“I’ll definitely give it to her when I have the means in the future. It’s not like not having a bag is an obstacle to living. But Soo Yeon’s livelihood is at stake right now.”
“You call that an excuse? Our mom was so happy about getting the bag!”
Woo Jin’s voice was getting louder, and Si Hyun quickly glanced around.

“Lower your voice, brother.”
Woo Jin had been acting very meek around Si Hyun since the scandal. But this issue seemed to be something he absolutely couldn’t accept.

“Do I look like I can lower my voice right now? You received a lot of gifts from our mom, and now you can’t give her the wedding gift, do you have a conscience?”
When he started to mention conscience, Si Hyun became angry too. She wanted to keep quiet about the gifts because it felt like she was making excuses, but now she couldn’t help but speak up.

“Those jewels you’re talking about. I took them to the shop to have them reset, and they said it would be better to buy new ones. The jewels have no value, the diamonds are cubic zirconia, and the gold is only 14k, so even if we sold them, they wouldn’t bring in much money. So, I just brought them back and will return them to mom. Is that okay?”
As she said that, Woo Jin’s face turned a bright red, possibly from embarrassment. However, he didn’t stop yelling.

“So, you’re this kind of person? You’re worried about the price of a gift from your motherinlaw? It’s the sentiment that’s important!”
Si Hyun was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t help but laugh. She picked up her handbag that was on the table.

“How about this bag as a wedding gift for mom?”
“What?”
“I’ve been using it for several years, but it’s made of natural leather, so it can still be used for a few more years.”
“Are you crazy? You want to give our mom your used bag?”
“Why not? Mom gave me jewelry she had used for decades. Why? Isn’t it the sentiment that’s important?”
“Is that the same?”
“What’s different!”

Si Hyun was also angry. Did this man know that I had never carried a fiftythousandwon bag in my life, and was he still ranting about a tenmillionwon bag to me?

In her anger, words she had intended to bury in her heart slipped out.

“And I really didn’t want to say this, but why do I have to repay the money you spent while seeing other women?”
It was something she had decided to forgive and forget. She had been trying not to mention it so far, but she couldn’t stop her mouth when it came to this.

Woo Jin’s face turned even more crimson. It was worryingly close to an explosion.

“When, when did I ever ask you to pay me back?”
“Brother, you spent all that money on the card. You had to take out an additional ten million won in jeonse loans because you were short of money due to the card value. Doesn’t that mean I have to repay it with you?”
Woo Jin flinched.

“What the hell did you do to have a card value of ten million won each time!”
The only thing Si Hyun ate when she met Woo Jin was always the kind of rice soup or covered rice he liked. Occasionally, pasta was the best treat. She had never received a gift worth tens of thousands of won.

But with that woman, he had frequented places like hotel restaurants and bought her a luxury necklace, so it wasn’t unreasonable for the card charge to exceed ten million won.

“Why are you bringing up a settled matter again?”
Instead of apologizing, Woo Jin angrily retorted.

“Yes, I made a mistake. But you decided to forgive me. So, I’m living like a dead man, isn’t that enough? How long will you keep bringing it up and treating me like a sinner!”
Si Hyun regretted. She should have just kept quiet. It felt pitiful, unfair, and miserable to let it out of her mouth. No wonder Tae Ha said he felt like a tteokbokki to me.

“Let’s stop here today. We’ll talk again later.”
Feeling that she might burst into tears at any moment, Si Hyun got up and quickly left the café.

((()))

When she came home tired, Tae Ha was standing in front of the house. It seemed like he had been waiting for Si Hyun’s return.

“Can you spare me a moment?”
Si Hyun replied while avoiding his gaze.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling well today. Let’s talk later, Tae Ha.”
She hadn’t eaten dinner, but she didn’t feel hungry. All she wanted was to go in, collapse, and sleep. Because when she slept, she didn’t have to think about anything. Because she could forget all the sorrowful, sad, and unfair things.

In front of Si Hyun, who was about to enter the door passcode, Tae Ha extended something.

“I’ll just give you this and leave.”
It was a plain white envelope.

“What is this?”
Without much thought, Si Hyun took the envelope and opened it, only to be taken aback. What came out from inside were three tenmillionwon checks.

“What is… this?”
“You said you needed it, money. Let me know if it’s not enough.”
Si Hyun hardened her face.

“I asked you to sign the loan, when did I ask you to lend it to me?”
“That’s your hardearned severance pay. I don’t want you to take out a loan or something like that with it as collateral.”
For a moment, the tip of her nose ached. Why does he have to be like this now, of all times? When she already wants to cry.

To hide her weakening heart, Si Hyun pushed the envelope back at him even more firmly.

“That’s enough, just take it.”
“It’s not that you have to pay me back. Just use it.”
“That’s why I hate it even more! I’m not going to use it, it’s money to help someone else, so why are you giving it to me?”
But Tae Ha shook his head and said.

“If that person is precious to Kang Si Hyun, then that person is also precious to me.”
That was the moment. The tears that she had been holding back overflowed.

“Why are you saying that…”
The words she wanted to hear from Woo Jin. The words she couldn’t hear in the end.

“Why you, why on earth…!”
Covering her face with both hands, Si Hyun burst into tears.

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