LSDK 09

Chapter 9

Even when there was a school event that required parents to attend, it was not much of a problem. That was possible because Arang’s adoptive parents were both active doctors and had always been permanently stationed at the trauma center, both then and now.

There were times when Arang’s adoptive parents came to the school as her parents. Even then, they had barely managed to make time by splitting and splitting their schedules. They would only see Ji-i’s face for a moment, attend the official event, and then immediately return to the hospital.

Judging from those short and occasional encounters, Ji-i thought that Arang’s adoptive parents were truly good people. On the other hand, Arang, who was pure evil itself, did not deserve to be the daughter of such good people, in Ji-i’s judgment.

It seems those people still haven’t seen Arang’s true nature.

No matter how she thought about it, it was because Ji-i had been too naive.

If only that necklace hadn’t been taken from me, they could have been my parents.

How could Ji-i not have been jealous during her school days? Whenever she met Arang’s adoptive parents from time to time, Ji-i could not hide her envy, and Arang caught her every single time. In her mind, Arang punished Ji-i in all sorts of ways for daring to desire something she should never have reached for.

Ji-i was beaten by Arang many times, but as long as her adoptive grandfather’s hospital bills were at stake, she had no choice but to swallow her envy, obey Arang, and follow only her orders.

Above all, it was nothing more than envy. Ji-i swore to heaven that she had never even once thought of taking Arang’s adoptive parents away from her.

But this time was different.

This time, I have to act more perfectly than ever.

In conclusion, judging from the basic information that Arang’s adoptive parents returned home at times similar to their weekday schedules, it would not be difficult for Ji-i, even though she was a complete stranger to them, to perfectly replace Arang’s identity in front of her adoptive parents.

The problem would probably be Arang’s older sister, Im Sang-ah, who had spent so much time with her in the same space.

Therefore, Ji-i needed to share information and memories about the family, and ultimately about Im Sang-ah.

If I want to complete my revenge safely, I especially have to completely clear Im Sang-ah’s suspicions.

But Arang had not said a single word about that.

That’s why I’m curious. Just how stupid and naive was I to get fooled by someone as careless as her?

“Why do you need information about my family?”

Rather, Arang seemed suspicious of the fact that Ji-i was asking for information about her family.

“If I don’t have a report about your family, won’t I get caught?”

“So why do you need it?”

“Why do you think I don’t need it?”

“I’ll marry Heo Dong-in, not marry my family, right?”

How am I supposed to explain this to this idiot so she understands? Or is she deliberately acting like this? Well, if it’s this idiot, she is more than capable of doing that.

“……”

Anyway, this was really difficult. So difficult.

“Haa…”

“……”

The two stared at each other for a while.

“You all get out.”

At last, Arang was the first to break eye contact and irritably ordered the men standing around her to leave. Then, after the men left and the door closed, she immediately said,

“If you have any strange thoughts, you’ll die by my hand.”

Wow. This thing really was pretending not to understand and acting clueless on purpose.

“What are you talking about?”

Can’t I pretend to be clueless too?

This time, it was Ji-i’s turn.

Fortunately, Ji-i could finally show off the indifference and calmness she had polished for the past seven full years, eight years by counting the calendar years.

Inside, she was pretending not to know anything, but there was no doubt that she looked very calm on the outside.

“I’ll tell you this in advance. It would be better for you to give up on trying to take my identity from me in the first place.”

Let’s get the words right. I’m not taking your identity. I’m taking my identity back!

“Forget it.”

Ji-i even let out a deep sigh as she lied.

“What?”

Arang still looked uncertain.

“Tell me where my adoptive grandfather is.”

To somehow take control of the situation, Ji-i had to pretend to take one step back.

“……”

You’re still not taking the bait?

Arang continued to look at Ji-i with a face full of suspicion.

“I’ll repay the hospital bills you’ve paid somehow, no matter what.”

Ji-i did not stop there. She casually threw her phone and the file she had just received onto the table, then suddenly stood up.

You’re still not taking the bait even after this?

“Wait.”

As expected, Arang grabbed her wrist.

“No. Right. No.”

Ji-i slapped her hand away and quietly gritted her teeth.

“I’ll give you all the information about our family within 48 hours.”

“I’ll consider the eight years I spent in prison in your place as payment for the hospital bills. In return, tell me where my grandfather is.”

Then she drove the point home.

“What?”

“Right now!”

“……”

I can practically hear her eyes rolling around.

“……”

“Besides supporting your adoptive grandfather’s hospital bills, I’ll send 3 million won into your account every month. No, 5 million. I’ll send 5 million won.”

You think this isn’t enough, right? Heh!

After hearing Arang’s words, the situation finally began to move in the direction Ji-i wanted.

“……”

“And if you safely give birth, I’ll give you 100 million won.”

“100 million?”

Not only did the atmosphere change, but an unexpected bonus appeared as well.

“Yes, 100 million.”

“Hmm.”

Ji-i thought about Arang’s offer for a moment.

Even if I worked two or three jobs for the rest of my life, I don’t think I could save that much money purely from my savings after paying for living expenses.

“Think about it. If you add the 100 million won to the 5 million won I’ll send you every month, you’ll be able to cover your adoptive grandfather’s hospital bills for several years.”

But is that really enough?

“……”

“Even for me, I would have to tighten my belt quite a lot to pay that much.”

No. Absolutely not!

“……”

“It’s beyond what I can afford.”

It’s still not enough. The calculation doesn’t even make sense in the first place!

That was only natural.

Arang had stolen Ji-i’s entire life.

In other words, no matter how much Arang gave her, it was originally Ji-i’s share anyway.

She’s showing off even in front of me about giving me what’s mine? Ha! The more I think about it, the more shameless this thing seems.

“10 million a month.”

Ji-i went straight for the maximum.

It was not because she thought she had nothing to lose and simply wanted to try asking for something impossible.

First, she was annoyed in many ways.

And secondly, she wanted to completely throw Arang’s mind into confusion and prevent her from even suspecting that Ji-i was trying to reclaim her identity.

“What?”

“10 million won a month. Then, including roughly 100 million won during the marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth process, and another 100 million won after giving birth, I should be able to comfortably take care of my adoptive grandfather.”

I’m only pretending to measure how desperate you are. In the first place, I’m going to reclaim what’s mine, so the amount doesn’t matter.

“You’re really saying you’ll invest 200 million won in that homeless person?”

If you want, I can also keep the same names, tone, and translation style for Chapter 10 onward.