Chapter 1
Prologue
“Yeah. Mom. You called?”
A woman’s voice drifted over from beyond the curtained terrace.
It was a voice he had heard somewhere before, so familiar that he instinctively stopped in his tracks.
“Mhm. Me? I’m always the same.”
The terrace was away from the center of the party, so it was quiet.
Thanks to that, he could hear the voice on the other end of the phone crystal clear.
“Oh, right. Mom, do you remember that day when I came home after Sports Day in second grade?”
Up until that point, he was really about to walk away.
If only he hadn’t heard the words that followed.
“When I asked why you didn’t pack me a lunchbox, you said, ‘Why are you being a nuisance when there’s not a single grain of rice at home?’ And then you slapped me, saying your back was breaking because of a freeloader like me.”
Her tone was casual, but the content was painfully dark.
“After hearing that, I really thought we didn’t have even one grain of rice at home. I was terrified. So the next day, when I snuck some leftover rice from the school lunch into a plastic bag, what did you do? You threw it in my face and asked me where I stole such crap from.”
Amazingly, she went on with a cheerful expression, as though reminiscing fondly.
“‘At this rate, you’ll end up begging on the subway just to eat,’ remember you said that? Do you?”
[ …No. ]
“I was only nine, and even I remember it. That’s cruel. Do you know how badly the kids teased me when they caught me stealing leftover rice like that a few times? My nickname for a while was Rice Beggar.”
Rice Beggar. Rice Beggar.
She chuckled as if she had just told a funny joke, repeating the last words under her breath.
The silence on the other end grew longer.
“Mom, not funny?”
[ ……… ]
“Fine. How much do you need this time?”
[I’m really sorry, but this will be the last time. You know Aunt Dohee, right? She—]
“Spare me the nonsense. Just tell me how much.”
Her tone was now sharp, utterly different from a moment ago.
Her voice was laced with contempt, hatred, and countless other dark emotions.
[T-Twenty… No, thirty-five. Can you lend me 35 million won?]
“Thirty-five? Mom, I’ve been on the phone with you for barely thirteen minutes. Isn’t that too much? You bleed me dry—thirteen minutes and you demand thirty-five million won.”
[I’ll pay it back soon, you know that. I’m really desperate right now.]
A silence followed. Somehow, it felt endlessly long.
“…Fine. If you need it, Mom. Send it to the same account as always?”
[Yes. Thank you. You’re all I have, my daughter.]
The call ended, leaving only faint breaths in the air.
The sound of high heels clicked against the marble floor.
He turned his head slightly, checking who was stepping out from behind the curtain.
A woman in a white dress was slipping her phone into a clutch.
“Pay it back soon? Please. You’ll just blow it all at the house anyway.”
Her voice, despite the words, was clear and ringing.
Her pronunciation was crisp and precise, making every word sink straight into the ear.
The moment he saw her face, he realized who she was.
It would have been strange not to recognize her.
Anyone living in Korea with even a passing interest in entertainment would have heard her name and seen her face at least once.
At seventeen, she had been street-cast and debuted in the academy drama Faster Than Light, shooting to instant stardom and winning the Rookie Award that very year.
From that day onward, she had won more awards than could be counted.
Every movie or drama she appeared in became a massive hit, earning her floods of offers from producers and directors.
On top of that, with the film Night of Wishes that premiered last winter, she swept up Best Actress awards across international film festivals—now in her tenth year, a true top star.
Only after her figure had completely disappeared from sight did he take out his phone.
“Manager Oh, can you arrange a dinner for the day after tomorrow?”
[Yes. With whom shall I set it up?]
“Seo Sara.”
