Chapter 14: A Debt Paid in Love

“I don’t want to.”

“How can a student not go to school? It’s the first day of your final exams!”

“I’m sick.
Are you telling me to go to school when I’m sick right now?”

Siheon winced, showing his cast, but it was no use with Kangeun.

“The kid who was making a fuss about helping with every single chore is now saying he’s sick because I told him to go to school? Hurry up and go. At least take the exam and come back.”

Kangeun turned away after sending Siheon out as if chasing him away.

She went into her sleeping father’s room, aired it out, cleaned up the empty liquor bottles, and came out, straightening her back.

She knew why Siheon didn’t want to go to school.

It was probably because he was worried about her running around trying to get money.

But it wasn’t something that could be solved by the two of them putting their heads together.

Kangeun, who had tidied up the house and changed into neat clothes, picked up her bag.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Kangeun left the house with the intention of trying something.

She was going to go to the house at the end of that alley she never wanted to go to again and beg with all the money she had.

The student’s mother was well aware that her son was a troublemaker.

Besides, she had once thought well of her.

So she thought that if she knelt and begged, maybe she would reduce the settlement amount a little, or be lenient enough to let them pay in installments.

If she had a conscience, she should.
Because the one who had followed her with bad intentions and intimidated her was that man.

Because the one who had wielded a weapon against Siheon, who was trying to save her, was also that man.

Thinking that, Kangeun left the house and stopped when she saw a woman loitering near the beginning of the alley.

It was Miryeong.

Miryeong, in her worn-out slippers, was different from her appearance two years ago when she had appeared decked out in all things fine.

Her tangled hair, dry skin, and carelessly worn clothes seemed to speak of her uneasy situation.

“…Imo.”

“Kangeun-ah!”

“Why are you here so early in the morning…”

Her chest felt tight as soon as she saw Miryeong.

She wouldn’t have appeared for no reason.

Miryeong’s eyes lit up as she ran over and grabbed Kangeun’s hand haphazardly.

Startled by the glint of madness, Kangeun took a step back, but she was caught in Miryeong’s strong grip and couldn’t move.

“Help me, please help me.”

“Imo, what…”

“I’m going to die. Huh?
I’m really going to die.”

Kangeun, who was being pulled along by Miryeong who was dragging her haphazardly, bit her lip as she left the alley.

Her face was pale as she prayed that misfortune had not found her again.

****

“That brat, you convince him.”

“What do you mean…”

“I’ll die. Really. I’ll die if I can’t pay back the money.”

“Kangeun-ah, are you that heartless?”

“You won’t let go of our Siheon even when I say I’m going to die?”

“You, will you be able to sleep with your feet stretched out if I die?”

Miryeong fidgeted with her fingers, looking around anxiously.

She kept looking out the restaurant window as if someone was chasing her, and flinched every time the door opened.

“Imo, did you by any chance meet Siheon…?”

“I knew it as soon as I saw him. Crazy, I thought his dad had come back younger. But Siheon is more handsome. His body is better too.”

“…”

“But do you know how that brat Siheon looked at me?
Ha, I was so dumbfounded… He looked at me like I was some kind of bug and left.
He wouldn’t even let me talk to him.
I mean, who does he think he is to see the light of day?”

Kangeun touched the cup of warm water in front of her.

It was an attempt to calm her troubled mind.

If she couldn’t get the money, she was going to contact Miryeong.

She had thought of borrowing money because she seemed well-off when she saw her before.

She was belatedly going to try to be uncharacteristically forceful and demand the money she had stolen before.

But seeing Miryeong in such a mess, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

She could finally speak while Miryeong was wiping her tears and blowing her nose, saying she was going to die.

“Imo, I… I’m sorry, but if you have any money…”

“Oh my, dear! Do you need money?”

Miryeong, who had recognized Kangeun who had brought up the topic of money, brightened up and told her story.

She said she had taken out a loan from a loan shark due to some circumstances, but things had gotten difficult because of bad luck, and asked her to buy her a meal.

She had no choice but to go a little further from home and order anchovy noodle soup at a small snack bar.

Miryeong had finished a bowl of noodles in a flash and had just started talking.

“That brat Siheon’s dad is incredibly rich. That family is no joke.”

“…”

“The amount of money I borrowed from your dad is less than pocket change to them.”

Miryeong, who had rinsed her mouth with water, wiped her mouth roughly and stared at Kangeun.

Then she started complaining about her own situation again.

And now she was starting to whine at Kangeun to convince Siheon.

“All Yoon Siheon has to do is go to that house.”

“Imo, that’s…”

“You said you needed money, right? This will solve both your money problem and my money problem. Hey, if you’re lucky, you might even get a bonus.”

“…”

Kangeun had already decided not to send Siheon to Miryeong.

Siheon had also adamantly refused to be separated from Kangeun.

But the fact that his rich biological father was looking for Siheon was a different story, so Kangeun kept her mouth shut.

“Siheon’s grandfather is making a fuss about bringing Siheon over right now.
Actually, when I came to see you before, I was going to take him then, but I didn’t because of you, Kangeun.”

Miryeong, who had read Kangeun’s reluctance, crossed her arms.
Since her gentle persuasion wasn’t working, she decided to try a different method.

“You shouldn’t be like that.”

