[Hello. Are you the guardian of Park Bok Soon? This is the hospital. We haven’t received this month’s hospital fee payment. Are you planning to transfer to another hospital?]

On the way home after getting off the bus.

Min Tae Eun stopped in her tracks at the businesslike voice coming through her phone. The call was from the nursing hospital where her maternal grandmother was admitted. It was a call she couldn’t ignore.

“The payment wasn’t made? That can’t be…”

[We waited a week. So we were wondering if you had other plans…]

“No. I’ll make the payment right away. Please send the account number and amount to my phone number.”

[Ah, yes. Understood. I’ll send it to you right away.]

A moment later, a text message arrived with the account number and amount. And Tae Eun quickly transferred the money she had saved from her part-time job.

It was a large sum that she could only save by working part-time for a month without spending a penny, but it wasn’t a waste for her grandmother.

That’s how precious her grandmother was to her. The one and only reason she had to live despite her hard life, something that couldn’t be exchanged for anything else.

After completing the transfer, Tae Eun silently raised her desolate gaze to look at the street brightly lit by streetlamps. Although home was just a short distance away, it felt like an incredibly long and difficult road to her. Her steps toward home were that heavy.

Her grandmother needed professional care due to lung disease and severe dementia. Since placing her grandmother in a nursing hospital with her father Min Kyung Hoon’s help, she had never received such a call until now. Knowing what her grandmother meant to her, even Min Kyung Hoon hadn’t crossed that line.

But today, was it really a coincidence that she received such a call?

She desperately hoped so. That Min Kyung Hoon, who had seemed particularly busy lately, had just forgotten momentarily.

But ominous premonitions always boast an uncanny accuracy. As soon as she entered the house, she was summoned by her father. In the study, her father Min Kyung Hoon and her stepmother Jung Ji Eun were waiting for her with prim expressions.

As soon as Ji Eun saw her, she frowned as if something had pricked her eyes. But it was a familiar occurrence, so Tae Eun paid no attention. She only felt the weight of the air, tense and ready to burst at any moment, pressing heavily on her shoulders.

“Tomorrow at 8 PM, Restaurant Rean in Cheongdam-dong. It’s your matchmaking meeting.”

“Matchmaking… meeting?”

At the unexpected statement, a small disturbance stirred in Tae Eun’s dark eyes.

“You’re twenty-eight. It’s time for you to get married.”

“But…”

“It’s Seo Woo Jin from Jangwon Group. If you just marry Seo Woo Jin, I’ll make sure your grandmother receives the best care at the best nursing hospital.”

For a moment, her breath caught in her throat. Now she understood why Min Kyung Hoon hadn’t paid this month’s hospital fee.

It was despicable. To cling to her maternal grandmother, Tae Eun’s greatest weakness.

But she wasn’t in a position to refuse those words. She couldn’t afford her grandmother’s hospital fees with her part-time job tutoring high school seniors preparing for art school admission.

Nor could she get a job somewhere else. Although there was someone to provide professional care three days a week, she had to care for her grandmother directly for the remaining three days, making it impossible to have a normal job.

All of this was a meticulous scheme that came from Ji Eun’s head. While considering Tae Eun a thorn in her eye, she chose to keep that thorn rather than pluck it out. To do so, it was essential to keep Tae Eun tied to her grandmother for three days, preventing her from achieving economic independence.

She knew this but had no choice but to be manipulated. She couldn’t abandon her grandmother who needed 24-hour care due to dementia.

When Tae Eun pressed her lips tightly, unable to speak, Jung Ji Eun, who was beside her, looked at her with cold eyes and added one more thing.

“What, why aren’t you answering? If you have any shame, you should quickly say yes. We’ve raised you this much, shouldn’t you at least pay for your food? It’s Jangwon Group. Don’t you know how strong a backing it could be for your father’s entry into politics? Can’t you do that much for your father?”

Anger erupted. It was a moment when her hands on her knees clenched involuntarily.

