"Ji-soo, what happened at the hospital?!"
That was the first question Eun-hyeok asked when he saw her torn outfit. Lisa wanted so badly to tell him it was Su-hyeok, but she knew he would make a scene at his house or at the hospital. And he would definitely make sure he wouldn't ever look at a woman like that.
The experience shook Lisa, and she could feel her skin crawling with disgust. But she couldn't tell her older brother. She looked at her feet, and then back up at him with as much courage as she could muster.
"It's nothing. Just some bullies"
"Bullies?! Is it that doctor you were walking with? Is he crazy? Why would they bully you like this? What did they do to you? I'll file a complaint, just tell me who they are" His hands cupped her face as he fired question after question. His eyes were filled with fury and underlying concern.
"No, the doctor had nothing to do with it. Don't bother filing a complaint for bullying, alright?" She moved a step away from him, brushing off his concern.
"Why not? If you let them get away with it, it's going to keep happening again and again"
"No, Dr. Alex took care of it. Also, I decided not to go there anymore. I'll get another job and put this whole thing behind me"
"Dr. Alex? That's the doctor you were walking with" He stated. Lisa nodded in agreement. Eun-hyeok was quiet, and his eyes were trained on the wall behind Lisa. Lisa noticed he'd spaced out.
"What are you thinking about?"
Eun-hyeok's eyes drifted back to her large ones. "Nothing... If you're not going to pursue the case, then you can just go ahead and shower, alright?"
Lisa nodded, walking away with her purse in her hand. Eun-hyeok stared after her, thinking about the doctor. His first impression of the doctor was bad, but he was beginning to rethink his opinion. Although he had some reservations about her story. She could try to tell a lie, but her eyes had a way of giving her away.
...
"My God! Have I not taught you anything? I mean, look at the curtains and the sofas. Don't you know how to mix and match colours?"
Mrs. An looked around the living room distastefully. There was a frown on her face as she observed each corner of the lifeless, monochromatic room. She imagined a daughter of hers would have a much better taste in colours.
"You've only just arrived, and you haven't even let me offer you a glass of water, or something to eat"
"I'm not hungry. How can I be hungry when you live in a place like this? You'll probably bring me black and white food to eat."
She was indirectly referring to the house, In-hye could tell. She didn't want to talk about that, because although her mother was into colours and such, plain black and white was her preference.
"I promise it's going to be nice, mum"
Her mother sneered, deciding to give up on complaining about the decor. "I had food on the plane."
"I thought you didn't like the food there."
"I made something at home and had it on the plane. Do you really think I would eat those chemicals? God knows what those things do to your body" Her expression was a perfect mix of disgust and horror as she said so.
"Oh...what about a drink? Or freshly squeezed juice?"
"No, thank you. I'm not interested. And your dad is in the bedroom now. I think I'll go join him"
In-hye nodded, letting her mother leave while she went to check the laundry room. She noticed a few of her dresses were missing, and then realized that Do-yun had done the washing a few days ago. Knowing the kind of husband she'd married, her clothes had probably been forgotten in the washer.
The laundry room was just past the kitchen, and there was a view of the back garden. It would have been perfect, except that the only plants in the garden were weeds. In-hye wanted to plant flowers or simple vegetables there, but she was lazy when it came down to it.
Starting was the hardest part. She was sure once she got through that part, the rest would be a piece of cake.
She really loved flowers in gardens, because when she was still a kid, her grandma had a garden at the back of her house, and most of her time was spent in that garden. Whenever In-hye's parents took her there, they took back various vegetables and flowers.
But that was when her grandma was still alive...
Opening the washer, In-hye stared in horror when she saw a white shirt that belonged to Do-yun placed next to a red scarf she had.
Men were never to be trusted with household chores. Luckily, her absentminded husband had forgotten to even turn the machine on. He hadn't even done anything, honestly.
"Honey! You didn't even turn the washer on!"
"What?! Sorry, I can't hear you!!!"
Snorting, In-hye decided to sort through the clothes and turn the washer on.
While sorting through the mix of clothing items, she noticed a white bra she'd never seen before. Raising the sheer, lacy, white material, her eyes widened in horror. What the hell was a strange bra doing in their house?!
Of course!
If it wasn't Do-yun, then it was no one. And it certainly wasn't no one.
Turning around to confront Do-yun about it, she came face-to-face with her mother who was observing the utility room too with a careful glance.
In-hye hid the bra behind her quickly before her mother noticed it.
"It's a pity that the only nice place in this house is the laundry room. Who wants to see your laundry room?"
She walked past In-hye, who turned to make sure she couldn't see what was snagged in her fist. Mrs. An peered into the washer, a look of horror similar to the one In-hye had before on her own face.
"Do you not know how to sort clothes too?!"
"Ummm..." she stammered. Her mother's words were the last thing on her mind. Her face had a horrific look, which Mrs. An mistook for embarrassment.
"You know, I wonder what you did with everything I taught you. But that's not why I'm here"
"Oh, then why...are you here?"
"Your father is having drinks with Do-yun tonight, and he wants to know if you'll tag along"
Do-yun...that lying cheat. I am going to have to deal with him. Her train of thought was interrupted when she noticed her mother reaching into the washer to help In-hye sort through the clothes. In-hye perked up.
"Mum! What are you doing?!" She grabbed the clothes in her mother's hand and put them back in the washer quickly. She'd already found someone's underwear in said washer and couldn't risk her mom discovering something weird.
"I'm helping you" Her mom replied, her expression surprised. In-hye was being particularly strange since she entered the laundry room. Her expression quickly turned concerned as she stared at her daughter. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine, mother. Just a little...feverish"
Her mother placed the back of her hand on In-hye's neck, feeling her temperature. "Your body is a bit warm...I don't even know why. It's not like you do anything at home...why don't you go inside and have a rest. When I'm done with this, I'll make some chicken soup for you"
"No!" She blurted out. Realising her outburst, she continued, "I mean, can you make the soup now? I don't want you doing the laundry, I'll take care of it when I'm better"
"It's al-"
"No, mother" She tossed the hidden bra to the side so her mother wouldn't notice it, proceeding to hold her mother's arm.
"I'm feeling very weak, so I think it's best if I have the chicken soup now...come on"
Walking ot the door, she let her mother go on ahead, saying she just had to grab her phone from the room. When she was sure her mother was gone, she took the bra and hid it under her clothes, before locking the door to the room to make sure no one else entered the room.
As for Do-yun, that cheating scum, he'd better have a logical explanation for why she found a bra that didn't belong to her in their home.