Chapter 2 (Part 6)

The next morning, In-ah dragged her heavy body out of the hotel room to go to the fair. As she was about to pass by, she hesitated for a moment and knocked on the next room.

She thought Jinwon might have returned during the early hours. But there was no response. This man was surely lost in a strange country and unfamiliar city. She decided that if she couldn’t find him at the fair, she would report it to the police.

As she roamed the fair looking for Jinwon, In-ah’s eyes widened. She spotted Jinwon’s back as he examined the furniture on display ahead.

In-ah instinctively ran over and tapped Jinwon’s back. But the man who turned around wasn’t Jinwon. He was just a man with a similar-looking back.

Apologizing, In-ah bowed slightly and turned away. At that moment, a broad chest blocked her view. She looked up to see Jinwon.

“Are you looking for me?”

“No.”

The answer came out as if she had anticipated the question. At the same time, her eyes widened with an expression of injustice. But for some reason, Jinwon’s face was relaxed.

“Then who was it that called me all night?”

“Me? I don’t think so.”

In-ah’s eyes went wide as if to say, ‘Don’t accuse an innocent person.’ Seeing this, Jinwon couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s true that my phone battery died, but missed calls are all recorded. Didn’t you know?”

Flustered, In-ah suddenly averted her gaze and opened her mouth in surprise.

“Oh my! What’s that? I almost missed it!”

She grabbed her camera and quickly moved away. As she passed by Jinwon, she kept her eyes tightly shut, hiding her embarrassed expression.

Jinwon approached In-ah, who was frantically pressing the camera shutter in front of the exhibited furniture, with his hands behind his back.

“Is it okay to be wandering around like this?”

“Yes. It’s okay to wander around like this.”

Jinwon watched In-ah, who answered without even pausing to breathe.

“We don’t know what side effects the drug that guy gave you might have….”

In-ah quickly interrupted Jinwon.

“But I can’t just lie in the hotel after coming all the way to Italy on the company’s dime.”

“You can.”

At Jinwon’s firm words, In-ah turned her head to look at him.

“Did you forget I’m the Team Leader? I’m responsible for this business trip.”

Jinwon quickly switched to team leader mode and put on a stern expression. In-ah pressed her lips together in a confused expression, her thoughts tangled.

His words were strict, but to In-ah’s ears, they sounded gentle. In-ah repeatedly told herself.

‘Get a grip, Seo In-ah. What’s wrong with you?’

“So go back to the hotel and rest. That’s an order from your Team Leader.”

“…….”

In-ah, who had been staring at Jinwon, quickly turned away as if to shake off her thoughts. She began walking towards the exit of the fair.

***

Back at the hotel, In-ah fell asleep immediately. It was only natural, given the difficult events she had experienced and the fact that she had stayed up all night with various thoughts.

When In-ah opened her eyes again, it was already dark outside. At that moment, her stomach made a loud protest.

‘Growl!’

Come to think of it, she hadn’t eaten anything all day.

‘I wonder if there’s anywhere open at this hour.’

Just then, the hotel room bell rang. With a puzzled expression, In-ah slowly got up.

“Who is it?”

“Room service.”

In-ah opened the door and spoke to the staff.

“I didn’t order room service.”

“It was ordered by the guest in the next room. May I bring it in?”

“Oh, yes.”

In-ah stepped aside to let the room service cart in. The staff member was a young Korean man. He must have met Jinwon earlier and learned that In-ah was Korean.

“It’s seafood vegetable porridge.”

“Does the hotel serve porridge?”

“No, it’s a special service.”

“What?”

The staff member looked momentarily awkward, then smiled kindly and explained.

“I’m not actually in charge of room service. I work in the bar. I’m the only Korean staff member in this hotel.”

In-ah looked at the staff member who suddenly introduced himself with a puzzled expression.

“The guest in the next room came to the bar and made a special request.”

“Oh, I see….”

“Well….”

The staff member, as if he hadn’t finished speaking, continued with determination.

“The guest in the next room asked me not to say anything, but… I only procured the ingredients. The guest in the next room cooked it himself. I don’t know how to make porridge.”

“…….”

“I hope you recover quickly after eating the porridge. I’ll be going now.”

