BR - 38

Shortly after, Secretary Lee handed Madam Cha the printed documents.

Disgustingly, the documents were filled with even more outrageous content.

“Lee Eun-chae, bring her to me immediately.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Sensing Madam Cha’s low mood, Secretary Lee rushed out.

Madam Cha tore the documents she was holding into shreds. She felt a chill, afraid someone might see them.

She was always vulgar!

Not even noticing her red-painted nails digging into her palm, Madam Cha clenched her fist tightly.

________________________________________

There was nothing I could do to escape right now. What should I do?

Eun-chae sighed deeply, looking at her bank balance. Even if she worked part-time all night, she couldn’t leave Seok-kyung’s apartment right away.

Just then, her phone rang. She tilted her head, seeing an unknown number, and answered the call.

“Hello?”

-This is Madam Cha Kyung-ok’s secretary.

For a moment, she thought she misheard.

Madam Cha Kyung-ok. Seok-kyung’s mother. The one who drove her to divorce and broke her promise to help her father’s company.

“Wh-what’s the matter?”

It was obvious. It was because of Joo-eun; there couldn’t be any other reason.

-Madam is looking for you.

“I’ll go after work.”

After hanging up with Secretary Lee, Eun-chae clutched her pounding heart.

She couldn’t breathe properly.

The thought of seeing that harsh and cruel face again... It was obvious what kind of hurtful words she would say today.

But Eun-chae wasn’t the same person she was three years ago. Madam Cha wasn’t her mother-in-law anymore either.

Time passed without her realizing, and it was time to leave work. Eun-chae was the first to leave the office, saying she was leaving early.

She took the subway and got off in the neighborhood where Seok-kyung’s main residence was, then walked to the house.

Walking the road she used to take by car felt strange.

The road hadn’t changed at all in three years, but she had changed too much, making her feel somewhat sad.

It was dark when she arrived at the main residence. Eun-chae took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and rang the doorbell.

-Yes?

“This is Lee Eun-chae. I’m here to see Madam Cha.”

Without answering, the intercom was cut off, and the large black gate opened with a clanking sound.

Passing the still-clean stone steps and the still-well-maintained wide lawn, she arrived at the front door, where a familiar face opened the door.

“You’ve arrived, Young Madam?”

It was the housekeeper she was close to when she lived in this house. Time had added wrinkles to her face, but she still looked at her with a kind smile.

“It’s been a while, ma’am.”

“Come in. Madam is waiting for you.”

Eun-chae took off her shoes, put on slippers, and followed the housekeeper to the living room.

The unchanged scenery of the house from three years ago made her feel like she was still living here.

The unchanging scent, the still-bright lighting, and Madam Cha, who was casting a cold gaze at her.

“It’s been a while. How have you been?”

Eun-chae bowed her head slightly in greeting.

“Sit.”

As if she didn’t need greetings, Madam Cha gestured to the sofa with her chin.

Eun-chae approached the sofa where Madam Cha was sitting and sat at a distance.

“What did you call me for?”

“Before I ask Seok-kyung, I’m asking you first. Why are you at that company?”

So she called her about that.

But Eun-chae had something to say too.

“I was there first. Mr. Seok-kyung came later.”

“Even so, you should have quit when you saw Seok-kyung.”

“You know my circumstances.”

Eun-chae answered without looking at Madam Cha.

She wasn’t scared at all by the venom in her gaze, which was observing her intently.

“Are you blaming me?”

“You promised to help me.”

“No, I said I’d think about it.”

At Madam Cha’s words, Eun-chae turned her head sharply and glared at her.

She still shuddered at the thought of betraying Seok-kyung by being tricked by such wordplay.

“So, what are you trying to do with our Seok-kyung?”

“What do you mean, what am I trying to do?”

“I’m asking what your relationship is.”

“We have no relationship.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Eun-chae answered, avoiding the piercing gaze.

“But you’re living in an apartment under Seok-kyung’s name?”

Ah, so she knew that much?

Her heart pounded. She had confidently said they were nothing, but knowing she lived in his apartment made her feel anything but confident.

“I didn’t ask to live there.”

“Then?”

“It’s... it happened by accident...”

She couldn’t bring herself to say that Seok-kyung had secretly cleared out her cramped room and forced her to take that apartment.

For Seok-kyung’s sake.

“It happened by accident?”

“......Yes.”

“I’ll believe you for now.”

Eun-chae couldn’t understand why she was saying she believed her.

Madam Cha wouldn’t let it go this easily.

“You know Seok-kyung is remarrying, right? Don’t even dream of trying to hold him back.”

