Cluck-cluck-!

The morning arrived with the loud crowing of a rooster. Si-hyun tidied his tousled hair and forced his heavy eyelids open.

"Grandma's house always has that familiar smell, doesn't it?"

It's that distinctive countryside scent. It's hard to pinpoint exactly, but it feels like a nostalgic aroma.

While Si-hyun was briefly lost in that smell, he tried to get up and realized…

"Mmm… Si-hyun-ah*…" (*-ah suffix showing respect.)

He belatedly noticed that Ye-rin's arms and legs had him firmly trapped.

No matter how he struggled, he only became more tightly bound. Resigned, Si-hyun sighed.

"I knew this would happen…"

His lower body was locked in her legs, and his right arm was serving as a pillow while only his left arm was free.

In the past, he would've woken Ye-rin with his left hand to free himself, but for some reason, he didn't feel like doing that now.

"This isn't so bad in its own way..."

Si-hyun smiled slightly, brushing Ye-rin's hair back. As he playfully poked her soft cheeks, she began to furrow her brow.

"How cute."

"Pfft…"

As if reacting to Si-hyun's compliment, Ye-rin let out a soft laugh. Worried she might have woken up, Si-hyun broke out in a cold sweat, but thankfully, it was just sleep talk.

"Whew…"

Feeling relieved, Si-hyun continued to look at Ye-rin’s face and noticed some dust on her hair.

Just as he reached out to remove it,

Creak.

"Kids, it's about time to eat…"

Grandma entered as she opened the door.

To any outsider, it might have seemed like he was about to do something mischievous to his granddaughter. Noticing this, Grandma covered her mouth and spoke.

"I'll be preparing some nourishing food, so you two enjoy slowly~"

"Grandma!?"

With a playful squint, Grandma closed the door. Surprised, Si-hyun jumped up, causing Ye-rin, who was resting on his arm, to bury her head in the blankets.

"Si-hyun, what's going on?"

In her sleepy state, Ye-rin asked this question, but Si-hyun left the room without answering.

He then approached Grandma to clarify the misunderstanding, but she only nodded as if she understood, while giving him a meaningful look.

"Ha... it's really not that..."

Drained from this situation early in the morning, Si-hyun began eating his breakfast, listlessly picking at his food. The menu was the same as yesterday, seafood known for boosting stamina. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to eat it.

‘Let’s try to avoid these kinds of foods.’

While Si-hyun ate his rice only with kimchi, Grandma, with a satisfied smile, spoke to Ye-rin.

"Ye-rin, do you know Bok-soon?"

"Of course I do. How could I forget the grandma next door?"

Nodding in agreement, Grandma continued.

"She's been unwell lately and can't move much, so you should go visit her. She was making quite a fuss about missing you while you were away."

"What? Why are you telling me this now..."

Ye-rin agreed and picked up her eating pace. With cheeks full like she was munching on sunflower seeds, she quickly left the house.

"Si-hyun, you'll be coming with me."

"Okay."

After finishing his meal and helping with the dishes, Si-hyun followed Grandma outside.

‘I wonder what we'll be doing today.’

He had assumed they would take the rotary tiller to the fields like yesterday, but Grandma simply walked along the coastal path.

Following her, Si-hyun felt awkward in the silence and took the initiative to start a conversation.

"Grandma, where are we going right now?"

"There's no particular destination. Just taking a walk."

"What?"

Grandma looked toward the sea as she spoke.

"Actually, the reason I called you wasn't because I needed help. Ye-rin mentions you often, so I wanted to have a chat with you."

Si-hyun was taken aback by Grandma's unexpected words. Was sending Ye-rin elsewhere a sign that she wanted to discuss something serious?

Uncertain about what conversation might unfold, Si-hyun listened intently, feeling slightly tense. After a moment of quiet, Grandma continued speaking without looking back.

"Our Ye-rin… she's grown up to be such a lovely girl, hasn't she?"

"Yes... she's lovely and has a wonderful personality, much like you."

Grandma chuckled heartily, then went silent again. This prompted Si-hyun, scratching his head, to try to keep the conversation going.

"I saw yesterday how much the villagers love Ye-rin. I think her always being cheerful is thanks to them..."

Si-hyun stopped mid-sentence as Grandma halted and looked at him with a wistful expression.

Her mouth opened and closed as if undecided on her words before she let out a light sigh and spoke.

"That's right. Since she couldn't get love from her parents, she received it from the villagers as she grew up… I'm extremely grateful for that."

"...What?"

Si-hyun was taken aback, standing still. Ye-rin's parents, shrouded in mystery until now…

The moment that secret was revealed.

