## Chapter 56 – Meeting My Childhood Friend’s Mother Alone (2)
“I wouldn’t say it’s a small amount, right? It’s a lot of money for a college student, isn’t it?”
Do Hye-jung crossed her legs as she spoke.
Joo Ji-wan’s eyes, which had been fixed on the money envelope, shifted back to her legs. It was an easy-to-read gaze.
“I don’t know what your intentions are in getting close to Se-in, but it’s best to slowly back away. If Se-in’s father finds out, he won’t let it slide. You know what that means, right?”
Assemblyman Jung Dae-ho.
The weight of that name was by no means light. And this house was his territory. No father would stand idly by while a man invaded his territory and touched his daughter.
Even if the money were less than this, he would have no choice but to accept it. Nothing in the world is more precious than one’s life. Do Hye-jung was certain of that.
However.
“I’m sorry, but…”
However, Joo Ji-wan pushed the money envelope in front of him back towards Do Hye-jung.
Do Hye-jung hid her inner turmoil with all her acting skills.
And without losing her composed smile, she asked.
“Why? Is the money not enough? If you’re thinking of haggling, you should stop. I’m not a businesswoman.”
“No, that’s not it…”
“Ji-wan, was it? This is the last bit of mercy I’m showing to my daughter’s friend as Se-in’s mother. If I were dealing with you as Do Hye-jung the person, you wouldn’t even be able to set foot near here. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Ahem. That’s not it.”
Joo Ji-wan cut her off, fearing that Do Hye-jung would go on for too long.
“I think you’re mistaken about something, but Se-in and I aren’t dating.”
“What?”
“So, I don’t think I can accept this money as compensation for breaking up.”
Do Hye-jung pondered his words for a moment, then narrowed her brows and said,
“That’s not the point. Whether you’re dating or not, the meaning is that you shouldn’t approach Se-in anymore. The money is for that.”
“That’s going to be even more difficult. It’s not me approaching Se-in, but Se-in approaching me.”
“…What?”
It was a story that even a snail wouldn’t fall for.
Who was approaching whom?
Do Hye-jung asked, dumbfounded.
“Are you saying… my daughter is chasing after you?”
“Yes.”
Do Hye-jung felt a headache coming on at his brazen answer.
How could he say such nonsense without even changing his expression? Was he the actor, not her?
Do Hye-jung pressed her temples and said,
“Okay… let’s say that’s the case. Then, will you pretend not to know her and avoid her in the future, even if Se-in approaches you?”
“That’s what I’m saying is difficult.”
“You…!”
Do Hye-jung forcibly suppressed the rising anger.
It was the first time in recent years that her emotions had been so shaken.
Hoo. Do Hye-jung took a deep breath and calmed herself.
Joo Ji-wan watched Do Hye-jung’s reaction and continued.
“You said it yourself, Mother. That Se-in’s father is a scary person. So how can I avoid Se-in? Something terrible could happen to me if I get on Se-in’s bad side.”
Do Hye-jung’s blood pressure seemed to rise again at his attitude, as if he were the victim.
“Are you even saying that right now? What you did in this house? Isn’t that a big deal?”
Joo Ji-wan replied with the same brazen face to Do Hye-jung’s reproach.
“Mother. That’s not something I did. I think you’re still mistaken, but that’s not something I did after coming here, but Se-in dragged me into this house and ambushed me. She even forced me to do it with her friends.”
This time, Do Hye-jung’s mouth fell open.
Her expression was similar to the one Joo Ji-wan had when he saw the money envelope.
“Of course, it’s not like I didn’t accept it. I was honestly happy. Every man wants to try it at least once, right? But, even though I liked it, it’s not something I can say no to.”
Joo Ji-wan scratched his head as if embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Do Hye-jung was speechless.
“But Mother. Did you talk to Se-in before talking to me?”
Do Hye-jung didn’t answer. Ji-wan judged from her reaction that she hadn’t.
“You saw us doing it yesterday, too. Why didn’t you say anything then? Why did you just pass by, Mother?”
“Are you even saying that? I came out because I couldn’t bear to watch it. I didn’t want to get involved in that place.”
“…Even though your daughter was there?”
Joo Ji-wan’s eyes, which had seemed so naive, changed.
Do Hye-jung felt a strange sense of dread.
“It would only complicate things if I stepped in there. I was going to talk about it after things calmed down like this.”
“No. A real mother would have jumped in without thinking. If it were my mother, she would have beaten me up and kicked me out, right?”
“What are you trying to say to me?”
Do Hye-jung glared at Joo Ji-wan as if telling him to say one more word.
It felt like she could kill someone with her eyes.
But Ji-wan didn’t even flinch and retorted.
“You don’t think of Se-in as your daughter, do you?”
