Chapter 69

Chapter 69

“It is a medicine from a famous practitioner to warm your womb and reduce menstrual irregularity. He asked me to make sure you took them regularly.”

Her brow creased a little, but she took the medicine anyway.

It had been five days since an inebriated Yuri had cried her heart out before Tae-jun. In hindsight, she had chided herself for telling him about Seok-ha Yoo and her father. One, this man wasn’t related to this matter whatsoever; two, he was already a bully interfering in her life and she hated him for that. Besides, they had about two months left, and it would end earlier if she found her memories.

Fortunately, Tae-jun did not speak of what happened that day. He seemed to be busy, coming late at night and going out early. Also, he did not brandish the contract or ask her to lie with him. It had never been this peaceful in his presence, or rather his absence.

After downing the medicines, Yuri went to the living room and turned on the TV. Her eyes met Sebastian’s, who she could not decide was sitting or adorning the corner of the living room. She wondered whether the dog was happy or sad.

And when she thought deeper, she realized she couldn’t tell the difference between a taxidermied dog and her current situation. After all, she was only an item to collect for Tae-jun Seo.

The lingering bitterness of the medicine was still in her mouth, drawing her attention back to now. She turned her gaze away from Sebastian, her thoughts were now on In-bae Lee who was scheduled to be on television.

In the past few days, she had not been idle. Slowly but surely she had scraped together information on him after having discovered that the owner of the voice in Jinseong City was the governor’s underling.

This man was the proverbial rag to riches story. Born to a poor factory workman, In-bae Lee did not receive proper education and instead worked at a plant. Rendered immobile due to an industrial accident, he had managed to pass the high school qualification exam. Right after graduation, he took up the judicial examinations and went on to become a lawyer. And in just a year, he had been elected as the youngest city councilor in the history of Jinseong City.

In-bae Lee and President Jin’s prosperous association had probably begun from thereon. Twice he was elected the city councilor and congressman. He served as the mayor for two consecutive terms and was now the governor of the Gyeonggi Province. He had been widely touted as the most influential presidential candidate.

But why would a man like him try to kill me?

Yuri could not see a connection, and there were limits to the information she could find at home on the internet. What should I do?

As she mulled, she almost dropped the remote controller as she changed the channel. She stilled when she saw a familiar name on the news.

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<A beginning of the Me-Too Movement in the Art Industry: Artist Seok-ha Yoo accused of s3xual abuse.>

Yuri abruptly got to her feet in shock. On the screen right now was a group of women, of varied ages, exposing the savage brutality of the revered Seok-ha Yoo. One by one, the women were recounting their horrific tales, breaking down as they did.

Toe the line or be buried in obscurity- each woman was threatened, coerced, and shoved to the brink of helplessness. One would argue that they should have stood their ground and not yielded, but only those who were in it knew that they had tried and failed miserably.

Who would willingly jump into a pit of fire? Between the struggle to eke out even the simplest living and trading one’s body with the villain in return for a roof on one’s head, what would one choose? Besides, who would believe them, help or hear their plea? It was their, a nobody’s, word against the celebrated professor’s.

How did this happen?

When she was a student, a Me-Too movement would’ve been impossible to end up making any progress no matter how hard she tried. Firstly, she wouldn’t have the support of the fellow victims who would be scared to go against the man. If they weren’t afraid of him, to begin with, why else would he have had his way? Secondly, even if one or two did brave it, they would have hardly lasted what with the backing this man had. It would be a miracle if they would make it to the court alive.

With an atmosphere that publicly acknowledged the existence of sponsors and patrons, Seok-ha Yoo’s actions were nothing peculiar. This barter seemed to exist from time immemorial.

Willingly or unwillingly, people had ended up in this situation. Also, when it came to the morality of the rich and famous, the public had a tendency to turn a blind eye toward the victims. They would even go as far as to recriminate the aggrieved party which would be worse than the harassment one had been through.

So then, what broke the norm?

The news was now showing a middle-aged woman with her head deep down. She could be identified as the sitting chairman of the Fine Arts Association and the chief director of the H School of Fine Arts. She stated deep grievance on the issue surrounding Professor Seok-ha Yoo and promised to compensate the victimized students. She also calmly stressed that the fine arts field would try its best to prevent such horrendous events from recurring ever again.

Manager Choi let out a gentle gasp as she watched the TV with plates of fruits and dessert in her hands

“What’s the matter?” Yuri asked.

“She tends to dislike appearing on TV. Is something going on? Are there issues at the school?”

“Do you know who she is?”

“Of course, she’s our director’s mother.”

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