CHAPTER 53

The child couldn’t hide her curiosity as she rubbed her swollen eyes with the back of her hand and bounced on Taejun’s lap. Minhee brought a bag from beside the entrance and took out a book, then sat back down next to Taejun.

As she began to read the book in a gentle, affectionate whisper, Taejun’s neck stiffened, his entire focus clinging to Minhee’s voice. The English flowed from her lips like sweet candy, so smooth and light that it was easy to listen to. The pages of the book fluttered as she flipped through them.

[…It’s too sad that I can’t see you again. Sometimes, I wonder. Now that you’re gone, what happens to my heart that loved you? Does my heart die too? Because I’m really scared. Scared that I might forget you. That’s why I’m making a little box to remember you and I’m going to put the shells I picked up on the beach where we used to play together in it…….]

After closing the book, Minhee, with a slightly blushing nose and trembling corners of her lips, cautiously raised a smile. Taejun’s pale face, devoid of color, caught her gaze.

His lips were pursed tightly, his jaw clenched as if gritting his teeth, his gaze blankly staring somewhere beyond the window. She wondered if he didn’t like the book, but Rose’s voice tugged at her.

[Miss Minnie?]

[……Hmm?] 

[I have a question.] 

[What is it?]

[If Rose had been a nicer girl…… would Mom and Dad not have left? Mom said there was a baby in her belly, but I didn’t want to share Mom with the baby. So, I got scolded for it and said I hated Mom and Dad. Is the baby with Mom? Did Mom and Dad die because of me, because I didn’t want to share Mom?]

[Ah…….Rose].

Minhee opened her arms, embracing Rose and pulling Taejun in as well. It was a moment for a group hug. Under the feather-light pressure of her hands touching his shoulders, Taejun was drawn in without resistance, feeling lethargic. Rose nestled between Taejun and Minhee.

[Everyone dies, just like a flower that blooms beautifully and then withers and fades over time. People can die of old age, or they can get sick and die, like my mother, or they can die in an accident, like your parents, Rose.] 

Rose nodded in understanding, leaning against Taejun’s broad chest. Taejun’s shoulder, touched by her palm, felt stiff, like knotted muscles. Minhee rubbed and patted his shoulder, moving her palm gently to soothe him.

[When my mom got sick and had only a few days to live, I once asked her too, just like what you did Rose, if it was because I was naughty and didn’t listen that she got sick, and that’s why she was dying. What do you think my mom has said?]

[Hehe! Miss Minnie, were you a bad child?!]

Rose’s eyes widened in shock and she shook her head in disbelief. Despite the situation, Minhee couldn’t help but smile.

She glanced at Taejun’s expression and saw that he was also shocked, his brows drawn together and his deeply sunken eyes staring intently at Minhee.

‘What, is this such a surprise?’

Minhee smiled bitterly. 

[I don’t know. Do you want to know?]

[Yes!]

Minhee released the embrace and pulled out an old notebook from the bag.

[This notebook is the most precious treasure in my memory box. Before my mom died, she wrote me my favorite food recipes and a birthday letter.]

Minhee sat down next to Taejun and held the notebook out for all three of them to see.

[See those folded pages here? These are the pages that my mom wrote to me and folded so that I could open them every birthday. I have fourteen birthday letters that I haven’t opened yet.]

[Wow……!]

[Here, I’ll read a part of the letter for my 12th birthday.]

Minhee carefully unfolded the worn-out pages.

[A few days ago, when you came to the hospital to do your homework, you thought I was asleep and asked, right? You said you wanted to go back to Korea and I didn’t listen, so that’s why I got sick. You asked me if I was sick because of you.

Minhee, it’s not because you did anything wrong that Mom got sick. Anyone can get sick, and people are destined to return to the earth someday. It’s just a pity that we can’t choose when we’re born and when we die.

If there was a choice, I would have wanted to see you go to college, fall in love, get married, and become a Mom. Although I won’t be there for those moments, I’ll write you a letter every birthday. Just a heads up, there might be some nagging in the letters. Haha. Writing these letters while imagining you growing up is the happiest moment during my time in the hospital.