After seeing the staff member out, In-ah opened the lid and stared at the porridge. Finely chopped vegetables and seafood mixed with rice stood out.

In-ah imagined Jinwon struggling to cook porridge with his finger in a cast.

***

During her university days, when In-ah had caught a cold and woken up after a long sleep.

‘What’s that smell? Did you make ramen?’

In-ah was incredulous. 

Ramen for a sick person?

‘You woke up just in time. Come on. You need to eat something. You have to take your medicine.’

Jinwon carefully transferred the freshly cooked ramen broth into a bowl and began mixing in the instant rice. The way he pressed and mixed it with such care made In-ah burst into laughter.

‘Isn’t this a bit much, to be honest?’

‘??’

Jinwon looked at In-ah, puzzled by her question, and then earnestly explained.

‘I thought you might not have an appetite, and I don’t know how to cook much… So I made what you like…’

‘You just made what you know how to make, right?’

Despite her words, In-ah sat down at the dining table.

‘Well, since you’ve made it, I might as well try it.’

‘Yeah, good thinking.’

With a brightened face, Jinwon scooped the rice mixed with ramen broth and fed it to In-ah. A smile spread across In-ah’s face as she chewed the food.

‘Heh. It’s good.’

***

In-ah quietly looked at the steaming porridge.

‘So now you can make porridge too. But you shouldn’t be so warm to me.’

A bittersweet smile appeared on In-ah’s face.

***

On the last day of the furniture fair, In-ah, who couldn’t just rest in the hotel room, left her room. She happened to run into Jinwon as he was coming out of his room.

Without exchanging many words, the two headed to the exhibition hall. Being the last day, the fair was bustling with people due to the many events taking place.

As In-ah was eagerly looking around the fair, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She had spotted Matteo in the distance. No, to be precise, the foreign man wasn’t Matteo. It was a momentary illusion created by In-ah’s sensitivity.

But the shock was too much for In-ah to handle, and her whole body stiffened. Jinwon, noticing In-ah’s expression, reacted quickly.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Without answering, In-ah turned abruptly and stumbled as if her legs gave out. Jinwon didn’t miss the moment and wrapped his arms around In-ah’s shoulders. Just then,

“Jinwon!”

A voice pierced through the noise of the crowd. It was Shin-hye.

Shin-hye walked briskly towards In-ah, who was barely standing with her forehead resting against Jinwon’s chest. She then stared intently at In-ah, ignoring Jinwon, whom she had just called.

“It’s even nicer to meet you in Milan, Jinwon. But what’s wrong with this woman?”

Jinwon, whose eyes had turned sharp, spoke calmly.

“We’ll talk later.”

As Jinwon tried to guide In-ah past Shin-hye, she spoke again.

“Isn’t it inappropriate for a mother to act like this? Embracing a man openly?”

In-ah stopped walking. Jinwon, who had also stopped, turned to look at Shin-hye.

“What?”

“I heard you’re a single mom. Got pregnant in college. I understand you’re trying to fix your life by seducing a decent boss, but…”

Just as In-ah was about to speak, Jinwon’s heavy voice cut in.

“Shin-hye. Don’t say things you can’t take responsibility for.”

“Which part do I need to take responsibility for? The single mom part? The seducing the boss part? The trying to fix your life part? There’s no part that’s not a fact…”

In-ah suddenly felt exhausted. She didn’t want to deal with this woman. But knowing that if she let this go, it would only get worse when they returned to Korea, she realized she had to address it.

As chaos swirled in In-ah’s mind, Jinwon’s next words reached her.

“It’s not true. None of it. So…”

“Do you think I’m just saying this? I know everything. You got pregnant in college and were abandoned by your boyfriend…”

“I never abandoned her.”

Shin-hye, who had been speaking, suddenly froze.

“What… what did you just say?”

“She was never pregnant.”

This time, In-ah’s face turned pale. She felt as though all the blood had drained from her body in an instant.

Even though she had heard it clearly with her own ears, In-ah couldn’t believe Jinwon’s words.

“How would you know that, Jinwon?”

A flustered Shin-hye asked again. But Jinwon, still holding In-ah’s shoulders, turned away without answering.

Shin-hye, with a dazed expression, reached out to grab Jinwon, but he and In-ah had already disappeared into the crowd.