FGP 30

Chapter 30

The next day, Yeong-uk ordered her to prepare to go out. As soon as Myeong-hee relayed the message, Hyeon-jeong began to get ready.

Even with her leg bandaged, she chose comfortable clothes—loose sweatpants, a hoodie, a long padded coat, and a cap. Dressed like that, she walked into the living room. Yeong-uk was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper. When his eyes met hers, his brows immediately furrowed.

He suddenly jumped up from the sofa, rolled up the newspaper in his hand as if to threaten her, and shouted:

“Just what do you think you look like right now?”

Both Yeong-uk and Myeong-hee were dressed in formal attire, looking as though they were on their way to a meeting or a formal gathering.

Hyeon-jeong wanted to snap back and ask what was wrong with her appearance, but the memory of her father cursing Tae-geon without listening to a word had made her so sick of him that she didn’t even want to exchange words.

Instead of asking for the details from the man who had saved his daughter, her father had gone so far as to brand him a shameless stalker. She hated how blind Yeong-uk was and how unwilling he was to listen to anyone.

“Honey, don’t be angry at the child. We still have time, so let me dress her up properly.”

“Ahem, then I’ll leave it to you. I always feel bad relying on you.”

Something about the exchange between Myeong-hee and her father felt strange to Hyeon-jeong. When Myeong-hee had simply told her to get ready to go out, she had assumed it meant going to the hospital.

But now it felt as if Myeong-hee had deliberately withheld the important details just to make her seem like an ungrateful daughter in Yeong-uk’s eyes. Wasn’t this starting to resemble one of those fairy-tale stepmother-daughter rivalries?

“Hyeon-jeong, come with Mom.”

Myeong-hee smiled warmly and reached for her arm, but Hyeon-jeong carefully pulled away. The cold, unsettling feeling she got from Myeong-hee seemed to make her injured leg throb even more.

“Sit and wait for a bit. I’ll bring some clothes for you.”

Myeong-hee hummed a cheerful tune as she sat her down on the bed in her temporary room and left.

If not for the earlier scene, Hyeon-jeong might have still thought of Myeong-hee as a kind stepmother. But now, she couldn’t shake off the discomfort.

When Myeong-hee returned with armfuls of clothes, she began holding them up to Hyeon-jeong’s body like she was playing dress-up with a doll. Hyeon-jeong couldn’t bring herself to smile along.

“Because of your bandaged leg, pants will be difficult.”

So, the chosen outfit ended up being a long skirt. That morning’s forecast had announced a cold wave warning, yet with her bandaged leg she couldn’t even consider stockings or leggings. And now, Myeong-hee was putting her in a skirt with bare legs.

As if she had read her thoughts, Myeong-hee picked out an angora knit and explained:

“You’ll be moving in your father’s car anyway, so it won’t be that cold. Just endure it until you get inside.”

“It took me ten minutes just to walk from the car to the house last time.”

To someone with healthy legs, it was a short distance. But for Hyeon-jeong, with no one to help her, crossing the uneven, slippery garden stones was exhausting. She might have gotten slightly faster, but still—it meant she’d have to shiver outside for at least ten minutes.

What weighed on her more than the cold, though, was the sinking feeling. She had thought her stepmother was genuinely kind, but now it seemed she actually enjoyed subtly tormenting her. And of course, Yeong-uk remained oblivious.

What kind of life had Myeong-hee lived under parents who had forced her into marriage? The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She felt she had no one in the household she could truly rely on. Inevitably, one person came to mind. She wanted to see Tae-geon.

“You should be able to walk a little faster now. And besides, fashionable women have to be able to endure a bit of cold.”

“But do I really have to dress like this just to go to the hospital?”

“Your father’s reputation is at stake. We’ll just do light makeup and tie your hair back.”

Her surgery site had been warm to the touch since yesterday, and today the throbbing pain was worse. In her poor condition, Hyeon-jeong didn’t want to argue. She followed Myeong-hee’s instructions, wanting only to get her check-up done quickly and come back to rest.

