Park Chaeyeon
Today, as always, she arrived at the academy despite the unrelenting cold.
Lately, the glances directed at Chaeyeon had been noticeably different from usual.
The other girls had once envied and resented Chaeyeon for her beautiful appearance, but not anymore.
Their gazes no longer treated her as a fellow woman on equal footing, and that made her frown.
Also, the boys' lecherous stares—filled with twisted fantasies about Chaeyeon—hadn't really changed, but their intensity had grown considerably.
And on top of that.
"Is that her? The whore who sells her body?"
"Yeah, that's her."
"Ugh... disgusting."
At some point, she had become a slut, a whore who would sell her body anytime for money.
"Hey, I've saved up a lot. Think she'll put out for me?"
"Am I included?"
"Get lost. I'm doing it alone, why would I share with you?"
There were even some boys who thought they could get a piece of her if they paid, as if the rumors contained not a single lie.
It made her sick.
She couldn't help but feel wronged.
If she had actually sold her body, that would be one thing, but she had never done such a thing, so why had such rumors spread?
For some reason, Chaeyeon felt like she knew the reason behind it.
She forced herself to ignore the stares and whispers clustering around her and entered the classroom.
The moment she stepped inside, and as expected, the same looks and words she had experienced outside were rampant.
She was only attending the academy reluctantly, pushed by her mother's encouragement.
Honestly, even without studying, the mere fact that she was one of Jihoon's women meant that her life's path was already strewn with brilliant flower petals.
That was why the books just wouldn't register.
Still, she had nothing else to do during the long break, and to ease her mother's worries, she had been diligently attending every single day, planning to keep a low profile. There was absolutely no reason to hear such things.
"Haah..."
She clutched her throbbing forehead and let out a deep sigh.
Overt laughter echoed from behind her.
She glanced over and, as expected, saw Geon Daegeon and his gang in the back corner by the window, along with the three girls who had been caught red-handed tearing Chaeyeon apart in the restroom.
As soon as they noticed her gaze, they grinned with a look that said, "So what?"
"This is driving me crazy..."
Those nobodies were acting all big and bold.
Usually, when she was with Mijin or Nayoung, they wouldn't even dare come near, let alone say a word. Seeing them act like this now made her even angrier.
Part of her wanted to ask Jihoon for help.
He was her beloved boyfriend, who had told her that if anything happened, she should tell him everything without hesitation and he would help.
Chaeyeon knew well that he wasn't all talk.
And why wouldn't she? She had received his help more than once.
From small matters to things her family couldn't overcome, he had solved them effortlessly—how could she doubt him?
On top of that, Jihoon's father had just become a member of South Korea's top ten conglomerates.
And Jihoon himself had amassed a massive fortune through domestic and foreign stocks and FX. You could say his family was one of power that ordinary people could never touch.
If she told him about this with fake sobs, he would step in right away.
But Chaeyeon didn't do that.
She was just attending the academy, and getting caught up in this mess felt both absurd and embarrassing.
Most of all, Jihoon had been busier than anyone lately, so she simply couldn't bring herself to call him.
She didn't want to be a woman who blocked his brilliant path when she couldn't even help him.
"Heh heh heh."
"Ha ha ha."
The laughter was extremely grating.
She had only gotten angry about the backstabbing and advised them not to do it again. But the girls, enraged by that, had latched onto Geon Daegeon.
And Geon Daegeon, with those girls clinging to him, was trying to gaslight her just like Jihoon had done with Nayoung and Huira unni.
"If you're going to do it, do it right. Like a damn idiot. Tch..."
When isolating someone, you should do it secretly and then approach them. Even if it's unlikely, there's a 0.0001% chance their heart might waver.
But showing off so blatantly that you're isolating her only stirred up hostility.
Without thinking, she regretted coming to the academy early today.
She should have at least had a peaceful morning.
Chaeyeon sighed, rubbing her forehead.
Wishing for class time to come quickly, she forcibly ignored the stares and words that clung to her like they were peeling her skin.
"Hey... Chaeyeon."
Just then, one of the few girls at the academy who was friendly with her hesitantly approached.
"What?"
She snapped back, even though the girl had done nothing wrong.
"Well... Chaeyeon. Is the rumor... true?"
At the follow-up question, she frowned.
Even though they had only met at the academy.
Once break ended, Chaeyeon planned to quit the academy anyway. This short-lived connection would surely be severed soon, but she had genuinely wanted to be friends with this girl, at least for a while.
