Chapter 2
“Why are you so slow? Tsk.”
Mrs. Hwang clicked her tongue as she glanced at Ina, who hurried out of the bedroom before she had even finished drying her hair.
“I’m sorry…”
Ina bowed deeply and quickly headed for the kitchen.
The words she said most often in this house were, “I’m sorry.”
From the time she entered this house at twenty-three until now, at twenty-five, her mother-in-law, Mrs. Hwang, had been the person she feared the most.
Of everyone Ina had ever met, her mother-in-law was by far the cruelest and most intimidating.
“Good morning, ma’am.”
Though she shrank back for a moment, Ina forced herself to smile brightly as she entered the kitchen.
Only Jinseon, the housekeeper who had worked for the family for many years, was busily preparing breakfast.
“Oh my. Madam, your hair isn’t even dry yet. What should we do?”
Jinseon looked at Ina with concern.
Ina gave her a faint smile and shook her head, saying she was fine.
If her own mother were still alive, Jinseon, who was about her mother’s age, would have been the only person Ina could rely on in this house.
She believed that it was only because Jinseon cared for her and worried about her that she had been able to endure this hellish married life.
“I… I overslept a little. I’m sorry. What should I do first?”
“Don’t apologize. You worked until one in the morning yesterday. You deserved to sleep in. Honestly, Madam Hwang should have let you rest today instead of waking you up before dawn.”
Muttering so Mrs. Hwang wouldn’t hear, Jinseon reached behind the microwave and handed Ina something she had hidden there.
“Here, hurry and drink this, Madam.”
“Huh? What is it…?”
“I made one for the Vice President and made one for you too. You barely ate dinner last night. If you keep this up, you’ll make yourself sick.”
With a worried expression, Jinseon placed a freshly made fruit juice into Ina’s hands.
“Oh, it’s okay…”
“No, it’s not. You’re so thin. There’s no color in your face at all. I’m always afraid you’ll collapse at any moment. At least drink this before preparing breakfast.”
Glancing toward the living room where Mrs. Hwang was reading the newspaper, Jinseon gestured for Ina to drink it quickly.
Unable to refuse her kindness, Ina gulped down the fresh juice.
The flavors of banana, apple, and other fresh fruits filled her dry mouth.
As she silently drank, Jinseon suddenly flinched and urgently tapped her arm.
“M-Madam Hwang…!”
Jinseon’s voice trembled.
Startled, Ina quickly set down the glass and turned around.
Mrs. Hwang was standing there with her arms folded, staring at her with a hardened expression.
“Mother…”
Mrs. Hwang’s eyes were fixed on the half-finished glass of juice.
Ina lowered her head slightly and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“I told you to prepare breakfast.”
“…”
“So what exactly do you think you’re doing?”
With a disbelieving laugh, Mrs. Hwang slowly walked toward her.
Jinseon hurriedly stepped in front of Ina and forced an awkward smile.
“Madam Hwang, it’s not like that. I had a little left over after making the Vice President’s juice, and it seemed like a waste to throw it away, so… I told Madam to drink it.”
Despite Jinseon’s explanation, the sharpness in Mrs. Hwang’s eyes didn’t soften.
She walked up to Ina, grabbed the unfinished glass, and deliberately poured its contents down the sink.
“Madam Hwang!”
It was something Ina had grown used to.
She simply lowered her head and waited for Mrs. Hwang to continue.
“There’s not a single thing about you that I like.”
As always, the criticism began.
“I should’ve opposed this marriage until the very end, even if you two were going to divorce eventually. We should’ve brought in someone from a family that was at least on our level.”
“…”
“You grew up without a mother, and your family is nothing but a bunch of nouveau riche. If the company hadn’t been in trouble back then, and if Dohyeon hadn’t been caught up in those scandals, someone like you never would’ve set foot in this house.”
Even after hearing those venomous words, Ina showed no reaction.
As always, she simply kept her head lowered and listened quietly.
But she no longer let Mrs. Hwang’s poisonous remarks sink into her heart.
She pretended to listen, but refused to dwell on them and hurt herself any further.
There had already been countless days when replaying those words over and over had left emotional scars.
This was the coping method Ina had naturally developed to survive her miserable life with her in-laws.
“Are you even listening to me?”
