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Yi-jae had been expecting something horrible when Do-yeong called.

She knew that was a horrible thing to think, but with the boat they were both in, she wasn't surprised.

"Dong-eun is offering us information on what happened to her," Do-yeong revealed. "Come to my office at 7pm, I'll drive us both down. Wear something you'd wear to a dinner."

Yi-jae made her choice quite fast, letting out a small sigh as she grabbed her phone and pressed the number she wanted to call.

"Dad, hey... would you mind taking care of the kids this week?" Yi-jae asked. "I know it's short notice and you'll have to drop off Kyung-sam at school, but... wait, really? Thank you."


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Yi-jae wore a knee-length dark blue dress with bright pink high heels, though she was starting to debate the choice of shoes.

As he had said, Do-yeong drove them both to the destination of the dinner; a nice hotel in the centre of Seoul.

Do-yeong and Yi-jae walked through the reception, heading over to the closest elevator. The doors opened... with Dong-eun standing inside, her hair in a bun and earrings on. They entered, with Do-yeong pressing the button to the floor they were heading to.

"I assume this will be a very long, private conversation. So I picked Seoul instead of Semyeong," Do-yeong said to Dong-eun.

"I haven't been to Seoul in a while. This is nice," Dong-eun admitted.

"I heard about you and Yeon-jin," Do-yeong continued.

"I doubt it," Dong-eun replied. "There's no way you heard all of it."

The lift reached the floor, and Dong-eun stepped out first. They reached the front desk for a dining area in the hotel, where a man bowed to Do-yeong.

"It's been too long, Mr Ha," the man greeted.

"Yeah," Do-yeong agreed.

"May I take your coat, ma'am?" the man offered to Dong-eun.

"Thank you," Dong-eun replied, taking off her coat.

Yi-jae had forgotten that she was the only one in the room who had actually seen Dong-eun's scars. They'd healed over the years, but still stood out from the rest of the skin on her arms.

Do-yeong's eyes were wide like saucers, and a nearby couple whispered in shock at the sight of Dong-eun's arms.


"I had so many questions," Do-yeong voiced once the three of them had taken their seats at the table. His eyes never left the scars dotted across Dong-eun's arms. "They're pointless now. Does it still hurt?"

"Don't ask me that. I don't want to hear casual questions like that," Dong-eun replied. "Even if it's all become pointless, there's a question that you should ask me. Did Yeon-jin really do it?"

Do-yeong didn't say anything.

Yi-jae, however, revealed something. "Yeon-jin used to bring an iron curler to school sometimes. She'd take it into the bathroom or even bring me into the art studio so we could curl our hair."

Dong-eun could tell Yi-jae was regretting all those hair sessions with Yeon-jin now. Perhaps even, if Yi-jae had known, she'd never have agreed to the curling sessions.

"Did you look for Myeong-o?" Dong-eun asked. "I even sent you a picture."

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Do-yeong questioned.

"I think you know enough to leave Yeon-jin," Dong-eun answered. "To be transparent, I don't want anybody to stay by Yeon-jin's side. Including you."

"Why is that?" Do-yeong replied.

"Because I believe you're Yeon-jin's glory," Dong-eun revealed. "And I want you to become Yeon-jin's ruin instead."

"For someone with a plan like this, I'm surprised you weren't more proactive. You aren't as aggressive as I imagined," Do-yeong revealed. He then dropped a bomb on the topic, "I'm not going to leave Yeon-jin."

Surprisingly, this intrigued Dong-eun. "Why not?"

"I don't know," Do-yeong admitted. "I don't like admitting it either, but I really don't. I've only just realized I'm not going to leave Yeon-jin. So, maybe... we should meet again."


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"Are you really going to stay with Yeon-jin?" Yi-jae asked.

That was the first thing Yi-jae said to Do-yeong on the car ride home.

"I just can't," Do-yeong replied, referring to leaving Yeon-jin. "Not now. Ye-sol wouldn't be able to deal with that."

"Having kids does that..." Yi-jae sighed. "Makes me almost feel terrible about my divorce."

This surprised Do-yeong a little, "You're going to divorce Jae-jun? Will he let you?"

"I'm doing it without him knowing," Yi-jae revealed. "I've hired a lawyer who says she can help me divorce Jae-jun without his consent and gain complete custody of the kids. I just need proof. Proof he's not good for them... or for me. I have some, already... but that's more my boat. I need something for the kids, otherwise, he may be granted visitation."

"Can you really do that, though?" Do-yeong asked. He didn't want to change Yi-jae's mind, but he didn't want her getting in trouble either.

"The lawyer said unreasonable behaviour can be used as a reason for wanting a divorce," Yi-jae recalled. "I'm pretty sure cheating on me with multiple women is a good enough reason."


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Yi-jae arrived home late that evening, almost forgetting that the kids were at their grandfather's.

So she almost screamed when she found Mun-hee in the master bedroom, reading something with the torch on her phone.

"Mun-hee, what on earth are you doing here?" Yi-jae gasped. "How did you...?"

"Jun-seo gave me a ride here," Mun-hee answered, knowing her mother's question was how she got home. "Mum... I need to tell you something. And show you something."

Yi-jae then saw what Mun-hee was reading. Yi-jae let out a small, defeated sigh. It tore her apart that one of her kids knew about what their father was doing.

"Let's go into the kitchen and talk," Yi-jae suggested, her hands outstretched for her daughter to take.

Mun-hee nodded, tears in her eyes. She hugged her mother, who began slowly moving them toward the kitchen.

Tonight was going to be a long, painful night.

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