DDOS 02

Chapter 2

Even when life shattered easily, somehow, you had to piece it back together and carry on with your daily routine.

Even when debt collectors came to her school, and even when she couldn’t attend school for a while because she was constantly on the run.

And during all the other moments when things happened that she couldn’t bring herself to tell anyone about, Yeo-eun simply ate her meals, cleaned her room, and took out the trash.

She had to.

That was how she survived.

The orange juice carton Hwa-shin had left behind was irritating her.

Yeo-eun snatched it up and shoved it into the recycling bag. She intended to take out the trash and forget everything that had happened just moments ago.

She roughly tied the bag, irritably pushing a glass bottle that had poked out back inside, then opened the door.

At that moment, Yeo-eun heard a very small voice.

“Kang Yeo-eun.”

A chill swept over her.

Yeo-eun stopped in front of the door without even managing to put down the bag containing paper, plastic bottles, and glass bottles.

The person waiting to greet her was a little girl who had been squatting nearby.

The child, whose hair had been pulled back into a single ponytail, stood up when she saw Yeo-eun.

Then she pronounced the name clearly once more.

“Miss Kang Yeo-eun.”

The little girl was dressed in a yellow dress. She looked about five years old.

The child bent her tiny body almost in half and bowed politely to Yeo-eun.

Who? Who are you?

The simple words wouldn’t come out, lodged in her throat like a thorn.

When Yeo-eun gave no response, the girl’s eyes filled with anxiety.

Soon, she hurriedly pulled a white envelope from a little bag no bigger than her palm and held it out to Yeo-eun.

Yeo-eun stared at the writing on the envelope.

[To Kang Yeo-eun.]

She recognized the handwriting instantly.

It belonged to Lee Hwa-shin.

Hwa-shin had suddenly appeared.

And now there was a little child who knew Yeo-eun’s name.

No way.

Just as the ominous thought was beginning to take shape—

The glass bottle she’d stuffed into the garbage bag finally slipped out and fell onto the villa hallway floor.

Crash!

The sound of shattering glass echoed through the corridor.

Only then did Yeo-eun snap back to reality.

The child flinched in surprise and hunched her shoulders.

Yeo-eun pushed the garbage bag toward the entrance, then went inside and returned with a silicone broom and a thick paper bag.

“Don’t touch it.”

The girl, who had crouched down and reached toward the glass shards, startled and immediately stood up.

Yeo-eun instinctively pushed her toward the side where the glass hadn’t scattered.

“Stay there.”

She had no idea what had come over her as she cleaned everything up.

The child remained exactly where she’d been.

Even while Yeo-eun gathered the broken glass, cleaned the hallway, and eventually took out the trash, the girl waited there.

When Yeo-eun returned, she stood in the hallway for a moment and looked at the child.

Unable to bear the silence any longer, the girl lowered her head.

Just then, someone who was heading upstairs glanced briefly at Yeo-eun and the child beneath the staircase before walking past.

In the end, Yeo-eun took the girl inside and closed the front door.

With a heavy thud, Yeo-eun and the little girl were separated from the outside world.

Perhaps intimidated by Yeo-eun’s prolonged silence, the child mumbled,

“Mommy said Miss Kang Yeo-eun would come out before it got dark.”

Mommy.

That was the moment Yeo-eun’s suspicions were finally nailed firmly into reality.

Apparently, her mother had managed to have a child somewhere during her extraordinary history with men.

So that’s why she hadn’t contacted her.

Really. Impressive.

Yeo-eun wasn’t surprised.

She merely let out a hollow laugh.

Without a word, she took the white envelope from the child’s hands.

The words To Kang Yeo-eun were written in elegant handwriting.

Anyone who didn’t know the circumstances might have imagined that the envelope contained some beautifully written letter telling a wonderful story.

Naturally, there was no letter inside.

There was a copy of a family relationship certificate.

And 300,000 won in cash.

“But she said… if you didn’t come out, I should ring the bell.”

The child desperately tried to speak clearly.

Her breathing was ragged between each word.

It seemed that the girl vaguely understood her own situation as well.

Yeo-eun tried not to become too gentle with her.

But she didn’t want to be cold, either.

So she calmly asked,

“Then why were you just waiting outside?”

“Th-the bell… I couldn’t reach it.”

The girl looked up at Yeo-eun.

She was small.

Maybe five or six years old.

The doorbell of this old villa had been installed somewhat high up. Even standing on tiptoe, the child couldn’t reach it.

“What were you going to do if I didn’t come out?”

The girl clasped both hands together and carefully explained everything she knew.

“She said… if Miss Kang Yeo-eun wouldn’t let me sleep here, I should go to the nearest church.”

“Lee Hwa-shin said that?”

The girl nodded and answered in a voice quieter than the wind.

“Mommy did.”

The child couldn’t take her eyes off Yeo-eun.

She had every reason to stare.

Those large, round eyes, dark irises, even her nose and lips—

The girl must have looked exactly like Lee Hwa-shin.

Only then did Yeo-eun understand why her mother had talked about going to prison.

Hwa-shin had always dumped the burdens and trash of her life onto Yeo-eun.

And she’d done the same thing again this time.

Like throwing something into a garbage dump.

Why is she still alive…?

Yeo-eun was thinking the words without even knowing whom she was directing them toward when her phone suddenly rang.

It was an unfamiliar number, but Yeo-eun assumed it was Hwa-shin.

Her mother changed phone numbers as often as she ate meals.

Yeo-eun pressed the answer button.

“—Ms. Kang Yeo-eun, Lee Hwa-shin is your mother, correct?”

