Chapter 4
It was even before Ji-hyuk could get into the driver’s seat. Through the open driver’s side door, Ji-hyuk narrowed his eyes.
“What are you doing?”
Pretending not to hear, Hong-joo feigned ignorance and fastened her seatbelt.
“Are you not getting out?”
When she pretended not to hear again this time, Ji-hyuk raised his voice a notch.
“Baek Hong-joo!”
For a moment, the pit of her stomach stung sharply. She felt disappointed for no reason. Baek Hong-joo. Up until now, the times Seol Ji-hyuk had called out those three syllables of her name were innumerable. From when they first met in January when Hong-joo was eight, until they parted in November when she was eighteen, a full 11 years. In that countless amount of time, had Seol Ji-hyuk ever called Baek Hong-joo’s name this coldly and strictly?
No, not even once. On that day they first met.
“What is this?” “Me? Baek Hong-joo.” “Baek Hong-joo?”
From the moment Hong-joo, raising her body from the snowfield, handed him the red camellia flower tucked in her hair and told him her name in response to Ji-hyuk’s question. Baek Hong-joo. Hong-joo. Hong-joo-ya. Hey, Baek Hong-joo. Ji-hyuk’s voice calling Hong-joo’s name had always been soft, and affectionate. Even in the moments he was angry when Hong-joo talked back and acted up. But she probably couldn’t expect that kind of Ji-hyuk anymore. They weren’t in that kind of relationship now. They couldn’t be in that kind of relationship anymore.
I know. I know it too well… ‘Why do I keep feeling disappointed?’
Swallowing the tears that threatened to fall, Hong-joo looked back at Ji-hyuk with a coy face.
“Don’t just stand there like that, get in for now. It’s because I have something to say.”
As she acted slightly brazen, as if she were the owner of this car, Ji-hyuk looked at her as if she were absurd. He turned his head slightly and smirked, crumpling the corners of his mouth as if it were laughable. It was a very cold and cynical smile. This, too, was disappointing. But it was okay. In exchange, Ji-hyuk willingly got into the car. If he just allowed her an opening, she could swallow things like disappointment as much as needed.
The high-end sports sedan eventually let out a loud exhaust roar and exited the hotel enclosure. Outside the car window, Macau’s exotic scenery quickly flowed by. The morning sunlight shone intensely down on the refreshing streets. The scenery, entirely different from Seoul where winter had just begun, was slightly awkward. Or perhaps the fact that she was in an enclosed space with Ji-hyuk was what felt awkward.
Turning her head to the left, Hong-joo stole a glance at Ji-hyuk, who was driving. Ji-hyuk was nineteen, Hong-joo was eighteen. They had parted ways in late November of that year, and today was November 27th, so it had been exactly 10 years. In that time, Ji-hyuk had become twenty-nine. In a month, he would be thirty. Perhaps that was why. She was momentarily dazed by his appearance, which had distinctly changed from before.
Hong-joo’s gaze flowed slowly from Ji-hyuk’s hair to his waist, and again from his waist to the leg pressing the accelerator. Seol Ji-hyuk was tall back then, but it seemed he had grown even taller now. Maybe he was well over 190 cm? And what about his body? Did he still exercise a lot, because his shoulders were even broader than back then. If a stranger saw him, wouldn’t they mistake him for a swimmer? Was it just his shoulders? Early this morning, seeing Ji-hyuk reveal himself beyond the hotel door, she had been slightly surprised too. That firm chest and chiseled abs exposed beyond a roughly tied nightgown. She had even felt a suggestive vibe.
It seemed she wouldn’t be able to find that delicate boyish charm of those days in Seol Ji-hyuk anymore, no matter how hard she looked. On top of that, his face… ‘Did his face originally look like this?’
Hong-joo recalled Ji-hyuk’s face from over 10 years ago in her mind. He was a boy as beautiful as a painting, with distinct features and thick eyebrows. A smoothly extending jawline and clear-cut lips, a high nose bridge that could truly be called sculptural, and eyes as clear and profound as a deer’s. Add to that an alluring atmosphere that somehow felt mysterious. It was an appearance that truly suited the nickname of a prince, one could say.
Of course, it didn’t seem to have changed drastically from back then even now. However, the lines that used to be soft were somehow more sharply honed. He looked much more three-dimensional, and the texture felt rougher. How should she put it? The boyish charm had vanished, and masculine charm had taken its place? As his beautiful face matured and took on color, it overflowed with a sensuality that wasn’t there before. Perhaps that was why, he even felt like a completely different person. Especially those grayish-brown eyes that clung as if they would dig into her, and the red lips that crumpled coldly. In that place where warmth had completely vanished, even a delinquent, decadent beauty lingered.
