Chapter 13.1

Chapter 13.1

Grandfather’s face instantly showed his fury.

“How dare him! How long has it been since his wife died!”

“It seems like he has a child,” I added.

Grandfather’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?”

“I heard it at the funeral. My aunt and big brother were laughing and talking, not knowing I was outside.”

Grandfather’s fists trembled with anger.

“Those inhuman people….”

Grandfather must have known about my husband’s affair. Even though I excluded the family’s private affairs from my reports, there was no way he was unaware.

“Don’t worry. As long as I’m alive, that will never happen.”

“Yes. I feel sorry for my sister-in-law. Nothing good has happened to her ever since she got married into this family.”

“That’s true… She left us so pitifully… It’s my fault. I should have acted….”

I looked at my self-reproaching grandfather with cold eyes. I didn’t feel any sympathy.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Alright.”

As I was getting up, I turned around and spoke. “Would you like to have tea with me instead of sister-in-law from now on? I can do it on the weekends.”

Grandfather laughed heartily and replied, “Of course. I’d appreciate that.”

I left Grandfather’s room and went into my room, or rather, Miss Yena’s room. I was curious about the bag Housekeeper Ahn had brought a bag. Locking the door, I took off my outerwear and started searching the room.

There must be a place where that key fits. Where could it be?

I started by searching around the bed. Bingo! There was a keyhole in the bedside table drawer. I took out the key from my pocket and tried one of them. It didn’t fit. I tried the other key, and it finally clicked open.

What secret could it hold? I wondered, but when I saw the contents of the drawer, I was devastated. It was a drawer full of medicine.

“Oh…”

The young and beautiful Miss Yena was suffering from an illness. I was even made more aware of it. She hid it so well that she even used a key to keep it a secret. If I hadn’t died and our souls hadn’t swapped, she would have been filled with joy to recover from her illness.

My stomach felt sick. I had stolen Miss Yena’s life.

I was disgusted with myself for coldly thinking that the key held some special family secret to dig up. I was blinded by revenge.

Suddenly, I couldn’t take it anymore, I ran to the bathroom, grabbed the toilet seat, and threw up. Exhausted and in tears, I collapsed to the floor.

“What am I doing….”

My eyes stung. I had lost my mind. I only thought about what had happened to me and didn’t even think of Miss Yena.

“I’m sorry…. I’m sorry, Miss Yena…”

I lay on the bathroom floor, sobbing quietly.

—

After I pulled myself together and washed my face, I looked at Miss Yena’s room with a calmer mind. I felt apologetic, but I needed to find out what secret this key held.

I entered the dressing room and pulled and pushed everything around, trying to find a hidden compartment, but there was nothing.

Then, could the remaining key not be for this house…? Where could it be? The company?

Would Miss Yena really keep important documents at a place where many eyes and ears were around?

After almost an hour of searching, I gave up. I sat on the bed resignedly, and out of the corner of my eye, there was the drawer full of medicine. I opened the drawer and took out all the contents, putting it into the bag.

If I threw it away at home, someone might find it and use it against me. I’d have to get rid of it when I go to work on Monday. Just as I finished packing the medicine, there was an impatient knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Why are you locking the door at home? Open the door.”

I frowned. It was my mother-in-law. Why was she here?

As I hid my bag and opened the door, my mother-in-law strutted confidently inside the room, without even greeting me. She sat on the bedroom sofa, crossed her legs, and gestured with her chin to the seat opposite her.

“Sit down.”

I sat without a word. She placed something on the table—a photo and a document. I looked at them silently.

“What is this?”

“You’ll be twenty-seven next year, right? How long do you plan on staying unmarried? He’s the second son of the Prosecutor General. He’s currently a prosecutor at the Public Prosecutors’ Office. Make time to meet him. It wasn’t easy to arrange this.”

I looked at the sprawled documents on the table and to my mother-in-law’s smug face. So, she wanted to kick Miss Yena out of the house. And even more, she wanted to plant a watchdog by my side.

How outrageous. My lips couldn’t help but turn into a sneer. My mother-in-law trembled in anger at my arrogance.

“You. How dare you show such an ungrateful attitude when an elder is speaking to you?”

“I guess since my parents were not around, I didn’t have the opportunity to receive proper education at home.”

My mother-in-law’s face twisted at my words. The tormented Buyeon inside me was satisfied to see her like this.