He had belatedly sensed a strange atmosphere.

The shopper, lifting his head a little more, put on a formal smile and quickly replied,

“I’ve seen you from the driver’s seat. Your husband is so famous that I remember.”

It was a reasonably clever response.

However, Su-yeon couldn’t erase the miserable feeling.

Although it was something commonly said, it also meant she had never heard her story from Hye-kyung.

It didn’t matter that much.

Since the moment a real daughter appeared, Hye-kyung, who had always praised her adopted daughter so much, treated her like a pebble on the street.

That’s not all. She was a mother who even raised her hand.

Such Hye-kyung didn’t expect her to go out and talk about herself.

But every time she faced the gaze of others that inevitably followed her, it was hard to endure.

“The eldest daughter also resembles the madam, so she’s really beautiful.”
The shopper’s eyes, saying so, contained a variety of sympathy.

While choosing pleasant words to please Hye-kyung’s mood, he had a typical face that was thinking differently inside.

Anyone could raise countless questions about herself, who looked nothing like the two, and soon she would judge herself.

Within that, Su-yeon always had to expose herself regardless of her will.

Every time, the overwhelming sense of misery, shame, and humiliation did not adapt even after several repetitions.

Was this why she brought herself here?

To bestow such shame and humiliation?

To remind herself of her position in this way?

Su-yeon bit her lower lip.

The tense jaw trembled, and a sense of heat gathered around her eyes.

“Shall we start with the little miss’s items today as well?”

The shopper, without losing his smile, asked Hye-kyung.

Su-yeon, radiating a gloomy atmosphere, paid little attention.

Hye-kyung, who didn’t care about Su-yeon, was the same.

Hye-kyung laughed brightly and nodded.

“No, today, Su-jin and I are done. Our Su-yeon came to look at clothes.”

At the following words, Su-yeon’s head, which had been pressed down, suddenly lifted.

Su-yeon’s pupils, fixed on Hye-kyung, fluctuated roughly.

It was a situation she had never experienced before.

Had she ever seen herself volunteering to buy her clothes, even though she had never brought her to a department store?

Su-yeon stiffened her body as if asking when she had regained consciousness from the shaken spirit by the sense of humiliation.

Soon after, Hye-kyung’s face, directed at the shopper, moved slowly. And it reached Su-yeon.

At that moment, Su-yeon couldn’t shake off the chilling feeling.

An unpleasant shiver ran through the tender flesh on the inside of her arm.

“I hope our eldest daughter looks very pretty today, is it possible?”

Hye-kyung demanded towards the shopper, fixing her gaze on Su-yeon.

Su-yeon chewed the soft flesh inside her mouth.

It didn’t feel good.

“This also seems to suit you well. What do you think?”

“Umm…”

Hye-kyung, with an expectant look in her eyes, alternately examined the two-piece outfit suggested by the shopper and Su-yeon.

It was an expression of careful consideration.

The more she did so, the more Su-yeon’s throat tightened.

What on earth was she thinking? It was utterly unpredictable.

“It’s much better than what you showed earlier.”

Hye-kyung nodded, answering with a nod.

It wasn’t a reaction that said it was perfect, though.

Regardless of Hye-kyung’s response, the shopper’s complexion brightened.

It seemed like he had a rough idea of what the customer might want.

“I thought of a good design. Would you like to try that store over there?”

“Let’s do that.”

After getting permission from Hye-kyung, the shopper then headed in the direction of another store.

While walking behind, Su-yeon still didn’t take her eyes off Hye-kyung.
If only she could show even a little of what she was thinking, it might have been a mental preparation. However, with no clues whatsoever, each step forward was pure terror.

The strange thing was that it wasn’t just Hye-kyung. Su-jin, walking together, was continuously looking at her phone without any complaints. She had been going around the store for over an hour choosing her clothes, so if Su-jin’s complaints were to start, it should have started long ago.

However, there was not a hint of complaint, let alone such an atmosphere. Both the mother and daughter were different from usual.

Within that, Su-yeon had nothing to do except tremble with anxiety.

“How about this? It’s similar to the design I showed you earlier, but the color is much brighter, so I think it’ll suit the eldest daughter better.”

The shopper, who entered a new store, confidently picked out clothes and showed them to Hye-kyung.

Unlike before, Hye-kyung’s contemplation didn’t take long.

“It’s good. Su-yeon, try changing into this outfit and come out.”

The kind voice, which was chilling to hear, wrapped around the eardrums.

Su-yeon instinctively shivered as she took the clothes.

Reluctantly, she walked to the fitting room.

While taking off what she was wearing and putting on the clothes Hye-kyung chose for her, the high-quality fabric touching her skin felt uncomfortably abrasive.

Nevertheless, she stubbornly put everything on.

The clothes, fitting snugly like they were tailored, felt stifling.

She came out of the fitting room with a face that turned even paler.

Then, as if waiting, Hye-kyung approached.

“Oh, it fits perfectly. It’s as if the clothes were waiting for the owner.”

Hye-kyung, satisfied after glancing at Su-yeon, grabbed her shoulders with a content face.

Then, she exerted force and led Su-yeon in front of the mirror.

“Beautiful, our daughter.”

Even after hearing the compliment, Su-yeon couldn’t smile.

Just by aligning her gaze with the mirror, a chill ran down her spine.

While straightening the collar, Hye-kyung stood closely behind Su-yeon.

Then, Hye-kyung whispered into Su-yeon’s ear.

“As beautiful as the clothes are, you shouldn’t disappoint Mom’s expectations. Mom’s expectations for our daughter are high.”

Words she had heard enough to make her boil in the past hit Su-yeon’s back of the head heavily.

“That… What do you mean?”

She wanted to ask.

Hye-kyung’s expectations were based on her academic performance. That’s why Su-yeon always had to tie herself to her studies.

But not anymore.

It had been so long since she graduated from college, so what expectations could there be?

Her throat dried up with anxiety, and cold sweat poured into the tightly clenched palms.

The forgotten fear surged in like a wave filling the entire house.

At that moment, Hye-kyung’s voice behind her rang out once again.

“Oh, Dong-hoon! How long has it been!”

The sound was nothing short of cruelly squeezing Su-yeon’s neck.