Lee Seo-yoon's Resolve 2
"But it's obvious that path is a bed of thorns, and it's not a parent's job to just stand by and watch their precious child walk it alone."
Lee Seo-yoon took another swig of the strong liquor, as if her throat were parched, grabbed a few snacks, and leaned back on the sofa, continuing in a languid tone.
"To turn things back—women grow more beautiful the more love they receive. But do you think the love you give will make our Ara shine like that?"
"…"
The intent behind Lee Seo-yoon's sudden, context-free conversation was clear: her daughter's happiness. The love from this man, Kim Il-woo, was a sticky, filthy thing that dragged women into the muck and defiled them. It couldn't transform anyone into the kind of captivating woman who drew longing gazes, like the one sitting before him now. It was just a lump of base desire.
Kim Il-woo tapped his chin with his finger, pondered for a moment, then gave his answer.
"Yes. My love will make Ara shine. Once she takes it all in, she'll be more beautiful than anyone in the world, no doubt."
He would see the two mother and daughter crawling grotesquely on the floor, soaked in thick semen, as more beautiful than any masterpiece in the world. That's the kind of man Kim Il-woo was.
"I suppose so…"
Having experienced the depths of his depravity firsthand, Lee Seo-yoon let out a resigned sigh, as if she'd seen it coming.
She poured another glass of the amber high-proof liquor into her mouth, then pressed her forehead against the cold glass to cool the rising heat, falling silent for a moment.
"I won't tell you to break up. But don't lay a hand on my daughter first."
With a voice like it was carving into her bones, heavy with resolve, Lee Seo-yoon made her proposal.
"Like you said earlier, Mother…"
"I won't stop her if she wants it."
The offer felt like a total loss for him alone, and it grated on Kim Il-woo's nerves. Who just catches a fish in their grasp and stares at it without eating? What kind of nonsense was this?
"Mother, what you're saying right now is so ridiculous…"
"In exchange, I'll take care of all your lust."
What nonsense was this now? Kim Il-woo couldn't make sense of a word Lee Seo-yoon was saying. He could have his fill of both daughter and mother anytime he wanted—why offer herself up like some charity?
"Nothing's changed from the current situation, has it?"
"Why do you think that?"
Lee Seo-yoon's voice sharpened like a honed blade, turning cold and piercing.
"Il-woo. Up until now, you've held back because I've drawn the line back. But now, there's nowhere left to retreat."
Lee Seo-yoon wiped a droplet from the glass with her fingertip and dragged it across the table, drawing a long wet line like a boundary.
"And you're standing right on that line."
The final warning. A declaration that if he didn't accept this bizarre proposal, she wouldn't hold back anymore.
Why? It seems like all gain for me.
This could be his excuse to intensify Lee Seo-yoon's training even more, while the highly dependent Choi Ara might come to him willingly. He could verbally promise not to touch Choi Ara of his own accord, then secretly seduce her into something deeper.
"You look like you can't figure out why I'd make this offer."
Reading his thoughts, Lee Seo-yoon gave a bitter smile.
"Because I'm her mother."
She was trying to block her child from the wrong path and take responsibility for the aftermath if she failed. Forcing it had only brought back a wounded daughter. The sight of her that night—pants soaked in her own juices, half out of her mind, utterly wretched—had shocked Lee Seo-yoon more than she could have imagined.
Forcing them apart by brute strength would surely shatter her precious girl.
Once she sees the bottom of this man, she'll come back.
That diligent, responsible, bright child. Even if she claimed to love him now, once she glimpsed his vile depths, she'd find it unbearable and retrace her steps. No matter how long it took to return scarred from that path of humiliation, Lee Seo-yoon believed in her daughter, Choi Ara. By then, her body might be tainted, but her fragile, breakable spirit would have healed enough to endure the pain.
And even if she never came back, a mother's place was by her daughter's side. No parent in the world would send their child into the mud alone.
"I don't get it. Wouldn't it be faster to just throw me in jail?"
"Sure. That's the quickest and easiest way. I could even kill you. But what about the Ara left behind?"
