Even If You Run Away (Completed)

“You said you’d be here before lunch. Why are you so late?”

Speak of the devil, and she appears. Serin descended the stairs in a silver mini dress, a dazzling outfit that cemented her role as the star of the exhibition.

Yein thought back to Serin’s scolding earlier: It’s just an exhibition. Don’t bother dressing up. Yein smoothed the sleeve of her simple black dress, feeling a pang of discomfort.

“I’m here on time, Serin,” Yein replied calmly.

Serin scoffed. Even after Yein’s marriage, her stepsister’s attitude hadn’t changed much. She maintained a veneer of politeness around Yein’s husband, but the moment Yein was alone, she reverted to her old ways.

“Where’s your husband?”

Serin craned her neck, glancing past Yein as though she expected someone to materialize. She knew perfectly well that Taeheon wouldn’t be here at this hour.

“He just got back from a business trip yesterday. I doubt he’ll be able to make it.”

Yein hadn’t told her husband about the exhibition. There was no point. Even if she had, Taeheon wouldn’t have come. He was too busy to waste time humoring her stepfamily.

“Figures. He’s not coming. You two don’t stick together like you used to, huh?”

Serin’s smile was sharp and triumphant, as though she had just uncovered a juicy secret. Yein smiled back, unfazed. Serin would find fault with anything she said, no matter how she responded.

Yein still didn’t understand why Serin hated her so much. Was it simply because she was the stepchild?

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience,” Serin said, shrugging her shoulders with a distinctly unapologetic expression.

“It’s in the past now,” Yein replied, trying to defuse the tension.

“Well, deceiving people about your background isn’t exactly noble, is it? Especially when you don’t even know where your real mother is.”

“…”

“You must’ve had a hard time keeping that from your in-laws too. Guess you figured it was only a matter of time before the truth came out, huh?”

So this was what Serin wanted to say all along.

Yein could see through her stepsister now. Serin was always looking for opportunities to chip away at her, never missing a chance to make her feel small.

Still, Yein had clung to the hope that if she lived as inoffensively as possible, Serin might one day accept her.

Maybe she wouldn’t like her, but perhaps she’d acknowledge her.

“Why do you go so far, Serin?” Yein asked quietly.

“What?”

“I’ve always wondered—do you really hate me that much?”

Serin’s lips twitched as if struggling to maintain her composure. Her neck flushed red as anger bubbled to the surface.

Yein knew she would leave soon—leave this house, this life, and Taeheon.

If she didn’t ask now, she would never have the chance to ask.

“I married him in your place. Isn’t it thanks to me that you’re able to hold this exhibition at all?”

“What are you even talking about? And why would my exhibition have anything to do with you or my mom? That’s ridiculous.”

“Your mother is still part of the foundation because of the financial support my in-laws provide.”

“What did you just say?” Serin’s voice grew cold. “Have you said enough? Do you really think you’re in a position to brag about something that happened over a year ago? If we’re going there, you wouldn’t even have married into that rich family if it weren’t for our dad.”

“Our dad?” Yein’s tone was steady. “His business was always a disaster. If it weren’t, I wouldn’t have had to marry just to fix the company’s deficits.”

Their father had been the quintessential spoiled second-generation heir—reckless, entitled, and utterly incompetent. The family had grown tired of his antics and given him just enough to save face before cutting ties.

But that independence hadn’t magically granted him business acumen. Out in the real world, he continued to wreak havoc, racking up debts and running to his family for bailouts.

When even his siblings and father severed ties with him, he turned to a last resort: Taeheon’s company.

By selling off his illegitimate daughter.

Under the harsh lights of the exhibition hall, Serin’s eyes burned with the same fury and contempt Yein remembered from a year ago, the day her secret had been exposed.

“Your mother reached out,” Serin had said, her tone dripping with feigned concern.

Yein could still picture Serin’s expression during that family dinner as clearly as if it had happened yesterday—her smile had been brimming with malicious glee.

“Do you think you can meet her without your in-laws finding out? They still think you’re my mom’s real daughter, don’t they?”

Their whispered conversation in the corner had been overheard by her father-in-law. His enraged shouts had echoed through the garden, freezing Yein in place.

As Yein staggered, dazed and pale, Serin had theatrically offered her support, her exaggerated gestures barely concealing the smirk tugging at her lips. That moment had made everything clear—this was no accident.

Serin, who had been so unusually welcoming to Yein earlier that evening, had been waiting for this opportunity all along.

“What are you going to do, Yein?”

The mocking lilt in Serin’s voice and the faint laughter in her eyes remained etched in Yein’s memory, more vivid than her father-in-law’s fury or the sting of her mother-in-law’s slap. Before any of that, it had been Serin’s sharp, gleeful malice that had cut Yein the deepest.

“What are you going to do, Yein?”

The same cold hatred echoed in Serin’s voice now. She jabbed a finger into Yein’s chest.

“Are you stupid? You still don’t know why I hate you? You really don’t get it?”

Her voice was shrill, trembling with rage. Serin stepped closer, her words cutting like knives.

“I’ve hated you since the moment you stepped into my house.”

The force of Serin’s push made Yein stumble backward, the staircase looming ominously behind her.

