“What time is it and you’re still starving? No matter how busy you are, you need to eat your meals.”

“It just happened that way.”

“You always say ‘it just happened,’ always. I’ve told you so many times—if you keep doing this, you’ll suffer when you’re old.”

“How’s the restaurant? Did you get more customers?”

“Don’t even get me started. If it weren’t for the regulars, I would’ve closed up shop already. Everyone only goes over there now.”

At Hyungja’s grumbling words, Hyunseo turned her head. Beyond the steamed-up glass door, dazzling lights poured out. It was so splendid it was hard to believe only a single road separated them.

“I thought maybe some crumbs would fall our way, but absolutely nothing. If I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve opposed it from the start.”

The commercial district across the street, which had been steadily developed over several years, truly had every type of business imaginable. Thanks to that, Hyungja and other small, old shops bore the damage entirely. 

Not many people would bother seeking out a shabby neighborhood when just one block over, various franchise cafes, restaurants, and bars lined the streets.

“But don’t worry. I’m making enough to eat. I told you—as long as I can put food in my mouth, everything’s peachy.”

Watching Hyungja wink mischievously, Hyunseo smiled softly. Soon Hyungja brought over a pot and sat in the front seat, telling her to eat carefully since it was hot. The bubbling sundae soup looked appetizing.

Hyunseo stirred it with her spoon and took a mouthful. The spicy, hot broth spreading warmly inside seemed to fill not just her hunger but her heart as well. She soaked a whole bowl of rice in it just like she was told.

Her connection with Hyungja began the day after Hyunseo came up to Seoul.

Not knowing where to go, Hyunseo wandered aimlessly around the station area looking for work. However, no one readily hired a minor who clearly looked like a runaway, and she ended up spending another night sleeping rough in the station with her eyes wide open. 

This was after even the remaining money she’d been clutching, trying to save at least for food, had been stolen.

Sitting blankly on a bench feeling hopeless, she smelled food from afar. Walking toward it like she was possessed, she saw homeless people lined up in a row receiving meals. The person handing out food then was Hyungja.

‘How old are you?’

‘I’m sixteen.’

‘Great job running away with just one bag.’

‘…’

‘Fearless for someone so young. If you have nowhere to go, follow me.’

Hearing that she volunteered once a month and today happened to be that day, Hyunseo went and stood at the very back of the line.

Shame couldn’t beat hunger. Hyungja, who had been watching Hyunseo for a while as she went to a corner and hurriedly stuffed rice and side dishes into her mouth, was the first to reach out her hand. Asking if she’d like to work at her restaurant.

At this sundae soup restaurant she followed her to, Hyunseo worked for a full six years. Her main work was washing dishes and serving, but Hyungja, who provided room and board, helped Hyunseo get a proper job at a company.

You look smart and clever at first glance, don’t waste that good brain—at Hyungja’s persistent encouragement, Hyunseo took the GED, studied for the TOEIC, and got a word processing certificate.

And finally, with good fortune, she passed the special screening for minorities and could join a major corporation.

Hyungja’s contribution to making this happen was undoubtedly enormous.

“When did that little thing grow up so much?”

Hyungja murmured contentedly while looking at Hyunseo. Moving her bulging cheeks, Hyunseo replied.

“My height’s about the same as back then.”

“But your chest got bigger. Your b*tt too.”

“…Auntie.”

“So. Still no guy you like? Aren’t you dating?”

Then when are you going to get married and have kids—what if you just work your whole life and die old? 

Hyungja complained, though it wasn’t really a complaint. Thinking that if getting her a proper job was once the goal, now the next goal must be her marriage, Hyunseo said sulkily.

“I’m only twenty-five.”

“Lucky you’re young. Don’t let your guard down. You’ll be thirty in no time, then forty. Will you regret it then?”

“Do you want to get rid of me that badly?”

“I’m just saying. So go on some dates. Don’t keep coming here every day off you get.”

“If I don’t come, you never contact me anyway.”

“Why would I call someone busy? No news is good news.”

“You say you’re sick of it. That if you were reborn, you wouldn’t get married and would live alone.”

“Well, that’s…”

Hyungja, who seemed at a loss for words and hesitated a bit, drew a firm line saying that was her story.

At the scolding to hurry up and finish eating, Hyunseo chuckled. She deliberately didn’t look at Hyungja’s face as she pushed side dishes toward her. She just kept her gaze silently on the pot and diligently chewed her sundae soup.

Had they lived together for over a year? Hyungja’s desolate appearance as she calmly laid out her story was still vivid.

Hyungja had been beaten by her husband and miscarried the baby in her womb. A few years later, after losing even her abusive husband in an accident, the devastated Hyungja worked at anything and everything, desperately saving money to open this small but precious shop. 

Though she no longer worried about making ends meet, she was always alone, living a lonely life.

Maybe that’s why she gave Hyunseo more affection. Yet even so, she hoped Hyunseo wouldn’t be tied to her.

She was worried. That she might feel unnecessary responsibility even toward Hyunseo, who had only briefly attached herself. She didn’t want that either.

