High-end exclusive restaurant.

At a glance, three harmonious families were engaged in pleasant conversation. It was a meeting that took place after almost a month. In the midst of their discussion, there was a knock and the door opened as staff members entered and began to set out the food neatly.

Han Ae Suk’s expression, which until then had been unable to take her eyes off her son whom she hadn’t seen in a long time as if every minute and second was precious, suddenly clouded over.

“These are the side dishes that our Seo Yeon likes.”

The warm atmosphere froze abruptly at her words. But Ae Suk didn’t notice her husband and son’s faces becoming rigid.

“How nice it would have been if Seo Yeon were here with us on a day like this.”

Her mind was already filled with thoughts of her youngest daughter who was not present. At Ae Suk’s muttering, Han Jung Hyuk’s face turned deliberately serious.

“Seo Yeon, is she still not answering your calls, Mother?”

To Jung Hyuk’s question, Ae Suk spoke as if complaining.

“It feels like it’s been several months since I last saw her.”

“Is that so?”

Jung Hyuk’s eyes widened as if surprised. He muttered as if he couldn’t believe it.

“I didn’t know our youngest had such a cold side to her.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Ae Suk nodded as if in agreement. She was becoming increasingly disappointed and tired of her daughter who wouldn’t answer her calls or reply to her messages.

She was a daughter raised with the utmost care, dressed in only the best and fed only the finest. How could I have raised her to be… so heartless…

“She says she won’t see us until you and I apologize to her husband.”

She had been a loving and kind daughter who would do anything for her parents and elder brother. This youngest daughter began to change when Jung Hyuk started publicly investigating the entire Han Kyung Group for violations of political funding laws and bribery charges.

Over dozens of people from the Han Kyung family were investigated, and merely being on the list of suspects was enough to spread suspicion like wildfire, plunging the entire Han Kyung Group into crisis.

Now, two years later, Han Kyung had weathered the crisis well and was once again exerting great influence as a global corporation in Korea and worldwide, but separately, the disgrace from that time had not yet been erased, and the Han Kyung Group corruption scandal was often mentioned as a symbolic case of efforts to break the collusion between politics and business through the sacrifice of a young prosecutor.

At first, the daughter who came to her every day with a desperate face, begging her to stop her elder brother, now threatened to cut ties with her parents if things were not set right, as the direction of the investigation spread to the owner’s family.

Even now, when Ae Suk thought about that time, her heart trembled.

“Seo Yeon said such things to you, Mother? This is truly surprising.”

Jung Hyuk, who had been questioning, turned his body at a slight angle and muttered as if he couldn’t believe it.

“But on the other hand, I can understand why Seo Yeon is acting so coldly. The Han Kyung family isn’t exactly known for their gentle nature. It must be like sitting on pins and needles in that house. You went too far.”

Jung Hyuk’s eyes sharpened. He spoke in a firm voice while maintaining a smile on his lips.

“Mother, I did it to create a better world. If one commits a crime, they should be punished.”

Ae Suk added in a small voice.

“Seo Yeon believed that you created crimes that didn’t exist.”

Jung Hyuk smiled slightly and replied as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“They’re her husband’s family, so she wants to believe them. I was worried about how well she was adjusting since we hadn’t been in contact since the wedding, but hearing her say that, it seems she’s already become a full-fledged member of the Han Kyung family. There’s nothing to worry about now.”

“…”

Ae Suk, who had been looking at Jung Hyuk with hesitant eyes as if she had many things she wanted to say, finally spoke with difficulty after a moment.

“…Perhaps, could what Seo Yeon said be true?”

Jung Hyuk smiled faintly and picked up his teacup. After taking a sip of tea and maintaining silence for a moment, Jung Hyuk suddenly smiled brightly and shook his head.

“How could that be?”

At that moment, Han Dae Young, who had been silently observing the conversation until now, spoke for the first time.

“That’s enough. Does it make you feel better to make someone doing important work so uneasy?”

At Dae Young’s reproach, Jung Hyuk stopped him in a gentle voice.

“It’s alright, Father. Mother must have been so worried about the youngest to say such things.”

Then, as if his thoughts had been sorted out, he looked at Ae Suk and added as if to comfort her.

“I’ll talk to Seo Yeon.”

Ae Suk brightened and asked.

“Really?”

Jung Hyuk nodded.

“I think I’ve been too busy to pay attention to the youngest. I’ll see her face this time and explain things so she understands.”

“That’s a good idea!”

Delighted by Jung Hyuk’s answer, Ae Suk called a staff member.

“Please pack two sets of the menu we’re eating now.”

“To send to Seo Yeon?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Answering thus, Ae Suk smiled brightly.

