Chapter 108 - Chapter 105: Episode 103 - New Family
Yu-rin felt that this moment was incredibly joyful and happy.
Honestly, her memories after the age of twenty were hazy.
It was a side effect of her mental illness.
She only vaguely remembered that she had done things to Seon-ah that she would regret, and the fact that she had a daughter.
The video, which served as evidence of those countless insults and humiliations, and her daughter Yena, who was by her side now, were the proof.
It was clear that she must have divorced Seon-ah after committing such terrible acts against him.
She was truly full of regret.
However, she couldn't help but be happy in this moment spent with the child she had with Seon-ah.
That was why she quit the drugs and even fixed her sleep schedule, which had been turned upside down, to live a more normal life.
She had made up her mind to be active during the day to maximize the time she could spend with Yena.
Taking Yena to the park for a walk, visiting amusement parks, watching movies at the theater, and eating out.
She was savoring this happy life that she had forgotten due to her illness.
Perhaps sensing Yu-rin's sincerity to some extent, Yena also gradually began to open her heart to her.
Yena liked Yu-rin, who cherished her just as much as her father did.
Whenever Yu-rin talked about her father, Yena felt a pang of sorrow at the mournful, sad emotions that surfaced.
When she first heard about the things that would be regrettable to her father, she couldn't have imagined that such a kind Yu-rin would have done such things to him.
She had truly hated Yu-rin back then, but that wasn't the case anymore.
Every time she saw Yu-rin reflecting on her father, the hateful feelings gradually faded.
By now, she just felt sorry about that mistake.
She could never forget the look on Yu-rin's face when she said there were many things she wanted to do with her father, Seon-ah, just as he had been kind to her.
That expression, mixed with regret and sadness, looked similar to the way her father, Seon-ah, looked right before he sent her to the Gate.
As time passed, her thoughts about Yu-rin gradually changed.
By now, she even wished that Yu-rin, who poured everything into her even though she wasn't her real mother, was her real mother.
Her real mother, who made her father let out painful groans and dying breaths every single night.
She thought that Yu-rin was more suitable as her mother and her father's wife than that woman who treated her like an object and only gave her father pain.
Because the ill feelings toward her own mother were so deeply embedded in her mind, Yena couldn't help but think that way.
Yu-ra had thought about many things during that time.
She thought that if Seon-ah were to return, she would help him get back the house that Min-ah and Hyeon-tae had left behind.
She hadn't had the courage to visit that house to sort out her complicated feelings about Min-ah, Hyeon-tae, and Seon-ah.
She was afraid that if she saw the house filled with the empty space of its owners, all those feelings would turn into sadness and burst out from within her.
She was afraid she would collapse under the weight of those feelings.
But she believed that if Seon-ah returned, returning that house full of memories to him was a duty she had to fulfill.
It was a house that had been confiscated by the state and sold at auction because there was no one to inherit Min-ah and Hyeon-tae's property.
Since he would have to file a correction report for the death case due to his disappearance and go through a long, grueling lawsuit to recover private property the state had sold off at will, it was obvious that Seon-ah would suffer through it all.
Because it was a house full of memories left by his parents, she wanted him to at least be able to cherish those memories when he returned.
She wanted to ensure it wouldn't be defiled by someone else's hands.
It wasn't enough to make up for the mistake her daughter had made, but she thought it was the minimum courtesy toward Seon-ah.
Although she had stepped down from her representative position at the Hwaryong Guild, she honestly had more than enough money.
She was born into a wealthy family, but the shares she earned while staying at the Hwaryong Guild for a long time—enough to help develop it into a major guild—were still bringing her huge profits.
As a major shareholder with 8 percent of the shares of a massive guild, she and her daughter didn't have to worry about money, even though they were currently unemployed.
That was why she tried to buy back the house using that money, but it was already too late; it had passed into someone else's hands.
A check at the registry office confirmed that Min-ah's house had been reregistered.
Seeing the name Michaela Sola, a foreign woman, listed as the resident, she knew it had already been sold.
However, money wasn't the problem.
Yu-ra had to buy that house back, even if she had to pay several times the market price.
For Seon-ah, who would return.
The house where Min-ah and Hyeon-tae used to live.
When she visited, it didn't look like they had remodeled the exterior.
Fortunately, it seemed they quite liked the original design.
She was worried about how to negotiate with the owner after pressing the doorbell.
Even though she had traded many properties, she had only ever purchased real estate that was officially put up for sale.
It was her first time trying to buy a building or land from someone who might not even have any intention of selling.
If she suddenly offered to buy it for several times the price, they would surely find it suspicious, so she had to be careful with her words.
It was a delicate issue; she didn't want to offend them by trying to throw money at them.
