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(iii) 3rd lie: My life is perfect.
THE elder woman looked at the girl in surprise.
"Su-bin..." She muttered.
Su-bin's eyebrows furrowed and tears cascaded down her cheeks. She was speechless.
Her eyes held disgust and resentment towards Choyeon.
Min-seok glanced at the woman whilst in the crowd and immediately held Bora's shoulder- recognising the woman. He turned his girlfriend to face him and exhaled a troubled sigh.
"Hey, Bora- we should get matching shirts!" He exclaimed, moving the girl away.
"Why? We have to get Su-bin." Bora said.
As she tried to turn to see Su-bin, Min-seok held her tight, "But, you wanted... matching bracelets? I found a great shop! Let's go! Hee-young will find her."
Pulling Bora away, Hee-young walked over to Su-bin.
"How... have you been?" Choyeon asked awkwardly.
Su-bin scoffed and wiped her tears. "That's all you have to say to me?"
"Su-bin... let's talk somewhere-"
"Talk?" Su-bin started, more tears flowing down her face.
"You ran away mum! You ran away and never came back and you want to talk about it?!" She shouted.
Scrunching her hands into fists, Su-bin shook her head in disappointment.
"Dad has been working so hard, and you're... you're just cruising along?! How could you leave us?" She cried out.
Choyeon looked at her daughter solemnly, "Sweetie, let's-"
"No! Why?! Why- how could you leave your daughter like that?!" Su-bin questioned, trying to stifle her cries.
"Okay, so what?" Choyeon snapped, looking down at her daughter.
Su-bin glared at her mum, "What?"
Her voice was sharp and her usual honey-coated voice was gone. Her warm gaze was no longer present.
A cold stare was thrown at the woman.
"So what? What the fuck do you mean?!" Su-bin shouted.
People glanced at the two and Hee-young placed her hand on Su-bin's shoulder trying to calm her down.
Choyeon rolled her eyes, "Oh for God's sake! Is it so rude for a woman to want a rich lifestyle?"
The question ticked Su-bin off and the girl remembered how badly her mother wanted to be rich.
"Hyeon-U, when will we get out of here?" Choyeon asked.
The three stayed in a small ragged house that didn't have much. Su-bin who was eating a packet of nearly expired snacks glanced up at the two adults.
"Choyeon, after this case I'll buy us a new house. Don't worry." Hyeon-U said, reassuring his wife.
"This is the fourth time you've said that! Do they not pay you enough?" Choyeon asked, angrily.
Hyeon-U sighed, "You know the type of work I do. None of them wants to be involved in this type of mess."
"I'm done living like this! I don't want to be poor anymore! I don't want to eat nearly expired food every day! I want to live a lavish life!" Choyeon said.
She wined "We've been in poverty for 5 years!"
When night came and the little girl searched for her mum, she found her exiting the house.
"Mum!" Su-bin cried out but the woman closed the door and walked away- not once looking back.
Raising her hand, wanting to slap Choyeon- she clenched her jaw in discontent but sighed and placed her hand down. Su-bin then walked closer to Choyeon.
"I hate you and don't you ever show your face here again." Su-bin lowly whispered and walked away.
As she approached Hee-young's car, more tears welled up and Su-bin couldn't help but cry out. She crouched down, placing her hands over her eyes and her lips quivered as she couldn't stop crying.
The built-up hate but love she had for her mother came pouring out. Hee-young quietly walked up to the girl and patted her head.
Slowly, she stroked Su-bin's hair in an attempt to soothe her cries. Su-bin looked up at Hee-young and cried louder, standing up and hugging the girl.
"Su-bin..." Hee-young mumbled, hugging her back.
She knew that Su-bin wasn't just crying about not seeing her mother but having to give up her childhood to work to afford a better life.
"Hey. Wake up." Hee-young said, poking Su-bin's head.
She looked at Su-bin slowly lifting her head off her table and struggled to open her eyes. Chuckling, Hee-young placed a packet of fruit, snacks and a drink on her table.
"Have this, you'll get some energy." She said.
Su-bin hummed as a reply making Hee-young laugh a little at her childishness.
"How long you did work? I told you to work for my parents." She said.
Rubbing her eyes, Su-bin yawned and opened the packet.
"I begged the owner to let me work till eleven and he agreed." She said making Hee-young gasp.
"Were you paid?"
"Yeah, I got one hundred and fifty dollars!" She exclaimed, a wide smile on her face.
"W-what? Did you sell your soul or something?" Hee-young mumbled.
"You know what that means?" Su-bin said.
"What does it mean?"
"When I add this money to what I have saved. My dad and I can get a better house!" Su-bin said.
Wiping her eyes and calming herself down, Su-bin broke the hug and sighed.
"Sorry. I didn't want to cry." She said, looking at the ground.
"We all cry Su-bin. It's okay." Hee-young said and unlocked the car.
"Let's go home. I told Min-seok to take Bora home." She said.
"Can I walk home?"
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it's a sad chapter :(
not sure if i captured the sadness well though... what are your thoughts??
