Chapter 101 : Airport Shadows and a Hidden Letter

Luggage was all taken by the people from the family home, and I walked side by side with my mother through the airport.

“It’s been two months, so of course I had to come pick you up. Noona couldn’t make it because she’s busy with work. Did you have a good time with Aunt?”

“Yes. She told me to send her regards.”

“How about the exhibition?”

“It wasn’t bad. There were a few pieces worth bringing back to our gallery later.”

As she said this, my mother’s complexion looked quite tired. The makeup covered it, but up close, the dark shadows under her eyes were full. I pressed her shoulders firmly and said,

“You must have worked too hard. Or was the flight too long?”

“Sleeping will fix it right away. And how could it be tiring when my son came to pick me up?”

But despite her words, her face really didn’t look good. She had come first class, so there shouldn’t have been any discomfort… It seemed that, as she got older, she wasn’t the same as before.

I was momentarily worried about my mother’s health. Should I say Mrs. Shin had become much less energetic than before, or that her venom had disappeared? After the broken engagement with Ria, my mother had been at a loss with anger for a while, but suddenly, at some point, she calmed down again.

I had thought the anger naturally faded with time, but it seemed that the way it had been suppressed had harmed her health. Because of that, I, who had secretly orchestrated the broken engagement with Ria, felt a certain amount of guilt.

Personally, I hoped my mother would have a happy ending just as much as Seung Hee. It was too much of a waste for someone who had everything to ruin their life because of misguided revenge.

We left the airport and got into the car waiting right in front. My mother, perhaps tired, said nothing even inside the car. I made small talk for no reason.

“Still, Korea is the most comfortable, right?”

But my mother suddenly asked me a different question.

“…Are you living with him these days?”

“…….”

It was an abrupt question, but I immediately knew who she meant.

“We’re not living together.”

“Seung Hee said you were.”

That Seung Hee… I sighed inwardly.

The mood had just been good for once, but now it seemed the repeated repertoire would start again: how long are you going to live together, why do you keep him around, it’s because of him that you can’t even get married, and so on… I was already tired of it, staring blankly into space, when my mother’s next question was completely different.

“Does he treat you well?”

“Huh?”

I was momentarily dumbfounded, then nodded right away.

“Do Yoon always treats me well.”

“…You really have no sense.”

Then my mother said no more. She had a thoughtful expression, as if deep in contemplation. An awkward and strange atmosphere quietly flowed between us. Why is she suddenly asking this? I looked at the scenery passing quickly outside the car window and casually asked, as if it had just occurred to me.

“But why did you allow Do Yoon to join our company? Grandfather said you gave permission.”

“…….”

“I’m not arguing, just curious.”

“…I thought if I did, you wouldn’t go to another company.”

So that was it. A simpler reason than I expected. Then my mother opened her mouth again.

“Do you like living with him?”

We’re not living together, why does she keep saying that. I answered with an awkward smile.

“There’s nothing bad about it.”

“…If anything happens, come home.”

I shrugged.

“What could happen.”

At that, my mother looked at me for a moment, then turned her gaze back to the window. She looked too tired, so I didn’t speak anymore.

After my mother returned, I stayed at the family home but came back to my own place after just a few days. No one stopped me, but it was hard to feel at ease in a place with Grandfather and Father.

My empty house felt particularly hollow. I looked at the suddenly chilly living room and kitchen and let out a sigh.

Maybe I’m more… of a loner… than I thought.

Half the reason I stayed at the family home was because of my mother.

And the other half was actually because of Do Yoon.

Since I had told him in advance that I’d be at the family home for a while, Do Yoon hadn’t shown his face for several days. That was partly what I wanted. After the Han Won-joo incident, I couldn’t figure out what expression to make whenever I saw Do Yoon.

At work, I thought I was acting the same as usual, but seeing Do Yoon constantly checking my complexion, it probably wasn’t that natural.

Sigh.

I decided to go out and walk around the park. When your head is complicated, moving your body is the best.

In the summer night park, the sounds of crickets and families chatting while walking were heard sporadically. Children eating ice cream, couples holding hands… everything looked peaceful.

