IMFOBO | CH 6 | The Source of Misfortune

The Source of Misfortune

 

Eun-Cho’s expression hardened as she gazed at her cousin, Jo Tae-hee. Tae-hee’s presence here meant there was a high probability that Jin Gu-won was also around.

“Aigo, our Eun-cho’s face has become half its size! I should have severed the legs of those wretched bastards! How dare they come to our pure Cheongrim Village and cause such a commotion!”

Pushing past the awkwardly standing Tae-hee, Grandma Gam-namu tightly grasped Eun-cho’s hands.

“Grandma, I’m okay. Those thugs are all gone now.”

The yard quickly became noisy because the Cheongrim Village grandmothers were late to hear the news. It was deafening with each of them saying something. It was as if they had all visited the only beauty salon in town together, as they were all wearing clothes over their heads.

Amidst the grandmothers, Jung-seok and Su-ji, who blended in without any sense of disharmony, exchanged glances while holding hands tightly.

“Honey, that Bonghwang punk didn’t come, did he?”

Su-ji’s voice was tense with anxiety.

“Not him; it’s my family’s second son.”

“Heok! That’s a problem in its own way!”

Bonghwang was Su-ji’s brother’s name. It was so unique that once you heard it, it was deeply etched in your mind. Why Su-ji’s brother was suddenly being summoned in this situation was a mystery, but the couple was also full of worry.

“I’m going to make those wicked guys suffer! I called my son. They won’t do such gangster-like things if they eat prison food!”

A middle-aged woman with a dazzling golden cloth on her head suddenly stepped forward. She was the village leader’s wife, who could be said to be the behind-the-scenes power in this neighborhood, and Jin Gu-won’s mother.

‘Haa…….’

Eun-cho swallowed a rising sigh. She had expected this since Jo Tae-hee appeared with a clueless face and poured out her worries, but she couldn’t help but feel bitter.

Even her last bit of pride had been broken. Even if the rumors had already spread in the village, she didn’t want Gu-won, of all people, to know.

Jin Gu-won was Eun-cho’s first love and unrequited crush. If there was a banner in Cheongrim Village, it was all about Gu-won. Passing S University’s law school, graduating at the top of S University’s law school, and joining Bareun Law Firm—he was the living pride of Cheongrim-ri, monopolizing the banners at the entrance of the village.

“I’m going to feed them prison food; I’m going to fry those bastards to death in soybean oil!”

“Why did you bother calling my brother in Seoul?”

“It’s a fated Death Note! Gu-won just happened to be coming down from Seoul today!”

Whether it was destiny or a Death Note, it was clear that something was coming to an end. She really didn’t want her first love, whom she hadn’t even confessed to and had to give up on, to see this pathetic scene, but it was already irreversible.

Game over. A familiar face appeared at the entrance.

“Aigo, Gu-won-ah! Our lawyer, Seonsaengnim!”

Gu-won, who entered the yard, greeted his mother and then immediately turned his gaze to Eun-cho.

“Eun-cho, did the loan sharks turn this place into such a mess?”

As if he had been running urgently, strands of hair stuck to Gu-won’s forehead as he breathed heavily. Jin Gu-won, as pure as the first snow that fell at dawn, was very kind and righteous. And he was…….

“Oppa, please use your influence. What is this? My house is a complete mess.”

He was the longtime lover of Jo Tae-hee, the culprit of all this and Eun-cho’s cousin.

Could a human’s face really be this thick? If only her aunt, who had inherited the traditional house and workshop under the pretext that her daughter Tae-hee was sick, hadn’t recklessly taken out a large loan, today’s misfortune wouldn’t have happened.

She was putting on an act as if she were very conscious of her lover, Gu-won, which was annoying. Tae-hee kept her mouth shut even though she knew where her aunt was. It was obvious that they were accomplices, but she even pretended to be a victim, which made Eun-cho’s blood boil every time she saw her. Even though Eun-cho was the one suffering all the damage.

“Of course I have to help. Don’t worry, Eun-cho. Should we all clean up together?”

“You’re saying the right thing because you’re a lawyer! We need to borrow even a cat’s paw.”

The villagers were busy rolling up their sleeves and tidying up the broken furniture. Eun-cho quietly gestured, and Tae-hee began to walk.

Grandma’s gama was in a detached building far from the yard. As soon as they arrived in a secluded place, Tae-hee’s expression changed like a different person.

“Can’t you still not tell right from wrong like a child? How could you call Gu-won oppa, who is so busy, over such a trivial matter?”

