Melting Slow

“Enough!”

It was then, as Yeo-min calmly voiced the turmoil boiling inside her, that a loud shout erupted from behind her.

Vice President Chae Joo-chan, who had been in his study, had come out after hearing the commotion.

“Yeo-min, why are you raising your voice as soon as you come here after so long?” 

Chae Joo-chan descended the stairs to the first floor, glaring at Yeo-min.

“You’re making a scene, yelling at your family without even understanding the situation! How foolish and unwise!”

Standing in front of Mi-ran and Chae Nari, the vice president’s sharp eyes bore into Yeo-min, like a vicious hyena raising its fur to protect its pack.

Facing her father’s piercing gaze, something deep inside Yeo-min crumbled. Something that had been holding on until now shattered beyond repair, ground down completely.

Even the only person tied to her by blood was hostile. In this place, Yeo-min was utterly alone.

Yeo-min looked at him silently before brushing her hair back with her hand, giving a faint smile.

“I’m not wise, you say? How wise are you, Father? So wise that you drove my mother out and made her die?”

Yeo-min’s gaze toward her father gleamed cold and sharp.

Mother.

Chae Yeo-min’s biological mother.

That word was taboo—something that must never be spoken in front of her father. Ignoring the absence of her mother had been the only way for Yeo-min to survive in this harsh household.

The vice president’s face turned red, and burst out a furious rant.

“Chae Yeo-min, are you out of your mind?!”

“No. I’m perfectly sane. More than I’ve ever been.”

“You—!”

“Go grab any passerby and ask them. Ask if I’m the crazy one, or if it’s Chae-Nari, who’s marrying my boyfriend. And see if the response from this so-called family is normal.”

“Chae Yeo-min!”

“What? The ones who are insane are all of you.”

“You—damn it…!”

Vice President Chae couldn’t continue and his face twisted in anger. Yeo-min, in turn, stared him down, unwavering.

The face of her father, distorted like that of a demon, met her gaze.

Her only family—always only Chae Nari’s father, never her own.

Now, the last lingering attachment was something she needed to let go of.

Eventually, the intensity in Yeo-min’s eyes softened. The bitterness and resentment that once filled her gaze gradually faded until there was nothing left.

“I’m your daughter too.”

“…….”

“Not just Nari—I’m also your daughter. If you’re really my father, you shouldn’t do this. You know exactly how much this would hurt me, but still, you look away like this. How could you?”

Vice President Chae Joo-chan pursed his lips tightly. He had never once acted as a shield for his daughter, Chae Yeo-min. But not once had he admitted to that reality either. It was no different now.

“I’ve done my duty as your father,” he said firmly, denying Yeo-min’s words—a self-justification to ignore the guilt of failing as a father.

Chae Nari, standing behind him, chimed in.

“Exactly. Dad and Mom have honestly done all they could. You’ve just been overly sensitive, caught up in your victim mentality all this time. Acting hysterical just because you don’t have your mom. Do you think it’s fair if my mom dies too, just because yours did?”

Their stepmother also sighed towards Yeo-min.

“That’s right, Yeo-min. What are you lacking that makes you feel so wronged all the time? You got everything you needed—a nice house, all the food you wanted, raised without any hardship…”

Their sharp gazes pierced Yeo-min like knives. She stood there alone, letting their emotions wash over her. Their response was hardly surprising. She had never expected her voice to truly reach them. This was just a desperate cry at the end of a dead-end road, a soliloquy without an audience.

Slowly, Yeo-min picked up her bag from the sofa.

“I’m glad, the last memory I’ll have of you is still as pathetic as ever.”

At least now, she was sure of what choice she needed to make.

“What did you say? Pathetic?! How dare you say that to an elder!”

Yeo-min ignored their angry faces and turned away.

She just wanted to escape from this family.

As she walked towards the entrance, she heard the doorbell ring.

‘Oh, right, they said they had a guest coming.’

She didn’t know who the guest was, but she was sure they would be more welcomed than she was, someone who was supposed to be part of the family.

“Yes, come in. The garage door is open” her stepmother’s awkward voice called out from behind, speaking into the intercom.

That voice was the last thing she heard.

Bang.

Yeo-min closed the front door behind her and paused for a moment.

Her entire body felt drained of energy. She leaned against the cold door, closing her eyes. It is over now.

Why had it taken her so long to end this, something so simple? Why had she dragged this relationship on, knowing she would only get hurt?

Was it because this was the place her mother was cast out of? Did she want to be acknowledged in this household in her mother’s place?

No matter what the reason had been, it was still foolish.

Letting out a deep sigh into the empty air, she took a determined step forward.

The refreshing scent of grass brushed her nose, and the cold breeze soothed her heated eyes.

In the distance, she noticed someone climbing the small steps next to the mansion’s main gate. 

Yeo-min’s steps paused for a moment.

The person coming up the stairs also slowed and stopped as soon as they saw her.

It was Kim Seung-jae, holding a large flower basket.

It seemed like he had chosen the day well.

Ignoring him, Yeo-min turned to head for the gate. But before she could take more than a few steps, someone grabbed her shoulder.

“Yeo-min.”

“Don’t touch me.”

Yeo-min brushed his hand off sharply, as if ridding herself of something dirty. Without even glancing at his expression, she stepped through the gate.

