Chapter 84: Scandal (2)
Chapter 84: Scandal (2)
Perhaps Tess Gilly had been one of the people who had left Kaya behind. No—judging from the situation, it was almost certain.
But first, they needed to confirm the truth. There was no guarantee Kaya would tell them honestly, of course, but if she lied, it would only backfire on her. All they could do was wait for her to make a clear choice.
Martin got to his feet. When he returned and sat down across from Jo Minjoon, his face looked exhausted, though he still managed a smile.
Minjoon looked at him anxiously. “What happened? You said it might have something to do with me.”
“...Well, there’s no point hiding it, so I’ll just tell you. A scandal involving Kaya has broken out.”
“A scandal?”
“It seems to be related to her middle-school days, but we haven’t confirmed anything yet. The important thing is that a lot of people have already read it, and we think it’ll become a major issue soon.”
“Does Kaya know?”
“Not yet, but she will soon. She has to hear about the accusations herself.”
Minjoon’s expression darkened. It was something he vaguely remembered. There had been a much bigger incident during Kaya’s school days than most people realised, and Kaya herself had spoken about it after becoming a star chef later in life.
Minjoon could not remember the girl’s name, but he had heard that she and Kaya had once been close. However, the girl had come from a wealthier family, and that difference in background had eventually driven them apart. By the time their relationship deteriorated so badly that they could barely stand to look at each other, Tess had suffered an injury that left her with a lifelong scar, and Kaya had ended up dropping out of school.
But it had not been entirely Kaya’s fault. Kaya had certainly been a troublemaker, but Tess had not been much better. The difference was simply that Tess had been the one who ended up scarred. If their positions had been reversed, Kaya might still have remained in school.
Had a scandal like this happened in the original course of events?
Minjoon could not remember anything like it. Perhaps his presence had changed things. The only real difference between Kaya’s original life and her life now was Jo Minjoon himself. Originally, Kaya would have gone through the programme in a much darker state of mind than she did now, but because of him, she had been spending her days more cheerfully. Perhaps that had provoked the person attacking Kaya now, pulling a trigger that should never have been pulled.
Minjoon opened his mouth. “...When are you planning to tell her?”
“Right after our interview ends. Problems like this are better dealt with as quickly as possible.”
“Whew... Right.”
The thought of Kaya suffering because of those malicious comments for any length of time made him feel terrible. Perhaps the staff were taking Minjoon’s feelings into consideration, because the interview did not continue much longer. After forcing himself to smile through a few routine questions, he left the room and found Kaya leaning against the wall outside. He glanced at her hand, but fortunately, she was not holding her phone.
“What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for my interview.” Kaya answered curtly.
Minjoon did not know why, but her voice sounded distinctly irritated. “Did I do something wrong?”
“You’re always like that, looking at me as if I’m about to get angry. I’m not angry!”
“I think you are right now.”
Kaya’s eye twitched. “You’re gentle with people like Chloe, and you even gave her your handkerchief, but why do you always look at me like I’m some kind of troublemaker? I know I’m uneducated and poor. But I know how to read the room, and I have pride too, so stop treating me like a child.”
Normally, Minjoon would have instinctively argued back, but this time he kept his mouth shut. Thinking about it, her complaint was not entirely unreasonable. Even when parents spoke out of concern, their words often sounded like lectures to their children. If he insisted that was not what he was doing, Kaya would probably keep arguing until both of them were exhausted.
“I’m sorry.”
“...Don’t apologise. Why are you getting serious again?” Perhaps embarrassed by how much she had complained, Kaya grumbled the words with a slightly awkward expression.
Minjoon simply looked at her, wondering whether she would be able to endure what she was about to hear. Thinking that the future might have changed because of him made him feel terribly guilty.
“When you go in there, you’re going to hear something unexpected.”
“Unexpected?”
“It isn’t good. But whatever happens, endure it. Don’t fall apart. And don’t let it hurt you too much. I hope you can just let it pass.”
“What is it? Why are you suddenly making everything sound so serious?” Kaya looked at him uneasily.
Minjoon gave her a faint smile. “I believe you, so don’t look so worried. At the very least, there’ll still be one person standing beside you until the end.”
The interview ended. Ignoring everyone’s worried expressions, Kaya went straight to her room. No one tried to stop her because the rage on her face was obvious. No—perhaps horror would have been a more accurate word than rage. Even so, no one could ask her how she felt. The problem was not the door slamming shut behind her. No one knew what they could possibly say.
Kaya buried her face in her pillow and screamed. Just as her scream could not properly escape into the room, all the frustration she could not express remained trapped inside her chest.
Tess Gilly. She had thought she would never again encounter the name that made her grind her teeth merely by remembering it.
“Crazy b*tch. Now she’s even become a novelist.”
Kaya stared at the comments on the screen, her nose twitching. The post was long, but its message was simple. Kaya had supposedly been one of the worst troublemakers at school, and Tess claimed that although she had become friends with her, the only thing she had received in return was violence.
Kaya laughed in disbelief, but the smile quickly froze on her face, and her lips pulled back like those of a growling dog.
Kaya Lotus: I’m Kaya Lotus. If you’re going to spew this kind of dogshit, why don’t you say it to my face? You still haven’t fixed your mythomania? That shitty tongue of yours—
(Translator’s Note: Mythomania — From French mythomanie, formed from Greek mythos (“story” or “myth”) and mania — A historical psychological term for habitual or pathological lying, particularly the persistent creation of elaborate falsehoods. The concept is strongly associated with French psychiatrist Ernest Dupré, who used mythomanie in psychiatric writing in the early twentieth century, particularly around 1905. It is not a standard standalone diagnosis in modern major diagnostic manuals.)
