DH ✦ Ch 19

✦ Chapter 19 ✦

Mrs. Eom hurriedly got to her feet and hid her own dishes.

As Mrs. Eom patted her chest, trying to force down the rice she had swallowed in a hurry, the voice outside the kitchen gradually drew closer.

“Missed breakfast, and now they’re telling me lunch isn’t until one. That chef in the main house, seriously. His personality is absolutely awful. I told him I was starving, and he didn’t even blink. He said he had to match Grandma’s lunch schedule. It was so annoying I thought I was going to lose it. Mrs. Eom, you’re going to make me something to eat, right?”

The complaining voice entered the kitchen.

It was Se-jeong, dressed up as flamboyantly as a party girl.

She spotted Ga-young and the food on the table.

“Oh?”

Then her expression immediately hardened.

“You eat late too.”

Ga-young stood up without even finishing the last spoonful of bibimbap.

“I’m done. You can eat here.”

She left the detached house in a single stride.

Avoiding Se-jeong and not exchanging a single word with her was clearly the best option.

Outside, completely removed from the turmoil inside the building, a fragrant breeze drifted through the air. The green leaves bent gently, swaying as though they were dancing to slow music.

Ga-young followed a leisurely path, tracing a half-circle with her steps as she quietly savored that small moment of peace.

Before long, Mrs. Eom came outside to find her.

“Madam, there you are.”

“Yes. Why did you come out?”

“I couldn’t stand watching her eat, so—”

She abruptly clamped her mouth shut after speaking too soon.

Ga-young let out a small laugh.

Mrs. Eom’s stiff expression relaxed. Holding up the packet of seeds in her hand, she smiled brightly.

“The weather’s nice, so I was thinking of planting some lettuce seeds. Would you like to watch?”

“I’ll help too.”

“You can just watch, Madam.”

“No. I want to join in.”

Near the detached house was a small seedbed used for growing seedlings.

Ga-young enthusiastically helped fill it with soil and plant the seeds. Thinking about how delicious the organically grown vegetables from the garden were when they made their way onto the dining table, she found the work surprisingly enjoyable.

Even after Mrs. Eom left to fetch a watering can, Ga-young continued working on her own.

Then, once again, the unwelcome Se-jeong appeared.

It would be nice if she would just walk past.

But naturally, she deliberately approached with a lazy, swaggering gait.

Ga-young kept her nerves on edge but didn’t turn around.

Not until Se-jeong opened her mouth to throw another insult.

“The baby-maker is planting seeds now?”

Ga-young knew exactly this type of person.

The more humbly someone lowered themselves, the more viciously they kicked them. If you quietly accepted the abuse, they would crush even your soul beneath their feet.

It was the cruel way of the wicked and powerful.

Ga-young slowly rose from her crouched position.

Standing directly in front of the shorter Se-jeong, she looked down at her with cool arrogance and spoke.

“Looks like someone didn’t get enough feed. Hearing you bark because you’re hungry, I can only assume so.”

Se-jeong blinked.

Her mouth fell open.

“W-What?”

She stammered for a moment before suddenly raising her voice.

“Did you just call me a dog?!”

Well, you were talking like one.

Ga-young only lifted one corner of her mouth.

Se-jeong’s eyes darted around the area.

Then she spotted the leftover soil from filling the seedbed. Rich, dark earth mixed with natural fertilizer had been piled into a small mound nearby.

“You little beggar! How dare you!”

Se-jeong scooped up a handful of dirt with both hands and threw it straight into Ga-young’s face.

Once.

Twice.

Still unable to calm her rage, she cursed under her breath and threw a third handful.

Ga-young didn’t move.

She simply stood there and took it.

There was something almost ridiculous about trying to remain dignified while covered in black soil that smelled of cow manure, but at the very least, she refused to lose her temper like Se-jeong.

Staring calmly into Se-jeong’s furious eyes, Ga-young said,

“Seeing how much you enjoy playing in the dirt, I guess you really are a dog.”

“Hey!”

Se-jeong suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Ga-young by the hair.

“Say that again! What did you call me? A dog?!”

“Let go! Let go of me!”

Ga-young struggled to pry Se-jeong’s hand away from her hair, but it wasn’t easy.

She might have been tiny, but she had plenty of spite, and her grip was surprisingly strong.

Ga-young’s body was jerked back and forth.

Her hair tie came loose, and her hair fell into complete disarray.

“Hey!”

“What?!”

Their furious shouts overlapped without pause.

“I said let go!”

Ga-young nearly grabbed Se-jeong by the hair in return.

But she stopped herself.

She didn’t want to become the same kind of person.

Instead, she pried Se-jeong’s hand away and shoved her hard.

Se-jeong stumbled backward before falling onto the dirt with a heavy thud.

“Aah! You fucking bitch—”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

For an instant, the atmosphere changed.

