Chapter 64

Have you just woken up?

As she answered the phone, the voice of the man she had been cursing came through. As gentle as ever.

“Just now.”

I just arrived in Jeju Island.

“You must have left early…….”

Even now, her body feels heavy.

As if he knew her inner thoughts, a small laugh came from the other side of the phone.

I’ll come back on tomorrow morning’s flight.

“Okay. Be careful.”

It got noisy around him. It seemed like he met people he worked with.

She thought he might hang up quickly, but Seojin continued the call.

What are you planning to do today?

“Hmm…….”

What should I do?

Haji looked at the white ceiling, wondering what to do on a weekend without Seojin. She thought about going to her own house, but it would be the same being alone there too.

Above all, her body felt too heavy to want to go anywhere.

“I think I’ll stay home.”

Okay, sleep more.

“Yeah.”

I’ll call you later.

“Okay…….”

As she listened to his voice, her eyes slowly closed.

Sleep well.

As if he noticed, Seojin’s low voice was the last thing she heard before falling asleep again.

When she opened her eyes again, about two hours had passed. Seeing the time past 2 PM heading towards 3 PM, she was startled and jumped up.

“I feel like I’ve been hit by a tranquilizer dart…….”

Though her body was heavy, it felt much lighter than when she first woke up. Haji, who got up and tidied the blanket, headed to the kitchen. Her stomach was growling from fasting all day.

Upon entering, she saw a piece of cake with strawberries on top. Various breads surrounded it.

Realizing it was Seojin’s preparation for her, she smiled softly. As she brewed coffee, a small smile lingered on her face, thinking of Seojin trying to take care of her meal despite being busy.

“Did he sleep?”

The gaze that had been watching her until the moment she closed her eyes lingered in her memory. And the feeling of tiny kisses being planted all over her face.

Anyway, his stamina is…….”

Am I the only one getting older?

Such small worries vanished as soon as the cake entered her mouth. The harmony of the sweet strawberry and soft whipped cream filling her mouth was simply the best.

Having devoured a slice of cake and coffee, Haji sluggishly headed for the living room but stopped in her tracks. With a sudden expression of having remembered something, she walked briskly back to the bedroom.

She picked up a small shopping bag next to the dressing table. Haji let out a sigh of relief, confirming that what was inside was in the same state as when she last saw it.

“Thank goodness.”

He didn’t see it, did he?

Haji muttered softly and headed to the wardrobe with the shopping bag.

The underwear set with bunny ears she bought on Jinkyung’s advice was a last resort. For when he didn’t fall for her provocations.

How fortunate that she didn’t have to resort to using it.

She pushed the shopping bag deep into the corner of the drawer where her clothes were.

“Let’s not see this again.”

Haji muttered softly and turned around sharply.

It was an unavoidable act since it would be embarrassing to throw it away. Imagine if someone found it after being discarded.

“Ugh…….”

As if she couldn’t bear the thought, Haji shuddered. It had to be a secret from everyone, including the owner of this house.

While she was making a silent vow to herself, the intercom turned on. A familiar face appeared on the screen.

With a click, the door opened, and Seonghee entered carrying an armful of stuff.

“Why did you come without even a call?”

“Should I say I’m running an errand for Mom and my brother?”

“Hmm?”

Seonghee, who might have been talking to herself or answering, took off her shoes and set down the load in her hands.

“What is all this?”

“Side dishes Mom sent for my brother and meals my brother sent for you?”

“Hmm……?”

While Haji blinked in confusion, Seonghee tried to pick up the load again.

“Let’s take it inside.”

As Haji quickly picked up the large shopping bag, Seonghee narrowed her eyes.

“My brother said you might be sick…….”

Seonghee, who was scanning Haji’s perfectly fine face, soon scoffed.

“Anyway, he’s overly concerned about you.”

“I’m fine? I’m not sick.”

As Haji shrugged her shoulders and widened her eyes, Seonghee nodded.