So now he isn’t a boy, but a man? If she had to add a modifier, a ‘bad’ man. Furrowing her brow, Hong-joo let out a small groan.
“What is it.”
Ji-hyuk’s voice cleanly cut off her thoughts that had been continuing helplessly.
“You hopped into my car like a stray cat saying you had something to say, so why are you just stealing glances at me without speaking.”
Hong-joo slightly scrunched the bridge of her nose.
“I didn’t steal glances, I stared openly.”
Having already brazenly gotten into the car, Hong-joo, who had decided to continue being brazen, answered while slightly raising her chin.
“Because it’s been so long, I was glad to see you.”
At that, Ji-hyuk let out a scoff again.
“If you’re glad twice, you’ll drill a hole in my face.”
Then, turning on the turn signal, he pulled the car over to the side of the road.
“I’m not particularly glad to see you, so keep what you have to say short and get out.”
“…”
“I’m busy, so hurry up.”
At his face crumpling as if annoyed and bothered, Hong-joo swallowed her saliva. Somehow, her throat felt prickly. He told her to keep it short, but truthfully, it wasn’t something to be kept short, was it?
“Let’s go to Korea together.”
Still, summarizing it as much as possible, Hong-joo opened her eyes wide and continued.
“You have to go to Korea. Your father passed away.”
He wasn’t just any father. He was a father who had kept his youngest son close like a grandson, showering him only with love. A father who, until his dying breath, earnestly asked her to look after Ji-hyuk with a desperate face.
“You have to go and rightfully…”
“I will go.”
Gripping the steering wheel with one hand and keeping his eyes on the road ahead, Ji-hyuk turned his head and looked at Hong-joo. Then, curling one corner of his mouth up crookedly, he let out a cynical smile.
“It’s just not right now.”
“Ji-hyuk!”
“I’m a bit busy.”
His face, which didn’t show even a sliver of agitation at his father’s death, was simply cold.
“That boy won’t want to come.”
Those were the words Chairman Seol had said two days before his passing.
“Because he must be very angry.”
Chairman Seol continued, tightly grasping Hong-joo’s hand. Hong-joo nodded, and Chairman Seol felt relieved. He was thankful, saying he could close his eyes peacefully thanks to Hong-joo. So, she absolutely had to bring him back, absolutely.
Without avoiding Ji-hyuk’s gaze, Hong-joo swallowed hard and spat out her words.
“We call a child who has perfectly fine limbs but doesn’t handle their parents’ funeral rites a son of a bitch.”
“A son of a bitch?”
Furrowing his brow, Ji-hyuk flashed his grayish-brown eyes sharply. Then, he chuckled coldly.
“Now you even look me straight in the eye and curse at me, huh.”
Would she only curse? She would talk back, too.
“I’m saying you are the only chief mourner.”
Not to be outdone, Hong-joo opened her mouth and pointed out reality.
“Your older brother passed away, and the only son left is you, Ji-hyuk.”
“Why are you acting so old-fashioned?”
At her words, Ji-hyuk finally laughed. It was clearly a sneer.
“Daughters-in-law and daughters are children too. I’m saying there are plenty of people to act as chief mourner besides me.”
“…”
“Sister-in-law is perfectly well. My older sister is there, too.”
This, too, wasn’t exactly wrong. What era was this that only a son could be a chief mourner?
“Ah, my brother-in-law who loves to step up can do it.”
Daughters-in-law and sons-in-law are children too, they are children, but… ‘The deceased’s wishes are not so.’
However, Ji-hyuk, who couldn’t possibly know that and had no desire to know, coldly continued.
“Go and tell them.”
Erasing his smile before she knew it, Ji-hyuk revealed his intentions with an apathetic face.
“That I will return around Saturday.”
Saturday? Today was Monday; even if they held a five-day funeral, it would be after the funeral had ended. Hong-joo shook her head with a pale face.
“I can’t deliver that message.”
“Then get out.”
“I can’t get out.”
The ends of her tightly bitten lips were stubborn.
“Are you saying you want to fight?”
Ji-hyuk’s sharp voice grew louder. Yet, she wasn’t scared at all. It was because it was a familiar situation. The kind that made them look to others like bitter enemies growling at each other. Right, because it was that kind of situation.
“Yeah, let’s fight.”
With wide eyes, Hong-joo slightly raised her chin.
“Let’s fight.”
And then, firmly gripping the seatbelt and the passenger door handle, she shouted bravely.
“Depart.”
Even if she died. It was an expression of her will that she would not get out of the car, even if she died.
