SATURDAY 15

I spent a long while curled up, holding that warm, soft body. Only after my injured arm began to throb did I pull myself up to find some medicine. My stomach would surely sting since it was empty, but I was used to that anyway.

I went up to the second floor and took the medicine out of the drawer next to the bed, only then remembering that the refrigerator was out of water. Usually, the staff kept it filled, but they must have forgotten.

In the end, I had to head back down to the first floor. By the time I took the medicine, my arm was throbbing severely. It was likely because I had used it, even if just a little, while cooking.

Lili followed me around constantly, letting out small cries as if he were worried about me. Looking only at that indifferent and listless expression, he seemed like a cat with no interest in the world, but Lili liked to interfere more than I expected and was rich in emotional expression.

Coming down from the second floor to the first, the thick scent of food filled the space from the kitchen to the living room. I felt like I finally understood why Mr. Taeseon had left so angrily.

Retching several times amidst the smell of food that now felt like a stench, I waited for the pain in my arm to subside. Starting from my arm, my shoulder, back, neck, and head throbbed so much that I couldn’t move at all.

I think I spent about thirty minutes sitting blankly like that. All the while thinking the smell of food was disgusting.

Then, I should have just endured the pain, stood up, and cleaned it up quickly. I felt pathetic for being unable to do so. My limbs felt like lead, making it impossible to move.

As time passed, the medicine kicked in, and the pain finally eased. I had taken off that foolish brace earlier than scheduled and was just wearing a bandage, partly because I felt awkward every time I ran into Mr. Taeseon.

After all, I had fallen because Mr. Taeseon pushed me. I was worried that if I went around wearing a brace, it would look like I was staging a protest.

My family hated it when I acted that way, so I wondered how much more Mr. Taeseon would dislike it.

Bending my arm against my stomach, I began to clear the table. The smell that had been so nauseating while I sat still was somewhat bearable once I started organizing.

I put all the food waste into the machine and, after rinsing off the residue and seasoning from the dishes, placed them one by one into the washer.

Since it was just a matter of throwing everything away and wiping down, it finished sooner than I thought. Once done, I turned on all the ventilation fans and threw the living room and kitchen windows wide open. Even though spring was just around the corner, the night breeze was quite chilly.

I rubbed the underside of my chin with the back of my hand. The tears that had been streaming for a while came off. They wouldn’t stop. I felt the need to wash up. The smell of food was clinging to my body as well.

“…Lili.”

Lili, who had been sitting by the induction stove watching me clear the table, suddenly hopped down to the floor, climbed up my body as if he were scaling a cat pole, and lay on my uninjured shoulder.

Both his legs were gripping the back of my neck and my back. I wondered if he was uncomfortable, but Lili suddenly bumped his face hard against my cheek.

“Li, Lili?”

Thump, thump. Having repeated the action about two more times, Lili then rubbed his face and head against my cheek.

“Don’t do that… Your fur will get wet.”

“Woong… Meow.”

It was the sound closest to a “meow” that I had ever heard from him…. As I thought that, Lili began to lick my wet cheek. It was the first time Lili had licked me. As I had heard, a cat’s tongue was rough and stung a little.

After licking until my cheek turned red, Lili seemed satisfied; he jumped off my shoulder, scurried onto the sofa, and began grooming his own fur.

In the meantime, my tears had stopped before I knew it.

∞ ∞ ∞

“I’m going now, Lili.”

“A-ek.”

Lili thrashed his tail against the floor. Since it was a very thick tail for a ginger cat, it literally made the sound of a cotton mallet pounding. It was so cute that I stroked his head from a slight distance.

I felt sorry that I couldn’t hold him. Since I was fully dressed now, it would be troublesome if Lili’s fur got on my clothes.

“Sorry, I’ll hold you when I get back.”

“Ark… A-ang.”

“I’ll be back soon.”

Just then, a horn honked from the direction of the garage. Startled, I quickly waved goodbye to Lili and headed out the front door. Since it was the first time leaving Lili home alone, I didn’t know what to do and ended up dragging the time too long. I had even forgotten that Mr. Taeseon was waiting in the garage.

Hurrying out from the entrance, I practically ran to get into the car.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Fortunately, Mr. Taeseon didn’t say anything more.

