Chapter 12: A Deal Made Without Me

Eumandaek, carrying a personal tray, glanced to see who was entering the dining room.

Upon confirming it was Jiheum, Eumandaek set the tray on the table with a cold snap.

The mistress’s disdain trickled down to the servants.

Moreover, as someone who had suffered the same pain as her mistress, Eumandaek felt a strong sense of shared bitterness.

To Eumandaek, whose husband’s infidelity had caused her endless grief, Jiheum was an eyesore, while the mistress, Jang Seonju, was a saintly woman.

If it were her, she would never have raised a child her husband had sired elsewhere.

To Eumandaek, the mere fact that Seonju had taken Jiheum in was reason enough to respect her.

Jiheum ignored Eumandaek’s contempt and picked up her personal tray from the trolley.

The head of the ten-person dining table was the seat of her father, Yoon Gwano.

Trays for her mother, Jang Seonju, and her sister, Jiyoon, were placed diagonally from the head on either side.

Once the three trays were set, Eumandaek promptly wheeled the trolley out.

Jiheum gave a light shrug and set her tray down at the very end of the table, far removed from the perfect triangle of the others, and sat down in solitude.

That was Jiheum’s place and her standing within this household.

A seat where the only things in view were the empty chair across from her and the wall.

As she stared blankly at the wall, she heard the sound of the dining room door opening behind her.

Jiheum stood up and bowed her head.

“Did you sleep well?”

The greeting wasn’t directed at anyone in particular.

Neither her father, her mother, nor her sister, who were entering, ever acknowledged her greetings.

The three of them treated Jiheum as if she were invisible and took their respective seats.

Jiheum sat back down and struggled to maintain a neutral expression.

This was the hour when she had to become numb to everything.

Once a week, on Saturday, the family gathered for breakfast.

It was a rule established back when Chairman Jang Kiyong, the head of LK Construction and Seonju’s father, was still alive.

Back then, Jiheum’s seat hadn’t been pushed all the way to the end.

When Chairman Jang passed away, Jiheum’s shield naturally vanished, yet the Saturday breakfast he started remained.

Jiheum had once asked Seonju if she could be excused from these meals.

Seonju had firmly refused.

She didn’t ask why at the time, but as the years passed, she came to understand it without needing to ask.

It was Seonju’s way of ensuring Jiheum always remembered her status as a foreign object wedged into a once-happy family.

The meal proceeded in silence, as it always did.

The breakfast, which lasted fifteen minutes at most, was the most unbearable time of the entire week.

It served as a constant reminder that she could never truly enter the family circle.

Jiheum merely picked at her food, waiting for one of the three to stand up.

Since she couldn’t leave first, she glanced at the wall, her nerves heightened to every movement the others made.

At the sound of a chair screeching against the floor, Jiheum’s gaze shifted toward them.

As usual, Jiyoon stood up first.

Not wanting to miss this chance, Jiheum quickly set down her utensils.

“I’ll be heading out now as well.”

Jiheum rose cautiously, just as she always did.

She knew no one would try to stop her, yet she never skipped the formal farewell.

It was her desperate struggle to affirm her own existence.

“Sit down.”

Gwano stopped Jiheum just as she was about to leave the table.

“I have something to say to you.”

Jiheum flinched and looked at Gwano.

She couldn’t believe he was actually speaking to her.

In this house, Gwano was the one who ignored Jiheum most of all, never sharing a single word with her.

She couldn’t quite hide her stunned expression at being addressed by him.

It seemed Jiheum wasn’t the only one caught off guard.

Jiyoon, who was about to leave the room, also stopped and looked back.

Curiosity flickered in Jiyoon’s eyes as she looked back and forth between Gwano and Jiheum.

“I won’t make this long. Get married within this year.”

Jiheum’s mind raced as if she were hearing a foreign language, her internal translator working at full speed.

Gwano’s words didn’t make sense to her.

“I’ve provided for you for over twenty years; it’s time you repaid that debt. So, go on the blind dates without any complaints.”

This was the father who had never treated her with kindness or offered a single warm word.

So why now?

While she tried to regain focus in her wavering eyes, Jiyoon cut in.

“My, Father, your true colors are finally showing. Are you trying to run a marriage business?”

Jiyoon crossed her arms and let out a low, amused scoff.

“Surely you aren’t planning to do the same to me?”

“And even if I did, would you ever listen?”

