It wasn’t a lie from the beginning.

After the day he abandoned her, Hye Ri had shown signs of anxiety for a while.

Then she had an attack and was diagnosed with pediatric panic disorder at a hospital.

Being young, she received continuous psychological counseling instead of medication, nearly overcoming the disorder with her parents’ efforts.

But after her mother left, she started complaining of anxiety again.

Kyung Chol and Do Han thought the panic disorder had relapsed due to their mother’s death.

Eventually, she went back to the hospital and got prescribed medication.

“You, in your second year of high school.”

“How did you…”

“After you left for school, Dad asked me to run an errand. To give you some money. You said you needed to buy a workbook today. So I went right away. But just after you passed the alley, I saw you throwing the pills into a trash can.”
Seeing a bunch of unopened medicine packets discarded, Do Han realized she wasn’t ill.

“There really are no secrets in this world.”

Hye Ri looked up at him, her eyes filling with a sense of emptiness.

She had been so confident in her act, thinking she had fooled everyone, only to have been discovered long ago.

“Yeah, I’ve been pretending to have panic attacks in front of you and Dad.”

“Why on earth?”

“Why?” Hye Ri looked at Do Han with resentful eyes.

The unfairness and misery of those days made her feel like she was about to cry.

“Dad never loved me, it was always Mom! He was kind to me only to win Mom’s affection. Just to gain Mom’s attention. But then Mom died. Dad had no reason to care for me anymore. So, I did it. To at least appear pitiable. So you and Dad wouldn’t abandon me!”

Tears finally spilled from her eyes as she screamed.

After her mother passed away, Hye Ri started to pretend to have chest pains.

She claimed she couldn’t breathe properly and sometimes even faked seizures.

Like Do Han changed due to his guilt, she hoped her mother’s death would make them sympathize with her.

“If Dad found another woman, if he started living with her, I might be thrown out of the house.”

Hye Ri thought it would be difficult to continue living as Kyung Chol’s daughter if he remarried.

It seemed unlikely that Kyung Chol’s new wife would accept her, not being his biological child.

So, she resorted to pretending to have panic attacks.

“Dad only has one woman in his life.”

“Dad’s a man too. What if he brings another woman home today? How can you be so sure, Oppa?”

Hye Ri believed that no matter how much Kyung Chol loved her mother, that love would eventually end.

She believed that eternal love was nothing more than a fantasy found in fairy tales.

Hye Ri’s eyes, staring directly at Do Han, seemed to be asking if he agreed.

“Because I am his son.”

“What?”

“Being obsessed with one woman. Like Dad, I’m doing that right now. That’s why I’m sure.”

For a moment, Sa Rang’s smiling face flashed through Hye Ri’s mind.

Simultaneously, the thought of such an absurd thing made her scoff.

“Oppa, you mean that freshman? You’ve only met her for a few months and you’re talking about loving her forever?”

Thinking of him being madly in love with a girl barely in her twenties.

The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed, and Hye Ri chuckled.

But then Do Han’s voice heavily filled the room.

“For me, there’s only…”

He paused for a moment.

Hye Ri was engulfed in tension, as if a huge wave was about to crash over her, but then Do Han finally spoke.

“Lee Sa Rang. Forever and always.”

Hye Ri felt as if she was submerged underwater, her ears ringing.

Do Han, who couldn’t even utter the word ‘love,’ was talking about Sa Rang’s name as if this space wasn’t real.

“Dad doesn’t care about being a biological father. To him, you’re a gift left by the woman he loved all his life.”
“To Dad, being a biological child doesn’t matter. You’re just an unlucky kid. So don’t worry about Dad abandoning you. To him, you are a gift left by the woman he loved all his life.”

Tears welled up in Hye Ri’s eyes.

She had been living in fear of becoming a burden to Kyung Chol after her mother’s death.

She wanted to remain part of Kyung Chol’s family, even if it was just out of pity.

Without anyone else related by blood in this world.

All her strenuous efforts flashed before her eyes, and Hye Ri felt overwhelmed with emotion.

“If you don’t want to disappoint Dad, remember my condition.”

Hye Ri sighed at the sight of Do Han, who reminded her of their previous conversation.

She felt foolish for being momentarily moved by him.

“Oppa, you’re really cruel. A sister with cancer who wants to finish the semester, and you tell her to drop out of school?”

Despite her accusing eyes, Do Han seemed indifferent.

“You’re fine for now.”

But then his expression changed.

As if pricked by something, his face contorted slightly.

“That girl, soon, she will be in a lot of pain.”

After finishing his words with difficulty, Do Han began to move.

Hye Ri watched him leaving the room silently.

She should hate him for caring more about Sa Rang than her, but oddly, his back looked lonely.

Her heart complicated, Hye Ri gazed at Do Han’s broad back, which seemed especially desolate today. Suddenly, he stopped and turned around.

Hye Ri tensed, wondering what he would say next.

Was he expecting an immediate response?

Did he need confirmation that she would drop out of school tomorrow?

Expecting such words, she was taken aback when he spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

Hye Ri’s eyes widened.

It felt like a hallucination.

She couldn’t believe that these words would come out of Do Han’s mouth.

Sorry? For what? Because he asked her to drop out of school? Or because he couldn’t accept her as his sister?

Hye Ri was at a loss, unable to even guess.

“Sorry for letting go of your hand that day. For leaving you alone there.”

Tears instantly poured from her eyes.

They didn’t have time to well up or gather; they just flowed continuously, unable to be contained.

“I’m sorry.”

As her tears wouldn’t stop, Hye Ri eventually burst into loud sobs.

It felt as if someone was wringing her heart, an excruciating pain.

Do Han had never mentioned that day before.

Nor had she ever expected an apology.

She believed there was a valid reason for him to abandon her.

To anyone else, she must have seemed like someone Do Han would want to get rid of.

But now he said sorry.

Why now, after 13 years?

If he was going to acknowledge his mistake, he should have apologized sooner.

Before she filled her heart with hatred because of their parents.

Hye Ri cried out as if she was back to being the scared eight-year-old, afraid of being abandoned again.

Do Han just watched her from a distance.

He still didn’t have the courage to approach and comfort her.