II - 72

Round eyes, a well-defined nose—I-ryeong was genuinely surprised by her brother’s strikingly handsome appearance.

Had he always been this good-looking?

Tall as well, she thought idly that he’d probably break many hearts in the future, and without realizing it, a smile tugged at her lips.

“Nuna?”

Jung-min, unable to endure her intense gaze while eating, called out to her.

But I-ryeong, unfazed, voiced the thoughts swirling in her mind.

“Don’t you get told often at school that you’re handsome?”

“Me?”

This time, Jung-min let out a faint smile.

For a moment, she thought how pretty his smile was.

“Nuna, I go to an all-boys high school.”

“All-boys? Oh, my mistake. Sorry about that.”

Flustered, I-ryeong hastily handed him a side dish plate.

She urged him to continue eating, but—

“...!”

Why did Jung-min now remind her of their father? Every time he smiled softly, her father’s face from years ago overlapped in her mind.

Late at night, after coming home from work, her father would sit by her bedside for a long time, gently stroking her hair when she was little.

This was insane. Truly insane—there was no other way to explain it.

I-ryeong thought the stress must be making her see things. But the more she focused on Jung-min, the clearer her father’s features became, overshadowing even her stepmother’s resemblance.

What was going on? Her already diminished appetite vanished completely.

“Nuna, are you okay?”

Interrupting her meal, Jung-min looked worried. She reassured him, saying she was just a bit tired and told him to keep eating.

“I’ve eaten plenty. Actually, I don’t eat much anyway. I’m not picky, but my portions are small.”

Jung-min grinned bashfully, claiming he was full too.

If this had been before her marriage, she might have dismissed his words as mere politeness to avoid offending her.

“Is that so? Then let’s clean up and leave. We’ll pack what’s untouched. How does that sound?”

“Yes, I’ll save the leftovers for a late-night snack.”

Jung-min continued to smile without a care in the world.

That kind of smile—one that made others feel good—couldn’t possibly be fake.

Why hadn’t she noticed this sooner? Once again, regret washed over her as she reflected on her past neglect, much like when she visited the snack shop earlier.

---

It was pitch dark by the time they returned to their parents’ house.

Unlike earlier, when the silence had been unbearable, simply having Jung-min with her brought immense comfort. It felt like the stability only family could provide.

“Until what time do you review?”

“Until midnight. That’s when Mom and Dad usually come home. I stop then and wake up a bit earlier in the morning to study more.”

Jung-min was a senior preparing for college entrance exams.

“Can I help you study? Despite how I look, I studied quite a bit myself.”

“Nuna, I heard from Mom and Dad that you were an amazing student. They said you entered university as the top scorer.”

Her casual offer to tutor him earned her unexpected praise, making her cheeks flush and ears burn.

Not wanting to dwell on the awkwardness, she quickly changed the subject.

“Shall we study in your room?”

“I’d love that!”

“Then can you bring the dining chair into your room? My arm is a bit sore, so it’s hard for me to carry it.”

Before she finished speaking, Jung-min had already grabbed the chair and moved it. He even asked if there was anything else he could help with.

Her arm wasn’t severely injured; aside from some discomfort, it didn’t hinder her daily life significantly.

Yet today, her minor injury seemed to stir something strange within her.

Not just her husband—her entire family treated her with such care. Even as an adult, she felt cherished like a precious child.

In the past, such treatment would have made her uncomfortable and eager to push them away. But now, it was different.

“Nuna, am I making things harder for you unnecessarily?”

“Because of my arm?”

Jung-min nodded as they sat side by side on chairs arranged near his desk.

“I’ll be fine in a few days. See, I walked around with you just fine earlier. Did I seem odd?”

“No.”

Jung-min shook his head vigorously.

Since she had only shown her bruised shoulder to their parents, he likely didn’t know about it.

“It’s just a slight arm injury. No cast, no bandages—it’s nothing serious. So don’t worry about me, alright?”

She patiently explained everything to him.

Even this level of communication marked a change from her past self. Yet despite her clear explanation, Jung-min still looked flustered.

“Could it be... you thought I was pregnant?”

“...Yes.”

He had assumed her lack of appetite stemmed from morning sickness, and her request for him to move the chair came from being unable to lift heavy objects due to early pregnancy.

“I’m sorry.”

Jung-min, his face beet red, apologized in a barely audible voice.

“That’s understandable. Why are you bowing your head like that? Don’t tell me—you’re waiting for a niece or nephew?”

