The Weight of Forbidden Truths
I couldn’t believe it. Was she really planning to ring the victory bell over her own niece? The idea was so childish it left me speechless. Yerin was her niece, and I was her partner. Why on earth would she do something so pointless…?
“Why… why are you bringing this up all of a sudden? Yerin’s been completely buried in her studies lately.”
My voice stumbled without meaning to. It might have sounded like an overreaction, but after everything I’d been through, I had every reason to be wary. I knew exactly what kind of woman Min-a was. I knew she was jealous of my niece. I knew she’d screamed at us in a fit of rage because of it. And I knew she kept crossing lines under the excuse of love. Her true intention in calling Yerin over was painfully obvious. She could have just asked me to pass on a message. That would have been enough.
“It’s nothing special. We’re family now, so I thought we should get to know each other’s faces. I told you before, didn’t I? I need someone to run errands for the bride. No point looking far when we have family right here.”
Min-a grabbed my arm. It was a perfectly reasonable argument; there was nothing I could say against it.
“Or what? Are you worried I’m going to devour your precious niece? Honestly. If you keep coddling her like that, what are you going to do when she becomes independent? Are you going to cling to her and wail?”
Her words, spoken as if they were a joke, stuck in my ear like thorns. Because I carried guilt, managing my expression became even harder. I had already confessed my feelings to Yerin. Could I really stay calm watching the two of them together? I wasn’t sure. Yet I had no excuse to avoid the situation.
“If you two fight again, I’m kicking you out. Remember that.”
“What do you think I am?”
In the end, caught between a rock and a hard place, I had no choice but to allow Min-a’s visit. I left her with the bare minimum warning to prevent another clash between them.
“Yerin! Unnie’s here!”
The moment the door opened, Min-a called out to my niece in an exaggeratedly cheerful voice. Her hands were full of paper bags from a famous bakery. I didn’t care much for snacks, so it was clearly a bribe meant for Yerin…
“Ah… you’re here.”
Yerin’s reaction was noticeably lukewarm. She took the bags Min-a offered with obvious annoyance and set them down carelessly. She showed no interest in checking the contents, nor any desire to express gratitude. She simply stood there with her arms crossed, glaring as if she’d been saddled with an irritating burden from an unwanted guest.
“Min-a bought these for you. Why don’t you at least open them?”
“Ah… I’m too full right now. I’ll take them to school tomorrow and share with my friends.”
‘This is already making me anxious.’
Min-a’s expression darkened at having her carefully prepared gift dismissed. Since she couldn’t very well fight with her husband’s niece, she seemed to be swallowing her anger; her face flushed red. I had warned Yerin in advance, but just as I expected, the girl had zero intention of being nice to her aunt.
The conversation we’d had before I got home had been filled with Yerin’s clear dissatisfaction toward Min-a.
On top of that, we still hadn’t properly resolved what happened during that last kiss. After confessing my feelings, I had fled the scene like a coward. Afraid of what answer I might hear. Afraid that my filthy desires, wrapped up in the pretty excuse of love, would be exposed.
“Why not? They look delicious. The person who bought them put thought into it. Aren’t these expensive? Next time just come empty-handed. No need to carry heavy stuff.”
“What does the price matter? They’re for you and Yerin. I can just load them in the car.”
In the end, the thief himself begged for mercy. I grabbed whatever package was closest, tore it open, and shoved a pastry into my mouth. The sweet aroma of butter and sugar filled the air. Min-a looked at me with satisfaction, while Yerin stared with clear displeasure.
Taking advantage of the moment, I popped a few more pieces into Min-a’s mouth. As affectionately as possible. At the very least, I tried to look affectionate. I worked hard enough that anyone watching might even misunderstand. Maybe if I showed Yerin that I got along well with her aunt… she might be able to sort out her feelings. And I, too, could somehow organize mine.
It was painful. There was no need to say it out loud. This was wrong from the start. These feelings were wrong. We shouldn’t get any closer. No one wanted us to get closer… because in the end, there would only be despair. For Yerin’s sake, absolutely not.
“You picked out good ones, right? I thought about buying coffee too, but it was already too late. You already have trouble sleeping, so if I gave you coffee at night—”
“Yeah. Good call. Yerin, you should try at least one.”
