“……”
“……”
When I said I wanted to go home, the atmosphere immediately grew tense.
Sang-gu Hyung opened his eyes wide and glanced at me and Kang Hyung-man, who…
“……”
He seemed deep in thought, closing his eyes lightly, then suddenly opened them swish and said.
“Sang-gu.”
“…Yes, hyung.”
“Let’s head out.”
“Is the destination… Ye-rin’s house?”
“Right.”
“…Understood.”
Vroom.
The car started, and as usual, Kang Hyung-man asked me in his indifferent tone.
“Wanting to go home means… you’re willing to forgive your parents?”
“Forgive… rather, I’m giving them one last chance.”
“One last chance?”
“Yes, even though my parents have made my life hell and hindered me for 19 years…, we did live together for that long…”
“……”
“They said they would change, so… for the last time, I’ll really give them a chance to believe in them.”
“……”
At my response, Kang Hyung-man fell silent for a moment. Then…
Thud.
“…Okay.”
He placed his hand on my head and said.
“I told you before. I’ll respect whatever choice you make.”
“……Yes.”
“It must have been a tough decision to give your parents one last chance, and I admire that.”
Swipe, stroke.
As he stroked my head while speaking kindly, there was warmth in his touch.
“However, I do have some concerns.”
“…Concerns?”
“I’ll mention only two.”
With that, Kang Hyung-man continued in a genuinely worried tone.
“First, Ye-rin, you’re mature, but you’re too starved for affection. You’re soon to be an adult, but to me, you still seem like a child craving parental love.”
“……”
“And secondly…”
As I nodded in silence, Kang Hyung-man emphasized that the second point was important.
“Your parents are cunning people and know you too well.”
“……”
“They must have learned through the past 19 years that with just a bit of affection, they can manipulate you as they please.”
It was definitely true…
For the past 19 years, when I refused to do what my parents wanted, they would claim to love me or plead with tears to sway me.
I nodded again, and Kang Hyung-man looked at me seriously and said.
“Ye-rin, parental love is precious, but that doesn’t mean you should sacrifice yourself for it. If your parents try to use love as a hostage, you need to learn to push them away.”
“……”
“Of course, I trust you. I just hope you remember what I said. Can you promise me that?”
“…Yes, I will remember.”
Seeing Kang Hyung-man’s worried expression, I nodded more confidently on purpose.
Yeah… I definitely lived like a maid for 19 years, doing housework and bringing in money.
I understood why Kang Hyung-man was worried about me being swayed by my parents again.
But….
‘Things will be different now.’
I was sure that the current me was different from the me of the past 19 years.
Firstly, the past incident where my parents came to the hotel and made a scene wiped away any lingering feelings I had for them.
And I had grown through various experiences with Na Ah Ah.
In the past, I would follow my parents’ every demand without a word of complaint, no matter how unpleasant their orders were. Now, I could coldly refuse their commands.
I agreed with what Kang Hyung-man said about being starved for affection.
I was an orphan in my past life… As I died, I hoped to have parents in my next life.
So, I was incredibly happy to have parents in this life, and… I forgave everything they did just because they were my parents.
But now, I had completely changed my mindset from my past.
‘After all, I lived as an orphan for decades. I wouldn’t care if I became one again.’
If my parents betrayed me during this last chance… this time, I would truly cut ties with them.
I was harboring this strong conviction within me.
If my parents forced me to do housework or demanded money by taking my affection hostage?
Then it would be over. Done.
I would sever all ties as parent and child.
“Boss, don’t worry too much. This time, I’ll treat Mom and Dad coldly and rationally. If I sense something strange, I’ll leave immediately.”
“……”
As I clenched my fist and declared this, Kang Hyung-man nodded with a powerless smile.
“I understand. If anything happens, call me anytime.”
“Yes…!”
Vroom.
With that, the car headed towards the lair of evil, carrying the completely transformed Ha Ye-rin.
In the meantime, I built a solid mental wall against my parents.
After parting with Kang Hyung-man and Sang-gu Hyung, I stood in front of the familiar, worn-out villa.
Hoo…
Before I opened the door, I double-checked my emotional barriers.
‘Good.’
I was ready not to be deceived by anything my parents said.