Once she was outside the high walls, she could finally breathe again.

The upscale neighborhood was silent, and the dark road ahead was empty. Occasionally, the headlights of a car climbing the distant hill would cut through the darkness.

Yeo-min began walking down the road, illuminated only by streetlights.

‘I’ll head to the main road and catch a taxi.’

She walked briskly, her heels clicking against the pavement, but before she could pass by two more walls, someone grabbed her shoulder again.

“Chae Yeo-min!”

It was Kim Seung-jae, who had run out of Yeo-min’s family home to catch up with her. His face was twisted, flushed red with anger—whatever he had seen inside clearly had him upset.

“Why did you make Nari cry?”

“What did you say?”

“Nari said you said horrible things to her because we’re getting married. If you want to yell, yell at me! Why take it out on an innocent person? Is this who you are?”

Suddenly, Yeo-min understands what’s going on. 

Kim Seung-jae had entered the house only to be met by Chae Nari’s false tears. It must have been easy for her to spin the story—Chae Yeo-min, enraged by the news of the wedding, had stormed into the family home and lashed out at Chae Nari. She might have even claimed Yeo-min had raised her hand against her.

Just like that, Yeo-min had become the wicked sister who tormented her innocent, kind-hearted younger sibling.

But she wasn’t surprised by this situation. It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

‘Part of the reason your relationship with your sister is so strained might be because of you too. Everyone does things they don’t want to do sometimes. So if you can’t be the one to reach out to your sister first, at least don’t reject her when she does. We’re supposed to be mature adults.’

Kim Seung-jae had given her that annoying advice, saying it was out of love. 

And back then, what had Yeo-min done? She had tried to understand him. Since he didn’t know the truth, she had simply nodded along.

He hadn’t even realized his heart was already leaning towards Chae-Nari. Foolishly.

“Don’t bother Nari. She’s going to be my wife. Consider this a clear warning,” Kim Seung-jae growled through clenched teeth.

Yeo-min stared at him blankly for a long moment. Then she asked, with a hint of emptiness in her voice.

“Do you really see me as the type who would torment my sister out of revenge?”

“Yes, because you’re tough, unlike Nari.”

“You blindly believe in Chae Nari, don’t you?”

Kim Seung-jae sighed, running a hand through his hair. His disheveled hair cast a shadow over his face.

“Yeo-min, Nari is not like you. She’s not as strong or as ruthless as you are. She’s gentle and innocent. So please, don’t hurt her. I’m begging you.”

“……”

Yeo-min silently gazed at him. The man who had once been her boyfriend now felt like a complete stranger.

Someone she once thought understood her better than anyone. Someone she once thought knew her more deeply than anyone else. It was all an illusion. He could be this cruel, cutting her heart with such a sharp tongue.

“Even if I deny it, you wouldn’t believe anything I said.” 

“I’m sorry, but yes.”

“Then go ahead and believe it. It doesn’t matter anymore.” 

Yeo-min spoke in a mournful but resolute voice. She meant it. She didn’t care anymore if she remained a bad person in Kim Seung-jae’s eyes. Yeo-min twisted to free her shoulder from his grasp, but she couldn’t break free from his firm grip.

“You’re misunderstanding something about Nari. She didn’t want to tell you because she was worried about how it would affect you. She thought it would be more painful for you to find out suddenly. It was my decision alone to tell you.”

“You did it for my sake…”

“Yes. Because my love for you once was genuine.”

Ironically, his voice sounded sincere as he spoke of his past feelings. But now, Kim Seung-jae’s sincerity meant nothing to her.

“Is that so? Do you want me to thank you for doing it for my sake?”

“What?”

“If that’s what you want, I’ll do it. Thank you. Thank you for deceiving and manipulating me. Thanks to you, I can finally say goodbye to this awful family.”

Yeo-min roughly grabbed his hand and pushed it away.

“I’m sick of this house, sick of you, sick of everything.” 

Kim Seung-jae fell silent, his expression as if he had been doused in ice water. Yeo-min’s cold, unfeeling reaction seemed to shock him more than anything.

“Take a step back and look at the situation. If Chae-Nari is as kind and innocent as you say, would she really decide to marry her sister’s boyfriend?”

“……”

“Kim Seung-jae, you know nothing about Chae Nari.”

Yeo-min turned her back on him.

“Pathetic.”

And with that, she walked away.

Kim Seung-jae stood still, unmoving until Yeo-min disappeared from sight, he just stood there, watching her back. 

Yeo-min could feel his gaze on her as she walked farther and farther away. Eventually, she left the residential area behind and arrived at the main road. Cars with blinding headlights sped past her. A bus adorned with advertisements went by, sending fallen leaves rolling across the ground in the breeze.

Yeo-min stood there quietly. She didn’t know what to do next. She wasn’t sure where she was supposed to go.

‘Are you lost?’

Once, Yoo Hwan had asked her that question.

Now, she felt like she could finally answer it.

She was lost. She was standing all alone on an unfamiliar, isolated path.

What had she done today? What had she gained?

Yeo-min stood on the street for a while before slowly lifting her head. She brushed back her fallen hair, took a deep breath, and began walking slowly again.

A faint smile tugged at her lips.

Today, she was certainly lost. But now, she knew exactly where her next destination was.