Dining Hall
"Bah!"
He slammed the plate forcefully, its contents scattering across the table.
He shouted in a loud voice that shook the hall:
— What is this?!
The maid was shocked, trembling in her place. Father suddenly rose from his chair:
— Damian! What's wrong with you?!
Everyone looked at him in shock. Theo and Aren froze in their places. Even I was shocked.
Damian had always been sensible, calm, never acting recklessly. That's what the novel said. That's what everyone knew.
But now...
Damian looked at Father with blazing eyes, then shouted:
— This food! It's all full of salt! It's impossible to even swallow!
He reached out and took a plate from the floor.
— How can this food be served to my sister?!
That word...
"My sister"...
My breath stopped for a moment.
My sister? Is he calling me "my sister" now? Him, who never looked at me throughout my life? Him, who was always cold with Yuna?
But... why now?
Damian looked at me, his anger not yet subsided, his voice still loud:
— And you! Why were you eating this?! Are you in your right mind?!
He stepped toward me.
— Is this what you're served daily? Answer me, Yuna!
I looked at him. At his blazing eyes. At everyone around me. Father standing tensely. Aren and Theo looking with fear and confusion. The maid crying silently.
And suddenly... the words came out.
I didn't plan them. I didn't think about them. They came out as if flowing from a deep place in my soul. From the original Yuna's feelings. From years of accumulated pain.
— This... this is because I wanted to spend more time with you.
I paused for a moment. I saw their faces freeze.
— I wanted to feel that I was part of you. I thought that... maybe this way something might change.
I smiled bitterly.
— But... I think I was wrong.
Silence.
Heavy, deadly silence.
Everyone looked at me in shock. Even the maid stopped crying.
But Damian... Damian looked at me differently. Not just shock. But something else. Curiosity? Confusion? Or what?
He said in a calmer voice, though still sharp:
— So... what's the difference now? I mean, what changed for you to break your silence?
I slowly raised my head.
I looked at him.
But this time... my eyes were different.
There was no life in them.
They were dark. Empty. As if the soul had just left.
I said in a flat voice, devoid of any emotion:
— Because I realized there's no point in this.
I paused for a moment.
— I just... realized yesterday that my attempts are just futile things.
I looked at each one of them. At my father. At Theo. At Aren. Then back to Damian.
— I... did you even consider me part of the family?
Damian tried to speak. He opened his mouth.
But I interrupted him.
— I'm leaving.
I turned around.
And walked toward the door.
Step. Step. Step.
I didn't look back.
I didn't hear a single voice behind me.
No one said "wait." No one said "come back."
No one.
---
Outside the Dining Hall
I walked down the long hallway. My footsteps alone echoed on the marble floor.
I entered my room.
I closed the door.
And leaned my back against it.
I raised my hands. They were trembling.
What did I just say?
I hadn't planned this. But the words came out. As if Yuna herself was speaking through me.
I sat on the floor. My back against the door. I looked at the ceiling.
— I'm really hungry...
I smiled sarcastically.
— And I said all this nonsense.
I sighed deeply.
— But... I think it was necessary. To cut all ties with them.
Suddenly!
A light knock on the door.
I looked behind me.
— Who?
— The head butler, madam.
I quickly stood up. Wiped my face. Tried to look normal.
I opened the door.
He was standing there... the head butler. And behind him... dozens of servants! Carrying plates and trays full of food!
I looked at him in surprise.
— What is this?
The head butler bowed respectfully:
— This is from the head of the household... the master of the house.
I raised my eyebrows.
What?!
Father? Why? The man who was saying words yesterday hating me as if I were his enemy? Who said seeing me disgusts him? Who never looked at me throughout my life?
He sent this food?
I raised my hand:
— I don't want it.
The head butler looked at me with confusion:
— But... madam, we cannot. This is an order from the head of the household.
I looked at him coldly:
— How many times must I tell you? Go.
And suddenly!