“Who did? Who said I called him?”

In front of Gu-won, she was wagging her tail sweetly, asking for help, but changing her attitude was easier than flipping her hand. It was so absurd that Eun-cho was speechless. It was all she could do to breathe through her two nostrils.

Since she was young, Tae-hee had subtly ostracized and cornered Eun-cho. The fact that she realized at a young age that she was not welcomed even by her own flesh and blood was eighty percent due to her aunt and Tae-hee. Even her grandfather and grandmother, who had favored her, took sides with their child at crucial moments. The sense of isolation she felt at that time was too early and harsh for a child to experience.

“You pretend to be so smart, but you’re so clumsy. That’s why Oppa chose me, not you.”

Seeing her smug face made Eun-cho sigh. The only thing Jo Tae-hee had won against Eun-cho was Jin Gu-won. That was the only medal in her life.

“You also pay off your mom’s debt.”

“What? What does my mom have to do with me?”

“Then I do have something to do with it?”

Tae-hee glared and pounced. Her aunt had suddenly disappeared after taking out a large loan using the traditional house and surrounding land as collateral. She guessed that she had gone abroad, but that was just a prediction.

Absurdly, Eun-cho was the guarantor for all of it. Eun-cho almost fainted when she saw the paper with a copy of her oriental medicine doctor’s license and a clearly stamped seal. She jumped up and down, saying it was forgery of private documents, but she had no choice but to shut her mouth when she found out that her grandmother was involved.

Eun-cho, who had been quietly watching the gama that had not been smoking for a long time, composed herself. She couldn’t live with even her grandmother turning her back on her. She was the only blood relative she had left. Except for her inhuman aunt and Tae-hee.

“If you’re not going to pay the money back, don’t hang around in front of me. Before I reveal all the nasty truths to the villagers.”

“No, Lee Eun-cho, you can’t do that.”

Tae-hee, who burst into laughter like a brightly blooming rose, was cunning. Her large eyes briefly disappeared and reappeared in her neatly folded eyes. A flower that was very poisonous would stab with its thorns if you even touched it.

“Your mom died and your dad remarried, ignoring you. How are you going to say that you’ve now been abandoned by your aunt?”

That nasty girl. Her lips, which enjoyed other people’s misfortunes by stabbing at the most painful part, twisted slyly. Eun-cho deliberately composed herself as if she hadn’t been affected at all by her confident tone. Seeing that, she wasn’t completely stupid, but it would have been nice if she had used her intelligence for studying.

“You can’t stand being treated with pity.”

“I share the same blood as you, so what’s so pitiful about that?”

When Eun-cho smiled brightly, Tae-hee’s expression turned fierce this time.

“Tae-hee, you’ve grown up so preciously that you don’t know, but it’s more urgent to make a living than to be ashamed or disgraced. Before I get Gu-won oppa to review the legal advice…….”

“Hey!”

“Know your place.”

Eun-cho was also just as angry. Now, she had even suffered the humiliation of being harassed by loan sharks because she couldn’t pay off her debts, so there was no way she could see anything. Her face, with her lips bitten, was so pretty, but she should have used at least half of her good looks for her heart.

“Tell your aunt too. Don’t think about living your life so easily. I’m going to get every last penny back with interest. Everything I paid instead.”

After saying everything she wanted to say, Eun-cho walked away, leaving Tae-hee behind. They had always had a bad relationship, and they would growl at each other whenever they met.

“Ah, I’ll conscientiously receive the legal interest rate.”

Eun-cho, who suddenly stopped, turned around and opened her lips. Seeing her fiercely hardened face, Eun-cho felt a subtle sense of pleasure rising even in this situation, so it seemed that they were of the same bloodline.

It was so nasty.

“No matter what you do, I have no obligation to pay that money back.”

Eun-cho usually won most of the fights between them. It seemed that there would be no exception this time…….

“I’m marrying Gu-won oppa. No matter how much you jump around, oppa can’t be yours.”

“Does that sound like you’re telling me to take him away?”

“Hey! Lee Eun-cho!”

Amid a pretty intense fight, a face other than Gu-won’s came to mind at the word ‘marriage.’

Absurdly.

Ryu Tae-san, whose presence was far from faint and extremely intense.

She could just ignore him as a crazy person, but for some reason, she didn’t think she could.

Unfortunately, these sad premonitions never missed.

Let’s meet again.

It wasn’t long before the man’s words came true.