Chapter 77
- How Can We Be Strangers?
2023.07.16.
Although regular work hours were over, Bobae was sweating, unable to prepare to move to the TF Team office.
"Chief Jang, go ahead. I haven't finished my work yet."
Due to a problem in communication with a customer, she had deleted all the data on the customer's phone. So-eun had no choice but to move with Eun-pyo alone.
She hadn't exchanged a word with Chief Jang Eun-pyo since his sudden confession yesterday. It seemed Eun-pyo was avoiding her. So-eun went to Eun-pyo's desk, thinking how awkward it would be to ride the elevator alone with Chief Jang Eun-pyo.
"Chief Jang, shall we go?"
"Go up first. I'll follow."
But even Chief Jang refused to go with her. It was a relief that it wasn't awkward right now, but she was bothered by the fact that Eun-pyo didn't even look at her and answered while facing the monitor. She wasn't in a position to ask if something was wrong, so So-eun got on the elevator alone.
Arriving on the 7th floor, So-eun looked into Tae-joon's office as usual. Chief Song Mun-gyeong was not at his desk. It seemed he had left work earlier than usual today. So-eun thought about going into Tae-joon's office, but just walked to the TF Team office. Tae-joon was there.
She felt heavy-hearted because it seemed she had become awkward with Chief Jang Eun-pyo, but her mood immediately lifted when she saw Tae-joon's face.
"You're alone today?"
"Bobae said she has some work left. Chief Jang Eun-pyo is... somehow avoiding me."
"Can't I just tell them both not to come at all?"
Tae-joon pulled So-eun's arm, who was trying to sit far away, and made her sit next to him.
"Chief Song Mun-gyeong knows. So you can talk to Chief Song if anything uncomfortable happens."
"Ah..."
She had been worried about getting caught, but she felt relieved that he had brought it up first. It felt like they were having a somewhat public relationship.
"Did anyone bother you today?"
"No. I was so busy that I didn't talk to anyone."
"I think I'm going to get very busy now."
"Ah..."
"So we should see each other a lot while we can."
He rested one cheek on his hand and looked at So-eun, giving her a gentle smile. Even though his expression was soft, his gaze was somehow firm, and So-eun felt like her skin was crumbling wherever his eyes touched. Like running his fingertips over her skin.
So-eun turned her gaze to the corner of the office for no reason. She couldn't meet his eyes, worried that someone might burst through the door.
Regardless of her unease, Tae-joon took out his phone and held the screen up to So-eun. What he showed her was a video of fireworks bursting over a long bridge with lights.
"They say you can see something like this if you go to Busan in the fall."
"..."
"Shall we go here?"
So-eun's gaze, which had been wandering in the air, turned to the phone video. She was quickly captivated by the spectacle of colorful fireworks decorating the night sky. She had never seen fireworks up close before. Even when she was in college in Seoul, she couldn't even think about going to fireworks festivals because she was working part-time.
Her heart, which had been pounding with anxiety that someone might come into the room, fluttered at Tae-joon's suggestion. But she didn't have the luxury to enjoy this moment any longer. The door burst open and Eun-pyo came in.
"Oh! Chief Jang!"
Startled, So-eun pulled her chair back and moved away from Tae-joon.
Eun-pyo, who rolled his eyes inside the office, greeted Tae-joon with a blank expression.
"Director Kim, hello."
"Yes. How have you been?"
Tae-joon nodded his head towards Eun-pyo. Perhaps he was wearing the arrogant smile of someone who reigns from above. It was thanks to the fact that he felt relieved after telling Eun-pyo everything.
Eun-pyo's gaze, who barely acknowledged Tae-joon's greeting, fell on the phone So-eun was holding. Realizing that she was holding Tae-joon's phone, So-eun hurriedly explained the situation.
"Director Kim was showing me a fireworks video."
Tae-joon had to force himself to suppress his laughter because So-eun, whose face was flushed and restless, was funny and cute.
"Ah... it's pretty, but it looks fake."
However, Eun-pyo, who glanced at the video, ruined the mood. Tae-joon's eyes, which had been smiling at So-eun, sharpened.
So-eun blinked at Eun-pyo's cynical reaction and looked at the video again, nodding with a serious expression.
"Ah, that's right. The editor must have edited it."
"Yes. 100 percent."
Eun-pyo explained why the video was fake.
"Light travels 300,000 km per second and sound travels 340 m per second. When a firework explodes, light and sound start at the same time, but light is so fast that we can detect it almost immediately, while if we hear the sound of a firework 1 km away, it takes almost 3 seconds to reach our ears."
It wasn't necessarily a voice aimed at anyone in particular, but So-eun also understood the flaw in the video from the beginning, so this was a lecture for Kim Tae-joon, who majored in humanities.
...I know too. The damn speed difference between light and sound.
But I still hate you.
"That's right. Director Kim, I think this is manipulated."
Han So-eun. I hate you too.
But judging that growling here would make him look even worse, Tae-joon answered with dignity with a bitter heart.
