Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Bang Eun-ji's Tears
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Across the alley from the snack bar run by Kang Da-hye's mom was Bang Eun-ji's mom's karaoke bar.
It wasn't the kind of place kids flocked to after exams.
The most shocking time was in my first year of middle school, when I saw teachers stumbling out of that karaoke bar. The handsome Korean literature teacher Bang Eun-ji secretly had a crush on was so drunk he was beet-red and couldn't even recognize his own students.
One of Eun-ji's friends who was with her whispered,
"Looks like the teachers came from in there. So gross."
From that day on, Bang Eun-ji never set foot anywhere near her mom's karaoke bar.
It was embarrassing. She hated it.
She hated the glassy-eyed uncles who hit on her when she ran errands there, and she hated hearing her mom call her every filthy name under the sun in front of other people.
Parents embarrass their kids all the time, so why can't kids be embarrassed by their parents? I hate my own mom who can't open her mouth without cursing.
Even when Song Yeo-reum dragged her to the snack bar to humiliate Kang Da-hye's mom, and even when she went back later with Kang Da-hye to apologize, she'd been inwardly on edge about running into her own mom.
So the reason Bang Eun-ji went to the karaoke bar today was...
"Ugh, hello...?"
-Bang Eun-ji, you little...! What did you do this time!
"Mom?"
-Get your ass over here right now!
"Argh, what now...?"
She grumbled under her breath but hurriedly threw on some clothes and shoes. In the meantime, five more calls came in, all urging her to hurry up.
Arriving anxiously at the basement karaoke bar, she found someone there who was completely out of place.
It was Han Ji-su's mom.
Han Ji-su's mom, with her perfectly coiffed hair and elegant suit, was sitting on the red sofa in front of the karaoke counter. Bang Eun-ji's mom, dressed in her gaudy clothes, was bowing and scraping as she set down a paper cup of instant coffee mix in front of her.
The moment she spotted Bang Eun-ji, her mom yelled,
"You little bitch! Why'd it take you so damn long to get here! Do you have any idea how long the assemblywoman has been waiting?!"
She grabbed Bang Eun-ji's arm like she was herding livestock and yanked her in front of Han Ji-su's mom.
"Sorry for making you wait so long. This girl's just so slow on the uptake... God knows who she takes after..."
She kept bowing her head over and over.
To me, she was the mom who always said things like, "How did I end up giving birth to a piece of trash like you?" and "You're such a disappointment," but in front of Han Ji-su's mom, she was endlessly servile.
"You heard all that, didn't you, you little bitch? Hurry up and apologize. Say you're sorry and that you'll never bully Ji-su again."
"What? Bully her how?"
"Bully her how? How did you bully her?! You really...!"
"Ow!"
Thwack. There was no hesitation in her mom's hand as it smacked her daughter's head.
"I never bullied her! We were just in the same club, so I talked to her a few times! That's all!"
"Shut up!"
"Ow!"
"Why the hell are you even talking to her? Talking to a good girl like her when you're such a slut—that's bullying! What else would you call it?!"
"Why hit me! Why are you hitting me?!"
"Because you deserve it!"
"I can't even talk to her?!"
"You're really embarrassing me in front of people...!"
We'll settle this later! her mom shrieked.
"The assemblywoman here even paid for your treatment after you got hurt hanging around with those low-class kids, and this is how you repay that kindness...?"
"It's fine."
At that moment, Han Ji-su's mom, who had whispered something to the older man standing behind her, stood up from her seat.
"Looks like there was a misunderstanding. Sorry for the trouble. As a parent, I was just worried."
"Oh no, not at all. It's only natural for you to worry, ma'am. Having a girl like this hanging around your daughter."
A girl like this? I'm her daughter.
"I'll give her a good scolding so this never happens again..."
"Yes, yes."
"I've always admired and supported you, ma'am... Like during the last election..."
Beside her groveling mom with no shred of pride, Bang Eun-ji clenched her teeth and held back her tears.
Crying here would just get me more abuse.
"Bang Eun-ji?"
"...Kang Da-hye."
"What happened to you?"
Kang Da-hye came running up to Bang Eun-ji, startled. Without even looking in a mirror, Bang Eun-ji knew her cheek must be swollen. Kang Da-hye gingerly touched it and grimaced.
"Are you okay?"
Bang Eun-ji's lips quivered at the sight of Kang Da-hye's pale face, at a loss for what to do.
"Kang Da-hye, I..."
Just as she was about to pour out her resentment and injustice like a dam breaking, Bang Eun-ji hesitated.
Kang Da-hye is close with Han Ji-su.
They've been best friends since middle school.
If she said here that she'd gotten hit because of Han Ji-su, would Kang Da-hye take her side?