You have been the best thing that ever happened to me (don’t tell your dad) and the greatest love I’ve ever experienced (this is also a secret!) Whether you’re being cute or mischievous, I’ve always loved you unwaveringly, and I’ll continue to love you forever. I love you, Minhee. Because of you, Mom was able to grit her teeth and endure until the very end, and because of you, I gained the strength to live a little longer. Even the time spent writing this letter to you is all thanks to you. Happy birthday, my darling. I can’t believe you’re twelve, my baby.]

Her mom couldn’t see Minhee’s 12th birthday. Once she finished with a broken voice, Minhee lifted her head.

Rose and Taejun were both gazing at Minhee, lost in thought. She quickly blinked away the moisture in her eyes and smiled at Rose.

[Rose, it was an unfortunate accident that killed your parents. It’s not your fault at all. They loved you so much, and I’m sure you made them happy every day].

[Yeah. I understand.]

[Well, would you like to make a memory box too, Rose? Fill it with things that remind you of all the happy times you had with your parents.]

[Yes, Miss Minnie!]

***

After visiting his brother’s house, Taejun felt strangely numb. It certainly wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, he just hadn’t experienced this state before.

He felt a little dizzy, a little light, as if the axis had shifted slightly. It was as if an organ that had been weighed down had been lifted up all at once. 

He mechanically finished his evening routine and sat in front of the computer. Although his eyes followed the words, his mind was clouded like an opaque glass window. Taejun pressed his temples together out of habit and realized something.

‘My headaches have been gone lately.’

He hadn’t had time to notice his headache lately, as his mind had been consumed by the shocking and colorful events that bombarded him every day.

He stared blankly at the air, leaning against the chair. Then, he pushed the chair and got up, walking unsteadily out of his study. Light seeped out from under Minhee’s firmly closed door. His feet stopped in front of her door, as if by habit.

Taejun stood upright like a statue, piercing the door as if to see through it. Then, he quickly ruffled his hair with his hand and turned away.

Not long ago, Minhee had expressed dissatisfaction with Taejun. Their all-night ‘practice’ sessions were causing her to be late for school, and her sore muscles were making it difficult for her to function.

‘Darn it. I have nothing to say even if I had ten mouths…’

Taejun used ‘practice’ as an excuse to knock on her door every night like an animal in heat. Once he started, he ignored the difference in their stamina and pounded her again and again until she passed out and fell asleep.

Minhee, who found it difficult to walk, had been carried to school in a limousine with Rose several times. When such incidents repeated, Minhee came up with a new rule. The practice was limited to twice a week, and the next day after not coming to work was restricted. Since Minhee could decide on the number of practice sessions according to the contract, Taejun had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

‘For some reason, I want to hold her more tonight than any other night.’

Unfortunately, it was Sunday night now.

Taejun, relying on the moonlight streaming in through the large glass window in the unlit living room, filled his glass with ice cubes and poured whiskey into it.

The amber liquid in his hand glistened black and slick in the darkness as he flopped down on the couch. Taejun took a small sip and let it slide to his lips. He quite liked the way the rich, smoky whisky flavor warmed his mouth and burned his esophagus as it slid down his throat.

“A proper ending…”

Taejun muttered to himself, the ice in his whiskey glass rattling regularly as he repeatedly moved his wrist holding the glass. He thought back to today’s events.

[It’s not your fault at all.]

Minhee’s voice echoed in his ears as if she was speaking directly to him and he leaned back, stretching his arms over the backrest, tilting his glass as he heard the door open.

Accustomed to the darkness, Taejun’s eyes followed Minhee’s silhouette as she stealthily walked towards the kitchen. A bitter smile lingered on his lips, then faded. She hadn’t seen him, sitting on the couch in the darkened living room in his dark robe.

The sound of the refrigerator door opening and the rattle of metal. A moment later, Minhee walked out, an ice cream tub under one arm and a spoon in the other, her steps light and agile as a burglar cat.

Taejun had intended to wait silently without moving as she returned to her room but at that moment, in the living room, where even the noise of the city was drowned out, the faint sound of ice cubes clinking in the whiskey glass echoed in the living room.

Taejun closed his eyes tightly. Minhee’s steps halted, and she jumped, startled, at the sight of Taejun’s black silhouette on the couch. For a moment, she seemed on the verge of screaming before she covered her mouth with her hand.