*

Late afternoon.

With a knock, a housekeeper entered Seo Yeon’s bedroom.

“Madam, someone has come from Pyeongchang-dong.”

Seo Yeon’s eyes widened slightly as if surprised.

“From Pyeongchang-dong?”

There had been many phone calls and messages from her family home, but this was the first time they had sent someone.

After contemplating for a moment with a blank face, Seo Yeon nodded.

“Let them in.”

The man who visited was working as her elder brother’s driver and secretary.

In his hands was something neatly wrapped in a high-quality cloth. As soon as he entered through the door, the man bowed to Seo Yeon and then walked straight to the dining room and placed it on the table.

“What is this?”

“The madam from Pyeongchang-dong said she hopes you enjoy it.”

After leaving this brief message, the man bowed again and withdrew.

“Oh my, how lovely.”

The housekeeper, who had belatedly followed Seo Yeon, exclaimed. Adding that it would easily cost over hundreds of thousands of won for one meal, the housekeeper said enviously.

“The madam from Pyeongchang-dong must think of you often. She only sent things that are good for your health.”

Seo Yeon smiled silently. And after a moment, left alone in the dining room, Seo Yeon sat in a chair at the table. And looking at the lunchbox, she became lost in thought.

When she was young, Seo Yeon grew up receiving unparalleled love from her parents and elder brother.

Her father was strict with the education of the two siblings, but was always gentle in other matters, and her mother always took Seo Yeon’s side, showing displeasure towards her father even at his slightest nagging, worried that Seo Yeon might feel discouraged.

Her elder brother found his younger sister cute despite their age difference and would pat her head whenever he got the chance and carry her on his back whenever possible.

It was a time of dream-like happiness.

The family that had been so special to Seo Yeon began to change when she entered middle school.

If someone were to ask her what exactly changed and how, Seo Yeon couldn’t explain in detail.

She just felt that the gentle air surrounding her had subtly altered.

The warm gaze of her father looking at Seo Yeon became more brusque than before, her mother who used to always take Seo Yeon’s side no matter what happened was no longer her absolute ally, and her elder brother who had promised to protect her for life no longer patted her head or hugged her lovingly.

Seo Yeon felt as if she had been abandoned alone on a remote island.

It was a wasteland with no one to love and no sunlight to warm her body.

Whenever she felt lonely, she endured by recalling the happy and gentle past, but each time she did so, her sadness only grew.

Once, unable to bear it any longer, she grabbed Jung Hyuk’s arm and asked, almost pleadingly.

‘Why did you suddenly change?’

‘What are you talking about, change?’

‘I know everything. Elder brother, you don’t like me anymore. You’ve come to dislike me now? Why? Why did you suddenly come to dislike me?’

‘…’

‘What should I do?’

‘Do well.’

‘Do well?’

‘Yes.’

‘How do I do that?’

‘Become an excellent person who is helpful to the family. Then won’t our parents look at you differently again?’

‘…’

‘Do well, Seo Yeon. Simple, isn’t it?’

That day, Seo Yeon engraved Jung Hyuk’s advice in her heart and thought. Perhaps if she really did well, she could return to the happy past.

Model student.

That was the word used to describe Seo Yeon by those around her. Whenever she felt the desire to return to the happy moments of the past, Seo Yeon controlled herself even more, endured, and strived to become a necessary member for her family.

That’s why she readily agreed to her mother’s suggestion to go on an arranged marriage meeting.

At that moment, there was a presence behind Seo Yeon’s back. Turning around, she saw the housekeeper who had returned after finishing cleaning, asking with a puzzled look.

“You still haven’t eaten? It will get cold and tasteless… Shall I warm it up for you now?”

“No, it’s fine. You can go home now. I’ll take care of the rest.”

But even after the housekeeper left, Seo Yeon couldn’t bring herself to touch the lunchbox. She couldn’t guess with what intentions her mother had sent her this lunchbox.

Even though she thought it was just a meal and there was no need to attach any meaning to it, she couldn’t bring herself to move her hand. She kept feeling melancholic.

In her previous life, Seo Yeon had lived so intensely and without peace of mind that she didn’t even think about wanting to cry.

Crying felt like a luxury. As she endured like that, at some point she really stopped being able to cry, and sometimes she thought of herself as an emotionless monster for not being able to cry.

“Maybe it’s okay now…”

Suddenly, such a thought occurred to her. Anyway, there was no one in this house, and the sad things hadn’t happened yet.

“Maybe it’s okay to cry.”

As soon as she had that thought, Seo Yeon’s eyes reddened.

“Sob…”

Before she could stop it, tears began to flow down her white cheeks. It was then that she felt a presence behind her back.