“Yes… Mother. I’m sorry.”
She only had to endure one more year.
She had somehow survived the past two years.
If she could just hold on for one more, it would all be over.
This suffering wasn’t without a reward.
Biting her lip, Ina remembered her father gently stroking her hand over and over as he tearfully sent her off to marry.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t capable enough… I’m placing such a heavy burden on someone as young as you.”
Her father, Taesu, had built a company that had risen rapidly to prominence in the business world.
That was why people like Mrs. Hwang referred to her family as nouveau riche.
To old-money business families, the term referred to wealthy newcomers who had money but lacked pedigree and tradition.
It was a word filled with contempt and ridicule.
Because of that, Ina understood exactly what Mrs. Hwang meant whenever she mocked her family’s background.
Ina had entered into an arranged marriage with Dohyeon to help her father’s rapidly growing company establish a solid position among Korea’s major corporations.
Of course, there was a reason why Kanghan Group, one of South Korea’s top five conglomerates, had chosen a family that was considered nothing more than nouveau riche.
At the time, Gu Dohyeon, the third son of Kanghan Group, was being swept up in rumors that he was gay.
On top of that, stories spread that while on a business trip to Hong Kong, he had frequented gay bars with celebrity acquaintances and had even used drugs there.
The public fiercely criticized him.
Since Dohyeon was the most recognizable member of Kanghan Group, those scandals put the company in serious trouble.
Because of that, Chairman Gu and his wife decided they had to marry him off as quickly as possible.
They searched for a bride with a respectable image and a family of an acceptable social standing.
At the same time, they couldn’t make it obvious that the marriage was being rushed to bury the scandal.
Ideally, it needed to look as though the couple had known each other for years and had naturally decided to marry after introducing their families.
A daughter from another major chaebol family wouldn’t work.
That would only reinforce the impression that it was another typical business contract marriage between wealthy families.
So the bride they chose was Ina.
Her father’s company was a mid-sized business that had only recently entered the corporate world.
Meanwhile, Ina herself had spent her university years volunteering both in Korea and abroad, while consistently making charitable donations.
She had an excellent reputation both on campus and among those who knew her.
She had even received a commendation from a member of the National Assembly for her service.
As her father’s company grew rapidly, newspaper articles occasionally mentioned both his name and hers.
On top of that, Dohyeon had attended the same university and even the same department as Ina.
Whenever he returned to give special lectures, Ina had been among the younger students who came to greet him.
That valuable connection made Chairman Gu and his wife unwilling to let Ina slip away.
And just as they had hoped, Dohyeon’s marriage announcement to Ina erased the endless scandals that had followed him.
At the same time, Ina’s father’s company shed its image as merely “nouveau riche” and firmly established its position with Kanghan Group’s support.
“Madam Hwang… Please don’t scold Madam. She said she didn’t want it, but I insisted she drink it. So…”
Jinseon desperately tried to calm Mrs. Hwang, but she wouldn’t stop.
“Stay out of this.”
“Madam…”
“You’ve been getting on my nerves lately. What? Since you’re getting divorced in a year anyway, have you decided you can do whatever you want?”
Ina simply kept her head lowered.
“You think you can ignore us for one more year, collect a huge divorce settlement, and walk out of this house, don’t you? Is that why you’ve become so bold?”
“That’s not true.”
“If you keep acting so insolent, you’ll leave this house without a single penny. Do you understand?”
Mrs. Hwang shouted and shoved Ina on the shoulder.
At that instant, Ina raised her head and staggered violently.
“Ah!”
Of all times, her benign positional vertigo flared up.
The world spun wildly before her eyes.
She completely lost her balance and began to fall.
“This won’t do.”
“…!”
Out of nowhere, Dohyeon appeared and quickly caught her before she hit the floor.
“Ugh…”
Groaning in pain, Ina instinctively clutched his arm.
Dohyeon held her even more firmly and spoke in an emotionless voice.
“Leave this house, Seo Ina.”
“D-Dohyeon!”
“At this rate, you’re going to die.”
When the dizziness finally subsided, Ina looked up at him with exhausted eyes.
It was the first time she had ever been held in his arms.
The man who had always been indifferent was looking directly into her eyes for the first time.
“I’ll save you.”
Yet the expression on his face remained completely unreadable.