Just as Kaya was about to post the reply in a fit of rage, an incoming-call notification appeared on the screen. The name was familiar: Gemma Lotus, her younger sister.
Kaya froze for a moment, then relaxed the muscles in her face and forced an awkward smile. Anyone looking at her could have immediately seen that it was fake, but that did not matter because it was not a video call. The smile was simply for herself. If she felt as though she were dying, her voice would inevitably reflect it.
“Hello?”
[Kaya... you, you fan?]
(Kaya... you, you fine?)
Her younger sister’s voice could not properly control its accent or pronunciation. Strangely enough, hearing that unusual voice calmed Kaya down. Gemma suffered from cerebral palsy, and her speech, movements, and expressions could not come naturally to her. But Kaya had never once hated or judged her for those unnatural movements. If anyone else did, Kaya would not hesitate to cling to them like a rabid dog, bite into them, and pour curses over their head. She was that kind of older sister.
Kaya spoke in a gentle voice. Anyone who knew her and happened to hear it would have been shocked by how soft and tender she sounded.
“What’s there for me not to be fine about? But what happened? Those bastard jerks haven’t been picking on you again, have they?”
[Am fan. Bot, bot, Tuess... Shi...]
(I’m fine. Bu, but, Tess... She...)
“I know about it too. Don’t worry. There’s nothing worth making a big deal out of. Does Mum know?”
[Neu... I din tel er.]
(No... I didn’t tell her.)
“Good. Don’t tell Mum. Promise?”
Gemma hesitated for a moment, but eventually answered with a short, “Ung.” Yeah. Kaya gave a bitter smile.
“You’re having a hard time because your sister isn’t there, aren’t you? I’m sorry. I’ll win quickly and come home.”
[Am fan withot Kaya. So don wowy.]
(I’m fine even without Kaya, so don’t worry.)
“Even if you tell me not to worry, can I really do that? You’re worrying about me right now too. I’m fine, so don’t think about anything. Even if you worry, nothing will change. Understand?”
Gemma did not answer.
Kaya sighed. “The phone bill’s going up. Let’s hang up soon. I’ll call you later. Okay?”
[Ung... Chiel ap.]
(Yeah... Cheer up.)
“Yeah. I will.”
The call ended, and the screen returned to what she had been typing before. Kaya sighed and deleted the comment. She had just told Gemma not to worry, so she could not turn around and make the situation even bigger herself.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door. It was careful and quiet, and just from the sound, Kaya could already guess whose voice would follow.
“Can I come in?” It was Jo Minjoon.
Kaya hesitated for a moment before walking to the door.
“I know that if you come in, I’ll probably take my anger out on you. So don’t.”
“If you’re angry, you need somewhere to let it out. I’ll take it.”
Kaya could not answer. She did not want to take her anger out on him. If it were anyone else, perhaps she would not have cared, but she did not want to do that to Jo Minjoon because he treated her better than anyone else did. For the first time in her life, she felt as though someone genuinely respected her.
That was precisely why she was more sensitive to everything he did. Would he look down on her? Would he see her as a spoiled child like everyone else did? Yet Jo Minjoon had never once treated her that way.
Perhaps it sounded strange to put it like this, but sometimes Kaya felt as though whenever Jo Minjoon looked at her, he was seeing someone other than the person she believed herself to be. She did not dislike it. Maybe he had simply misunderstood her, but even being misunderstood in a good way felt nice.
And that made her hate herself even more whenever she behaved like a child. She was contradicting everything she always said.
Don’t look down on me because I’m uneducated. Don’t look down on me because I’m poor.
Even after saying those things, she was the one constantly doing things that invited others to look down on her. Even when she looked at herself, she sometimes saw nothing but a stupid girl with an empty head, and she could not understand why Jo Minjoon seemed to think so highly of her.
She could not open the door because the moment she did, she had no idea how low she might sink. She did not want to behave like a child in front of him anymore. That was what she thought, yet her hand was already wrapped around the doorknob.
Kaya stared at it in confusion.
No. You can’t.
She opened her mouth, her voice so quiet it was almost a mumble, so low that she wondered whether it would even carry through the door.
“If you don’t leave, I’ll only feel more miserable. I’m spoiled. Right. I told you not to look down on me, but actually...” Kaya closed her mouth. Those words were almost unbearably weak for someone like her to say. She bit her lip and forced herself to continue, her voice choked. “...Maybe I’m the one who looks down on myself the most. So help me. Don’t make me feel any more miserable than I already do.”
Every word felt heavy. What expression was Minjoon making on the other side? What was he thinking? Did he think she was a spoiled girl with too many problems? Kaya had no way of knowing.
“Go. I’m begging you.”
No answer came. Kaya remained standing in front of the door, unsure how much time had passed. One minute? Five? Perhaps even ten or more. After hesitating, she finally opened the door.
There was no one there.
Something inside her chest began to itch painfully. Even though she had been the one to tell him to leave, had she still been expecting something from him? The thought made her feel pathetic.
Kaya bit her lip and turned away, but then something beside the doorway caught her eye. A small plate had been placed on the floor, and there was a sandwich on it.
She stared blankly at the sandwich for a long time. Eventually, she slowly bent down and picked up the plate, returned to the bed, lay down, and took a small bite.
“...Idiot.” She wrote on the comments.