After entering the house, In Ha irritably threw her clutch onto the sofa.

The chain made a clinking sound as it fell onto the marble floor.

“Argh! I’m so annoyed!”

Startled by In Ha’s loud voice, Jae Hee ran out from the dining room to the living room.

In Ha’s face was flushed red up to her nape.

“In Ha. What’s wrong?”

“I’m annoyed, Mother. I’m so annoyed I feel like I’m going crazy. Should I not get married?”

In Ha had never had to work hard to get what she wanted, so she lacked patience. She had lived an easy life, as if her studies and career had been predetermined at birth.

Both Jae Hee and Kang Seok had raised her as if they would pluck the stars from the sky if that was what In Ha wanted.

Moreover, her natural beauty made her look so delicate and beautiful that people felt they needed to protect and take care of her.

“What happened? Did you fight with young master Kang?”

Jae Hee sat In Ha down on the sofa and began gently scratching her itches.

Whenever In Ha opened her mouth, Jae Hee always gave her what she wanted.

From the moment she was born until now. Jae Hee had never once been stingy with In Ha.

“No, Mother. My pride is hurt.”

A tearful voice. Her flushed face gradually returned to its original transparent and sparkling skin as she poured out her emotions.

“In Ha. He’s a businessman. And he’s in the middle of a merger with U&I right now. Of course he’s busy.”

“But it’s the weekend. After meeting for the first time and getting engaged.”

In Ha’s eyes drifted off for a moment as if she was thinking, then returned.

“I haven’t seen his face except when I visited the office. Even for an arranged marriage, this is too much. How dare he, to me.”

“It’s not a love marriage. I’ve heard that’s quite common in families with arranged marriages. But is young master Kang stingy with money for you? I met Madam Hwang today.”

In Ha’s eyes lit up at the mention that Jae Hee had met Sun Woo’s mother.

“Why? Why did you meet?”

“She contacted me, so I went out. She asked how I felt about The K Penthouse in Cheongdam for your newlywed home.”

In Ha covered her mouth with both hands.

It wasn’t a place you could enter just because you had money. A place where you had to wait on a waitlist for years just to move in.

“Really?”

“Yes. I thought about getting a detached house, but you’re still young, and managing a detached house requires a lot of attention, so she wanted to know what I thought about deciding on that place.”

“Awesome. Mother, now I’m starting to feel like I’m marrying into a chaebol family.”

Jae Hee seemed relieved only after seeing her daughter’s sullen face brighten.

“Mother, then what about the wedding venue? Where will the ceremony be held?”

Rrr−.

A phone rang inside In Ha’s clutch.

“Who could it be at this hour.”

Right now, In Ha was excited with the anticipation of having the most splendid and brilliant wedding among all her friends. So she wasn’t pleased about the phone call.

But when she saw the name [Kang Sun Woo] on the phone screen, her face lit up once again.

She held up the phone right in front of Jae Hee.

“See. Young master Kang must have acted that way because he was at work.”

In Ha cleared her throat.

“Yes. This is Ji In Ha speaking.”

−You’re at home, why answer the phone like that?

“Mr. Sun Woo. What’s the matter?”

−I said I had plans tomorrow, how about lunch on Sunday afternoon?

“Sunday?”

−Yes. Is it a habit of yours to make people repeat themselves?

“I think I can spare an hour or two.”

Of course, she didn’t actually have any other plans, but In Ha wanted to get back at Sun Woo for upsetting her, so she kept the time short.

−That’s enough time. I have personal matters to attend to in the afternoon as well.

This guy, till the end.

In Ha’s upturned lips crumpled tightly.

“Alright.”

−Then, I’ll come to your house, so come out.

“Okay. Then, good…”

The call ended before In Ha could finish her greeting.

“Ah− so annoying. What kind of phone etiquette is this!”

Jae Hee seemed pleased that In Ha seemed to have made weekend plans.

“He must be so busy. But he still contacted you to make plans for the weekend.”

“That guy. Where else would he find a woman like me? Pretty, smart, and well-mannered. He should be groveling on the floor, bowing to me.”

In Ha arrogantly acted as if everything she had now was obtained solely through her own abilities.

A life given at birth.

And abilities gained by stealing someone else’s life.

What is stolen goes to someone else and doubles. And for the one who was robbed, it returns not as double, but as pain multiplied by multiplied.

Perhaps that’s why the law of conservation of mass doesn’t exist in life.

Young Hwa, who had returned home early and was getting water in the kitchen, heard the conversation between the two and smiled bitterly in her heart as she headed to her room.

