Chapter : 10
There were only three days left until the CSAT.
These days, self-study had become the norm even at school. Eum left the house with a scarf wrapped tightly around her neck and a mask covering her face.
The air had suddenly become so cold that she could truly feel the meaning of the phrase “CSAT cold wave.”
As she hunched her body against the cold and trudged toward the bus stop, a short honk suddenly sounded.
“Huh?”
She turned around with a hopeful feeling, and sure enough, a familiar sedan was stopped there.
Then a familiar face leaned out through the driver’s window.
“Get in.”
It was Jihoon.
Eum’s mouth opened into a bright smile.
“Wow! You came to pick me up?”
She happily ran toward Jihoon. As soon as she opened the passenger door, a wave of warm air rushed out.
“What brings you here?”
“I thought of you on my way to work.”
“They say the first person you think of when you wake up in the morning is the person you love.”
“You were probably the thirteenth person I thought of.”
The sedan driven by Jihoon slowly left the apartment complex.
Even though she was only the thirteenth person he had thought of, Eum quickly became happy simply because he had thought of her at all.
“Are you studying well?”
“Of course. I told you I’m confident I’ll get a perfect score.”
Her bold answer no longer sounded like mere bravado, and for a brief moment, Jihoon wondered if he really needed to prepare himself for marrying her.
But whenever he thought that, bitter memories came to mind.
“Seong Jihoon. I heard your mom had you when she was a teenager?”
“Is it true that there’s only a nineteen-year age difference between you and your mom?”
“But your dad is really old, right? They say he’s old enough to be your grandfather. Don’t tell me your mom was sold off to your dad?”
Words that had pierced his young heart like daggers.
If Eum married him, those arrows would be directed at Eum instead.
“Teacher?”
When Jihoon remained silent, Eum tilted her head and called out to him.
But Jihoon didn’t answer.
He suddenly felt helpless.
If she didn’t marry him, was there really any proper escape route for Eum, who would otherwise be forced to marry Congressman Park?
“You said that when you became an adult, you wanted to live independently and freely, right?”
“Yes!”
“Then how about studying abroad?”
It was an unexpected suggestion, and Eum stared at him with wide eyes.
“Are you trying to send me completely outside Korea?”
Jihoon didn’t answer for a moment.
She was more perceptive than she looked.
But there was nothing else behind his reason for sending her away. He was doing it solely for her sake.
“I don’t want to.”
But Eum rejected it immediately, as though she didn’t even need to think about it.
“Is it because of English?”
“No. I’m good at English. But you’re in Korea.”
“……”
“And I don’t have money to study abroad either. My parents don’t invest in me.”
“I will.”
This time, Eum couldn’t answer.
“I’ll pay for your tuition and expenses abroad. As for your living expenses, you can earn some money through a part-time job. The problem of me not being there……”
Ah, did he really have to explain something like this so seriously?
“You can come back to Korea during every vacation.”
“Are you cheering me on right now?”
“There’s more than enough reason to invest in a brain like yours.”
Only then did Eum fall silent, seemingly considering it seriously.
She was a clever girl, so she could easily calculate the pros and cons. If she stayed in Korea, it was obvious that she would be forced to marry Congressman Park. Taking this opportunity to go abroad and broaden her horizons would be far better for her, no matter how many times she thought about it.
As expected, Eum seemed to finish her calculations quickly and raised her head.
“I knew it.”
“Knew what?”
“You want to marry me too, Teacher.”
But somehow, her conclusion was strange.
“Actually, I did a little digging. I heard you’ve been going on blind dates lately too.”
Jihoon suddenly felt as though he had been rendered speechless.
“Where did you hear that?”
“It’s a secret.”
Eum answered coyly, but the truth was that she had happened to overhear a conversation between her father, Yeon Changshin, and her stepmother, Kim Juyeon.
But that was all she knew. She had wanted to hear more, but Bora had come out of her room, forcing her to leave.
