TCE 16

Chapter 16

The worst.

I don’t usually like to jump to conclusions, but I could guarantee my gut feeling wasn’t wrong this time.

“Ugly.”

That was my very first impression of the man standing before me.

It wasn’t his haggard face, his sunken eyes shaded down to his chin as though he hadn’t slept a wink, nor his unwashed clothes that made him repulsive.

It was his eyes.

Those ugly, sneering eyes that reeked of malice as he puffed out cigarette smoke.

Even just meeting them stirred up an instinctive disgust, a toxic mix of spite and stubbornness. And the man didn’t hesitate to throw fuel on that fire.

“Looks like you’ve been doing well.”

Thud.

Sauntering over, he deliberately smacked down the doll hanging on the door and exhaled another cloud of smoke.

“Face looks good, too.”

There were so many things to call him out on, but I didn’t even feel like bothering.

She opened the window to let the smoke out, which was already filling the room.

“My husband treats me really well.”

“What? What husband?”

“……”

A careless remark, half meant as a joke—yet he blinked and asked back in earnest, as if he couldn’t even guess what she meant.

What’s with this guy?

She hesitated, but tried again, probing.

“…Living alone is just comfortable, that’s all.”

“Are you crazy? If anyone heard you, they’d think I begged to live with you or something.”

He didn’t know.

This man had no idea Joo Ae-jung was married.

How?

That unexpected fact made my brows twitch before I turned.

The man who had earlier introduced himself as her “brother” —likely Ae-jung’s older brother—walked over slowly.

“Fine, no point dragging this out. You came here yourself, so I’ll take it as your decision.”

“…Decision?”

Every word they said was hard to make sense of. Then he shoved something at her.

“Don’t play dumb—just sign it.”

What he thrust out was a land transfer contract.

A thick, properly drafted legal document.

She didn’t take it, only moved her eyes over it in silence. He smirked slyly.

“Once you sign this, you won’t have to deal with us anymore.”

Even without hearing the whole story, the atmosphere of this family was clear. I rubbed my chin, finally getting a rough sense of it.

They didn’t even know she was married. Maybe “family” was too generous a word for them.

This feeling…

It was the same bitter taste of chaos I was all too familiar with.

“You’re dragging this out.”

Mistaking her silence for hesitation, he bit down on his cigarette and flipped through the pages himself, pointing at the signature line.

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be. Let’s just end it here. No reason for us to stay tangled up.”

“……”

“If you had a shred of conscience, you’d have handed it over already. I don’t care about laws or whatever—let’s settle this right now.”

Joo Ae-jung. Joo Sung-gyun.

Their names written side by side told me exactly who this man was.

Bastard.

Tap.

He carelessly dropped cigarette ash on the floor and tossed the papers at our feet.

She calmly picked them up.

For the first time, Sung-gyun’s expression wavered. This was the same girl who used to shake and cry at the slightest harsh tone, yet today she was disturbingly calm.

No tears, no trembling, no trace of fear.

Had living away for a couple months changed her? For a fleeting moment, he thought she seemed like someone else entirely—but he quickly dismissed it.

“If I sign this, what happens to everything that’s already in your name?”

That was the bait I threw out—half suspicion, half hope for confirmation.

But Sung-gyun’s eyes flared with rage.

“Hey! You were the one who offered me that money. Did I steal your seal? No! You came with me yourself, stamped it with your own hand, signed it yourself. And now you’re asking me that?”

Unbelievable.

This was the worst kind of scum.

So in the end, it was all about money.

“Let’s not drag it out. Just end it here.”

Of course. He wanted to escape. To get out of this mud pit, just like anyone would.

Just like I once wanted to leave Korea, Joo Ae-jung, you too…

But she hadn’t managed it. She hadn’t escaped anything.

I steadied my emotions, opened my eyes, and pulled a pen from my bag.

“You just want my signature?”

“What? O-of course. I’ll take care of everything else. Just sign there.”

Maybe he expected a fight, but not for her to give in so easily. Sung-gyun stubbed out his cigarette on the floor and stepped closer eagerly.

“Yeah, right here. Right here.”

His ugly excitement practically reeked in the air.