The voice was quieter than the women’s shouting, yet it carried enough weight to overwhelm them both.

The air, moments ago filled with heat and fury, froze in an instant.

Ga-young saw Hyun-jae standing only a few steps away.

She froze where she stood.

Hyun-jae looked back and forth between the two women who had been engaged in what could only be described as a full-blown catfight.

His expression plainly showed how ridiculous he found the situation.

His sudden appearance was far more shocking than the fight itself.

Ga-young’s fingertips turned cold, as though they had been plunged into ice water, while her heart burned painfully in her chest.

A brief silence passed as both women stood there in shock.

Then Se-jeong suddenly burst into tears and ran toward Hyun-jae.

“Oppa, I think she’s crazy! She grabbed my hair and pushed me—”

“Stop talking. You smell like cigarettes.”

Her shameless attempt to tattle was immediately cut off.

Se-jeong froze just as she was about to throw herself into her brother’s arms.

Hyun-jae gave her a stern order.

“Go to the main house.”

Se-jeong sniffled loudly.

For all her arrogance, it seemed she couldn’t disobey her brother’s commands.

Wiping her tears with the back of her hand, she soon disappeared toward the main house.

The moment Ga-young sensed Hyun-jae approaching, she quickly turned away.

She knew exactly what she looked like without needing a mirror.

Her face was covered in dirt—so much that she could taste it in her mouth.

Her hair was a complete mess.

Black soil was smeared all over her clothes.

The thought that Hyun-jae had seen her in such a state was unbearable.

Being caught in a ridiculous fight with her sister-in-law was even more humiliating than being called a baby-making machine.

She practically ran back to the detached house.

She didn’t want him to see the tears of humiliation that were threatening to spill.

When she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, the reflection was exactly as terrible as she had imagined.

She looked like a child who had gotten into a fight in a mud field and then been thoroughly scolded by an adult.

Ga-young sniffled as she brushed the dirt off with her hands.

Because the soil was mixed with natural fertilizer, even the spots she wiped away left dark stains behind.

She gathered the loose dirt as best she could, threw it into the trash, and turned on the shower.

The warm water gradually washed the dirt from her skin, but the despair in her heart refused to disappear.

Yoon Ga-young was nothing more than a fake bride Hyun-jae had chosen to use as a shield against an arranged marriage.

She had received an enormous favor and agreed to play her role.

Her duty should have been simple: remain quietly in her place and attract as little attention as possible.

“Sniff… I have nothing, and yet I still have so much pride.”

She had accepted a huge sum of money.

No matter what happened, she should have remained composed and continued playing her part.

She should have endured it.

She should have let Se-jeong’s insults go in one ear and out the other.

She should have simply endured every kick aimed at her.

I haven’t even been in this house for long, and I’ve already caused trouble.

What will Hyun-jae think of me?

She was certain he regretted choosing her as his partner in this contract marriage.

Perhaps he was already thinking about ending the contract, having realized that she was a woman who didn’t know her place and kept causing problems.

“Ah…”

Standing beneath the shower, Ga-young covered her face with both hands.

Her hands smelled faintly of cow manure from the soil.

Clenching her teeth to hold back her tears, she covered herself in body wash.

She scrubbed herself thoroughly, working up a thick lather.

Then she washed herself again.

And again.

Only after the third wash did the unpleasant smell finally disappear.

By the time she had changed clothes and completely dried her hair, there was a knock at the door.

“Madam? It’s Mrs. Eom.”

“…Yes.”

“He would like to see you upstairs. Executive Director Shin.”

It was exactly what she had expected.

Hyun-jae’s reprimand and warning were inevitable.

Perhaps he might even tell her that he intended to terminate their contract.

“Yes. I’ll be there shortly.”

Ga-young carefully combed her hair and prepared herself.

The distance to the second floor wasn’t long, yet it felt as daunting as an entire marathon course.

She forced herself up the stairs.

At the end of them, she saw Hyun-jae standing beside the living room window.

Silhouetted against the light, the man looked as dignified as ever.

A man like him would probably never grab someone by the hair or let a curse pass his lips for the rest of his life.

Everyone respected him.

Most people obeyed him.

He was a man who could never truly understand the lives of people at the bottom—people who sometimes had to fight simply to survive.

Hyun-jae’s proud, distant gaze settled quietly on Ga-young.

Under that gaze, she felt deeply ashamed of having revealed such an ugly side of herself.

Lowering her eyes, Ga-young walked toward the long shadow he cast.

She stopped in front of him, leaving a small distance between them, and lowered her head slightly.

She had decided not to make any pathetic excuses.

Whatever he decided, she would accept it without complaint.

Even standing in his shadow, her face felt hot.

Not because of the sunlight, but because his gaze had grown deeper.

Before long, Hyun-jae finally spoke.

“Should I throw her out?”