Chapter 9 Part 2

Gihyun followed Minjoo’s figure with his eyes. Among the people crossing the street, Minjoo was the only one he could see. Minjoo was walking while looking at the ground.

He stood in the direction Minjoo was walking. He intended to feign coincidence. He wanted to ask how she had been and how she was doing after so long. He stood there with a trembling heart. Minjoo, who was supposed to stop, collided with Gihyun without even looking properly ahead, as if exhausted.

“…I’m sorry.”

However, Minjoo perceived Gihyun as just a backdrop and continued walking by. Like a stranger. Like someone who had never existed. Gihyun watched Minjoo walk away, not even meeting his eyes, with a stunned expression. The expectation that she would recognize him was shattered.

That night, he couldn’t sleep. There was no outcome where Minjoo would greet him with a surprised face if he had money and appeared in a better condition. The thought that everything would be forgotten in vain made everything meaningless.

How could he be next to her? Could he even talk to her? Was this love or obsession? Lost in all these thoughts, Gihyun found the worst solution. He used the one thing he had left.

“It’s been a long time.”

He bought the building where Minjoo lived and used the excuse of overdue rent to meet her. Minjoo was only surprised by the unexpected encounter. Then her face was soon colored with embarrassment.

However, Gihyun could no longer stop. Trying to appear calm, he continued talking to the woman sitting opposite him.

“I heard the rent was overdue.”

He finally heard the voice he had longed for.

“…Could you delay it by just a month?”

While listening to Minjoo’s words, Gihyun only stared at her face. Minjoo still spoke with a pained expression about her lack of money.

Perhaps because he had been rushing forward as a businessman without looking back, Gihyun resorted to using any means as if by inertia.

“…I can solve it for you.”

He would be next to her like this, rather than longing for her for a lifetime.

***

Gihyun’s story was over. Minjoo sat on the bed, simply watching him.

“I wanted to live with you again, no matter what excuse I had to make. Whether it was money or anything else. I needed to be sure that you wouldn’t leave me.”

“…….”

“…I won’t love you like I did before.”

His chin was trembling as he spoke. It was the first time Gihyun had trembled so pitifully.

“Nam hye-kyung said it. If you want to be with me, you should have proposed marriage.”

‘Want to be with Minjoo? Marriage is just a contract. You should have proposed marriage. Win her heart properly!’

“If we talk about dating and marriage, what would Cha Minjoo have done?”

“…….”

“She would have avoided me. Or despised me. Those are the only two possibilities I can think of. Because I would have done that. So what’s the way to be by her side?”

“…So it was money?”

“Money? If I paid it back, it would be over. If I ran off with it, that would be it. I couldn’t be satisfied with a relationship that could end at any time. It was obvious I would be anxious for a lifetime!”

This time, Gihyun was self-deprecating.

“At least, if it were Cha Minjoo, she wouldn’t run away after having a child.”

Unlike his mother.

“Because she was a woman who would have gone crazy for a child, if she had a child of her own… she wouldn’t leave. She would stay by my side for a lifetime, even if she hated me, even if she wanted to leave, for the sake of the child.”

Gihyun poured out emotions he hadn’t shown even when he was twenty.

“You shouldn’t have loved me.”

He was poor in heart because of the lack of love.

“If I had treated you badly, you should have left quickly.”

No matter how much he gave, it was not enough to understand what love was.

“…I would have lived my whole life not knowing.”

When he realized it, Cha Minjoo was already gone.

“If I had been as poor as I was back then… do you think you would still be by my side like this now?”

“…….”

“After all this time, living fiercely to find you. I finally caught you, and now you think I would let you go? Even though you had my child?”

Gihyun stared at Minjoo intently.

“There will be no contract cancellations.”

He grasped Minjoo’s limp arm tightly.

“If you don’t have a child… you’ll live like this forever.”

He pulled her close, embracing her with all his strength.

“If you do have one, if you end up having a child.”

“…….”

“Then… I’ll propose another contract.”

“…….”

“…The kind of contract Nam Hye-kyung talked about.”

He wrapped his arm around Minjoo’s back, holding her tight. Gihyun’s low voice flowed into Minjoo’s ear, still trembling.

“There’s no way out of this house for you, whichever way it goes.”

“…….”

“I can’t be separated from you.”

Having reached his conclusion, Gihyun kept holding Minjoo, panting heavily. In his embrace, Minjoo felt a deep emptiness. The conflicting emotions. Was this a curse or fate, coming full circle to this point?

“Park Gihyun.”

