Chapter 68
Naturally, no one easily accepted Baek I-hae’s sudden decision. Seo-yeol shouted with a shocked expression that he absolutely couldn’t let her go, and Seo Do-gyeom also tried to stop her from packing her things.
Old Man Oh cautiously asked if she couldn’t reconsider, but Baek I-hae stubbornly kept her mouth shut.
“Everyone, stop. It’s I-hae’s choice, so respect it. It’s not like we’ll never see her again.”
If it hadn’t been for Seo I-heum’s intervention, she probably wouldn’t have even been able to pack properly.
Baek I-hae wondered whether she should feel grateful for that kindness or resentful, as she silently organized her belongings. Seo-yeol eventually burst into tears and went to his room, leaving only Seo Do-gyeom in her room.
“……Is it because I rejected the engagement?”
Seo Do-gyeom, who had been standing silently for a while, hesitated before blurting it out.
Before Baek I-hae could even reply that it wasn’t, he continued.
“It wasn’t because I disliked you. My ordinary mother died because she was Dad’s wife, so I did it because I didn’t want to lose you.”
The story she’d heard from Seo I-heum before overlapped in her mind. It had been Baek I-hae’s father who took Seo Do-gyeom’s mother to that dangerous place.
Even knowing that, he hadn’t said a single harsh word to her and instead rejected the engagement because he didn’t want to repeat the same past.
Feeling pity for him, a sudden thought crossed her mind, and Baek I-hae asked.
“Then you… were you planning to just date me and end it there? Of course, we’re young, so marriage might be a premature thought, but what if we become adults?”
“……”
Baek I-hae, who had been packing, turned her head to look at Seo Do-gyeom. He was hesitating to meet her gaze.
It felt like she’d uncovered a truth she wasn’t supposed to know. Baek I-hae opened her mouth slightly but eventually closed her lips.
An instinctive warning not to ask further. She turned her head away and resumed packing.
She had been happy just being with Seo Do-gyeom in the present and hadn’t thought about the future, but realizing that he hadn’t envisioned a future with her felt like a blow to the back of her head.
‘It’s still too early to think about marriage. But if we still like each other when we’re adults…? Does that mean you’d still give up on me?’
No. Baek I-hae stopped thinking about it. She hadn’t heard it directly from Seo Do-gyeom; it was just a guess.
She already had enough on her mind without adding more worries. Seo Do-gyeom glanced at her briefly, then helped her pack.
And he said,
“Tell me anytime if you want to come back. I’ll come pick you up.”
Kindly, but without making her feel burdened.
When Baek I-hae looked at him with wavering eyes, Seo Do-gyeom met her gaze steadily. Their faces gradually drew closer. By the time she became aware of their breaths right in front of each other, his lips touched hers.
The lips that carefully touched and then parted felt different from last time. Perhaps because the emotion of treating something incredibly precious was so vividly felt.
“I like you. So call me anytime you need me.”
Baek I-hae could only nod. Right now, she couldn’t find a way to explain without telling him, but she vowed inwardly that she would definitely return to his side, to this place.
The two kissed once more. It was a slightly longer kiss than before.
***
After moving her residence to Jang Seul-gi’s house, every day was hellish for Baek I-hae.
“You said you’d leave us alone if I brought Baek I-hae!”
Jang Seul-gi shouted in a voice hoarse from crying so much. Her gaze turned toward the subordinate of Do Ha-jun who was there to monitor them.
“That’s right. Your role was that, and that wench met our boss.”
Do Ha-jun’s subordinate, occupying a space in the house, chewed gum nonchalantly and sneered at Jang Seul-gi. At his feet lay her uncle, covered in bruises.
“So we’re not touching you, right?”
“What do you mean…! You can’t beat my dad either. Wasn’t it that if I brought Baek I-hae, you wouldn’t harass us anymore?”
“Why is this harassment? You’re not paying back the borrowed money, so we’re just reminding you. We’re not dragging him to the factory and beating him harshly like last time; it’s just kicks, isn’t it merciful?”
He tilted his head as if genuinely puzzled. Then, chuckling, he went into the large room, leaving the three of them with no choice but to stay together in the small room.
It was even smaller than the room she’d used while staying at Seo I-heum’s house. Moreover, sharing a room with people she hadn’t known long, even if they were blood-related.
“Dad, are you okay?”
