Pay With Your Heart

Eun-Sun went around the field with Soomin and the person who was instructed to guide them. Eun-Sun was once again mesmerised by the scenery of the place. Not far away from where they stood was a hill, and the sun was setting right on top of it.

She drew in the smell of fresh earth that was lingering in the air.

"This place is relaxing." She sighed, causing the lady leading them to smile.

"That's what the visitors always say." The woman said with a smile.

"It's the truth," Eun-Sun replied before glancing at Soomin, who stood in a daze as she stared at her.

Eun-Sun walked up to her and curiously inquired, "Aunty, are you okay?" She knew she shouldn't ask because she was sure she wouldn't get a response, but to her surprise, the woman said,

"She would have looked like you."

"Huh?" Who was she talking about now? Was it...

"Aunty?" Eun-Sun asked when the woman suddenly grabbed her hand and asked,

"Are you my baby?" Her voice filled with desperation and fear.

Eun-Sun looked at her and at the woman, who also looked surprised. She had no idea what was going on.

"Aunty Soomin?" Eun-Sun called out lowly as she tried to hold Soomin's hand with her free one. Eun-Sun looked lost. She didn't know what to do, so she did the first thing that came to her mind, and that was hugging her.

Last night, Dan-Han had told her about her missing baby, and she felt sympathetic towards her. She couldn't imagine the woman's pain, but she could guess it must have been one hell of an ordeal.

"It's okay," Eun-Sun said as she patted her back. "You'll get your baby back," Eun-Sun told her, not sure if she should say that.

She didn't know what to say to her. But she was certain no mother should ever be allowed to go through any of this. And she couldn't help but wonder if her mother was also looking for her somewhere.

Did someone also take her from her mother? The man who had given her to Song-Hee was he her father? Or someone who abducted her just like this woman's child.

Eun-Sun suddenly felt lost and emotional as she kept hugging Soomin. She was even more certain that the world wasn't always fair. Not to her and definitely not to the people around her. They were victims of the cruelty of this world.

There was Mrs Lee, who had the largest heart and sweetest soul, but she was about to die. There was also Dan-Han, who loved with all his heart, but he didn't know he was about to lose the woman who brought him to this world. There was her who hadn't done anything wrong but has been dealt several blows of life. And here again was another victim.

She sighed as she broke the hug. She looked at Soomin, who, for the first time, was reflecting some emotions in her eyes. Emotions she couldn't discern, but there was one thing significant in her eyes, and that was fear.

But what was she afraid of?

Eun-Sun spent the next hour walking around with Soomin. She didn't know what to do or say, so she told her about her work and her friend, Hei-Ran.

Shit! Hei-Ran. She had missed her call yesterday and has failed to call her back.

"Aunty Soomin, excuse me for a minute." She said before quickly dialling Hei-Ran's number.

"Hei-Ran, I'm so sorry I couldn't call you back yesterday. I was busy." She quickly apologised the moment Hei-Ran answered the call.

"Hey, it's okay. I understand." Hei-Ran replied, and Eun-sun didn't miss how low and tired she sounded. It was still morning, so why did she sound that way? And this was definitely not her sleepy voice.

"Hei-Ran, what's wrong with you? Did something happen?" Eun-Sun asked with concern.

"No. It's nothing." Hei-Ran replied with a dismissive tone but that only piqued Eun-sun's concern more.

"Hei-Ran tell me. I know you better than that." She told her. Her voice and tone letting Hei-Ran know she wasn't going to back down till she heard what was wrong with her.

Hei-Ran sighed, "It's grandfather."

"Your grandfather?" Eun-sun was surprised to hear about that old man. She couldn't remember the last time they talked about him. Maybe years ago? Definitely years ago.

"What happened? What did he want?" She inquired.

"He's offering me the presidency of Su corporation." She said, making Eun-sun's eyes widen in shock. She wasn't expecting that. What happened? How did grandfather Su come up with such a decision? And what about that evil bitch - A-Yeong?

"What about that evil cousin of yours?" She asked.

"Well, grandfather has finally discovered the truth."

"It's about time." Eun-Sun hissed. She had once loved the man, but that changed after what happened to Hei-Ran. She had felt like beating some sense into him at the time. And that A-Yeong was lucky Hei-Ran had stopped her from breaking her neck back then too. "Glad to know he has finally seen the light." Eun-Sun hissed.

"Yeah," Hei-Ran sighed too.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Eun-Sun asked.

Letting out another sigh, she replied, "Seriously, I don't know. But I don't think I want to work at Su corporation anymore."

"Are you sure?"

"Maybe. I don't really know. I'm not as ambitious as I used to be. Now, I want to get married and have kids and have fun." She replied, making Eun-sun scoff.

"You're no longer ambitious? Keep lying to yourself." Eun-Sun told her.

"I'm not." Hei-Ran refuted.

"Hei-Ran, stop deceiving yourself. You're the most ambitious person I know, and that hasn't changed. If that wasn't the case, why have you continued working with psycho Song despite all his ill behaviour?"

"Stop calling him psycho Song. He's Jin-Hai." Hei-Ran corrected her, making Eun-sun roll her eyes.

"Whatever. Just ask yourself the right questions. Do you want Su corps to fall into the hand of another Jezebel? You once boldly told me you'll work hard and make sure every one of them apologises for not believing you, and now you have it."

"But Jin-Hai?"

"Isn't your husband yet." Eun-Sun knew Hei-Ran well, so she could already tell the reason for her hesitation.

"But he can be." She bit her lips in embarrassment when she realised what she had just said, and Eun-Sun couldn't help but shake her head.

"Wait till he is. And we both know all this talk about marriage is because of the constant pressure from your mom and your aunt, so relax. And if truly Jin-Hai loves, he'll also want the best for you. But first, you have to know what's best for you. So Hei-Ran, do you know what's best for you? What do you truly desire?" Eun-Sun asked.