Chapter : 06
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had earphones in…”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you know where we are? I kept walking because I wanted to clear my head, but I don’t really know where I am. My feet hurt so much, too. Is there a pharmacy nearby?”
For just a moment, she saw the corner of the man’s mouth twitch.
“There isn’t a pharmacy.”
“Oh…”
Judging by his appearance, he seemed like a scary person, but the fact that he was answering her made him seem kind, too…
Anyway, she couldn’t quite figure him out.
“Then… I’m really, really sorry, but do you have any money?”
“Money?”
“I only use mobile payments, but my phone died. Could you help me just this once?”
The man rubbed his lips and let out a shallow sigh.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”
“My age…? Why?”
“You seem to have had a bit to drink, and I’m wondering whether you genuinely need my help.”
“Oh…”
“Usually, young kids pull things like that. And you look like one, too.”
The man’s suspicious words pricked at her heart.
“I’m not that young, you know?”
“Then how old are you?”
“Twenty… three. I’m really not a strange person. If you give me your bank account number, I’ll transfer the money to you as soon as I charge my phone!”
A bank transfer…
The man’s sigh, muttered so quietly it was almost inaudible, weighed heavily on Se-a’s head.
He wasn’t doing anything particularly threatening, yet somehow she found herself shrinking back.
“Th-then, could you at least let me make one phone call…? Ah, right. I don’t have anyone’s number memorized. I need money, too, and I think I need to put some bandages on…”
The man ran a hand through his hair and let out a long sigh.
He had been working late and was dressed in workout clothes with a lightweight padded jacket.
He had only intended to take a light walk around the neighborhood to clear his head, but instead, he had been stopped by a woman he’d never seen before.
“So all you need is money and bandages?”
“Yes, well…”
“Let’s go to a convenience store first. There’s one closer.”
“Are you really going to help me? Thank you, thank you.”
Se-a repeatedly bowed her head.
But she couldn’t seem to pick up the pace and kept falling behind.
She should have sobered up by now, considering how far she’d walked, but perhaps because she’d gulped down so much alcohol in such a short time, her stomach still felt awful.
For some reason, Jun-hee, who lived like a loafer while receiving pocket money from her aunt under the pretense of studying for the civil service exam, particularly annoyed her tonight.
It made her angry to think that part of her own salary was going straight to Jun-hee.
Even though Jun-hee was older than her, how could someone be so pathetic?
Maybe the problem was that she had taken out her frustration on alcohol because she had no right to say anything while living off someone else.
“Excuse me, what time is it?”
The man casually rolled up his sleeve.
“It’s 1:45.”
“Gasp.”
Was it really that late already?
“Ah… What if my brother gets mad at me?”
The man stood still and said to Se-a, who was mumbling to herself,
“Can’t you walk a little faster?”
“I want to, but… I think my toes and heels are all scraped up. It hurts too much to walk properly.”
“Then what exactly are you planning to do? Stay here?”
There was a hint of irritation in his voice.
Se-a shook her head and simply sank down onto the ground.
“Ha… I’m having a hard time, too. I don’t know why life is so difficult. Nothing ever goes right for me. Not a single thing…”
The man’s lips curled into a hollow laugh at her sudden lament.
He felt it was a waste of time to stand around on the street.
He wanted to leave her there talking to herself and go, but that would only be possible if he didn’t have the goal of swallowing up TS Group.
“If everything went exactly the way you wanted, what fun would life be?”
She was drunk enough that there was a good chance she wouldn’t remember his face, but he couldn’t know what kind of boomerang this encounter might become when he eventually swallowed TS.
So he put on just enough of an act and responded with some irresponsible advice, merely humoring her.
“Life is more interesting when it has its ups and downs.”
Se-a raised her head and glared up at him.
“It’s not interesting at all to me. Have you ever lived my life, mister? From when I was little until now… You wouldn’t know what it’s like to feel as though you’re always walking on eggshells.”
“…”
“Well… I guess it was ultimately my choice, but… anyway, I’m telling you, it’s not fun at all.”