“So the conclusion is that even you think marrying me is the best option, right?”
“How did you reach that conclusion?”
Jihoon couldn’t help laughing in disbelief. Eum looked cute as she pursed her lips with a serious expression.
“Do you know how much studying abroad costs? Spending that much money is something you can only do for your child or your wife. But I can’t become your child, so that only leaves being your wife.”
“So you’ll go, then?”
“No? I’m going to stay by your side.”
Eum cupped both hands around her mouth as if she were about to whisper a secret.
“By getting married.”
Then she smiled brightly, and for some reason, Jihoon’s heart fluttered strangely.
Was the sun really following only her?
The light radiating from Eum seemed to become increasingly dazzling to him.
Eum’s condition wasn’t good from the afternoon onward. Her period had started.
So today, instead of going to the reading room after school, she headed straight home.
At times like this, it was better to lie down somewhere warm and go to sleep early rather than push herself. After sleeping, the pain in her lower abdomen would improve considerably.
However, the moment she took off her shoes at the entrance, she saw Bora coming out of her room.
“Why are you coming out of my room?”
Bora also screamed as though she had seen a ghost when she saw Eum home earlier than usual.
“What the hell! Why are you home so early?”
“I asked you. Why were you coming out of my room?”
At that, Bora’s face flushed red with embarrassment. Then, apparently having thought of an excuse, she raised her chin.
“I-I was just helping Mom clean your room.”
But there was nothing in her hands. A faint sigh escaped Eum’s lips.
Ever since Bora had seen her with Jihoon in front of the house on that rainy day some time ago, Bora had been watching her constantly.
Eum was fully aware of the way Bora glared at her whenever she came into sight, but she had pretended not to notice because she didn’t want to get involved with her. Besides, she didn’t want to waste her time dealing with her.
“What did you clean it with? Did you sweep the floor with your hands?”
“No? Mom asked if there was anything in the trash can that needed to be emptied, so I came in to check. There wasn’t anything, so I just left.”
“Mom isn’t home.”
“On the phone!”
Eum normally cleaned her own room herself. Not once had her stepmother Juyeon cleaned it for her.
And yet, Bora was now claiming that Juyeon had specifically told her over the phone to check the trash can in her older sister’s room.
It was such an absurd excuse that even a passing dog wouldn’t believe it.
But instead of raising her voice, Eum simply held out her right hand.
“What are you doing?”
“Show me. Your call history.”
“What? Are you doubting me right now?”
“Show me.”
Bora’s face finally turned bright red.
In truth, Bora had entered Eum’s room to see if there was anything she could use as leverage against her. If there was something she could use to make Eum suffer, she wanted it in her hands.
And she had just thought of a very effective idea and was pleased with herself when she never expected Eum to come home at this exact time.
Bora’s heart had dropped in surprise for a moment, but she soon raised her chin even higher and shouted,
“That’s ridiculous. My call history is my private information. Who are you to demand something like that from me? And if you don’t believe me, why don’t you ask Mom yourself?”
After finishing her words, Bora deliberately slammed her shoulder hard against Eum’s as she entered her own room.
Left alone, Eum let out a tired sigh.
She slowly opened her bedroom door and went inside. Nothing seemed noticeably different.
The books were still in the same places, and there was no sign that the chair had been moved. She kept the drawers locked just in case, so Bora wouldn’t have been able to open them.
However, contrary to Bora’s claim that there was no trash, the small trash can beneath the desk was filled with snack wrappers from the food Eum had eaten while studying through the night.
Eum put down her bag and collapsed onto the bed.
She stared blankly into space for a while, then shook her head and covered her face with both hands.
“Don’t get stressed over something like this, Yeon Eum. It’s pointless.”
Even if Bora had stolen something, pretending not to know for now was the better choice for her.
But even knowing that, once her feelings had been disturbed, it wasn’t easy to settle them again.
At last, the day of the CSAT dawned.
The morning sun poured down brightly.
Eum opened her exhausted eyes.
