Vengeful Desires

29-

"What do you mean the kid is the judge's grandson?" Mi-ok gasped, nearly choking on the dried squid she had been chewing on.

Yura nodded solemnly from where she knelt before them. "Yes, that's correct. The child I've been caring for - Jae-min - is the son of Judge's son and...and Soo-jin."

"Wait, wait..." Sola held up a hand, brow furrowing as she tried to follow. "You're saying that stuck-up princess Soo-jin and some judge's screw-up kid were a thing? How did that even happen?"

Mi-ok shook her head slowly, shooting Yura an incredulous look as she continued snacking on the dried squid. "So you were essentially raising Soo-jin's kid this whole time? Fill in the blanks for us here."

Yura hesitated a moment before nodding again. "It's...a complicated situation, to say the least. But you deserve to know the full truth after everything." She inhaled deeply, steadying herself.

"Soo-jin did initially break off her arranged engagement to your brother, Mi-ok," she began carefully. "She had become...infatuated with Judge Yoon's son during that period and started a relationship with him in secret."

Pausing, Yura shot them both an apologetic look. "I should warn you, some of these details are rather...unpleasant to recount. But I'll do my best to be fully transparent."

Mi-ok simply waved a dismissive hand, jaw working the dried snack as she listened intently. Beside her, Sola leaned back against the couch with an expectant look.

"Go on then," the blonde prompted gruffly. "Don't spare us any juicy tidbits on account of politeness."

A pained look flickered across Yura's features before she inclined her head in acquiescence. "Very well. As I was saying, Soo-jin and the judge's son began their affair shortly before the wedding was to take place. He was...not a good man, from what I understand. Prone to excessive vices and violent outbursts."

She swallowed hard, seemingly struggling with her next admission. "The stories I heard indicate that there was an...incident one night where he hit someone while intoxicated. He struck her, quite brutally from the sound of it."

Mi-ok stilled, the strip of squid she had been lifting to her lips falling forgotten back to the plate as realization began to dawn. Sola, however, mercifully cut through the weighted pause with a scoff.

"So the coward hit someone left the scene and this is who Soo-Jin let knock her up?" Sola rolled her eyes derisively. "Real upstanding individual there. What happened next?"

Yura grimaced faintly but pressed on with her narrative. "After the...altercation, it came to light that Soo-jin was with child as a result. He panicked, fearful of potential scandal and criminal charges. It was then that your mother, Mi-ok, intervened. I believe Soo-Jin promised to have her father invest in Wang group."

"Of course she did," Mi-ok muttered darkly under her breath, shaking her head. She already knew where this story was heading.

"Madame Wang agreed to assist in...containing the situation by arranging for Soo-jin to disappear for a while until she gave birth," Yura explained, shame coloring her words now. "The plan was to pass the child off as someone else's to avoid any association with Judge's family."

She looked up then, meeting Mi-ok's gaze softly. "That's where I came into the picture. After Soo-jin gave birth, she brought the baby - Jae-min - straight to my doorstep."

Mi-ok's eyes narrowed fractionally. "So you've been caring for that child and hiding his true parentage all this time?"

When Yura nodded, the younger woman scoffed bitterly and tossed the remainder of her snack aside, seeming to have lost her appetite entirely.