CH 132

When she saw Choo-ja having a difficult time, Lee-yeon had sent her back first, coming down the mountain herself after sunset.

She entered the motel they were all staying at, hungry and exhausted. There was already a long line of people waiting to check in and you can tell by their dirty clothes that they were all workers sent to help with the accident. Firefighters, police, military personnel, and civil servants all stood around looking tired.

Lee-yeon stood at the back of the line, looking around at the fairly clean interior of the motel. All kinds of workers passed by her, but none of them were wearing the logo she was hoping to see.

‘Should I call Chae-woo?’ she thought to herself as she took out her cell phone and looked at the screen.

“…!”

Just then, something hit her from behind, and she felt a hand clasp around the nape of her neck and quickly turn her around. In the blink of an eye, someone grabbed her by the collar, pulling her close, as she lost her balance and stumbled.

“Ah, this woman, how long has it been?”

As she faced her attacker, her whole body froze. Her heartbeat thrummed forebodingly in her ears and her mind went blank. She was forced to stand on tiptoe, making it hard to keep her balance.

“I was wondering where you were hiding. Have you been here the whole time?”

She didn’t even have the energy to attempt feebly to escape his grip. Her hands trembled.

It was the first time she’d seen her cousin since fleeing the mainland and coming to Hwaido. Her father’s child. He was all at once her cousin and her half-brother.

In his other hand, he was holding his phone, apparently in the middle of his call. He gripped his phone harder as he said, “Hey–, bro, guess who I just ran into?”

His gaze was filled with both delight and malice. This gaze that immediately crushed her hopes that the resentment between them would fade over time. The subtle pleasure that rose behind those deep eyes was the same as ever.

“It looks like I got a pretty big catch.”

“….”

“Bro, did you have a good dream last night?”

Lee-yeon couldn’t breathe. Her cousin stood before her, his voice raised as he laughed in her face. As always, it was like hearing everything that made her feel ashamed of herself. It was exactly the same as before, except they were no longer on the playground, in the school corridors, in the city, or at her workplace.

“She’s a tough girl, just like you said. For such a tough girl, it’s no wonder she’s living such a shamelessly luxurious life after running away like that. What an ingrate. It’s nice that the family who raised me doesn’t give a shit about me.”

“…….”

“If she was going to screw people over, she might as well have the decency to lay low.”

His expression hardened as he shook Lee-yeon roughly by her collar.

“Shouldn’t she feel ashamed?”

Each word felt like a cut, deep and painful. The sudden scene drew people’s attention. However, no one rushed to intervene, possibly due to the orange uniform her cousin donned.

“Life must come so easy to you, Lee-yeon.”

“…Let go of me.”

She glared down at his hands, her nails digging into them. It was different from the obedient look she used to have in her eyes. Her aggressor’s eyebrows raised at this sign of resistance.

“…bro, I have to hang up. I’ll call you back later.”

As soon as he finished tucking his phone back in his pocket, slap–! Lee-yeon’s head jerked to the side. The onlookers all gasped simultaneously as he suddenly slapped her across the face.

She must have busted a lip since she could taste blood in her mouth. She couldn’t even bring herself to touch her cheek which burned as though on fire.

Her ears rang as she suddenly recalled every memory of her cousin cursing at her and making her life miserable when she was young.

She could feel the stares of those standing in the lobby around her as they whispered quietly. She had a nauseating feeling of deja vu. This evaluation had already been influenced by others enough as it was.

Again and again, she felt overcome by an insurmountable sense of defeat.

“Get out of the way. You’re blocking the line.”

Lee-yeon squeezed her clammy fist with all her might.

“Did you take the wrong medicine today, Lee-yeon?”

“No, It must be that I forgot my pills today. Meanwhile, you’re causing a scene like a troublemaker who can’t act his own age.”

“…!”

“It’s really been a long time. You’ve gotten so old.”

“You, Lee–”

Lee-yeon’s childhood had never been smooth.

However, even after witnessing someone being buried alive, being drugged and dragged to a slaughterhouse, and almost cracking her head open in a drug field, she felt ridiculously confident that she had the upper hand on her cousin.

“You’re not a person.”

Slap–! He brought his hand down on her cheek again, just as she got the words out.

“You crazy girl. You must be really happy to see me today. Is that why your body aches?”

Lee-yeon couldn’t help but laugh. She wasn’t scared by her weak, bully of a cousin. Anyone with a minimal amount of strength could become a bully.

But the man she lived with was different. A man who could carefully brush back the baby hairs on his wife’s head after brutally defeating a gangster and a wild boar with his bare hands. This man who already played such a huge role in her life, was the one she was truly afraid of.

“My blood may be dirty, but your shallow words and actions are even worse.”

After everything she’d been through, the accusations her cousin threw at her no longer had the power to hurt her.