The Day I Escaped from the Beast’s Cage - Chapter 59

Finally, she found the mental space to divert the attention that was directed towards her. The day Hae-gang opened her eyes was marked as the official death anniversary of her family. Seoga Media, having lost both the CEO and the heir simultaneously, was swallowed whole by Moon Ik, just like that.

“Ha-ha.”

Dry laughter escaped her lips uncontrollably. Inside, an overwhelming sorrow surged, and Hae-gang couldn’t shake off the feeling as if she had consumed something scalding.

“Yoon Geon-ho.”

Uttering those three names made her feel like her mouth was decaying. The cursed Yoon Geon-ho, who hypocritically spoke of love even as he engaged in such deeds.

“Yoon Geon-ho! Yoon Geon-ho!!”

Hae-gang tried to regain composure, but her breath was ragged, and anger clouded her mind. Hae-gang’s gaze, striking her head against the steering wheel, shifted to the bag on the passenger seat. Fumbling, her hand reached for the bag, and in an instant, it was overturned.

“…”

Hae-gang’s hands, tightly gripping the phone, trembled. She wished she could at least forget. Yoon Geon-ho’s phone number lingered vividly in her mind.

Hae-gang, unlocking the screen, brought up the keypad and pressed the numbers with force. Finally, after hesitating over the call button for a while, her finger pressed down, and only a steady beep echoed in the silent car.

“This is Yoon Geon-ho.”

A shiver ran down her spine at the voice coming through the earpiece. Hae-gang’s pale and tightly pressed lips released a sound so mournful it could be mistaken for a sob.

“You…”

****

Geon-ho’s forehead creased as he listened to the voice coming through the phone. It was different from hearing it in person, but the voice strangely resonated in her ears. It was Hae-gang. Though he didn’t expect to see her for a while after their last encounter, it seemed he was mistaken. Geon-ho’s lips curved slightly askew.

“I didn’t expect you to contact me first.”

Where did you put the things from Dad’s house?

‘Why are you asking that now? It seems like you were so ecstatic that you forgot about your family. The time lived as if forgetting everything, into the early dawn.’

Geon-ho stood up from the chair and faced the sun shining through the wide window. The recent gloominess had vanished, leaving behind a clear sky. Imagining Hae-gang, who must be scowling beneath that sky, wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

“Although I’m supposed to be happy under the real sky I’ve longed for, I can’t seem to be just happy.”

Just answer the question. I don’t want to hear your voice for long.

Even with the sharp words, Geon-ho didn’t mind and let out a laugh. Whether his faint laughter reached Haekang’s ears or not, a furious voice calling his name came from beyond.’

“I disposed of them.”

Why would you do that without consulting me?

A frustrated sigh followed Unfinished words. Geon-ho, who had been looking at the white clouds passing through the sky with dry eyes, turned away from the window after lowering the blinds. Haekang’s words from a while ago lingered in his ears.

‘Who do you think is doing this?

Among the harsh words he heard from Haekang after a long time, this one hurt the most. It was fortunate that he could at least provide an answer.

“That’s a right I have as the deceased husband of Sea Hae-gang.”

It was obvious where the family’s property would go after all of Hae-gang’s relatives died. Even the unknown relatives who had not contacted Hae-gang during her lifetime did not openly covet the property in front of Moon Ik’s name.

Seogo Media was not particularly attractive to Geon-ho, who was born and raised in Moon Ik. Nevertheless, he accepted and disposed of it all. The company, the house, and even the traces of Seo Jong-min’s family inside. The reason was clear: he didn’t want to leave any place for Hae-gang to return to.

He swallowed the company into Moon Ik, settled someone else into the house, and pulled out and burned everything inside. Erasing everything that made up the Hae-gang, leaving only the name and himself.

Seated back in the chair, Geon-ho closed his eyes and called out his wife’s name. She may have discarded him, but her name was still the most familiar on his lips.

“Hae-gang-ah.”

…

“I’m struggling. Let’s stop this now.”

It was sincere. The stress from work was escalating day by day, and the absence of the person who could give him solace for both body and mind had been too long. However, Geon-ho’s sincere feelings didn’t seem to reach Hae-gang.

In response to the endlessly extended words, Hae-gang’s brows furrowed. It seemed as if the way he spoke was telling her to stop as if he was the one who should end it. Unable to understand, she eventually had to ask.

“What?”

-I understood your intention well enough, so let’s stop. If you don’t like the hotel, come home. If you want to see the sky, move to a place with a spacious yard. Just stop and come back as Hae-gang.

“Heh…”

A sarcastic laugh escaped. It was unimaginable that someone could be so stubborn.

“You don’t understand anything, do you?”

Perhaps all the things he had done so far were just perceived as an attempt to reclaim stolen rights. It couldn’t be completely denied as a false statement, but the premise was wrong. It should have had ‘Get away from Yoon Geon-ho’ in front of it because she no longer had any desire to return as Yoon Geon-ho’s wife.

Hae-gang fixed her phone and spoke, her voice solid from suppressing anger.

