Chapter 25
I never imagined I’d run into them in a place like this.
I tried to hide it, but Yewon’s face—and her body—froze on instinct.
The fake uncle and Jeyeon… they were exactly the same as ever.
She hadn’t been able to get a proper look at them at the funeral, but now she could see them clearly. The fake uncle still had that greedy face straight out of her memories, and Jeyeon beside him was putting on an air of elegance, yet the slyness lurking in her eyes was impossible to hide.
“……”
And of all places, this was a luxury department store that dealt in expensive goods.
Those two—without me around to make money for them—were still living it up like this.
Did they find some other source of income?
Yewon’s gaze darkened.
Or…
“…Maybe they came here to look for a new source of money.”
It was obvious. They’d deliberately come looking for her to pick a fight.
“Trying to squeeze money out of me again,” she thought, biting her lip.
“What’s wrong with both of you? Do you know them?”
At Wooyeon’s voice, Yewon snapped out of her thoughts.
“…Those people. The ones who threatened Yewon.”
“What?!”
Wooyeon’s mouth fell open. She’d heard all about them, but this was the first time she’d actually seen them in person.
“Wow. Now that I see them, their faces are just dripping with malice. You really cut ties well. Seriously.”
She whispered so only Doha could hear.
“…….”
The fake uncle chuckled softly as he looked at Doha, who had knocked his hand away.
“Hm. I guess the CEO hasn’t told you yet?”
“…?”
As Doha frowned at the cryptic remark, the fake uncle shrugged and grinned, as if to say, Well, let’s put that off for now.
“Well, setting that aside… Is it really okay for a celebrity to go around hitting people like this? Mr. Lee Doha, I didn’t expect you to be so reckless.”
As if he had any right to say that—! Yewon frowned.
“Before I’m a celebrity, I’m her guardian. I can’t overlook you touching a child so carelessly.”
“When did I ever touch her carelessly? If a relative elder holding a niece’s hand counts as that, then no one in this country would stay out of prison. I just saw a familiar face and greeted her out of affection, and suddenly I’m being assaulted. That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
The fake uncle’s eyes flickered, steeped in greed.
This lunatic.
Yewon clenched her teeth as she looked down at him.
Out of affection? What a joke. He’d just been sniffing around, looking for something he could exploit.
Knowing full well that Uncle Doha, as a celebrity, was sensitive to accusations of violence, he was deliberately bringing it up—basically a threat.
“So what, you want to make the social pages tomorrow? Huh? Should I just spill everything I’ve been put through all at once? How you begged me to raise the kid first, then switched attitudes when you saw she had a pretty face and thought you could profit off her—should I expose all of it?”
“Don’t spout nonsense. Do you think I’m like you?”
“Who knows? How would I know what goes on inside the heads of entertainers?”
The fake uncle shamelessly raised his voice. Other people began turning to look, wondering what the commotion was about.
No. This couldn’t escalate any further.
Knowing how damaging a public scene could be for a public figure, Yewon grabbed Doha’s shoulder tightly to calm him.
But—
“She’s scared. Please step back.”
Maybe he took it as a sign of fear—Doha’s expression hardened even more.
That’s not it.
Just as Yewon was about to say it was okay—
“Whaaaat?! What did you say, Ms. Seller? The man who tried to kidnap a little girl is the one acting brazen now?! Wow. There are still people this shameless in the 21st century?!”
“!”
Wooyeon suddenly appeared with the sales clerk, making a huge fuss. The two seemed to know each other; the clerk nodded vigorously in agreement.
“And he was even grabbing a girl he doesn’t know, fondling her arm and all that?! In front of everyone?! Shouldn’t we call the police?!”
“Sh-Should I call security? I saw everything too—he was the one who—”
The clerk pulled out her radio, looking ready to actually report it.
The onlookers who had been watching with curiosity now started murmuring while staring at the fake uncle. Faced with those cold reactions, he flinched and took a step back.
“Dad.”
At that moment, Jeyeon—who had been silently observing—tightly grabbed the fake uncle’s hand.
“I’m sorry. I suggested saying hello, and that caused all this… It’s all my fault. I-I just wanted to get closer to my cousin… we’re the same age…”
“!”