“Mr. Seok-kyung and I are already divorced, and we’re not in a position where either of us can hold the other back.”

It had become strangely entangled, but after the wedding... no, before the wedding, she would cut off the relationship somehow.

“Here.”

Madam Cha placed a white envelope on the table and pushed it towards Eun-chae.

“I put in a decent amount. Looking at you, it doesn’t seem like you’re struggling as much as I thought. But use it for whatever you need.”

Eun-chae bit her lip slightly and picked up the trembling envelope.

Judging by its thinness, it was probably a check, and it wouldn’t be a small amount.

Accepting this was like accepting help from an enemy, but Eun-chae had no intention of clinging to such petty pride.

“I’ll accept it, though I’m ashamed. I’ve had a pretty hard time thanks to you.”

As Eun-chae answered and put the envelope in her bag, Madam Cha’s lips curved upward as she watched.

After finishing the short meeting and coming outside, Eun-chae walked straight ahead without looking back until she reached the main road.

Only then did she grab a utility pole and crouch down on the ground.

Her eyes stung because her mascara was smudged from the tears flowing down her cheeks.

Damn it.

She felt sick. Even though she hadn’t eaten anything, she felt nauseous and had a splitting headache.

She barely took a handkerchief out of her bag, wiped away her tears and snot, and stood up. She felt the indifferent gazes of passersby, but she didn’t care.

She couldn’t bring herself to take the bus or subway home, so she reluctantly took a taxi and leaned back in the seat.

Looking blankly out the window, she finally felt a little better.

Suddenly, she remembered the envelope Madam Cha gave her, opened her bag, and took out the money inside the envelope to check.

“......!”

At the surprisingly large amount, Eun-chae quickly put the check back in the envelope and locked her bag.

30 million won.

It was a small amount that Madam Cha could throw away at once, but not for Eun-chae.

With 30 million won, she could move out of Seok-kyung’s apartment and find another place right away.

Was this what she was aiming for?

Knowing her difficult situation, she had thrown her enough money to find another house.

As expected, Madam Cha was no ordinary person.

She could have given her more money, but she probably knew that if the amount exceeded a certain limit, Eun-chae would refuse and return it.

It was frustrating, but Eun-chae had no choice but to accept this money.

It was too cheap for the price of telling her to stay away from Seok-kyung, but she had no choice.

The nausea she had suppressed returned, and her hot head cooled down.

It was all because of Baek Seok-kyung.

If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t have had to endure this humiliation from Madam Cha, whom she would never have met again.

She resented Seok-kyung for making her accept such a large sum of money, even though she should have been cursing him.

Tears welled up in her eyes, reflected in the car window, and then blurred.

Wiping away the tears flowing down her cheeks with her sleeve, she gritted her teeth.

She vowed to stop being dragged around by him from today.

The next day during lunch, Eun-chae skipped lunch and went around real estate agencies near the company. She found a suitable studio apartment in terms of distance and price and made an appointment to sign the contract on the weekend.

When she returned to the company, she posted her resume on job search sites whenever she had a free moment.

Now that she had found a place to live, she had to change jobs as well.

It would be too sudden, but cutting it off cleanly would be better for her and Seok-kyung.

Her heart ached, but it couldn’t be helped. This was the best for both of them.

[Make some time after work today.]

Checking the message from Seok-kyung, Eun-chae frowned.

It wasn’t making an appointment if he was notifying her on the same day when he said he would make an appointment.

[I’m busy.]

Eun-chae sent a short reply.

[Then when are you free?]

[I’m busy for a while.]

[What are you busy with? Surely you’re not working at a convenience store, are you?]

[Everyone’s been working overtime lately because of the work you assigned. I don’t even have time for part-time jobs.]

Only then did Seok-kyung’s persistent messages stop.

In reality, only Team Leader Park, Section Chief Kang, and Deputy Yang were busy with the national project.

Other employees only supported during working hours and were free to leave after work.

Since Seok-kyung wouldn’t know such details, she just bluffed, and fortunately, he didn’t ask further.

She didn’t know how long this would work, but she planned to avoid him until she found a new job.

She didn’t need to meet him to pay back the money.

Suddenly, the thought that she would really never see Seok-kyung again if she changed jobs made her heart ache.

________________________________________

[My mom is here, so I can’t.]

Checking the message from Eun-chae, Seok-kyung irritably put his phone in his pocket.

He hadn’t been able to see her for a week.

Even when they accidentally met at work, she just bowed and passed by, and she didn’t come up when he called her to the rooftop.

Even when he tried to make an appointment to meet at home, she made excuses, saying she didn’t have time.