Chapter 61: Deep in Memory

Tara reported to the Lee mansion with a heavy heart. She had cried for Mina the entire night and only stopped crying when she fell asleep. She wanted to cry even now, but how could she cry? She had never seen Mina shed a tear despite how she was being treated. What gave her the right to feel wronged? If Mina had only a short time to live; Tara wanted to make sure that she would do her part in making Mina's last moments bearable. She would press on with a smile on her face and try to spend as much time with Mina as possible. She could not shake the feeling that everything was her fault.

Tara picked up her notebook and pencil and placed them on the tray next to Mina's breakfast. Once upstairs, she greeted the guards as she got closer to Mina's door and she strode inside the room only to see Mina connected to what looked like a heart monitor. Brother B, who had been there when they found Mina in a comatose state whispered to Tara.

"She isn't doing well, make your visit quick." Tara nodded solemnly and walked toward Mina. It was 8AM, but the room was intentionally kept dark apart from a small lamp that only illuminated the bed. Tara did not sense the person in the corner, and she could not see him. She whispered Mina's name gently, but she could not wake the woman in bed.

President Lee heard the muffled sounds the maid was making; she was crying. Her shoulders shook and though she tried her best not to make too much noise, her sobs could clearly be heard. Pushing back on her sadness she briskly walked to the table to place Mina's food when she gasped audibly. Speaking out loud she said,

"You silly woman, how much longer are you going to starve yourself?" Tara put down the tray in her hands and picked up yet another full bowl of old food. She turned around to leave the room but was startled by what she saw. The tray in her hands tipped over and the mush spilled onto the hard-wooden floors. Tara did not even try to catch the bowl and grabbed her chest in fear.

The men outside the room quickly rushed in and followed the maid's gaze. They too were startled by what they saw, but no one spoke. President Lee was sitting in the corner of the room, his ankle rested on his knee and his hands were clasped in front of his head. His facial features could not be clearly seen, but his posture spoke volumes. He dismissed the guards because he wanted to focus his ire on Tara. The woman he intentionally placed in care of Mina to scare her and the woman he suspected of poisoning.

----

Mina was at home with her parents, she sat in a wooden chair as her mother was busy working in the kitchen. Her sister helped knead the soles of her father's feet while they spoke excitedly about the events of the day. Mina's mother called out to her. She needed help in the kitchen. Without a word, Mina closed her book and walked toward her mother, stopping to give her father a kiss on the cheek. He responded by lightly pinching her nose. Mina looked down at her sister and stuck out her tongue, they were both daddy's girls and were always teasing one another about who was his favorite. Mina's mother called for her again and she quickly entered the kitchen and rolled up her sleeves. She helped wash and cut the vegetables as her mother prepared other ingredients. The food was not much, but it was what they could afford. Staring at her mother's back, Mina recalled the past.

When Mina was younger, she had not known her family was poor until late into grade school after someone teased her about it. Before then, she had not realized that they barely had enough food to feed the family despite how hard her father worked. Her father, although brilliant, had been involved in a severe accident when he was a child. He was in a coma for weeks and when he awoke, he could not even remember his own name. He was sent to an orphanage, where he eventually met her mother.

When Mina's father showed signs of being exceptionally smart, the head of the orphanage adopted him in hopes to exploit him, but the man's biological son was jealous and hateful. He threatened to kill himself if his father did not get rid of his adopted son. This went on for years until the son attempted suicide. His father, of course, relented. How could a parent refuse?

By this time, the headmaster had grown fond of his charge. He arranged to have him sent to a small village, where he hoped his biological son would not go looking for him. Mina's father initially refused. He did not want to leave Mina's mother behind. As the head of the orphanage, the man pulled some strings and sent both teenagers to the village together. They were only seventeen and had only just completed high school. Still, Mina's father found employment at a local factory and with his wits, he was able to rise through the ranks quickly.

As soon as the couple were legally allowed to marry, Mina's mother and father made their relationship official.

Mina's mother was trained as a domestic in the orphanage and other than her house keeping capability, she did not have any other skills. The village they lived in was small, and household help was a luxury many people could not afford. Without much else of an option, Mina's mother stayed home to take care of the house and her husband while he went to work. The pair were comfortable, but not well off. In a small town even, the highest paid employees were barely making ends meet.

Working as the coordination manager of the factory, Mina's father had pulled the company from the edge of bankruptcy several times, but he was never rewarded for his efforts. Instead, his supervisors became jealous and made things more difficult for him. They could not afford to fire him, but somehow his wages always had to be cut for 'the good' of the company.

Several times, he wanted to leave the town and start over in a new place, but he was never able to save the money he needed to relocate his family. It only became more difficult after his daughters were born. Reluctantly, Mina's father settled into his role as a poor husband and father and resolved to make up for his financial shortages with an abundance of love. Therefore, Mina never felt poor growing up.