Yuri skipped evening self-study as usual and came home just after sunset. As she changed out of her shoes and stepped into the living room, she was greeted by an unusual sight.

Her father sat on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other, a cigarette between his fingers. A teenage boy stood before him, his fists clenched so tightly they trembled.

"So, in the end, this is about money?"

"...I-I'm asking for... a safe place to stay... and enough money to live."

The boy's face was flushed, and his whole body shook. He couldn't even meet her father's eyes. Neither of them seemed to notice Yuri had come home.

"And what if I refuse?"

"My... my reputation matters to you, doesn't it? I'll... post everything online..."

Before he could finish, Yuri's father hurled the ashtray at him.

The boy let out a startled cry and barely managed to dodge it. The ashtray smashed against the wall behind him, shattering into pieces.

"You kids really think the internet can solve everything these days."

He laughed mockingly.

The boy's trembling grew worse, but he forced himself to speak.

"If you just give me somewhere to live... and enough money to survive... I'll stay quiet. I... I never wanted to threaten you."

Yuri's father burst into laughter.

Then he jerked his chin toward the staircase leading to the basement.

"Watch your mouth unless you want to die. You can stay in the storage room downstairs, and I'll give you two hundred thousand won a month. That's more than generous for keeping your mouth shut."

Only then did he notice Yuri standing nearby.

"Why are you home this early? Aren't you supposed to be at evening study?"

"I... wasn't feeling well."

Her father looked at her with open contempt.

"That's why your grades are so pathetic."

He disappeared into his room, leaving Yuri alone in the living room with the boy.

She glanced nervously toward her father's door but couldn't bring herself to ask the boy anything. Instead, she quietly retreated into her own room and closed the door.

The boy remained where he stood, silently trembling.

To Yuri, it felt as though he and the rest of the family belonged to completely different worlds, and the disconnect left her deeply unsettled.

Yuri's father was the CEO of EduWise, a company famous for its online lectures and exam-prep books.

Born into poverty, he had started the business with government funding. EduWise had built a reputation as a generous company through large donations to children's charities and universities.

He had married the daughter of a hospital chairman after being introduced on a blind date. With financial support from his wife's family—a family filled with doctors and educators—he expanded his company into the educational giant it was today.

Yuri's mother had failed the national teacher certification exam. She worked briefly as a substitute teacher, but after being harassed by an unusually difficult parent and suffering a mental breakdown, she began seeing a psychiatrist before eventually becoming a full-time housewife.

Unable to find fulfillment through a career, she instead cherished the life she had now—the luxury apartment worth millions, the grand piano in the living room, the spotless home, and the title of the chairman's wife.

Which was why Heo Jun-hyuk's existence felt like a stain upon her perfect household.

The day Jun-hyuk moved in, Yuri lay on her bed with her earphones in.

Her mother returned from grocery shopping, listened to her husband's explanation, and immediately exploded.

Even with the volume turned all the way up, Yuri couldn't drown out the shouting.

"You're letting that thing live in our house? Have you lost your mind?"

"Keep your voice down. Aren't you ashamed the neighbors might hear?"

"Oh, so you know what shame is? You think this is acceptable? Don't you feel sorry for Yuri? Throw him out. Right now."

"If he posts something online, it'll become a headache. Besides, it's not like you have anything else to do at home."

"...I've tolerated everything. You disappearing without a word. Coming home after drinking. All of it. But not this. If you want to play house with your bastard son, divorce me first."

Her husband laughed in her face.

"Stop making a scene. And what exactly would you do after divorcing me? Who'd want a barren woman like you?"

Before he finished speaking, Yuri's mother raised her hand to slap him.

He caught her wrist effortlessly.

"How dare you..."

He shoved her hand away.

She stumbled backward and fell to the floor.

Struggling to her feet, she glared at him while he cursed under his breath and walked into his room.

After moving into the house, Jun-hyuk kept to himself in the basement storage room.

Then one day, he caused an incident.

He poured milk all over Yoon-hee's beloved grand piano, worth twenty million won.

White milk seeped between the piano keys, leaving behind a sour smell.

"Did you do this?"

When Yoon-hee demanded an answer, Jun-hyuk lowered his head.

"I'm sorry."

"Do you even know how much this piano costs?"

She slapped him across the face.

He was still a teenage boy. Even with his frail build, he could have resisted if he wanted to.

But he simply stood there and took the blows without saying a word.

"Do you have any idea what you've done to a twenty-million-won piano?!"

Jun-hyuk visibly flinched when he heard the price.

"I'm sorry."

That was all he kept repeating.

The piano had been Yoon-hee's only source of comfort. She rarely left the house, had no job, and hardly interacted with anyone anymore. Already suffering from depression and chronic lethargy, she was taking psychiatric medication.

Now that her precious piano had been ruined, she lashed out at Jun-hyuk with all her strength.

Yuri had never cared for the piano and had never once played it herself. Whether it was ruined or not meant nothing to her.

She only had one question.

If he was just going to stand there and let himself be beaten...

Why had he poured milk on the piano in the first place?