Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Chapter 69

“I know, because I’ve been there. You know, the one who loves the other more is always put in an unfavorable situation when something happens. I would say the one who loves less gets the upper hand, while the other who loves more is put on the defensive. But the thing is, the one on the defensive doesn’t feel any lingering love once he or she breaks up. Have you ever thought about the position of the one who loves less?”

Arum shook her head.

Hojoon continued, “That type of person is not satisfied all the time because he or she has just received love from their partner. They don’t know how to give love because they are accustomed to receiving love.”

“You bet. Konsu is that type of person. He is just used to receiving love.”

“Well, I know a woman in that same category,” said Hojoon, smiling bitterly.

Arum instantly knew he was talking about his ex-girlfriend Soran.

“Hojoon, I feel my thoughts become more complicated while listening to your explanation.”

She couldn’t think straight because of Konsu’s disengagement.

“I don’t think it’s complicated at all. You and I are the type of person that keep on giving love to others.”

Arum felt constricted upon hearing that.

He was right. That’s how she looked at Konsu. And now she was his “second” after Yuyoung.

“Just free yourself. Let go of your lingering attachment to him.”

“You’re right,” said Arum, nodding. “But the problem is, I can’t do it so easily. If I erase my memories of Konsu from my life, I don’t have anything left. I’ve been entangled with him in my life from my college days until now. How can I forget him? If I throw away all the pictures including Konsu, I won’t have any picture of me in my 20s.”

“That’s the same for me. Initially, I couldn’t believe that I split up with her. I couldn’t throw away anything that I shared with her. I felt as if I was throwing away myself if I dumped anything.”

Arum felt a prick in her heart.

As it happened, she could see the small door over Hojoon’s shoulder.

Right behind the door were many things attached to her memories of Konsu.

What would Hojoon say if he realized this? It pricked at her conscience.

“Arum, as far as feng shui is concerned, it’s very important to throw away the miscellaneous stuff in your house.”

“Well, today’s topic is not miscellaneous things. As you’re aware, I ended up serving Yuyoung a feng shui method of separation by giving her that gift. Can you make them meet again?”

“Probably,” said Hojoon, with a positive smile.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Are you confident you can make them unite again?”

Arum felt relieved to hear that.

“How fortunate! I recognize you as the feng shui expert.”

“Not me. Only my father knows it.”

“What the heck? Your father?”

“It is my father’s specialty to restore the energy force damaged by somebody’s wicked intention.” Hojoon shrugged his shoulder while saying that. “There is nothing I can do on my end.”

“Oh my god, Hojoon.”

She blushed all over her face. Little did she think it was so hard to take back her shameful choice.

“Are you ashamed?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about it first? I feel regretful about that.”

“Because I didn’t have to tell you.”

“Really? I’m even more pissed off to hear that from you, though I guessed so.”

“I was kidding. I just don’t know why I have come to realize this only after things got worse. In fact, I had a dinner appointment with Konsu, but I forgot about it.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“It’s funny, isn’t it?”

While laughing self-deprecatingly, she paused for a moment. Hojoon noticed some restlessness in her eyes.

“Why? Are you uncomfortable?”

“Well…”

She stood up from the dining table. She bit her lip, agonizing over whether to tell him about it or not.

“Chief!”

She felt she would put it off again if she didn’t tell him today.

“Have you run into another trouble?”

Instead of replying, she nodded.

“Don’t be surprised.”

And then she walked to the small room in her house. Standing up, he followed her.

She took a deep breath.

He looked at her suspiciously.

‘Why is she so hesitant before this door?’

But when the door opened, he was shocked to see what’s in there.

The small room was full of unopened boxes of home appliances.

When she turned on the light, he saw a wedding picture of the young bride and groom.

“Wow, I feel so refreshed!” Arum said comfortably as if she had nothing to do with that.

“How come you have kept all this stuff up to now?”

Hojoon was just at a loss for words. She was the most surprising client that he had met so far.

“Did you put up with all this pain alone?”

Arum just felt like crying when he understood her feelings.

“Yes, I did.”

“You’re really strong, and awesome, too.”

He pulled her close and hugged her.

“How come you’ve been living with all these boxes?”

He felt sorry for her.

“You’re so stupid.”

When he lived in Paris, he found it the most difficult task to dump the stuff he used with Soran Cho. In a sharp contrast with him, Arum kept them all in the small room like treasures. It must have been pretty difficult for her to live with them everyday.

“I’m sorry. I just kept forcing you to dump them when I didn’t your situation.”

“In fact, I would like to throw them away even now. I don’t know how to, though. I’ve never thought about dumping all this stuff. But when I heard today that Konsu cancelled off the marriage, I suddenly came to my senses. In other words, I felt I couldn’t afford to get sentimental anymore. I even felt that Konsu was acting like that because I continue to have this lingering attachment to him.”

“That bastard, did he also know about this stuff?”

“Yeah. When he came here last time, he saw this.”

“That’s why he got mad, and you felt guilty at that time.”

“You bet.”

Grabbing her by the shoulder, Hojoon asked, “Are you sure you really want to dump all this stuff?”

Arum nodded silently.

“You don’t have any regrets, do you?”

“Nope. All this stuff is just a big burden to me.”

“I know how hard it is because I’ve been there. You can never dump all these on your own. Let’s do it together this weekend.”

“No.”

“Why? Does it still hurt you to get rid of all this stuff?”

“Nope. I want to do it right now. If Konsu changed his mind because of this stuff, I should get rid of all this clutter right away. I can’t ruin another woman’s life.”

Hojoon felt sorry.

“I was sorry because I pressed you too much a while ago. I couldn’t control myself then. I’ve never seen Yuyoung pissed off like that before.”

“You don’t have to. You could do so. Let me dump all this stuff right now.”

“You can’t on your own!”

“Please help me with this. Let me pay you for your job tonight.”

“Why today?”

“Because I want to say something to you.”

“Just tell me now. What is it?”

“Are you sure you want me to tell you now?”

“Sure.”

Hojoon leaned against the wall slightly, signaling to her that she was free to say whatever she wanted.

“Shall we date?” she said with a bright smile.

Leaning against the wall, he almost stumbled.

“What did you say?”

“I’m saying, ‘Shall we date?’ Got it?”

“How come you are saying something so important without any inflection?”

“That’s why I told you I was going to say it after cleaning. How slow-witted are you?!”

As if to reply to her proposal of dating, he came closer to her and kissed her lips.

Her soft lips touched his.

She could feel his warm breathing and pounding heartbeat. Though she was sober, she felt dizzy as if she were drunk.

***

“Well, I’ve decided to date him until I forget Konsu. I would say this is a sort of business relationship between him and me.”

Arum called Jina, her best friend.

It was late at night after Hojoon left, but she woke Jina up. Fortunately, Jina was actually wide awake at that time because of a big project.

“Are you crazy?” Jina blamed her, as expected.

“I thought you would praise me. I think Konsu will forget me quickly when he discovers that I’ve found a new date.”

“What the heck is this, Arum? Is this European dating? Why don’t you shoot a movie together? It’s just funny. Does your love need rehab treatment? Does he have to help you to even forget Konsu? Oh my goodness… What a great romance you guys are making! So, how would you prove to me that you have forgotten Konsu once and for all? Are you going to open your head to show it to me? How can I confirm it?” Jina harshly blamed her for her mention of ‘contract dating’ with Hojoon.

“Oh, I didn’t think that far.”