As if Baek I-hae wasn’t even visible, Jang Seul-gi and her uncle only paid attention to each other. Baek I-hae, spreading out her blanket alone in the corner and lying down, squeezed her eyes shut.
Though direct violence wasn’t aimed at her, the situation itself felt like violence to her.
When she came out after washing up for school, locking eyes with Do Ha-jun’s subordinate who was staring blatantly at her—how chilling that had been.
With living expenses short, meals were meager too. Baek I-hae, who couldn’t even eat a full bowl of rice because she was conscious of the stares, genuinely felt miserable.
At school, if Ye Eun-seol or Seo Do-gyeom tried to approach her, Jang Seul-gi, sensing it sharply, would block them or interrupt.
At home, her phone was outright confiscated by the organization member, so all Baek I-hae could do was study.
‘It’s suffocating.’
Yes, suffocating was the perfect way to describe it.
She let out a deep sigh, and Jang Seul-gi, studying beside her, glared at her as if it grated on her nerves.
“Be quiet. You’re not the only one studying here.”
“I just sighed; why are you so sensitive?”
“What? Then you’re fine in this situation?! Don’t you worry about our dad? He’s your uncle. You haven’t even asked once if he’s okay!”
It wasn’t that Baek I-hae wasn’t worried. She just didn’t feel in a position to ask.
Moreover, she didn’t want to respond to Jang Seul-gi’s behavior of taking her anger out on her, so she kept her mouth shut. Then, huffing, Jang Seul-gi irritably threw her notebook at her.
“Ah!”
Even though the notebook’s edge jabbed into her forearm, Jang Seul-gi didn’t show any concern for her.
Baek I-hae glared at her.
“Don’t take your anger out on me. It was your dad who borrowed money from a dangerous place in the first place.”
“Do Ha-jun targeted Dad and approached him. Maybe he approached from the start to get you.”
“That’s just speculation.”
“Speculation?”
Jang Seul-gi let out a scoffing laugh. Then she reached out to grab Baek I-hae’s hair.
She couldn’t just take it anymore; Baek I-hae grabbed Jang Seul-gi’s wrist and twisted it right there. This time, Jang Seul-gi screamed.
“I told you not to take it out on me. I have no reason to be cursed at or hit by you.”
“You shameless bitch! This is all because of you! Who are you to be blood-related to us and act like this!”
“Why are you saying that to me…!”
“If you’re an orphan, you should’ve lived like you’re dead, all alone! Or died with your family!”
This went beyond just venting anger. Baek I-hae’s face flushed red with rage.
Still, she didn’t want to resolve it with violence like that, so she just clenched her fists tightly.
“Aw, how cute, fighting like that.”
Do Ha-jun’s subordinate said as he opened the door without knocking. Startled, Jang Seul-gi flinched and shrank back.
It was the first time he’d entered the room when it was just the two of them, without the uncle. Baek I-hae held her breath, her face tense, as he chuckled and shook her phone.
“You got a call.”
Who could it be calling?
Was it Seo Do-gyeom? Or maybe Ye Eun-seol.
But Do Ha-jun’s subordinate, who knew their names, had never once told her when they called.
It had gotten to the point where Ye Eun-seol, whom she met in class, grilled her about why she kept ignoring her calls.
Then who on earth was calling?
Puzzled, she took the phone, and Baek Yeong’s name was displayed.
“Answer it in front of me.”
Do Ha-jun’s subordinate squatted down in front of Baek I-hae and grinned widely.
‘Why is Baek Yeong calling?’
Baek I-hae glanced at him warily before carefully answering the phone.
“……Hello?”
-Baek I-hae. In the Excel formula you were organizing last time, there’s a part that doesn’t match.
“Yes?”
-I have to submit the report by today, sigh… Are you going to leave the work this sloppy?
Baek I-hae blinked in confusion. She had apologized reflexively, but inwardly she thought.
‘What? I definitely asked him to check if it matched before I left. Besides, I didn’t even use complicated formulas.’
-Come right now and fix it.
It was a tone she’d never heard before, like a boss addressing an employee.
‘Why?’
Baek Yeong had been the one teaching her the work. If there was a mismatched part in the formula, he could fix it himself. It would be faster for him to handle the problem than to call her in.
Yet, calling her meant there was a hidden intention. One that others wouldn’t notice.
Perhaps Baek Yeong had caught on to her situation—a small hope began to bloom.
