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Chapter 14
Even as Yena climbed the long stairs and crossed the wide garden, the scent of acacia continued to linger at her nose. With every step she took, the fragrance bloomed, stirring her emotions in strange ways. Thinking it completely incomprehensible, she clicked the door open.
“I’m home.”
She greeted loudly as she entered the foyer. Yet, despite her bright greeting, the atmosphere inside the house felt heavy and oppressive. She took a small, deep breath and stepped into the living room.
Seeing Choi Kang-jun and Na Hwa-seon in the living room, she greeted them again, but no reply came. Only an uncomfortable silence filled the space. Only then did the events of the day return to Yena’s mind, pressing down on her chest.
President Choi Kang-jun was carefully dusting off a large figure in the living room, about the size of an adult. Being a figure enthusiast, Choi Kang-jun liked decorating his house with large and small figures all over and enjoyed looking at them.
Na Hwa-seon merely gazed intently at an Ermeso vase, intricately carved with a horse painting she treasured, without even glancing at Yena.
Finally, Choi Kang-jun tore his eyes away from the figure and turned to Yena.
“Hmm. Yena, come sit over here for a bit.”
“Yes.”
Yena, cautiously watching, perched on the sofa. Her gaze fell on Choi Kang-jun, whose posture seemed somewhat uncomfortable, and she stiffened slightly at the tips of her toes.
“Hmm…”
Choi Kang-jun only moved his lips but said nothing. After gauging the atmosphere, Yena spoke first.
“Dad, I’m really sorry about what happened today. I think I messed up because I drank too much on Friday. I’ll make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”
Choi Kang-jun groaned, furrowing his brows deeply instead of replying.
What on earth is he waiting to say?
Yena, anxious, looked at him. After a long silence, Choi Kang-jun finally spoke.
“How many times has this kind of thing happened now?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Luckily, your grandfather doesn’t seem to know yet… Hm, I’m thinking about sending you back to the U.S. What do you think?”
“Wha—?”
Her mind went completely blank. The U.S.? She hadn’t imagined hearing such words.
“Wouldn’t it be more comfortable for you in America too?”
She couldn’t just run away to the U.S. like this.
This precious opportunity her grandmother had given her… this was her second chance at life. Above all, she had to deal with Lee Jin-sang and Lee Si-hyun—those pieces of trash—with her own hands.
In desperation, Yena stepped closer to Choi Kang-jun and collapsed to the floor. Her eyes, fixed on him, were full of earnestness.
“I know I was wrong, so I’ll accept any punishment. But I don’t want to go back to America. There’s so much I want to do here in Korea. I’ll change from now on. I promise I’ll keep my word this time, so please, trust me.”
Choi Kang-jun’s eyes widened. Seeing Yena bow her head and beg for forgiveness filled him with both surprise and pity.
“Ha… this…”
He avoided her gaze and looked up at the ceiling.
At that moment, Na Hwa-seon, who had so far pretended not to hear anything and only stared at the Ermeso vase, approached Choi Kang-jun.
Seeing the articles about Yena all over the internet, Na Hwa-seon inwardly cheered. This was the perfect opportunity to get rid of Yena, out of sight, once and for all. She forced her voice to be as gentle as possible.
“Yena, this is a good chance to think it over. If you go to America, you can do whatever you want. Here in Korea, there are too many eyes watching, and you can’t even move freely, right? Why don’t you stay at the villa in Orange County for a while? You know the weather there is amazing.”
Tilting her head slightly, Na Hwa-seon looked at Yena’s face. Yena’s eyes, unfocused, trembled slightly.
“…”
Na Hwa-seon continued softly.
“Mom and Dad will visit often too. You’re good at English, so living in the U.S. won’t be inconvenient at all. If you need, I’ll even send a few secretaries with you. Okay?”
“No. I want to live here with Dad, Mom, and Si-hoo.”
“…!”
A brief silence fell. Na Hwa-seon’s face, momentarily losing composure, contorted.
Dad, Mom, and Si-hoo? When did she start caring about family?
Na Hwa-seon’s eyes narrowed sharply. Breaking the tense atmosphere between Yena and Na Hwa-seon, Choi Kang-jun interjected.
“Hmm! Alright, I understand your thoughts for now. Think it over, and we’ll talk later. You must be tired—go inside and rest.”
“Oh, yes!”
