𓂃 ₓ✶ NVPTXNE 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒... 💿🧋☔️🎧 ‧₊˚
➜ ៵ ִ࣪ ۫ ּ 𝙼𝙸𝙳𝙽𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝚂𝙺𝚈ヾ₊˚.
PROLOGUE. 𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶𝙸𝙽𝙶 🎧
OUT OF THE WHOLE TWENTY YEARS THEY WERE TOGETHER , Eunji was sure her mother hated her father for at least thirteen of those years. This meant that the only time Na Bora had harbored true feelings of love towards Moon Jaehyuck were the three years they were together in highschool and the four years they'd taken of college before they got married.
Ever since Bora was a child it seemed she was only capable of making the wrong decisions. Ones that filled her with a sugary sweet feeling in the moment, only to dissolve into a disgustingly bitter one later. The biggest example of this being her marriage to her husband. It was truly unfortunate. Moon Jaehyun on paper was everything she could have hoped for. Handsome, kind, patient, good family, handsome. With Jaehyun it seemed she'd had it all. Someone who would take her on dates, constantly bring her food he made, leave little notes on her desk with sweet words of encouragement. He had multiple part time jobs, all towards building a better work ethic. The fact that her family (who were always hard to please) liked him as well was just icing on the cake.
But, a lesson that Bora learned that she would later pass on to her daughter is, 'nature always finds away to balance itself out, and it isn't different with people. For every good quality one possesses, an ugly one exsists."
While Moon Jaehyun was indeed handsome, his mind was not as sharp. He wasn't necessarily an idiot, but he was no Einstein either. His family had always been especially business oriented, his great grandfather establishing a publishing company in his early twenties for it to be passed down from generation to generation. They weren't filthy rich by any means but Jaehyun's great grandfather and grandfather had always prided themselves on what they built and achieved for their families. This sentiment however was never one Jaehyun could understand though. Unfortunately, Jaehyun did not inherit the so called 'business sense,' that the generations before him did. He wasn't savvy, and didn't possess the skills needed to understand the work his family did, not that he'd tried. He decided from a young age that the publishing business was not going to be his path, but a path of marketing.
Which leads to the next point. Moon Jaehyun, down to his very core, was a coward, and in turn, extremely secretive because of it. He'd always had a nasty habit of doing everything in his power to keep a good thing when he had it, even if the consequences would be catastrophic. Even when his grandparents died, leaving the family business to his incapable father. Even when his father had destroyed the business his grandfather built. Even when he watched the debt from bad deals pile up right before his eyes. He still never said a thing to his girlfriend, or anyone.
And why would he? He never wanted to take over the family business. His interests always lied elsewhere. The debts weren't his. They were his parents, and when he graduated and moved out, he'd never have to see them again. He would use the money he'd saved for years doing part time jobs to attend a small university, he'd get a degree, marry his girlfriend, and never look back.
And for a time, this plan seemed to work. When they'd graduated he'd begun at a nearby university while Bora attended a more high profile one. They had finished their undergraduate degrees when Jaehyun finally decided to pop the question. They got married in front of all their family in friends (minus Jaehyuns family, who he'd said couldn't make it), and they set out the begin their lives together, just as the young man had planned, and Bora had gone along with everything, completely oblivious what was coming.
One year into their marriage was when everything fell apart. Jaehyun had completed two days at an internship with a small company when he'd gotten a call from his dad's lawyer, stating he and his mother had passed away in a car accident. Neither had a will, as they didn't have anything to give to their son. What they did have, however, was debt. Mountains and Mountains of debt. And Jaehyun was lucky enough to receive every penny of it, and because marriage means everything is shared, Bora also received this debt.
Na Bora could not fathom why the universe hated her. Why it sent her a fantasy in the form of a man only to have him be the most cowardly, secretive, selfish piece of trash she'd ever known. What had she done? Had she been a murderer in her past life? A liar? A cheat? What could she have possibly done to deserve someone like Moon Jaehyun, who, even when he was nervously explaining their future financial situation, still looked as innocent and honest as the first day she met him.
Divorce was the first thought that crossed her mind, but she'd made the mistake of talking with her parents about it first. Somehow, they'd convinced the woman that no one would marry a twenty three year old divorcee who'd been tricked by the man she married for seven years. Who would marry someone that stupid? That naive? And if they did, it'd only be because of her family's status in society, and they simply couldn't allow that to happen. So, she was stuck. She'd made her bed, and now she would lie in it.
The next few years were nothing but working and screaming as the couple grew further and further apart. The kind man Bora had once known had become of a shell of himself. Someone who'd become so pathetically broken the only way he could enjoy himself was by drinking and gambling, which only increased the couples debt. Bora had taken on most of the work, growing more and more resentful of her husband as time went on. Once, she had loved him. Once, he was everything she could have ever dreamed of. Now, he was no better than dirt under her shoes. The fact that the couple even decided to have a child was beyond anyone.
When Na Bora become pregnant, all she had was hope. Hope that her child would save her from the hell her husband had put her in. She prayed to every deity that was known to the world, going to every place of worship she could find from her small hometown to Seoul. Every time she prayed, she had wished for one thing in particular. Make my child useful. Give my child a gift that doesn't require money, as money is the root of all evil. The day Bora had gone into labor, she was inside a local church.
Eunji wasn't sure which deity had decided to grant her mother's wish. All she knew was that when she was born, she had been able to tell lies from truth. A fact she hadn't known until she was six years old and could finally recognize that all almost all the words that came out of her fathers mouth about money, their life, and even his own 'personal adventures' had caused an irritable ringing in her tiny ears.
"I didn't find anyone hiring today. I'll go out and look tomorrow."
Ding!
"I payed the landlord half of what we owed for this month, and I'll have the rest this weekend."
Ding!
"She's just a coworker! Why would I cheat when I'm too busy earning for us?"
Ding!
"I'm sorry Bora. I love you and Eunji so much. If I could change our situation, I would. But I can't."
Ding!
That was Moon Jaehyuns favorite lie. 'I'm sorry Bora.' He wasn't sorry about he did. All these years later, he hadn't a remorseful bone in his body for what he had done. No, he was only disappointed and dejected that his plan had failed. He couldn't give himself the life he had wanted, and he may never get it now. He had hopes, that having a child would help fill the void his wife had forced her way out off a long time ago. But no, all it had brought him was more misery.
Na Bora was not always a terrible person. She was never a saint, but Eunji always believed her father had made her become the devil. She would have never thought that the sweet and only sometimes temperamental girl her father used to reminisce about could be her mother. Not when he was there, and certainly not when he'd finally left, running off with the first woman who would finally accept a charity case.
No, there was no sign of the woman Na Bora used to be. The woman her father talked about did not exist. It wasn't until her father had left that Eunji realized she missed the ringing in her ears... She missed being able to live the lie that was a happy household. Without realizing it, the ringing in her ears had become a kind of comfort. As long as her parents continued to lie and deceive each other, they'd all remain together, and she would remain safe.
But not anymore. Now, Eunji only knew of the monster she'd became, one that it would take years and years before she would ever escape...
thank you for reading!
votes and comment are appreciated <3
sorry if this is a little boring i just wanted to give a little background context. it's gonna be referenced throughout the story but this gives a clear picture. i also jus wanted to put something out.
Also, the intro layout for the chapter is from @/YAEGERFILMS
gonna end this chapter off with a graphic i made for inspo. probably gonna add it to a graphics section: