Chapter 64
64. You Remember Me, Right? 2021.12.08.
A small bed and desk. A small refrigerator, a small closet. A small chest of drawers... These pieces of furniture. This layout. Though it lacked the kitchen facilities at the far end, Jeong-o knew. This room was unmistakably her old studio apartment. A shiver ran down her spine. Her eyes quickly welled up with tears. She couldn't believe it. Why, why, how could such a space exist? Seven years ago, Ji-heon had loved Jeong-o's old place. That's why they spent more time together in her studio apartment than in his officetel. The reason he loved the place was clear and simple.
“I like this place. More than my own.”
“Why?”
“Because I can see you no matter where you are.”
He had said that once, seven years ago. It was honest and straightforward. When she was changing clothes, when she made a funny mistake, when she was feeling good for some reason, Ji-heon would watch from the side and pull her into a hug every time. He said he felt at peace when he could see her. Conversely, when she wasn't by his side, he felt a strange sense of unease and anxiety. That's why he liked the studio apartment. Because he could see everything about her.
‘He even managed to find a desk that's quite similar.’
The more Jeong-o looked at the room Ji-heon had decorated, the more amazed she became. From the size and design of the furniture to the color of the bed sheets and curtains, everything was almost identical. When did he decorate this room? Is his memory gradually returning? Wiping away the tears that had welled up in her eyes, Jeong-o ran to the kitchen with a heart full of emotion.
“Finished looking around?”
Ji-heon asked, making Pancake batter. He said it was a hobby, but it seemed that was just talk. The culinary prodigy Jeong Ji-heon, who used to keep even a small kitchen clean seven years ago, had become an amateur who used a large kitchen sloppily. Seeing the mess Ji-heon had made, she smiled faintly and started the conversation.
“The room at the very end, you know. That room feels different from the others. It doesn't really fit with this house.”
“Ah. That one.”
Ji-heon acknowledged her observation and nodded.
“I don't remember well, but I think I went to a house like that a long time ago.”
“...When? Whose house?”
“I don't remember anything. Whether it was around the age of ten or after I turned twenty, nothing.”
“......”
“I just vaguely had those kinds of furniture and layouts in my head, so I tried to reconstruct it. That memory felt good for some reason.”
Jeong-o's eyes welled up as she listened to his voice.
“I actually decorated it and sometimes sleep in that room, and it has a bit of an effect on my insomnia. I feel at ease when I go into that room.”
Haa. Should she laugh or cry?
“Seung-gyu says it's just a typical studio apartment.”
How far has this person's memory come? Jeong-o's worries returned to before she opened the door. And as she pondered about the people whose lives would change because of her worries, she thought of her mother, Ms. Lee Guk-soon. Her mother had never asked who Yena's father was. She never cursed at the child's father. She never brought it up unless Jeong-o mentioned it first. If that memory would hurt her daughter, she couldn't bear to bring it up and stab her daughter's heart. Only now did Jeong-o vaguely understand what kind of patience her mother had. The Jeong Ji-heon in front of her had no idea what kind of anguish she was going through here, and was just focused on cooking. His eyes flickered from time to time. It was a look of bewilderment as he forgot the next step in the cooking process. This person is trying. I believe in this person. I believe that you will be able to remember me in your own way. Of course, I'll tell you first before it gets too late, but I believe I'll get even a hint of it before then. So I'll wait. I hope you regain your own memories. I hope you bring out that deep memory that no one has contaminated with your own strength.
“Here. Look.”
While Jeong-o was letting out a few words from her heart, he was already grilling and flipping the Pancake by himself. It all happened in an instant.
“Did you see?”
“No. I didn't see.”
Jeong-o lied, wanting to see it properly one more time.
“...Watch properly. Okay?”
Ji-heon, who had glanced at her, firmly grabbed the frying pan again. Swish! Thwack! His pose was clumsy compared to the Ji-heon of seven years ago, but he skillfully flipped the Pancake.
“How is it? I'm better, right?”
The current Jeong Ji-heon, competing against the past Jeong Ji-heon, looked at her with a smug smile. Jeong-o couldn't help but smile too. She couldn't say more, afraid that he would hear her trembling voice. It was just a heart that loved her child, a heart that wanted to protect her child, but before she knew it, Jeong Ji-heon had also entered Lee Jeong-o's life. She also wanted him to be at peace and happy. I was having a long first love. The cold season in her heart is melting away. Jeong-o calmed the anxiety in her heart. She resolved to become a stronger person. Yes. Ji-heon. I'll wait patiently. For spring to come. Let's cheer up together. I believe that you are coming to me now.
\ Eun-bi was running an errand for the first time in a while. She stopped by her parents' house to pick up her Oppa's clothes and side dishes and went to Eun-yeop's house. Her mother gave Eun-bi instructions. She told her that Oppa's officetel would be messy, so she should clean it up while she was there. She would have usually been annoyed and irritated, but today she volunteered willingly. There was something she needed to find in her Oppa's house. Perhaps because she trusted her mother's tidiness, Eun-yeop's house was always messy. Still, he was quite thorough, so he left almost no traces related to his work. So Eun-bi had to search for traces for a long time.
‘It's here! Just as I thought!’
