Chapter 65
65. To Jeong-o 2021.12.11.
Eun-bi repeated her name to Guk-soon, who was staring blankly.
“You don’t know me? Don’t you remember? Chae Eun-bi. I was Jeong-o’s high school classmate.”
“Ah… is that so.”
Guk-soon barely managed to answer. She couldn't exactly welcome her or even smile. The bad blood with Chae Eun-bi was already over a decade old, but it was still as vivid as if it had happened yesterday. Thirteen years ago, Guk-soon, who was working in Jeong-o's school cafeteria, was kicked out because of an incident with Chae Eun-bi. After that, Guk-soon had to go down to Gunsan to find a job, and Jeong-o started living on her own, away from her mother. Her daughter was seventeen at the time. A time when she needed her parents' care the most, her daughter lived alone. Guk-soon, who had to leave her precious daughter alone and live in the provinces, also had heartbreaking days every day. That's why she still feels sorry for her daughter. That's why she doesn't know how to treat this girl.
“But didn’t Jeong-o tell you? I work at the same company as Jeong-o.”
Since Guk-soon didn't seem very welcoming, Eun-bi asked with a sullen expression. This was information Guk-soon didn't know. When Guk-soon stared in surprise, Eun-bi snorted.
“Jeong-o doesn’t even talk about that, huh. I’m Jeong-o’s boss at the company she’s working at now, ma’am.”
Guk-soon remembered a conversation she had with her daughter a while ago.
“Mom, when I was in the first year of high school, there was this kid I really hated. I met her at work.”
“Why do you hate her? Why don’t you try to get along?”
“She was just a bad person from the start. And she’s still not great.”
“……”
“I had a bit of a conflict with her today, and I’m so upset.”
That child was Chae Eun-bi. Her daughter must have been afraid of upsetting her mother, so she didn't even reveal the name Chae Eun-bi. How hard must it have been for her daughter? How much must she have been hurt all this time? She regretted now, with a heavy heart, that she hadn't taken her daughter's side more and had scolded her instead. Nevertheless, Guk-soon couldn't bring herself to say harsh words to Chae Eun-bi in front of her. If Chae Eun-bi was Jeong-o's boss, then Chae Eun-bi was still a VIP to Guk-soon.
“Okay. Welcome. It’s been a while. Please, sit down.”
Eun-bi moved to the seat that Guk-soon offered, saying with a welcoming expression.
“Wow. I never thought I’d see you like this. This is my friend, and this is a BJ I’m close with.”
Eun-bi introduced the two people who came with her to Guk-soon.
“Do you know what a BJ is? It’s an internet broadcast host. This is great. Soyoung, please introduce this restaurant on your broadcast. Help the business do well.”
“I’ll try it first.”
The person called BJ snorted and replied. Broadcast or not, Guk-soon just wanted them to leave quickly. Regretting that she hadn't said she was closing early, she waited for their order. Eun-bi glanced at the menu and ordered.
“Three orders of the white rice set meal, please. My friends here are rare guests who are hard to meet in restaurants like this, so please take good care of them.”
Guk-soon quietly took the order and went into the kitchen. The white rice set meal only required boiling the stew since the side dishes were already prepared, so it wouldn't take long. I need to feed them quickly and send them away. It had already been 13 years since she started working in the restaurant business. Thinking back on all the difficult customers who had visited the restaurant, today's reunion didn't seem like anything. Nothing will happen. If I do well. Guk-soon took special care to scoop the rice, arrange the side dishes, and put on the stew. She even added steamed eggs and grilled fish. Before she knew it, there were 10 side dishes.
“Tell me if you need more. I can give you as much as you want.”
Guk-soon said to the customers as she carried the large meal.
“Yes. We’ll enjoy the meal.”
Eun-bi greeted her. Before she knew it, the camera was rolling. Guk-soon asked the person called BJ for their understanding.
“Excuse me, but we don’t allow filming in our restaurant. Could you please turn off the camera?”
“Yes. I won’t broadcast it.”
The BJ replied coldly. Guk-soon turned around and went to the kitchen. She could hear whispering in the hall. But they were talking too quietly to hear the words clearly. She became anxious, wondering if they would broadcast something strange or do something bad like they did 13 years ago. A moment later, Eun-bi called Guk-soon from the hall. It had only been five minutes since she had set the table.
“Here’s the bill.”
Guk-soon, who was sitting on the wooden platform, jumped up and went to the counter. The rice and side dishes on the table were almost untouched.
“You… barely ate anything.”
“Yes. It didn’t suit our taste.”
“Then forget about the money. Just go.”
“No. Still, you went to all that trouble to prepare it.”
Eun-bi’s friend took out a 100,000 won bill and placed it on the counter. Guk-soon, who hadn’t expected them to pay with a check, opened the cash register. While Guk-soon was busy preparing the change, Eun-bi leisurely walked into the kitchen. She saw a child doing origami on the wooden platform. Eun-bi recognized her immediately.
“You’re Yena, right?”
“Yes.”
Yena raised her head and answered.
“Your mom is working, so you’re playing here alone? Oh, that’s too bad.”
“……”
“You’re very pretty, just like your mom. Who’s your dad?”
Yena didn’t answer anymore and just blinked. She wondered why this strange woman was interested in her.
“Baby, can’t you talk well?”
Eun-bi sighed deeply and took out a 50,000 won bill from her wallet and handed it to Yena.
“Here. Your older sister is giving this to you because you’re pretty.”
“……”
“You should say thank you and take it. An adult is giving it to you.”
