MHD - 15

As Hee-soo scrambled to her feet in a daze, the shards of glass that had fallen onto her knees sparkled before clattering to the floor. 

Whether she stepped on them or they pierced her skin, the soles of her feet felt as though they were being torn apart. But there was no time to dwell on the pain. The thought of being cast out again like this was unbearable, utterly unjust. 

“President Yoon, please save me. Please help me.” 

“Hee-soo.” 

Yoon Ji-sun hesitated for a moment as she looked at Hee-soo clinging desperately to her clothes. Thinking this might be her last chance, Hee-soo sobbed and tightened her grip on Ji-sun’s hem. 

“President Yoon, please don’t pretend not to see me.” 

“...Stop it.” 

“Please.” 

“Don’t do this.” 

Ji-sun, looking down at Hee-soo with a pained expression, furrowed her brows and turned her head away. Sensing her resolve weakening, the men who had been watching silently moved in and forcibly pulled Hee-soo away from Ji-sun. 

“Let go! Let me go!” 

No matter how much she screamed and struggled, she couldn’t overpower the strength of the adult men. They dragged her out forcefully, ignoring her cries, and threw her out of the house. 

“We apologize for the inconvenience.” 

With a perfunctory apology, the door slammed shut. 

Bang. 

Hee-soo, who had raised her fist as if to knock on the door, lowered it and stared at the closed entrance. The house now seemed impenetrable, like a fortress surrounded by thick walls. 

“Hic...” 

Even the smallest whimper echoed loudly in the quiet alley. The affluent residential hill, devoid of bus stops, felt as dark and ominous as a cursed forest. 

Staring at the endless walls surrounding her, Hee-soo felt as though she might suffocate under their weight. Leaning against the wall, she barely managed to steady herself and began walking slowly toward the dense cluster of lights below the hill. 

Her limping leg felt unbearably heavy. 

It was a night as dark as the shadow cast by her shattered pride and the helplessness of being unable to do anything. 

* * * 

Ah, that day when I was thrown into that alley. What was I thinking then? 

Tears welled up in Hee-soo’s eyes as she reminisced about the past. 

After that day, a seed of hatred toward Jae-hyuk began to grow in her heart. 

How much she had hated Jae-hyuk for demanding contact without knowing anything. 

From that day until now, Hee-soo believed that her feelings of hatred toward Jae-hyuk outweighed her lingering affection for him. 

But when she finally met Jae-hyuk at Dong-hwan’s villa, an emotion stronger than hatred—one she hadn’t even realized still existed—swelled up inside her. 

It was longing. 

A foolish realization. 

She had thought she hated Jae-hyuk as much as she had once loved him. But perhaps even the time she spent hating him was just another form of yearning. 

When Jae-hyuk tried to leave the room, she had grabbed him. Even if it was just a dream, she wanted to stay with him a little longer. Whispering softly, she asked him to spend the night with her. 

Watching Jae-hyuk obediently follow her lead, she indulged in a sweet fantasy. 

Even when she had ignored his desperate attempts to find her, she wished he would still love her. She melted into him, burrowing deeper, spending a dreamlike night together. 

When she faced Jae-hyuk sitting in Baek Dong-hwan’s place, she felt a sense of relief.

Hee-soo had wished that Jae-hyuk would simply hold her like he did the previous night, without asking for reasons or explanations. She wanted him to understand unconditionally, assuming there must be some kind of story behind her actions. 

Jae-hyuk complained and blamed her for not contacting him, but for Hee-soo, it had been the hardest and most difficult thing in the world. 

She still vividly remembered the look on Jae-hyuk’s face when she told him she was quitting ballet—how flustered he was, how he stumbled over his words as he tried to stop her, urging her not to give up on her dreams. 

Looking at his innocent attempts to comfort her, Hee-soo had found his naivety almost laughable. And even after ten years, he was still clueless, still loving her with that same pure-hearted affection. 

“Why are you doing this? Why!” 

The phantom image of Jae-hyuk shouted at her as if suspended in the air. But what good would it do to explain? Lost things could never be recovered, and time could never be turned back. 

Would she still love Jae-hyuk ten years from now, or would she come to see him as the root cause of her ruined life and resent him instead? 

For now, Hee-soo desperately hoped for one thing: 

That her future self would harbor a deep, profound hatred for Jae-hyuk. 

She wished to fill her heart with loathing, to despise him and forget the tormenting emotion called “love” that nourished her yet drove her mad. 

She longed to be free from this ambivalent pain—this excruciating ache that occasionally brought tears to her eyes against her will. 

Jae-hyuk and his family had directly and indirectly influenced every aspect of her life. Buried in those memories, which were so painful they made her chest tighten, was Jae-hyuk himself. 

“All the time I spent remembering and cherishing you—I regret it all.” 

To Jae-hyuk’s parting words, Hee-soo finally whispered an answer to herself. 

“Now, you shouldn’t say such things to me. What can I possibly say to you when you know nothing?” 

Ah, would it be better if we could just hate each other? 

Yes, let’s stop, just as you said. 

And now, I hope you can truly hate me with all your heart, so I can hate you back without guilt. Yes, perhaps this is for the best. 