A sharp voice from behind the head butler:
— You must eat it.
Damian stepped forward from among the servants. He stood before me, his face still cold but his eyes... his eyes were different.
I looked at him with annoyance:
— What do you want?!
— You have to eat. You didn't eat anything in the morning.
I laughed sarcastically:
— Me? And what business is it of yours? I do as I please. So... go.
I raised my hand to close the door.
But Damian placed his hand on the door. Preventing it from closing.
He put his other hand on his face. As if trying to control his nerves. He sighed deeply, then said in a calmer voice:
— Yuna... don't make things difficult. Just eat what Father brought you.
I looked at him. At his eyes. At his hand preventing the door from closing.
Then I said in a cold voice:
— Don't call that person "Father."
He paused for a moment. Looked at me.
Silence.
Then he sighed again. Slowly entered the room. Sat on the chair by the desk. Looked at me.
— I understand your feeling.
I laughed bitterly:
— You understand? Really?
He looked at me seriously:
— But you also need to understand Father. He lost Mother. She was his only family. And his only love.
I paused for a moment. Then he continued:
— Father... lost his parents in an accident when he was young. So he lived alone, fending for himself because he had no one. And Mother... was his fiancée since childhood. An arranged marriage. She was his only support in this life.
Silence.
I looked at him.
At his eyes that were trying to find an excuse for his father.
Then I said in a calm voice, but sharp as a knife:
— And what about me? What do I have to do with that? What is my sin?
I rose from my place. Approached him a step.
— It's not my fault that this body is weak. I didn't choose to be born. That was their decision. Their responsibility.
I paused for a moment. Felt something choking in my throat.
— So how can I consider the feelings of someone who never considered me?
Silence.
Damian looked at me. He didn't say anything.
I continued in a choked voice:
— Damian... if you want to talk about that person, I hope you leave. Immediately.
He looked at me for a long time.
A very long time.
Then he slowly stood up.
— Okay. I'll leave.
He headed toward the door. Stopped at the threshold. Looked at me over his shoulder:
— But don't forget. You have to eat.
I looked at him.
— I'll think about it.
He left.
The servants left behind him.
But the food... the food remained.
Plates and trays covering the desk and the small table. Scents wafting through the room.
I stood looking at them.
Then...
Grrrrr.
A sound from my stomach.
I looked at my belly.
— Really... I am hungry.
I sat on the floor in front of the small table. Picked up the spoon.
A bite.
Another bite.
And suddenly...
I felt something hot falling on my hand.
Tears.
I'm crying?
Why?
Because I'm hungry? Because I'm tired? Because I said something that had been locked away for years?
I don't know.
But the tears won't stop.
And the food... the food is salty.
But not with the morning's salt.
Salty with my own tears.
---
Elsewhere in the House
Damian stood in his room. Looking out the window.
He remembered her words.
"It's not my fault that this body is weak."
"How can I consider the feelings of someone who never considered me?"
He closed his eyes.
Sighed deeply.
— Yuna...
---
In the Father's Room
Father sat in his chair. Before him, a picture of his late wife.
He looked at it for a long time.
He remembered Yuna's words from yesterday.
"Mr. Kim."
He remembered her words today.
"Did you even consider me part of the family?"
He placed his hand on his face.
— What have I done?
---
In My Room
I ate.
I cried.
I ate more.
I cried more.
Then I stopped.
I looked at the food remains.
At the tears on my hand.
At the mirror opposite.
I saw Yuna's face. Her eyes swollen from crying. Her cheeks wet.
But for the first time...
I felt a different feeling than before.
A sad smile. Tired.
But it was a smile.
I said to myself out loud:
— I will never forgive anyone who hurt Yuna.
I looked at the closed door.
At the food sent by one who doesn't deserve to be called father.
At the memories Yuna left in her diary.
— I will live. Not for them. But for myself.
I raised my head.
— And for Yuna too.
---
End of Chapter