Chapter 3 – The Pine Tree and the Orchid (Part 9)

“Why do you act like you won’t accept anything from me?”

“Who would want to accept something like this? Who could accept it?”

“Then what am I supposed to do? I can’t stand the thought of you getting tangled up with this bastard again!”

Hee-tae’s voice unconsciously rose as he responded to Soo-yeon’s cold question. He didn’t want to sound like a child throwing a tantrum, but the urgency within him made his voice roar. He should have kicked this idiot out right from the start. Since he never intended to collect the money lent to this fool, he should have just thrown him out like the bad luck he was. The regret of not doing so, leading Soo-yeon to witness this mess, made a sigh escape him.

“I was afraid you’d lose your mind over this miserable bastard again, so I wanted to get rid of him before you saw him, but…”

Soo-yeon couldn’t believe how deeply Hee-tae’s words, which carried no malice, cut into her. It felt like he was trampling mercilessly on her heart. Even at this moment, he assumed she would naturally feel sympathy for Min-jun, knowing her pathetic history and exposing her deepest insecurities. She hated him for it.

In truth, she knew there was nothing to hate. All of this was her doing. The beginning of their relationship was her fault for not being able to cut ties with a miserable, pitiful relationship. Despite the passage of time, their relationship had returned to its starting point. It was like back when Min-jun was buried in the bunker under the scorching sun, except now the location had changed to an office where he was getting beaten. Soo-yeon looked at Min-jun sprawled on the floor, seeing it as a display of her own lowest point, and opened her mouth to speak.

“Jang Hee-tae, do you enjoy living off other people’s misery?”

Hee-tae’s jaw tightened at Soo-yeon’s words, which treated him like a thug. He had never blinked when called a thug, a gangster, a demon, or a devil by others. He was indeed a demon. But at that moment, hearing it from Soo-yeon, his eloquent speech stopped as if he had forgotten how to speak. He couldn’t stand tall before Soo-yeon, who questioned him as if his work was purely contemptible. After all, he wasn’t doing anything he could be proud of.

“Yeah, I f*cking enjoy it.”

Hee-tae replied, distorting his face. He felt foolish for dreaming that Soo-yeon’s single call could change their purely physical relationship into one with a future. He was a scumbag living in the gutter, and she was not. He had been dreaming above his station. Hee-tae took a step closer to Soo-yeon, lowered his body, and sneered.

“Must be satisfying living a life enjoying the luxuries of the rich. Never had to starve, so you have the luxury to enjoy romance.”

Soo-yeon was stunned into silence, stabbed by his sharp words. There was a time when she had looked down on him, and that impression hadn’t changed. They lived in different worlds. She had realized that painfully while finding her way to his office. From the moment she opened the door to the gambling den in a dark alley, smelled the stale cigarette smoke, and felt the eyes of the men looking at her like dead fish, she had only one thought: Hee-tae was different from her. He didn’t see this place as a fall or as a place to escape from. He was just someone who lived like a fish in the sewer.

“Not everyone who starves lives like you.”

“Right. I’m just that kind of scumbag.”

Soo-yeon choked up at Hee-tae’s calm acceptance. This wasn’t the conversation she intended to have. She didn’t come to claw at each other, showing how different they were. But all that came out of her mouth were words attacking him, so she shut her mouth. She probably would never understand the way the man before her lived, even if she lived her entire life. He was too different from her, and merely being attracted to him wasn’t enough to make being together safe. Hee-tae nudged Min-jun, who was sprawled at his feet, with the toe of his shoe and spoke.

“So, it’s okay to pity and live with someone like this, but not with me, huh?”

Soo-yeon couldn’t respond to Hee-tae’s words that exposed her deepest thoughts. Her relationship with Min-jun, which seemed like it would be stable, had eaten away at her. Ironically, Hee-tae, who lived off others’ lives, was kinder to Soo-yeon. The man who once pressed Min-jun’s lips with a golf club head would fillet fish for her. The man who gifted her a bonsai pine tree when the memory of receiving a bouquet was faint. The man who would let her draw on his back even if it woke him up at dawn. Despite such vivid memories, Soo-yeon was too afraid to step into Hee-tae’s world.

