All his days the wicked man suffers torment, the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him. Terrifying sounds fill his ears; He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness; He knows the day of darkness is at hand.

Job 15:20

His father's voice was loud and sharp, so Minho had to hold the receiver away from him slightly.

"You can't show your face there!" his father had hoisted in his ear.

"Put Sooyoung on the phone, now!" he ordered him.

His wife was exactly the reason for their phone call. When Naeun had told her mother that they had been invited to the horse tournament for the coming weekend, Minho already knew how his wife would react. After Naeun had gone to bed, Sooyoung had withdrawn as well. It wasn't long before his phone had rung in response. He took a deep breath before greeting his father monotonously. There was no point in telling him that Naeun was soaring while riding. That she got on well with her teacher and loved Eve already.

Sooyoung stood in the doorway with her arms crossed, hoping his father could talk some sense into Minho. It was no use her telling him the consequences. Sooyoung thought it was bad enough that Naeun was being taught there, but going there privately would cross the line. Why couldn't Minho understand that these people were not from their circles?

Of course the teacher could teach her to ride. But what about posture? What about proper manners? It wasn't just about learning a sport. It was about prestige, walking through the world with her head held high. No one would take Sooyoung seriously if she couldn't sit up straight in front of the piano or play her pieces in pyjamas. The surroundings had to fit. And simple people from the village would never be able to bring the class it needed. Her father-in-law understood this, but not his son.

Her friends went with their husbands to the opera, the theatre or fancy dinners. And what did she have to contribute? Dirty stables and a daughter who was no good at anything, who gave up when things got difficult. Other children were already playing their first concerts and winning championships. Naeun could get enthusiastic about something quickly, but just as quickly she lost interest again. Sooyoung had a goal in mind for Naeun, but Minho wouldn't see it, no matter how hard she tried to show him.

Minho got up from the couch. Wordlessly, he handed his wife the phone and went out. In their garage, which sheltered two cars, it remained dark. He went to the toolbox and took out an already open packet of cigarettes. His fingers trembled less as he took the first drag. He could not hear what his father was saying to Sooyoung, but he could imagine it very well.

He reached over the top shelf. Behind neatly stacked boxes, he could feel the small, heavy container. He gently tapped the ash into the ashtray. He rolled the glowing side of the cigarette along the edge so that every bit of evidence landed in the tray and took his next drag. He would not change his mind, however. In the last ten years, and especially since Naeun's birth, Minho had become accustomed to the loneliness his family brought him. Their words were no more than muffled background noise. 

Sooyoung jumped up from her chair in front of her vanity mirror.

"Wait for me." She said hastily, quickly coating her lips with gloss.

"You act all surprised." She smiled at Minho who was standing confused in the doorway.

When she looked at him like that he could recognise Sooyoung. Sooyoung who didn't worry about the world around her. Sooyoung who wanted to experience the world, who wanted to have fun. He had no strength to say anything. These little glimpses of his best friend became rarer with each passing day, so that it ached him when they suddenly surfaced. In those brief moments he was sorry for every argument, every nasty word he had said to her. And with each time, he became painfully aware that the old Sooyoung was fading more and more with each passing day.

"Mom!" Naeun hugged her mother.

"You're really coming with us?"

Sooyoung took a moment before she could reply. Seeing her little daughter so radiant filled her with joy. But she knew to dampen that joy. She just had to. There was no future in just joy. The little voice in her head roared again, but she knew how to silence it. Even if Naeun was having fun and learning new things, at what point would she give it up again? As soon as the day would come, she would tell Minho that she had known. Her father-in-law had given her good advice. She could support Naeun. But that was the last time Minho had decided anything. If she could show him again that no matter how much support Naeun got, in the end she would give up again. And then she would take Naeun's future into her own hands. Then there would be no more long car rides. The time would be used wisely, for practice. Minho's father would make sure that her husband would also have to follow her regime from then on. It was only a matter of time until then. The voice that cried out that Naeun's present happiness was a priority fell silent as she realised this once again. The future is what Sooyoung was building for, even if it meant giving up something in the present. Her daughter, once grown up, would be grateful for it.

"Of course I'll go with you, sweetheart." She said happily, taking Naeun's hand as they walked to the car.

Seeing mother and daughter hand in hand was the reason Minho had stayed after all this time. He knew what was best for Naeun. Tonight, too, he would remind himself that he stayed for Naeun. That he should not push his needs before Naeun. She was worth all that. He tried to remember where the packet of cigarettes was in the car and followed the two of them.

A happy hustle and bustle could be heard in the large grounds of the Lee family. Good friends and acquaintances from their and surrounding communities had gathered. Children were petting the horses, different stalls with many delicacies were brewing and bustling, happy music was playing.

Taemin apologised to Father Park when he saw that Naeun had come not only with her father, but apparently with her mother as well. On his way to the little family, he saw Jinki. He was talking to this woman again. Taemin had seen the two of them together several times now, but he himself did not know her. She was not part of their community. Again he hoped that Jinki could differentiate what was right for him.

Naeun waved excitedly to her riding instructor when she saw him and he too