Na Hwa-seon’s eyes, which had been trying to end things today, curved upward. When she looked at Choi Kang-jun with a resentful glare, he waved his hand as if to say she was being noisy.
Looking at Choi Kang-jun’s stern face, Yena thought, Is that just another way of telling me to leave?
She opened her mouth to say something but ended up replying weakly.
“Yes, I will rest.”
Adding more words now would only make the atmosphere worse. Yena barely lifted her drooping shoulders.
The third day of living as Choi Yena.
The new life, which she had expected to be smooth, was not easy. It felt as though the whole world was watching her, judging her every move.
Reporters swarmed the company, countless malicious comments were posted online, employees whispered behind her back, and a stranger named Kang Min-hyuk came to her house cursing and swinging his fists. Even her so-called parents only thought of sending her back to America.
Yena trudged to her room. The long, exhausting day dragged on.
Thud.
As she closed the door, the tears she had been holding back finally burst forth. She collapsed onto her bed. Streams of tears soaked the white sheets.
Even here, I’m an unwelcome presence. This was my second chance from Grandma, but is it no different from my past life?
The past that Ji-yoon had tried so hard to forget crept back from the depths of her memory.
Ji-yoon’s parents had died in a traffic accident before she even turned one year old.
They had been returning from visiting Ji-yoon’s grandfather’s grave. Their car had slipped on icy highway roads and was sucked under a large container truck in front of them. Both had died on the spot.
After her parents’ death, Ji-yoon had to live moving from one relative’s house to another. They wanted not Ji-yoon, but the insurance money and inheritance left behind by her parents. To her paternal and maternal relatives, Ji-yoon was nothing but a nuisance that brought misfortune into the family.
The only person who loved Ji-yoon unconditionally was her maternal grandmother.
One day, when seven-year-old Ji-yoon was living at her eldest uncle’s house, her grandmother unexpectedly came, carrying side dishes, saying she wanted to see Ji-yoon. At that time, Ji-yoon had been punished and left in her underwear on the veranda for not eating properly. Seeing the pale, emaciated body marked with bruises, her grandmother was furious.
“What on earth have they done to a child for her body to be in this state? Ji-yoon hasn’t even eaten properly? And these bruises…?”
“Grandmother, you can’t say that. We’ve raised this child with such care until now. Do you know how much money we’ve spent?”
“My goodness! Honestly, that’s ridiculous. So you kept her all this time just because of money, right? Am I wrong? Stripping a child and leaving her on the veranda in this weather—is that humane?”
“Grandmother! You’re overreacting. We’ve disciplined her, not abused her. We are not those kinds of people.”
“Oh my, that’s enough. This is abuse, no need for further discussion. I’m taking Ji-yoon with me. Child, put your clothes on. Let’s go together. Anywhere would be better than here.”
Young Ji-yoon felt as if she had met a savior. That memory stayed vivid even into adulthood.
After that, Ji-yoon never met her paternal relatives again. They never came to see her nor showed any curiosity.
At that time, her grandmother lived with Ji-yoon at her eldest uncle’s house. Her eldest uncle was a professor at a well-known private university, and her second uncle was the CEO of a small company. Both were socially successful.
However, none of the maternal relatives regarded Ji-yoon as family either. Seeing Ji-yoon, who had been living with her eldest uncle’s family for months, pitiful, her grandmother declared in front of the family:
“I will live separately with Ji-yoon. You can live comfortably yourselves; I think I’ve been too inconsiderate until now. From now on, I and Ji-yoon won’t interfere with you. But since the money I’ve saved is not enough, get a small house for us, pretending you’re thinking of your mother. After that, whatever I do, I’ll manage with Ji-yoon. I will never ask for help from you again.”
Her uncles and aunts agreed without protest. They didn’t even try to stop her. It was probably a relief to them.
When Ji-yoon started elementary school, she and her grandmother finally moved into their own home—a small, one-room house—but they lived there from elementary school until she got married.
It was the happiest period of Ji-yoon’s life.
From then on, her grandmother ran a snack shop at the market to support Ji-yoon, never missing a single day, even until diagnosed with lung cancer.
Grandma… I miss you.
The thought that she might be driven out of this house too brought a wave of sorrow. She recalled her grandmother dancing in a field of rapeseed flowers in Jeju. Hot tears fell silently onto her cheeks.
Grandma must be watching everything. I promised I wouldn’t cry again…
Yena wiped her eyes with her hands, trying to hold back the sobs that threatened to spill over.