“Hotel? No, thanks. Because of you, I shiver at the thought of hotels. I don’t even want to accidentally step into one. If I see one while passing by, I want to avert my eyes immediately.”

-Okay. I get it.

“I haven’t finished speaking yet.”

With a decisive statement that cut through, Geon-ho fell silent on the other side of the phone. Hae-gang lowered the blinds, gazing at the door that was no different from a memory. It was a place that used to be her home but is now inaccessible. It made her seethe, and the silent rage turned into words, flowing up her throat like leftover food.

“But that’s just how you are—disliking it, shivering, not wanting to face it. What’s the point of leaving the hotel if I have to be with you anyway? That place would eventually become a prison too.”

-Sea hae-gang.

A voice, uneasy to listen to—disliking name. I’ve learned through long experience that when someone calls my name in this manner, it means they want me to stop right here. But now, what’s the use?

“How can I say it so you won’t misunderstand and can understand? It would be great if I could show you my thoughts. Ah!”

Hae-gang let out a bitter laugh. This time, she made the sound clear enough for Geon-ho to hear.

“I sincerely wish you were dead. That’s why I told you about Yoon Seon Woo killing Dong Seo. He said if I told anyone, he’d kill you.”

Lifting lips that trembled despite no one seeing them, she filled them with a mocking smile that only she could witness.

“No matter how much time passes, your funeral won’t reach my ears, and you have no idea how much I mourned.”

Since escaping from Rudy, she had never thought about wanting to see Geon-ho, not even once. But now, it was so regrettable that she couldn’t confirm his expression with her own eyes. If only it was a miserable face. Filled with betrayal, remorse flooding in, and remorselessly regretting my wrong choices.

“Do you understand now?”

…

“Yoon Geon-ho, I find you utterly repulsive.”

That was the second year at the hotel. Every time, she regretted the same thing while looking back on the past.

Why did she survive that accident? Why did she love this person? Why did she hold onto a fate that could have just passed by?

Repeated regrets, realizing that there was nothing she could turn back and days of despair. Yoon Geon-ho had to experience that too.

Hae-gang, who had expelled all the curses lingering on the tip of her tongue, took a breath. The screen of the turned-off phone displayed an unsaved number before turning pitch black.

With each exhale, the mixed tremors gradually subsided. Hae-gang, with eyes holding a hint of reluctance, looked at the place that used to be her in-laws’ home, then started the car.

****

“Why is it like this, seriously?”

Ji-woo’s face, which had left her family home, was filled with annoyance. She turned her body so forcefully that her hair fluttered, and she glared at the red brick wall as if she wanted to pierce it.

If it weren’t for Chairman Yoon’s words, she would never have lived in the same house as that woman. Chairman Yoon called her into the house after Seon-woo’s death. Perhaps Chairman Yoon was worried that Ji-woo, living alone without a family, might fall into depression or something. Chairman Yoon’s concern was appreciated, but if she had known it would be this annoying, she would have thought more carefully.

“What are you doing? Open the door quickly!”

In response to Ji-woo’s irritated scolding, a middle-aged driver in his forties hurriedly opened the door. Glancing at him disdainfully, Ji-woo got into the car with a thud.

The driver, now seated in the driver’s seat after turning the car half a circle again, started the engine, and the car left from under the red brick wall.

Ji-woo took out a newly bought mirror and examined her face. In the past few days, she felt as if her skin had aged drastically. There seemed to be more tangled hair in her hand when she shaved her head.

All of this was because of Madam Choi, who had settled in that house corner, obsessed with finding her dust.

‘Don’t put your elbows on the table during meals. Dress modestly. Wake up early and greet Father when he goes out.’

The demands were numerous and detailed. Although it might sound like parents educating their children, each demand had an additional phrase behind it.

‘If your background looks like that, you should make an effort to hide it.’

‘Someone might think you’re going to a bar.’

‘Your older brother at least rebelled; what about you? ‘

Even today, nothing has changed. Despite hearing the same words all the time, irritation inevitably built up, and in front of that openly mocking face, she couldn’t even retort a single word. Even though she wanted to curse, at least in her mind,.

Ji-woo’s tongue was held back. The reason she couldn’t carry out her intention was one. Mrs. Choi would undoubtedly kick her out if he saw me making a scene.

“I’m annoyed, so annoyed! Why can’t you handle people properly?”

Now, Ji-woo was treated like a naive youngest daughter, but the moment she dared to defy the family hierarchy, it would be the end. Even her clever older brother couldn’t overcome it.

Madam Choi knew this, so she persistently provoked Ji-woo. She was waiting for the day when she couldn’t endure it anymore.

Ji-woo, biting her nails like a habit, though. Now or never, I couldn’t just wait for Chairman Yoon to dispose of her.

“To the salon and dermatologist, contact them. Tell them I’ll go today.”

To win that person over to my side, I had to become prettier. Ji-woo believed that beauty was the ultimate weapon a woman possessed, without a doubt.

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