But instead of believing in her, having the nerve to probe with a "just in case" attitude about such baseless rumors—she couldn't see that in a good light.
'This friendship is over too.'
She never imagined it would end so quickly, even if it wasn't meant to last long.
Not feeling it was worth answering, she turned her gaze away.
Seeing that no reply came no matter how long she waited, and that Chaeyeon wouldn't even look at her, the girl's face fell and she returned to her seat.
"What happened? Did she say it's true?"
The moment the girl who had left Chaeyeon's side reached her own friends, she was bombarded with questions.
"I knew it. She says she has a boyfriend she's been dating for almost a thousand days, but why isn't his face even on her social media?"
"Exactly. If they've been dating for a thousand days, what's there to be embarrassed about? I'm not like that."
"That ring and necklace and all that stuff—she must have bought them by selling her body."
Conversations too unbearable to witness.
First of all, she was recognized as Nayoung's boyfriend's girl. If the only man on Chaeyeon's social media was Jihoon, it would be nothing but a hassle.
That's exactly why she had no pictures of her boyfriend Jihoon on her social media—to avoid such problems in advance.
Oblivious to this fact, they spewed their venom.
The girl she once considered a friend just listened to her friends' words without any objection.
Chaeyeon quietly closed her eyes in resignation.
"I'm home..."
Her exhausting day had finally ended, and she returned home.
Even though she hadn't done any hard labor, her worn-out body and depleted mind ached.
"You're back?"
As she was taking off her shoes, her mother came out from the living room to greet her.
"Yeah..."
She answered weakly, finished removing her shoes, and was about to head to her room when she stopped.
"Mom."
"Hm?"
She called out to her mother, who was heading back to the sofa to continue watching TV.
"Hey... I..."
Words caught in her throat.
But... but she felt like she couldn't bear it without speaking up.
"Can I stop going to the academy?"
"..."
Normally, her mother would have scolded her, saying not to talk nonsense, and smacked her back.
But seeing the genuine tone and expression on Chaeyeon's face, she felt certain there must be a valid reason.
"Sure. You don't have to go."
Instead of getting angry and demanding an explanation, she embraced Chaeyeon with a gentle smile.
A lump rose in her throat.
As her face pressed against her mother's shoulder, tears finally burst forth.
"Hic... sob... M-Mom... Mom!"
The tears she had been holding back came flooding out.
She cried as sorrowfully as when her cherished teddy bear had gotten caught on something and torn apart when she was little.
"There, there, Chaeyeon."
Her mother patted her back, and they held each other for a long while.
She didn't know how much time had passed.
"Are you feeling a bit calmer?"
"Yeah..."
She sniffled, her nose bright red, and nodded.
"Don't go starting tomorrow. Mom will take care of everything at the academy."
She smiled and ruffled Chaeyeon's hair.
Without even thinking to fix her messy hair, Chaeyeon felt curious.
"Mom..."
"Hm?"
"Aren't you going to ask...?"
"Ask what?"
"The reason I want to quit the academy..."
"I'm curious, but Mom, my daughter, will wait until Chaeyeon wants to tell me first."
Her throat tightened again.
Chaeyeon spilled everything that had happened so far, as if confessing under coercive interrogation, except she left out the part about being called a whore or a slut.
Her mother listened quietly to the slightly softened facts, her expression twisting with fury.
"I see... You've been through a lot."
She pulled Chaeyeon into another embrace.
"You don't have to go to the academy tomorrow, so get plenty of rest today."
"No... it's fine... It's okay..."
Chaeyeon shook her head.
"I need to go anyway to pick up my blanket, textbooks, and stuff from my locker."
"Couldn't you ask the teacher to bring them?"
"Yeah... I could, but the teachers are kind and I want to at least say goodbye..."
Even when she fell asleep during class because she didn't study, the teachers never woke her up. They were gentle people who mingled well with the students outside of class.
So she wanted to face them and say a final goodbye.
"Do you want Mom to come with you?"
"No... I'm fine."
She forced a smile.
She didn't want her mom to go with her and find out she was being called a whore or a slut who sold her body for money.
"Alright... I got it. If you can't go through with it, you have to tell me, okay?"
"Yes... Mom. I love you."
"I love you too, Chaeyeon."
They embraced again, sharing each other's warmth.
At that moment, as if to mock the winter season, a blazing love between mother and daughter burned brightly between them.