Betty's Decision

"More importantly, every one of them was ridiculously rich. Their daily spending money was probably more than our entire net worth," Im Yoon-ah said with feeling.

"Beautiful and wealthy, women who seemed so perfect—yet they shattered the dreams of countless ordinary women," Kim Taeyeon said.

Her words seemed to come out of nowhere and left people confused, but Im Yoon-ah immediately understood what Taeyeon meant.

In the hearts of many women, there was a dream of becoming a "female lead."

They believed their real lives were not happy enough because they themselves were not outstanding enough:

Not pretty enough, not fit enough, not successful enough in their careers, not wealthy enough...

They fantasized that by "working hard" and constantly improving themselves, they could become better and gain the life they had always dreamed of.

Although most people could not improve themselves by much at all, that did not stop them from clinging to such beautiful dreams.

Yet Taylor Swift, Annie, and Charlize Theron before them—any one of them was the perfect template in other women's eyes:

They had looks, height, figures, careers, and wealth. They lacked nothing.

Women like that must surely have lived the "female lead" life everyone dreamed of, right?

But they had not...

They had all, without exception, chosen to stay by Lin Yuan's side.

That reality alone was enough to shatter the dreams of countless ordinary women.

Im Yoon-ah nodded. "It's a little disillusioning. Before this trip to New York, I couldn't understand why they made that choice. But now I can. You understand too, right, unnie?"

"Yes. Do you think this counts as admiring strength?" Kim Taeyeon asked.

"Before we met Lin Yuan Oppa, Teacher Soo-man was the strongest man in our lives. Did you ever fall for him?" Im Yoon-ah asked.

Kim Taeyeon shook