stained with ash here and there, and their hair was a mess.

The completely red-faced sister took Kang Sunwoo’s hand and bowed her head, leaving the gathering.

“Minjeong. Juminjeong?”

Watching that scene endlessly, I felt frustrated and wronged even in front of my mother, and I bit my lip.

“Mom. Can you tell me where the house of the sister and Kang Sunwoo is?”

“What?”

“I have something important to check. I want to see my sister’s face.”

Definitely.

“…Alright, since your parents are out, let’s go check it out. I also have something to tell Eunhye.”

That son of a Kang Sunwoo…

“Thank you, Mom.”

I’ll kill him!