No. That's why I need to strike first before Han Ji-su tells Kang Da-hye her side.
Before Kang Da-hye ditches me after hearing Han Ji-su's story.
If she just explained nicely that there must've been a misunderstanding, that she never meant to bully Han Ji-su...
"I thought I told you last time, ma'am. I'm grateful for the help, but I'd prefer if you stayed away from our Ji-su."
"You're not going to go whining to Ji-su about some misunderstanding and bother her again, are you?"
"Ji-su is in a crucial period right now. Please don't cause her any stress."
"Bang Eun-ji?"
"...It's nothing."
She pushed away the back of Kang Da-hye's hand from her cheek. Kang Da-hye's expression turned serious as she grabbed Bang Eun-ji's arm, where there were nail marks.
"How is this nothing—"
"I said it's nothing!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "......"
I glanced down at my roughly shaken-off hand for a moment.
Jeong Eun-seong, standing a few steps back, flinched. I shook my head at him as he started to step in.
"Jeong Eun-seong. Could you grab us some water, maybe?"
He instantly got the hint that I wanted him to give us some space and nodded before leaving.
I stared quietly at Bang Eun-ji, her eyes red and her lips trembling.
"......"
It's awkward for me to say it myself, but Bang Eun-ji had started liking me lately.
Ever since I visited her in the hospital last time, her feelings had shifted to fondness, and after I advised her to ditch that college guy boyfriend by asking him for a loan—which worked—she'd practically started worshipping me.
For a girl like that to shove my hand away and glare at me like this...
"Bang Eun-ji."
"......"
"You don't have to talk if you don't want to. But."
"......"
"This can't be nothing. Getting hit like that. This is a big deal. A huge deal."
"......"
"You can get mad. You can freak out. It really is a big deal."
At those words, tears suddenly overflowed from Bang Eun-ji's eyes, which had been fixed on the ground.
"I, damn it...!"
She burst into the sobs she'd been holding back and collapsed onto the filthy ground.
"Even if no one else believes me, my mom has to, right? She's supposed to believe me first! So why is she the one who jumps down my throat?!"
I silently listened as she screamed and cursed, thrashing around like a child.
"You think I don't get embarrassed by her? I'm embarrassed by my mom too! Other kids' moms call them 'our Eun-ji' or 'our little princess,' but mine just calls me every name in the book!"
I want to live like a princess too.
Not asking for expensive clothes or phones—just to be treated like a precious daughter. At least at home.
"I want cake on my birthday too... I want her to take me to the hospital when I'm sick..."
"Yeah."
I patted the back of the sobbing Bang Eun-ji.
"A mom should hear her kid out first, right...?"
"That's right. She should. Your mom was wrong."
I rummaged in my pocket and found the one tissue I'd used to blow my nose earlier. I forced it into Bang Eun-ji's hand even though she didn't want it, and pulled her into a hug by the shoulders.
As I stroked her hair and back repeatedly, her hiccuping sobs gradually subsided.
Over Bang Eun-ji's shoulder, I could see Jeong Eun-seong standing there with a convenience store bag, hesitating to approach.
I'd asked him to buy water, but he got ice cream instead. Even better.
"Bang Eun-ji. Have some ice cream. Jeong Eun-seong bought it for you."
I slowly peeled her away from my embrace as she sniffled. Jeong Eun-seong quickly handed me a Choco Pie.
"Choco Pie."
"Figured you liked them since last time."
I twisted off the top and gave her the main part, tossing the chocolate tip to Jeong Eun-seong. Bang Eun-ji took the Choco Pie and pressed it to her eyes to cool them.
Jeong Eun-seong, sweet as ever and not prying, pulled out some wet wipes from the bag and handed them to me. As I cleaned Bang Eun-ji's dirty hands from the ground, I said,
"Bang Eun-ji."
"...Yeah."
"You might not be a princess."
Neither am I.
"But you are one of a kind in this world."
"Everyone is, though..."
"That's why everyone is unique. If you really want to be a princess, build your own country. Earn money, buy a house. Be princess of your own home."
Princess of Hannam The Hyecho 17th Building, Unit 0310.
"Adopt a cat, tie a ribbon on it, and make it your servant."
"A tuxedo cat."
"Buy some plants and tend to them like loyal subjects."
"When they bear fruit, that's your tax revenue."
Jeong Eun-seong chimed in enthusiastically from the side.
"You can make all the rules in your house however you want. You don't have to give authority to a butler who wasn't elected by vote. Because you're the princess."
"What...?"
At our nonsense, thrown together with all our might, Bang Eun-ji finally let out a small laugh.
"Wow. Now you really look like a princess when you smile."
"Oh man, ridiculous..."
"......"
"......"
"So, Bang Eun-ji. Do you still not want to tell me what happened?"