She signed swiftly, and as he snatched the papers into his arms, she said coldly:

“You won’t see me again.”

“I know. I get it. How many times do I have to say it?”

“Listen properly.”

Tight.

I grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to meet my eyes, and told him the truth.

“Your sister isn’t here anymore.”

“……”

“Did you understand?”

For the first time, I put words to this absurd situation. But Sung-gyun slapped her hand away without hesitation.

Smack!

“Don’t act so high and mighty. You’re the one who owes me an apology. Why do you think our family ended up like this? Why do you think I’m living like garbage now? A sister? What sister?”

He bared his teeth, trembling with fury.

“Get lost. I never needed you from the start.”

What on earth had happened to them?

What could drive siblings into this ruin?

But I didn’t want to know. After all, I wasn’t Joo Ae-jung.

And I wouldn’t apologize carelessly.

Clenching my stinging hand, I gave my final farewell.

“Live well.”

“This is enough, with this… with this…”

“Just think of your sister as dead.”

No matter what she said, it didn’t seem to matter to him. He already looked as though he had long forgotten her.

Without another word, we turned and left the room.

Not once, as we stepped out of the cigarette-stained house, across the yard, and through the gate, did he look back.

Throb.

“……”

Suddenly, an inexplicable ache struck my heart.

Clutching her chest, she whispered words she never wanted to say, but couldn’t help.

“…Pathetic. You’re pathetic.”

Sickeningly so.

Among the towering stacks of documents on his desk—all due by the end of the day—Yoon-jae worked without so much as a break for a meal.

Executive Director of Yeongdo Group. That title alone came with more than enough responsibility, but it was also his job to clean up the chaos Eun-se had left behind.

Ha Yoon-jae and Ha Eun-se.

Brother and sister—or rather, servant and princess.

At least, in Yoon-jae’s own view, the latter described their relationship far better.

Scratch, scratch.

He was buried in follow-up measures for a major mess that had even forced him onto an emergency business trip. The silence of the office, broken only by the sound of his pen, was interrupted by a knock.

Knock knock.

Two light raps, then the door opened and Chief Hong stepped in.

He bowed lightly in greeting and placed something on Yoon-jae’s desk.

“The list of participants for the recent event booth, as you requested.”

Ah, yes—the list he’d ordered.

Since it had to be compiled after the event wrapped up, it had taken a little time. Yoon-jae set down his pen and picked it up.

It included every participant’s company, department, and title—even spouses. Manager, assistant manager, deputy chief, section chief, employee… one by one, he skimmed through the names.

Then, at the very end, he noticed a sticky note.

“What’s this?”

Lifting it, he asked. Chief Hong explained, almost as if he’d been waiting.

“One name couldn’t be confirmed. I believe it may be madam, but since the name was different, I also brought the guestbook for reference.”

He set down a thick guestbook beside it, already opened to the relevant page.

On it were numerous handwritten names, but one line was crossed out so thoroughly it was illegible.

Even so, it was obvious—terrible handwriting.

Yoon-jae glanced at it dismissively.

“Looks like someone messed up and scribbled it out. No department written either.”

“Yes, that was my thought as well, but since Madam’s name was otherwise absent…”

“No need to fuss. She probably forgot to write it.”

“…Sir?”

Hong seemed surprised, but Yoon-jae remained calm. With the way Ae-jung was now, it was entirely plausible.

What mattered wasn’t her, but the people who had supported her. He tapped the neatly organized list.

There was no obligation to look after them beyond the contract, but he felt compelled to do so.

Because a contract was a promise, a mutual agreement. If he wanted Ae-jung to fulfill her role properly, then it was only right that he fulfilled his as well.

Rewarding those who had helped and protected her—more than just saving face for his wife.

Her husband.

Yes. If Joo Ae-jung was his wife, then Ha Yoon-jae was her husband.

That was his role.

“Prepare small gifts for each of them.”

“Yes, Director.”

Issuing his instructions as her husband in form, he turned back to his work. But at the edge of his gaze, the guestbook drew his attention again.

“……”

Even without the scribbles, it would have been nearly illegible.

Something about that foul handwriting gave him an odd sense of déjà vu.

He closed the book.