Ju Young’s continuing words were so absurd and clearly deceiving Ha Eun.

[Your husband worked hard to get your father out. It would have been difficult if he hadn’t helped with your elder brother’s suspended sentence application first. Actually, when Kyung Sook went to see him, he didn’t agree to the request from the beginning. But he said Kyung Sook convinced him while talking about you. So later on…]

Ha Eun was confused.

‘I don’t know where to start correcting this.’

The suspicion of why Ju Young still calls Jae Hyuk her ‘husband’?

The question of why Jae Hyuk’s name comes up while talking about family matters?

Why did Kyung Sook go to Jae Hyuk instead of her when such a thing happened?

With endless doubts and questions, Ha Eun felt like she was falling into a maze.

From one to ten, everything was incomprehensible.

Her mind was in a jumble.

[Your husband is really an amazing person. He got an incredibly famous lawyer in Korea for your father. If it wasn’t for that, your father might have passed away there.]

Her heart fluttered to a degree that couldn’t be compared to what she had felt so far.

[Your husband also found the best hospital, and got a house near the hospital for Kyung Sook to nurse him easily. I went a few times, and it was a nice apartment, right? On top of that, he said not to worry about the hospital bills, so Kyung Sook was relieved of one burden.]

Ju Young continued, saying it was fortunate and a godsend.

[You know the ** apartment next to the National Cancer Hospital? It’s there. Your mother said the 104 building where she lives is the biggest and the best. It’s the top floor of 104 building. Ah, unit 1701.]

Ha Eun thought it was truly fortunate that her father was doing well. But Kyung Sook’s act of hiding the fact that she received support from Jae Hyuk and cutting off contact with her was clearly a betrayal.

[Ha Eun? Are you listening to me?]

Ju Young’s voice calling her lingered in her ears, but she couldn’t open her mouth.

‘Normally, when a daughter says she wants a divorce, don’t they cut ties with the son-in-law too…? They don’t even contact enough…’

Ha Eun severed her ties with Jae Hyuk with her own hands. It didn’t matter whether he accepted it or not.

Ha Eun thought the same should apply to family. The moment her ties with Jae Hyuk were cut, she thought her family, including Kyung Sook, should also cut ties with Jae Hyuk.

Moreover, they didn’t break up on good terms.

Of course, she was anxious. Her family, who had been sucking blood off Jae Hyuk like parasites throughout her married life, might find it hard to cut ties right away even after the divorce, she thought.

But she never even dreamed that the ties she had cut off would be connected to her parents for such a long time.

Moreover, the scale of support was immense. Ha Eun wondered how they proceeded with this without the person involved knowing… A sense of betrayal washed over her like waves.

‘I thought things would change after the divorce.’

Although she thought that the people who demanded money from Jae Hyuk during her married life and saw their daughter as an ATM machine wouldn’t change easily… she ended up having expectations.

Still… I’m their daughter after all!

‘Nothing has changed. You were still using me. You never thought about me at all. How could you…’

Ha Eun’s anger began to turn towards Jae Hyuk as well.

A long time had passed, and even if her family did that, Jae Hyuk should have cut ties.

Ha Eun’s anger towards her family and Jae Hyuk began to explode in all directions.

‘But why did you get help from oppa in the first place? Why did oppa help mother? I clearly said let’s get divorced… But why!’

Something hot surged up. Ha Eun bit down hard on the tender flesh inside her mouth.

“Why?”

[Huh?]

“It’s been a long time since that person and I tried to get divorced…”

Ju Young spoke as if it was obvious in response to Ha Eun’s question.

[But in the end, you two didn’t get divorced, right? That’s what Kyung Sook said?]

“…Mother said that?”

[Yeah. She said you did say you wanted a divorce at first, but you worked it out well and now you’re just separated for a while due to circumstances.]

Ha Eun’s heart sank at Ju Young’s words.

‘What did you just say? That we’re separated for a while? Why on earth did mother say that? Why?’

The more Ha Eun listened to Ju Young, the more she felt like she was falling into a deep quagmire.

When Ha Eun remained silent, Ju Young called out to her.

[Hey Ha Eun, don’t take it too seriously. Of course, there are times when a couple gets along and times when they don’t like each other. Maybe there are more times you don’t like each other. But that doesn’t mean you’re not a couple. It’s natural for him to care about his in-laws since he’s your husband. You’re still a couple even if you live separately. Besides, Kyung Sook and your father said they feel bad for not telling you. You’re not misunderstanding, are you? Kyung Sook didn’t do it on purpose.]

“……”

[I know, but Kyung Sook didn’t tell you because she was worried about you. You know how much your mother thinks about you, right?]

Ju Young’s words were meant to soothe Ha Eun’s hurt feelings, but they had the opposite effect.

[The adopted daughter is still a daughter.]

That was what Ju Young had said in passing a little while ago.

Those words echoed in Ha Eun’s mind. It felt like falling into an uncontrollable abyss.

“Auntie, please keep it a secret from mother that I called today and that you told me the address.”

‘I don’t know what I’ll say if I meet mother right now.’

Ha Eun needed time to sort out her thoughts. At this rate, she felt like she would come to hate even Ju Young who was defending Kyung Sook.

[…Ah, okay. Sure. That’s better for me too.]

“I’m sorry for causing you trouble, auntie.”

Ha Eun suppressed her anger and continued. Her finely trembling fist had already turned white, cutting off blood circulation.