Her father, Min Kyung Hoon, was once a human rights lawyer. But after Tae Eun’s mother passed away from cancer, he married his current wife, Jung Ji Eun, and Tae Eun became a thorn in their eyes. Ji Eun’s family, who had become nouveau riche through real estate, disapproved of Min Kyung Hoon’s situation with a child.

Then one day, it finally happened. On a day when she went out holding hands with Ji Eun, Tae Eun got lost. Or more accurately, Ji Eun abandoned her with clear intent.

-If anyone asks who your father is, say you don’t know. Understand? Just say you don’t know anything!

At six years old, even at that young age, she knew. The fact that she had been abandoned.

Watching Ji Eun’s retreating back, all she could do was cry bitterly. That’s how Tae Eun was sent to an orphanage. She couldn’t even speak for a while due to the psychological shock. After a month had passed, her maternal grandmother came to find her. Grandmother furiously scolded her father, and Ji Eun, who was nearby, shamelessly made excuses about losing her.

That’s how her grandmother, pitying her granddaughter who had lost her mother and been abandoned by her father, became Tae Eun’s guardian, setting aside her own grief of losing a child.

But the time spent with her grandmother was the happiest time for her. Although they weren’t well-off, she never lost her smile even once.

However, around the time she graduated from middle school, she was suddenly sent to her father’s house. Her stepmother Ji Eun’s gaze was still cold, and her father’s gaze, which she saw after more than ten years, resembled Ji Eun’s. Her half-brother Ji Hoon didn’t even treat her like a person.

She missed her grandmother and felt resentful on one hand. Why did you send me back to this hell? Am I being abandoned again? But such feelings silently crumbled when she visited her old home after school, missing her grandmother, only to find that her grandmother didn’t recognize her.

-Who are you?

-Grandma. It’s me, me. Tae Eun!

-Who did you say?

It was dementia. The moment she realized she had dementia, her grandmother cut herself off from her young granddaughter, fearing she would be a lifelong burden.

She couldn’t even imagine how her grandmother felt sending her away. Thinking that it must have been hundreds, thousands of times more painful than her own feeling of falling into hell, her heart sank. And she realized it was now her turn to protect her grandmother. That’s how Tae Eun knelt before Ji Eun.

-Please send grandmother to a nursing home. Then… I’ll be good from now on. I’ll do everything you say.

-Everything I say?

-Yes. Whatever it is, everything you say.

-Really? Then… live like you’re dead. Pretend you didn’t hear even if you heard, pretend you didn’t see even if you saw, like that!

That’s when it started. No matter what she heard, no matter what filthy things she saw, she didn’t open her mouth. She learned to be silent. Because she thought silence was the only way to survive.

But even then, she had hope. Because Tae Eun dreamed of complete independence after graduating high school and going to college. However, the world wasn’t so easy. By the time she graduated, her grandmother’s dementia had worsened and she had developed a severe lung disease, making it impossible not to receive help from her father.

Nothing went according to her wishes.

And now even the choice of marriage, something she should share with someone for life, was being arranged by them. Using her precious grandmother as hostage.

Yes. For the sake of her grandmother’s remaining life, what did it matter who she married? It wasn’t something she couldn’t do if she set her mind to it.

However, the problem wasn’t that simple. Because a few months ago, she had heard devastating news when she visited the hospital due to frequent menstrual irregularities.

-It’s endometriosis. The situation isn’t good. We can try treatment, but the prognosis might not be good.

-What does that mean?

-Well, it will be difficult to get pregnant.

She was diagnosed with infertility.

Really, why is her life so difficult?

Would a prestigious family like Jangwon Group accept a daughter-in-law diagnosed with infertility? It was an impossible story. A story that could never come true from the beginning.

Therefore, she was afraid of the retaliation that would come if she failed to meet their expectations and disappointed them. Especially Ji Eun, who was almost professional at intelligently tormenting and slandering her.

“Oh my, look at her. She still won’t answer. Do you know how much money I spent to get you in there? Honestly, did you think you could even see the likes of Seo Woo Jin with your background? This is all thanks to me, thanks to me! With nothing to show for yourself except your face and body… I can’t believe this!”