At the mention of “niece or nephew,” Jung-min’s eyes widened as he lifted his head.

He looked every bit like an excited uncle eagerly awaiting a baby.

“Thank you for waiting for our baby.”

Children—something she hadn’t even considered during her married life with I-jun.

For a fleeting moment, she imagined a child inheriting only the best traits from both of them. The thought of such a cute, adorable child brought a smile to her lips, though she suppressed it.

Surprisingly, the idea didn’t make her feel uneasy or uncomfortable.

“If I ever have a child, you’ll be the second person I tell after your brother-in-law.”

“Yes!”

Jung-min’s subtle yet attentive care warmed I-ryeong’s heart. She didn’t want to doubt or resent his pure intentions.

Thanks to her brother, she now felt motivated to discuss the idea of having children with I-jun. The thought brought a fluttering excitement to her chest.

With a soft smile, I-ryeong began helping Jung-min with his studies.

“Do you only go to the library? What about private academies? Do you have any tutoring on weekends?”

“I just go to school and the library.”

Jung-min answered casually while solving a math problem, his tone betraying no particular concern.

I-ryeong tilted her head, puzzled.

“Your parents don’t send you to any academies?”

“No. They offered to enroll me in one for English and math, but I declined. I think online lectures and educational broadcasts are enough.”

As she listened to him, I-ryeong double-checked his solution process. Despite the problem’s difficulty, he solved it smoothly and arrived at the correct answer.

“Do you have about 100 days left until the college entrance exam?”

“Yes, just under three months.”

Jung-min continued solving problems without showing any signs of annoyance at her questions.

“Should I find you a tutor? Even a couple of months of intensive tutoring could make a big difference.”

“I’m really fine. Did I get this one right too?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, you did.”

From what I-ryeong observed, Jung-min seemed genuinely interested in studying. Though she hadn’t seen his report card, she could sense that he was doing quite well academically.

Still, it saddened her that their parents appeared to have stepped back from supporting him when he clearly needed guidance at home.

---

‘Considering how much time we spend at the shop, maybe you could occasionally check up on Jung-min.’

Her father’s words suddenly came to mind.

At the time, she had thought he was just making excuses to bring her home more often and had resisted fiercely.

Especially since she had always seen her father as someone who never showed her warmth, she had fought back even harder.

‘Why should I take care of a grown kid? I work! I’m not some idle person!’

Looking back, her response wasn’t entirely wrong. She had been going through an incredibly tough period—betrayed by both her company and her friends. Completely isolated, she had felt unbearably lonely.

She had envied Jung-min. Resented how her father seemed to care more for someone else than for his own daughter.

It wasn’t just then; she had harbored resentment toward Jung-min ever since learning about her stepmother’s child. Knowing it was a petty mindset only made her lash out more.

‘Wouldn’t it be nice if you helped Jung-min with his studies once in a while?’

Perhaps it had been her father’s last attempt to connect.

‘Why should I?!’

The memory of her sharp retort felt as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.

In truth, she herself had never attended private academies or received tutoring. Driven by an obsessive need to succeed on her own, she had refused to ask her father for help.

Without ever reaching out, she had convinced herself she’d been rejected.

“Haa...”

I-ryeong sighed unconsciously.

It truly had been a mistake. If her father hadn’t supported her, why would he have done so for his son?

Though Jung-min wasn’t her biological brother, the legal ties between them stirred feelings of guilt within her.

“Nuna...”

Jung-min looked at her with eyes brimming with sorrow, as though he might cry at any moment.

Anger bubbled up inside her—resentment toward her father for not even sending Jung-min to a single academy.

“Are you okay?”

Seeing Jung-min’s tearful gaze blurred the tangled web of past and present thoughts, slowly fading them away.

Her mood shifted strangely, and her expression crumbled.

“Nuna... Are you alright?”

Jung-min’s teary eyes reminded her of someone she’d seen before.

His pitiful, heartbreaking gaze mirrored the way she used to look as a child—vulnerable and fragile. It pained her deeply.

When she pretended to sleep as a child, her father would sit by her bedside and stroke her hair, and tears would well up in her eyes. Believing she shouldn’t cry in front of him, she pinched her tender skin endlessly to hold back the tears. Those suppressed tears now seemed identical to the ones Jung-min was holding back.

“Jung-min...”

A shiver ran down her spine as fear gripped her. She began to understand why I-jun had insisted she stay at her parents’ house for a week—and that realization terrified her even more.

And now, she wondered: What if my suspicions are right? Fear enveloped her completely.