[No, don’t say that. I’m sorry if anything I said upset you, and let’s keep in touch later.]

“Yes, auntie. Be careful not to catch a cold.”

[Okay. You be careful going to Jeju Island too.]

She didn’t remember what she said to Ju Young. Ha Eun just spoke as her mouth moved.

The sound of the phone hanging up with a ‘beep beep’ lingered in Ha Eun’s ear for a long time.

After a long time had passed, Ha Eun picked up the piece of paper with the address Ju Young had just given her.

‘What should I do? Should I pretend I don’t know anything and ask?’

She was more curious about why they consulted with him and received help without her knowledge, rather than why they hid the fact that her father was sick.

“Why did you avoid me? Why!”

Anger surged. Ha Eun crumpled the memo, frowning.

‘There’s no explanation for why mother hid this from me. If I was a real daughter, you couldn’t have done this. If you truly loved me, you couldn’t have done this.’

Ha Eun closed her eyes tightly, recalling the harsh truth she learned on that sweltering summer day.

[This is the timeline separator]

It was the year she turned 14.

[The younger siblings each take after their mom and dad. But the eldest doesn’t resemble anyone.]

At some point, people started saying this when they saw Ha Eun and her siblings.

Her younger sister who resembled her mother, her younger brother who was the spitting image of her father, and Ha Eun herself who didn’t resemble anyone.

‘Why don’t I resemble my parents?’

For Ha Eun, who had just entered puberty at that time, the words that seemed to deny her existence were so unpleasant to hear.

[Oh my, how could she not be their real daughter? Even if she doesn’t resemble them when young, she will when she grows up. Could she really not be their real daughter?]

Nosy neighborhood ladies hurt Ha Eun with words disguised as concern.

Until then, she tried to convince herself that she was just upset about not resembling them.

Until then…

It was a sweltering summer day that year.

Ha Eun, who hated sweating the most, threw off her shoes as soon as she got home from school. Despite the hot weather, Ha Eun was in a good mood. Because that day, her father Mr. Choi had gotten a rare day off.

As a chauffeur, Mr. Choi worked according to Chairman Ban Ho Jun’s schedule, so 24 hours a day, 7 days a week was not enough. His days off were irregular, and even on his days off, he was often called out unexpectedly.

That day, Chairman Ban was on an overseas business trip, so it was a day Mr. Choi could take a proper rest.

Ha Eun approached the main bedroom, thrilled to be able to properly see and talk to her father after a long time. Through the open crack, she saw a man and Mr. Choi.

“Father, I’m ho…”

Just as Ha Eun was about to open the door and enter, it happened.

“Isn’t it time you let go of your guilt? The living have to live.”

Ha Eun’s hand that was opening the door stopped.

Ha Eun instinctively thought, ‘I feel like I shouldn’t open this door and go in for some reason…’

With an inexplicable uneasiness, Ha Eun stood there, unable to open or close the door.

Even though she didn’t want to hear, Ha Eun overheard the conversation between Mr. Choi and his friend Dong Hyun.

“How can I forget that? Hyun Jun died because of me.”

“How is that your fault? It was just an accident. Think of it that way.”

“An accident, do you really think that was an accident, Dong Hyun?”

“You tried to persuade him. You didn’t really intend to kill him.”

Ha Eun’s heart raced as if she had an arrhythmia.

Through the gap between the door and the wall, Ha Eun saw Mr. Choi’s face.

Mr. Choi’s expression, as if he was carrying the guilt of the whole world, was as dark as the overcast sky.

“No, no.”

“…”

“Actually, I knew that bastard Hyun Jun wouldn’t be persuaded. Since I had received money, I was just going to pretend. And… it wasn’t an accident. It’s true that Hyun Jun died because of me. If I hadn’t taken him to the bar that day…”

“Don’t think like that.”

“Do you sincerely think so? You know too, don’t you? What happened to Hyun Jun there… It’s all because of me. Because of me, Hyun Jun died in vain and a family was broken. If Hyun Jun hadn’t died, that woman wouldn’t have abandoned Ha Eun. Abandoning a baby like that…”

Mr. Choi’s thin shoulders began to shake.

Ha Eun’s mind couldn’t process the unexpected information.

A person named Hyun Jun died.

But a family was broken.

If a person named Hyun Jun hadn’t died, that woman wouldn’t have abandoned me?

‘What did father just say?’

Ha Eun covered her mouth.

She doubted her ears at the unbelievable story.

‘Who abandoned me…?’

Dong Hyun, Mr. Choi’s friend, embraced the crying Mr. Choi’s shoulders.

“Come on, man. Don’t say things like that. You did your best. It’s because you worked hard that Hyun Jun’s little daughter grew up so well.”

“I’m the one who took Ha Eun’s parents away. Me. Sob.”

Ha Eun saw tears in Mr. Choi’s eyes. Seeing those tears, her heart sank at the unbelievable truth.

‘N-no way.’

Afraid of being discovered, Ha Eun covered her escaping voice with both hands.

Tears welled up in her large eyes.

‘This is a dream. I heard wrong!’

Ha Eun was shocked to learn that Mr. Choi was not her father. That wasn’t all.

[It’s my fault that Hyun Jun died. Because of me, Ha Eun was abandoned.]

What Mr. Choi had said a little while ago came to Ha Eun’s mind.

‘My real father died because of father? That’s the reason my mother abandoned me?’

Faced with the immense truth she couldn’t handle, all she could do was run away.