If you can’t do it yourself, I’ll help you. I’ll place the knife in your hand to kill me. Let’s butcher each other and truly say goodbye. 

When that day comes, will I finally be freed from the memories buried deep in my heart? 

“Haha...” 

Hee-soo laughed emptily, like a person who had lost their mind. But by the time she rose from her seat, her laughter had vanished completely. 

* * * 

It was barely a week after Jae-hyuk had returned from military service. 

“Young Master, Chairman Lee is calling for you.” 

At Kimpo-dalk’s words, Jae-hyuk descended to the first floor. There, in the dining room, sat Jung-chul, heavily intoxicated, opening a bottle of soju. 

Though it was well past midnight, Kimpo-dalk quickly prepared some side dishes in the kitchen. 

“You called for me?” 

At Jae-hyuk’s question, Jung-chul smirked and gestured for him to sit. 

“I’m telling you, wine, sake, none of that fancy stuff is worth it. Even whiskey costing millions can’t compare to this humble soju.” 

Despite his words, Jung-chul was known as a connoisseur of expensive whiskey. His cellar was stocked with bottles worth hundreds of thousands, even millions, of won. 

It would have been simpler if he’d just admitted he didn’t bother with cheap liquor. But Jung-chul enjoyed pretending to be a commoner, as if trying to differentiate himself from Yoon Ji-sun, who only drank wine. 

Jae-hyuk had always struggled to understand his father’s contradictions, but at some point, he had given up trying to make sense of him. 

His father was a walking paradox—a man who treated the wife he didn’t love with disdain while publicly acting as though she were his one and only love during public events. 

“I’ll pour myself a drink.” 

As Jae-hyuk held out his glass, Kimpo-dalk emerged from the kitchen and placed dishes in front of them. A steaming plate of spicy stir-fried oxtail and grilled squid was set beside the soju bottle. 

“You’ve worked hard late into the night. Here, take this.” 

Jung-chul rummaged through his wallet and handed Kimpo-dalk a blank check.

“Oh my, this is too much. Thank you so much.” 

Kimpo-dalk’s exhausted face lit up like a blooming flower. She bowed repeatedly in gratitude. Jung-chul encouraged her with a chuckle before refilling Jae-hyuk’s glass. 

“Jae-hyuk, how’s the preparation for your studies abroad going?” 

“Yes, it’s proceeding without any major issues.” 

“When are you leaving?” 

“I was originally planning to start in September, but I’m thinking of going earlier to get settled beforehand.” 

“I see.” 

While Jung-chul appeared to be listening attentively, he waited until Kimpo-dalk had completely disappeared from sight. Once they were alone, Jung-chul leaned in and spoke in a low voice, as if revealing a great secret. 

“Jae-hyuk, remember this: the world runs on money and power. Never forget that.” 

With a nod indicating Jae-hyuk should finish his drink, Jung-chul promptly refilled the empty glass to the brim. 

“You saw that just now, didn’t you? Everyone below has expectations of those above them. There’s no such thing as an action without a price. People tamed by money are the easiest to control. Keep that in mind.” 

Though Jae-hyuk nodded as if agreeing with his father’s words, he didn’t truly believe them. If everyone in the world bowed so easily to wealth, then what about Seo Hee-soo? 

She had greeted him with such happiness when he first came home on leave, only to cut off all contact afterward, as if she no longer knew him—as if she had never existed in his life at all. 

Yes, perhaps it would have been easier on his heart if she had simply hidden herself somewhere out of sight. 

At some point, Hee-soo’s face began appearing everywhere—on posters lining the streets. Just as he’d predicted, while Jae-hyuk was stuck in the military, Seo Hee-soo had already become a successful actress. 

There were countless times he considered deserting. 

Every time he returned home on leave, he scoured every place he could think of to find a way to contact Hee-soo. 

He reached out to her parents, former members of her ballet troupe—anyone who might have known her. But no one gave him her contact information or even news about her. In fact, it seemed no one was in touch with Seo Hee-soo anymore. 

“...If everyone in the world were so simple, life would be easy.” 

As Jae-hyuk muttered bitterly and raised his glass, Jung-chul asked in a tone that suggested he already knew everything. 

“You haven’t been in contact with Hee-soo, have you?” 

In that instant, Jae-hyuk’s heart sank. His father had never shown the slightest interest in his personal life before. Suspicious of his father’s intentions, Jae-hyuk carefully observed Jung-chul’s face, waiting for what he would say next. 

“Since you’ve already decided to study abroad, I’ll tell you this—it doesn’t matter anyway.” 

Jung-chul paused dramatically, and Jae-hyuk had to take a deep breath to calm his racing heart. 

“While you were in the military, Hee-soo came to see me once.” 

Jung-chul continued casually as he refilled the empty glass. 

“She asked how much I’d give her if she promised not to see you, since I obviously wouldn’t consider her as a potential daughter-in-law.” 

I always knew she wasn’t ordinary, but I didn’t expect her to go that far. Shaking his head, Jung-chul chuckled dryly. 

“Hee-soo… did that?” 

Jae-hyuk froze, as if his breath had been stolen.