I steeled myself and opened the door.
“…I’m home.”
“Hmm? …Oh?”
“U-uh? Uhh…!”
As soon as I opened the door, my parents looked astonished, eyes wide in disbelief…
“Ye-rin-aahhhh!!!”
“Ye-ye-rin-aahhh!”
They immediately rushed towards me, showing the expected reaction.
Slap.
The two of them clung to my arms like leeches, rubbing against me and began wailing.
“Our daughter…! What’s happening…! Is this a dream or reality…!”
“Ye-rin…! You’re coming back, right? You are, right? Huh?”
“…Could you please let go of me first?”
If I showed weakness here, I would be swept away by my parents’ momentum again.
So I, deliberately using a cold expression and tone, shook them off and said.
“Don’t misunderstand. I’ve come back, but… I haven’t forgiven you, Dad, Mom. Especially…!”
I sharpened my gaze and continued with a warning.
“I still hold the incident where you tried to get loans without my knowledge and caused a scene at the hotel in my heart.”
“Ye-rin-aah…”
“If something like that happens again…, there won’t be a next time. If that happens, I’ll really cut ties with you.”
“……”
As I said this, tears began to fill my parents’ eyes.
This was expected.
Now they would undoubtedly plead with their emotions, shedding tears…
But then.
Thud.
“…What.”
My parents exchanged glances and then, as if they had rehearsed, simultaneously knelt down before me and bowed their heads.
I was taken aback as I hadn’t expected them to go this far.
While they were at it, my parents continued speaking as if confessing.
“…Yes, Ye-rin. We really went too far.”
“…As I mentioned before, we truly reflect on our actions.”
“Loans? …We won’t do that again, I swear.”
“We’ll earn our own money and won’t ask you for any.”
“Of course, we’ll do all the housework…”
“We just wanted to see our daughter Ye-rin’s face.”
“We’re so happy just having you back…”
After saying that, my parents finally shed a tear.
Their late display of tears seemed quite sincere.
For reference, unlike my awful acting skill, both my parents had scores above 70, well above average.
This situation could also be a performance.
Thus, I continued to strengthen my walls of caution and mistrust while passing by the kneeling couple.
“…You must keep those promises.”
“W-will do…”
“…I’m tired. I’ll go wash up and sleep first.”
“Y-yes, Ye-rin…, it must be tiring. Hurry and wash up and relax.”
I went straight into the bathroom and quickly took a shower.
I hadn’t neglected cleaning the bathroom, and it was surprisingly clean.
The same went for my room.
“……”
A month ago, I took over the room that used to be my dad’s computer room, marking my first personal space in Ha Ye-rin’s life.
My room looked ready to welcome its owner back, maintaining a remarkable level of cleanliness.
I checked the floor for dust and immediately laid down with a blanket.
When I turned the lights out, I heard my parents’ voices outside the door once more.
“Ye-rin…, sleep well.”
“If you’re uncomfortable, just let us know…”
“…Yes.”
Their voices were very affectionate.
They seemed to have managed the house while I was gone…, and didn’t make any strange demands of me…
This left me feeling slightly confused.
‘…Have they really changed? If my parents truly turned over a new leaf, what should I do going forward…’
Shaking my head, I thought.
‘…No, people don’t change that easily.’
Anything could happen. Tomorrow, my parents might reveal their true colors.
So I fell asleep, holding onto my doubts about my parents until the very end.
Flash.
“…Ugh.”
I suddenly woke up, reflexively glancing at the clock to find it was 6 in the morning.
‘Ah…’
It was Sunday, and since my body was tired, I tried to sleep in, but once again, I woke up early.
The memories deeply ingrained in me reached back in time.
Having lived in this house for over a decade, I had gotten used to waking up at 6 a.m. to prepare breakfast every single day.
After so long sleeping at home, that memory resurrected, causing me to wake up at 6 even without an alarm.
Hoo…
I considered going back to sleep, but ultimately decided to fold the blanket and get up.
I was feeling extremely hungry; perhaps it was because I hadn’t eaten well before the competition.
I intended to cook something.
‘There should be rice at home, right? What should I make for side dishes?’
As I pondered what to cook and stepped out of my room…
“……Oh?”