It was a relief that I didn’t make excuses, like saying I was late because I was saying goodbye to Lili. If I had said it, there wouldn’t have been a response from Mr. Taeseon anyway. I could only imagine how awkward the drive to the party would have been.

The location was the Han River, just as Mr. Taeseon had mentioned. He said they were holding the party by renting a large cruise ship at sunset. I thought it was amazing that there were parents who would celebrate like that just because their child graduated and returned to the country.

However, Mr. Taeseon’s thoughts seemed a bit different.

“Not many eyes will be on us. This is a party to find a marriage partner for that family’s daughter.”

“Pardon…?”

“She’s an Alpha daughter who even studied abroad at a good school; wouldn’t she naturally be able to take her pick of marriage prospects? The eligible Omegas invited this time are lucky. That family dotes on their daughter quite a bit, and she’ll receive a generous inheritance later.”

“Ah….”

“I’m telling you so you know in advance. Though you might already know.”

“I didn’t know….”

Actually, how could I… I wasn’t very interested in such topics in the political or business world. Hardly any information reached me anyway. I only knew about as much as Mr. Taeseon told me.

On the other hand, Inha was very interested. Far more than I, who had already forgotten which group’s daughter it was. Perhaps he already knew that this party was being held.

That didn’t mean Inha’s marriage prospects were urgent. Inha was effectively set to inherit all the family’s assets.

I was the family’s misfortune, and my parents said they didn’t want to give me even a single penny. They had even looked for various ways to ensure that, openly in front of me. I don’t know how many times I’ve signed things like waiver forms until now.

So, naturally, all the assets belonged to Inha. With money and fame, marriage prospects follow. Or, it was fine not to marry. It would be enough to just adopt someone from among the relatives later.

The reason Inha was so interested in these matters was purely out of curiosity.

If there was some bad gossip—like who divorced whom, or who stabbed whom—Inha would be the first to hear it and come tell me while cackling. To be honest, I didn’t want to hear such stories.

Even if things like people’s hearts changing or hating someone enough to want to kill them happened somewhere in the world, I didn’t want to know.

If someone said I was living in a field of flowers, they might be right—no, they probably would be right—but I just wanted to live hearing only good things.

That’s why I liked the stories Mr. Taeseon told. He mainly told heartwarming stories or only conveyed necessary information on incidents and accidents. Major things that would make stock prices fluctuate. Listening to his stories didn’t leave a bad aftertaste or feel unpleasant like the ones Inha told.

“Are you listening?”

“…Ah, oh, I’m sorry. I was just thinking for a moment….”

“Your way of speaking.”

“….”

I had imitated Inha’s way of speaking before, but it’s hard to do it every time. If I open my mouth while blanking out, things like Inha’s tone vanish instantly. Instead, when I stared quietly at Mr. Taeseon, he knitted his brows as if displeased.

“Everyone coming to the party knows you are Yoon Inha. Are you going to try and imitate Inyoung even there?”

“…Ah.”

Now that I thought about it, that was true. I hadn’t considered it.

“If it’s uncomfortable, you don’t need to open your mouth. You can stay sullen the whole time. Since your personality is well-known, they’ll just assume something bad happened.”

“….”

I could clearly understand this. It meant I should keep my mouth shut and act as if I were in a bad mood, acting sullen.

While thinking, “Why go that far,” I realized. Mr. Taeseon didn’t want to show a friendly appearance with Inha.

It was the first official appearance since ‘Yoon Inyoung’ died and the marriage to ‘Yoon Inha’ was decided. I felt a strong intent that he did not want to show a friendly image.

“I understand.”

I answered quietly. I didn’t want to defy Mr. Taeseon anymore. I want to just follow quietly, doing whatever he tells me to do.

I was looking straight ahead when I suddenly felt a gaze and turned around; Mr. Taeseon was staring intently at me. While driving? Startled, I looked around only to find we had already arrived at the Han River parking lot.

With the engine off, he looked at me with both hands resting on the steering wheel. The sun was almost set, but because we were directly under a streetlight, it was bright enough to discern expressions inside the car.

Mr. Taeseon looked at me with a peculiar… a truly strange face.

Then, he slowly lowered his head. His gaze, resting his head on the steering wheel, still didn’t pull away from me. I wondered what he was thinking to look at me with such an expression. Did I do something wrong?

Mr. Taeseon slowly opened his mouth.