Chapter 182 - Chapter 178: Episode 176 - Happiness in Daily Life (2)
The warm, happy mood from moments ago seemed to evaporate the second Yu-rin's face came into view.
Seon-ah stared at her with cold, unblinking eyes until Yu-rin finally looked away.
Trying to salvage the situation, Yu-ra stepped in with a friendly greeting.
"Seon-ah, it's been a while."
"I suppose so. About a week, right? There are others inside, so you might feel a bit uncomfortable."
It had been a long time since I'd cleared up the misunderstandings between Yu-ra, my mother, and myself.
Since she was the first to realize Yena's true nature, resolving the tension hadn't been difficult.
Though she'd been shocked and struggled to accept the truth at the time, she seemed to have moved past it, desperate to return to the relationship she'd once had with my family.
"It's alright. I wanted to talk to Min-ah for a bit since it's been so long. Won't you let us in?"
As she spoke, Yu-ra gestured to the shopping bags she was carrying.
"Ah... sorry, I forgot. Please, come in."
Seon-ah took the bags and ushered them inside.
Yu-rin bowed her head and stepped into the house, pointedly avoiding Seon-ah's gaze.
As Yu-ra walked ahead, Yu-rin hesitated at the threshold. Seon-ah leaned in and whispered quietly into her ear.
"Yu-rin... I haven't forgiven you for anything. I'm only doing this because of my relationship with your family, so don't get the wrong idea."
It was a strange situation—Yu-rin could actually see him now.
There was only one reason for that.
At Yu-ra's earnest request, I had asked the Succubus Lord Grace to lift the Curse of Unrecognizability that had been placed on Yu-rin.
Knowing that Yu-ra was suffering because her daughter had started relying on the drug again, Seon-ah had felt he had no choice but to grant the request.
"I... I'm sorry..."
"It's hard to believe even those words now, so please, just be quiet. And behave yourself so you don't disturb anyone."
"Okay... I understand..."
Some might consider his treatment of her too harsh, but Seon-ah could never forgive her.
The evil deeds she'd committed had once driven my family to ruin.
She was responsible for most of the reasons my father died, and even the reason my mother had been forced to suffer in the Demon World.
Because she was also the cause of the countless humiliations I'd endured, to me, Yu-rin was nothing more than an enemy.
I could never forgive her.
Never.
Yu-rin and Yu-ra were heading home after the housewarming party.
Yu-rin hadn't uttered a single word since they'd arrived at the house.
It wasn't just Seon-ah who looked at her with cold eyes.
Min-ah and Sophia had also glared at her with open reproach, making the entire event a painful experience for her.
Yet, the fact that she could finally see Seon-ah's face again made her strangely happy.
So why did she feel so empty?
There was only one reason.
'Why was Miel forgiven... and I wasn't? Why is that...'
She was resentful that Miel, who had committed the same sins against Seon-ah, had been forgiven while she remained an outcast.
Although Yu-rin's mistakes were far greater than Miel's, it was clear she didn't truly repent for her actions.
Yu-rin did care for Seon-ah, but now that she could see him, she began to process the situation, and a deep sense of injustice took root.
As she sat lost in thought, her mother, Yu-ra, asked her a question from the driver's seat.
"Yu-rin-ah. You didn't do anything stupid, did you?"
"I didn't do anything... I really didn't..."
She was being treated like this by her own mother.
Yu-ra had been in a foul mood lately, constantly snapping at her.
With the separation dragging on, her father had finally filed for divorce last month.
The mediation period was eight weeks, meaning there were only four left until it was official.
They weren't technically divorced yet, but at this rate, it was a certainty.
Knowing that the divorce wasn't about their marriage, but rather a result of my influence, I couldn't say a word.
"Then that's fine... Go to your room and rest when we get home..."
Even so, she spoke as if she were genuinely worried about her daughter.
Once Yu-rin reached her room, she locked the door and turned to her new hobby.
She pulled a camera with a tiny, sparkling lens from her clothes, connected it to her computer, and transferred the files.
After editing them diligently, she used a nearby printer to turn them into physical photos.
"All done... I made new memories today, too..."
Muttering to herself, Yu-rin took the photos and moved toward her wardrobe.
When she swung the door open, the interior was revealed.
Countless photos of Seon-ah were plastered everywhere.
Photos of him smiling, frowning, glaring with cold eyes, yawning, stretching, sitting, standing.
The photos spanned an endless variety of locations.
And next to him, in every single one, was a photo of herself.
They were taken while she was stalking him, then edited with her growing skills to make it look like she was standing right by his side.
She had become quite adept at compositing, and they looked disturbingly natural.
"Hehehe... Seon-ah... I only need you... If I can just see you, no one can tear us apart like this..."
It was the kind of thing that would make Seon-ah faint if he ever found out, but Yu-rin couldn't stop herself.
At first, she'd been satisfied just watching his back as he left the house, but the thrill of stalking had taken hold of her.
From the day she realized he sometimes went out alone, she'd installed a micro-camera on his front door and followed him whenever he stepped out.
Since he often walked to parks or crowded downtown areas around 3 PM, she would monitor the camera every morning and tail him the moment he left.
She knew full well that his hatred for her stemmed from this obsession, but she was powerless to stop.
The delusion that something would change if she just kept repeating the same cycle.
It had long since crossed into the realm of madness.
Yu-rin held one of the photos of Seon-ah and tore off a few sheets of tissue.
With bated breath, she inserted her fingers into her private hole, filling her mind completely with thoughts of Seon-ah.
Seon-ah was starting to get annoyed; it felt like a stalker had been clinging to him again lately.
It was frustrating, just like the stalkers who had plagued him throughout middle school, high school, and college.
This one was cunning, never revealing herself directly.
She only watched him in crowded places, making it impossible to catch her.
'I don't know what she's plotting... I'll have to go for walks with Sophia for the time being. It's a headache if I get tangled up in some weird business for no reason...'
Seon-ah no longer suffered alone.
Although he could use magic, he had to be prepared for anything; he never knew when something might happen.
Seon-ah no longer viewed this world as easy.
After experiencing so much, he finally realized the sheer scale of the misfortune that had befallen him, and he had become cautious.
If he saw signs of trouble, he wouldn't try to solve it by himself anymore.
That was why he planned to take today's walk with Sophia.
Sophia and Yena shared the body for half the day each.
It was a bit disappointing that his time with Yena was relatively short, as she took the morning and Sophia took the afternoon.
Since most of the morning was spent sleeping, the window to see Yena was inevitably small.
Yena seemed quite disappointed about that, too.
"Sophia. Can you come with me on my walks for a while?..."
"You usually prefer to go out alone, so what's the occasion for asking to go together today?"
Sophia's tone sounded a bit sulky.
Seon-ah had a reason for walking alone all this time.
Just as she said, he usually walked because he wanted time to himself.
However, it seemed he had become addicted to the walks.
Going outside, wandering around, and getting fresh air had become a habit he couldn't break.
"I'm just a bit uneasy... And I also want to go out and play with you, Sophia."
At his words, Sophia smiled.
"Then that's great. When are we leaving?"
Seon-ah beamed at her smiling face.
"Right now."
With that, Seon-ah took Sophia's hand and stepped out the front door.
Firmly believing that these happy days—this happiness—would now last forever, he vowed never to let go of the hand that held it.