Chapter 145
Chapter 145
"......."
Even after the visiting director had gone, Choi Na-kyung sat motionless for a long while, drinking cup after cup of tea.
The other party's teacup had already been cleared away by the secretary. He hadn't touched a single sip before leaving.
The secretary watched Choi Na-kyung sitting there, sipping her tea in a daze, and carefully reached for the cup, her eyes full of apprehension. It was painfully obvious how hard she was holding back a sigh of relief when Choi Na-kyung said nothing.
But she didn't say anything. Whatever she might have said, it wouldn't have been welcome.
Where had things started to go wrong?
...No. She had known from the very beginning that it was wrong.
The fact that she hadn't been the first one to hold the child who was trembling with loneliness.
The fact that she hadn't stopped her when she followed someone else.
...The fact that she had heeded her request and ended up in this position.
Still, she had endured it all, holding on for just one thing. Just one single thing.
"I thought I would be able to meet her soon."
She murmured the words to the empty teacup still cradled in her hand. Her gaze drifted blankly into the air.
"...Was I too late again?"
This time, she thought she had acted thoroughly in advance. She had given Sara no time to think, utterly sealed off her surroundings, and vigilantly guarded against any outside influence.
Choi Na-kyung was the only one who could influence Sara.
Choi Na-kyung was the only one who could give Sara love.
And, at last, the one to be loved by her had to be only Choi Na-kyung.
"......."
But, once again.
With a trembling hand, she set the teacup quietly onto the table. She knew all too well that throwing things in a fit of emotion would only leave the people around her with an unsavory impression.
Everything around her was empty.
She had needed nothing. And so she had tried to leave only her, just her.
Since things like money could never be what she needed to possess her.
But even before she could meet her—
"I see."
Once again, she had been a fool.
"...I've made the same mistake."
She uttered the words quietly.
Yes. The last time, she had approached too cautiously and, in the end, failed to possess her.
This time, she had been cautious in a different way, only to find herself in this predicament.
"What should I do?"
Though the question escaped her lips, she already knew well that there was only one answer.
In the end, it seemed she would have to accept the director's proposal.
She would have to show everyone, with utter clarity, that Sara was Choi Na-kyung's daughter.
For the sake of those without faith.
*
"What did you say?"
Hearing Yang Hye-in's words, those were the only words I could get out.
"The Chairwoman said she would visit as soon as possible."
Yang Hye-in answered me with a deeply apologetic demeanor.
In truth, I couldn't say this was entirely Yang Hye-in's fault.
Her only fault was that she'd ultimately had no choice but to take the call from Mother—a call I had told her to 'refuse.'
Still, even if I had given that order, she couldn't just keep ignoring it forever. Many of the household staff were still people Mother had planted here, and Mother was well aware of our 'location.'
No matter how meticulously Yang Hye-in tried to control this mansion, there was bound to be someone following Mother's line. If that person had taken Mother's contact, there was nothing more to be said.
I had left those people in place for the time being to avoid provoking Mother more than necessary, but I hadn't expected her to make such a decisive move like this.
No, maybe I'd been thinking about it too casually. After all, I had already let several people into the mansion whose very presence would make Mother jealous.
...Jealous, huh.
The very idea of a mother being jealous of her daughter's relationships was laughably absurd.
Honestly, even if I started refusing contact from my side, I couldn't stop Mother from coming in person. I could prevent her from entering the mansion... but if she showed up every single day or waited at the front gate, I would inevitably have to face her.
If I wanted to settle the relationship, I would eventually have to meet her face at least once—
But not yet.
I must not see Mother's face just yet.
Because I was certain that if I faced her, my resolve would waver again.
...And if that happened, it would be that person inside me, not me, who would end up facing Mother.
Mother would shamelessly run her hands over that person's body when she hasn't even come to her senses properly—
I hate it.
I hated the thought of that.
Above all, that person hated meeting Mother.
