YJHT 01

Chapter 1

The sun was already high in the sky by the time Yoon Seul finally opened her eyes. After hastily washing her face, she hurried out of the house.

Her dull complexion from working through the night and her severely swollen face were the unfortunate fate of a drama writer.

After getting into her car to head to her studio, she habitually called her husband, Tae-kyung.

The long ringing tone was cut off coldly once again.

It had already been several years since Tae-kyung had left for a construction site in Brazil. Because of the remote location and the prevalence of tropical diseases, they only managed to see each other once or twice a year.

These days, even hearing his voice had become difficult.

“……I miss you. Tae-kyung.”

Just as she swallowed her disappointment and was about to start the car, her phone screen lit up.

[Mommy]

Just seeing the name on the screen made a corner of her heart ache.

Yoon Seul had been born the daughter of a single mother and lost even her biological mother at the age of seven. Jung-hee, her benefactor, had taken her in and raised her as if she were her own daughter.

But today, of all days, Yoon Seul wanted to avoid her call.

Even so, she eventually pressed the answer button with a heavy sigh.

— Yoon Seul. Where are you?

“I just woke up.”

— You should get up earlier. I told you to dress up nicely since you’re coming anyway.

“I told you I’m not going.”

There was no reason for Yoon Seul to attend.

It was a party celebrating her older sister Sara winning a screenplay award after stealing Yoon Seul’s script.

At the time, she had been forced to remain silent because Jung-hee had pleaded with her through tears. But Yoon Seul had no intention of applauding her sister while she smiled and held up a trophy she had stolen.

But Jung-hee’s next words left Yoon Seul with no choice but to turn the steering wheel.

“Tae-kyung is coming too. How can you not come?”

The hotel’s small banquet hall was dazzlingly illuminated by extravagant chandeliers and fresh flowers.

On a massive screen, footage of Sara receiving her award played over and over.

— The winner of the Screenplay Award in the TV category at the 50th Songbaek Arts Awards is… Insomnia. Min Sara!

Dressed in a glamorous gown like an actress, Sara stood onstage and dabbed at her fake tears as she delivered an excessively long acceptance speech.

Yet while countless names were mentioned, Yoon Seul’s name—the woman who had poured her heart and soul into writing the script—wasn’t mentioned even once.

As Yoon Seul stared blankly at the screen, Jung-hee approached her and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“My daughter is here? Sara must have been so distracted that she forgot to mention your name. She knows in her heart that she owes everything to you, too. Don’t be upset, okay? Next year, our Yoon Seul will win an award.”

The warmth conveyed through Jung-hee’s comforting patting slowly melted the resentment in Yoon Seul’s heart.

Leaning against Jung-hee, Yoon Seul said,

“When I win an award, Mom, you’ll be the very first person I thank.”

“That’s my good girl. Oh, but Sara went up to her room earlier and hasn’t come down. We have guests arriving soon, so could you go check on her? And while you’re there, stop by my room and change your clothes, too. Pick something you like from the spare clothes. You’re seeing your husband after such a long time. You can’t exactly meet him dressed in a hoodie.”

Yoon Seul looked down at her clothes and nodded.

Since I’m going upstairs anyway, I should do my makeup, too.

There was no one else she cared about impressing, but she wanted to look pretty for her husband.

“Mom, by the way, when did Tae-kyung contact you?”

“Oh my. More guests are coming. Yoon Seul, hurry and go.”

Jung-hee avoided answering, placed two room key cards in Yoon Seul’s hand, and urged her away.

So the man who wouldn’t even answer my calls at least contacted Mom on his way back to Korea.

But why did he have to return on this particular date…?

It almost feels like he’s coming back to congratulate my sister.

With a bitter feeling settling in her chest, Yoon Seul entered the elevator and stopped in front of Sara’s hotel room.

The moment she tapped the key card and opened the door, she heard obscene moans.

What the hell? Min Sara brought a man in here?

Yoon Seul sighed and quietly closed the door, intending to leave.

Then a familiar name caught her ear.

“Ah…. Mm, Tae-kyung oppa…. That feels so good there…….”

Tae-kyung oppa.

No… It can’t be. Maybe there’s someone else with the same name.

Even as Sara called out her husband’s name, Yoon Seul desperately clung to that sliver of hope, doubting her own ears.

But the familiar voice that followed brutally shattered that hope.

“Ha…. Sara. Why are you so hot and soft? Every time, I feel like I’m going to melt.”

“Why do you like me so much? Especially when you have a wife. Tell me honestly. You really haven’t slept with Yoon Seul?”

“You know. Things just don’t work with her.”

“Pfft. Well, even if I were a man, I don’t think I’d be attracted to her. You could search her from head to toe and never find a trace of sex appeal.”

Yoon Seul clenched her trembling fingers into fists and walked farther inside.

“Y-Yoon Seul!”

Tae-kyung, who had been touching Sara while completely naked, turned pale as if he’d seen a ghost and fell backward beneath the bed.

