CH 10.8

I called the boss and asked if I could quit next week. He seemed surprised, but he asked me if I was in a very difficult situation because I asked for advance payment last time, and asked if I could work until next week. When I said I want to quit as soon as possible, he told me to work until this week only. Fortunately, until he got a new person, the boss said he can work like before, so I guess I wouldn’t cause Seo Jihee trouble.

I was grateful for that. It would be quite helpful once I got the money I’ve worked for all this short time. I thought it couldn’t be helped if I got insulted, but it ended nicely at least. Though it couldn’t be called a very nice ending.

I made an appointment to eat with Seo Jihee once. She said she would treat me, but I had no reason to get treated. However, it might be strange if I rejected her, so I said okay. I would see her one more time anyway, so I didn’t feel much regret.

Something felt empty when Friday came. I wouldn’t work in the convenience store starting next week. It’d be good if next week came quickly. I thought I would feel at ease for a while after I prepared the money and gave it to the man. When that time comes, I should ask Yeon Woojeong to move quickly.

I opened my closet and took out a bright gray coat and a white knit that I didn’t usually wear. I was worried and awkward because I thought something would stain it soon, but it didn’t matter because Yeon Woojeong would like it.

As the days went by, the sense of reality faded. No, I thought I got numb. Yeon Woojeong always came late this week, so it was hard to see his face, and I slept early as usual, so I rarely ran into him. I didn’t need to worry if he would notice, so my anxiety calmed down.

I will make money anyway on Saturday, so it’ll be going well. I had no choice but to believe that. It wasn’t a groundless hope. The money from working in the convenience store came in today, and I got a job to do on Saturday, so I would at least make one million won. I had to make it.

It was time to go outside. I wasn’t told to go out, but I stood in front of the officetel. I looked around just in case. It hasn’t been a week yet, so he won’t come. The man often tended to forget, and although it wouldn’t happen, it would be a piece of big luck if he forgot this time too. Such luck wouldn’t happen though.

The day seemed to be a little warmer. While I was looking at the road ahead, a familiar car approached and stopped. I opened the door and got in.

Yeon Woojeong scanned me while I fastened the seatbelt.

“Why are you in such a mood today?”

“What?”

“Aha. Were you asking for a date?”

Date? I looked at Yeon Woojeong who pulled out. There was a subtle smile on his lips.

“Oh my. I should’ve dressed up pretty too.”

Based on his tone, he was clearly teasing me. He’s a man who doesn’t know how to just let it pass.

“We should get some spring clothes too, right?”

“I still have a lot of clothes.”

“We need to buy clothes with color suitable for spring.”

“You don’t have clothes with that color.”

“Mhm. It’s troubling.”

He can just buy the clothes, so what’s troubling? I scanned Yeon Woojeong’s outfit. Truthfully, he looked really good in his outfit now. I wanted to see him wearing bright clothes, but I hated it if other people saw it. I made up my mind to buy him some homewear later.

“Let’s go buy furniture next time.”

“Furniture?”

“We have to fill the new house. Think about how you want to decorate your room in advance. Do you want to take a look?”

It seemed like he really meant it when he said to move. It was a bit surprising that he continued to live in an officetel even though he had a house, and decided to move as soon as we talked about it.

If we go to the new house… It will be our home, won’t it? It is Yeon Woojeong’s house, but it’s our home that we fill together from the start.

Rubbing my palms, I nodded. What can I do for Yeon Woojeong? I’m receiving too much from him.

We arrived at the gallery after riding for about 20 minutes. There was a banner hanging outside the building.

[EXHIBITION OF THE FIRST HALF YEAR

happily ever after]

Is it that one? I took out the tickets to check it.

“Happily?”

When I asked in a murmur, Yeon Woojeong looked outside.

“And they lived happily ever after.”

“Huh?”

“It is used a lot as the last sentence in fairytale books. It’s a phrase that goes in there.”

Happily ever after. I liked it. Actually, I thought the exhibition wouldn’t be interesting, but I guessed it wouldn’t be bad if there were many bright pictures.

We went up to the first floor, handed over the tickets, and entered inside. At the entrance of the exhibition hall, purple lighting in the shape of the letters “happily ever after” was lit up.

As we entered a bit more, there was writing on the wall.

[did they really live happily ever after?]

I stopped, looking at the weighty sentence, then I heard a small laugh from my side. When I turned around, he put his hand on my shoulder.

As soon as we went inside, I saw a big picture hanging in front of me. A blonde haired woman in sneakers sat on a pumpkin carriage while sticking up her middle fingers to the castle behind her. This…

“It’s Cinderella.”

The pumpkin carriage was full of jewels, and Cinderella had a divorce paper in her hand. The swearing face looked free.

What is this? After looking at the picture’s title, I moved to the next picture. A winged, curly-haired man was entering a house where two women were kissing. I was trying to take a look at the title, but a hand covered my view.

“My childhood innocence is all broken.”

I grabbed Yeon Woojeong’s hand and lowered it down. Beaming, he looked at my face and then walked away. I followed him and looked at the pictures. All of them were a bit… There were only strange things. There was no picture that made me feel comfortable.

If they were meant to end happily, then that’s it. I didn’t want to pay money to see the ending that might have been different. I didn’t pay with my money, though.

“You don’t like it?”

“It’s different from the title. Do you like this?”

“Mm, it’s fun.”

It was great to hear he was having fun. Yeon Woojeong, who was appreciating the pictures while touching my shoulder, was concentrating on his own. I glanced at him without disturbing his concentration.

I would have wondered when there were pictures with a dot on them, but fortunately, there were a lot to see. Two students in the distance were giggling while looking at the pictures. On the other side was a couple arm in arm. I then looked at Yeon Woojeong again after glancing at the hand grabbing my shoulder.

“What’s fun?”

I wanted to know everything Yeon Woojeong thought and felt while he looked at these kinds of pictures. He opened his mouth with a serious face.

“If I had just looked at them, they would have been fun and creative works, but since I walked in knowing the name of the exhibition, I came to evaluate the happiness inside the frame.”

“That doesn’t look happy.”

When I raised my finger and pointed at the picture in front of me, Yeon Woojeong caressed my head.

“So you don’t like it?”

“Uh-huh.”

“But that is a moment. After that moment, you might reach the ending you want.”

The soft voice reached my ears clearly. It was quiet inside the gallery. His shoes rang occasionally, and I could hear the whispers of people walking away. The weight on my shoulder was warm.

If now were also a moment, I wanted to keep it and hang it like pictures. That reminds me, there was no moment that I wanted to throw away after I met Yeon Woojeong. Even the time I fought with him, no, the time I unilaterally said bad things to him and waited for my disposition.

Seo Jihee said that she once went to a French art museum and sat there for over an hour looking at just one painting. She said that one painting was so long that it took up a room for itself, and she couldn’t move her feet because she really liked it. I couldn’t understand it when I heard it, but I thought I knew now. If I put together all the moments I had with Yeon Woojeong instead of throwing them away and then I hang them up, wouldn’t I spend an hour or two, all of my time, looking at them?