Euna's Curse: A Daughter's Hidden Pain
After leaving the Empire Hotel, Euna and I walked in silence.
Sparkle.
“……”
Sparkle.
“……”
Sparkle sparkle sparkle sparkle.
Why is she acting like this?
She was staring at me with eyes so intensely burdensome it was overwhelming. Even Heena's gaze, drowning in love, or Yuna's icy stare couldn't compare.
I understood—I had saved her—but still, couldn't she dial it back a notch?
“Geon-woo ajusshi.”
“What.”
“How did you know to come? Did you somehow find out about the offer I got?”
“No. I just didn't expect a 'good offer' to be this. I figured you'd landed some key supporting role in an audition, even if not the lead.”
If I'd known the details of that offer, I would've blocked her from even stepping foot in the hotel from the start.
“I just happened to be there to talk with the chairman and caught it by chance. Lucky timing.”
I glossed over the Yangho Group details to keep things short, but what if she kept digging? No way a vague brush-off would cut it.
I racked my brain for a plausible excuse, but in the end, nothing beat just telling the truth.
“Got it. I won't ask more.”
“Yeah…?!”
“Thank you, ajusshi.”
Suddenly, Euna burrowed into my arms. Her hands wrapped around my waist, her cheek buried deep against me.
Not prying about how I knew was great, but had things just gotten more complicated? Nah, probably just my imagination. It didn't feel bad, at least…
“Ajusshi. You know who I thought of when the chairman tried to touch me?”
“Who?”
“You. Not Mom, not the cops—you.”
“Out of nowhere?”
“Yeah. Weird, right?”
“Well… maybe.”
It was true the hypnosis had made her resistant to any seduction, but… was this the intended effect? It must've manifested in some unexpected way. No other explanation fit.
“You did something, didn't you? No way the chairman just suddenly turned like that.”
“Ahem.”
How the hell was I supposed to explain this?
“Ah, you don't have to answer. Not that curious anyway. What I'm wondering about… is when you called yourself my guardian just now.”
It had just slipped out in the moment… Was she reading too much into it?
“Ah… just words off the cuff. Don't overthink it.”
“Quick on your feet, huh? Not some slip of your true feelings, was it?”
“As if… What should I say then? Like some movie neighbor uncle?”
“You don't run a pawnshop, ajusshi. Though yeah, you're way hotter than that movie guy.”
That's an adults-only flick. You shouldn't even know about it.
“Anyway, it really touched me. Stepping up as my guardian and all.”
I'd said it off the cuff—again.
“So, I think it's okay to tell you about my mom.”
“Your mom?”
“Yeah. This is her from a photo we took this year.”
Euna tapped her phone a few times and showed me a picture. It was taken on a bench under the sun. Euna wasn't in it, so she'd probably snapped it herself.
A beauty in her mid-to-late twenties. Her expressionless face gave off a cold, aloof vibe. Her wavy black hair gleamed even in the photo, and her eyes… were as stunning as Euna's. The mole by her lips was alluring, and her summer outfit revealed flawless, blemish-free skin—not the artificial smoothness of makeup, but natural perfection.
But what truly drew the eye was her enormous breasts. They rivaled Dahyeon's.
“Oh, so she's your sister?”
“Huh?”
Euna tilted her head, puzzled.
“Isn't this your sister? Where's Mom?”
“This is my mom.”
?
“What???”
This was her mom? Her?
“Haha, good one.”
“Not a joke, ajusshi.”
“Come on, she looks maybe two or three years older than me. How's that a mom? You messing with me about your sister?”
No way this was a mom. At most, she looked 26 or 27. Teasing about a sister? Sure.
“She's really my mom!!”
Frustrated, her plea came out almost like a shout.
“Let me see.”
I zoomed in, stared hard—still, the age gap with me seemed tiny. Euna's mom had to be late thirties, early forties at youngest. This made no sense. Her skin's elasticity, her beauty—mid-twenties, tops. Especially her skin; it rivaled teenage Euna's.
