-I am Jung Hyuk’s mother. Since it seems you’re deliberately not answering, I’m sending a text. I know you get off work at 7, so come see me for a moment at the S coffee shop near your company. You know where it is, right?

So Eun looked at the text again with a cold expression.

Jung Hyuk’s mother?

Hah…… now even his mother, after all this?

So Eun sighed deeply and was about to send a reply when another text came right away.

-Surely you wouldn’t ignore an elder who has come all this way to wait, would you? I think you have enough manners for that, so I’ll be waiting at the coffee shop. I’m the one wearing the red jacket.

So Eun frowned as she read the text.

She wanted to ignore it, but since it was an elder, she couldn’t completely disregard it.

So Eun sighed, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment before returning to her seat.

And 30 minutes later, So Eun, having finished preparing to leave work, slowly got up from her seat.

While riding the elevator down, So Eun recalled her appointment with Tae Min.

She thought she should settle things with Jung Hyuk’s supposed mother before Tae Min arrived.

So Eun left the company’s main entrance and slowly walked to where the coffee shop was.

Soon arriving in front of the coffee shop, So Eun took a short deep breath before opening the door.

As she entered the coffee shop, she noticed a middle-aged woman in a striking red jacket sitting at the far end by the window.

So Eun walked directly towards her without hesitation.

The woman, who had been looking out the window, turned her head at the sound of footsteps.

And then their eyes met.

The person claiming to be Jung Hyuk’s mother had an imposing presence at first glance.

Her gaze, which seemed to pierce through So Eun, was sharp, and her lips were painted with lipstick as red as her jacket.

Large black pearls glittered on her ears and neck, and a large black pearl ring adorned her finger as well.

After observing Jung Hyuk’s mother with her intense impression, So Eun bowed her head and greeted her.

“Hello.”

The woman looked So Eun up and down, then gestured to the chair with her chin and said:

“Yes. Sit down.”

So Eun sat down across from her with a calm expression.

The woman stared intently at So Eun with her legs crossed.

Though her gaze seemed ready to shoot lasers, So Eun did not avoid it and looked straight back at the woman.

At this, the woman smirked as if incredulous, then took a sip of her coffee.

A bright red lipstick mark remained on the white mug.

As So Eun silently observed the mark, the woman spoke first.

“I’ve seen you in photos once before, but seeing you in person…… You look like you’d blow away in the wind. So skinny, my goodness.”

The woman said, looking at So Eun with a displeased expression.

It was an unpleasant remark, as if she were at some kind of evaluation, but So Eun remained silent.

“Do you know that our Jung Hyuk is the only son for three generations?”

At the sudden question, So Eun nodded and replied.

“Yes. I heard about it before.”

“Then you must know how preciously we raised him? So delicate we were afraid to touch him lest he break, so careful lest a breeze blow him away, we raised our Jung Hyuk with the utmost care and affection.”

The words ‘So what?’ rose to So Eun’s throat, but since the other person was still an elder, she swallowed them back down.

“But, I never thought our son, who we raised so preciously, would become so infatuated with one woman that he’d grovel like this?”

The woman said in a displeased voice, looking So Eun up and down.

Just as So Eun thought she should speak up now, the woman continued without giving her a chance.

“Do you know that our Jung Hyuk is so sick now that he can’t even go to work? He drank so much over the weekend that he went to the emergency room and is now lying like a corpse getting an IV drip.”

The woman glared at So Eun with a resentful expression, as if blaming her for all of this.

So Eun looked at the woman with an impassive expression before slowly opening her mouth.

“I’m sorry, but your son and I are already over, so saying these things has no meaning for me.”

The woman’s jaw dropped in surprise.

Then, staring at So Eun with an incredulous look, she spat out as if grinding her teeth.

“You skinny, twisted piece of firewood…… You may have a pretty face, but your personality is downright vicious. If you speak like this to an elder, how rudely must you have treated our sweet Jung Hyuk?”

It was a rude and ignorant statement that crossed the line, but So Eun responded with a calm expression.

“That’s right. To think he can’t forget this skinny, twisted piece of firewood and even sends his mother… A 28-year-old man acting so pathetically.”

“What? M-man? Pathetic?”

The woman’s face turned red and blue as if it was about to burst into flames.

“And you seem to be mistaken about something, but Jung Hyuk is absolutely not sweet. Would a sweet person roll around with a young woman in his home while having a girlfriend?”