“I hate that you ever appeared in my life. You make my skin crawl. And what’s this about being thankful for Dad’s business? Don’t make me laugh. Don’t you dare pretend to be grateful.”

Her words were pure venom, each one more bitter than the last.

No reason. Nothing to fix. Just hatred for existing.

No matter what Yein did, this family would never accept her.

She already knew that, but hearing it aloud was like the ground falling away beneath her feet. There was no place to stand. No place to lean. No place to stay. There never had been.

“I understand now,” Yein said, clenching her fists tightly, her gaze locking firmly on Serin.

“There was no point in trying to be good to you. I wasted my time on someone who doesn’t even know what gratitude is.”

“What did you just say?” Serin’s face twisted with disbelief.

“I’ll be going now. Thanks for the exhibition.”

There was nothing left to be disappointed about. Once she divorced Taeheon, she’d cut ties with this family forever.

She turned to leave.

Then came the push.

A light shove from behind, just enough to throw her balance off. Yein felt her ankle twist as she stumbled, and she instinctively turned back.

Serin stood there, watching her with an expression of perfect calm. It wasn’t a mistake.

No.

Yein’s arms flew to protect her abdomen, but it was too late to do anything else.

Her balance tipped, and the world tilted.

As she fell, her eyes squeezed shut, bracing for the impact—

But it never came.

Instead, strong arms wrapped around her, catching her mid-fall. The solid embrace steadied her, pressing her against a firm chest, unyielding and steady.

Familiar.

A scent she knew well enveloped her—heavy, animalistic, and grounding. The faint sweetness lingering in the bedding she fell asleep in every night.

She looked up, and there he was.

“Taeheon.”

He looked as flawless as he had when he’d left the house that morning. This was a man who should be at the office, not here.

For a fleeting moment, she wondered if it was a hallucination.

But the feel of his hand gently stroking her back left no room for doubt.

The moment Taeheon’s sharp gaze landed on her, Yein bit her lip. He was angry—likely because she had come here alone without telling him.

“Oh my, Yein, are you okay?”

Serin hurried down the stairs. It was obvious she had been watching from above and only decided to act once Taeheon appeared. Yein frowned.

“You should have been more careful. The stairs are marble; they’re slippery.”

Serin clicked her tongue, pretending to be concerned. The false sweetness in her voice left a bitter taste in Yein’s mouth.

No matter how much Serin disliked her, how could she go this far? It was incomprehensible.

She had not only endangered Yein but also the child growing inside her. That crossed an unforgivable line.

Yein squeezed her eyes shut to hold back the heat of tears before glaring at Serin.

“How can someone be so… petty?”

“What are you talking about?”

Feigning ignorance, Serin reached out her hand, her expression turning saccharine.

Yein instinctively pulled back, but before she could fully evade the touch—

Smack.

The sharp sound of a hand slapping another reverberated. It was Taeheon, swatting away Serin’s hand.

Serin’s hand turned a vivid red, her fingers trembling as she cradled it. Her face flushed crimson, mirroring the hand she held.

“W-What are you doing?!”

“I think I should be asking you that,” Taeheon replied coolly, stepping between Yein and Serin.

“This person almost got seriously hurt because of you.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me! I didn’t do anything! Yein tripped on her own. And now you’re just blaming me because of what she said?”

“In situations like this, most people believe their wife,” Taeheon said matter-of-factly.

Serin’s jaw dropped, stunned into silence.

“My wife is always careful, both in her steps and her words. She wouldn’t accuse someone without being sure.”

“Are you serious?!” Serin snapped, her voice rising. She pointed at Yein over Taeheon’s shoulder, her composure slipping further.

“And you, are you just going to sit there quietly, letting your husband fight your battles for you? Must be nice to have him backing you up so you can just stand there and watch!”

Her accusations were absurd, and her venom felt almost comical. Taeheon’s gaze, however, turned icy as he looked at Serin.

“Is this how you usually treat people?”

“What are you even saying? You’re the one falsely accusing me—”

“If you invite someone over, especially someone who’s not in the best health, isn’t it the host’s job to make sure they’re safe?”

“You’re nitpicking everything! Am I not even allowed to invite my sister to an exhibition?”

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

Taeheon’s calm yet firm interruption cut her off mid-sentence.

“I’m asking if this is how Serin Lee treats her sister. Or does that question confuse you?”

Behind him, Yein swallowed hard. The word sister struck a nerve, making her chest ache.

“I can see why Director Baek keeps telling you not to cause trouble. The art world runs on reputation and connections, and it’s clear you’re not suited for a field where people expect you to work without drama.”

The mention of her mother, Director Baek So-jung, made Serin flinch.

Serin, whose entire career leaned on her mother’s name, was visibly shaken. She could dish out cruelty to Yein without hesitation, but any mention of her mother was enough to unsettle her.

And as ironic as it was, the person Serin’s stepmother feared the most was Taeheon.

Although she mocked his family’s background, she constantly kept an ear out for news about Taeheon and tread lightly in his presence. Yein had once overheard her saying to Serin, “It should’ve been you who married Kwon Taeheon.”

Even while disparaging him as some kind of brute, she still coveted the connections and influence he represented.