TO 16

Chapter 16

“Hey.”

Mrs. Kim gestured with her chin toward the apron hanging on the wall, silently ordering Seo-ah to put it on immediately.

Seo-ah stared at the apron for a moment. She wasn’t alone anymore. While she didn’t feel terribly ill, it was early in her pregnancy, so she had to be extra cautious.

“Mrs. Kim, I really don’t think this is right.”

At Seo-ah’s response, Mrs. Kim’s eyes stretched tightly toward her temples in sharp irritation.

“What did you just say, young ma’am?”

The title ‘young ma’am’ dripped with heavy sarcasm. Seo-ah spoke up again.

“I mean we should each do our own jobs. Isn’t that the reason you came back to this house…?”

“Our own jobs?” Mrs. Kim scoffed mockingly. “I see. And what exactly is your job in this house, young ma’am?”

The corners of Mrs. Kim’s mouth twitched, as if to imply that wearing an apron and slaving away in the kitchen was Seo-ah’s only purpose here.

“That’s…”

Right at that moment—

“Mother~”

A familiar voice echoed from the living room. Realizing who that voice belonged to, Seo-ah’s face drained of all color.

“Welcome, Go-eun dear.”

Seunghi’s voice was full of warmth and excitement, just like when she greeted Taehyuk.

“Was the trip here tiring?”

“Not at all. I was so eager to see you that I didn’t even feel tired.”

“Good, good. Honestly, who takes such a long trip to Europe? I missed you so much I thought my eyes would pop out waiting for you.”

Only then did Seo-ah realize why Seunghi had been standing right by the entryway earlier.

She wasn’t waiting for me… She was waiting for that woman.

“I knew you would be, so I bought tons of presents for you, Mother.”

“Oh my, mine too?”

“Well, you gave me such generous pocket money!”

Go-eun’s sweet, affectionate words mingled with Seunghi’s delighted laughter.

In an instant, a sharp, searing pain shot through Seo-ah’s lower abdomen. Cold sweat broke out across her forehead, and her head began to throb.

Why is that woman… here…?

Instinctively, Seo-ah cupped her lower belly with both hands.

Her trembling wouldn’t stop.

Horrible, sickening memories began clawing at her inside.

“Oh my! Welcome, young lady!”

At the sound of Mrs. Kim’s enthusiastic greeting, Seo-ah looked up to see Go-eun walking into the kitchen.

“It’s been a while, Mrs. Kim! You look even younger.”

“Gosh, coming from you, I guess I really need to put extra effort into cooking today!”

“Oh, please! I know your cooking skills better than anyone. Here, I bought this in Paris thinking of you.”

Go-eun handed Mrs. Kim a luxury designer bag. Taking the gift, Mrs. Kim’s face practically glowed with excitement.

“Taking care of even someone like me… How can I ever thank you?”

“Oh, it’s nothing at all!”

The warm, cozy banter they exchanged pierced Seo-ah like razor-sharp blades.

And then…

“Oh, it’s been a while.”

Go-eun finally spotted Seo-ah standing deathly pale at the entrance of the kitchen.

Seo-ah bit her lip tightly as her heart leaped into her throat.

“How have you been?”

As Go-eun stepped closer, a heavy wave of floral perfume washed over Seo-ah. Smelling that dizzyingly suffocating scent—as if someone had poured an entire bottle of perfume right over her head—the dark suspicions Seo-ah had tried so hard to push down came rushing back to the surface. She grimaced and turned her head away.

“Still the same, I see?”

When Seo-ah didn’t even bother to greet her, Go-eun simply smirked, completely unfazed.

“Go-eun dear, what are you doing in there? Come out here and tell me all about your trip.”

Seunghi’s voice called out from the living room. Go-eun shot Seo-ah a sharp, scratching glare before turning on her heel toward the living room.

“Coming, Mother! I’ll be right there.”

Seo-ah watched Go-eun walk lightly toward the living room. Her long hair fell in soft, elegant curls, and her peach-colored dress fluttered gracefully. Beneath it, her long legs looked smooth and fair.

Every single thing on her body was top-tier luxury. On top of that, the casual, comfortable way she strutted around this house made her look as though she were the true daughter-in-law of the family.

“Alright, we need to hurry,” Mrs. Kim said. “You help out too, young ma’am. Miss Go-eun is surprisingly picky, so she takes a lot of work.”

Mrs. Kim pulled out an apron with her own hands and shoved it into Seo-ah’s arms, acting as though it were only natural for Seo-ah to help.

To her, it was natural, since Seo-ah had always helped prepare the meals.

However, the only reason Seo-ah had ever helped without complaining was because she believed she was cooking for her family. She had zero intention of using her own hands to prepare a meal for Go-eun.

“Young ma’am, come over here and peel some garlic. And…”

“I’m not doing it,” Seo-ah said clearly.

“Pardon?”

“I’m going home.”

“W-Wait, young ma’am. What are you saying…?”

Seo-ah threw the apron back at Mrs. Kim’s face with all her strength.