“How could you, with all your romantic notions, get involved with someone like me, who equates romance with money?”

To Hee-tae, paintings were merely emergency funds to be sold off or a means for tax evasion. At least, that was the case until he saw Soo-yeon’s paintings at the gallery. And when she painted on his back, that thought completely vanished. The sensation of her brush moving on his back, as if she were whispering in his ear, was vivid. That moment was priceless, beyond any monetary value, making him understand why people got so passionate about paint-smeared pieces of paper. That’s why Soo-yeon was someone Hee-tae couldn’t possess. A loan shark who quantified everything in terms of money couldn’t dare calculate someone like her.

“I’ll let this one live, so go.”

Hee-tae pointed at Min-jun, gasping like a fish out of water. He was so pampered that he was still writhing from just a few kicks. If he had realized Soo-yeon was there and grabbed her pant leg, he might have been beaten even more, so it was better that he was unconscious.

But Soo-yeon couldn’t believe the order to leave, given that nothing was resolved and the fight wasn’t even properly over. She felt that if she left now, she would never see him again. Hee-tae spoke to her again.

“Leave while I’m letting you.”

Hee-tae was skilled at extorting things. Whether it was objects, money, or people, he was adept at taking things by force. President Chae was a practical man who would likely give up his daughter if pressured into marriage. Even if not, there were countless ways to extort Soo-yeon’s life. But he wouldn’t do any of that. He didn’t want to be a pitiful man who ate away at her life, nor a coercive monster who took it by force.

“If you contact me again, I’ll take it as an invitation to mess with your life however I want.”

Soo-yeon looked at Hee-tae, who spoke with a growl, and he seemed like a beast with its jaws wide open. It felt like he could devour her whole, but he didn’t. He opened an escape route for her, as if knowing she would ultimately not choose him. Soo-yeon turned and walked out of the gambling den, feeling a presence following her down the dirty alley. She instinctively turned around, thinking it might be Hee-tae, but it was a skinny man standing there with a cowering expression. He flinched at her gaze and spoke nervously.

“The boss asked me to make sure you get home safely. This neighborhood is rough, so it’s understandable to be worried.”

“…….”

“He may speak harshly, but he’s been anxiously waiting for your call. His temper has been, ah, I shouldn’t be saying this……”

Listening to the man’s unsolicited excuses, Soo-yeon stood in that alley for a long time. She wasn’t confident enough to get entangled in Hee-tae’s life, which was so different from hers. She had even struggled to visit Min-jun, who lived in that old, cramped villa. Soo-yeon wandered, unable to either return to Hee-tae, who sent someone to check if she got home safely, or leave that place entirely.

As she finally moved her steps out of the alley, she felt like she might cry. However, she swallowed it down, fearing the man Hee-tae had sent would report back that she had cried, and kept moving forward.

“Contact me again, and I will take it as a sign you want me to mess with your life as I please.”

Soo-yeon looked down at Hee-tae, who was growling at her, and he looked like a beast with its jaws wide open. It seemed as if he could swallow her whole, but he didn’t. He opened an escape route for her, as if he knew she wouldn’t ultimately choose him. Soo-yeon turned her body and left the gambling den, feeling someone following her down the dirty alley. Thinking it might be Hee-tae, she turned around reflexively, but it was just a skinny man standing there with a timid expression. He was startled by her gaze and spoke hastily.

“The boss asked me to see if you got home safely. This area is rough, so he might be worried.”

“…….”

“He’s a bit rough with his words, but he’s been anxiously waiting for your call. Oh, I shouldn’t have said that…”

Listening to the man’s unsolicited excuses, Soo-yeon stood in the alley for a long time. She wasn’t confident about getting entangled in Hee-tae’s life, which was so different from hers. She found it hard even to visit Min-joon, who lived in that old, narrow villa. Soo-yeon wandered, unable to either go back to Hee-tae, who sent someone to check on her, or leave the place.

As she finally moved out of the alley, she felt like she might cry. However, she swallowed back the tears, worried that the man Hee-tae sent would report that she had cried.