Chae-yeon's childhood. Her family was known for their harmonious nature.

The reason was her mother's extraordinary love for her father, which didn't fade even after several years of marriage, as if they were still newlyweds.

"Chae-yeon, shall we call dad to see when he'll be home?"

"Okay!"

Her mom would always call her dad when it was close to his quitting time. The look of excitement on her mom’s face was one of Chae-yeon's favorite things.

Because she hoped that one day, she'd have someone who made her heart flutter like that, too.

"Ah... He must be really busy today. Okay, I'll put Chae-yeon to bed first then."

After ending the call, Kim Su-yeon let out a quiet sigh. Lately, her husband had often come home late, probably because he was busy with work.

"Dad's coming home late again today?"

"Yes, he is."

"Aww... then I won't get to see him tonight."

At just seven years old, by the time her dad returned home from work, Chae-yeon would already be in dreamland.

Stroking her disappointed daughter's hair, Su-yeon gently whispered to her.

"Since the end of the year is coming, should we ask dad to take you to an amusement park on his day off?"

"Really?"

"Of course. I'll tell dad when he gets home. So Chae-yeon, go to sleep quickly, okay?"

"Yes!"

It was a peaceful day like any other. Su-yeon finally managed to put her daughter, who kept talking about what she wanted to do at the amusement park, to sleep.

"Goodnight, my sweet girl."

She kissed the forehead of her daughter, who was clutching her dolphin plushie, and left the room.

Late at night.

Her husband came home reeking of alcohol. Despite the distance between them, the smell of alcohol was strong. Su-yeon quickly approached and helped her stumbling husband, Im Chang-seok.

"I didn't hear about any company dinner today. What happened?"

Chang-seok didn't answer.

Assuming he was just tired, Su-yeon guided him to sit on the bed and hung up his shirt on a hanger.

In the midst of doing so, she heard his sunken voice from behind.

"Su-yeon, I've been thinking a lot..."

"About what?"

Su-yeon paused, spraying air freshener on the clothes and turned around. She met Chang-seok's troubled gaze.

After hesitating several times, opening and closing his mouth, he finally spoke, fidgeting with his briefcase.

"I think... we should end this."

"What? End this? What are you talking about?"

Realizing from his serious demeanor and resolute eyes that he was talking about a divorce, she dropped the spray bottle she was holding.

"Is there... Is there something I did wrong? If there is, I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Please, just tell me what's wrong."

"No, you didn't do anything wrong."

Chang-seok ruffled his hair with his rough hands.

"It's just... I'm a piece of trash, that's why."

"What do you mean? Why would you say that about yourself..."

"I'm seeing another woman."

Su-yeon's breath caught in her throat.

Immediately after his confession, silence filled the room. A dry chuckle escaped Su-yeon's lips, and with trembling hands, she picked up the spray bottle.

"..Stop with the unfunny jokes. Are you going to take a bath and sleep? I'll run the water in the tub."

As Su-yeon tried to quickly leave the room, Chang-seok's guilt-ridden voice stopped her.

"It's not a joke. I've been seeing her for over a year now. Lately, when I've been coming home late..."

"Stop! You are Chae-yeon's dad, please, I beg you, don't say anything more."

She intentionally called him by their daughter's father's title, wanting to remind him of his responsibilities as the head of their family. Although Chang-seok understood her intent...

"The reason I've been coming home late... it's because I've been with her."

It was impossible to stop Chang-seok, who had already decided to start anew. Despite the numerous chances Su-yeon had given him to return to the family, he had prioritized another woman.

"Why are you doing this... I love you more than anyone. You even have a beautiful daughter attending kindergarten. What on earth were you lacking that made you do something like this?"

Su-yeon's desperate cry echoed throughout the house. Her voice, full of resentment, began eating away at Chang-seok's heart.

"I'm sorry..."

"I don't want to hear your apology. Chae-yeon's Dad. If you break up with her even now, I can pretend today never happened. So please, come to your senses..."

"......."

Chang-seok avoided her gaze, saying nothing. His silence was an unspoken answer that he couldn't do as she wished. Unable to hold back any longer, Su-yeon grabbed his shoulders.

"What kind of woman is she that you cling to her this much? Is she more precious than me and Chae-yeon? What are we supposed to do if you divorce me?"

"I will send child support every month."

"That's not what's important right now! Both Chae-yeon and I need your love more than ever... How can you do this at a time like this?"

Su-yeon slowly sank to the floor. The room was filled only with her sobbing and Chang-seok's sigh of guilt. Clutching her husband's knees tightly, she spoke in a trembling voice.