Eun-bi shook the money repeatedly and stared at her, and Yena, overwhelmed by the pressure, took the money.
“Thank you.”
“Good. That’s a good girl.”
Eun-bi turned around with satisfaction. Lee Jeong-o. You twisted my life, so it’s only fair that I step on your life too, right? * After finishing work, Ji-heon looked for a flower shop located near the jewelry store. Flower Dream. The name of this flower shop was on the card usage statement he received from the credit card company. Fortunately, the flower shop was still in the same place with the same name as it was 7 years ago. On November 2, 7 years ago, he purchased a ring from the jewelry store and then made a card payment at ‘Flower Dream’. Since it was a considerable amount, he could infer that he had purchased flowers for a proposal. He hoped he could find a clue here. Even something very small. Ji-heon opened the door of the flower shop with a trembling heart.
“Welcome!”
A man wearing an apron greeted Ji-heon. It was a large flower shop, so there were many flowers. At a large table on one side, a woman was arranging flowers in a basket.
“Hello. Excuse me, but I’d like to ask you something.”
“Yes. Please tell me.”
“I made a card payment at this flower shop 7 years ago, but I don’t remember it well. Did you happen to be running this flower shop 7 years ago as well?”
“Yes. That’s right. My wife and I were running the flower shop together back then too. It’s been 9 years now.”
“Then could you take a look at this payment history?”
Ji-heon handed the man the card usage statement he had checked separately. The man took the document Ji-heon handed him and tilted his head.
“7 years ago… Since we have a considerable number of orders per day, it’s a bit difficult to remember each and every customer. But since it’s over 500,000 won, it seems like it would have been a large pot set or something for a proposal… Don’t you remember exactly?”
The man asked, as if he found it strange that a customer wouldn’t remember such a large amount. Ji-heon had no choice but to tell him the situation.
“I had an accident the day after I made this payment. So I lost some of my memories, but I recently found a clue about this memory and came all the way here.”
Telling someone about his personal circumstances was one of the things he disliked the most. But Ji-heon became desperate, wanting to find even the smallest clue. He had never asked a stranger for a favor before, so his pride was hurt. Lee Jeong-o on May 27 came to mind. What must she have felt when she couldn't say it was Yena's birthday and begged him to let her leave work early? Desperate people give up something to get what they want, and sometimes they risk their lives. They sometimes navigate a vast, dark sea with only a compass to guide them. Imagining a glimmer of hope waving from afar. He came to know the poignancy of such a life. It seems that you only see as much as you experience. The flower shop owner, who had been wary, quickly changed his expression at Ji-heon's story. The woman who had been arranging flowers at the table also dusted off her hands and approached Ji-heon.
“Honey, we take pictures of the flowers for proposal orders, right? If we look for it, I think there might be a picture?”
Ji-heon also added his strength to the woman's welcome words.
“Yes. There’s a high possibility it was a proposal order. I also ordered a ring on the same day.”
“……”
“Please, I’m begging you.”
At Ji-heon's desperate request, the woman nudged her husband's shoulder. The man reluctantly nodded and sat in front of the PC.
“I don’t know if the file will still be there.”
While the man was looking through the PC files, the woman handed Ji-heon a chair.
“Please, have a seat.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“If I had been working with my husband, I would have remembered it. But I was pregnant at the time, so I couldn’t work much.”
Ji-heon responded kindly to the woman who spoke to him in a friendly manner.
“Then the child must be about seven years old.”
“Yes. She’s seven years old now.”
At the woman's answer, Ji-heon thought of Yena. Yena's birthday was said to be May 27th, so Lee Jung-oh must have been pregnant around that time. The man looked through several folders and said.
“I didn’t organize the photo files properly, so it’s taking me a while to find them.”
“I’m sorry to bother you with such a troublesome request.”
“It’s no problem.”
At Ji-heon's polite and courteous apology, the man couldn't complain any further and worked diligently. As the search took longer, the woman who had been hovering around Ji-heon returned to the table and continued her work. After 30 minutes passed.
“Oh, here it is. November 2nd. I think this is it.”
At the man's voice, Ji-heon got up from his chair. The woman also rushed over. It was a photo of various beautiful flowers forming a flower garden on a wide table. Above it hung a garland with the words 'MARRY ME?'.
“But this is a bit different. It’s decorated on a table. We usually decorate the trunk of a car and take pictures.”
The man tilted his head. Then the woman clapped her hands and said loudly.
“Ah! I remember! She said there was someone who ordered and paid for the proposal flowers but didn't contact us. She said he would come to pick up the flowers the next day, but his phone was turned off and we couldn't reach him.”
The man's voice also rose as his eyes widened.
“Oh, right! That’s it! So we couldn’t take the picture in the car trunk and took it on the table. I was really worried at the time. I wondered if he got dumped before he could even propose, or if he had a traffic accident. The person who ordered it back then was really handsome... That's right! It was you, sir!”
The man, who had regained his memory, grabbed Ji-heon's hand with an expression of even greater emotion than the woman.
“...Could I see the photos?”
Ji-heon barely managed to speak in a trembling voice.
“Yes. Please, sit here.”
The man offered the chair in front of the PC. Ji-heon sat down and slowly looked through the photos. Ji-heon's eyes stung at the letters of the MARRY ME? garland.
‘There was someone I really wanted to marry.’
And I forgot all about that person because of the traffic accident. An unfamiliar feeling of oppression stirred his heart. In that confusion, Ji-heon found a neatly written card on the right edge of the photo. Ji-heon's eyes widened as he recognized the writing on the card. - TO Jeong-o. It was definitely that name. Jeong-o.
