Yeonwoo, who had been organizing mugs and tumblers on the display shelf, paused for a moment.

‘CEO Jang is getting married?’

Then Yujin suddenly focused her eyes with great intensity on Lajin, sticking her tongue out.

“Tsk, anyway. Unni, you’ve been pretending to be quiet all along while doing everything on your own. You even climbed onto the stove first when no one was around, right? How did you meet such a man? They say your family operates a local prestigious foundation, and your in-laws run a clothing company. Mom said that listening to her, he looks like an entertainer, too.”

After meeting Seonwoo and returning home, Sukyoung sighed deeply for several days.

‘No, if Lajin knew about a man like that, she would have said something sooner. Then there was no need to pull in CEO Jo; she would have solved the financial problem already.’

‘Does she have a man?’

‘Stop it. Your family operates a local prestigious foundation, and your in-laws run a big clothing company.’

‘What, what did you say?’

‘Besides, how refined he is. I thought he was an actor in a coffee commercial a while ago. Lajin couldn’t take her eyes off him…’

When she heard those words, it seemed so hot. While others might call her a fox, that was just her appearance. The real fox was that woman who disappeared.

“If you had asked me to set you up on a blind date, I wouldn’t have even pretended to listen. Were you having fun by yourself? Anyway, it’s better this way. Get married, save our family, and introduce me too.”

“….”

“Isn’t it also good for you, Unni? Mom said so. Even if it’s a distant relative, it should be well-off to go to her in-law’s house. And if she finds a match for me, I won’t complain anymore.”

Listening quietly to Yujin’s words, Lajin suddenly laughed lightly.

“Are you laughing at me right now?”

“No. I’m not laughing at you.”

After savoring the tea Yeonwoo had blended and taking a light sip, Lajin spoke in a casual tone.

“I’m laughing at myself.”

“What? What are you saying? Speak in words I can understand.”

“When you watch dramas or read books, people curse at those who are like trash, right? Wondering why such things don’t just disappear from their homes. It’s frustrating to death.”

Yujin’s face turned crimson.

“T, t, trash? Hey, are you talking about our house?”

“Yeah. Your house. I’ve never been a part of your house, your family.”

Thud. Lajin, who had been holding a teacup, gently put it down and said in a low voice like a chant.

“Why can’t you easily cut ties with trash in the world and get scolded as a fool?”

“Trash? Hey, Sarajin! Did you just finish what you were saying?”

“No. I’m not laughing at you.”

Lajin, after listening to Yujin’s words in silence, suddenly burst out.

“Why can’t you easily cut ties with trash? Because it’s too scary and frightening to be left alone in the world.”

Those who are not the parties involved do not know. The heart of a person left alone in the pitch-dark darkness.

Although the lifeline that seemed fragile and worn out might break at any moment, it was never let go easily by the person themselves, trivializing the earnestness and pleading too lightly.
She was not the type to easily reveal her feelings, even to close friends or caring mentors.

However, during her school days, when she participated in volunteer activities in another region, she had a difficult time expressing her feelings to a counseling teacher who had been kind to her.

Fearing that she might end up completely alone, she confessed her fear, but the response she received was harsh.

“Everyone lives lonely at times. Right now, only your story may feel most precious in the world, and I might feel like the loneliest and most pitiful person in the world, but it’s a delusion. If you were an adult, there might have been people calling it an overestimation of self-awareness.”

Despite the dilemma of becoming a blood-related family if she left her current family through adoption,

“Why can’t a smart child like you overcome just that one thing? Value yourself. If you stay quiet, you’re abusing yourself.”

Since that day, Lajin never confided in anyone about her inner thoughts.

Having not known how to survive on the battlefield without a single soldier’s thread, she had lived by abusing herself.

But now, things are different.

“Words instilled by my mother since childhood also played a role. When you go into society, the way people treat those with and without families is like night and day.”

“So, is that a wrong statement? Hey, don’t you understand that you’ve come this far because we were there for you? Don’t you really get it?”

“Some, well, let’s assume that.”

Because there were undoubtedly benefits received by being bound by the name of family. Public opinion.

“What? Some?”

“But today, sitting face to face with you and listening to your story, it became clear.”

Lajin looked into Yujin’s eyes. It was a straight and strong gaze.

“It’s no longer necessary.”

Now that there is something to protect. My ‘real family.’

“The lingering attachment and affection that remained like a spiderweb are disappearing all at once. Thank you for putting an end to my hesitation.”

People become stronger the moment something more precious than themselves appears.

“Now, the fake family is no longer needed.”

Upon Lajin’s words, Yujin’s eyes trembled as if she would overturn the table.

“Hey, do you think it’s all over when you spew nonsense with your mouth? Do you know how much we’ve fed you, sheltered you, and taught you until now…!”

Staring silently at the woman who had been called a sister, Lajin took out a USB she always carried in her bag and placed it on the table.

“If you don’t agree to the settlement in the divorce lawsuit, I’ll spread the contents online.”

Yujin trembled her entire body while looking down at the seemingly ominous object.

“I compared the amount my adoptive parents invested in me with the amount I dedicated to them in the name of filial piety. Of course, the latter is larger.”

“What? Hey, have you gone crazy?”

“The recordings of the gaslighting words, the messages, and… the data on why the well-operating factory suddenly collapsed.”

Yujin widened her eyes in surprise.

“Did you not know?”

“You, you…”

“The demanded amount kept increasing, and it seemed strange. Ordinary employees are like that. When I lend you hard-earned money, I want to know where it’s going; it catches my eye. You, who have never earned money on your own, wouldn’t understand.”

Lajin slowly lifted the teacup and savored the fragrance.

“How did it feel to embezzle the money and buy luxury goods, and go on trips? Enjoyable?”