Chapter 22: An Unexpected Encounter

I wished I would run into Yoon Heesung by chance today. I hoped he would open the door for me, as if he had been waiting all along. Even though I would see him once I went inside, an unwarranted desire bloomed within me. Perhaps I was a more covetous person than I had ever imagined.

Though the garden trees offered a welcome shade, they could not cool the stifling air. With a singular thought of reaching the annex quickly, I hastened across the garden.

I had gone about halfway when,

“Ah, f*ck! Thank god! Hey, you!” A flippant voice called out to me.

“……?”

As I instinctively turned toward the source of the cursing, a stranger stood there, pointing a finger directly at me.

He had bright brown hair, a tall frame, clear monolid eyes that seemed wide open, and lips that curved slightly upward at the corners.

‘Who is this?’

Wiping the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand, I gazed at him, utterly bewildered. I had never seen this person before, nor had I ever encountered a uniform like the one he wore. A distinct emblem was stitched onto the chest of his unbuttoned short-sleeved shirt, a mark I knew for certain did not belong to my school.

This was a neighborhood with virtually no tourists, certainly not a place one would simply stumble upon. This implied he had deliberately sought out this location…

‘Is that car in front of the villa his?’

But how could a guy in a school uniform be driving? Had he come with someone else?

‘But if he’s a guest, why is he out here?’

Suspicion and theories tangled within me, a whirlwind of thoughts exacerbated by the intense heat. I stood there, speechless as a stone statue, until he was the first to stride purposefully toward me.

Looming abruptly before me, he was even taller than I had anticipated. He bent at the waist, scrutinizing me from every angle.

“Are you the kid your aunt just brought along?”

“…….”

I frowned, and not solely because of the blazing sun. I couldn’t discern the intention behind his abrupt question, nor did I even know who he was. Concluding it would be best to simply ignore him and continue on my way, I started to move, only for him to swiftly seize my bag.

“Hey, you’re supposed to answer!”

“How am I supposed to know who your aunt is to give you an answer?”

I subtly slapped away his hand from my bag. In response, he only pressed in on me further.

“Then who are you? What business do you have at this house?”

This was the absolute epitome of audacity. Despite having frequented the villa for over a month, I had never once encountered him. Yet, here he was, interrogating me about my identity. ‘What an odd fellow,’ I thought, but I had no desire to engage in an argument in someone else’s garden.

It was then that a familiar name escaped his lips.

“Aren’t you the one who chases after Yoon Heesung?”

So, he did know Yoon Heesung. It seemed he truly was a guest of this house. However, the words that followed somehow grated on me. ‘Chasing after him’? What kind of person speaks of a friend in such a manner? Noticing my utterly dumbfounded expression, the guy simply nodded.

“Your expression confirms it. Then you must be the one my aunt brought along.”

“…….”

“There are always kids like this, so intent on upholding their pride. What’s the point?”

As if he had just sorted out his own thoughts, he gestured toward the annex with his chin, issuing a command.

“Perfect timing. You open the door for me. You’ll open it, won’t you? That son of a b*tch won’t open the door, and I’m practically dying from this heat.”

The ‘son of a b*tch’ he was referring to could only be Yoon Heesung. At this juncture, simply ignoring him and leaving proved difficult. I might not have known what kind of person he was, but it was undeniable that he knew Yoon Heesung.

Before I even considered opening the door as he wished, I decided to first correct his mistaken assumptions.

“Let’s get things straight. I am Yoon Heesung’s classmate, and while I don’t know who your aunt is, I wasn’t ‘brought along’ by anyone. I’m certainly not chasing after Yoon Heesung. I came today because he didn’t show up for school, and I was worried about him.”

I was utterly fed up with these constant misunderstandings. Yoon Heesung and I were simply living our lives, yet I couldn’t comprehend why so many people felt entitled to make their own presumptions about us.

At my words, he simply let out an “Oh.” of surprise.

“So your temper hasn’t quite settled yet. Yoon Heesung must have treated you rather well, huh?”

“…….”

There was no point in saying anything more.

Park Byungjoo was the same, and now this guy. It was impossible to reason with them. Indeed, the most challenging people to deal with in the world seemed to be those incapable of understanding.

I decided to give up at this point, and changed the subject.

“……So Yoon Heesung won’t open the door? But it just opens if you turn the handle.”

“If it just opened, would I be suffering through all this?”

He flared up in anger. His incessant yapping made my already heat-fatigued body grow weary at an accelerated pace. I almost asked if he had even tried ringing the doorbell, but decided against it.

I let out a deep sigh, wiping the sweat from my forehead. Unable to tolerate the wait, he promptly urged me again.

“Open it, just open it already!”

“How am I supposed to open the door when I don’t even know who you are?”

Even if he claimed to know Yoon Heesung, I couldn’t simply allow an unknown person into someone else’s home. At my words, he merely offered a cunning smirk.

“If you knew who I was, would you open the door?”

His tone was light, yet it carried an undeniable air of arrogance. Though it sounded like a request, it was underpinned by the clear assumption that the other person would naturally comply. I had only ever encountered one other person who spoke with such a demeanor.