She called out the name of the man she once thought she could never forgive.

“No matter what you do, I won’t love you like I did before. I’m no longer twenty years old. And you’re not the same as you were then.”

Just as everything has its time, perhaps love has its time as well. Now, forgiveness might be meaningless.

“…You should have loved me back then. Even just a little.”

Perhaps, even if I was destined to be a fool, I might have stayed by your side.

“Wasn’t it you who was obsessed with the child, not me? That’s why you tried to take responsibility for Kang Yoonjung.”

“…….”

“Regardless of the child, I don’t want to be by your side. Especially not with you, who tried to buy me with money without any explanation.”

Just as in the past, there will be no day when our emotional temperatures align.

At Minjoo’s response, Gihyun’s arms began to tremble. Still not letting her go, he embraced her tightly again and again.

“…How can you stay by my side?”

After a long pause, his words were nothing but desperate.

“Should I kneel and beg?”

Minjoo shook her head. Gihyun, anxious, continued speaking.

“I can give you everything I have. There’s more than enough money for you to use for a lifetime.”

“…I don’t need it.”

“Then? What should I give you? What do you want?”

“Nothing. Except for saving my mother.”

Gihyun’s movements stopped. He had no words. Eventually, he pulled Minjoo away and spoke deliberately.

“So, if I can only save your mother, then that’s all that matters?”

“…….”

“Whether it’s sleeping with me, or living with me.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“I’ll give you my kidney.”

Minjoo’s eyes widened in surprise. Gihyun continued calmly.

“Let’s go get tested.”

“…….”

“I’ll give it to you.”

This time, Minjoo’s hands began to tremble. Gihyun seized the opportunity.

“If your mother improves, you’ll move to a bigger house and continue her care.”

“…Why are you going this far?”

“The more, the better. Financial debt is less significant than emotional debt.”

Gihyun gently placed his hands on Minjoo’s shoulders. His obsession and presence weighed heavily on her more than ever. In a trembling voice, she murmured.

“I can’t repay it. How can I repay that?”

“You probably can’t. Instead, do what I want.”

Gihyun lowered his head, pressing his lips against Minjoo’s.

“I need to be sure.”

Every time he spoke, his lips brushed and rubbed against hers.

“That you won’t leave me.”

He grabbed Minjoo’s wrist and brought it to his front. His member, which he had always tried to ignore in front of Minjoo, was visibly er*ect through his clothing.

“Have a child this time.”

Gihyun pressed his body against hers.

“Love that child.”

His voice, now soaked with emotion, wrapped around her.

“Love me.”

The words he once wished for, now mattered more than ever.

“…This is the condition I truly wanted.”

***

Minjoo sat propped up at the head of the bed, reflecting on the words Gihyun had shared. The relationship with Yoonjung, the events that followed their breakup—it all replayed in her mind as dawn approached.

She wondered if things would have been different had they not parted ways. Yet, part of her questioned the point of such speculation. There was nothing more futile than imagining “what ifs” in life. She focused instead on what could be changed now.

“I’ll give you my kidney.”

Minjoo had considered donation before. But her mother’s refusal to accept anything from her daughter, combined with blood type incompatibilities and the need for mental health treatment, had been significant obstacles.

If the conditions were right and she received Gihyun’s kidney and her mother survived, would she have to comply with Gihyun’s demand to have a child? And then what?

She had always thought she would have no hesitation if it meant saving her mother, but this situation felt distressing. She was repulsed by Gihyun’s attempt to buy her with money, yet accepting his kidney in exchange for affection seemed equally troubling.

Minjoo lay down, pressing her forehead with her hand. She felt feverish.

***

Minjoo was slumped in a chair, her exhaustion palpable. The aunt from the lunchbox store, who had been idle all day due to a lack of customers, kept glancing at Minjoo with concern.

“Why does your face look so bad?”

“Everything’s fine,” Minjoo replied, though her voice was weary.

“There’s no way it’s fine. If you keep looking like this, you’ll end up collapsing. If you’re planning on getting married and having kids, you can’t be like this.”

“I’m not getting married.”

“What? Why not? You have Gihyun.”

“About him….”

“You’re supposed to get married when you have a man chasing you. If someone’s trying to get your attention every day, you’d better catch him. Even women working in bars find good men these days, and you should be able to do better.”

The aunt’s unsolicited advice came with a double meaning that stung. Minjoo remained silent, making the aunt’s expression shift from concerned to awkward as she glanced at her phone, continuing to rattle on.

“Looks like celebrities are getting married. Big news will break within a week.”