I lifted my head to examine the woman’s face closely. In front of me stood a vicious-looking middle-aged woman with purple eye makeup that looked like it came straight out of a makjang drama and thick red lipstick. No other explanation was needed. She was the mother-in-law who hated Chae Seungyeon to death.
“When your mother-in-law calls, you should answer right away, shouldn’t you?”
“……”
When I stared at her silently without saying anything, the mother-in-law raised one corner of her mouth and smirked.
“Oh my, our son-in-law’s mouth must be frozen because it’s too cold today…?”
It was that split second. I thought the mother-in-law’s hand was rising, then my vision flashed. Smack! A sharp sound rang out. When I came to my senses again, my left cheek was burning as if scorched by fire and my head had turned to the side. Only then could I understand the situation. I had just been slapped.
“Ugh…”
Blood droplets dripped to the floor, perhaps because the inside of my mouth had burst from the shock.
“Is your mouth loosened up a bit now?”
The mother-in-law smiled brightly at me.
“Then let me ask our daughter-in-law just one thing.”
The mother-in-law brought something from a small table next to the sofa.
“Are you in your right mind?”
“Wha… what…?”
As soon as I opened my mouth, swoosh! Something was scattered on the floor. Because she threw it so roughly, blood seeped from the back of my hand that got hit by it. I endured the stinging pain and looked at what was spread on the floor.
What she had thrown were photographs. In dozens of photos, all showing Chae Seungyeon in the car with Baek Woojin, Chae Seungyeon entering his house.
“This is…”
I opened my mouth to explain, but I froze at the sight of the mother-in-law’s face turning frighteningly dark. She grabbed my hair with her hand and shouted.
“How long has it been since our child died like that! How dare someone like you meet a man!”
The mother-in-law’s voice filled with anger was like a roaring gorilla.
“That’s not…”
Smaaack!
This time sparks flew to my right cheek.
“How dare you talk back to your mother-in-law! You bastard with no breeding!”
Her voice was so loud I thought my eardrums would burst. It wasn’t just me – the older brother and big guy who were watching were covering their ears with their hands. I also didn’t know what to do because my slapped cheeks hurt and my head was dizzy from that strange drug I smelled earlier.
“A guy who rolled around on the streets and then rolled in here, after devouring my son like that! I should have known from when I brought you into the house, even if dirt got in my eyes I should have stopped it…! You fox-like bastard!”
The mother-in-law continued shouting while roughly shaking the hand that was grabbing my head. So after that, I couldn’t really understand what she was saying. Her hands were so harsh that both cheeks I got hit were numb and it was hard to even open my mouth.
“Huh…?”
It was when I was stuck like that for a while, unable to do this or that in the mother-in-law’s grasp. In my shaking vision, my gaze suddenly fixed on one photo spread on the floor.
Could it be…
I reached out and picked up a photo.
There was Chae Seungyeon standing on the bridge, looking at the river with a blank expression.
What, these bastards… They knew that Chae Seungyeon was trying to die? But instead of helping, they even followed him?
This is… too much…
Without anyone explaining, it was clear what Chae Seungyeon’s life had been like. He probably endured his entire life living with these subhuman in-laws for the sake of his husband and son. That’s why he got such severe depression, and when his husband died, he tried to take his own life even leaving behind his only son…
No, that was the original Chae Seungyeon.
“Whew…”
I let out a deep sigh thinking of the dead Chae Seungyeon.
“…What are you doing right now?”
Then the mother-in-law stopped screaming noisily and became serious.
“What am I doing? I sighed.”
I lifted my head and stared at the mother-in-law intently. I wasn’t scared. Clearly until just moments ago I was trembling from the chill I felt, but now… my temperature rose rapidly.
“What, what’s wrong?”
The mother-in-law stammered, perhaps flustered by my changed attitude.
“Why? Should I say it again, lady?”
“What…? L-lady?!”
At the address of “lady,” the mother-in-law seemed dumbfounded and raised her hand with reddened eyes.
