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25
:: The difference between Mom and older sister
"...Yeojin. Wait a moment, that's not it..."
"······."
"Yeojin-ah...!"
Yeojin soon ran out of the house with tears welling up in her eyes. I froze, stunned by the shock that she had found out like this. I didn't want her to find out, at all costs. I had hidden it because I was worried she might get hurt... but in the end, it turned out this way. It was all my fault. Would it have been better if I had just been honest and confessed from the beginning?
Yeoju, snap out of it.
We have to catch Yeojin.
"yes···?"
Taehyung went out to look for Yeojin too.
I think they've already taken the elevator down.
Right, Yeojin had gone out. While I was out of it, Kim Taehyung suddenly followed Yeojin as she left, and my brother grabbed my shoulder and shook me awake.
The elevator was stopped on the first floor. As we came out, Kim Tae-hyung gestured for us to hurry up. We stepped outside, but Yeo-jin had vanished without a trace—perhaps she had already gone far away—so we decided to split up and search for her. We ran around calling out to her.
"Yeojin, Yeojin!"
My head was spinning because I had absolutely no idea where Yeojin might have been. I thought we had become really close, yet to think I didn't even know this much. The clock hands had already hit the number 8. Where on earth could she have gone at this hour? Suddenly, the thought that something bad might happen to Yeojin kept creeping over me, and I was so terrified that everything went black before I could sit down right there and cry my eyes out. Just then, my older brother, who had been searching for Yeojin, spotted me, and as he came toward me, I looked up and met his face.
"It's not your fault. Yeojin is Yeoju
You won't dislike it, okay?
"No... I hurt Yeojin
I gave it. And it wasn't just anyone.
I, Yeojin,"
"If you keep blaming yourself like that, the situation will only get worse"
It will only get worse. So...
Let's get up.
My brother gave me a warm hug as I couldn't hold back my tears. "Oppa, I'm so scared..." After I calmed down a bit, we parted ways again and went around looking at the surroundings. I showed passersby photos of Yeojin saved on my phone, asking if they had seen the child, and I also stopped by the apartment security office to check the CCTV footage.
My brother and Kim Tae-hyung didn't receive a call saying Yeo-jin had been found. No matter what, I absolutely had to find Yeo-jin. I hadn't done a single thing right, but I had to see her face. I absolutely didn't want to be seen in her eyes as hateful, but now I was anxious that our relationship might become irreversible.
"··· It is an aftershock."
Then, a thought suddenly crossed my mind. Where is the place Yeojin cherishes? The place where I had promised with a pinky link while comforting Yeojin when she had run away from home crying—that playground where my brother's late wife used to often take her to play. Wondering why I hadn't thought of that, I immediately ran to the playground.
Just as I expected, Yeojin was swinging on the swing in the playground, making a squeaking sound, with her head bowed low. "Yeojin!" I called her name and ran closer, but Yeojin flinched in surprise and tried to run away. However, I absolutely did not want to let her go now. I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind, buried my head in her back, and bit my trembling lips hard.
"Let go..."
"No, Yeojin, no..."
Don't do that...
No matter how close we had become, there was a clear difference between 'Mom' and 'older sister.' It was not enough that I had lost my mother, who occupies the largest part of my life, in an instant at such a young age; seeing the person I trusted and relied on dating my father while still unable to forget her was something I naturally found resentful of.
I'm sorry, Yeojin. Now
I was going to tell Yeojin too, but
"I hate it, I hate my sister and my dad too...!"
The more Yeojin tried to push me away, the tighter I held onto her and refused to let go. I never intended to be like a mother to her from the start. I simply wanted to be a source of happiness and hope for her, but in the end, I ended up ruining everything. As I kept repeating the same apologies, Yeojin briefly relaxed her body.
"··· Yeojin. Your older sister is Yeojin
Did you buy the cheese pork cutlet you like?
"······."
You're going to be hungry, so first, go home
Let's go inside and eat first.
I won't ask for anything else, sis.
At my words, Yeojin finally burst into tears. She wasn't just sniffling; she was sobbing uncontrollably. I turned her around, asked her why she was crying so heartbreakingly, and rolled up my sleeve to wipe the teardrops streaming down her cheeks. This time, Yeojin didn't particularly avoid me.