The Madam.

Suddenly, he stepped uncomfortably close to me.

“……What is it?”

He was so close our noses could almost touch. As I instinctively stumbled backward in surprise, he immediately closed the distance, pressing in on me once more. His face, so near it seemed he might strike me, left me utterly baffled, able only to blink.

He let out a contemplative ‘Hmm.’

“Why do you seem so familiar to me?”

“I’ve never seen you before.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

He then shrugged his shoulders, a wide, dismissive gesture.

“Then… I suppose there are simply too many kids like you, and I got confused. I’m actually not very good with faces.”

“…….”

‘Kids like me?’

While it wasn’t a particularly pleasant remark, it was merely empty chatter that I could easily dismiss. Yet, I couldn’t understand why it resonated so deeply within me. ‘Kids like me’? What exactly does ‘kids like me’ even mean? What kind of children had he encountered to make such a comparison?

My mood plummeted instantly. Yoon Heesung was never like this; he always listened carefully to my every word and offered proper explanations. It felt incredibly unfair to be held captive by this strange boy, unable to escape the oppressive heat and enter the house. I had even left school early to come here, yet he remained oblivious to my inner turmoil and pestered me once more.

“Hey, just open it already, I’m telling you!”

He flapped his T-shirt, whining petulantly. Then, in a fit of irritation, he kicked the garden ground with a loud thud, sending dry earth scattering in all directions.

“I’m dying from this heat, so open the door and consider it an act of saving a life. That petty bastard, Yoon Heesung, won’t open the door for me.”

Yet, ignoring him still felt unsettling, considering he seemed to know Yoon Heesung.

“What is your relationship with Yoon Heesung?”

“If you open the door and turn on the air conditioner, then I’ll tell you our relationship.”

“…….”

As I, utterly drained by the sweltering heat, remained silent, he finally offered a statement that hovered somewhere between a plea and a threat.

“Hey! I really do know Yoon Heesung! And very, very well! I’m only telling you this much. If you want to hear more, then open the door.”

He seemed to have instantly pinpointed my weakness. Indeed, the moment I heard those words, my resolve began to waver.

I was intrigued. I truly wanted to know his connection to Yoon Heesung. If he had traveled all the way to this secluded village just to see him, their relationship had to be far deeper than that of mere acquaintances.

As I considered this, an intense curiosity surged through me, as if the recent unpleasantness had been nothing but a fleeting illusion. It was clear that this boisterous fellow knew far more about Yoon Heesung than I did, having only known him for barely a month.

‘Yoon Heesung seems to know him anyway, and if I don’t open the door, he’ll likely keep bothering me. Should I just let him in…?’

It was then.

“Yunwoo.” A blunt voice sliced through my thoughts.

“What are you doing out there?”

Yoon Heesung appeared in the distance, his face devoid of expression.

“f*ck, hey!”

The guy exclaimed, acting familiar with Yoon Heesung. For some reason, Yoon Heesung’s face was utterly hardened, but it wasn’t as if he didn’t recognize the person standing beside me. It was clear the two were acquainted.

However, Yoon Heesung only met my gaze.

“Yunwoo, why aren’t you going inside? Go on in first.”

“Hey, what about me? I’m dying of heat!”

No matter what the guy beside me whined, Yoon Heesung steadfastly looked only at me. Then he spoke.

“I’ll talk out here and then go in.”

“Hey! Can’t you see me? I said I’m dying from the heat!”

“Yunwoo.”

It was a strange conversation. Yoon Heesung was speaking to me, the other guy was speaking to Yoon Heesung, and I was caught in the middle, merely looking from one to the other. But… it seemed I needed to disappear for now.

Reluctantly, I nodded. Yet, unable to abandon my lingering curiosity, I glanced at Yoon Heesung once, then at the strange guy. It was then that I was met with an unexpected expression.

“…….”

I had expected him to have a contorted face, believing he had been ignored. Instead, he was now staring intently at me, his expression completely serious.

He observed me with a penetrating gaze.

Suddenly, that face seemed quite similar to Yoon Heesung’s. Not in appearance, but in their overall aura.

At that moment, a long arm cut across my vision.

On the palm of his hand, the faint scar from my earlier injury remained.

“Go.”

Yoon Heesung’s arm, repeating his command, completely blocked my view.

At his resolute dismissal, I hesitated, then retreated. As I slowly made my way toward the annex, I eventually looked back, only to see them moving away into a corner of the garden. It seemed they had a private conversation to conduct.

I stood there idly, watching them, before finally stepping inside.

The cool air of the interior touched my skin. As my sweat dried in the lower temperature, small goosebumps rose. I grabbed the bottom of my shirt, fanning myself, and ascended to the second floor.

Yoon Heesung’s room, as always, was simple and understated. The spaciousness, as if everything unnecessary had been removed, was quite unlike the ornate atmosphere of the first floor or the garden. And now, a familiar scent lingered in the air—the same scent I always noticed on Yoon Heesung.

I don’t know how else to describe it, but ‘refreshing’ seemed the most fitting word for the fragrance.