Se-a buried her face in her knees and let out a long sigh.
“I’m lonely. So lonely…”
Then she lifted her head again. For no particular reason, she became irritated and snapped at him.
“You don’t know, do you? What it feels like to be the only person left in this world.”
“…”
“Like I’m the only one floating in the middle of the ocean. You could never understand it. Because… there can’t be anyone in this world as unhappy as me.”
After saying that, she felt uncomfortable.
She looked pathetic to herself for taking out her anger on alcohol, and then taking it out again on someone who had shown her kindness. She had never acted like this before. Why was she doing it now?
What did that man ever do to deserve this?
Se-a slowly got to her feet, using her knees for support, and tried to bow to him.
She was about to say, I’m sorry.
“How long have you even lived to already be talking about being unhappy?”
She could feel the weight in his tone change.
“…But it’s true. I’ve really had a hard life.”
“So? What changes if you simply resent the world because you’re unhappy?”
“…”
“Don’t you have a goal in life? Something you absolutely want to accomplish?”
The man took half a step closer and lowered his gaze.
“I don’t know how unhappy your life really is, but once you have a goal, the direction you need to go becomes clear.”
Se-a quietly gazed into his dark eyes.
“When you imagine the moment you accomplish it…”
The man’s eyes shifted slightly toward Se-a’s profile. The corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.
“I find it so exciting I could go crazy.”
The man’s determination not to become consumed by his own unhappiness left an impression on her.
“Then… have you become less unhappy, mister?”
“Of course not.”
Even though there was no need for him to talk about himself, the man let his guard down for a moment.
From just a few words of conversation, he had begun to guess at Se-a’s circumstances, and he couldn’t help but meddle a little.
“They’re just separate things.”
“…?”
“Even the time spent being pessimistic feels like a waste to me.”
No one had ever said anything like that to her.
His words even seemed so cool that she couldn’t bear to let a single one go in one ear and out the other.
“You seem like a really strong person, mister. I never had a role model, you know? I think you’d be a good one.”
The man gave a faint chuckle.
“If you’re done saying what you wanted to say, let’s go.”
“My feet still hurt… I’m really sorry, but could you just call me a taxi? I think that would be better.”
As if he’d been waiting for her to ask, the man opened his taxi app.
“What’s your address?”
Se-a quickly gave him her home address. Then, hesitating, she asked,
“Should I give you my number? I don’t think I’ll be able to remember yours anyway…”
“So you can pay me back?”
“Yes! If you contact me, I’ll pay you back somehow.”
“Forget it. Just go home early. Early. The world isn’t that safe.”
“…”
Se-a stared intently at the man’s face.
For two people who had only exchanged a few words, his concern sounded surprisingly sincere.
“I’m really glad I ran into you.”
Because…
“This is the first time. An adult has ever talked to me the way you did…”
The man said nothing.
He immediately turned his back and raised an arm toward the approaching taxi.
When the taxi stopped, he opened the rear door and waited.
“Get in.”
“Yes. You too, mister.”
As Se-a climbed into the car, she added,
“If we ever happen to meet again, I’ll definitely pay you back then. I promise.”
The man casually nodded.
As soon as the car started moving, Se-a rolled down the window.
“Thank you for helping me! I-I won’t forget this…!”
She said she wouldn’t forget, but as she became caught up in her busy daily life, the memory of that day gradually faded.
Still, whenever she felt like becoming pessimistic about reality, she would remember the fragments of his advice that had remained with her.
“So? What changes if you simply resent the world because you’re unhappy?”
“Don’t you have a goal in life? Something you absolutely want to accomplish?”
Se-a had only one goal: to live a different life from her mother.
To do that, she thought she needed a respectable job first, so she studied with everything she had.
But that brief conversation with the man made her realize something.
Perhaps all the effort she’d put in to get this far, desperately struggling to live differently, already meant that she had taken one step away from the shackles of being her mother’s daughter.
The only problem was that she’d completely forgotten the face of the man who had given her those words.