“When are you going to visit your father?”

Like a set routine, Hyungja casually brought up Gangseok. Hyunseo, who had finished eating, put down her spoon.

“It’s obvious what it’ll be like. I visited once last year or whenever, and that was the end, right?”

“The caregiver lady is taking good care of him.”

“Still, stop by once. The caregiver will do better if the guardian shows their face.”

“I’ll see.”

“That ‘I’ll see’ again. He might go to the next world any time. Stop by before it’s too late, like you’re doing him a favor.”

Hyungja, who had been rattling off her usual nagging, gathered up the pot and empty dishes and stood. Despite Hyunseo’s repeated insistence that she’d do it, Hyungja stubbornly went into the kitchen and came out after finishing the dishes in the blink of an eye. 

Then she pushed Hyunseo’s back with her still-wet hands as Hyunseo took out her wallet.

“Go on, hurry. You must be tired.”

“If you don’t take it, I’m not leaving.”

“That doesn’t even make sense. If you keep doing this, I won’t give you food.”

“Then I won’t come either.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard.”

“Auntie.”

“If you insist, bring someone with you next time. Then I’ll take it.”

Bring a handsome man, not a woman, and don’t just bring any random guy—adding these words, Hyungja opened the door.

Creak—at the sound and the cold wind seeping in, Hyunseo, who had hesitated for a moment, hugged Hyungja. Hyunseo, who secretly tucked a ten-thousand-won bill into the pocket of Hyungja’s apron as she scolded her for being embarrassing, spoke in a small voice.

“Thank you.”

“Are you getting old too? Why do you keep saying useless things?”

“Take good care of your health.”

“Sure. You take it easy with work and eat your meals properly too.”

“I’m going.”

“Hyunseo.”

For a while after getting a job, she’d truly been so busy she couldn’t even catch her breath. 

Even so, Hyungja had told Hyunseo, who carved out time to visit, to just work hard. Saying she was doing fine and there was no need to worry.

Yet Hyungja, who also told her to come visit anytime her heart felt heavy or depressed, could hardly take her eyes off Hyunseo whenever she stopped by like this.

An expression of pride, like she’d grown up so beautifully. Hair that had become noticeably grayer than before. Hyungja’s wrinkled eyes had moistened again.

“Don’t miss your chance and hurry up and meet someone, okay?”

She couldn’t complain. Hyunseo knew Hyungja’s heart better than anyone as she patted her hand.

Don’t grow old alone like me. Don’t be this lonely like I am. Words she could understand without hearing gently knocked on Hyunseo’s heart. Instead of answering, she just smiled broadly and soon turned around.

Hyungja’s gaze didn’t leave until she turned the corner. Receiving a look that seemed to watch over her night path, Hyunseo slowly walked. Things she’d experienced long ago flashed through her mind like a panorama.

A big, unfamiliar city. A time when she had nowhere to go, nowhere to lean on. Grateful kindness given without conditions.

She endured because of Hyungja. Without Hyungja, things definitely would have gone wrong. Hyunseo stood in front of the crosswalk with a faint smile on her lips. The blowing wind didn’t feel cold at all.

‘No matter how rotten someone is, you’re still parent and child. Just close your eyes and at least let me know if he’s alive or dead.’

‘What if he comes looking for me?’

‘Let him just try. Will this auntie stay still? Hyunseo, you don’t need to worry.’

When Hyungja learned of Hyunseo’s situation—that she adamantly refused to open a salary account for fear Gangseok might come looking—Hyungja first opened an account in her own name and steadily saved Hyunseo’s monthly wages. 

But since she’d gotten a job at a company, and thinking of the future, she couldn’t keep hiding forever.

Hyungja seriously persuaded Hyunseo. You didn’t commit a crime, so why are you running away—at Hyungja’s words that she’d chase him away if he came looking, Hyunseo gathered courage before joining the company and called her hometown home.

‘Who is this, Hyunseo?’

‘…Uncle Yonggu?’

‘Oh my, Inseo. Why are you only calling now? Your father’s about to die.’

The one who answered the phone wasn’t Gangseok but Uncle Yonggu from next door. At the news that Gangseok, who had been drinking all day every day, had collapsed from a stroke and was in the hospital, Hyunseo’s head went blank.

Not because it was unexpected news. It was because of the realistic worry that she might have to be responsible for the hospital bills.

Her body still trembled. Just remembering those hellish times made it hard to breathe.

The wounds carved into her young heart were deep. She absolutely hadn’t contacted him out of forgiveness. 

Hyunseo, who had planned never to see him for the rest of her life, however, couldn’t completely turn away from Gangseok, who was struggling between life and death alone.

She decided to do at least the minimum duty as a child after seeing Gangseok, who had become unrecognizably frail, with her own eyes.

The brutal man who had swung his fists was nowhere to be found. After his wife and then even his daughter left, Gangseok, who had spent countless days binge drinking, had completely fallen apart in just a few years.

Unless he was already dead, Hyunseo, who couldn’t ultimately abandon her father who was still breathing, hurriedly processed the admission procedures at a nursing hospital.