The woman’s mouth opened even wider than before, as if this was new information.

“W-what did you say?”

“I guess Jung Hyuk didn’t tell you that story? That I caught him in the act with another woman.”

The woman, who had been moving her lips in shock, quickly changed her expression and glared at So Eun as she spoke.

“So what? Even if our Jung Hyuk met another woman, you dare to dump him? You of all people?”

“…… ‘You of all people’?”

“Yes! It’s outrageous enough that someone like you dared to dump our Jung Hyuk, but I hear you’ve already snagged another man? And with someone you just met that day? Tsk tsk…… You’re really living up to your face value? This is why they say you shouldn’t associate with those without proper roots.”

The woman glared at So Eun with a look of contempt, as if looking at something vulgar.

At this, So Eun’s face, which had been expressionless until now, turned cold.

Anger rose from deep within her heart at the woman’s words, which ignored what her own son had done and instead questioned So Eun’s background.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to express that anger,

“So Eun!”

Suddenly, someone’s voice was heard.

So Eun turned around at the voice coming from behind her.

Tae Min was looking down at So Eun with wide eyes.

His face was flushed red as if he had been running, and he was catching his breath.

“Tae Min, how… did you know to come here?”

So Eun asked with surprised eyes.

She hadn’t even told Tae Min the location of the coffee shop because she was so flustered, so how did he know to come here…

Instead of answering, Tae Min looked at the face of the woman sitting across from So Eun.

A middle-aged woman with a sharp-looking impression, and So Eun’s face frozen in coldness…

It was clear at a glance that this was by no means a pleasant meeting.

Moreover, the fact that So Eun was here now when she was supposed to meet him indicated that this was a suddenly arranged meeting.

As Tae Min furrowed his brow and looked at the woman, she too looked up at the suddenly appeared Tae Min with wide eyes.

Tall stature with broad shoulders, sculptured facial features, and a face that looked even younger than her son at first glance.

At this, the woman’s cheeks twitched as she raised her eyebrows, then sneered at So Eun and said:

“Don’t tell me, is this the man? The man you cheated with after dumping our sweet Jung Hyuk?”

Tae Min’s eyes widened at the word ‘cheated’.

And he looked at the woman with surprised eyes.

Ah, no wonder… She gave off an unpleasant impression from the start.

So this was that trash’s mother? But why is that trash’s mother here?

As Tae Min frowned at the woman, she twitched her lips and said to So Eun:

“You really… Your skills at seducing men are no joke, are they? How much of a vixen must you be to have ensnared a man you just met in an instant? And a younger man at that?”

Tae Min looked at the woman with an incredulous expression at her vulgar words.

Then, with eyes full of anger, he stepped closer to the woman.

The woman flinched and looked up at Tae Min who had suddenly approached, and Tae Min spoke to her in a cold voice.

“Who’s seducing who? I fell for her at first sight.”

So Eun’s eyes widened at Tae Min’s words, and the woman’s expression was shocked.

“W-what did you say? How dare a green boy like you speak so rudely?”

As the woman spoke, trembling, Tae Min said in a contemptuous voice:

“I’ll show respect when an elder acts like one.”

Then he reached out and grabbed So Eun’s hand.

As So Eun looked up at Tae Min with surprised eyes, Tae Min picked up So Eun’s handbag and said:

“So Eun. Let’s go. Don’t waste any more time on someone not worth dealing with.”

At Tae Min’s words, the woman glared at him, her hands trembling.

And as Tae Min pulled So Eun’s hand to make her stand up, the woman bit her lip hard and said:

“Hey! Do you know what kind of girl you’re getting involved with? A single mother running a tiny side dish shop, with a little brother who’s just turned twenty. Someone with nothing to her name and an unremarkable household, do you think you can handle someone like that?”

“……”

At those words like a time bomb, Tae Min froze as he was pulling So Eun’s hand.

Each of the woman’s words must have felt like sharp daggers piercing So Eun’s heart.

Ah…

Tae Min quickly looked at So Eun with surprised eyes.

So Eun’s complexion had turned pale.

Her already fair face had turned even whiter, to the point of being deathly pale.

At this, Tae Min glared at the woman, biting his lip hard.

And just as he was about to explode with rising anger, So Eun tightly grasped Tae Min’s hand that was holding hers.

At this, Tae Min looked at So Eun with a surprised face, and So Eun quietly shook her head.

Understanding her meaning not to interfere, Tae Min reluctantly bit his lip and nodded.