After her twisted affection for Kim Il-woo had already taken root, could she really rip him away and make those feelings fade? Time might dull it to a laughable memory someday, but her daughter's condition was too precarious to gamble on.
Lee Seo-yoon had no confidence she could endure the agonizing wait until her daughter overcame the pain and the illusion of love faded. Even if they parted with full understanding, scars would remain—but forcing it would lead to an obvious catastrophe.
The worst outcome she imagined…
Don't think about it.
Lee Seo-yoon crushed the horrifying scenario rising in her mind.
I have no choices left…
The moment she heard her daughter's pitiful sobs that night, every option had vanished for her.
"What if you just tell Ara everything and push me away?"
"No way. That would only make things worse. It's the threat you made, remember? From now on, I'll be even more proactive in hiding our relationship."
Lee Seo-yoon gave a faint smile, as if she'd heard something absurd.
"The problem is there's one more mountain to climb. Ara will have to endure one more pain."
"Pain?"
"The pain of parting."
Caught between Park Jun-hyun and Kim Il-woo, her daughter would suffer no matter which she chose—inevitable agony at least once, twice in the worst case. Lee Seo-yoon desperately hoped Ara would dump this trash Kim Il-woo and suffer only that single heartbreak. She could only pray Park Jun-hyun won the tug-of-war.
Her boyfriend Park Jun-hyun's love might be heavy, but it wasn't filthy.
"Jun-hyun's probably meeting Ara right now."
Lee Seo-yoon had 'asked' Park Jun-hyun to look after her daughter again. He'd thought everything was over, but knowing this was his last chance, he'd promised not to disappoint.
"This is something…"
To Kim Il-woo, it sounded like a proposal stacked in his favor, but Lee Seo-yoon's setup came with subtle constraints. Sure, he could wriggle out anytime, but getting caught breaking the promise carried huge risks. All his built relationships and efforts would crumble in an instant.
For him too, accepting was the only choice.
The languid, seemingly relaxed Lee Seo-yoon was both terrifying and, in a way, pitiable.
Is this what being a parent means…
The last option left to each other. The reins handed to Choi Ara, they could only wait for the outcome.
His position, able to appeal to her in various ways, was actually better than Lee Seo-yoon's.
"Alright. I accept the proposal."
As Kim Il-woo agreed, Lee Seo-yoon gave a forlorn, bitter smile. It must have been heartbreaking to make such an unfair offer herself, all for her daughter.
"But what if I hadn't accepted? What were you planning?"
Curious about how she'd react to rejection, Kim Il-woo asked.
Lee Seo-yoon tilted her glass, perhaps to soothe her bitterness, then smiled seductively, as if his question was foolish.
"Why do you think I dressed up?"
"To seize the initiative?"
"That's part of it. Appearance is a weapon. And the more tempting the fruit, the more desperately you crave it. How could a ugly, vile man like you refuse the delicious prize right in front of him?"
She hadn't even considered rejection when coming here. Lee Seo-yoon was wielding even the beauty she'd maintained for her late husband as a weapon for her daughter's happiness.
And I know you won't keep your promise anyway.
Amid the faint buzz of alcohol, Lee Seo-yoon felt a wretched desire to just pass out.
Having glimpsed the depths of Kim Il-woo, she didn't believe a promise without teeth would hold him. He'd surely reach for her daughter. But by sating his lust, she could reduce the times that filthy desire turned toward Ara and leave a warning that she was watching.
A final caution that she didn't know how she'd react the moment he did something Ara didn't want. It would only buy time, detouring his straight charge, but in that window, she could desperately hope her precious daughter rose again.
"Well, with the deal sealed, let's unwrap the temptingly packaged gift."
Kim Il-woo wasn't the type to shrink from her pathos. Lee Seo-yoon let out a hollow laugh, as if she'd expected his brazen attitude, but her eyes held undisguised loathing.
"Let's go."
For her daughter's happiness alone, Lee Seo-yoon resolved to walk the thorny path herself. The other name for the woman forced into this foolish choice was mother.