ANLAH 10

Chapter 10

The terrible bond of misfortune began 16 years ago.

Back then, Heejae was only fourteen.

Her father, who had left behind nothing but billions of won in gambling debt for her mother, couldn’t bear the burden and took his own life.

Thus, Choi Heejae’s life began in tearing poverty and bone-deep misfortune.

It became routine to move from one cheap neighborhood to another every year, and she had never lived above ground level.

A semi-basement room where, if you opened the window, you saw nothing but the ankles of passersby—that was the scenery Heejae grew up used to.

Since her life had started there, she didn’t think of it as uncomfortable.

But tragedy struck in the form of a natural disaster.

One summer day, under a heavy rainstorm warning—

Heejae, who had been studying at home during vacation, suddenly found herself fleeing for her life with her mother as floodwaters poured in like waves.

That day, Heejae lost everything.

And so, the two of them decided to leave behind the semi-basement where they had lived for more than ten years.

Her mother set out to find a new job.

Unlike before, when she would have chosen the cheapest place possible, now her mother searched for a home where safety was guaranteed.

Most important was finding work that provided room and board.

At last, her mother found such a job. And since housing was included, Heejae followed her there.

At best, she imagined it would be a shantytown or a shared dormitory.

“Mom, are we at the right place?”

The house they arrived at was nothing like what Heejae imagined.

It was her first time seeing such a grand mansion in the middle of Seoul—and even harder to believe this was where they would now live.

“Starting today, I’ll be working here as a live-in helper. It wasn’t easy getting this job after explaining our situation, so don’t just laze around—help me whenever you can.”

“Okay.”

When they stepped into the luxurious mansion and first faced the homeowner, Heejae recognized him at once.

It was none other than Shin Hyung-gil, chairman of the Shinil Group—one of Korea’s wealthiest men.

Since she was interested not only in her schoolwork but also in current affairs and the news, Heejae had seen him countless times in the media.

Reports about him developing innovative technology, donating billions to society, and fulfilling his noblesse oblige, even being called the man responsible for the jobs of Korea’s youth—

Shin Hyung-gil was truly one of the most influential businessmen in Korea.

For Heejae, it felt like a dream to live and work in the home of such a man.

On the very first night they stayed in the Shin household—

After everyone had gone to sleep, Heejae slipped out of the small room she shared with her mother and headed to the kitchen.

The lights were on, as if someone was there.

When she peeked between the wall gaps to see who it was—

With a crash, something was thrown to the floor and shattered into pieces.

Heejae’s eyes trembled as she looked at the fragments. Slowly, she raised her head to see the face of the one who had broken it.

“Hello.”

Standing there was a boy who looked about her own age.

She hadn’t seen him earlier when they greeted the family.

He had deliberately smashed some unknown object, and now, with a calm expression, he greeted Heejae who had witnessed it.

“Uh, what is this…?”

“You’re Heejae, right? I heard about you. Nice to meet you.”

Heejae wanted to focus on his destructive behavior, but instead, the boy kept talking as if nothing had happened.

“W-who are you?”

Startled, Heejae stepped back cautiously.

But the boy only smiled, as though her reaction amused him.

“I’m Shin Gyobin. We’re the same age, so let’s drop the formalities.”

The words “same age” lowered Heejae’s guard slightly.

And with the surname “Shin,” she guessed he must be Chairman Shin’s son.

“How did you know my age?”

“I overheard earlier. Choi Heejae, fourteen years old, first year at Jungyu Middle School. Daughter of the new helper who starts today.”

Heejae tilted her head in confusion.

That was exactly what she and her mother had introduced themselves with earlier in Chairman Shin and Madam Ahn Sunhye’s room.

But this boy hadn’t been there. So how…?

“Did Chairman tell you?”

“No. I was in the room too.”

Heejae blinked in confusion.

“I didn’t see you…”

“I was under the bed.”

Under the bed?

The unexpected answer made Heejae speechless.

Speaking as if it were everyday small talk, Gyobin explained further when he saw her bewildered face.

“My stepmother was beating me until I looked like this. But since guests suddenly came, she shoved me under the bed.”

He gestured to his face and body, covered in bruises and cuts.

“I stayed quiet, didn’t even breathe loud.”

Heejae was shocked beyond words.

So—he was being abused in that room by his stepmother. When guests arrived unexpectedly, she shoved him under the bed to hide him. And from there, he overheard everything.

“M-my god… she’s your stepmother?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you even allowed to tell me that?”

“Why not? If you’re going to live here, you should know.”

He spoke calmly, without shame or hesitation, as if abuse were just a fact of life.

Heejae avoided his eyes, letting her gaze fall on the broken shards on the floor.

“Why did this break?”

Gyobin followed her gaze, then smiled proudly.

“I broke it on purpose.”

“On purpose?”

Normally, breaking things is wrong. But Gyobin said it so boldly that Heejae questioned whether her own sense of right and wrong was mistaken.

“Why?”

“Because my stepmother cherished it.”

“Oh…”

So it was revenge. A way to vent his anger after being beaten, by destroying something she treasured.

“Why? My stepmother did this to me. So why can’t I do this to her?”

He pressed, almost accusingly.

“I can’t beat her back the same way, so I took it out on something she loved. Isn’t that a cheap price for what she did to me?”

There was no guilt in his eyes—only the conviction that he had repaid what he suffered.

Yet in the calm corners of his face, Heejae saw a bitterness he couldn’t put into words.

“Who’s making noise in the kitchen at this hour?”

Hearing the commotion, footsteps approached.

Heejae turned nervously, only to see, unfortunately, that it was Sunhye.

“Oh my!”

Seeing the shattered dish, she stepped back in shock.

And, naturally, her eyes fell on Gyobin standing amidst the shards.

“Shin Gyobin! Was this your doing?”

Her shrill, sharp voice was nothing like the elegant, kind woman Heejae had met earlier.

After hearing Gyobin’s story of abuse, Sunhye now seemed terrifying.

How much had he suffered under her cruelty?

How much pain had robbed him of the ability to express his emotions properly?

Heejae’s heart ached for him.

And so, she did something reckless—something she shouldn’t have.

“N-no! It was me! I did it!”

That night, Heejae told her very first lie—for Shin Gyobin’s sake.

And from then on, she began walking down a path from which she could never turn back.