Chapter 1
The wind at the end of March was brutally cold.
After entering her lesson log into the school administration system, Seo Jaekyung rested both arms beneath the classroom window and let out a shallow breath.
It had been about a month since she started working as a teacher.
She had mostly gotten used to teaching, and she had become fairly close with the students as well.
There was only one problem.
The school where she worked belonged to the Uitae Foundation.
The moment she thought of Jin Heeyeon, her former mother-in-law who had practically become the mistress of the KE Group, suffocating anxiety washed over her.
“Live quietly and stay hidden. Never appear in front of my son again.”
That had been five years ago.
Jaekyung was no longer the naive twenty-year-old who knew nothing about the world.
Besides, she had never run into Director Jin or her ex-husband since then. It was almost as if they didn't exist in the same world she lived in.
Jaekyung was only one of ten short-term contract teachers at this school.
Just one semester.
She only had to work another three or four months before summer vacation began and her contract ended.
She just had to keep her head down until then.
Rrrrrring.
The ringing phone broke through her anxious thoughts.
It was a sudden request for a meeting from the vice principal.
“Vice Principal, you wanted to see me?”
“Teacher Seo, I think we'll need to make some adjustments to your contract this semester.”
“Adjustments?”
The vice principal didn't even look at her.
He sat behind his desk, staring only at the papers in front of him.
His vague words made Jaekyung's chest turn cold.
“With the new chairman taking office, there has been some talk from the foundation about reorganizing contracts. Nothing has been decided yet, though.”
That last sentence wasn't reassuring at all.
Surely he isn't telling me to quit immediately, right?
Jaekyung desperately tried to convince herself that everything would be fine.
“By the way, Teacher Seo. Did you see the post on the anonymous message board? It criticized the foundation for reducing the quota for socially disadvantaged students.”
“An anonymous message board? This is the first I've heard of it.”
The vice principal adjusted his crooked glasses.
He continued speaking as though he was convinced Jaekyung already knew everything.
“If you suspect any of the contract workers, report them. The post has already been deleted, but apparently they're even considering charging a penalty fee, so you'd better be careful. The higher-ups are treating it as a violation of regulations because it damaged the foundation's image.”
The higher-ups?
Had the order come directly from the chairman's office?
Jaekyung's father, Seo Jun, was also working as a contract employee on the Uitae Foundation's security team.
They were already in a vulnerable position.
Nothing good could come from attracting attention.
“I really don't know anything about it. Surely the talk about terminating contracts isn't because of that incident, is it?”
The vice principal gave her an irritated look.
“If you have questions, call the administration office and ask them. Anyway, good work. I have a meeting now, so you can go.”
He spoke coldly while still refusing to look at her.
“Understood.”
Jaekyung left the vice principal's office, trying to push away the ominous feeling in her chest.
Perhaps because of the sudden warning, she remembered the text message her father had sent during lunch.
[Do you know anywhere I can borrow money urgently? A registered letter came saying they might put a provisional seizure on the house if I don't pay the overdue amount. They said the electricity and water could be cut off too... I'm sorry.]
Her father's bottomless debt.
Her student loans.
Overdue credit cards.
Living expenses.
Jaekyung quickly ran through the numbers in her head, but she hadn't received any translation or interpretation work this month either.
Her mouth went dry at the thought of how quickly her job opportunities were disappearing.
She had earned more than twenty certificates while attending university, yet none of them had actually helped her find stable work.
If she could become unemployed overnight, she needed to find another part-time job just to cover her living expenses.
Jaekyung closed the book she had been reading and let out a deep breath.
Maybe she was coming down with a cold.
She felt chilly and exhausted.
She had already been sitting at a rooftop restaurant overlooking Namsan for an hour, waiting for her boyfriend.
Minho worked at a nearby hospital and often received emergency calls without warning.
Their dates had been canceled or interrupted several times before.
“Today's a special day, so wait for me even if I'm late.”
Minho was a thirty-six-year-old specialist.
He said this was his first relationship, and he was so cautious that even holding Jaekyung's hand seemed difficult for him.
If he hadn't specifically asked her to wait today, she would have gone home a long time ago.
The coffee in the cream-colored cup had already gone completely cold.
Even as Jaekyung looked down at the brilliant neon lights of Seoul, now glowing against the dark night, she couldn't stop thinking about school.
Debt that never decreased no matter how much she paid.
She couldn't keep paying debt with more debt.
What am I supposed to deal with first?
Jaekyung bit her lip as reality weighed heavily on her.