Not long after she pressed the doorbell, a foreign woman came out.
They checked each other's faces and realized they were strangers.
One was a demon who had been captured by the Hwaryong Guild, and the other was the head of the guild that had captured her, but there was no reason for them to recognize each other.
While this demon was needed for a large-scale project Yu-ra had been preparing, Yu-ra had been too busy to meet her in person, making it entirely possible that they were strangers.
Without suspecting a thing, the two faced each other calmly.
Yu-ra was slightly flustered when a blonde woman with brown skin, wearing a tank top and jeans, came out wearing a hat with horns on it.
'Do they wear hats like that inside the house? Foreigners have such unique sensibilities...'
"Hello? Excuse me, but do you happen to speak Korean?"
Her investigation had indicated that this woman, Michaela Sola, was of Italian descent.
She could converse in English and Chinese, but she didn't know if she spoke Italian, so she asked carefully if she could speak Korean.
"I can speak Korean. But what did you come here for? Is it for insurance or a newspaper subscription?"
Fortunately, the woman could speak Korean.
It even seemed like she had lived in Korea for a long time, as her fluency matched her own.
Her language proficiency and accurate pronunciation were enough to make her sound like a local.
"No... I came because I have something I want to talk about with the owner of this house."
"I am the owner of the house. What is your business?"
She said it with a slightly slouchy tone and a nuance that suggested she was annoyed.
The word 'thug' automatically came to Yu-ra's mind.
She didn't usually get along well with this type of person, but she had no choice if she wanted to buy the house.
"I have a story, so I really... want to buy this house. I'll pay you a premium... please, sell it to me..."
Yu-ra asked earnestly in a mournful tone.
She explained that she wanted to buy it for Seon-ah, who would return.
She bowed her head to the owner, but what she got in return was a refusal.
"Hmm... I'm not really short on money, and I like this house. I don't want to sell it."
"Looking at the last traded market price, it was 3.6 billion won. How about 7 billion won? I have a really important reason for this."
"No, I have no intention of selling it, no matter how much you offer. Please leave."
"10 billion won... no, 20 billion won..."
"No matter how much you say that, I'm not interested. I like this house."
However, the woman didn't even blink at the amount.
Bianca knew how annoying moving was after finding a house for the first time on Earth, even though the offer was more money than she had.
Especially since her identity was forged, she couldn't waste her magic power to find a new one, as there was a risk of discovery if she moved again.
That was why the woman's demand was unreasonable to her.
"Please... I beg you."
"No. I'm not interested, so please leave now."
When the foreign woman said it in a slightly angry tone, as if she were fed up, Yu-ra's complexion turned pale.
Thinking that if she angered the owner for no reason, she might never be able to set foot here again, Yu-ra had no choice but to promise to try again next time.
"I understand. Still, just in case... if you ever feel like selling it, please call this number."
Yu-ra had no choice but to hand a business card to Michaela Sola.
She was technically unemployed, but as a major shareholder of the Hwaryong Guild, she still held a director position.
Of course, since she couldn't even have a proper say after ruining the large-scale project, she was treated like a ghost, but it was a position she had obtained just to have a business card to hand out.
In exchange, she was playing a role in supporting the current representative of the Hwaryong Guild, but it wasn't a bad choice.
Michaela Sola's expression hardened as she took the business card and read the name.
"Th-then please leave for today. I'm busy."
Even stuttering, she closed the door hard without a proper goodbye, leaving no sound behind.
Yu-ra had no choice but to start heading home.
The changed attitude of that foreign woman, who didn't seem like she would meet her next time, bothered her.
There were quite a lot of foreigners involved in the large-scale project she had conducted.
'Could there have been families involved in that project?'
That might have been why her expression hardened when she saw the business card.
Another mistake she made to add to the one she had already committed.
The fact that she might be a bereaved family member of a victim caused by that mistake flashed through Yu-ra's mind.
Her mood became even more bitter.
She had quit alcohol after her husband returned to her parents' house, but today was a day she craved strong liquor.
An urge arose to wash away this painful heart with that bitter liquid.
Bianca, who had closed the door hard, was shocked by the fact that someone related to the Hwaryong Guild—the very people who had kept her locked up—was right in front of her nose just a moment ago.
If it had been a Hwaryong Guild researcher whose face she saw often at the center, they might have recognized her and reported her to a nearby guild.
Clutching her chest where her heart was racing, she couldn't even let go of the doorknob and just stood still.
She thought that if they came to visit again, she would definitely have to check the person's face through the intercom.
And if that woman came back, she had no intention of opening the door.
Once her heart regained its rhythm and she collected her thoughts, Bianca closed the blinds.
So that no one could see her.
So that this happy daily life wouldn't collapse...