Chapter 8

Had about ten minutes passed? At the sound of a car stopping hurriedly, Soyoon lifted her head.

“Soyoon!”

She had thought she had cried everything out and that no more tears could possibly come, but the moment she saw him climbing the stone steps several at a time while calling her name, tears pattered down before she could stop them.

“Are you okay?”

It looked like he had come straight from work, because he was wearing a suit. As if he did not care whether his clothes got ruined, he dropped to one knee and grabbed her face, turning it this way and that to look at it. His eyes widened as if he could not believe what he was seeing.

“Who was it? Who did this to you?”

With an angry face, he pressed her, asking who had done this. At the sight of him seeming to get angry on her behalf, emotion surged up in Soyoon, and the tip of her nose stung.

Unable to look directly at his face, she lowered her eyes, and saw his chest rising and falling roughly.

Why was he this angry?

Soyoon wondered.

“I’m asking who did this to you?”

The second question was asked in a very gentle voice. But to Soyoon, the gentle voice felt even more frightening. He, who had been wiping away with his fingers the tears soaking her cheeks as if it pained him, furrowed his brow. At that moment, his finger brushed across her lips.

Startled, Soyoon leaned back, and his eyes dropped toward the ground.

Feeling his gaze on her feet, covered in wounds, she quickly hid them behind her. She did not want to show him the utter mess of them. It felt as though, just like her feet, her life too was a complete wreck. Biting her lip, she felt as though she had ended up showing him that she had not lived happily.

When the landlord’s son had hit her, it seemed her lip had split, because she could taste blood.

As if he did not like the way she was trying to hide her feet, he suddenly grabbed her ankle and carefully brushed the dirt from the sole of her foot.

Why was this so embarrassing?

“Get in the car.”

“…Mom and Hayoon……”

She had not even finished speaking when he slid an arm beneath her knees and lifted her up. Unable even to cry out, Soyoon instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck for fear she might fall.

In that instant, startled by his scent piercing deep into her nose, Soyoon’s body stiffened. He went down the steps and opened the passenger door, setting her down on the seat.

“Wait here a moment.”

When she looked at him with trembling eyes, he gave her head a light tap-.

At that small action, all her worry faded away. It was strange. The moment he appeared, it felt as though the pain had become a little easier to bear.

She stared fixedly at his back as he closed the car door, turned around, and went back up the stone steps.

The air had been so humid, as though a heavy rain were about to pour down, that even breathing had been difficult, yet the moment she got into the car, she could breathe again. Though she knew it was thanks to the cool air conditioner, feeling as though even inside her had cooled, Soyoon closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again.

Whether his crisp scent was hanging in the air, it kept faintly pricking at her nose, and she rubbed the bridge of it with her hand.

Was the reason the inside of the car felt safe because of the owner of the car……? Soyoon kept finding herself wondering about such things. Even though she knew she should not.

As time passed and he still did not come out, she grew worried and grabbed the handle, about to step outside. At that same moment, she saw him coming out through the gate. And behind him, her mother and Hayoon too.

Soyoon could not take her eyes off him as he came down the steps.

Her heart lurched again. She was not unfamiliar with this feeling. She pressed a hand firmly against her chest to calm it.

For me, both love and dating are luxuries.

When she got out of the car, Hayoon threw herself into her arms. Her arms were trembling. Though she sometimes acted rebellious because she was going through puberty, she was still just a child. Soyoon stroked her younger sibling’s back.

That it was okay. That everything would turn out fine.

Her mother’s eyes, standing beside Hayoon, were shining brightly.

“Please get in.”

Like children who listened well, her mother and Hayoon got into the car, and he was placing the few belongings they had packed into the trunk. Soyoon watched him for a moment, then was the last to get into the car.

“Really, is that truly you, Do-ha? Cha Do-ha?”

Her mother’s voice rose, like an excited child.

“Yes. That’s right.”

No matter how many times she asked, he replied politely, without the slightest sign of irritation. He had always been like that.

That was why so many adults used to say they wanted him as a son or a son-in-law.

“Where are we going?”

At her mother’s voice, which even sounded excited as if they were out on a picnic, Soyoon let out a small sigh.

“For now, I’m going to take you to a hotel so you can sleep. You must be tired.”

“Ah…… right. I’m so tired.”

At the word hotel, her mother made a huge fuss, saying how long had it been since she had gone to one. Each time, Soyoon stiffened her neck.

Since Soyoon had no money to stay at a hotel, she fidgeted with her innocent fingers. She wanted to accept his help only this far.

Not even having 100,000 won on hand. It truly was the worst.

At the very least, she did not want to show him this side of herself. Soyoon felt as though she wanted to die, because she kept showing him the side of herself she wanted more than anything not to show. Even if she had given up her feelings for him, what kind of person would want to show the person they once liked the ruined version of themselves?

She should catch hold of him as he opened the car door to get out and tell him that she would pay for the room. But unable to say a single word, Soyoon lowered her head.

From behind her, her mother asked again and again, ‘That’s Do-ha, the Do-ha you used to trail after so desperately, right? The son of Yeongsil Group?’ Knowing that her mother would keep shaking her arm until she answered, Soyoon nodded.

“My goodness, why is he helping us? What kind of relationship do you have with him?”

“Mom. Please!”

“I-I…… what did I…… do……?”

“Ha…… we just happened to run into each other.”

She wanted to run away. She hated so much that the man she had once followed around like that had seen her like this, that she wanted to abandon even her mother and younger sibling and run away. Soyoon buried her face in her hands and broke down, sobbing aloud.

A little while later,

He came back and told them to get out because he had gotten them a room.

“My goodness, what is this! It’s a suit!”

Even Hayoon seemed not entirely displeased, as she looked around at the surroundings.

“A single small room would have been enough……”

“……”

“Thank you.”

She bowed deeply in thanks. She still had to buy him a meal, and return the umbrella and slippers too. Feeling as though her debt to him had only grown, Soyoon’s mouth felt rough, as if she had been chewing sand.

“Stay here comfortably.”

“…We’ll find a place soon and leave.”

“What I mean is.”

As though holding something back with difficulty, he paused his breathing for a moment.

“I mean rest comfortably.”

“Yes.”

“You must be tired, so get some rest first, and let’s talk tomorrow. Call me when you get off work.”

After greeting her mother and Hayoon, who were looking around the room, he disappeared. Soyoon watched him without blinking once. As though he had something urgent to do, he left without looking back even once.

She quietly took in the sight of him.

***