“You seem fine. It’s good you’re not sick! The problem is Ki Seojin, who sent me already to take care of you.”

“Maybe it’s because I couldn’t get up in the morning.”

“Why couldn’t you get up?”

Seonghee’s eyes sharpened at the words meant to defend Seojin. Avoiding her gaze, Haji awkwardly carried the load quickly to the kitchen.

“Food, right?”

“Why are you changing the subject? Huh?”

Haji’s quick pace increased. It would only take a moment for the long-legged Seonghee to catch up inside the house.

***

Haji, sitting on the sofa, kept her mouth tightly shut with flushed cheeks. Sitting next to her, Seonghee scanned Haji’s face and shook her head.

“Is Ki Seojin a beast?”

No matter how close friends they were, talking about what happened in bed was embarrassing. Of course, she didn’t voluntarily spill anything.

“From your neck to your whole body, it looks like you’ve been playing with paint.”

“…… Stop looking.”

Finally embarrassed, Haji decided to stop her friend’s mouth.

“After saying you’d be sick and sending me to check on you, where did that man’s conscience go?”

“Indeed.”

Why did he call Seonghee?

Haji, who was fine alone, resented Seojin for causing this situation.

Seonghee, with a sly look, was about to touch Haji’s collar when it happened.

Smack! Haji caught her hand and suddenly blurted out what came to mind.

“I found my family photo here.”

It was what she had meant to say earlier. After all, he was like a benefactor who helped her get the only family photo she had.

“Family photo? How?”

“He said we met a long time ago.”

As Haji began to recount the past, Seonghee was as surprised as when she first heard the story from Seojin. She covered her mouth with both hands and tears welled up in her eyes.

“I never imagined such a thing…….”

Seonghee’s nose tip turned red as she sniffled. Her eyes, shedding tears, were no different.

Seeing Seonghee like that made her emotions swell again. Though she bit her lip to hold back, tears eventually flowed.

“It’s thanks to you. That I even have a family photo like this.”

After her parents’ accident, her aunt was her only guardian, so she started living with her without packing anything. She didn’t have anything related to her family.

As a dependent, she couldn’t bring up such topics. She couldn’t say she missed her parents or ask anything about her family.

Even without memories, she might have subconsciously known that her parents died because of her. So she might have compromised with herself, thinking she didn’t deserve even that.

“Have you been struggling all this time?”

“…….”

The words that should have come out habitually, like ‘I’m okay’ or ‘No,’ didn’t come out.

Her throat felt choked as if her breath was blocked, and tears streamed down. It seemed like her tear ducts were properly triggered, and she cried endlessly.

With people worrying about her well-being, she wondered why she hadn’t told anyone all this time.

“Haji, sniff, sob…….”

“Yeah.”

Both faces were wet with tears. Seeing each other’s faces, emotions boiled over, and sobs escaped their mouths.

Soon, the two women hugged each other tightly and began to cry out loud, patting each other’s backs.

***

Even to an outsider, it was clear that the two women had been crying until just now, as they sat across from each other, chewing on their lips.

“You have to eat this place’s jokbal at least once.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Haji, with eyes red like a rabbit’s, nodded, and Seonghee, with a nose swollen like a strawberry, opened her mouth wide and ate a wrap.

The two women, who had been hugging and crying for a while, found their stomachs growling once the tears stopped. The menu choice was smooth afterward.

Both had a common thought that it had been a long time since they had eaten jokbal from their favorite place.

“Now that I think about it, why didn’t my brother say anything despite knowing all that?”

“I couldn’t ask him that…….”

Haji chewed the meat in her mouth and thought deeply.

Seojin knew a lot about her and was trying to change things for her.

Being such a man, she thought he must have his own plan.

“Didn’t he have some kind of plan?”

“Anyway, Ki Seojin is sneaky.”

Seonghee muttered, dipping garlic into soybean paste.

“I tried to protect you from Ki Seojin in my way.”

“Protect me?”

“I did, but I couldn’t stop someone determined to woo you.”