Vwoooom-.
“Almost there, Ye-rin.”
“Ah…, yes. Boss.”
Lost in my thoughts, the car quickly arrived in front of the hotel.
As I came back to my senses from Kang Hyung-man’s words, I hurriedly tried to get out of the car.
But…
“Thank you for today as well, Boss.”
“…Ye-rin.”
“…Yes?”
As I was about to open the door, Kang Hyung-man spoke in his usual indifferent tone.
“If you have any difficulties or need our help, feel free to contact me anytime.”
“…….”
During the drive from the Na Ah Ah set to here, Kang Hyung-man and Older Brother Sang-gu had been considerate of my upset mood and didn’t say a word.
And yet, for his first words to be this…
Feeling my heart warm up, I smiled faintly and nodded.
“…Yes, I will. Boss.”
“Alright, take a good rest over the weekend, and I’ll come pick you up on Monday morning for school. Now, see you….”
“Um…, Boss.”
“Yes?”
I hadn’t been able to repay any of Kang Hyung-man’s kindness so far.
And yet, he treats me so warmly…
“Thank you. I’m always… grateful.”
“…….”
I was so thankful.
As I sincerely expressed my gratitude, Kang Hyung-man’s expression froze for a moment, and then he nodded.
“…That’s nonsense. Okay, noted it. We’re off now.”
“Yes. Please be careful going back, Boss. Older Brother Sang-gu too.”
“…Goodbye.”
After saying goodbye to the grumpy Older Brother Sang-gu, I gathered my things and waved until Kang Hyung-man’s car disappeared into the distance.
“Ah…, now that I think about it….”
Looking closer, Kang Hyung-man’s car seems to be the same model as Seo Yoo-jin’s parents’.
Recalling that fact, I noticed a change in my heart while being with Kang Hyung-man.
In fact, seeing Seo Yoo-jin’s happy family earlier left me feeling bittersweet. To be precise, I felt envy.
But now, even thinking about Seo Yoo-jin’s family no longer brings up that feeling of envy.
That’s because I had just been with Kang Hyung-man and Older Brother Sang-gu.
‘It’s strange.’
From starting as a debtor’s family and loan shark, now we’re just employee and boss… Why do I feel so at ease solely being with Kang Hyung-man?
Suddenly, a thought struck me.
‘What if the Boss was… my parent?’
If that were the case…, it would have been nice.
“…Ugh, what am I thinking?”
I shook my head, dismissing such thoughts.
With a grumpy face, widowed Kang Hyung-man wouldn’t end up with someone like me as a big daughter….
With that intimidating face, it’s no wonder he hasn’t gotten any women. If that were the case, he’d never marry in this lifetime.
‘Maybe not? To begin with, does the Boss even think about marriage? He has money and doesn’t honestly look that bad, yet he hasn’t married…’
Having such silly thoughts, I entered the hotel.
This is the hotel Kang Hyung-man personally picked out. It may not be a 5-star luxury hotel, but it was cleaner than any place I had stayed at before.
Having been staying long-term for over a week now, it felt familiar, almost like home.
‘So tired…, I need to rest quickly.’
After filming in Na Ah Ah, my body often ends up in a state of exhaustion. It’s the same now, so I wanted to rush up to my room, wash up, and sleep.
But then….
“…Ye-rin?”
“……?”
As I was taking the elevator up to my room, I heard someone calling my name.
Turning my head to look…
“Yes, Ye-rin…! Honey, wake up quickly…! It’s really Ye-rin!”
“…Hmm? …Woah-! Ye-rin-!!”
“…No way, how.”
I locked eyes with my biological parents, lounging on a sofa in the hotel lobby.
Seeing their faces, I couldn’t help but feel startled.
How did they even know to find me here….
And taking advantage of my shock, they rushed toward me, crying and shouting.
“Oh, Ye-rin…!! How long has it been…!”
“Wooah-! I missed you, Ye-rin!!”
“This, let go…!, ugh.”
In an instant, I was caught like a criminal, with both arms restrained, and as I tried to break free…
Grupp-, Grupp.
‘Ugh… so strong.’
With my stamina completely drained and my parents holding me with immense force, I couldn’t escape.
Both of them, like a water ghost clinging to me, held tight, pressing their faces against my arms.
“Ye-rin-!! We were wrong! Hu-uh-!!”
“We won’t do this again. So please forgive us-!! Hooo-!”
“Ha…, let go of me.”
“No…! We absolutely won’t let go!! It’s been so long since we saw our daughter’s face…!!”
“Please forgive us! Ye-rin! Like it or not, we are family!”
“…Let me go before I call the Boss.”
“……!!”
At the mention of calling Kang Hyung-man, they flinched for a moment. But….
Firmly-.
“Still no-! We won’t let go-!”
“Just kill us instead-!! No matter how much that thug threatens, I will protect my daughter!!”
It seemed they had come fully prepared today, as they tightened their grip on me even more.
‘Aah…, seriously.…’
While I was fading, they were full of energy.
‘I thought it would be an inconvenience and didn’t want to contact them…’
I felt certain that I couldn’t resolve this situation with my own strength.
Just as I was about to seriously call Kang Hyung-man, I took out my phone when….
“Oh no-!! Ye-rin-!!”
“Don’t abandon us-!!!”
sensing a crisis, my parents started screaming as if the hotel lobby was gonna collapse.
Buzz buzz.
Even though it was late, this was a hotel in downtown Seoul.
Naturally, there were many passersby, and thanks to my parents’ screams, people’s gazes began gathering toward us.
And among those staring was….
“…What is that?”
“I don’t know, is it a family fight?”