What the…
No matter how I looked, it felt like she was pranking me by passing off her sister as Mom.
“See? Pretty, right?”
“Yeah… stunning.”
She was a knockout. No wonder the daughter turned out like this.
“But seriously, not your sister? Confess now and I'll let it slide.”
“No prank. She's really my mom. Strict, dignified, serious.”
Seemed legit. Her expression, her gestures—no hint of joking.
“You're a really good guy, ajusshi.”
“Suddenly?”
“That's why I'm showing you her. Never shown her to anyone else.”
Special treatment, got it.
“My mom… is Professor Han Ga-eun from Korea University.”
“A university professor?”
Wait—before that, Professor Han Ga-eun from Korea University…
Ah!
I'd seen her papers in Lee Heeyeon's study. High-level stuff, too dense—I'd half-given up on them.
So she wasn't just impressive because she's the mom. She's the real deal.
“But why the bad blood? Living apart means it's serious.”
“Well… to Mom, I'm not a blessing. I'm a curse.”
“What…?!”
“That's what she says.”
I couldn't wrap my head around it. A daughter this pretty and sweet—a curse? Absurd.
“Grandma raised me. When she passed, Mom took me in, but she barely spoke to me.”
Euna had grown up at her grandma's. Mom only showed up for holidays like Chuseok or Lunar New Year. What sustained young Euna was old movies on a grainy, outdated TV.
She liked action and comedies, but family films were her favorite. Happy homes, bubbling laughter—even after fights, a single hug melted away grudges, reuniting them. Stories reminding you of family's value after trials—they captivated Euna, whose only family was Grandma.
Grandma cared for her deeply, but couldn't fill a mother's void.
“Agu, our poor baby…”
“Grandma! Grandma!”
Grandma died of cancer when Euna was in middle school. No one to care for the girl who sobbed for hours—except Mom, who visited only on holidays and argued with Grandma even then.
“Mom…”
“Hands off.”
Mom was ice-cold. Her home matched her voice: barren, with only essential furniture, no warmth or clutter.
“Your room's there. Clean it yourself. Text if you need anything. Don't come to me.”
“Mom…”
“And most important: don't call me Mom.”
Still, Euna held onto hope. She was family, after all—her only one.
She bought cheap groceries with pocket money, timed dinner for Mom's return: warm rice and stew.
“Haa…”
Mom sighed at the table.
“Who asked you to cook?!”
“Uh, Mom…?”
“I said don't call me Mom! I told you not to come to me—did my words mean nothing?”
“I just thought you might be hungry…”
“You think I can't feed myself? I already ate!”
“Ah… sorry…”
“You're a curse to me! Not a blessing! Stay out of my sight—live like a dead rat!”
Incomprehensible abuse. Euna hung her head like a rain-soaked puppy, enduring it silently.
Mom didn't touch the food, storming to her room.
And the very next day:
“This is your place. Rushed rental, kinda cramped, but low crime. I'll cover living expenses and rent. Handle yourself. Text for needs. Study or whatever—your life, not mine. Don't come to me.”
After barely a month under one roof, she was all but kicked out to a tiny goshiwon.
It hurt.
What should I do…
Staring blankly at the TV in her single-room space. A movie was on—her favorite family genre.
Euna got lost in it, entranced. Then, a thought flashed through her mind:
If I become a huge actress, good enough to star in something like that…?
Wouldn't Mom look at her again? Even if she was a 'curse,' a star that successful would be a blessing to anyone.
That's how Euna started acting practice. YouTube tutorials, borrowing books from the library.
“……Yeah, that's the story.”
Euna recounted the dark tale like a fairy tale, then smiled. But I easily read the shadow behind it.
“I see…”
“If I become a mega-famous actress, raking in tons of money, Mom'll have to see me again, right?”
“Hope so. But how'd you even get that photo?”
“Said I'd go a whole month without calls or texts if she let me take one pic.”
For real? I needed to pull strings to make Euna a star ASAP.