MHL 14

chapter 14

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Seoha’s heart pounded rapidly.

Ryu Kyung-jun, whom she had met again after three years, was completely different from the person she once knew. The eyes that she thought were just a little sharp were now razor-sharp, and the tone of voice that used to have a hint of warmth, even when blunt, now carried none.

“Tell me. Why are you here?”

Kyung-jun took a step closer and slammed the door shut.

“Did you come to try to extort money for what happened earlier today? Or did someone tell you to come check on me?”

The fact that he was sticking close to her mother meant that Kang Yoon Company hadn’t yet fallen into the hands of the Taeyang Group.

Seoha, looking frightened, lowered her hands from her mouth.

“I’m sorry for coming without notice. I just couldn’t stop thinking about your mother.”

Kyung-jun furrowed his brows, as if he didn’t understand.

“My mother is sick too. And your mother seems to be around the same age, and similarly unwell… When I heard you were her daughter, I felt worried and came up.”

Kyung-jun studied Seoha with suspicious eyes for a long moment. Seoha didn’t back down either, lifting her chin and meeting his gaze.

“…Fine. Let’s say that’s true.”

Finally, Kyung-jun straightened his back and stepped back a little.

“Thank you for your concern, but our representative is very healthy, so please refrain from unnecessary meddling or approaching. Get well soon.”

Despite his polite tone, his finger pointed directly toward the stairs. It was clear he meant for her to leave.

‘Going down is harder…’

Seoha, with no choice, began descending the stairs one unsteady step at a time. He could have at least helped support her, but Kyung-jun just folded his arms and glared until she reached the bottom.

Even from a distance, Seoha’s attempts to see Ha-seon repeatedly failed. Not only that, but whenever she tried to linger, Kyung-jun would mark her with a look, making it even harder to approach.

Meanwhile, Seoha discovered that her real body was lying quietly in the VIP ward.

‘Thank goodness. Really.’

Just as Yoon Seoha had awakened in Jo Seoha’s body, imagining Jo Seoha waking up in Yoon Seoha’s would have been terrifying.

A few more days passed. Rehabilitation was complete, and the discharge date arrived. Naturally, there was nowhere to contact.

Only the address on her ID card remained, along with twenty thousand won in cash.

Seoha followed that address and eventually arrived at her “home.” A high, narrow cement path twisted along steps, with shabby murals peeling in the wind, giving the neighborhood a particularly desolate look.

Her “home” was an old house precariously perched on the hillside of that slum neighborhood.

[Caution: Dog]

The rusty gate had a menacing warning scrawled in red paint. Hesitant, Seoha carefully opened the door.

“Yip! Yip yip!”

A dog, seemingly the owner of the warning, barked ferociously and rushed at her.

“…?”

Seoha looked down at the tiny, insignificant Chihuahua.

“Who are you? Want a dog treat?”

“Yip?”

Whether it was the dog treat or not, the Chihuahua didn’t come closer and instead whined a little from a short distance.

At that moment, a large man appeared, swinging open the front door and shuffling out.

“Kim Min-ji! Why so noisy… huh?”

He looked to be around thirty. His T-shirt was stained with kimchi juice, his gray sweatpants had worn knees, and even the worn three-stripe slippers he was wearing were slightly loose.

This was the type of person Seoha had never exchanged a single word with in her life.

“Jo Seoha!”

The man shouted harshly.

“Jo Seoha, where the hell have you been! Leaving your phone and everything behind! Damn it, don’t you know how scary the world is! Do you know how hard I’ve been looking for you, you brat! Three years! Not two, three years! If you were dead, you could have at least contacted me!”

It was obvious that he knew Jo Seoha. And for some reason, he was extremely angry. Seoha watched him calmly and finally spoke.

“Um… hello.”

“Hello? Hello my ass!”

The man stomped over and tried to grab her arm but ended up messing up his own hair with a frustrated “damn.”

“Did you eat?”

Shaking her head, Seoha saw him grow even angrier.

“See! If you’re going to wander around without eating, why even leave home? I told you the rent could wait! Damn it, there’s only ramen here right now. So irritating!”

He spun around, flung the door open wide, and turned back to glare at her.

“Not coming in? Stay out there forever if you want!”

“It’s not that—”

“If you don’t come in now, there’s no ramen! Kim Min-ji, aren’t you coming too? How do you expect to protect the house if you don’t even recognize Jo Seoha?”

The cautious Chihuahua wagged its tiny tail and went inside. Seoha hesitated briefly, then reluctantly followed.

“Excuse me.”

“Skip the manners and sit down.”

Grumbling, the man roughly pulled out a chair at the table for Seoha.

“Damn. Even the ramen is instant noodles. Damn it.”

The small kitchen soon filled with the clattering of pots and the bubbling smell of ramen cooking. The smell made Seoha’s stomach growl, but when she saw the ramen pot on the table, she hesitated to pick up the chopsticks.

“…I’ll eat.”

Even the Han River wasn’t this watery. He had put in so much water that the noodles were invisible, and the two floating eggs looked like small duck boats.

“Eat.”