Contrary to Yeo-eun’s expectations, the person calling was asking something strange in a very businesslike tone.

Yeo-eun thought it was probably the police.

Good.

“Excuse me, if Lee Hwa-shin is there, tell her to come pick up the child. Abandoning her like this is so irresponsi—”

She was in the middle of speaking when a strange sound reached her ear.

“…Ms. Lee Hwa-shin’s taxi was involved in an accident… she’s unconscious…”

Yeo-eun stared down at the child while holding the phone.

The voice coming through the phone seemed to buzz in her ears like tinnitus.

The police explained that Hwa-shin had hailed a taxi immediately after leaving the house and had gotten into a traffic accident as soon as the taxi reached the main road.

The taxi had collided with a truck.

Or was it something else?

Yeo-eun couldn’t even remember exactly what they had said.

By the time Yeo-eun arrived at the hospital, Hwa-shin had already been taken in for emergency surgery.

When the doctor came out of the operating room, he said the surgery had taken a long time and that her condition was poor, so they couldn’t guarantee the outcome.

Yeo-eun felt as though she’d been swept away by a wave.

She couldn’t think straight.

By the time she finally came to her senses and looked at the clock, it was already past midnight.

At that hour, the only place near the hospital where they could get something to eat was a twenty-four-hour fast-food restaurant.

There were quite a few people inside, but Yeo-eun was the only one there with a child.

The little girl sat across from her, looking around.

Her eyes held equal parts drowsiness and curiosity.

But she didn’t fall asleep or ask any questions.

She simply looked at the decorations and character posters on the walls, occasionally running her fingers along the corner of the worn-out table.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

In front of the child was a tray containing a hamburger, a toy, orange juice, and a cup of hot coffee.

This was Yeo-eun’s first time coming to a fast-food restaurant with a child this young.

She hadn’t wanted to think about what to order, nor had she wanted to ask the child what she liked.

So she’d simply chosen the children’s meal she saw on the menu.

A Happy Kids Meal.

Ordering, “One Happy Kids Meal, please,” in a situation like this almost made Yeo-eun feel as though someone was mocking her.

The child seemed more interested in the toy than the hamburger.

At Yeo-eun’s words, she stared intently at it.

But she didn’t even reach for it.

Yeo-eun couldn’t help sighing.

At her sigh, the girl nervously avoided her gaze.

Something about that behavior looked strangely familiar, and anger surged inside Yeo-eun.

She was used to enduring things.

Just like someone else.

Yeo-eun unnecessarily tore open the hamburger’s paper wrapper with rough hands and held it out to the child.

“Eat. You can look at the toy after you finish.”

The girl rolled her eyes uncertainly as she looked at Yeo-eun.

Then she cautiously opened her mouth and took a bite of the hamburger.

Her second bite came much faster.

As though she’d only just realized how hungry she was, the girl hurriedly stuffed the hamburger into her mouth.

“Slow down.”

After saying that, Yeo-eun finally looked at the hot coffee she’d brought for herself.

She didn’t want to eat anything, but she needed to keep herself awake.

She took a sip of coffee.

It seemed to clear her head a little.

They had come here because of the sound that had come from the child’s stomach as they sat beside each other.

Yeo-eun had been sitting dazed in front of the operating room when she belatedly realized that the child hadn’t eaten anything for several hours.

Did you eat lunch?

The child, who had been nodding off, opened her eyes and nodded.

Mommy bought me sweet-and-sour pork.

Yeo-eun let out a small laugh.

She hasn’t changed the menu she buys before abandoning someone.

Are you hungry?

Unlike just moments ago, when she’d answered immediately, the child hesitated and remained silent.

Get up. Let’s go.

There was no telling when the surgery would end.

And both the child and Yeo-eun had gone the entire day without eating.

“Unnie, aren’t you going to eat?”

The child asked while still eating, her mouth smeared with teriyaki sauce.

“I’m not.”

“It’s really good, though…”

“Take your time. Finish it.”

The child went back to eating her hamburger.

Across from her, Yeo-eun stared at her phone screen.

Orphanage.

Child foster-care facilities.

The more she scrolled, the less she knew what to do.

She couldn’t decide what choice would be better, or for whom.

In one corner of her mind, another version of Yeo-eun was screaming at the top of her lungs.

Get a grip. Are you crazy? Who are you to worry about anyone when you can barely take care of yourself? Take her to a facility as soon as morning comes.

Memories she’d thought she’d completely forgotten slowly began creeping back.

Lee Hwa-shin buying her a dress at an outlet.

Lee Hwa-shin buying her jajangmyeon and sweet-and-sour pork.

Lee Hwa-shin riding buses and taxis with her, taking her far, far away.

Seven-year-old Kang Yeo-eun, desperately holding back her tears because she didn’t want to let go of Hwa-shin’s hand in front of the children’s facility.

Having a mother who would have been a hundred times better off never existing was one thing.

Being abandoned by her was another.

Hwa-shin must have known.

She must have known that Yeo-eun wouldn’t be able to abandon the child.

That was why she’d left the child with Yeo-eun.

Or perhaps Hwa-shin simply didn’t care whether Yeo-eun abandoned her.

Either way, it was the worst possible outcome.

“I finished everything. Can I open this now?”

The child asked.

But it wasn’t Yeo-eun who answered.

“Before that, you should wipe your hands.”

A man’s voice, low and casually intimate.

At the same time, someone suddenly dropped into the seat beside the child, directly across from Yeo-eun.

It was a man dressed in an impeccably black suit.

Yeo-eun’s eyes widened.