Meanwhile, at Chae-yeon's house.

"Honey, I made some pajeon, try a bite."

"Thank you, dear."

Su-yeon placed side dishes onto her husband's rice bowl, and Dong-hoon received them with a contented smile.

Perhaps because she had become a bit more honest with her emotions, Su-yeon's lips refused to drop from their upward curve.

'Why is it only Mom who's become fine?'

Even though she knew it was against reason, the more affectionate Su-yeon acted towards Dong-hoon, the more Chae-yeon's insides churned.

How could she pull herself out of this hell and leave Chae-yeon with enough brainwashing to cause trauma?

The bitter resentment and sense of betrayal spread within Chae-yeon.

"Chae-yeon, why are you sitting still without eating? Does the food not taste good?"

"...I'll eat."

As Dong-hoon posed the question, they began their meal. Although her mother's cooking was always top-notch, the display of affection in front of her ruined it all.

Crack...

As Chae-yeon ground her teeth with grains of rice, she glared icily at her mother.

The next day.

After Dong-hoon left for work. Sleepless Chae-yeon approached Su-yeon, who was folding laundry.

"Mom."

"Hmm?"

"Why are you treating Dad well all of a sudden?"

Just enduring until Dong-hoon left for work had drained all of Chae-yeon's patience. Thus, without any room for subtlety, she got straight to the point.

Su-yeon's hands, which had been folding towels, stopped in their tracks.

"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"You always told me, Mom. Never let a man I love know my feelings, or he'd leave the moment I depend on him or devote myself to him!"

Tears welled up in Chae-yeon's bloodshot eyes, and her fists shook uncontrollably. Seeing her daughter's intense reaction, Su-yeon dropped the towel she was holding and met Chae-yeon's hateful gaze with difficulty.

Chae-yeon's voice, filled with resentment, continued.

"You brainwashed your daughter like that, but now you're doing the opposite and you're happy? Because of you, I couldn't even tell my boyfriend I liked him while we were dating. Do you know how much I suffered because of that!!"

Unable to contain her fury, Chae-yeon unleashed the emotions she had been suppressing all this time.

Anger. Hatred. Contempt. She gathered all of her negative feelings and pushed them out, and faced with this, Su-yeon clutched her chest and asked.

"A boyfriend... Chae-yeon, have you been in a relationship?"

Afraid that her mother would interfere, Chae-yeon had kept her relationship a secret. But now that it was out, she spoke freely.

"I dated a classmate from university for over a year before we broke up. He loved me wholeheartedly, just like Dad treats you. But I couldn’t even tell him that I liked him..."

Chae-yeon hugged her arms tightly around herself and then sank to the floor, trembling.

"Every time I tried to confess to him, the things you said kept coming back to me… I ended up breaking up with him without ever expressing any affection… because I saw my mom becoming a wreck and I feared I'd turn out like her!!"

Su-yeon realized that her daughter's symptoms were similar to her own.

Being faced with her daughter's hatred for the first time left Su-yeon gasping for air, her mind was in turmoil, unable to sort through her thoughts.

"I... I'm sorry..."

The only thing Su-yeon could do was apologize through her tears. Knowing her daughter had suffered because of her made her feel so ashamed that she couldn't lift her head.

With a trembling voice, Su-yeon continued, stammering through her words.

"I… I thought it was the right way... But then months ago, Dong-hoon asked for a divorce, that's when I realized I was wrong and started psychotherapy..."

The fact that psychotherapy began for such a reason left Chae-yeon unable to respond, biting her lower lip.

Su-yeon’s trembling hand touched Chae-yeon’s cheek, and her guilt-ridden voice continued.

"I didn't even know my daughter was struggling like this… What on earth was I thinking..."

Filled with self-reproach, Su-yeon struck her own chest with her fist. Seeing her mother sob like this, Chae-yeon felt confused, worried she had broken her mother again.

'If we leave it like this…'

Su-yeon might believe she doesn't deserve happiness and return to her pre-therapy state.

As the family seemed to be falling apart, and her mother possibly reverting to that state, Chae-yeon grew anxious and began to step back slowly.

And at that moment.

Su-yeon, who was on her knees, grabbed Chae-yeon’s wrist, looking up at her daughter and said.

"I'm sorry, Chae-yeon… It's all because of me, but I'll find a way to make it right..."

Su-yeon, who kept begging for forgiveness, took the now-calmed Chae-yeon to the Psychological Counseling Center.

With her mother, who was the root of her trauma, now helping with the treatment, Chae-yeon's condition quickly began to improve.