"Am I not enough? I can treat you better than her. I'll do everything you ask, just please don't leave us..."

Chang-seok looked upwards, his wife's pitiful figure breaking his heart. After a moment of silence, he spoke again, this time with a serious tone.

"The new woman I'm seeing... Compared to you, she's lacking in every way. Her looks, her body, her personality, none of it can compare to you."

"Then why?"

"Because I'm tired of you."

Su-yeon's tear-filled eyes looked up at Chang-seok. His cruel words turned her previously clear gaze into one muddied with despair.

"At first, it was really good. Being loved by a beautiful woman like you gave me confidence and became a driving force in my life. But..."

Lowering his head, Chang-seok continued.

"As time went by, those feelings started to fade. Maybe because I got used to your devotion. My heart no longer races, and sometimes, I even find it bothersome..."

Su-yeon's endless love and dedication made her seem cheap. Trying to always adjust to Chang-seok's wishes, she had left him with nothing new to look forward to or any excitement to gain.

“Ah... Ah!!”

Su-yeon’s near-scream of anguish echoed once more. Startled awake by the sound, Chae-yeon hurriedly opened the door.

“Mom?”

Her beautiful jet-black hair was a tangled mess. Her mother lay on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

For the first time in her life, Chae-yeon witnessed her mother's collapse. No matter what happened, her mother had always maintained a bright and cheerful demeanor. What event could have caused this?

“Dad, did you fight with Mom? Why?”

Unaware of the situation, Chae-yeon asked in a trembling voice. Chang-seok looked down with pity at his daughter, who was holding her dolphin stuffed toy.

And then...

“Chae-yeon, actually...”

To distance himself from Su-yeon’s love, he intended to use his daughter.

"Shut your mouth! What are you trying to say to Chae-yeon?!"

Just as he had planned, Su-yeon's strong maternal instincts took the bait immediately. For the first time, she felt disgust toward Chang-seok, who was trying to destroy their family for the sake of another woman.

"I can't stand to look at you... Get out of our house right now!"

With a feeling like she might vomit any second, she kicked her husband out of the house.

And as days like this continued to repeat, Su-yeon, unable to endure any longer, began to proceed with the divorce.

With Chang-seok gone, Su-yeon's life became as blank as a white canvas. She lived without any purpose or will, just dragging on to take care of her daughter.

The once affectionate look in Su-yeon's eyes towards Chae-yeon gradually turned murky, as if clouded over. She would tear up photos of her ex-husband, only to tape them back together out of lingering attachment later.

Unable to manage her negative emotions, she eventually began badmouthing Chang-seok in front of Chae-yeon. Before long, this led to instilling erroneous beliefs in her daughter.

"Chae-yeon, even if you ever fall in love, never show your true feelings."

"But why?"

Chae-yeon's innocent eyes sparkled with curiosity. She was still a pure-hearted child, nowhere near forming her own values.

Hoping her precious daughter wouldn't make the same mistakes she had, Su-yeon continued.

"The moment you show your love, you'll be abandoned. Look at what happened to me. Isn't it because Mom loved Dad so much that things turned out this way?"

Su-yeon's voice sounded as if she were mocking herself.

Chae-yeon shook her head at her mother's kind yet twisted words. She remembered how her mother would plan events for her dad every day and get excited whenever she called him.

Chae-yeon couldn't believe that her idol, her role model, her mother, had started to deny that image. She tried her best to deny it, but...

"If Mom had loved Dad less, or rather, if she hadn't shown her feelings from the beginning, Mom and Chae-yeon could have lived with Dad forever. Right?"

"Th-that's not true!"

Young Chae-yeon neither had the ability nor the experience to counter her mother's logic. Living in the same space, she had to listen to Su-yeon's almost brainwashing words every day.

‘No.. That can't be true..’

Though she knew in her heart that her mother was wrong, the repeated tales of Su-yeon’s experiences and her mother's deteriorating state convinced Chae-yeon without her even realizing it.

Moreover, agreeing with her mother would earn her praise, while disagreement would ignite a passion in Su-yeon to convince her otherwise. Chae-yeon had no choice but to forcibly accept her mother's views.

“Dad... Dad...”

Searching for the only lifeline, her dad, she felt nothing but emptiness in his absence.

Whenever she thought of the dad who could restore her mom, no, the dad who had made her mom this way...

‘It's just too cruel...’

Chae-yeon's beliefs rapidly grew distorted.