MY DAUGHTER’S NANNY
TAG: Love and betrayal.
Ji-soo arrived home very late, dropped off by the pot-bellied man after a lot of persuasion from her uncle and his wife. Despite her initial refusal, they had forced her into the car with him.
As they approached Min-soo’s mansion, Ji-soo asked them to stop at the next street. She quickly got out of the car.
“Hope to see you soon,” he said,The man grinned at her before disappearing into the night. leaving Ji-soo feeling irritated.
She started walking down the lonely road, surrounded by streetlights that cast long shadows on the ground. As she walked, she sensed someone following her.
Every time she stopped to turn around, she saw no one there, but her anxiety grew. She quickened her pace, her heart racing with every step.
The shadow seemed to be closing in on her, and she could see the outline of a person from the light. Panicked, she turned a corner to hide.
But instead of finding refuge, she collided with Min-soo, who grasped her shoulders to steady her. Ji-soo let out a startled scream.
“Boss,” Ji-soo called out, relief evident in her voice. Min-soo pulled away from her, tucking his hands into his pockets and fixing her with a stern gaze.
“Where are you coming from?” he asked.
“Um… from my uncle’s house,” Ji-soo replied, avoiding eye contact.
“And you’re coming home at this hour? Don’t you know when it’s late?” Min-soo scolded, his tone firm.
“I’m sorry, sir. I promise it won’t happen again.”-she bowed
Min-soo stared at her for a moment before walking away, leaving Ji-soo to sigh in relief. She quickly followed him.
The next day, Ma Ha-Yoon and Ji-soo were in the kitchen preparing the next meal.
“How’s your sister doing? Have you guys been able to raise the money?” Ma Ha-Yoon asked. Ji-soo sighed, looking away. “Ji-soo,” she called out.
“I…,” Ji-soo stammered.
“Don’t tell me you agreed to their demands?” Ma Ha-Yoon’s eyes widened.
“I had no choice, Granny. Hye-ji was dying in front of me, and…,” she explained, tears welling up in her eyes.
“And you accepted the marriage proposal?”
“I did.”she nodded, tears streaming down her face.
“Ji-soo, why?” Ma Ha-Yoon exclaimed, her voice laced with disappointment and worry.
“I had no choice,” she repeated. Ma Ha-Yoon sighed, her eyes filled with concern.
“You do have a choice, Ji-soo. Do you know what you’ve done?” she said, her tone tinged with sadness.
Later that day, Ji-soo helped serve the meal.
“Nanny, how’s your sister doing? Is she getting better?” Ji-mi asked.
“Um, yes, she’s getting better,” Ji-soo replied, forcing a smile.
“That’s good,” Ji-mi said, returning to her meal.
As Ji-soo turned to leave, her cell phone beeped with an incoming message. She glanced at the screen and saw it was a strange number, asking her to meet him at the first restaurant.
She sighed, recognizing the sender. Min-soo’s gaze lingered on her before she turned to the family.
“Um, boss, I’ll be stepping out later,” Ji-soo said.
“Why? Are you going to see one of your numerous boyfriends?” Eun-seo asked rudely.
“No, ma’am,” Ji-soo replied calmly.
“You have an hour to return home, or your salary will be deducted,” Min-soo warned.
“Right away, sir,” Ji-soo said, leaving with Ma Ha-Yoon.
In their room, Ji-soo headed to her closet to change.
“Where are you going? Who are you going to meet?” Ma Ha-Yoon asked.
“It’s him. He asked me to meet up with him,”.
“The man you accepted the marriage proposal from?” she asked and Ji-soo nodded. “You can’t go,” Ma Ha-Yoon said firmly.
“I have to. I’ve already accepted it. If I don’t go, he’ll hurt me and my family,”
“Ji-soo, you’re taking a big risk. What if he does something to you? What if he demands…?”
“I just pray for the strength to overcome it. Pray for me. I’ve seen hell enough. I guess I’m just a used object to everyone,” her eyes welled up with tears, heading to the bathroom to change.
Ji-soo arrived at the restaurant, and the man was already seated, waiting for her. As she sat down across from him, he asked,
“How are you doing today?” He attempted to touch her face, but she pulled back.