I can endure twice but not three times…!
Smack! I quickly grabbed the mother-in-law’s wrist and blocked it.
“This, this bastard…!”
When her wrist was caught, the flustered mother-in-law raised her other hand. I blocked that hand too and stood up. Whoosh, the mother-in-law opened her eyes wide seeing me who was a span taller than herself.
“Ah seriously! Even if you’re the villain, this is too much! You don’t even listen to the circumstances and kidnap people like this! Assault! Verbal abuse! How can family do this? Really, this is going too far! Too far!”
I yelled louder than the mother-in-law.
“Is… is this one crazy…!”
Then whoosh, the mother-in-law pulled her wrist from my grasp and tried to hit my cheek again. I twisted my head to avoid it, but my hair got grabbed again. I also grabbed the mother-in-law’s abundant brown hair.
“Yes, I’m. Cra. Zy!”
Since it’s come to this, it’s completely do or die…!
“This crazy bastard! Let, let go of this!”
“You let go first, lady!”
Rough hands and shouting went back and forth from both sides. When the mother-in-law pulled my hair hard, I pulled harder, and when she yelled angrily, I yelled even louder.
In the end, the first to become exhausted was the mother-in-law. It couldn’t be helped. I endured with all my strength while supporting the floor with my bare feet, but the mother-in-law was only precariously holding on while wearing high heels.
“You, what are you guys doing instead of stopping this!”
Finally, the mother-in-law seemed to think this wouldn’t work and shouted at the older brother and big guy who were standing there blankly. It was dirty, but there were no rules in fighting.
“Hey, omega. Let go of that hand!”
The guys who had been hesitating for a moment finally approached me. When they reached out their large hands to grab me, I dodged them here and there, using the mother-in-law as a shield.
“Ah!”
Then the big guy’s pot-lid-sized hand grabbed the mother-in-law’s collar. Rip! When one side of the shirt tore like that, the mother-in-law flew into a rage.
“You stupid fool! Do you know how much this costs!”
“Oh my…! My younger brother is ignorant… I’m sorry, ma’am!”
The flustered older brother bowed 90 degrees to the mother-in-law in apology. At that timing, the struggling mother-in-law raised her knee and struck the big guy’s face directly. The older brother who let out a groan fell to the side. At this, the big guy suddenly shouted and charged at me.
“…!”
I released the mother-in-law’s hair from my hands and quickly carried her on my back. The mother-in-law, who had been tenaciously holding onto my head until then, opened her eyes wide when I carried her. I didn’t give her a chance and immediately spun around on the spot.
“What, what is this…!”
The big guy panicked greatly and stepped back. And rightly so. The pointed heel of the red high heels the mother-in-law was wearing was enough to cause wounds just by grazing – it was a weapon in itself. It was the so-called deadly high heel attack.
Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack…!
“Uwaaah!”
It was an utterly pathetic move, but perhaps because the big guy was characteristically slow, he couldn’t avoid the rapidly swinging shoe heels. The guy who took the pathetic high heel attack straight to the face collapsed onto the sofa.
In an instant, the older brother and big guy became a duet of unconsciousness.
“Ca-call the police!”
The mother-in-law, realizing she was at a disadvantage, shouted with her face turned white.
“Ma… ma’am… If we call the police, we’ll be in trouble…”
“What!”
The older brother, who seemed to have come to his senses, muttered while leaning against the wall. One of his eyelids was bruised black and blue from the mother-in-law’s earlier attack.
“Before, we called the police for a similar incident and only we got thoroughly screwed over…”
When the older brother gave additional explanation while scratching his head, the mother-in-law applied force to my hair that she still hadn’t let go of. It seemed more like she was doing it out of anger rather than actually trying to tear my hair out.
“You, you, you stupid fools…!”
Doesn’t she worry about her voice getting hoarse? The mother-in-law started screaming and raging from on my back. It was less than at first, but her strength was considerable. It was when I was gradually getting tired too.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