It was fortunate that most of the hospital bills were covered by government support. What Hyunseo, as the dependent, had to bear was the meal costs, non-covered items, and care fees. 

It was a level her salary could cover.

She thought that was enough. Showing her face frequently was still too difficult for her.

But she quickly changed her mind. Because it was Hyungja’s words, no one else’s. Because she didn’t want to regret it.

“Right. Think of it as building good karma.”

Hyunseo repeated it like a spell as she crossed the crosswalk. The last subway train time was getting tight.

She walked briskly along the road on the outskirts with few people, heading toward the station. 

The splendid lights of the commercial district were right there. It was right then, as she looked at the flashing neon signs of the buildings with unimpressed eyes.

Thud!

Thud thud!

…?

Between buildings—that is, in a space so dark and narrow you’d pass by without looking closely—several shadows were tangled together.

Her steps stopped on their own. She soon realized three men were stomping on one crouched man. Terrified, Hyunseo hurriedly looked around. She was troubled since there was nowhere in particular to call for help.

‘What should I do? But if I just leave…’

After a brief dilemma, Hyunseo took out her phone. Pressing herself against the wall, she turned the volume up to maximum and clicked something. It was a police car sound she’d saved thinking there might be a time to use it.

Wee-ooo-wee-ooo!

“Whoa, what?”

“I think it’s the police!”

“F*ck, hey! Run!”

The reaction was immediate. The men, mistaking that police had come nearby, competed to disappear.

Hyunseo quickly turned off the sound. Then she cautiously poked her head out to check on whoever was still crouched. At the motionless figure, she carefully approached, and her eyes widened the next moment.

“…D-Director?”

“Surprised” wasn’t enough to describe it. Gyeom looked up indifferently at Hyunseo, who had frozen solid.

Is it someone who looks like him? 

Unlike Hyunseo, who was confused knowing it wasn’t, Gyeom’s expression was utterly calm. Composed and collected eyes. Peaceful breathing. 

If not for the footprints on his suit, you couldn’t tell he’d been getting beaten. Hyunseo suppressed her bewilderment and barely managed to speak.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt…”

“What a shame. At this rate, it won’t even register.”

At the low voice that flowed out, she closed her mouth. He really didn’t seem like someone who’d been beaten.

A shame—what exactly?

As she just blinked in surprise, Gyeom soon slowly sat up. The moment he casually leaned his back against the wall, his calm gaze immediately flew to her. Though it seemed emotionless, his slightly sharp eyes that somehow seemed to blame her left her utterly flustered.

“Ah, I…”

“I know. Do Hyunseo, contract employee from the Business Planning Department.”

Her words were blocked again. The clear and prickly tone definitely seemed to blame her.

‘Did I b*tt in unnecessarily?’ 

Hyunseo, who was having belated regrets, still couldn’t easily leave.

He’d definitely been getting stomped on quite severely earlier. By three grown men at that. Of course, she still didn’t understand. Gyeom’s build didn’t look like someone who’d get beaten by anyone. Random mugging, something like that?

“Um, shouldn’t you go to the hospit—”

“Director!”

Hyunseo couldn’t finish her words. Her tightly closed vision was filled with pitch-black darkness.

It happened in an instant. 

Gyeom grabbing her arm and pulling her, and his large hand covering her mouth like an embrace just as she was about to scream from nearly falling—it all happened in a very short time. 

Her body stiffening was natural. She was so surprised she even forgot to breathe. Her head went blank.

“Stay still. If we get caught, it’ll become a hassle.”

At the low voice murmuring like a whisper, Hyunseo’s shoulders trembled. She couldn’t make an issue of his lips touching her earlobe. It was more accurate to say she wasn’t in a state to do so.

Bzzzz. At the vibration she suddenly felt, Hyunseo bravely opened her eyes. Her pupils shook violently at the fact that where her chin rested was Gyeom’s shoulder. 

She became more clearly aware of the awkwardly embraced position. Thump thump. Her heart pounded wildly like it would burst any moment.

“You’re not answering your phone—where did you go?”

The presence that seemed to be approaching moved away again. Only after quite a bit more time passed could Hyunseo escape from Gyeom’s embrace. The moment the large hand covering her mouth fell away, she stood up.

She couldn’t get up right away. Gyeom caught her in time as she nearly fell again, unable to overcome the overwhelming tension. His jet-black eyes, which she met at close range, were far more wonderful than she’d thought.

When his straight eyes held languidness, they even looked somewhat decadent. Completely different from usual.

Ah.

Is he drunk?

Hyunseo only then noticed the faint smell of alcohol coming from Gyeom. Yet it was strange that it didn’t feel particularly unpleasant. She normally hated alcohol, but right now she didn’t feel that way at all.

She thought. Today really is a strange day. There were no other words to explain it.

Hyunseo barely managed to stand up straight. Even then, Gyeom was still looking up at her intently. She deliberately avoided his jet-black eyes that made her tense up. 

Because somehow it felt like she should.