“Please don’t touch me,” she said firmly.
The man chuckled. “You can’t stop me from touching you. You’re already mine. Your family has agreed to our arrangement, so I’m entitled to you, so I owed you”
“You don’t owe me, I only agreed to marry you to save my sister,” Ji-soo corrected him, her voice cold.
“I don’t care about the reasons,”
“Why did you call me here?” Ji-soo asked, trying to steer the conversation back on track.
Actually, he was the one who texted her.
“To see my wife, of course,” he said. “I miss you already, and I want you to move in with me.”
“Move in with you?” she repeated. Surprisedly.
“Yes, you heard right,” he said, his voice firm. “I’m giving you today to prepare. Tomorrow, my men will come to collect you and bring you to my house.”
“Never,” she shook her head, a sense of panic rising up and she stood up “I have to go. It’s getting late.”
She quickly exited the restaurant before he could respond, leaving him to smile to himself.
“You’re mine, and you won’t escape me,” he thought, his confidence unwavering.
After leaving the restaurant in a hurry, Ji-soo decided to visit her uncle’s house to discuss declining the proposal. Upon arrival, she was met with the sound of giggling and plates clicking. Curious, she listened in on their conversation.
“Ji-soo is so naive, I can’t believe she stupidly agreed to marry that old man,” Hye-ji mocked.
“Of course, it’s a good thing she agreed to marry him,” her uncle said. “How else would we get rich? She’s got no choice. And Hye-ji, you’re such a good actor – anyone who saw you acting like that would think you’re really dying.”
“Exactly, Dad,” Hye-ji said, and they laughed.
Their conversation turned uglier, with Ji-soo’s aunt chiming in.
“Ji-soo is such a good fortune-bringer, bringing us this wealth. What do you think will happen when he lays with her and finds out she’s a virgin? It’ll fetch us even more money.”
“It’s so good to be rich. She’ll never know we sold her before, pretending that Hye-ji was unwell.” He said.
“If we had more family members like Ji-soo, we’d be even richer.”Hye-ji snickered.
“Exactly,” her uncle said. “Now that she’s already accepted the proposal, we’ll continue to urge her to give us more money.”
“She’ll have no choice. She thinks we’ve accepted her, not knowing she’s just being used.”His wife added, They continued eating and laughing.
Ji-soo, who had heard everything, felt shattered and heartbroken. She realized she’d been manipulated by her own family. She felt like she was dying inside and couldn’t believe what she’d heard. She tried to scream out in pain, but her voice was trapped. She managed to stumble away, unsure of where to go.
Ji-soo walked alone on the deserted road, lost in her thoughts. The darkness seemed to mirror her despair, and the bright streetlights only highlighted her isolation. She wandered onto a lonely bridge, gazing down at the calm river below. Slowly, she removed her shoes, her eyes fixed on the water.
As she stood there, teetering on the edge, a painful memory flooded her mind. She let out a deafening scream and collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. The sky responded with a thunderclap, and heavy rain began to pour down. Ji-soo curled up, knees squeezed tight, crying out all her anguish.
Meanwhile, Ma Ha-Yoon was frantic with worry. She paced back and forth in the living room, trying to reach Ji-soo on her phone, but it wasn’t going through. Min-soo emerged from his room, noticing her agitation.
“Ma Ha-Yoon, what’s wrong?” he asked. “You’re supposed to be in bed. It’s late.”
“Um, yes….Ji-soo isn’t back, and I’m worried,” she replied.
“At this time?”.
“Yes, her phone isn’t going through, and I don’t know what that man might have done to her.”
Min-soo’s expression changed. “What man?” he asked, his interest piqued.
Before Ma Ha-Yoon could explain, the doorbell rang.
“I guess that’s her,” she said, hurrying to open the door.
To their surprise, Ji-soo stood at the doorstep, soaked to the bone and disoriented. Her eyes were swollen from tears.
“Ji-soo…” Ma Ha-Yoon began, but before she could finish, Ji-soo’s legs gave way, and she fainted.
Min-soo rushed over, and together they helped Ji-soo up and into her room.
TBC
