NOVEL NEXT Chapter 60
And surprisingly, nothing extraordinary happened during the weekdays.
Of course, saying that nothing extraordinary happened doesn’t mean that nothing happened at all.
Perhaps because I had seen the reaction of the student council president last time, the lead committee member didn’t launch any additional attacks on us. Whenever our eyes met in the hallway, they would jump in surprise and quickly turn away, walking away briskly… They didn’t really need to act like that.
Did they perhaps hear about the situation from the student council president?
In fact, that lead committee member was a character whose existence I wasn’t even sure of in the original story. At least, they never appeared on the main screen with the main characters. So, it was difficult to guess what that lead committee member was thinking.
Were they genuinely a good character who felt embarrassed after learning the truth, or were they terrified of what the chairwoman had done?
In truth, I didn’t think they would feel fear. If they did, they wouldn’t have been so one-sidedly misunderstanding things and thinking of sending me to the disciplinary committee.
…Well, considering I still hadn’t properly grasped the behaviors of the three characters from the original story, it was only natural that I didn’t know about any other characters.
The attitude of the maid, Yang Hye-in, had also subtly changed.
Until then, she always maintained a calm and collected demeanor in front of me, but these days, she would avoid eye contact whenever we met. I even thought I saw her pupils shake a few times.
I could understand her heart being shaken.
That was only natural since the chairwoman, Choi Na-kyung, was coming soon.
The chairwoman of the Yujin Group, Choi Na-kyung.
She was Ye Sara’s stepmother and the one who thoroughly destroyed Ye Sara.
And from the chairwoman’s perspective, Yang Hye-in, who was subtly helping me, would undoubtedly be an eyesore in many ways.
The recent incidents… were mostly caused by me, but from the chairwoman’s perspective, she would think that Yang Hye-in couldn’t properly control me, or that she let me run wild.
There was no way Yang Hye-in wouldn’t realize what I could think.
…Although a job with a salary of 500 million won might seem like an enviable position, it’s also a trap that’s hard to escape. It would probably be difficult for someone who has worked as a maid to find employment elsewhere after resigning.
Of course, considering the money I’ve saved up until now plus severance pay, it’s possible that I could come away with enough to last a lifetime… But isn’t Yang Hye-in still young? Spending the rest of her life without any fulfillment could be a bit burdensome from the perspective of a diligent person.
I thought about rehiring her, but I decided to think about that again later. Even though Yang Hye-in is the most trustworthy among my staff, I couldn’t fully trust her 100%.
And… it was also obvious, but Ha Neul, Sua, and Sohee’s attitudes towards me had changed slightly.
“…Hey, guys.”
It was now the second Saturday of March.
The three people gathered at the mansion since early morning were clinging to me tightly.
It wasn’t just clinging to my arm. Ha Neul and Sua were each clinging to my sides, wrapping their arms around my waist, while Sohee was sticking to my back. Even though I was sitting on the sofa, Sohee insisted on maintaining that uncomfortable position.
It was mid-March, and although it was almost the end of winter, it was still chilly outside. In fact, the mansion’s heating efficiency drops drastically if it isn’t a room people use, such as my room or the cafeteria. No, even in the room I stayed in, the efficiency was poor, and it was more accurate to say that they were just pouring heating costs to keep it warm.
As a result, while the guest room had just started heating and wasn’t that warm, my body was gradually wetting from the body heat of the kids surrounding me.
“The chairwoman hasn’t arrived yet; there’s still plenty of time.”
The chairwoman was supposed to arrive at 11 AM. Right now, it was just a little past 10 AM.
“If you cling to me then, it’ll actually look weird.”
Ha Neul said decisively.
“I think the same.”
Sohee’s voice came from above my head.
“…”
Sua just held me without saying a word.
“No, that’s not it…”
Just as I was about to retort, the door to the guest room opened.
“Miss.”
I turned my head, almost burying my cheek in Sohee’s chest. Fortunately, I realized before I completely turned my head and managed to stop.
It felt less like being the daughter of a conglomerate and more like living a life of a highly corrupt manager or a villain using a hypnosis app. It wasn’t that I felt bad about it, but it was challenging to maintain any boundaries.
“… You need to change your clothes before the chairwoman arrives.”
“Oh, I can just wait for a bit…”
Thinking she was saying that due to my clothes being soaked with sweat, I replied, but Yang Hye-in shook her head slightly.
“…No. There’s an outfit the chairwoman sent. As always, when you meet the chairwoman, you must wear that outfit.”
…There’s such an outfit?
Could it be that the chairwoman is someone who pays a lot of attention to appearances?
Thinking about it, that seemed quite plausible. After all, these sorts of villains usually had a cliché of being very particular about their outward appearance.
The kids, who had been eavesdropping on my conversation with Yang Hye-in, subtly released their hold on me. The damp parts that met the suddenly cold air felt extremely uncomfortable. It was a bit awkward, but I felt a little relieved that I could change my clothes before meeting the chairwoman.
