221 Vexing Circumstances (2/2)

Secretary Kwon was confused. He found the girl strange. This was the first time she spoke to him without an edge in her tone. The fact that Yeo Ri was speaking so nicely made him doubt. It suddenly made him realise that the girl was nothing like how he thought she was. The first time they met, he had felt sympathetic towards her. Then, his impression of her slowly morphed into chagrin, and now... he didn't know anymore.

”But, did you realise?” Yeo Ri tilted her head to stare at the clouds. ”They were looking at me, but all they see is 'Yeoreum'.”

”Yeoreum this, Yeoreum that... annoying,” the girl muttered. Her expression darkened briefly.

”...”

Secretary Kwon listened to her talking without saying a thing. He also thought it was peculiar on how frequently those two people mentioned Han Yeoreum. Though, he had an inkling that it was because the woman was the only common topic they had with the young girl.

”—That man, too. Heo Woo Seung.”

She wanted to vent, he supposed.

”Ah, but he doesn't even see Mom, does he? He doesn't really care.”

”Miss...” Secretary Kwon sighed. Here she goes again, vilifying his employer.

”You think he's so great? Hm?” Yeo Ri laughed again. ”Please, that's just blind loyalty.”

”'Wow, he's so nice, taking care of an orphaned young girl!', 'wow, he's so good to his illegitimate daughter, so why is she so ungrateful?', 'wow, he's such a great man! So charitable! Wow!'” Yeo Ri said exaggeratedly, her voice full of mockery.

”Miss Yeo Ri!” Kwon Tae Yang's voice thundered, warning her to stop with her discourtesy.

”What? You really think he's that great?” Yeo Ri dropped her smile.

They were at a stoplight now, and it would take exactly one minute for the red light to turn green.

She sneered coldly at the man's reflection on the rearview mirror. ”If he really cared,” Yeo Ri's voice lowered, ”if he really loved my mom, then he would've divorced his wife and married my mom instead.”

”He had his reaso—”

”—If he really cared, he would've at least gave my mother some money so that she could survive and raise her kid, instead of letting her go so easily and wallow in his own self-pity.” She added promptly, ”It's not like he didn't know what her situation was like.”

”...” Secretary Kwon did not know what to say to that. He had assumed that Heo Woo Seung had exhausted all his means to please the woman before they broke up, and that it was the bad woman's fault for not accepting his employer's kindness before they lost contact with each other back then. Before Heo Woo Seung found out the truth of the matter, him and his people really had thought that Han Yeoreum had another lover whom she ran away with all those years ago.

”And yet—he still abandoned her. Abandoned us.”

Yeo Ri's words dug deep into the man's heart.

”If he really cared,” she smirked, ”why did he wait for so long to make it up to me? He had fifteen long years. Why didn't he take me away back then when he realised that my mother 'ran away' and left his daughter all alone with three men who weren't even her blood-related family?”

She continued, ”His son is my brother's best friend. It would be too much to say that he didn't know about us, right? He had all the chances, but it was only when I appeared right in front of him that he made his move. Was he for real?”

A ridiculing scoff escapes her lips.

”He must be scared, knowing that his biggest mistake is so close to his family. After all, I can ruin his life so easily. That's why he's acting like that. He wants me to hate him; to make himself feel guilty. Then, he'll shower me with gifts and turn everything around so that my life before would seem like a dream. So that one day, he could tell people that he 'did his best to take care of this daughter he didn't even know he had', so that when he can't hide me anymore, people will think he's a poor, pitiful man who was once too young and too stupid, who is now wholeheartedly atoning for his past mistakes... sure, he'll suffer from some setbacks, but ultimately he would not be too affected. After all, the mistress is already dead.”

”Hey. Knowing all of this, you still think he's great?” Yeo Ri narrowed her eyes languidly, smirking, ”Open your eyes, seriously.”

”...” Secretary Kwon kept his mouth shut. He felt that anything he said would not be well-received by the girl. Although he did not question his employer's intentions, the distrustful girl made him think twice. He wondered how much of her words were the truth, and how much of his boss' words were the truth.

He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Who was he suppose to believe, the wounded girl, or the man he looked up to?

”So, to answer your question, I don't hate him,” Yeo Ri's tone reverted to her usual one. ”I'm just entertaining him and his miserable play.”

”...” Z'at so?

Secretary Kwon thought: 'That's hatred if I've ever seen it!'

The stoplight turned green, and no more chattering could be heard within the car.