Prey - Chapter 22
The reason her stepmother, who hadn’t contacted her in years, was suddenly calling her to that house was probably due to Seol Hee-nam’s business failing miserably.
With a bitter smile, Suhyeon got into the elevator.
‘What should I do?’
After a moment of contemplation, she decided to go since it would be the last time. She felt a desire to see Seol Hee-nam in ruins, along with Park In-ok and Seol Hana’s downfall.
When she arrived at the family home in Seongsu-dong, she found seizure notices stuck everywhere. As she scanned the furniture and appliances adorned with seizure notices,
Suhyeon walked calmly into the living room.
It wasn’t surprising because she had expected it.
Entering the living room, now lavishly decorated, she saw Park In-ok sprawled on the sofa. Beside her sat her second aunt, Park Young-hye, and Seol Hana.
“Seol Suhyeon. You…”
Park In-ok, lying in agony, tried to get up when she saw Suhyeon.
“Mom, just lie down. You have a headache.”
Seol Hana reached out to stop her, pushing Park In-ok back down.
“Ah… my head.”
Park In-ok groaned and lay back on the sofa.
Seol Hana looked at Suhyeon, who did not avoid her gaze.
Seol Hana resembled Park In-ok and Seol Hee-nam completely, showing no resemblance to Suhyeon. That was truly a relief. Suhyeon was always grateful that she didn’t look like Seol Hee-nam at all.
“What’s going on here?”
Despite already grasping the situation, Suhyeon pretended not to know.
Park Young-hye, sitting next to Park In-ok, frowned and stared at Suhyeon.
“Can’t you see? It’s a mess because of your father’s business!”
She looked at Suhyeon resentfully, as if it were her fault.
“Where’s my father?”
At Suhyeon’s question, Park Young-hye frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.
“He’s running around trying to get money, but who would be crazy enough to lend money to a company that’s already gone under? He’s already drained all the sources.”
“I knew it would come to this. I knew it. All that fuss about expanding the factory, and in the end, it just led to foreclosure notices on the house… really… ah, my head.”
Park In-ok groaned weakly while lying down.
“Mom, your blood pressure is going up again. The doctor told you to be careful.”
Seol Hana said worriedly, and Park Young-hye added,
“Right. In-ok, don’t overdo it. What will happen if you fall ill too?”
Park Young-hye clicked her tongue at Park In-ok before shifting her gaze back to Suhyeon.
Suhyeon keenly observed how Park Young-hye’s expression subtly changed as if she were hiding something.
“Ahem.”
Clearing her throat, Park Young-hye spoke to Suhyeon.
“Given how things are, Suhyeon, you need to help out a bit.”
“Me?”
Suhyeon asked back, unimpressed. Park Young-hye scolded her with a frown.
“How can you, as the eldest daughter, be so blissfully unaware that your father’s business is failing? Do you know how chaotic it was when I got here? They were trying to foreclose, and in the midst of dealing with those people, your mom collapsed! Even if you are a spoiled child, you shouldn’t act like this.”
Suhyeon let out a quiet, mocking laugh that she tried to hide.
Eldest daughter.
To be called the eldest daughter after her mother.
It seemed Park Young-hye didn’t notice Suhyeon’s incredulous smile. She cleared her throat again and glanced at Suhyeon with her glistening eyes.
“Looks like people aren’t meant to die, huh? I was just on my way back from an unexpected job offer at a place that would surprise you.”
“……”
Wiping the smile off her face, Suhyeon looked at Park Young-hye.
With an excited expression, Park Young-hye spoke.
“It’s a place that will really surprise you if you hear about it. If things go well there, you’ll become a great man from a wonderful family, so you and the family here won’t have to worry about living comfortably, right?”
“…….”
Looking at the hopeful eyes and flushed cheeks of Park Young-hye, Suhyeon shifted her gaze to Park In-ok and Seol Ha-na.
Park In-ok, who was lying down because she was sick, was rolling her eyes at her with a sidelong glance.
Seol Ha-na was looking at her with eyes as if it were someone else’s business.
‘Ah, I see.’
Suhyeon instantly understood the whole situation.
Those women must have intended to offer her as a sacrifice to some rich family’s wild son to get through this crisis.
How could they look at a person like that?
She felt like laughter might escape her, but Suhyeon swallowed it down and opened her mouth with a calm face.
“If it’s such a great family, then it would be fine to send Seol Ha-na.”
