TO 18

Chapter 18

“Mom, I don’t have any more money either.”

— What do you mean you don’t have money?! Your husband is loaded! And is it just him? Your in-laws are…

“My in-laws have nothing to do with this, Mom…”

— Enough! If you don’t want to see your own mother turned out on the street right this second, figure something out! What am I going to do?!

Young-ran threw a full-blown tantrum like a spoiled child. A wave of nausea washed over Seo-ah.

“I don’t know, Mom. I have to go to my in-laws’ house right now, so don’t call me anymore. And from now on, handle your own problems yourself.”

Seo-ah cold-heartedly hung up the phone.

With a heavy heart, Seo-ah headed over to her in-laws’ house. Since they hadn’t been married very long, visiting his parents always felt like walking on eggshells—especially without Taehyuk by her side. She quickly wiped away any remaining traces of worry from her face. Young-ran’s situation still weighed heavily on her mind, but Seo-ah told herself there was nothing more she could possibly do.

Stepping into the main house, Seo-ah froze in absolute disbelief.

Standing right there in the living room was Go-eun.

“Sob, sob… Mother, it’s just so unfair! How could Taehyuk do this to me? Leaving me for another woman…”

“You know our Taehyuk isn’t that kind of boy. It’s all because of that damn girl. Out of all the men in the world to seduce…”

Seeing Seunghi curse at her so casually—fully aware that Seo-ah was standing right there—made Seo-ah’s knees tremble so violently she could barely stay upright.

She already knew Seunghi disapproved of her, but she had genuinely believed that if she just worked hard and treated her well, things would improve. She had felt confident about it. Yet reality was cruelly laughing right in her face.

“W-Why is Go-eun here…?” Seo-ah asked, staring at Go-eun, who was crying her eyes out as if she owned the place.

“Why? Is there any reason Go-eun can’t come here? This was supposed to be her in-laws’ house in the first place, so why shouldn’t she?!” Seunghi snapped back like a tigress with her claws out.

“N-No, I didn’t mean it like that…” Seo-ah lowered her gaze.

It’s so disrespectful. Did she really have to come on the exact day I was visiting?

Swallowing the words she desperately wanted to say, Seo-ah just stared down at the tips of her shoes.

“What are you just standing there for?! Go get Go-eun a glass of water right now!”

Seo-ah glanced toward the kitchen. Now that she looked, Mrs. Kim was nowhere to be found.

“I gave Mrs. Kim the day off today! Since you were coming anyway, why have a bunch of people bustling in and out of the kitchen?”

“What? Oh… yes…”

Seo-ah hesitantly stepped into the kitchen, biting her lip softly. The sink was piled high with dishes left over from last night’s dinner.

“Don’t use the dishwasher. It feels gross because I don’t think it cleans the dishes properly. And go run the washing machine in the laundry room while you’re at it. Ugh, you really need to learn how to be useful.”

Listening to Seunghi’s endless nagging, Seo-ah quietly approached the sink.

Seeing leftover side dishes dumped straight into the sink basin, she forced down the bitter taste rising in her throat.

“Mother, why did you even call her over? I can’t stand the sight of her.”

“There, there, don’t cry, sweetie. It’s not like you’ll have to see her often anyway…”

“Sob… What am I going to do? What about me…?”

“Go take a trip to Paris. I’ll give you the money for it.”

“Sob, Mother… I really wanted to be your daughter.”

“Sigh, of course! You think I didn’t want that too? Come on, let’s go out to the garden for some fresh air. If your face gets all puffy, the family elders will worry.”

Supporting Go-eun as they headed out to the garden, Seunghi threw a quick command over her shoulder to Seo-ah.

“Bring the water outside.”

BANG.

The door closed, and a heavy silence descended over the house. For the very first time, Seo-ah felt terrified of this place. It felt as though it might swallow her whole at any moment.

Carrying a glass of water, Seo-ah stepped outside. But the two of them were nowhere to be found in the garden.

“Where did they go?”

Seo-ah glanced around the garden searching for them. The pergola where they were supposed to be was completely empty.

Are they somewhere else…?

She took a quick walk around the garden. When neither Go-eun nor Seunghi were anywhere in sight, Seo-ah walked over toward the main gate just in case.

Standing in front of the stone steps leading down to the gate, Seo-ah stood on tiptoes, trying to see if anything was visible over the wall. But right at that moment—

“Gasp!”

Accompanied by a heavy floral scent, Seo-ah’s body tipped violently forward. Her body began tumbling straight down the stone steps.

S-Someone… someone…

She couldn’t even think straight. She had distinctly felt a pair of hands push her hard from behind, but under the barrage of heavy impacts and excruciating pain, that sensation quickly faded away.

With a heavy CRASH, Seo-ah’s body slammed into the main gate. Blackness instantly swept over her mind.

Faintly, she thought she heard Seunghi’s frantic voice calling out, “Go-eun!”—but before she could check, she completely passed out.

When Seo-ah opened her eyes, she was in a hospital room.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

A nurse who happened to be in the room looked relieved.