I wanted to respect her feelings as much as I could. If she hated the thought of being held by Mother, I wanted to honor that feeling. And if she hated the thought of me being held by Mother—
If she hated it—
At that thought, my heart began to beat a little faster.
The feeling that she cared about me,
and even though it was purely my own selfish wish underneath it... the emotion of jealousy...
I didn't dislike it.
Holding back the slight smile that was trying to creep onto my lips, I asked Yang Hye-in a question.
"She didn't tell you exactly when this 'soon' would be, did she?"
"...No, she did not. I'm sorry."
Faced with her bowing deeply in apology, I fell into thought.
Taking the most extreme possibility, she could even show up tonight. It was unlikely Mother was overseas, and both the company and this mansion were in Seoul anyway.
Depending on traffic, it was less than thirty minutes by car.
"What should we do?"
"Hmm...."
I folded my arms and sank into thought for a moment.
Beside me, So-hee and Su-a were watching me with looks of deep concern.
"......."
Oh.
Right.
There was that method.
The reason I hadn't thought of it was probably because staying here felt 'so obvious' to me.
And that's why—
"Then, shall we run away for a bit?"
I hadn't managed to come up with that perfectly simple idea.
"...Run away...?"
So-hee parroted my words with a blank look.
"Yes, run away. We can just run off somewhere Mother doesn't know about, stay there for a while, and come back."
"Oh... Ah, right, that makes sense."
So-hee quickly nodded as if she understood.
"Right...."
Su-a, who was technically 'on a run-away' right now herself, also nodded.
Though, seeing as she sometimes went back home these days and was properly in contact with her parents, I thought calling it a run-away was a bit of a stretch.
"The problem is the location—"
"Right here!"
Before I could properly finish broaching the subject of the location, one kid yelled loudly and raised her hand high.
It was So-hee, who was definitely much taller than me and had a far more adult figure. And even though she usually wore her buttons undone and had skin that looked healthily tanned, at a moment like this, she seemed utterly innocent.
Actually, maybe it was exactly because of that contrast that she seemed even more innocent.
"There's a spare room at my place!"
"...Really?"
I find that incredibly hard to believe.
I didn't think So-hee meant to lie.
It was just that if I went there believing there was truly 'a spare room,' the actual situation would probably be very different from what I imagined.
To be honest, I had any number of options for places to go if I tried. I could simply book a spacious hotel room and be done with it. Though I suppose some hotels might refuse a group of only minors.
"It's true! We have one spare room, so we could stay for a few days!"
"...But we'd be imposing on you."
Obviously, Yang Hye-in and Su-a wouldn't be able to come along. Since there was 'one' spare room. The three of us couldn't all stay there together.
Maybe if the room were as big as the one I live in now, but from browsing through that person's memories, it was my mansion's size that was the anomaly. If So-hee was raised in a typical home, her room was probably less than a quarter the size of mine here.
"It's fine, I'm your Personal Maid and I'm coming with you!"
No, that wasn't the issue I was getting at.
I frowned a little.
I didn't know about her home situation here, but if she was performing maid duties even at her own house, I had no idea how her family would see me.
Maybe my past self would have done it, but my current self at least knew that I shouldn't act that way.
"...It's just letting a friend crash, so it's really okay...."
When I didn't give any reply, So-hee spoke while pressing her fingertips together. Even though she was much taller than me, she bowed her head a little and looked up with wide, pleading eyes.
"......."
She'd probably get incredibly depressed if I said no.
"...Alright, fine. I'll stay at your place tonight, then."
I answered with a voice tinged with a sigh.
Well, if she says it's okay, then it's okay.
"Wow, really? You mean it!?"
"Oof."
So-hee was a little overly delighted as she threw herself at me.
I felt the mass of her frame, a weight incomparable to my own, press fully against my face.
...Should I be jealous of this? Or embarrassed?
"......."
Knowing that it was physically impossible to escape this embrace, I just let myself be held by So-hee until she calmed down.
Still, if I'm being honest, that warmth felt a little nice.