The man served her some ramen in a green plate, while he held the yellow enamel pot lid and slurped a bite himself.

“Disgusting.”

Even though he cooked it himself, he grumbled. He grabbed two portions of kimchi at once and ate them.

“You not eating?”

Out of politeness, Seoha took a bite of the ramen. It was truly awful. Seeing that, the man grumbled again.

“Even if it’s bland, just eat it. There’s nothing but instant noodles. It’s your fault for not being able to handle spicy food.”

“Am I really bad with spicy food?”

The man replied gruffly.

“What nonsense are you spouting? Did you hit your head or something?”

“Yes.”

“What!”

The man jumped up shouting, nearly causing Seoha to drop her chopsticks.

“Where did you get hurt? How bad is it? You should have called! The hospital? You didn’t go, right? If you die like this, who’s going to pay the back rent? Let me see!”

He looked like he was about to tear through her hair. Seoha calmly tried to calm him.

“It’s fine. Please calm down and sit, then listen.”

“Just looking. Do I look like I’m going to eat you?”

“I’ve already had treatment at the hospital, so don’t worry.”

“Worry? Why would I worry about you?”

“If you’re not worried, then sit.”

Seoha said firmly. The man hesitated, then sat back down, folding his arms. They both left the watery ramen untouched.

“Talk. I’m listening.”

Seoha tore a piece of paper towel and wiped her mouth.

“I’m Jo Seoha.”

Actually, she was Yoon Seoha.

“And?”

“All I know about myself is this. I don’t remember anything else. My job, what kind of person I was, even my age.”

The man stared at her, dumbfounded.

“…What?”

“Amnesia. I was in a traffic accident. They said my memory might come back with time, or it might not. I came to the address on my ID, and I don’t know who that person is over there.”

She explained slowly and clearly, though it seemed to have little effect.

“So, you were in an accident?”

“Yes.”

“Who the hell? Who hit my tenant with a car?”

“The prosecutors are investigating.”

“Damn it.”

He swore and ran his hand through his hair.

“So, you remember nothing, right?”

“Yes.”

“Me neither. You neither. Damn. Family neither.”

“Yes.”

Seoha patiently nodded at every question he asked.

“So… nothing hurts now?”

“My body is fine. It was a pretty bad accident, but luckily, nothing vital was damaged.”

“Lucky, my ass.”

The man muttered in a strangely gentler tone.

“For now, eat this. It’s instant udon.”

Although it really tasted awful, Seoha ate the noodles and eggs he served and chewed on the pickled kimchi without complaint. He seemed satisfied.

“You don’t even know where your room is, right?”

“No.”

“Follow me.”

The man shuffled ahead, and Seoha followed up the narrow, steep stairs, barely two people side by side, to the rooftop painted green. There was a small terrace and a shabby rooftop structure.

“There it is. Your place.”

This shabby?

Seoha was shocked by Jo Seoha’s incredibly poor living quarters.

“I lived here? As a tenant?”

“Yeah.”

She had felt uneasy climbing the hillside stairs, but still… she hadn’t expected this falling-apart house, let alone a rooftop room.

“How poor was I?”

The man’s expression tightened.

“What are you talking about? Just because your income was low and expenses high.”

“That’s poverty. I was poor. Broke.”

Of all the people she could have swapped bodies with, she got the one who was dirt poor. Recovering the company seemed impossible.

“So what if you were poor! People can be poor!”

He shouted, making Min-ji jump up in alarm.

“Why are you shouting? You just said I was poor.”

“Ah… anyway, forget about that poverty stuff.”

He coughed awkwardly and took out a key.

“Go in, the room on the right is yours.”

“Does someone live in the left room?”

Ignoring her question, he opened the door.

“Rent’s thirty… no, thirty thousand won per month. If you can’t pay, talk to me at the end of the month. There’s a twenty million won deposit, so we can deduct it. You’re Seoha. Stay home for now and recover. Come down to eat when it’s mealtime, and if bored, take Min-ji for a walk.”

“I actually got meals from the tenant?”

“Just meals? You’d come running down yelling for chicken or strawberries. Any tiny pain, even at midnight, you wanted taken to the hospital. If something broke, you made the landlord fix it—even changing a lightbulb. Once you caught a cold, you made me clean and do laundry too. Renting a tenant was such a hassle!”

He scratched his red ears in frustration, pausing at the door.

“You forgot my name too, right?”

“Yes.”

“Kim Jae-uk.”

“Should I call you Mr. Kim Jae-uk?”

“What nonsense is that? Just call me oppa. Jae-uk oppa.”

Seoha thought it sounded absurd.

“That’s not appropriate between landlord and tenant. I’ll just call you Kim Jae-uk.”

“…”

Jae-uk stared at her with a stunned expression. Seoha tried another approach.

“Should I call you Mr. Kim, then? Whatever’s comfortable.”

“No, forget that.”

He stammered strangely, clearing his throat.

“I’m heading downstairs. Today’s my day off. If you need anything, come down or don’t. Let’s go, Min-ji!”

“Kang!”

Jae-uk shuffled downstairs with Min-ji. Despite his rough tone, he didn’t seem like a bad person, which was a relief.