Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
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“……”
Even after the visiting director left, Choi Na-kyung continued to sit for a while, sipping her tea.
The other party’s teacup on the table had already been cleared by the secretary.
He hadn’t taken a single sip before leaving.
The secretary, staring at Choi Na-kyung blankly drinking tea, cautiously cleared the teacup, visibly trying to suppress a sigh of relief when she said nothing.
But no words came.
Whatever she said wouldn’t have been welcomed anyway.
Where did it all go wrong?
…No, she knew it had been wrong from the very beginning.
She hadn’t embraced her, trembling with loneliness, herself.
She hadn’t stopped her when she followed someone else.
…It was her request that led her to be in this position now.
Still, just one thing.
She had endured everything for just one thing.
“I thought we’d be able to meet soon.”
Holding the empty teacup in her hands, she mumbled.
Her gaze wandered absently in the air.
“…Am I too late again?”
This time, she thought she’d prevented it thoroughly.
She left no room for Sara to think, blocking her surroundings thoroughly, wary of anyone else’s influence.
Only Choi Na-kyung could influence Sara.
Only Choi Na-kyung could give love to Sara.
And, in the end, the only one Sara should love was Choi Na-kyung.
“……”
But, even this time.
With trembling hands, she quietly placed the teacup back on the table.
She knew well that throwing things in a fit of emotion only left a bad impression on people.
There was nothing around her.
She didn’t need anything.
That’s why she tried to leave only her behind.
Money or anything else, it wasn’t something she could have with those.
But before she could even meet her—
“So that’s how it is.”
Once again, she had been foolish.
“…I made the same mistake again.”
She muttered quietly.
Yes, last time, she had approached cautiously and, in the end, hadn’t been able to have her.
This time, she had been cautious in a different way, and that’s how she ended up in this situation.
“What should I do?”
She mumbled, though she already knew there was only one way.
In the end, she would have to accept what that director said.
She had to properly show everyone that Sara was Choi Na-kyung’s daughter.
For those who lacked faith.
*
“What?”
Hearing Yang Hye-in’s words, I had no choice but to react that way.
“The Chairwoman said she plans to visit as soon as possible.”
In response to me, Yang Hye-in answered with a deeply apologetic look.
Well, this wasn’t entirely Yang Hye-in’s fault.
Her mistake was that she eventually had to accept the message from Mother, which I had told her to refuse.
Well, even though I gave such orders, it’s not like you can just completely ignore her.
Many of the servants here were still people Mother had placed, and she knew the “location” of this place very well.
No matter how much Yang Hye-in tried to perfectly control this mansion, there were bound to be people who followed Mother’s line, and if one of them had received her message, then there was nothing more to say.
I had kept those people here to avoid unnecessarily provoking Mother, but I didn’t expect her to act this quickly.
No, maybe I was too relaxed.
I already had several people in this mansion that Mother might be jealous of.
…Jealousy.
A mother being jealous of her daughter’s relationships—
It was quite amusing.
Honestly, even if I started refusing contact, there was no way to stop Mother from coming directly.
Even if I blocked her from entering the mansion… if she came every day or waited at the gate, we would eventually meet.
To settle things, I would have to face her at least once—
But not yet.
I still shouldn’t face Mother.
Because if I did, my heart would waver again.
…And then, it wouldn’t be me facing her, but the other person inside me.
Mother would grope the body of that person, who hadn’t even gathered her senses—
Disgusting.
I hated it.
Most of all, that person hated meeting Mother.
I wanted to respect that person’s thoughts as much as possible.
If she didn’t want to embrace Mother, I wanted to follow that wish.
If she hated me embracing Mother—
If she hated it—
Just thinking about it made my heart race a little.
That person caring for me,
And, although it was purely my personal hope beneath it all… the feeling of jealousy…
Wasn’t unpleasant.
Suppressing the urge to smile, I asked Yang Hye-in.
“She didn’t say when that ‘soon’ would be, did she?”
“…No, she didn’t. I’m sorry.”
With her head bowed in apology, I found myself deep in thought.
If we thought of the worst-case scenario, she could come as early as tonight.
Mother wasn’t abroad, and both the company and this mansion were in the same city, Seoul.
Depending on the time she left, it would take less than 30 minutes by car.
“What should we do?”
“Hmm…”
I crossed my arms and thought for a moment.
Next to me, So-hee and Soo-ah looked at me with worried expressions.
“……”
Ah.
Right.
There was that option.
I hadn’t thought of it because it was ‘too obvious’ for me to be here.
That’s why—
“Then, shall we run away for a while?”
I hadn’t thought of such a simple idea.
“…Run away…?”
So-hee repeated my words with a dazed expression.
“Yes, run away. We’ll go somewhere Mother doesn’t know and stay there for a while, then come back.”
“Uh… ah, sure, that makes sense.”
So-hee quickly nodded in understanding.
“That’s right…”
Soo-ah, who was technically still “runaway” on paper, also nodded her head.
Though she often returned home now, and had proper contact with her parents, it felt a bit strange to call her a runaway anymore.
“The problem is the location—”
“Me!”
Before I could even mention the location, there was someone who shouted loudly and raised her hand.
It was none other than So-hee, who was much taller and more mature-looking than me, with her usual undone buttons and skin that looked healthily tanned.
But in moments like this, she looked completely innocent.
No, perhaps that’s why she seemed even more innocent.
“We have an extra room at our house!”
“…Really?”
I had no faith in this.
Not that I thought So-hee would lie.
It’s just that if we went there thinking, “there’s an extra room,” I feared the situation might be something different from what I imagined.
Actually, if I wanted to, I could arrange a place.
I could book a large hotel room, for instance.
Sure, some hotels might refuse minors, but still.
“It’s true! We have an extra room, and you can stay there for a few days!”
“…But it might be a burden.”
Yang Hye-in and Soo-ah wouldn’t be able to follow, obviously.
There was only one room.
The three of us couldn’t all stay there.
It might be different if the room was the size of the one I was staying in, but from that person’s memories, I knew the size of this mansion was abnormal.
If So-hee came from a regular household, the room would probably be less than a quarter of the size of this place.
“It’s fine! I’m a maid, so I’ll go with you!”
That wasn’t what I meant.
I frowned slightly.
If she acted like a maid even in her own house, I wasn’t sure how her family would see me.
I might not have cared in the past, but I knew now I shouldn’t act like that.
“…It’s just a friend staying over, so really, it’s okay…”
When I didn’t say anything, So-hee touched her fingertips together, looking down despite being taller than me, her eyes looking up.
“……”
If I refused, she’d probably get really upset.
“…Alright. Then I’ll stay at your place tonight.”
I sighed as I answered.
Well, if she said it’s fine, then it should be fine.
“Wow, really? For real?!”
“Urgh.”
So-hee, overly excited, lunged at me.
I could feel her weight pressing against my face.
…Should I envy her?
Or feel embarrassed?
“……”
Knowing I couldn’t escape her grip with strength, I simply stayed in her embrace until she calmed down.
To be honest, though, the warmth wasn’t entirely unpleasant.