Chapter 1

Two days ago.  

“Nothing’s changed in this neighborhood…”  

Wearing jeans, a black blouson jacket, and a black baseball cap pulled down low, Go Eunwoo was walking the streets of Banho-dong, which had changed very little compared to ten years ago.  

The reason he suddenly decided to visit was because, even after quitting his job due to burnout, his spirits just wouldn’t lift.  

Looking back on his twenty-nine years of life, the four years he spent in Banho-dong were among his happiest.  

Recalling those days brought a rare sense of excitement, and on a whim, he decided to look around Banho-dong.  

As he wandered, the boredom and apathy that had plagued him recently, along with his complete lack of motivation and deep fatigue, seemed to fade away.  

At the end of a wide alley, he saw his alma mater, Banho High School, a familiar tteokbokki shop sign, a stationery store with the old-fashioned name ‘Cheolsu’s Stationery,’ and, beyond the school fence, a worn-out soccer goal and pull-up bars…  

“Hey! Stop right there! You bastard!”  

Eunwoo, who was walking down the slightly sloped asphalt road toward the school, instinctively turned his head at the rough shout from behind.  

He saw a man charging at him like a wild boar.  

Without time to think, Eunwoo quickly stepped aside to avoid the man.  

He then looked down at the man in his mid-thirties, who had tripped and fallen right in front of him.  

“Y-you! Are you crazy? What are you— Argh!”  

The fallen man immediately rolled over and started yelling furiously, only to scream as a shower of crushed ice and bottled water rained down on his head.  

It was November, and the weather was chilly enough for lightweight padding.  

But to be doused with ice-cold water and ice…  

The man shivered pitifully and glared menacingly at the person responsible for his predicament.  

“Hey! Are you out of your mind? What the hell are you doing?”  

“Don’t you get it, even after all that? I poured cold water on your sh*t-filled head! Why? Aren’t you grateful?”  

“You— You! Are you talking down to me?”  

“You started it! You talked down first!”  

Stunned by the scene unfolding before his eyes, Eunwoo turned his gaze to the woman, who was furiously shouting at the soaking-wet man.  

The woman, in her late twenties, had her black hair tied in a low bun, wore a beige knit sweater and dark brown corduroy baggy pants.  

Her bare, makeup-free face was slightly flushed with anger, and her thin double eyelids and upturned eyes looked clear and bright.  

Eunwoo found himself glancing at her face several times.  

There was something strangely familiar about her.  

But he was sure they didn’t know each other.  

He was still puzzled by this sense of déjà vu when, from up the sloped road, a young woman in her early twenties, wearing a maroon padded vest, came running down with a tear-streaked face.  

She hurriedly grabbed the arm of the woman who was shouting.  

“Boss, I’m fine. Please stop. He’s not even worth it, just think of it as stepping in dog poop!”  

The woman in the maroon vest glared at the soaking-wet man with eyes full of hatred.  

The man’s eyes flashed, and he jumped to his feet.  

“Dog poop? Did you just say everything you wanted? I let you get away with things because you’re young, but your attitude……!”

As the man raised his hand, Eunwoo frowned and tried to intervene.  

But the woman called ‘Boss’ was quicker.  

She stepped in front of the girl in the maroon vest as if to protect her, and with a loud slap, struck the man’s raised hand away.  

Then, as if taking a deep breath, she put her hands on her hips and shouted,  

“That’s right! You piece of sh*t! A married man pretending to be single and seducing a young woman—if that’s not a piece of sh*t, what is! And you’re supposed to be educated! Supposed to know better! How can a dentist act like that!”

Her voice echoed through the alley, and the man’s face instantly turned crimson.  

“W-who… who said I was married…….”

“Oh! You’re denying it? Should I say the name of your clinic? Should I reveal your real name? Should I post it on social media? Out of fifty million people in Korea, someone must know whether you’re married or not!”  

Twisting one corner of her mouth in a mocking sneer, the woman spoke coldly.  

Meanwhile, people from the various shops and houses in the alley began poking their heads out, curious about the commotion.  

“Boss Park? What’s going on? What’s all this fuss?”  