And about an hour after digging through Eun-yeop's house, she found the data. It was data about Lee Jeong-o. She thought that her Oppa would definitely investigate Lee Jeong-o separately. But the investigation was nothing special. There was much more about Lee Jeong-o's daughter than about Lee Jeong-o, so Eun-bi frowned throughout reading the data. And yet there was no information about the child's father at all. The level of data research was so poor that she scoffed, but Eun-bi didn't despair. The data also included information about Lee Jeong-o's mother, Lee Guk-soon. Eun-bi took a picture of the address of the restaurant run by Guk-soon with her cell phone camera and saved it, then left Eun-yeop's house. The next meeting place was a hotel far away from the company and home, so it took quite a while. She was 40 minutes late for the appointment because she was rummaging through Eun-yeop's house. Eun-bi felt restless for no reason. She hurriedly parked her car in the hotel parking lot and went into the lobby. She was worried that the man might have left, but the man was still waiting for her. Eun-bi's eyes welled up at the sight of the man approaching her with a handsome appearance after discovering her. Feeling a little guilty, her voice became sweet.
“Honey, did you wait long?”
“Yeah. I was just about to go back.”
The man glared at her, then burst out laughing at Eun-bi's smile.
“I'll let it slide because you're pretty.”
She liked the man's compliment. Eun-bi linked her arm tightly with the man's. He was a man who was compared to Jeong Ji-heon in every way. He listened to her complaints and grievances, accepted them, comforted her, and hugged her. Above all, the man understood Eun-bi's situation. Eun-bi received comfort from this man that she didn't receive from Ji-heon. His heart was much kinder than Jeong Ji-heon's, and he was even more handsome and good-looking than Jeong Ji-heon, so she liked him even more.
‘I wouldn't have been able to endure it without this man.’
In a hellish reality, the man was like a light to Eun-bi. \ After a boring weekend without meeting Lee Jeong-o, it was Monday. In the midst of being busy with the end of the month, Ji-heon contacted the credit card company. A card that was registered under Ji-heon's name but was canceled seven years ago. It was to find out the usage history of that card. November 2nd, seven years ago. The credit card he used to buy the ring. The information he got from the jewelry shop was all that Ji-heon knew, so Ji-heon couldn't even properly tell the consultant the card number. But the consultant was quite kind.
[Sir, we are obligated to keep card usage history for up to 5 years, but it may or may not be possible to check the usage history of a card that was canceled 7 years ago. First, please send a copy of your ID by fax. Please verify your identity using your mobile phone according to the instructions in the text message I'm sending you.]
“Yes. I understand. After verifying my identity, when can I receive the data?”
[If the card usage history can be found, we can send the data to your email address today. If it can't be found, we'll contact you separately.]
“Yes. Thank you for your help.”
Ji-heon greeted politely and hung up the phone. A text message arrived from the credit card company shortly after. Ji-heon sent a copy of his ID by fax and completed his identity verification according to the instructions in the text message. Now it was time to wait. His heart was still restless. In the drawer he opened to put away the copy of his ID, there was the ring he had bought on Friday. He wanted to see Lee Jeong-o smiling brightly with the ring on her finger. Ji-heon decided to think of what he was doing now as 'the past that must be cleared up in order to move forward'. Just as he had made up his mind, an email notification arrived. It was data from the credit card company. * Evening time. Guk-soon started the evening business. While Guk-soon is working, Yena spends time on a small Wooden platform next to the kitchen. At an age when she should be running around and playing, she's stuck on the restaurant's Wooden platform. She's a small child, so she could complain about being cramped, but perhaps because she's adapted to this routine, the child is calm. Yena watches her grandmother from time to time to see how busy she is, writes down the orders that came in today in a notebook to study math, reads books, folds origami, plays Go by herself, and enjoys the boring time by eavesdropping on the stories of the customers who visit the restaurant. Guk-soon looks at such a granddaughter with a feeling of being both admirable and pitiful. Such a peaceful daily life. Today, a regular customer greeted her and spoke kindly to Guk-soon as he left.
“Thank you for the meal, Madam.”
“Yes. Thank you. Come again.”
“If you sold alcohol here, your sales would double. What do I mean double, they'd quintuple.”
Because it's a store that doesn't sell alcohol, there aren't many evening customers. Guk-soon's cooking skills are so good that regulars are sad that there are few evening customers, but Guk-soon is satisfied with this much. Since she has a child, she has no choice but to be careful with the evening business. After the regular customer left, the restaurant became quiet again. Perhaps because it was hot, there were no customers today.
“Shall we go home early today?”
“Yeah!”
If she went home early, she could watch TV and do somersaults. Yena welcomed her grandmother's suggestion and smiled brightly. But as soon as Yena got up from the Wooden platform, the restaurant door opened. Yena lay back down on the Wooden platform with a disappointed expression, and Guk-soon got up from her seat, looked out at the entrance, and greeted her happily.
“Welcome.”
However, the corners of her lips that had naturally risen quickly crumbled. She could vaguely recognize the person who had opened the door and entered.
“Oh my, who is this? Hello, Ma'am!”
“......”
“You remember me, right? I'm Chae Eun-bi.”
Though her face had changed quite a bit, that subtly sharp voice was the same. Guk-soon's complexion darkened.