When I held one out, she took it reluctantly.
“Isn’t it good? This place has been insanely popular lately. If you take them to school, everyone’s going to be begging to take photos.”
The moment Yerin bit into the pastry, Min-a spoke up again.
“Really? I’m not that interested.”
“But your friends must talk about it all the time, right?”
“They’re all poor like me. We can’t afford expensive snacks like these. We don’t exactly have money to burn. Don’t you think it’s a waste to spend this much on a few cookies? Don’t you agree, Samchon?”
“Well… I wouldn’t know.”
Thud. Thud. No matter how hard we tried, the conversation refused to improve. Since they had never intended to get along from the beginning, every word carried a sharp edge. Caught in the middle, unable to take either side, I could only hover awkwardly and read the room.
“That makes sense. Since Yerin is currently receiving allowance from her uncle, it must feel burdensome. Once you start working, you can go out more.”
“When I get a salary, I’ll have to save. I need to pay back what I owe Samchon too.”
“Owe him? Nonsense. Stop that. Spend what you earn on yourself. Don’t start acting like a debtor already. I didn’t bring you here hoping for something like that.”
“If that’s the case, why don’t we just give her a scholarship from our company? College tuition isn’t that much anyway. If it comes down to it, I’ll even sell Dad’s car to cover it.”
Surprisingly, Min-a responded in a rather gentle tone. The displeased expression she’d worn when she first arrived had softened considerably. She forced a smile and refused to get angry no matter what Yerin said.
“You should watch what you say. You think Father would like that?”
“Why not? Like Yerin said, Dad has more money than he knows what to do with. Bragging about money is practically his hobby. Just tell the old man to donate some to his son-in-law’s niece.”
Min-a’s words were starting to grate on me. I knew they had money, but the way she spoke as if she were bestowing charity was hard to stomach.
“Donations… are for people who are pitiful. I’m not pitiful.”
Yerin, who had been listening quietly, didn’t look happy either.
“I have Samchon. I have Grandma. I’m going to school just fine. If I just work hard, I can be happy. Why would I be pitiful? I don’t need Sungmo’s money. You don’t have to give me anything.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I just… didn’t want you to feel burdened by tuition while studying…”
“That’s exactly what feels burdensome, Sungmo. It might be pocket change to you, but to me it’s an enormous amount of money. Besides… it’s not even your money, is it? Strictly speaking, it’s your father’s money. You shouldn’t talk like that. Don’t you think so?”
“……”
Min-a looked like she’d been slapped. I tensed, wondering if she might grab Yerin by the hair, but thankfully she didn’t reach out.
“You’re right. It is Dad’s money I’m throwing around. Still, since I was born with a lot, I should at least try to be generous. Starting with your uncle’s wedding. Don’t feel burdened, oppa. I’m spending it on my man. If it bothers you that much, think of it as an investment. An investment so you’ll treat me even better.”
Instead, she linked her arm with mine and gave me a coy smile, as if showing off to Yerin. She touched me with complete confidence.
“Oh, right. I had something to ask Yerin.”
“……What is it?”
“I’d like you to run some errands for the bride on the wedding day. Of course I won’t ask you to do it for free. You’ll be going to college soon, so unnie will get you a proper gift. Obviously not charity. Hmm… let’s call it an investment. I want to look good to you, and I also want to look good to my in-laws. How about it?”
“If it’s hard to answer now, you can tell me later. Min-a, really. You’re making such a fuss over a wedding that’s still a year away? You can decide on the venue and dress later, but there will be plenty of time to pick someone to run errands.”
Yerin didn’t seem to be in a good mood, so I quickly cut in. Honestly, I didn’t like how she was already causing such a commotion. ‘Besides, even if she doesn’t feel burdened, the person receiving it certainly will.’
If my memory served me right, the gift she was preparing was an absurdly expensive bag. Something like that would be difficult for us to carry around, and if Yerin started carrying such luxurious items so early, it might spoil her. I wanted to believe my niece wasn’t that kind of girl, but seeing is believing. A poor person should live according to their means. Once you get a taste for luxury, you can’t live within your fate.