“Shut up!”
Do Hye-jung herself was surprised by how loud she shouted.
“What do you know to interfere in other people’s family affairs? You don’t know anything! Even if that’s the case, there’s no reason for me to hear such things from you!”
“No. I think I’m qualified to say such things from the moment I was brought into this house like this.”
Compared to Do Hye-jung, who had lost her composure, Ji-wan was mysteriously calm.
Hye-jung suddenly felt fear.
She had thought of him as a simple fool.
A fool who just laughed, wrapped up in a woman’s skirt.
But that wasn’t the case.
He had eyes that saw through people.
Those eyes were staring straight at her weaknesses, the anxiety she had always harbored.
“I’ll be honest with you. In my opinion, Jung Se-in isn’t normal.”
Ji-wan calmly brought up such a story.
A very embarrassing story at that.
“Se-in has been like that since she was young. She wore clothes like a boy and acted like a boy. I thought I was stupid for not even recognizing that she was a girl, but when I thought about it, that wasn’t the case. Jung Se-in had been acting like a boy since then. Intentionally hiding that she was a girl.”
What on earth was this kid talking about? What did that have to do with this story?
Do Hye-jung had such questions, but she kept her mouth shut and listened to his story.
“I thought about why she did that. Why would that little kid pretend to be a boy? But as I thought about it, I became more curious about ‘how’ than ‘why’. How did Jung Se-in wear boy’s clothes and act like a boy? Why didn’t this kid’s parents buy her girl’s clothes and buy her boy’s clothes instead?”
Those words sounded like a criticism towards her.
Do Hye-jung’s hands, placed on her lap, were trembling.
“Then I remembered. Se-in’s parents never came to pick her up, even when she played late. All the other friends’ parents came to pick them up.”
Even kids who played like wild horses returned home on their own when the sun went down. If they didn’t, their mothers or family members came to pick them up.
But Jung Se-in didn’t do that.
“Then I came to this conclusion. ‘Huh? Weren’t Se-in’s parents perhaps not interested in Se-in?'”
“No!”
Do Hye-jung immediately shouted back.
However, the louder her voice was, the less persuasive it became.
“It’s not that they weren’t interested. It’s because Se-in was sensitive at that time, so they couldn’t touch her carelessly! She wore boy’s clothes because she wanted to!”
“Hmm.”
Joo Ji-wan stared intently at Do Hye-jung’s face.
Do Hye-jung closed her mouth at those eyes that seemed to see through everything. Her eyes seemed to be silently criticizing her, saying that all her words were just excuses.
“It must have been hard for you too, Mother.”
Ji-wan said with a sigh.
“It’s hard enough to control your own child, let alone raise someone else’s child as your own. I would have been at a loss if I had such an eccentric daughter.”
He was talking as if he knew everything, acting presumptuous.
But Do Hye-jung had nothing to say to that.
“But, it must have been harder for Se-in. At least more than you, Mother.”
“What do you want me to do? Se-in won’t open her heart…!”
“That’s right. What should we have done?”
Do Hye-jung was only in her mid-20s when she became Jung Se-in’s mother. That wasn’t much different from Ji-wan’s current age.
But suddenly, she had to play the role of a mother to such an unusual child. It wouldn’t have been easy. Ji-wan understood that well enough.
“Perhaps I was the only one she could call a friend. So she pretended to be a boy to be friends with me. When Se-in chose boy’s clothes, you saw it and couldn’t say anything, right? Her father probably wasn’t even there?”
That was just Ji-wan’s imagination, but it was a story that was largely true. In fact, when she was young, Se-in chose boyish clothes instead of pretty princess dresses. Do Hye-jung bought them without saying much. And her husband wasn’t very interested in such things.
“Perhaps she couldn’t make any decent friends even after moving to Seoul. Judging by the fact that she doesn’t treat her current friends as friends.”
“How many friends does Se-in have…”
“No, Mother. Se-in only has me as a friend. That bitch Jung Se-in doesn’t think of the other kids as friends. She wouldn’t even bat an eye if someone got hit by a car and died tomorrow, right?”
Do Hye-jung felt suffocated by Ji-wan’s assertive words.
She couldn’t understand what he was saying at all. No, she thought she knew vaguely, but she couldn’t accept it in her heart.
“The other kids, um, how should I put it… Do you know what ‘friendship fees’ are, Mother?”
Even if she was hearing it for the first time, she could roughly guess from the nuance of the word.
Was he saying that she was getting paid by other friends to be friendly with them?
However, the words that came out of his mouth were beyond her imagination.
“The other girls are like friendship fees that they give me. They’re saying that they’ll treat me like this, so please continue to be friends with them.”
This time, Do Hye-jung’s mouth was open and wouldn’t close.