Sara, on the other hand, looked irritated at having their private time interrupted. She casually put on a silk robe.

“What… are you two doing?”

“Th-that’s…. How this happened is…….”

“Do you really need an explanation? Are you stupid? Can’t you tell what’s going on just by looking?”

When Tae-kyung stammered, Sara cut in with a mocking tone.

“Since it’s come to this, I’ll tell you everything. Tae-kyung oppa never went to Brazil. He stayed in Seoul with me the entire time. How could you be so completely fooled? Even if you’re unbelievably dense.”

Heh heh.

Sara’s mocking laughter made the corners of Yoon Seul’s eyes tremble.

During their courtship, Tae-kyung had told her that he wanted to cherish her and that he wanted to wait until they were married.

Then, shortly after their wedding, he confessed that he suffered from erectile dysfunction and avoided having a marital relationship with her.

And now, the husband who had supposedly left for Brazil for business several years ago and had been so difficult to see had actually been in Seoul all along, sleeping with her sister.

He had called her using a Brazilian country code, and she had even gone to Brazil to meet him, so she had never once suspected him.

It had all been a lie.

Yoon Seul’s entire body boiled with rage.

“……I even gave you the script that was my lifeblood. But did you have to take my husband, too?”

“Who took anything from you? You stupid bitch. Woo Tae-kyung was my man long before he ever became your husband!”

Sara blurted out the words in a fit of anger, and Yoon Seul’s eyes shook violently.

“Sara! How could you say all that?”

Tae-kyung hurriedly grabbed Sara’s arm.

It was a clear sign that there was an even uglier secret being hidden.

Yoon Seul glared fiercely at Tae-kyung.

“Then why did you marry me? You could have married my sister!”

Yoon Seul screamed in despair, but Sara only became irritated.

“Ah! I don’t know! If you’re so curious, go ask that mother you love so much.”

For a moment, Yoon Seul went deathly pale as if someone had dumped ice water over her.

“Why is Mom involved? Mom… knew, too?”

The shock was far greater than the betrayal by the two people standing before her.

“Don’t lie! If Mom knew, would she have let you two get away with this?”

‘From now on, I’ll be your mother, Yoon Seul.’

‘When my daughter is sick, Mommy hurts even more. Get better soon.’

‘You don’t know how happy you make Mommy, Yoon Seul.’

Remembering Jung-hee’s affectionate smile, Yoon Seul desperately shook her head.

They’re trying to drive a wedge between Mom and me because they got caught doing something disgusting.

You bitch.

Yoon Seul gritted her teeth and swung her hand toward Sara’s cheek.

Smack!

Sara’s head snapped to the side.

At the same moment, Tae-kyung ruthlessly swung his large fist into Yoon Seul’s face.

Thud!

With the dull sound of the impact, Yoon Seul was violently thrown to the floor.

“How dare this crazy bitch lay a hand on her!”

Sara rubbed her cheek and whispered cruelly to Yoon Seul, who was sprawled on the floor.

“Find out for yourself whether I’m lying or not. Go ask Mom.”

Yoon Seul was beside herself.

Her face, swollen from Tae-kyung’s punch, didn’t even hurt.

There was only one thought filling her mind.

I want Mom to tell me it’s not true.

“Goodness. Yoon Seul? What happened to your face? You haven’t even changed your clothes.”

“Mom…. Sob…. Mom……”

“What’s wrong?”

When she saw Jung-hee looking at her with genuine concern and seeming completely unaware of what had happened, the tears Yoon Seul had been desperately holding back poured down like a waterfall.

Jung-hee warmly embraced Yoon Seul as she sobbed so hard that she could barely speak.

Of course it was a lie. If Mom knew, she couldn’t possibly be this calm.

After comforting Yoon Seul for a long while, Jung-hee took her into the room and sat her down on the sofa.

“Tell Mommy slowly what happened.”

Yoon Seul nodded with tear-filled eyes before opening her mouth.

“Mom…. Tae-kyung is cheating on me. I want a divorce. Sob…”

She couldn’t bring herself to say that the person he was cheating with was Sara, Jung-hee’s biological daughter.

She was afraid of the shock Jung-hee would suffer if she found out.

“You must have been hurt, my daughter.”

“Sob… Mom……”

At Jung-hee’s comforting words, Yoon Seul cried bitterly like a child who had finally found someone who was on her side.

“It’s chamomile tea. It should help you calm down. Drink this.”

After crying so much, Yoon Seul was thirsty, so she gulped down the tea Jung-hee handed her.

But perhaps because she had cried too much, or perhaps because the tea was warm, a sudden drowsiness washed over her, and her vision rapidly blurred.

Why am I so… sleepy?

Yoon Seul rubbed her eyes, trying to fight off the overwhelming sleepiness pouring over her, but it was useless.

Just as she began to realize that something was wrong, a chilling voice pierced through her fading consciousness.

“You troublesome bitch.”

That’s strange.

Mom would never say something like that…….

I must be having a nightmare.