Chapter 23: The Days He Wasn’t There

The man’s apartment wasn’t far from the club. In fact, from the hallway outside his apartment, she could clearly see the park where she sat every day.

“When I smoke out here, I can see it.”

“Me?”

“The stars. At night. Did you think the whole world revolved around you, kid?”

“I didn’t say- I wasn’t- ”

She muttered under her breath with a pout, and the man burst out laughing.

“Ha! Of course I meant you.”

Yi-jae looked up at him with displeasure, but at the same time, she was curious.

Then had he known about her before he ever approached her? How long had he been watching her? Why had he approached her? Why had he kept talking to her? When had he decided to bring her home?

“Then since when-”

“Since when?”

“…Never mind.”

She barely swallowed the countless questions rising in her throat.

“It’s nothing.”

She still hadn’t managed to break the bad habit of wanting to spill her thoughts whenever someone seemed willing to listen.

The director of the orphanage had always told her not to do things that drove people away, but she still lost her head whenever anyone showed her even a little interest. She wanted to talk about herself. About Go Yi-jae, the orphan nobody would ever be curious about.

The man stepped aside so she could see the keypad and slowly entered the code, one digit at a time.

“Here, kid. Memorize it.”

The password was absurd.

0.

That was practically an invitation for anyone to walk in.

“Easy to remember, right?”

“…Are you serious?”

When Yi-jae glared at him in disbelief, the man immediately ordered his subordinate to change the password. The new password was entered by Yi-jae herself: today’s date, the day she moved in.

The man seemed amused.

“Guess it’ll become an anniversary.”

“…It’s not like that.”

“Maybe not. But you’ll have to remember it if you want to get inside.”

“You can change it again. Really. Use something else. Use your birthday.”

“Don’t make Gi-tae work harder.”

The pale subordinate with neither hair nor charm narrowed his eyes. He looked annoyed, though he clearly knew his boss would never actually order another change.

“I’m not bothered at all.”

The deep voice coming from that ghostly face startled Yi-jae.

“Gi-tae, don’t talk. You’ll scare the kid.”

“…Who’s a kid?”

“…Who’s a kid?”

“Ha-ha. You two said the exact same thing. You’re getting along.”

The man laughed while both of them grumbled, then opened the front door.

The first room visible from the entrance was Yi-jae’s room. It even had an additional lock installed.

“Enter the password.”

The man covered his eyes with both hands and turned around. Somehow, without even looking, he accurately kicked his subordinate’s shin and made him turn around too. Yi-jae carefully entered the six-digit password.

“I’m done.”

But when she turned around, the men were already gone. She hurried into the hallway, only to see the man waving without looking back.

And that was how her life there began.

The single bed was unbelievably soft. She had only intended to sit on it for a moment, but it made her sleepy immediately. The blanket was so warm and cozy she wanted to dive into it.

The closet was filled with clothes. The shoe rack held shoes.

As though it were the most natural thing in the world, all of it belonged to her.

Unsure whether this was really okay, Yi-jae waited for the man to come home. She meant to stay awake until at least one in the morning, but the new bed lulled her into a blissful sleep. When she woke up, the sun was already out.

Still dazed, she wandered through the apartment and ate the breakfast waiting for her on the table.

After quietly washing the dishes, she cautiously explored the apartment again. She checked everything except the master bedroom, even the balcony.

“Ah, it’s hot.”

There was no way she’d worked up a sweat just by walking around a two-bedroom apartment, but the place was sweltering.

He must have turned up the heat before leaving after preparing breakfast, because she was sweating buckets. Yi-jae had no choice but to strip off layers and change into a short-sleeved shirt.

She felt guilty enjoying the warmth by herself. She wanted to turn it off, but she couldn’t find the thermostat, so she washed her face repeatedly with cold water instead.

The heat remained until night, making it hard to sleep.

And still, she didn’t see him.

The next morning, breakfast was waiting for her again. This time there was also a box on the table.

Macarons.

She brightened immediately and opened the box.

There was a note inside.

“…”

The audacity of it left her speechless.

She closed the box and picked up her spoon.

He probably wasn’t watching, but as someone living in his house, she felt obligated to obey.

After finishing breakfast, she ate the macarons.

She ate all of them, as if regretting not being able to finish all seven the last time.

When she crushed the empty box to throw it away, she discovered another note attached to the bottom.

<Good?>

“Tch!”

She lifted her chin and took the box to the recycling bin on the balcony. Next time she saw him, she’d ask where exactly to throw it away.

And this time, she was determined to see him.

Then she fell asleep again.

The following morning, steaming hot breakfast greeted her once more.

“…”

It felt strangely like playing hide-and-seek.

She pouted, then noticed another box on the table.

A cell phone.

<It’s yours.>

Yi-jae deliberately ignored it.

If she didn’t use it, maybe he’d eventually show up because he’d get frustrated.

But the man proved tougher than she expected.

When she ignored the phone, he left another note.

<Breakfast menu: Western ( ) Korean ( )>

She ignored that too.

Let him get annoyed.

Every time she saw the note stuck to her bedroom door, she tilted her chin defiantly.