I was startled to see the open door of my parents’ room.
Inside… both my dad and mom were nowhere to be found.
“Where did they go…?”
Just then, I spotted a hastily scribbled note on a sticky note.
I picked it up and read it. From the handwriting, it seemed to be my mom’s.
[Ye-rin, Mom and Dad went out early for work. We made breakfast, so be sure to eat! Mom loves you so, so much.]
“……”
Seeing this, I rushed to the kitchen.
At first glance, the clean sink without piled-up dishes caught my eye. When I opened the rice cooker, I found freshly cooked rice, and… on the stove…
“…Did Mom make this?”
There was a pot of soybean paste stew giving off a savory aroma.
With a dazed expression, I filled a bowl with rice and soup, sitting down at the table.
Staring at the steaming stew made my suspicions rise.
“…Is this some kit meal?”
My mom couldn’t cook.
She rarely cooked at home, and even when she did, she usually made inedible monstrosities.
But the soybean paste stew in front of me looked really decent.
There was no way her cooking skills could have improved so abruptly… It couldn’t have been Dad either.
Clutching my doubts, I took a spoonful of the soybean paste stew.
And…
Gagging, cough…
I spat it right back out.
“…Ugh, it really was her cooking.”
Though it looked great on the outside, it was unmistakably my mom’s culinary skills.
“…Pfft.”
Even though she attempted to cook, it seemed she hadn’t lost her essence of creating awful dishes.
But it wasn’t so terrible I couldn’t eat, so with a small smile, I picked up my spoon again.
Then, as soon as I took another bite of the soybean paste stew…
Drip.
“……Ah.”
Tears began to flow from my eyes.
Simultaneously, I sensed overwhelming emotions welling up in my heart.
“…Why am I feeling this way?”
I knew exactly why I was crying.
A clean home without needing to do housework, my dad and mom away at work, and my mom’s horrifically bad soybean paste stew.
This scene was the very image of the ordinary family life I had longed for.
In my past life, even as I was dying, I wished for this… What I earnestly desired while living for 19 years in the body of Ha Ye-rin.
Drip, drip.
Only now did I realize that it had finally come true…, and I couldn’t contain my tears.
So I continued to eat the disgustingly bad soybean paste stew while crying.
While doing so, I thought.
‘If my parents had just done this much earlier…’
If they had done this, I would have loved them without suspicion or conditions…
Why did they only act like this after I lost all my affection… Why, why…
I was angry at my parents. I resented them.
But….
“Huh…”
As I took each bite of the soybean paste stew, I felt my emotional barriers gradually crumbling down.
Like an abused wife touched by her husband’s small kindness…
I was being tamed by my dad and mom.
Just then.
Ding!
“……Huh?”
Startled by the sudden notification from my status window, I looked up to see…
[Ha Ye-rin’s trait is newly added!]
“……?”
Just like Seo Yoo-jin had before, I received a new trait.
“…What’s going on?”
I immediately opened my status window. It had been a long time since I accessed it.
Boom.
[Ha Ye-rin]
[Age: 19]
[Traits: Sky Demon (천마), ?? (Locked)]
[Status Abnormality: Severe Affection Deficiency.]
[Physical Stats]
[Intelligence Stats]
[Artistic Stats]
I quickly checked the newly added trait first.
But….
[Trait: ?? – Currently Locked.]
[Trait Effect: ?? – Currently Unidentified.]
The new trait was locked, like Yoo Seol and Park Yoo-jung’s traits, and I couldn’t check it in advance.
‘What could it be…?’
To have gained a trait due to such experiences, especially a locked one, I could only feel anxious about it.
‘It doesn’t seem like a good thing…’
I was lost in thought about what this new trait could be when…
“……Hmm?”
I noticed something in my status window.
Specifically, it was the status abnormality.
Until now, I had never thought I had any issues.
I was healthy… no signs of depression or anxiety.
Thus, even when the status abnormality window was added to my status window, I never bothered to check.
I unconsciously believed I wouldn’t have any status abnormality.
However, my status abnormality window boldly shone, almost mocking me.
[Status Abnormality: Severe Affection Deficiency.]
Severe affection deficiency, huh… I couldn’t help but be shocked by this unexpected diagnosis.
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