Ji Eun glared at Tae Eun, looking her up and down with eyes full of hatred, grinding her teeth at her for not readily answering.

What should she do?

Or maybe she never had a choice to begin with.

The moment they took her grandmother hostage,

“I’ll go. Tomorrow.”

She had no choice but to become their slave.

* * *

Tae Eun made it to the entrance of the restaurant in Cheongdam-dong with tension, but couldn’t bring herself to enter. Her hesitant steps were only embarrassing.

The result was obvious even if she went in. Nevertheless, the reason she came here was to try to negotiate with her father, using the excuse that she at least made an effort.

She stood like that for about 20 minutes. Just looking down at her innocent shoes.

But then her phone vibrated. It was her stepmother Ji Eun. For a moment she hesitated to answer, but knowing Ji Eun’s personality, she couldn’t avoid it.

“Yes.”

[Where are you? Have you arrived?]

Ji Eun’s sharp voice pierced her eardrum through the phone.

“Yes. I’ve arrived.”

[Good. Do well today. You know, right? How important this meeting is? It’s a family that can make your father the mayor of Seoul in one go. A family that you can’t even dream of comparing to your situation.]

“…”

[And yet, the fact that you can face Seo Woo Jin is all thanks to me. I’ve set the table, so eating is entirely up to you. Understand?]

“…”

[Why aren’t you answering?]

“Yes. I understand.”

[Do you know how much money has gone into you and your grandmother so far? Plus my effort in raising you without a drop of blood relation! So you must marry Seo Woo Jin no matter what! That’s the only way for you and your grandmother to survive. This is a warning!]

“…”

[If you can’t get him to ask for a second date today, don’t even think about coming home! There’s no more meaning in seeing your face!]

Ji Eun spat out her words like a machine gun and hung up. But Tae Eun stood frozen in place, holding the disconnected phone and biting her lip.

Regardless of the outcome, it was the moment her will to negotiate based on the reason that she came to this matchmaking meeting and did her best was instantly broken.

Ji Eun didn’t even give her that chance. She only emphasized the success of the matchmaking, which was close to zero possibility.

What should she do now?

Tae Eun lowered her hand holding the phone weakly and turned her gaze to look at the street full of neon signs. With so many lights flickering, not one of them felt warm to her.

It feels like standing on the edge of a cliff.

If it weren’t for her grandmother, she would want to jump off on her own without Ji Eun pushing her from behind.

Her heart pounded with fear and despair. A cool breeze brushed past her nose, but Tae Eun couldn’t come to her senses.

If she could, she wanted to run away from this unbearable reality.

Was it because that wish was so desperate?

Even knowing it wasn’t right, Tae Eun’s gaze and feet turned in a completely different direction from the restaurant.

Just as she was about to take a step like that,

“I don’t think that’s the right direction.”

A low voice, as if echoing from a deep cave, stopped her. It was a quiet voice, but chilling enough to hold her feet in place.

She turned her gaze towards the sound. Then she saw a large shadow flickering in a corner of the dark parking lot, away from the brilliant light of the restaurant.

It was too dark to see clearly, but even from the silhouette, she could gauge how big the man was. Moreover, his broad shoulders and two legs firmly planted on the ground looked quite threatening.

Tae Eun felt like she had discovered a beast crouching in the darkness.

Who could it be? That man who turned her steps around.

But soon she could tell. Because the man walked out of the darkness surrounding him.

Neither slow nor fast steps. The way he moved his long legs was both intimidating and elegant.

And his appearance finally revealed in the red light was even more impressive. His body wrapped in a black suit looked even more solid than when he was in the darkness, and his towering height seemed even taller.

The face of the man with a perfect physique without a single flaw looked not just cool, but arrogant.

“…”

“…”

Silence continued in their colliding gazes.

And soon after, the man ends the silence by deeply inhaling the cigarette hanging from his fingertips, enough to hollow his cheeks.

“Why, were you trying to stand me up?”

The man’s face visible through the hazy smoke wore a very bored expression, as if he didn’t care either way.