“I don’t feel like getting up.”

“Why bother getting up? You can eat with your mouth.”

Hye-kyung, coldly clicking her tongue, approached Soo-yeon with firm steps.

Kneeling in front of Soo-yeon, who was miserably slumped, she gently spoke to her and tidied up the disheveled hair with a touch as soft as kindness.

There was no hint of violence in the moving hand that followed the lines of her face, yet Soo-yeon couldn’t relax and remained tense.

Hye-kyung whimsically curled her lips and let out a sarcastic laugh.

“It seems our daughter isn’t hungry yet. If she were hungry without the strength to move, she would have licked it up like a dog. But for now, her stomach is full, right?”

Her fingers, which were brushing the hair down, suddenly harshly gripped Soo-yeon’s hair.

“Ugh.”

Soo-yeon groaned in pain, furrowing her brows.
Hye-kyung looked at Soo-yeon with a face devoid of guilt or any trace of apology.

The more she did, the more the thought of her being detestable vividly stimulated her mind.

She knew that if she handed Soo-yeon over to Dae-ho, it wouldn’t end at an appropriate line.

Nevertheless, she had borrowed Dae-ho’s hand because she believed that a strong punishment equivalent to the three-year gap was necessary.

She was convinced that a couple of hours would be sufficient.

However, Soo-yeon, stubbornly, had not given in even after more than twelve hours had passed.

Life with Seo In-ho seemed to be quite fairy-tale-like. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have endured until it reached this point.

“Tsk, tsk.”

Hye-kyung clicked her tongue inwardly, and even then, she couldn’t smooth out the wrinkles on her forehead.

Looking at Soo-yeon was giving her a headache.

To proceed with the divorce from In-ho and marriage to Dong-hoon as soon as possible, it was necessary to use Choi Soo-yeon as a pawn. However, with the current situation, it seemed like they would have to let her rest for at least a month.

“Ha, head.”

Hye-kyung threw the hair she was holding with force and got up from her seat.

Taking a deep breath and pressing on her carotid, she tried to alleviate the headache, but it didn’t easily subside.

At that moment, another presence was felt behind her.

“What are you both doing here?”

Dae-ho, with an unpleasant tone, asked when he arrived.

“Have you already finished eating?”

“You eat when there’s food.”

“Why? Doesn’t it suit your taste? Should I ask Mom to prepare it again?”

“It’s not that. Even though that woman is like that, stubbornly enduring, do you think I can eat when she’s like this?”

Dae-ho, too, showed signs of being uncomfortable with Soo-yeon’s attitude, which was different from before.

It was understandable. Feeling the urgency of marriage to Hye-kyung was the most pressing matter for him.

Hye-kyung sighed deeply, furrowing her brows.

Then, she approached Dae-ho and whispered quietly.

“It will be troublesome if it gets messier here.”

“If not, what should I do? Should I just let her endure like this?”

“We can finish the divorce papers, sign them, and hand them over. I don’t know if Seo In-ho will accept it willingly, but even if he doesn’t, there must be a way if we look for it. The problem is that Dong-hoon needs to change his mind quickly, and for that, we need Soo-yeon. Look at her now. Even if it’s a minimum of two weeks, it seems like we should let her rest.”

Dae-ho, displeased with Hye-kyung’s sharp observation, couldn’t offer any significant response.

However, the situation wasn’t going as smoothly as he hoped, and eventually, unable to bear it, he approached Soo-yeon quickly.

Although Hye-kyung grabbed Dae-ho’s arm once, it was insufficient to stop him as he had already lost his temper.

Approaching Soo-yeon at a rapid pace, Dae-ho, without hesitation, bent down and forcefully grabbed Soo-yeon’s hair.

“Ugh!”
“You damn bitch. How long do you think you can endure this? Huh? If I raised a worthless woman like you, at least she should have some conscience!”

Unable to control his anger, Dae-ho spat out his rage, even saliva flying.

Soo-yeon, enduring unbearable pain, grimaced arrogantly and clung pitifully to Dae-ho’s hand.

Even in this situation, the phrase ‘at least some conscience’ that Dae-ho mentioned echoed in her ears.

How much more does she have to endure?

How much more abuse does she have to take, and how much more should she move as they want?

Her chest felt tight, as if she would go crazy.

Tears, which seemed to have stopped, filled her eyes again, dropping slowly like dewdrops.

“Haah….”

A sigh, essentially an instinct, escaped from her.

The reality that she couldn’t escape, no matter how much she struggled, was tedious and sorrowful.

The sigh, laden with complex emotions, not only filled the room but also vividly stimulated Dae-ho’s emotions.

“How dare this woman sigh like that in front of someone!”

Dae-ho, eyes rolling back, raised his other hand in anger, spewing threats.

Through Soo-yeon’s tear-filled eyes, his thick, knife-like hand cutting through the air was visible.

If that hand came down with all its might, after exerting all its strength, she would feel the terrible pain on the cold floor.

Soo-yeon, half-resigned, closed her eyes tightly and relaxed her entire body.

At that moment.

An unfamiliar pain pierced through her head, passing swiftly.

Surprised, she raised her eyelids, and a tear that had been precariously hanging between her eyelashes dropped suddenly.

And then, the unimaginable headache began.

“No, this can’t happen. It can’t, it can’t, can’t…!”

The fear of what was about to happen was forgotten. Soo-yeon vigorously shook her head.

At that very moment, Dae-ho’s merciless hand struck Soo-yeon’s cheek.

Her body, already battered, collapsed once again onto the cold floor.

Even seeing Soo-yeon in that state, Dae-ho remained unyielding, as if his anger had not subsided.

Soo-yeon, who seemed to have lost consciousness again, twitched her body after a long time.

After a moment that felt like an eternity, she laboriously raised her head and scanned her surroundings.

Then, she looked one by one at the three people standing in front of her.

“Ha, shit. I almost had my head smashed.”

With these words, spoken in her original, unfiltered manner, Soo-yeon displayed an unabashed defiance.