Chapter 271: The Truth of That Day
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 271: The Truth of That Day
Late at night.
My eyelids, which had been drooping from exhaustion, snapped wide awake the moment I stepped into the night air.
I didn't think it would be particularly cold since it was summer, but the wind was blowing harder than expected.
Maybe it’s because the elevation is a bit high.
Was it because the mansion was built on high ground? I never really felt this way when I was living in the dormitory.
The faint scent of cigarette smoke drifted on the breeze, tickling my nose.
Like Hansel and Gretel following breadcrumbs, I followed the scent to the front gate, where I found Senior Ju-hee smoking.
"Ugh."
Perhaps she thought she’d been caught smoking in front of the Servant's House.
Seeing her hurriedly try to put out the cigarette, I smiled and waved my hand.
"Hey, don't put it out. There’s no one else around anyway."
"Sorry."
"It’s fine. You were supposed to get off work ages ago, but my Second Sister-in-law kept you held up. You’re getting overtime pay, right?"
"No, I don't. Hanging out with Eun-byeol Unni isn't work."
So she calls her Eun-byeol Unni.
It felt a bit awkward hearing Senior Ju-hee call someone "Unni."
"Still, that’s not right. You’re staying late. You should definitely take the pay. I’ll mention it to her."
"You don't have to worry about that. The other seniors already throw shade at me, saying I’m a nepotism hire."
"That’s ridiculous. Who says that?"
"Why? You going to call them out and say something?"
"I’ll tell them to fight you. You’d win against all of them anyway."
"Hehe, I do think about it sometimes."
Despite her words, she seemed to enjoy the work. Her expression looked much better than it did back when she was at Gold One.
"Whew."
Having finished her cigarette, she tucked the butt into the pack and dusted herself off.
"I’m heading out now. Everyone’s asleep, right?"
"Yeah, they’re out. Second Sister-in-law went in a while ago. Jin-ah said it was her first time pulling an all-nighter and got all excited, then passed out on the sofa."
For the record, it was only midnight.
If an adult can't even stay awake until 12:00 AM, isn't that a bit of a problem?
"You should stay the night too, Senior. It’s a hassle to go all the way back to the accommodation from here."
"Forget it. How could I sleep at the Servant's House?"
"Just think of it as your junior’s house. I’m only saying it because you look tired."
"…Is there something you want to say?"
Senior Ju-hee, who was about to leave, turned back to look at me.
I was momentarily speechless, caught in the quiet gaze and atmosphere befitting the early hours of the morning.
"Well, about the other time."
I finally mustered the courage to ask.
"The other time?"
"What you said at the hospital. That I… did something weird because I was drunk."
"Ah."
Senior Ju-hee nodded as if she remembered.
She had definitely said it would be a disaster if the women who were to become the mistresses of the house found out.
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."
Senior Ju-hee replied nonchalantly.
But I couldn't let it slide so easily.
"It was a mistake I made. It’s just that… I’m worried I did something terrible to you, Senior."
"…."
"To be honest, I’m scared of the girls finding out because I don't know what I did, but I can't help that. More than that, I’m worried I did something… awful that I should never have done to you."
The girls finding out?
Of course, that was terrifying.
But more than that, I wanted to apologize to her for whatever wrong I had committed and the hurt or confusion it must have caused her.
"After all, you said I was your… first love."
I was the one who pushed her away, yet here I was, giving her mixed signals again.
It was truly the worst of the worst.
She stared at me blankly for a moment before putting another cigarette in her mouth.
Usually, when she was with me, she wouldn't smoke first because she didn't want the smell to bother me.
Looking deep in thought, she stared intently at me.
"When I was moving you guys from the bar to the car, you suddenly hugged me from behind."
She began to speak along with a puff of smoke.
"And then you started groping me. Like it was nothing."
"…."
"I tried to tell you to stop, but I momentarily lost out to your strength without realizing it."
"…."
"My back hit the car, and you lunged at me just like that."
"…."
"You grabbed my wrists, and in your drunken state, you suddenly kissed me, and then your hand suddenly—"
"W-Wait, wait, wait! Stop right there!"
When I called out to her in a panic, she put the cigarette back in her mouth without much of a reaction.
"Whew."
"I… I did that? Really?! I went that far with you, Senior?"
"There’s more. Want to hear it?"
"There’s… more?"
She didn't really answer. She just stared at me with the same gaze as before.
As if she was extremely displeased with something.
First.
Thud.
Let’s start by getting on my knees.
"I am so sorry!"
I immediately dropped to my knees and apologized.
This was a problem that couldn't be solved any other way, so I needed to apologize with everything I had from the start.
Senior Ju-hee stood there with her legs crossed and arms folded.
To an outsider, it would look like she was shaking me down for lunch money.
"I really don't remember a single thing! I am truly, truly sorry! I’ll do anything if you can just find it in your heart to forgive me!"
"Whew."
Senior Ju-hee exhaled smoke several times as if contemplating something.
"Forget it."
She simply replied.
The resigned tone of her voice made my heart ache even more.
"It’s not like you did it on purpose. It was an accident, so I’ll just let it go."