“Totally a beautiful family of celebrities. Huh? But that one….”
“I feel like I’ve seen her before….”
…Some recognized me.
‘…Ah.’
In that moment, I felt utterly dismayed.
I was no longer the old me.
I hadn’t debuted yet, but I was a cast member of Na Ah Ah, one of the hottest programs right now, with many claiming to be my fans online.
Even if only half of a celebrity, a celebrity is still a celebrity.
If I got caught up in some nonsense here, it would surely have a negative impact on me.
‘It’d take at least over 5 minutes for the Boss to come back, right…’
5 minutes….
It seemed short but felt like an eternity.
‘If a photo is taken in the meantime….’
…..
“Wooah-! Ye-rin-!!”
“Our daughter, Ye-rin-!! Hu-uh-!!”
“…Yes, just let me go.”
“Wooah-! …Huh? What did you say, Ye-rin?”
“…I said let me go.”
Right, the relationship between me and my parents wasn’t easily severed.
Since I had no way to escape this situation right now…, I reluctantly spoke to them with a frown.
“Let’s talk upstairs in my room.”
“……!”
As soon as they heard that, smiles appeared on my parents’ faces, which had been stained with tears just moments ago.
Honestly, no matter how I thought about it…, these people should have been actors.
“I’m just going, so let me go.”
“No way, we have to do this at least until the room.”
‘…Ugh.’
I even thought about going into my room alone and locking the door if things got messy… but it seemed my parents were meticulous in this regard.
So, with my parents tightly gripping my arms like they were arresting a suspect, they managed to drag me into my room…
Thud.
Only after getting inside did they finally let go of my arms.
And then….
“Now that we’re here, if you have anything to say, just say it and go….”
Thump.
“……!”
“Ye-rin-!!!!! Please forgive me-!!!”
“I swear that will never happen again-!!!”
Immediately, they knelt in front of me and started pleading.
“We were wrong-!!”
“We were so foolish back then!! It’ll never happen again, I promise! Hoo-!”
“…….”
Of course, I looked down at these parents with a cold glare as if it were the middle of winter.
They had already betrayed me countless times…. and this time, they had definitely crossed the line.
There was no way I could forgive them.
And sensing my vibe, they then grabbed both my legs and begged.
“Never again-!! We won’t borrow money from anyone again-!!”
“We won’t be extravagant-!!”
“Just come home…, Ye-rin-!! Hoo-!!”
“We’ll handle all the housework…!! Just don’t say you’ll cut ties with us…!!”
“But we’re family…! Even if we hate each other, we should embrace each other as family…!”
“Is everything finished? Get out. If you don’t, I’ll call the Boss….”
“Wait, hang on…!”
Despite their insistence, nothing worked, and my dad seemed to be changing his strategy, pulling something out of his pocket.
It was….
“Hoo, Ye-rin, look at what Dad brought….”
“…What’s this.”
…Childhood photos of me.
Dad really had a lot of hobbies: gambling, drinking, golf… but among them, photography cost the least.
Thanks to that, our house was overflowing with photos from my baby days to middle school. It seemed he brought some of those.
With a tender expression, Dad stroked the photos of me.
“Hoo…, you can’t imagine how much Dad and Mom thought about you while looking at these photos.”
“Ugh….”
“Dad’s friend said…. if these are sold to your fans, they could go for hundreds of thousands each….”
“…What?”
Instantly, chills went down my spine.
Fans often spend tens of thousands for photo cards.
From their perspective, the photos my parents held were akin to limited editions. There would surely be plenty of enthusiastic fans ready to pay hundreds of thousands for each one.
“Of course, ‘we haven’t’ sold them yet! These are our family memories; how could we sell them to others!”
“…….”
Seeing Dad’s reaction, it seemed he hadn’t sold any photos yet, but the word ‘yet’ was very concerning.
“And look at this, Ye-rin…!”
While I stood frozen, Dad took off his shirt and pointed to his back.
Exposed skin revealed patches, strangely stuck like band-aids.
“…Dad, you found a job. You’re unloading at a logistics center every morning.”
“Dad is… unloading?”
I couldn’t believe that my dad, who had never done hard labor in his life, was doing such work with that frail body.
“Ye-rin, look at Mom’s hands too…!”
Then Mom stretched out her hand too.
Her hands, usually well-kept, now bore a red rash of housewives’ dermatitis.
“…Mom’s working at a restaurant. She’s doing the dishes.”
“…….”
It seemed this wasn’t a lie.
Dad was unloading, and Mom was working in a restaurant.
Realizing that the two people I thought would remain lazy all their lives were now doing such heavy work brought me a sense of disbelief.
And perhaps seizing this opportunity, they began their final heartfelt plea, tears rolling down their cheeks.
“Hoo…, it was all to avoid begging you, Ye-rin.”
“Ye-rin, we’ve really been too much…. But we’ve truly changed….”
“We’ll earn our own money, Ye-rin. You don’t have to give us a dime….”
“All we want is to see your face again. So please….”
“Come back to us….”
“…….”
There’s a saying that you can’t beat parents. But in our household, it seemed the other way around.
Seeing my parents cry and plead, with Dad’s back covered in patches and Mom’s hand distressed, my heart started pounding.
Nineteen years truly is terrifying.
Had I really been tamed by my parents?
Squeeze.
I felt like I was about to agree and respond, so I tightly shut my mouth.
‘Don’t be fooled, Ha Ye-rin. Please don’t be fooled.’
I kept my eyes squeezed shut and reminded myself to not be tricked.
“Ye-rin-!!”
“Mom and Dad truly love you….”
Even during that, my parents didn’t stop their dizzying temptation toward me.
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