The Last Summer - ✿ dusk blossoms ✿

“I’ll finally get to show off my cooking skills after so long!”

“Well then, we’ll look forward to it. See you later, Soon-young.”

Amidst the lively chatter and laughter, I glanced at the man. He caught my eye and shrugged his shoulders in resignation, as if to say there was no way out.

Still groggy from sleep, he looked a bit unguarded. He wasn’t wearing his shirt, just a white undershirt he must have slept in. The slightly skewed neckline revealed a glimpse of his broad, muscular chest.

I quickly turned away, my face growing warm.

And so Grandma’s obsession began. One day, she’d insist on preparing another feast. The next day, she’d claim to feel unwell and say she needed to see the doctor. On another day, she’d suggest they will visit Grandpa’s grave. Every day, she came up with a new excuse to keep the man from leaving.

Whenever the man hinted at leaving, Grandma would quickly rush out barefoot to stop him.

Looking back, I can’t help but wonder if Grandma knew the truth all along—that he wasn’t really Jong Hyun. Perhaps she realized it but clung to the lie out of fear—fear that Agwi would return and turn our house upside down again.

As for me, I was frozen by my own fear.

From that day on, strange men lurked around our house. In the shade of the camellia tree, or near the uneven edge of the stone wall, I often felt their watchful eyes upon me. Frightened, I’d quicken my steps and my heart would race as I tried to escape their gaze.

***

“Hey, Soon-young! Tell me, is that man really your cousin?”

The once-indifferent aunts couldn’t stop talking about him every time they saw me.

“He’s so handsome! I guess men from Seoul really are something else. How could someone like him possibly be your cousin, Soon-young?”

They kept asking, again and again, if he was truly my cousin.

The lie had spread like ripples on a pond, growing larger and larger, leaving no way to escape it. All I could do was nod vaguely and pretend to agree, as though the story were true.

“Your cousin doesn’t have a girlfriend, does he? My younger sister is the perfect age for marriage…”

“What are you talking about? I’ve been saying since yesterday that he should meet my daughter first!”

“He’s going back to Seoul soon.”

I said flatly, cutting off their chatter as I stepped out of the water. I had to send him back quickly. He had done too much for us already.

I understood Grandma’s unease, but we couldn’t keep relying on someone like that. The man had even saved brother Jae-yeol.

It was only now that I realized I still didn’t know his real name. As I picked up the buoy and placed the caught seafood into the basket, my hands paused for a moment.

No, it’s better this way. Not knowing is a blessing.

What’s the point of knowing his name if this connection is destined to fade away?

I quickly hoisted the basket of seafood, heavy with seawater, onto my back.

“I’ll head back first.”

I called out, then quickly left the aunts, who were still talking about the man, and walked along the seawall.

The summer sun beat down mercilessly on my back, and the salty seawater darkened my skin under its relentless heat.

Suddenly, his smooth, pale face came to mind, along with the image of his elegant fingers holding chopsticks.

There were no signs of hard labor on those hands—hands that had likely only held pens and turned the pages of books.

People like us could never compare to someone like him. Uneducated, ignorant, poor, and weighed down by misfortune—we didn’t belong in his world.

I…

“Hey, Soon-young.”

A chilling voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

‘Agwi.’

A black jeep was parked along the seawall path.

Agwi flicked away his cigarette and started walking toward me.

Behind the wheel sat a familiar figure, glaring at me—the same man who had been tailing me all this time.

A deep sense of dread engulfed me, making me clench my teeth.

How foolish of me… I should have stayed with the haenyeo aunts.

“Been doing well?”

Agwi’s tone was disturbingly casual, as if we were old friends. I looked at him without saying a word.

“Ha, feisty one. That glare of yours is something else.”

Ridiculous.

I tried to walk past him, but of course, he stepped in to block my path.

“Move.”

“Move? Why would I, you little brat? I’m just saying hello—”

Hello, my as$.

“You do realise that if your brother gets caught, you’re as good as dead, right?”

There was no point in responding to that.

I stood my ground, refusing to budge.

If necessary, I could jump into the sea below the sea wall to get away from him. It was a long way down and I might get hurt, but I’d rather do that than face this terrible man.

“Are you listening, you little brat?”

“Who the hell are you swearing at?”

“What?”

“If you’re here to catch someone, then go catch them. Stop wasting your time on me.”

“You little—!”

He raised his hand, ready to strike.

Suddenly, jumping into the water seemed like the better option.

But just as I braced myself, someone grabbed Agwi’s wrist.

Startled, I looked up—and there he was. The man. My fake cousin.

What on earth was he doing here?

“What do you think you’re doing?”

His cold voice was sharp enough to cut through even the sweltering summer heat.