But the fortunate thing is.

That one thing In Ha is most obsessed with these days is focused solely on Young Hwa herself.

And very passionately and aggressively at that.

She’s approaching with extreme devotion.

As she placed the warm teacup on the desk, the phone rang immediately.

“What is it now? It hasn’t been long since we hung up.”

−Come on. Can’t you just answer happily?

“You seemed to have made a date with some woman just now. I’m not happy about it.”

A languid laugh echoed from the other end.

−What’s this? Sounds like jealousy.

Jealousy?

It’s not jealousy, more like displeasure.

−Ah, this is troublesome. Should I cancel?

“No. Why cancel? Meet her. It’s fine.”

−Right. I can’t cancel. This appointment wasn’t made by me, but by my sister. So put away the jealousy.

“Sister?”

−Ah. Did I not mention it? I have one sister. A half-sister.

Ah.

Young Hwa had been so focused on Sun Woo that she hadn’t really looked into his family relationships.

Just his background. She vaguely remembered seeing a profile mentioning Chairman Kang having one son and one daughter.

“You must be close with your sister.”

−…We are.

The answer was slow.

Is it affirmative? Or negative?

She realized that even in his casual words, there were serious aspects.

It conveyed the concern that comes from the sincerity of considering family, even if it’s a half-sister.

−She’ll probably like you when she meets you.

“…I doubt it.”

This time, Young Hwa’s answer was slow too. It was a slow response due to her low self-esteem.

Young Hwa didn’t have the confidence to be loved by anyone.

−She will. My sister is different from me. She’s the only person I acknowledge.

Acknowledge?

Haa. This person is making me cry.

“Young Hwa is the only person her sister acknowledges.”

“Me? But my sister is better at everything.”

“Well, that’s because she’s learned more. But our Young Hwa is smart, pretty, hardworking, and on top of that, such a good person.”

A small basement room.

In cold winters, bathing was the most inconvenient, but elder sister Sang Hwa would say that people need to be clean and boil water for us to bathe together.

The conversations we had while washing each other’s backs were still vivid in her memory.

“Ahem. Alright. When, if that day really comes, I’d like to be introduced.”

−Why does your voice sound like that?

“Like what? My throat is a bit hoarse from drinking hot water.”

−Haah. Okay, I’ll believe you.

It’s comforting.

A relationship as thin as ice. The words “I believe you” from such a person were comforting to Young Hwa.

Left alone in the world, the desire to lean on someone kept being stimulated by Sun Woo.

So Young Hwa clenched her teeth a bit more.

Because she had to stop relying on him.

***

Jang Hee, who had met with Han Ul, was troubled by their conversation.

Jang Hee didn’t believe that she had made an extreme decision out of despair, as the published report suggested.

However, she thought it was an accident, not an incident.

An unfortunate accident. That’s what she thought.

Even if she believed the published report, it was still too painful.

If only she had been by her side at that time.

If only she had shared more of her friend’s pain, things might have been different. She blamed and resented herself, thinking of countless what-ifs.

Her past self.

The pettiness of feeling a bit jealous.

“Pregnant?”

Han Ul nodded with a dejected laugh, and Jang Hee dropped her hand that had been raised in the air.

“You, Han Ul?”

“Not me. We had already been broken up for over a year at that point. If it had been me… that might have been better. But it wasn’t me.”

“Then who on earth…”

“The important thing is that the child was probably not unrelated to Sang Hwa’s death.”

Sang Hwa agreed with Han Ul’s words. Perhaps there was some other unbearable pressure. Something like that.

Sang Hwa was someone who didn’t give in to difficulties.

A friend who was more positive than anyone.

And Sang Hwa was not the kind of friend who would make such a decision.

If for nothing else, for her younger sister.

“Han Ul, it might be too late, but is Sang Hwa’s younger sister doing well?”

“Ah. Young Hwa.”

Han Ul showed a sad smile.

“Right after the accident, she became the adopted daughter of Chancellor Ji Kang Seok.”

“Who?”

Sun Woo’s face flashed in Jang Hee’s mind at Han Ul’s words.

She had heard that Sun Woo’s fiancée was Chancellor Ji Kang Seok’s daughter.

Could it be Sang Hwa’s sister? But it wasn’t.

Nevertheless, Jang Hee wanted to meet her. Somehow, it felt like the flow of fate was calling Sang Hwa back, and her heart raced.

The friend I couldn’t protect back then.

Forgive me for coming to find you too late.

I wanted to see your sister Young Hwa, who must resemble you.

The one who had those clear and warm eyes.