* * *

The car ride ended not at a hospital, but in front of a building in the middle of Gangnam.

“Where is this?”

She thought they had just stopped by on the way to the hospital, but Yeong-uk’s answer was completely unexpected.

“It’s a wedding dress shop.”

At his glance, the chauffeur quietly got out, leaving only Yeong-uk, Myeong-hee, and Hyeon-jeong inside. It was clear Yeong-uk hated anyone outside the family knowing their affairs.

“The wedding will be held the week after next.”

“A wedding? My wedding?”

She had assumed without question that they were going to the hospital. Now the back of her head ached.

“Director Cho said he’d be fine with just registering the marriage, but I absolutely couldn’t allow that. So I pushed for the ceremony to happen soon.”

“You’re planning a wedding when I can’t even walk properly?”

She had heard rehabilitation would take months. How could Yeong-uk even think of marrying her off in this condition?

“The wedding is how we inform the elders. You think we can just let you start a household with no notice? Do you know what kind of family ours is?”

“I don’t want this.”

She meant she didn’t want to marry like this, without her memories. But Yeong-uk understood it differently.

“Then walk in on crutches. If it’s too hard, use a wheelchair. People will just think you got hurt before the wedding.”

“It’s your one and only wedding. You might regret it later if you go in on a wheelchair, so let’s practice walking with crutches.”

So this was what it felt like to truly understand the saying: sometimes the one who pretends to help is worse than the one who strikes. Afraid she might look at Myeong-hee with disgust, Hyeon-jeong turned to the window and swallowed a sigh.

Was she really going to have to marry Cho Jae-seok like this? The grim, suffocating reality made her chest tighten.

No matter how much she protested, Yeong-uk seemed determined to see her married off to Jae-seok.

Would it even be possible—no, it was foolish to hope—but could Tae-geon appear and take her away from this? She scoffed at her own unrealistic thought. She had to solve her own problems, not wait for someone else to rescue her.

Still, with only two weeks left, she had to come up with some plan before then.

* * *

Cho Jae-seok was already at the shop. Sitting in the reserved lounge, he was flipping through a bridal magazine. When Yeong-uk, Myeong-hee, and Hyeon-jeong entered, he rose to greet them politely.

“You’re here.”

“We came as quickly as we could. If I’d known you’d be waiting, I would’ve hurried even more.”

“Indeed. Our son-in-law must be busy, and here you are showing off how attentive you are already?”

While the three of them chatted warmly, Hyeon-jeong stood apart, as if she were from another world.

“Hyeon-jeong, you’re here. Was the trip uncomfortable?”

As smoothly as flowing water, Jae-seok approached her and placed his hand on her shoulder. Even through her thick coat, his damp touch made her skin crawl. She instinctively shifted her crutch and headed for the sofa.

She wanted to ask him if he really had to summon her like this, knowing perfectly well how uncomfortable it was for her. But she didn’t even have the strength. The heat radiating from her surgical wound was spreading through her body, making her head throb.

All she could think of was using the two weeks to recover enough to plan her next steps. For now, the only way to get to the hospital was to pick out a dress first. She urged him:

“I’d like to look at the dresses quickly.”

Her tone carried no excitement, nor did her face show anticipation, but Jae-seok seemed to take it as a positive sign and smiled with joy.

“So you’re finally accepting my heart.”

“It’s hard for me to keep sitting and standing. Let’s just choose right away.”

“Hello, bride-to-be. I’m the manager who’ll be assisting you with today’s fitting. If sitting is difficult, I’ll flip through the magazines for you, and you can choose from there.”

The staff member turned the pages one by one, and Hyeon-jeong picked something at random.

“Oh my, the bride has such good taste.”

Smiling warmly, the employee supported her and led her toward the fitting area. When Hyeon-jeong stepped behind the large curtain, it automatically closed, blocking her off from the other three.

“Haa…”

Just that small barrier was enough to let out the breath she’d been holding in.