"That's right. You're right when I hear it."
Tae-joon clearly saw it. The corner of Jang Eun-pyo's lips curled up crookedly.
This guy completely went astray after I gave him a warning.
He was originally a person with no expression, but even until yesterday, he had a simple-looking impression. Overnight, that affectionate image disappeared completely, and he became a stubborn man who knew how to subtly resist his boss.
Tae-joon quietly clenched and unclenched his fist under the table.
\
Mal-hee waited all day for Hee-wook to come home from work.
The loan shark from whom Heejin borrowed money was said to be a group that engaged in illegal debt collection. If she didn't make 1.1 billion won within a month and pay it back, some part of her body might be damaged.
Half a month had already passed, so there were only half a month left.
She had lost all the money she had saved while being hospitalized due to illness, and she only had one house left, and she was desperate to have to sell it. To sell the house within half a month, she would have to put it on the market for a quick sale, which would mean she wouldn't get its full value. So Mal-hee had no one to rely on but her son.
Hee-wook was always busy, so she thought he would come home after 10 p.m. today, but for some reason, Hee-wook arrived home at 6 p.m. It meant he had left work without completing his work hours.
"Son. You came early today?"
"Yeah."
As if he didn't even see his mother, who had been waiting for him with bated breath. Hee-wook answered roughly and headed to his room. Mal-hee immediately followed Hee-wook to his room because he looked disheveled, as if he had been drinking during the day.
"Son. Did you look into the loan?"
"I don't know! You clean up what you started!"
He had shown the most broken appearance these days, but he had never raised his voice like this. Mal-hee, who became anxious, carefully brought up So-eun's name again.
"Is it still because of Han So-eun?"
"Yeah. So don't talk to me."
"How did she cook you so well that you still can't come to your senses? Huh?"
"I don't know! My life is ruined because of Han So-eun. I'm going to quit the company. Just know that."
"Why! Why quit that good company!"
But her voice soon rose again. No matter how she thought about it, the only way to get money was through her son's company. Her son was going to quit the company.
"Why are you doing this? Did rumors about the surgery spread in the company? Is everyone saying something to you?"
Rumors hadn't spread in the company yet. The name 'Yang Hee-wook' was briefly posted on the internet bulletin board, but the traces quickly disappeared. But it was only a matter of time before Hee-wook's past became known in the company. As long as Kim Tae-joon held Yulkyu Law Firm in his hands, conflict was inevitable.
"...I'm going to change jobs. I can change jobs."
"..."
"So I can't get a loan for the time being. Go find money somewhere else."
Mal-hee wanted to sit down and cry at Hee-wook's hopeless answer. But she strengthened her heart and got up from her seat.
A family that was falling apart, a son who had lost his vitality, and reporters who threatened her privacy yesterday for a brief moment. All of this was a disaster that started with Han So-eun. If Han So-eun had stubbornly insisted on marrying her son in the first place, none of this would have happened.
\
So-eun finished her TF Team work, had dinner with Bobae, and parted ways. Bobae was considerate of what happened yesterday and what So-eun had been struggling with alone. Of course, Bobae also told Eun-pyo to have dinner together, but Eun-pyo refused and left first.
She had become closer to Bobae, but she had become distant from Eun-pyo. But he seemed to be good at talking when Tae-joon showed her the fireworks video. However, it seemed that he might be burdened by situations where he would be alone with So-eun.
'I should talk to him separately tomorrow.'
So-eun thought that she should talk to Eun-pyo properly and walked home. The alley where the twilight had fallen was desolate. For some reason, she felt like she could hear sounds following her every step, so her body shrank. As she got closer to her house, her pace quickened. In the meantime, noise intervened.
"So-eun."
She staggered in surprise.
Yang Hee-wook's mother, Madam Kim Mal-hee, stood tall in front of her house.
A long time ago, Mal-hee had visited So-eun's house to bring her kimchi. Frankly, Mal-hee's kimchi was more touching than the couple ring Yang Hee-wook had given her. Perhaps that gratitude was the decisive reason that led her to donate her organs.
At that time, the sudden visit was just grateful, but now it was creepy.
When So-eun stood still without saying anything, Mal-hee approached her first. Fortunately, no one was around. It seemed Mal-hee had come alone.
"Weren't you worried about my health?"
"...Have you been healthy?"
"Do I look healthy to you?"
What did she want her to do?
It seemed like she was asking a question with a set answer, so she couldn't find anything to say.
Since she had already broken up with Yang Hee-wook, she couldn't bring her into her house, and she was uncomfortable going out of the alley and sitting face to face in a cafe, so So-eun decided to end the conversation here.
"How did you get here?"
"I came because I was upset. Can't I?"
Mal-hee poured out her resentment, sobbing like a truly aggrieved person.
"I always treated you like a daughter, but how can you leave without saying goodbye? How can you be so heartless?"
"I broke up with Yang Hee-wook suddenly. If it's not Yang Hee-wook, we can only be strangers."
"How can we be strangers? We shared the most precious thing!"