Just then, Kim Tae-hyung spotted us and ran over. It was actually a relief. If she had to go home with me or her brother, Yeo-jin would have been even more uncomfortable. I gently nudged Yeo-jin's back and told her she could go to Kim Tae-hyung.
Go home and feed Yeojin first.
Since it's cheese pork cutlet, the cheese must be all hardened...
"... Ms. Kim Yeo-ju, are you okay?"
"Uncle, let's hurry."
As if she didn't want to be with me for even a moment longer, Yeojin grabbed the hem of Kim Taehyung's clothes and tugged at him. Kim Taehyung looked flustered and took Yeojin's hand as they walked away, but he kept looking at me until I disappeared from his sight, as if to encourage me. As soon as Yeojin and Kim Taehyung left, I slumped onto the bench right next to them, practically collapsing.
"··· Yeoju."
"··· Oppa···."
As soon as I saw my brother, who had come over belatedly, tears welled up again. The emotions I had been holding back because I was afraid Yeojin would dislike me even more if I cried had finally burst out. As I cried in such distress, my brother patted my back, telling me it was okay, and gently hugged me.
However, the more I felt that way, the more I couldn't bear to look at my brother's face. As soon as I calmed down a little, I rubbed my reddened eyes vigorously, pushed him away, and stood up from my seat, saying I would leave first.
"Yeoju, don't go, especially in a situation like this."
It’s harder when we’re apart.
"··· Today, Oppa's face
I don't have the confidence to watch any more.
Then let's hear what they have to say first.
It must be tough for you right now, so it's dangerous to go alone.
In the end, unable to ignore my brother's pitiful and desperate gaze, I nodded and said I understood. He began to speak in earnest, saying that the reason Yeojin was avoiding me wasn't just because of Mom. Not because of Mom? I looked at him, sending him a look that said, "Go ahead and tell me more," and he grabbed my hand tightly. "I told you that before I met Yeoju, I dated another woman to forget the kids' mom."
Actually, those women
I had seen the children.
I met so many people over the past two years—there were a total of three. But their reactions were all the same, you know? As soon as they found out I had a child, they either left asking how I could do that to them or ran away overnight. The second person I met was actually quite close to Yeojin, somewhat similar to how Yeoju is now. But after that woman suddenly ran away, Yeojin was deeply hurt. As for the third one, well, I have nothing to say. I ran into Yeojin just once, and when I introduced the kids to her, she didn't even act cautiously in front of them and slapped me first.
I didn't know Yeojin had ever had an experience like that. When I sat there speechless like a mute, my brother chuckled as if he had expected it. He told me to relax and that it was okay.
The important thing is, while I was meeting those women
Yeojin, who grew up seeing everything I went through, I
Because I found out that I was meeting the female lead like this.
I was scared that you might end up leaving too.
I will never leave Yeojin
I said it was, so why...
It's scary even though I know that. The second
Because that person spoke just like the female lead.
Hearing this made my mind even more confused. To think Yeojin had another trauma. As I simply nodded and hugged my brother, he gave me a small kiss on the head, saying he hoped Yeojin would make the right choice.
"Yeojin, chew thoroughly. In your mouth..."
I told you not to keep it in your mouth.
"······."
"...Are you really not going to eat the pork cutlet?"
Just as Yeoju had said, Taehyung seated Yeojin, who must be very hungry, in a chair at the dining table and heated up a pork cutlet, placing it in front of her. However, since she wouldn't even budge to pick up a fork, he had to spoon-feed her to get her to eat; but because she would eat everything else well but absolutely refused to swallow the pork cutlet, Taehyung let out a deep sigh.
"...I don't like my uncle either."
"Yeojin, Kim Yeojin!"
Seeing Taehyung's attitude, Yeojin spat the pork cutlet she had been holding in her mouth onto the plate, glared at him, went into her room, lay down on the bed, and pulled the covers over herself. Then, hearing the screams of a girl and the sound of a doll being slammed, she tried to open the door to enter Taehyung's room, but had no choice but to give up as it was already locked.
"··· This time it's not those bitches
Yeojin turned her back.
Taehyung leaned against the door with his eyes closed and rolled up the cigarette pack in his pocket.
Hehehe, I really love this sad, pom-pom vibe.
I like sweet potatoes!
These two comments perfectly capture the current situation! I hope everyone tries to figure out what Yeojin is really thinking 👍