The next day, the note had changed.

<Breakfast menu: Western ( ) Korean ( ) Bread ( )>

“…”

That was cheating.

Totally unfair.

<Breakfast menu: Western ( ) Korean ( ) Bread (✓)>

As she picked up the pen, Yi-jae felt an inexplicable sense of defeat.

But that feeling lasted only until the next morning, when she tasted the freshly baked bread.

The bitter taste of defeat turned out to mean absolutely nothing.

So she used the phone for the first time.

The contact “Mister” had already been saved.

[It’s delicious.]

The reply came soon after.

[Text me if there’s something you want to eat.]

Yi-jae reread that message whenever she had the chance.

She was alone in the apartment.

And yet, somehow, she wasn’t lonely.

****

When Yi-jae woke up, Chae Ju-han was gone.

Instead, she was wearing his soft bathrobe. The belt was tied tightly around her waist, but underneath she was still naked. Unlike last time, she had been laid on the sofa rather than the hard table.

“You’re awake. Want some water?”

It was Madam Yoon.

The rustling papers, the tapping fingernails, the clicking pen, those habits belonged to Madam Yoon. Even before opening her eyes, Yi-jae had known it wasn’t Chae Ju-han.

As she accepted the water bottle and drank, Madam Yoon glanced at her, then awkwardly coughed and looked away. There were too many bite marks on her neck.

Pretending to rub her neck, Yi-jae pulled the robe tighter.

“I had no idea our boss could get that rough. He really wore you out.”

“…What time is it?”

“Oh, the alarm that went off earlier? The boss turned it off.”

“…”

“He laughed a lot while doing it. Did you know that?”

She didn’t.

She had no idea why he had laughed.

“I mean… Chae Ju-han…”

“Well, seeing how busy Manager Hong looked, it didn’t seem like anything ordinary. But who knows? He never talks to me about anything except club business.”

So he hadn’t left because of work at the club.

Before and now, Yi-jae knew almost nothing about Chae Ju-han.

Back then, that hadn’t bothered her.

Now, it made her feel miserable.

Maybe it was just her own inferiority complex.

“Hmm. Those clothes are Cherry’s.”

“…”

As expected from someone who wore halter tops, the outfit consisted of a short skirt and a short tank top.

She didn’t particularly want to wear them, but it was better than being naked.

In another paper bag Madam Yoon handed her were the clothes that had been torn and stripped off.

Her face burned.

“…I’m sorry.”

“The boss picked them up, not me. Don’t worry about it. Though…”

Madam Yoon hesitated.

“He was smiling while picking them up. It was kind of scary.”

Again.

She kept saying he’d been smiling.

Yi-jae remembered his smile too.

But she couldn’t understand what it meant.

Had he been happy?

“I’ll drive you home.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll get back myself. And the flower arrangement…”

“The due date hasn’t passed yet. We’ll pay you anyway. Just go home today.”

“I can’t do that.”

“It’s the boss’s order.”

Madam Yoon grinned.

“‘Take good care of our sister-in-law.'”

****

The phrase bothered her for some reason, but she didn’t have the energy to think about it.

She had been lying half-naked in someone else’s office wearing nothing but a bathrobe.

That embarrassment was enough.

When she changed clothes and came out, Manager Kim was already jingling his car keys.

“Ready to go, Yi-jae?”

Once inside the car, Yi-jae checked her phone.

The phone whose seventy-two-hour alarm Chae Ju-han had turned off.

The alarm he had personally told her to set.

Before it had even rung, she had wanted him.

She shouldn’t have gone to the club.

It didn’t matter about the flowers.

It didn’t matter about the beautiful woman.

She shouldn’t have gone.

And she hadn’t even managed to ask him anything.

Instead, she’d been swept away by him and forgotten why she’d come in the first place.

“Please. Please.”

“Hm? Chae Ju-han.”

The memory of herself begging for him made her face burn.

Wearing clothes that barely covered anything important, Yi-jae clutched the robe tighter.

Just imagining Chae Ju-han made her feel wet and achingly aware of her own body.

Their eyes met in the rearview mirror.

Yi-jae immediately turned toward the window.

Manager Kim’s gaze was full of curiosity.

But she had no answers to give.

Contrary to what everyone around them believed, they weren’t lovers.

And although Chae Ju-han took care of her, he wasn’t giving her affection.

Yi-jae knew what his affection looked like.

If he truly cared for someone, they wouldn’t feel the way she did now.

They wouldn’t be left discarded and exhausted on a sofa like a used rag.

She turned her phone over in her hands.

Madam Yoon had said he’d turned off the seventy-two-hour alarm.

But there was no new alarm set in its place.

What did that mean?

Did it mean there wouldn’t be a next time?

Or did it mean that because they’d followed the rules and never actually gone all the way, the seventy-two-hour countdown had simply ended?

Was it foolish to hope for the latter?

Feeling the weight in her chest, Yi-jae pressed a hand against her stomach.

She hadn’t eaten anything, and yet she felt unbearably full.

Still…

Wasn’t that better than there being no next time at all?

Her thoughts were a mess.

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