“Why are you only thinking about yourself?
Don’t you think about Siheon?”

“You said he’s smart.
Do you think they’ll make him suffer if they take him in?”

“He’s their only son and grandson.
They’ll give him everything.”

“They’ll support him fully. Do you know what I’m saying?”

“You, Kangeun, are blocking Siheon’s bright future right now!”

“…”

“They thought the family line was cut off, but now they have a grandson, a son, who has grown up so well.”

“How grateful would they be?”

“If he goes to that house, our Siheon will live like a young master, wearing only nice clothes and eating only good things.”

As Miryeong said, if Siheon went to that house, they would really give him everything.

How precious would a child they found late in life be?

Kangeun unknowingly nodded her head and clutched the cuff of her worn-out sleeve.

“Kangeun-ah, tell your aunt. Why do you need money? Huh?”

“Did you get into some kind of trouble? Are you perhaps pregnant?”

“It’s not like that!”

“If it’s not, then why are you getting so angry? I just asked because you’re pretty and it could happen.”

“Your aunt is just worried about our Kangeun.
Hey, I gave birth to Siheon when I was your age.”

Miryeong smiled slyly and stood up with Kangeun’s cup.

She poured out the already cold water and brought back a cup of warm water, then sat down next to Kangeun.

“Kangeun-ah, tell me. Huh? What is it.
Your aunt might be able to help.”

“…You said you don’t have any money right now either.”

“Hey, am I the same as you? I’m an adult, I might know a solution. What is it?”

Kangeun hesitated before telling her what had happened a few days ago.

Miryeong’s eyes gradually narrowed as she listened quietly.

“Are you telling me right now that my son is about to go to jail?”

“Imo…”

“And it’s because of you?”

“That, that is…”

“Why do you carry your misfortune around with you?
Look at this.
I should have taken him back then.
If I had, Siheon would be attending a prestigious private high school by now, or no, he’d be studying abroad somewhere and living well!”

The child who carries misfortune.

At the words that struck her like lightning, a tear fell from Kangeun’s eye.

Her hands, belatedly wiping her eyes, were trembling.

“He’d be reading all the books he likes!”

“He’d be living well, wearing nice clothes, seeing only good things, and eating only good things!
You and your dad are the ones who should be living in squalor, why are you clinging to my son?
Your bad luck must have rubbed off on him while he was living with you!
On our Siheon!”

The words Miryeong poured out stabbed Kangeun painfully.
Kangeun couldn’t answer at all.

‘I did it to live.’

‘I did it because I wanted to live.’

‘I was greedy for the Siheon who smiled at me.’

‘You were the one who left him behind.’

She couldn’t say any of the words that came to her mind.

It was because she felt that she had really passed on her misfortune to Siheon, just as Miryeong had said.

“Kangeun-ah.”

As if her harsh scolding just a moment ago was a lie, Miryeong called Kangeun in a gentle voice and patted her shoulder.

“This is not something you can solve. Thirty million won. Is that an amount a twenty-two-year-old can handle?”

“So let’s listen to your aunt.
Huh?”

“Imo, but Siheon is…”

“You’re being stubborn again? Then what are you going to do! You, are you going to work at a bar?
Should I take you to a place where you can sell your body?”

“I, Imo…”

“That’s not it. Where are you going to get that much money. What crazy person would lend you thirty million won, trusting you.”

“Isn’t that right?”

She was right. Kangeun silently pressed her trembling lips together.

“Kangeun, where were you going. Do you have a place to ask for money?”

“…The bank.”

“The bank? To get a loan? How naive. Hey, do you think they just give out loans to anyone?”

“That’s not it… I was going to take the money I saved and go to that house. I thought if I went and begged, they might reduce it a little…”

Kangeun’s slumped shoulders drooped.

Miryeong clicked her tongue and reached out to drink the cold water she had been drinking.

“This girl really doesn’t know the world. As if they would do that for you.”

“Instead, Kangeun-ah. Let’s, let’s send Siheon. That’s the way to do it for Siheon.”

“A family overflowing with money is looking for Siheon, who are you to be so stubborn?
Even I, who gave birth to Siheon, am being quiet.”

“…”

“Do you think I’m happy about this? I’d love to live with our Siheon too. But I couldn’t because the situation didn’t allow it.”

“…”

“And think about it carefully.”

“You’re all grown up now.
You can contact each other separately.
You can make plans and meet.”

“I’m not telling you to break up.
I’m not telling you not to meet.
You could probably see each other every day if you wanted to.”

At the plausible words, Kangeun squeezed her eyes shut.

As her ears went numb from the tears that kept falling, she felt like she could hear Siheon’s gentle voice calling her.

“So Kangeun-ah, you persuade Siheon. Actually, Siheon’s grandfather is in a mood to drag Siheon over right now. How much must he miss him. Huh?”

“Imo, no… Sob, no…”

“Aigoo, how frustrating. Now that I see you, Kangeun, you’re a bad kid, aren’t you? If you think about our Siheon, you should…”

“Imo, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear you. Let’s pretend we didn’t meet. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“Kangeun-ah! Hey!”

“The bill! The bill!”

Kangeun shot up from her seat.

Kangeun, who had run out leaving the calling Miryeong behind, ran with all her might.
It was a sad December with a gray sky.