“Ah! Oh my!”

Mrs. Kim frantically caught the apron. In the meantime, Seo-ah turned and walked toward the front door.

“What do you think you’re doing right now?”

Seeing Seo-ah heading for the entryway, Seunghi demanded. The two of them happened to be moving toward the sitting room.

“I didn’t realize you had a guest over. I’ll be leaving now,” Seo-ah said.

“What did you just say?!”

Seunghi stepped closer, unable to believe her own ears. Dressed in an elegant blue-hued hanbok with her hair swept up impeccably, a chilling aura radiated off her.

“Please contact me after your guest leaves, Mother. I’ll come back then…”

SLAP!

It happened in the blink of an eye. The sharp sound of Seunghi’s hand striking Seo-ah’s cheek echoed loudly through the entire house. Seunghi was already extremely high-strung from Taehyuk’s unusual phone call earlier.

“How dare you be so arrogant! Knowing your place! What? ‘Contact me after your guest leaves’?! Where do you think you are…!”

Seunghi raised her hand into the air once more.

“Oh my goodness, Mother! Please stop! Calm down!”

Go-eun rushed over immediately, supporting Seunghi by the shoulders.

“You’re going to collapse at this rate. Please let go of your anger!”

Go-eun looked at Seunghi’s flushed, angry face with deep concern. Seo-ah cupped her stinging, burning cheek and stared at Go-eun.

“How dare you glare at me like that!”

Seunghi screamed in outrage again. Seo-ah lowered her gaze. However, she could feel the curious stares of the house servants rushing out from the kitchen, alongside Go-eun’s triumphant glare.

She felt completely stripped bare.

“I’m sorry if I upset you, Mother. But…” Seo-ah spoke firmly, trying her absolute best not to cry, even as her vision fractured and blurred with hot tears. “I simply cannot bring myself to cook a meal for that woman to eat.”

“What?!”

Seunghi glared with furious, wide eyes. Go-eun swept her long hair back over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes.

“What on earth do you mean by that?”

“You know exactly what I mean, Mother.”

Seo-ah looked straight at Seunghi. Through the thick layer of tears brimming in her eyes, she could clearly see Seunghi staring back at her like a terrifying demon—and Go-eun standing beside her with an exasperated, disbelieving smirk.

Was it like this on that day, too?

Did they watch me with those exact expressions back then?

“Are you seriously still bringing up what happened that day?! I distinctly told you to forget about it!” Seunghi’s voice was razor-sharp.

“But Mother… no matter what, how could I possibly cook a meal for her?!”

“Listen to this impudent girl talk! So, if you can’t cook for Go-eun, that means you won’t cook for me either, is that it?!”

“N-No, it’s not that…”

“Shut up! How dare a creature like you crawl into this house and act like this… Ha, unbelievable!”

Seunghi fanned herself wildly with her hand, glaring into empty air.

“Seo-ah, are you seriously still holding on to that matter? What happened back then was…” Go-eun chimed in with an innocent face.

Seo-ah glared fiercely at her, but it didn’t leave a single scratch on Go-eun’s composure.

“You don’t need to apologize, Go-eun. There’s no proof that you had anything to do with it anyway. She’s just throwing a fit all by herself, just like she did back then!”

Seunghi stepped right in front of Go-eun to block her. Seo-ah finally lost her composure and burst out:

“Mother, you’re being too harsh! No matter what… how could you do this to me…?”

“Shut your mouth this instant!”

Seunghi pointed an accusing finger at her.

“I’m so ashamed to even face Go-eun! How did someone like you end up replacing her in this house…?”

“Mother, it’s alright. Please don’t say such things,” Go-eun soothed softly.

They say a fake peacemaker is worse than the aggressor. Seo-ah glared at the two of them with a heart that felt like it was throwing up blood.

“Get out of my sight right now! Don’t you ever show your face in front of me again! I don’t even want to call someone like you my daughter-in-law!”

Seunghi shoved Seo-ah toward the entrance. Without even a chance to fight back, Seo-ah was pushed straight out the door.

BANG!

The heavy front door slammed shut right in front of her face.

As if it had been waiting for this exact moment, a twisting, squeezing pain flared in Seo-ah’s lower abdomen.

“No…”

Seo-ah crumpled to the floor in front of the door, clutching her lower belly as it twisted agonizingly inside her. Cold sweat poured down her face like rain.

“A-Ah… no… I can’t… Not again… Please, not again…”

Seo-ah groaned and whimpered under her breath, completely helpless. She fumbled around with shaking hands and shoved her arm into her bag until her fingers brushed against her phone.

With trembling hands, she dialed Taehyuk’s number.

Please… Taehyuk… Please pick up…

• Hello.

“T-Taehyuk…”

• Sir, the executives are waiting for you.

Through the receiver, another voice pressed him urgently. Panic seized Seo-ah, making her lips quiver.

• Understood. What is it? I’m quite busy right now, so if it’s not urgent, I’ll call you back in a bit.

“N-No, I…”

Click.