“I’ll go get the doctor.” Before Seo-ah could even ask what happened, the nurse hurried out of the room.

What… happened to me?

As Seo-ah pushed herself up, she felt something cold and wet sticking to her backside.

No way…

Just then, the door opened and the doctor walked in.

“D-Doctor, I…”

“You experienced severe bleeding.”

“Bleeding…?”

Seo-ah felt as if her throat were stuffed with dry cotton. She couldn’t breathe. Even the words she managed to squeeze out were weak and trembling.

“Doctor, I… I was pregnant. I checked this morning… with a home test…”

At the mention of pregnancy, the doctor’s face darkened slightly.

“Right now, the most important thing is for you to get as much rest as possible. Since your body went through trauma, your period might last a bit longer than usual…”

“It’s not… my period,” Seo-ah muttered under her breath.

She vividly remembered that faint, yet undeniably clear second line on the test strip.

No matter how faint it was, two lines meant you were definitely pregnant and should see a doctor—she had read and re-read those instructions on the box a hundred times.

“Ahem.”

The doctor ultimately refused to confirm whether she had been pregnant or not.

Something is wrong here. This isn’t right.

“Ha.”

A hollow laugh escaped Seo-ah’s lips. She felt completely deflated, like a punctured balloon with all the air sucked out.

She had just found out she was pregnant this morning. Before she even had the chance to tell Taehyuk… Seo-ah wrapped her hands tightly around her cold lower belly. In that moment, the memory came rushing back.

Someone had definitely pushed her. That touch… that scent.

Seo-ah sat up abruptly on the bed.

“Moving suddenly like this isn’t good for…”

The doctor tried to stop her, but Seo-ah pushed past him and stormed right out of the hospital room. She hailed a taxi immediately and headed straight back to her in-laws’ house.

I have to check. That perfume… it was definitely that woman Go-eun’s perfume.

“Mother…!”

Bursting into the main house, Seo-ah froze in her tracks. Walking right out of the living room was her mother, Young-ran.

“M-Mom? What are you doing here?”

Young-ran flinched, her face flushing with panic as she patted Seo-ah on the shoulder.

“Ah, I just had a little business to take care of. I talked with your mother-in-law for a bit. Let me call you later.”

Seo-ah felt a sharp, thin pain—like a fishing line—pierce straight through her lower abdomen.

She quickly grabbed Young-ran’s arm as her mother turned to leave.

“What is this? What were you doing here?!”

Young-ran shook her arm free, but Seo-ah refused to let go.

“Mom!”

“Let go of me! I’m in a rush right now!” Young-ran glared at her, her brow furrowing as she noticed the dark, purplish shadows around Seo-ah’s eyes. “What on earth happened to your face?”

And that was it. Young-ran yanked her arm away once and for all and walked out without another word.

As Seo-ah stood there in utter despair, she felt a heavy, wet gush spill out beneath her. She felt as if her very heart were pouring out of her.

Is this really just a period?

“Come in here.”

It was then that Seunghi’s voice echoed from deep inside the living room. Seo-ah snapped back to reality.

There was something far more urgent than Young-ran’s situation. Seo-ah hurried over to the living room. Go-eun was nowhere to be seen—she had likely already run off. Seunghi was sitting alone on the sofa, organizing her wallet and slipping it back into her handbag.

A terrible foreboding shook Seo-ah to her core, but she desperately tried to convince herself it wasn’t true.

No matter how low Mom sinks, there’s no way…

“Mother… I…”

“How are you feeling?” Seunghi asked, her voice dropping into a cold, flat tone.

“I-I’m okay. More importantly, Mother…”

“Were you… pregnant?”

At those words, the tears pooled in Seo-ah’s eyes spilled over, running down her cheeks.

For a brief, fleeting second, she felt thankful that someone at least acknowledged the existence of the baby who had vanished without a trace.

“Yes…” Seo-ah sobbed out.

If I had just told her about the pregnancy right away, would things have been different? It felt as though everything was all her fault.

“Haah.”

Seunghi let out a short, incredulous breath and pressed her hand against her forehead. The jade ring on her finger sparkled brightly under the sunlight.

“Mother, please check the security footage. There’s something I need to confirm.”

This had been Seunghi’s grandchild, too. Believing that Seunghi would help her once she learned the truth, Seo-ah wiped her tears and pressed on.

“Why do you need to check that?” Seunghi asked, her tone sharp and defensive.

“I have to confirm something. I didn’t just fall on my own, Mother. I’m almost certain someone pushed me.”

“The only people in this house at that time were you, me, and Go-eun. Are you trying to say I pushed you?”

Seunghi’s razor-sharp words made Seo-ah’s left cheek twitch. She felt something snap inside her.

“N-No, it’s not that…”

“So you’re saying it was Go-eun?!”

The corners of Seunghi’s eyes flared upward in anger. Seo-ah’s chest heaved up and down. She fought with everything she had to hold back the tears threatening to spill over again. She had to confirm this.

“I want to check it. Please show it to me, Mother.”