Chapter 120 - Chapter 117: Episode 115 - White Lie
Yu-ra's house hadn't changed a bit.
For Seon-ah, returning after so long brought back memories of a happier time.
Back when he was invited over every weekend to play with his family.
But the moment he thought of Yu-rin, his mood soured again.
Yu-ra didn't miss the way Seon-ah's expression brightened for a second, only to darken just as quickly.
The two of them had been pointedly ignoring Yu-rin ever since they stepped through the front door.
Yu-ra knew exactly what her daughter had done to Seon-ah, so she didn't bring her up once.
It wasn't just to keep the mood from souring for Seon-ah; she also felt the heavy weight of needing to apologize as a mother.
"For now, just sit on the sofa. I'll go get some tea."
"Thank you, Yu-ra-ajumoni..."
As Seon-ah settled onto the sofa, Yena sat down beside him.
She looked at her father and whispered,
"Appa... I feel bad for Yu-rin-ajumoni, standing out there in the garden... I know what she did to you, but..."
Yena couldn't read the tension between them, but Seon-ah cut her off sharply.
"Yena, to me, Yu-rin is even more hateful than your mother. Because of that woman, I lost my father—your halabeoji. You know what that means. You know how much I cherished my family..."
Yena knew all too well how much he had missed them.
Since Sophia, who held Min-ah's memories, had told him how Hyeon-tae had withered away and died, he knew perfectly well that Yu-rin was the one responsible.
She was the culprit who had subjected him to hell and driven his father to his grave. If she hadn't imprisoned him while he was briefly on Earth with Miel, and if she hadn't handed him over to Bianca, his mother would never have had to cross into the Demon World.
'If it weren't for Yu-rin, my mother wouldn't have had her body taken by Sophia...'
She had destroyed not just him, but his entire family.
That was how Seon-ah saw her.
His resentment was so deep-rooted that he'd even reached the point of wishing she would just end her own life.
Yena's face turned pale as she listened.
She knew Yu-rin had sexually tortured her father, but she hadn't known the details—like the cause of his grandfather's death.
She had wanted to believe Yu-rin had repented, that she deserved forgiveness and a chance at happiness.
But that belief was crumbling.
"That's not all. In the end, my mother had her body stolen by the Demon King because of her... To me, she's nothing but a curse."
Seon-ah spoke with a detached, calm tone, as if it were all ancient history, but Yena was reeling.
The woman who had put her father through hell and cost him his entire family.
She felt betrayed by Yu-rin, who had lured her in with fake sympathy while hiding all of this.
Every moment she'd spent following Yu-rin, every time she'd thought it might be nice to have her as a mother—it all felt disgusting now.
"Appa... I'm sorry... I..."
When Yena suddenly switched to honorifics, looking so grave, Seon-ah flicked her forehead, annoyed.
He chuckled, shaking his head.
"Yena, I told you not to call me Appa. And you don't need to apologize... But you have to stop being close to Yu-rin. Now."
'Because you can't predict a single step of that woman's madness.'
He couldn't say it out loud, but he thought it clearly.
When Yu-ra returned with tea and refreshments, Seon-ah cut the conversation short.
They were bad-mouthing her daughter, and he knew it would only hurt her.
"Thank you, Ajumoni."
Seon-ah accepted the tea.
"No, I'm the one who's thankful... Still... thank you for coming to visit..."
Yu-ra hesitated, wanting to ask about Yu-rin, but held back.
She hadn't even had a proper conversation with him yet; she didn't want to ruin the atmosphere.
"How have you been, Yu-ra-ajumoni?"
"I've been doing well. I was the representative of the Hwaryong Guild, but now? I'm just unemployed."
Though she held the title of director, it was just a formality; she'd handed over her voting rights to the current representative.
In reality, she did nothing but attend the occasional shareholders' meeting.
She took a sip of tea, keeping quiet about why she'd stepped down.
She didn't mention the massive project she'd launched to save him, either.
To her, it was just something she had to do.
But Seon-ah felt the need to acknowledge it.
"Ajumoni... I heard everything... from my mother. About the Demon World Expedition project you created to save me... Thank you."
He bowed his head in gratitude.
"Ha... Don't think like that. Considering what my daughter... what Yu-rin did to you, it was something I had to do..."
Yu-ra felt tears pricking her eyes. Hearing it directly from him—the person she had tried so hard to save—made it all feel real.
She held back the tears, though, because there was something else she needed to know.
"Min-ah... what happened to your mother? I'm ten years older, but we were like friends... I need to know."
They had been close, and if not for Yu-rin, they might have remained lifelong friends.
"Yu-ra-ajumoni... Mother... she passed away in the Demon World."
It was a lie, but in his heart, he already considered her gone.
He couldn't tell her that Sophia had taken her body. If he did, Yu-ra might go and try to fight the Demon King, and he knew Sophia's cruelty toward others.
"Is that so... I... I see... Ha... really..."
Yu-ra's eyes reddened. She had held onto a sliver of hope that Min-ah might still be alive, but now that was gone.
Her hand trembled as she held the teacup, and hot tears spilled over.
"Mother... she tried until the very end to save me. Thanks to that, I'm alive. She must have been satisfied..."
He knew that was a lie, too. His mother, watching him suffer from inside Sophia, could never have been satisfied.
But it was a warm, kind lie for Yu-ra.
"Thank you... It must have been so hard for you, too, Seon-ah."
"No... it's just the past now..."
It wasn't the past. He had walked here in a daze, desperate to find a way to save her from Sophia.
"Seon-ah, your daughter... I'll be honest, I saw her true form. Is Yena a demon?"
"No... Yena isn't a demon..."
He hesitated. If he told the truth—that she was a child born from his and Min-ah's bodies—how would Yu-ra react?
"Yena is a half-demon."
Another lie. She was human, just adapted to the Demon World and forced to grow rapidly by Sophia's bio-magic.
"I... I see..."
Yu-ra had suspected the truth, and hearing it confirmed, she couldn't hide her pity.
The shock was too much; she forgot everything else she had meant to say—about the grave, about buying the house, about her plans to help him.
She just sat there, pale and blank.
"Um... are you okay? I think I spoke without thinking. It must have been hard for you, too, Ajumoni."
"Ah... no, I'm fine. Just a little tired... Why don't you stay the night?"
She needed time to process everything.
"Um... that is..."
Seon-ah looked toward the front door, hesitant.
Yu-ra understood immediately. Yu-rin's presence was clearly making him uncomfortable.
"I'll have Yu-rin stay out for the night. Just stay."
"Would that be okay?..."
He had nowhere else to go.
"Of course. Think of it as your own home. You need to be a bit more confident."
Yu-ra smiled and patted his back.
Seon-ah didn't dislike it. Though she was different from his mother, her bold, confident nature reminded him of how they used to be together.