Liar and Liar - Chapter 66

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 66

It was a call from her mother.

[Oh, Mom.]

-[Danielle, you said you were coming to tutor Eunho today, right?]

One of Danielle’s Saturday routines was tutoring Eunho and checking his academic progress. Since he needed homeschooling and Dad was busy while Mom couldn’t teach English classes, naturally Eunho’s studies became Danielle’s responsibility.

Since she couldn’t go last weekend because of the Sharks game, they had arranged to meet on a weekday instead.

[Yeah. I’ll come right after school.]

She thought that was the end of the conversation, but Hye-ju continued.

-[And you remember about the church event I mentioned, right~?]

[Yeah. I’ve kept the time free.]

In the brief silence, Danielle could sense Hye-ju hesitating about something.

-[The organizing team is short-handed and asked if there’s anyone who could help… Would it be okay if I gave them Danielle’s contact information…? I know our Danielle is busy, but it doesn’t seem like it would take up much time…]

Danielle sighed silently.

Due to their tight financial situation, Hye-ju wanted to make up for not being able to give tithes or donations to the church through volunteer work. And sometimes that unpaid volunteer work involved recruiting Danielle.

Whenever Hye-ju asked for such favors, she always asked cautiously as if reading the room, but regardless, Danielle’s answer was predetermined. This too had been decided by Dad.

Danielle’s father, as the head of the American branch of a mid-sized Korean company, had to travel to Korea frequently, and besides that, he was often away from home on business trips within the United States.

And he never said anything wrong.

[Danielle, Mom and our whole family receive a lot of help from the church. Having a place to attend regularly like that is also something to be grateful and thankful for. If Mom were to get depression—]

If Mom got depression, our family would truly collapse then. That always frightened Danielle. Maybe that’s why she had taken on cooking and cleaning that Mom had never even asked for.

[…It’s okay to give it out.]

-[Oh my, thank you Danielle. I’ll see you later~]

[Yeah.]

Usually, when you volunteer as an accompanist for the church choir, you’d receive at least some money, but Hye-ju had been doing it as completely unpaid volunteer work for five years. The first and last time Danielle resented such a mother was during the shoe sole incident.

If Mom had just received money for her accompanist volunteer work, wouldn’t the kids have avoided seeing my shoes fall apart? She had made such sad complaints inwardly. It’s not that she didn’t understand Mom’s situation and feelings, but she too…

“…”

However, since she couldn’t bring herself to burst out with that grief and complaints to her mother, Danielle didn’t cry wildly but instead kept her mouth shut. And from this point on, Danielle stopped sharing her inner thoughts with her mother.

‘…Let’s stop thinking about it.’

It’s all in the past. Danielle suppressed her breath and put her phone in her pocket.

Whatever the case, Elmir Westlake was something she had insisted on attending herself, so Danielle thought she couldn’t complain about what happened there. Helping Mom a bit, helping her younger brother a bit—that was natural for family.

Still, now there was a new beacon of hope.

‘The home run ball might not reach a million dollars, but… 500,000 dollars…’

Could she really receive it…?

“I know what you want. I’ll make it happen.”

Frederick had caused her so much trouble, yet now she was relying on the hand Frederick extended to endure reality. Danielle felt a subtle emotion.

Even if it was a monster in sheep’s clothing, Danielle liked embracing that sheep. Because in a reality that could only be described as bleak, it was the only thing Danielle could lean on freely.

* * *

The goal Danielle set for Eunho while taking on the teacher role was simple. To be able to understand and follow classes even if he started going to school tomorrow. Just that much.

While academics were keeping up reasonably well, Danielle gradually realized a much more serious problem.

Eunho’s social life, not attending school, took place at the church where Hye-ju semi-forcibly took him, and naturally he mainly hung out with Korean-Americans and international students he met there.

[That white guy definitely stepped on him on purpose, you know? Because the other kid was Black.]

When he attended school, he would just grumble while watching rich, arrogant white male students, but since not going to school, Eunho began viewing white people even more hostilely.

Like a small puddle trapped in a tiny well that was neither America nor Korea.

‘It seems like he’s been using English even less lately.’

After finishing all the lessons, Danielle headed straight home. While driving, she recalled Eunho’s recent behavior.

‘Should I tell Mom to make him watch only English videos instead of Korean ones, even if it’s firm…’

Returning to school after several years would certainly not be easy to adapt to, and if there was a language barrier on top of that, he would become even more easily isolated.

Knowing painfully well how difficult school life without friends could be, Danielle hoped Eunho wouldn’t have to experience such difficulties.

[Mom, I’m home.]

[Danielle’s here? Oh my, you went to the hair salon? Good job, good job. It suits you so well. Taking off your glasses really brings out our daughter’s looks.]

[Yeah. Thanks. Where’s Eunho?]

[Eunho is showering right now. Should I get you something to eat?]

[No.]

Danielle headed straight to Eunho’s room. She intended to check the homework she had assigned first. But when she looked at Eunho’s desk, what caught Danielle’s eye wasn’t the notebook spread on the desk but the tablet placed beside it.

‘Maybe completely forbidding the tablet is a bit much.’

It seems like while using this, he’s been speaking less and less English and only in Korean… Danielle thought this as she picked up the tablet. The unlocked tablet immediately displayed an internet window when Danielle turned on the screen.

What appeared in the window was some forum post.

The moment she read the title of the post, Danielle froze cold, forgetting even to breathe. Like someone who had died standing up.

【I want to die because of my sister…】

Danielle’s hands trembled violently. She almost dropped the tablet. Forcibly gripping the tablet with both hands, Danielle read down through the post’s content.

Our Soldier Gallery

I want to die because of my sister…

Anonymous (223.27)│Views 5736 Recommendations 30 Comments 36

My sister brought her boyfriend over and he’s white… lol

You might wonder what the problem is… but he’s obviously rich… that kind of white guy. But my sister has had a hard time at that rich school and hates white people. Yet she brought home a white guy as her boyfriend…

That white guy apparently helped her with this and that as her boyfriend. Thanks to that bastard, I’m holding onto my lifeline, so she tells me to thank him and greet him. You get the picture from this explanation, right?

It’s just… it’s obvious that white guy is playing with my sister for fun, as a toy, and she even knows it herself. Even when I tell her to stop, she says no. Says she’ll keep seeing him. Says there’s more to receive.

I really understand what it feels like to be thrown into a gutter, and I don’t know if I have the right to feel this way, but I feel such a huge sense of betrayal toward my sister. I’m a burden to our family so I don’t have the right to be angry, but I’m so angry.

Our parents worry about my sister a lot and really trust and depend on her. They’re incredibly proud that she goes to that expensive school on a scholarship. Our house has 10 photo albums just of my sister. When Dad occasionally brings subordinates home to drink, it’s always bragging about my sister.

Why, why on earth is she doing such things because of someone like me? Even if it’s okay for me, shouldn’t she not do that thinking of our parents? Doesn’t someone her age know why that guy is dating her?

I don’t want to live… Should I die so my sister will stop doing such things… I’m so disappointed in my sister. Really…

The scroll continued further down, but Danielle didn’t read any more and turned off the screen. Her heartbeat sounded too loud. Loud enough to make her ears feel muffled.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————