“Who’s that man, why are you so angry?”  

“What is it? What happened? Why does this guy look like this? Did Boss Park do this?”  

Having unintentionally witnessed the entire scene, Eunwoo glanced at the young woman in the maroon vest.  

She shrank back, looking pale and overwhelmed by the questions coming from all directions.  

Seeing this, the woman called “Boss” pursed her lips, then changed her expression and confided in a middle-aged woman who had come to her side.

“That man. He kept hitting on someone at our convenience store… Turns out he’s married. When he got caught, he had the nerve to act like the victim.”  

She didn’t say directly who the married man had hit on, but the nuance pointed to herself.  

The girl in the maroon vest behind her simply twisted her fingers, saying nothing.  

“My goodness! Boss Park, how could… What a rotten guy!”  

“So did you fall for it? You didn’t, right?”  

“A dentist? Which clinic? We shouldn’t go to a place like that…! Tell us where it is!”  

“What kind of jerk does that? He has a wife and kids and still tries to seduce Boss Park? Insane!”  

As the crowd’s chattering grew louder, the man, now red-faced with embarrassment and anger, shouted,  

“D*mn it! Yeah, but so what! It takes two to tango! I’m not the one clinging after knowing I’m a dentist… D*mn it!”  

“Oh, so you admit you’re a dentist? And if I’d known you were married, I’d have treated you like a rock on the street! What, you think you have anything going for you besides your job?”

“What? You crazy—”  

“Auntie! Take a look!” 

Suddenly, the woman turned to a nearby lady with a big mouth and round eyes.  

“Is he handsome? Is he tall? Does he dress well? If a married man is chasing after young women, his character must be rotten! Let’s say he’s good at dental work! But what? Is he the only good dentist? There are tons of dentists in Banho-dong!”

“That’s right! The new dentist on the main road last month—he’s from Johns Hopkins, you know, in America!”  

“Exactly! Hey, pile of crap! Where did you graduate? S University? If you’re going to brag about your degree and job, let’s see if you can back it up!”  

As the woman drove in the final nail, the man glared at her as if he wanted to k*ll her.  

“Seriously, being a dentist isn’t everything. The florist’s daughter down the street is a judge. Dentist, judge, what’s the difference?”  

“He thinks he’s something special. Why does a healthy man go around ruining good women’s lives?”  

“If I were that dentist’s wife, I’d divorce him on the spot. So, does anyone know which dentist clinic he is?”  

Again, people all around chimed in as if watching a fire.  

“Hey! Just you wait! I won’t let this go!”  

The man, trying to hide his face from those who seemed to recognize him, made a half-hearted threat and left.  

“Ridiculous! Hey, piece of sh*t! Don’t ever come near this neighborhood again! Next time, it won’t end like this!”

The woman shouted after the fleeing man, then laughed as if a weight had been lifted.  

Eunwoo raised the brim of his deeply pulled-down cap and gazed in awe at the woman’s smiling eyes, the Indian dimples on her cheeks, and her cheerfully upturned lips.  

He was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of longing.  

But he couldn’t explain why.  

At that moment, his eyes briefly met the woman’s, but she looked away without a care, grabbed the arm of the young woman in the maroon vest, and strode up the hill.  

“Boss, I’m sorry. Because of me…”  

“It’s fine. That wretched piece of sh*t—just think of it as an industrial accident. You got hurt while working, and as your boss, I’m compensating you. Got it? From now on, meet a good man. You’re pretty, so why date someone who just looks good on the outside? Find someone solid.”

“Like you, Boss?”  

“Huh? Me? Ha! Sure, like me. Though there aren’t many like me.”  

When the girl in the maroon vest sniffled and spoke, the woman laughed brightly and patted her on the shoulder.  

“Earlier… I’m sorry I didn’t step up when the other shopkeepers asked. I was embarrassed…”  

“It’s okay. I wanted to humiliate him, but I wasn’t sensitive enough. I didn’t think about you. You’re still young, so this must be hard. Your heart must be unsettled. Want to go home early today?”  

Unlike when she confronted the married man, the woman now spoke gently, as if to comfort the girl’s guilt.