It’s not that I pity Han Won-joo, but humanly, I just wished Do Yoon wouldn’t do bad things. I wanted that kid, who sat with his head bowed in his school uniform at Grandfather’s birthday table, to only see the good side of the world from now on.

Is that too unrealistic a wish.

Lost in deep thought, I walked the park again and again. Then, when I had lapped the same spot about three times, a person sitting on a bench near a streetlamp in the distance suddenly came into view.

What is that person doing reading a newspaper in such a dark place.

But then a strange feeling hit me.

…Hasn’t that man been sitting there the whole time? Until just now, I hadn’t noticed because I was lost in other thoughts, but reading a paper newspaper at night instead of a phone looked extremely odd.

Could he be a pervert…?

Suddenly, the man’s eyes flashed over the folded newspaper, catching the light. And they met mine exactly. Startled, I froze slightly, but the man first pretended to fold the newspaper, hiding his face, and left the seat. But in that instant, I saw the distinctive scar under his eye. And I stood there like a statue.

…Isn’t that the guy who asked me for directions near here a while ago?

His face wasn’t 100% visible, so I couldn’t be sure, but there was an indescribable instinct. I followed the man’s retreating back with my eyes.

Was he watching me? Since when? Does he live here? But he said he had just moved to Seoul not long ago. Then was his approach back then deliberate too? Why?

Unverifiable imaginations ballooned wildly. Feeling uneasy, I immediately stopped the walk and reported a suspicious person to the police. He was already gone today, so nothing could be done, but caution couldn’t hurt.

Just then, a text came from Do Yoon.

[Can I stop by for a bit?]

Hasn’t he finished work yet. I stared at the text with a complicated face, and soon a second message arrived.

[Actually, I’m already in front of the house.]

Then why ask. So meticulous.

I grumbled inwardly but ran home quickly. Sure enough, Do Yoon’s tall silhouette was waiting at the apartment entrance.

“What’s this late? Did you just get off work?”

“Had some work. Should I just move here for good?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Whose permission. And why wait outside? Go in. What if I wasn’t here.”

“I already heard you left the family home.”

“…Did you really plant a spy?”

“Seung Hee noona would be upset if she heard that.”

Ugh… If Seung Hee told him, I had nothing to say. Then Do Yoon scanned my face and asked,

“Did something bad happen? You don’t look good.”

“Well… I was walking, and there seemed to be a weird person around.”

Do Yoon’s face hardened subtly for a moment.

“What… kind of weird person?”

“I don’t know. Might be overreacting… But a few days ago too, I feel like I saw the same person near the house again.”

Then Do Yoon’s face turned serious. I knew he worried about me a lot, but Do Yoon reacted with a much more grave attitude than I expected.

“Did you report to the police?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Do you remember his appearance?”

“Well, skinny guy… mid-30s?”

“That young?”

I asked without thinking.

“Can’t he be young?”

Then Do Yoon, uncharacteristically, panicked a lot.

“No, just… if it’s hyung’s stalker, I thought it’d be a woman.”

“What.”

Still delusional that all women like me… Then Do Yoon grabbed my hand tightly with an earnest expression and said,

“I’m not joking, I really want to live with hyung.”

“We’re already doing that.”

“This is just staying often.”

Do Yoon’s same old script started. I gently tried to pull my hand from his.

“Why suddenly again…”

But Do Yoon gripped my hand with even stronger force.

“You know it’s not sudden. I’m so worried and anxious about hyung.”

“Why?”

“Just… I want to protect hyung.”

Protect me? I lost words for a moment and just looked at him silently.

At the same time, a complicated feeling arose. I really tried to let it go, but I couldn’t.

Maybe that’s why the words I had been swallowing and swallowing slipped out carelessly.

“…So did you hide the letter a while ago too?”

Do Yoon froze like a statue in that instant. We happened to be standing under a streetlamp, and his panicked face was fully exposed to me.

“What…”

He looked like someone who had planned the perfect crime but got caught by the police right in front. The palm holding my hand quickly became damp. He asked in a trembling voice.

“Ah, you knew?”