The adults’ expressions shifted at Jeyeon’s words.
The balance that had tilted toward Yewon and Doha leveled out once again.
“…You’re exactly the same, Lee Jeyeon.”
That skill of deceiving people with calculated behavior—
Even after living one life and coming back, it hadn’t changed.
Yewon looked down at her with cold eyes.
“……!”
Their gazes crossed in midair.
And then—
“M-My arm hurts so much…”
“!”
Yewon made her move.
“That man tried to drag me away….”
Deliberately so everyone could see, she stretched out the arm he’d grabbed, pointing out the handprints.
The expressions of Doha, Wooyeon, and everyone nearby froze.
“He has a kid himself, and he grabbed someone else’s child hard enough to leave marks?”
“What nerve. I saw it too—he was trying to pull her away.”
“Does he think celebrities aren’t people? That’s awful…”
The whispers were loud enough to reach her ears.
That’s enough.
Finally, Yewon buried her face into Doha’s chest and said—loud enough for everyone to hear,
“I’m scared… I want to go home.”
At her words, the entire store fell into an icy silence.
The one who broke it was—
“Let’s go to the hospital right now!!”
Wooyeon.
“Right now. We’ll get X-rays first. I know the hospital director.”
“!”
“Give us your contact info. If even a hair on our child is harmed, we’ll report it too. Do you know what kind of world this is these days? How dare you hurt a child. There are so many CCTV cameras here. Miss Seller? It was all recorded, right?”
“Yes. There are at least five cameras.”
“You heard that, right?”
“…….”
Wooyeon was even more furious than Doha.
“N-No… let’s not involve the police…”
The fake uncle finally shut his mouth, lowering his gaze.
It was laughable—how he’d manhandle someone smaller than him, yet couldn’t do a thing against Wooyeon, who was a head taller.
“No. We’re… people who’d be inconvenienced if our faces got out there. Let’s just let this go. Tch. You’re not exactly innocent either—why make such a fuss?”
“Inconvenienced if your face gets out?”
Doha frowned, confused.
“…….”
As the fake uncle struggled to respond—
“I’m a child actress too.”
“!”
Jeyeon spoke up proudly in his place.
“It’s not just Yewon who’s an actress. I am too.”
As if anyone here would be glad to hear that.
Yewon stared at Jeyeon, baffled by the oddly boastful tone. She’s seven—she really can’t read the situation.
“So… your daughter is a celebrity too, and you’re asking us if being a celebrity means everything?”
Doha said incredulously.
“…No, that’s not—”
“What a joke of a man. Hey. We’re practically in the same industry. Don’t you know how small this field is? If you go around threatening people in the same line of work, word gets around fast. Do you want to block your daughter’s future?”
Wooyeon added, equally dumbfounded.
“…….”
Seriously.
Even with her face buried in Doha’s shoulder, Yewon could clearly see Jeyeon’s face completely twist.
Holding back the sneer threatening to escape, Yewon quietly leaned into Doha’s hand as he patted her back.
…Come to think of it, this was a first.
The first time she truly felt protected—completely—by my people, my family.
In her past life, she wouldn’t have been able to step forward like this, or confront Jeyeon and the fake uncle head-on.
The only reason Yewon could do this now was because—just like Jeyeon—she firmly believed she had people on her side.
“…Dad, let’s go home.”
“Huh?”
“It’s embarrassing!! Let’s go home. Seriously.”
“O-Oh. Yeah. L-Let’s go. Home.”
She heard Jeyeon dragging her father outside, their hurried retreat clear.
As the tension finally drained away, Yewon’s shoulders slumped.
“Seriously. There really are all kinds of people out there. Hey, Yewon. You went through a lot.”
“…Are you okay, Yewon?”
Doha and Wooyeon asked with concern.
“Yes… I’m okay.”
Yewon nodded as she looked into their worried eyes.
Was this how it felt for you, every time?
Is that why you always looked down on me with that smug, victorious smile?
Only now do I finally get it—at least a little—and it’s almost funny.
And even more so—
That I can give this feeling back to you.
Just wait.
Revenge hasn’t even begun yet.