"Senior…."
"Act like it never happened. No need to apologize. Workplace sexual harassment is surprisingly common, after all."
"Guh!"
As I clutched my chest as if I’d been struck by a finishing blow, she turned her back to me.
"I’m going. Get some sleep. Tomorrow’s my day off, so I won't be coming."
"Ye-Yes, sir! Get home safe, Big Bro! I-I mean! Big Sis!"
Without even looking back, Senior Ju-hee waved her hand and walked away.
Watching her go, I headed back into the house with a tearful face.
I’m trash. I… I’m absolute trash!
How was I supposed to look the girls in the eye?
* * *
"Sigh…."
Stopping in her tracks, Min Ju-hee lit another cigarette in a corner alleyway.
She didn't usually smoke this often. The habit she’d picked up while working at the factory was harder to break than she’d thought.
I really need to quit this too.
For her health and for her wallet, she needed to stop.
But today, she couldn't let it go.
There was only one reason.
Self-loathing.
Was she exhaling the thick smoke because she wanted to hide her own disgusting self?
She didn't know what it was, but Min Ju-hee couldn't help but feel pathetic about her current state, which was so different from her usual self.
That night.
Yes, the night of Kim Woo-jin’s reunion.
Everyone was wasted, so she had loaded them into the car to take them to Kim Woo-jin’s main house.
She loaded Choi Jin-ah.
She loaded Seo Ye-rin.
Finally, she was about to put Kim Woo-jin in the front seat.
'Whoa! You’ve got a great body!'
The guy leaning on her shoulder started feeling her shoulders and forearms, commenting on how firm her body was.
Honestly, if it had been anyone else, she wouldn't have cared, but hearing those words from Kim Woo-jin made her feel restless.
'Come sleep at my house! Come sleep over!'
She’d heard his drinking habit was inviting people to his house, and it turned out to be true.
Thinking that, the moment Min Ju-hee tried to seat him in the front.
He suddenly pushed her hard against the car and grabbed her shoulders.
'…Woo-jin?'
'Come sleep at my house! Come sleep over!'
'Sigh, Woo-jin?'
'Sleep over!'
Then, Kim Woo-jin’s face moved toward hers. His face was flushed red from being heavily intoxicated.
It was the first time she had seen him this close, except for the time she had secretly held him while they slept back at Gold One.
'Ye-Ye-rin is in the back seat—'
She couldn't finish her sentence.
Kim Woo-jin’s face drew closer and closer. In truth, Min Ju-hee could have easily pushed a drunkard away if she applied even a little strength.
But before she knew it.
She realized she had relaxed her muscles and closed her eyes.
As if she were accepting it.
She was a woman expecting the sensation of a first kiss.
'Ah.'
A breath heavily laden with the scent of alcohol.
However, it never touched Min Ju-hee’s lips.
'Wait, no.'
Kim Woo-jin muttered.
'Not Ye-rin.'
'….'
'Not I-seo, either.'
'….'
'Not Ah-rin.'
'….'
'I’m so sorry! There are people I really, really like!'
'….'
'If it’s not them! I shouldn't do this!'
Right.
Of course.
That was only natural.
What had she been expecting?
'She’s in the back seat.'
'Yerinaaa!'
It ended with her just shoving him into the back seat with the others.
"Whew."
She knew.
Everything she had said to Kim Woo-jin was a lie.
It was a kind of childish tantrum she threw because she felt slighted, envious, and angry.
Nothing had happened.
Even though Kim Woo-jin was so drunk he couldn't even recognize her face.
Even then, nothing happened.
He restrained his near-instinctive actions for the sake of the people he loved.
She was only worth that much to him.
She knew that.
That was why she had given up.
She was going to stop now and find her own path.
"Ha."
Min Ju-hee was angry at herself for being so ridiculous and pathetic.
She didn't particularly like alcohol, but she felt like she had to drink today.
To be honest.
It wasn't that she had never imagined it.
Her first love, whom she had fallen for despite having no parents, was actually the son of a chaebol family.
Living happily ever after with the person she loved, never having to worry about money again.
That kind of future.
It was like a story about a princess in a fairy tale.
She thought that for someone like her, who had always lived a rough life, something like that might happen just once.
Forget it.
A fairy tale is just a fairy tale.
She was still a broke college student and the head of a household responsible for her younger siblings.
She was always meant to be someone sturdy and reliable, not a feminine existence in a fairy tale.
'Ye-Yes, sir! Get home safe, Big Bro! I-I mean! Big Sis!'
Kim Woo-jin’s final farewell lingered in her ears.
The fact that he had accidentally called her "Big Bro" felt much worse than she expected.
Even if it wouldn't have mattered coming from anyone else, hearing it from Kim Woo-jin hurt her feelings.
Fine.
Let’s really… stop now.
She had told herself to stop several times before, yet she had still been clinging to these lingering feelings.
But.
This time, really.
She had to stop.
She steeled her heart.
Tossing the cigarette butt into a trash can, she took a deep breath and walked down the night road once more.
Before she knew it, Min Ju-hee had returned to her usual self.