“Well, in that case…”
I got up.
*
“… Miss.”
Upon entering the nearby changing room that was prepared for me, Yang Hye-in called out to me.
“Yes.”
Thinking she just called me to bring the clothes, I answered, but she threw me a question I didn’t expect.
“Do you perhaps have thoughts about the chairwoman?”
“…”
I thought the chairwoman was a villain. There’s no way to justify it.
Even if the chairwoman really did these things for Ye Sara, she was still a villain. Whether it was an act that originated from good intentions or something unthoughtful, the fact that she could carry out such unreasonable things without a second thought meant the chairwoman was, in some way, not quite normal.
But I couldn’t recklessly say such things in front of Yang Hye-in.
At the same time, I couldn’t say the opposite either. I didn’t really know what Ye Sara thought on a usual basis.
All I had done was read a letter once. Ye Sara wrote that she loved the chairwoman, but I couldn’t tell if that was sincere or if it was a final struggle to inflict at least minimal damage to the chairwoman.
“…”
So, I chose to remain silent.
“…”
Fortunately, Yang Hye-in didn’t speak again either. She merely quietly took down a non-woven suit bag that was already hanging on the wall.
*
“… You’re really saying the chairwoman asked you to wear this?”
When I looked down at the outfit I was wearing and asked, Yang Hye-in slightly bowed her head as she replied.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
And she demanded that type of outfit ‘every time’ we met.
I didn’t ask back. Asking would be like confessing that I didn’t remember things clearly.
I just kept my mouth shut and looked at my reflection in the full-length mirror in the changing room.
The figure reflected back at me, no, Ye Sara—
Was wearing something that could definitely be called a ‘wedding dress.’
Of course, it wasn’t as voluminous as an actual wedding dress. In a positive light, it looked like something one could wear at a wedding of a young couple from a liberally-minded family.
…Or maybe it’s something from a cosplay, or a fetish outfit drawn in an illustration from a harem manga by an artist releasing a heroine photobook.
A white, tube-top one-piece.
The glossy white fabric reminiscent of a wedding dress, with just the right amount of frills adding a touch of elegance. Its design exposed my shoulders and cleavage, but since Ye Sara had a small bust, that area merely protruded slightly rather than forming a proper cleavage.
Was the length of the skirt a little shorter than a school uniform?
Fortunately, the heels weren’t that high either.
“Is there no bouquet?”
I carelessly tossed out the joke, but it surprised me when Yang Hye-in gave a wry smile.
Yang Hye-in opened the door to the changing room.
Outside, several staff members were waiting. Then,
“Miss. The chairwoman has arrived.”
…One of the staff members closest to the door politely bowed as they said that.
*
Despite having called the three kids over, the chairwoman didn’t look at them at all.
She didn’t even glance at the sofa where the three of them were sitting, simply facing the door I was about to enter, as if her seat was directed towards it.
It was my first time seeing the chairwoman of the Yujin Group, Choi Na-kyung, in person.
The first impression I felt upon seeing her was ‘beautiful.’
How old was Choi Na-kyung? She didn’t seem that old. It seemed she wasn’t much older than I thought, since I had seen comments online about her being a young businesswoman.
She had neatly arranged, wavy hair pushed to one side behind her ear. Her well-maintained black hair flowed smoothly down her back.
The outfit she wore was a simple dress. A simple black sleeveless dress devoid of frills or decorations.
Upon seeing me enter the room, Choi Na-kyung stood up.
And extending her arms towards me, she said,
“My daughter.”
Hearing those words made my heart—
Ye Sara’s heart, thump, thump, thump.
Once, twice, three times…
As my heart raced, the sound grew louder and louder.
“My beloved daughter.”
Her sweet voice.
At this point, my heartbeat was so loud it felt like it was causing a buzzing in my ears. My vision narrowed drastically. I couldn’t see anyone beside me, only Choi Na-kyung, that woman, was in view.
“Come here.”
I thought to myself.
Why am I feeling like this right now?
Maybe it was because I wasn’t ‘Ye Sara’ that I could have this thought.
What emotions would I have felt if I were myself, seeing Choi Na-kyung?
In fact, it was possible that I wouldn’t feel any specific emotions at all. Perhaps, after talking with her, I would think she was a disgusting person. But I didn’t possess enough information to feel any sort of emotions for someone I was meeting for the first time.
The emotions I could feel towards Choi Na-kyung were somewhat disgusting, anger, and repulsion.
It wasn’t something that would make my heart race like this.
My foot—
No, Ye Sara’s foot took a step forward.
And only then did I realize what this emotion I was feeling was.
Separating it from the disgust, anger, and rejection, this feeling that was surging from the heart—
Was an innocent emotion wanting to run over and hug her—
And also wanting to rush in and strangle her, clawing at that beautiful face, tearing her body apart, killing her with extreme hatred,
That was probably not my emotion, but Ye Sara’s feelings.