“I’m glad you know that much. Besides, selling me on the marriage market would be quite a burden for you. You’ll have to squeeze everything out of her instead.”

The corner of Jiyoon’s mouth curved up as she gestured toward Jiheum.

“But really, who would want to marry her?”

At the blatant mockery, Jiheum’s heart began to beat erratically.

“It’s too filthy.”

Looking at Jiyoon standing there triumphantly after delivering the final blow, Jiheum simply lowered her head.

“Yoon Jiyoon, that’s enough.”

Seonju set down her chopsticks and muttered indifferently, her voice devoid of inflection.

Her gaze remained on the table; she was merely observing with her ears open.

Jiyoon let out a sharp, hollow laugh and snapped at Seonju.

“You’re thinking the same thing as Father, aren’t you, Mother?”

“Jiyoon.”

“You’re just the same. No, Mother, you’re the worst of all. Because you’re the biggest hypocrite among us.”

Jiyoon shot a look of resentment at her and stormed out of the room.

In the chilled atmosphere, Seonju sighed and stood up.

After the voices had been raised, the air felt even more uncomfortable.

Left alone with Jiheum, Gwano also felt the awkwardness and got straight to the point.

“I’ve arranged a blind date for you.”

“A blind date?”

“Why? Is there some man you’re seeing?”

His look suggested he doubted such a thing was even possible.

She had inherited her mother’s pretty face and figure, looking like she was born to enchant men.

Since she had grown up quietly without causing trouble so far, he intended to collect her full value.

“If you’re seeing some mediocre fellow, end it. I have no use for a man who provides zero benefit to this family.”

“I… I don’t want to get married.”

“You don’t want to? Ha! You’re just as shameless as your mother.”

The veins on the back of Gwano’s clenched fist pulsed with a blue tint.

He suppressed the urge to throw her out then and there.

He had already given up on Jiyoon, who had declared herself married to her work after her divorce.

Therefore, he had to make back his investment by using Jiheum in a marriage deal.

“You’re going to get married anyway, so don’t waste our energy resisting.”

As if Jiheum’s answer didn’t matter in the slightest, Gwano pushed back his chair, stood up, and walked out.

Blind dates, marriage.

She had lived believing those words had nothing to do with her.

Jiheum was left alone, stunned by the sudden demand that had been thrust upon her.

****

On the way home.

A light, powdery snow fluttered down, and the streets everywhere were suffering from congestion.

Jiheum was also stuck in the middle of the crowded city, on her way to a blind date she didn’t want.

“Wait a moment.”

Yesterday morning, as Jiheum was heading toward the entrance to leave for work, the words had flown at her from behind.

Surprised by the voice she rarely heard, Jiheum flinched and turned to find Seonju turning toward the living room.

“Come and sit for a moment.”

Seonju, who often went an entire month without saying a single word to her, was summoning her.

Thus, any mention of needing to get to work vanished.

Jiheum glanced at the time and approached the living room.

“Keep tomorrow evening free.”

As soon as Jiheum sat on the sofa, Seonju stated her business briefly.

“Tomorrow at 7 PM. The restaurant at D Hotel. I’ve made a reservation in your name.”

“What… do you mean?”

“You must have heard from your father. Your blind date.”

The monotone voice only made Jiheum more tense.

She feared Seonju, who treated her as if she were less than dust in the air, even more than Jiyoon, who openly despised her.

“The company is an important partner for your father’s business. Don’t cause any unnecessary embarrassment with a foolish mistake.”

It was clear that the option to refuse never existed in the first place.

Otherwise, why would they have presented the date so ready-made, less than a week after the subject was first broached?

“Has your tongue been cut out?”

Seonju pressed for a response, looking at her with disapproval.

“Ah… I’ll keep the time free.”

At Jiheum’s response, Seonju turned her head away.

It was a sign that the business was concluded and she should leave.

Jiheum slowly stood up.

“Um, Mother.”

Before she could take a step, Jiheum sat back down and called out to Seonju.

Seonju merely picked up a book of essays from the table as if she had nothing more to hear.

“I will go on the blind date, but could we… perhaps take the marriage a bit slowly?”

Seonju simply turned a page, acting as if she were the only person in the room.

Jiheum knew she should stop and turn away, yet she couldn’t.

“Sister Jiyoon also married late…”

The moment Jiyoon’s name was mentioned, a fierce light flashed in Seonju’s eyes.