“I came because I thought you might be thinking like that.”

“What?”

Hyegyeong raised her eyebrows sharply at Suyeon’s unwavering and rhythmic voice, a expression that always made Suyeon tremble in fear.

But Suyeon, even when faced with that look head-on, showed no sign of fear, let alone a twitch.

“If you had just adopted a poor child and raised her normally, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“Hey, Choi Suyeon. Have you said everything? What haven’t I done for you! I’ve provided you with a luxurious sleeping space, offered you a variety of delicacies, paid for your education, all in a lavish room, and what? If I had raised you normally?”

“The space you provided overflowing with wealth was the only space allowed to me in that grand house, and even that was more often spent on the cement floor of the small room than sleeping in that room. The meals you provided with various delicacies weren’t for me but for Dad and Sujin. The education you provided wasn’t for me either. It was just a means to an end for Mom and Dad’s purposes.”

“You, you ungrateful wretch. You don’t know gratitude, and you dare to…!”

“Still, thanks to you, I met Mr. Inho, and for that, I’m grateful.”

Suyeon expressed her thoughts without reservation, dissecting each of Hyegyeong’s words.

It was the first time.

The first time she had revealed her values so openly to Hyegyeong.

And she did so without fear.

The change, which had never been easy, was now something she took pride in, but for Hyegyeong, it seemed absurdly overwhelming.

“Hey, how long do you think I’ll be here? It could be as long as ten years! Do you think I’ll just stand still when I’m released? Huh?”

Hyegyeong squeezed the bars separating them and shouted with all her might.

‘But she used to strive to maintain her dignity as the wife of a major corporation.’

But now, such dignity couldn’t be found even if she washed her eyes.

All that was left for her was the ugly poison.

Suyeon, realizing that this place had become meaningless, slowly stood up from her seat.

“So be it. Originally, she was this kind of person.”

“…….”

“I was stupid to come even after knowing that. I should have listened to Mr. Inho.”

Suyeon’s gaze, now even more composed, turned toward Hyegyeong.

She was still breathing heavily and defiant.

It was rather fortunate.

If she had tried to pretend to be good now, that image would have lingered for quite some time.

Suyeon turned away with a relieved smile.

Her steps, which had stretched out without hesitation, stopped briefly in front of the door leading out of the visitation room.

“Still, since I’m here, I’ll say this before I go.”

“…….”

“I will live well. I wasn’t happy growing up under Mom and Dad. I will work hard to be twice, four times happier from now on.”

With those words, Suyeon left the visitation room.

With lighter footsteps than ever, feeling as if a hole had opened up in her chest.

In a room barely the size of 1 pyeong (about 3.3 square meters), ten inmates gathered.

Hyegyeong, to avoid blending in with them, sat in a corner, hugging her knees.

Although she entered this place as a criminal, under normal circumstances, considering her social status, she should have been placed in a single cell.

However, due to TK’s measures, she ended up in a group room with a capacity of eight, mingling with more people than that.

Just that fact alone felt suffocating enough to drive her crazy.

However, her insides were even more agitated after meeting Suyeon who came around lunchtime.

And amidst this, the reality that visiting hours were not allowed, with her toes curled in, and teeth chattering, made her even more miserable.

Unable to endure it any longer, Hyegyeong jumped up from her seat.

Then, she grabbed the small iron bars attached to the door and banged on them, shouting angrily.

“Hey! Guard! I’m freezing to death! Bring me some clothes or turn on the heater or something!!”

Hyegyeong’s voice echoed loudly through the long corridor around lunchtime.

But apart from the echoing sound of her voice, there was no sign of any response.

Hyegyeong pressed her lips against the iron bars and shouted even louder.

“Hey!! Can’t you hear me? I’m cold!! Bring something to warm me up!! Hey!!”

“Ugh, damn it. It’s so noisy I could die.”

Amidst the sharp and hysterical shouts, a coarse curse cut through.

Hyegyeong’s eyes, which had only been holding onto the iron bars, tensed up.

Hyegyeong slowly turned around. Then, she saw an inmate leaning against the opposite wall.

“Hey, what did you say? Are you talking to me?”

“Then, is there another X here making noise besides you?”

Hyegyeong rolled her eyes fiercely, but the inmate scoffed without caring.

The crack in the inmate’s face appeared after Hyegyeong’s next words.

“What? X? You’re at that level of talking. Quite far apart, it seems.”

Hyegyeong sneered with a snort, shaking her head.

At the same time, the inmate stood up from their seat.

“Hey. What did you say? Say it again, you son of a X.”