Chapter 59

Ojae seemed offended and asked, raising his voice.

“I’m just speaking the truth.”

“You’re saying it like you’ve experienced it.”

“That’s right. It’s based on my experience.”

Eunyoung’s words made Ojae sober up.

Ojae knew that Eunyoung was older than him, but he never imagined her being married once, for she was beautiful and had a grand style.

“Hey, boss…” Ari, too, was quite surprised and carefully called out to her.

“It’s okay. It’s all in the past now.”

Eunyoung smiled casually. Still, she seemed sore and downed three shots of alcohol.

“Now, let’s go home.”

She picked up the bill and headed to the counter. Ojae watched her without saying anything. With a long sigh, his mood sank.

At the same time, Eunyoung’s face became entrenched deeply in his mind.

***

Eunwoo’s car entered an alleyway near his veterinary hospital.

“We’ve arrived.”

The designated driver said as he finished parking the car.

“Thank you. Here you go.”

Eunwoo paid the money and left the car. Sun, who was in the back seat, also followed while holding Labong.

“Thank you.”

Eunwoo shook his head after hearing Sun’s gratitude.

“We would have to pass over your place to come here anyway.”

As he finished speaking, a moment of silence hung between them.

“Well, I’m going home now…”

When Sun tried to speak, Eunwoo began to walk.

“I’m going to take a walk. I’ve had too much to eat.”

Understanding Eunwoo’s consideration of her, Sun nodded slowly. They walked toward a nearby park.

It was the park where she walked Labong last time.

“The weather has become so warm. It’s not so cold anymore.”

“Yes,” Sun responded with an awkward smile.

“Is it really spring?”

She looked around the park in response.

The park had begun to shrug off the dark colors of winter. The trees, in turn, began sprouting fresh, new green leaves.

She didn’t even know what was going on with the seasons since she had been so busy. Sun sighed with a bitter smile.

“You’ve struggled a lot today.”

“No, it’s just what I do. It’s my job.”

“Not about the job…”

“Oh…” Sun understood Eunwoo’s words in hindsight and smiled awkwardly. “… That’s okay. I’m used to it.”

Eunwoo stopped for a moment and started to speak, “You don’t have to always be okay.”

She stopped to follow him and looked at Eunwoo.

“You don’t always have to think about other people. You know, sometimes, you’re not okay, just like today.”

Sun seemed to be locked in her thoughts for a moment; she was speechless.

“When you feel that it’s hard, then just say so. That’s when you seek your friends to help you out.”

She smiled and looked at him with a half-hearted smile.

As she looked up at the night sky, she remembered the old memories pressing firmly together in her mind. Can I really talk about myself to this person?

She closed her eyes and sighed for a long time before slowly speaking. She felt like she wanted to confide everything to someone.

“… So then, can you listen to me? It’s going to take a while…”

Eunwoo nodded slowly at her. She stood up from her seat and breathed deeply and exhaled for a long time.

It seemed difficult for him to tell this story. Eunwoo waited for her silently for a while.

After a while, Sun became courageous and started speaking.

“On the day of my high school graduation, I was in a car accident on my way home with my dad. We stopped and waited for the stoplight to change on the road, and a big truck came and hit us.”

Sun still remembered that day very clearly.

“Luckily, there was a nearby hospital; we went to the emergency room, and my dad kept asking me. “Are you okay? Is there anywhere you are hurt?”

Sun stopped for a moment and struggled.

“The accident made me so anxious, and I cried because my shoulder was so sore, so I got the treatment first. There was only one doctor…”

Her fist trembled as she held it tightly.

“I should have said that I was okay.”

Tears flowed down her cheek.

“… While they were treating me, my dad collapsed in the hallway with no one there to help him. It was a brain hemorrhage. If I had said that I was okay… my dad. My dad could have…

She bit her lip without being able to continue what he wanted to say. After hearing her unexpected family history, Eunwoo looked at her with surprise and compassion.

“… I’m sorry that I brought this up.”

She wiped away her tears with her hand and rose from her seat.

She smiled awkwardly and looked down at Eunwoo.

“I think I should go home. Labong’s also sleeping now.”

Sun said while looking at Labong sleeping in her bag.

“Well…”

As soon as Sun tried to lift the bag, Eunwoo suddenly rose from his seat. He then pulled her hand and held her in his arms.

It happened in an instant.

Sun was so surprised as he embraced her. She heard his voice running through her mind.

“… Sun, it’s not your fault.”

Her eyes widened a little in surprise.

Eunwoo released his hand for a moment and looked at her. There was nothing but pain in her tearful eyes.

“That accident, that’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. I mean…” Eunwoo struggled as his heart wept for her. “… Now, I hope you’re really okay.”

With his heartfelt and comforting words, her tears welled up. She dropped her head, not wanting to show her pain.

Eunwoo embraced her with all his might. Their beating hearts embraced each other.

‘It’s not your fault, Sun. It’s okay. It’s okay now.’

He constantly tapped her back while holding her in his arms.

Early in the morning, Gyeonhui sat at the table while staring blankly out of the window. A short time later, he heard the front door open and close; Ojae slid up beside him and sat down.

“… Are you going to eat breakfast?”

“Yes…”

The two exchanged mundane small talk and stared blankly out of the window.

“Enjoy.”

A maid said as she set two bowls of P’yongyang cold noodles with a light broth in front of them. It was a special meal that she prepared for Gyeonhui to recover after drinking heavily the day before.

“… Ojae, vinegar.”

“Huh?”

“Pass the vinegar.”

“Okay.”

Ojae passed him a bottle of soy sauce without even looking.

Gyeonhui poured the soy sauce on his cold noodles as he held his gaze outside the window.

“… Oh, let me get some too.”

“Okay.”

This time, when Ojae reached out, Gyeonhui returned the soy sauce to him. Ojae poured a lot of soy sauce in his bowl and started speaking again.

“Pepper too.”

“Sure.”

With a distant expression, Gyeonhui handed over the red pepper flake that was placed beside him. Ojae sprinkled the red pepper flake in the cold noodles and mixed it with chopsticks.

“It’s so delicious.”

Ojae, who was eating the cold noodles, said since his sense of taste was completely numb.

“Yes, it is.”

It was the same for Gyeonhui.

“Hah…”

“Hah…”

A sigh coming from each of them exuded at the same time.