Chapter 32: Everything Led Back to You

“……With whom?”

“With Ajusshi. Since it’s an instruction from the head office’s CEO, don’t even think about saying anything, Branch Director.”

The person Kangeun called Ajusshi was Hyunwoo’s father, Jaeseon. He often worried that Kangeun had too much work and would frequently scold Hyunwoo. Before she came to Korea, Hyunwoo had even worried about Kangeun, saying that he seemed to be relying on her too much for work and that she was taking on too much, so he should just leave her to work alone.

If it hadn’t been for Jaeseon, her father’s old colleague who had found her belatedly nine years ago, she might not have known what would have happened to her in Korea. And if it hadn’t been for Hyunwoo, it would have been difficult for her to adapt to Italy, where she had followed Jaeseon.

Jaeseon had told Kangeun that Seongho was his benefactor, so she shouldn’t feel burdened by everything he provided for her. However, Kangeun felt like Jaeseon was the benefactor, so she always carried a debt of heart toward him, as he treated her like a daughter.

But no matter how much that was the case, work was a separate issue.

“But Kangeun-ah.”

“And I want to do only my own work. If you need help with your work or personal tasks, Branch Director, please hire a secretary.”

Kangeun, who had drawn the line clearly—as always with a smile, but unlike always, with firmness—stood up with her coat in her hands.

“You’re smiling so prettily, I can’t even say anything.”

“…….”

“How easy do you think I am, for you—who are kind to everyone else—to find it so hard to say no to me.”

There was a sting in his joking words. It meant that he was soft toward her, but also that he was upset by her rejection.

“Sometimes I think you’re so cold to me. How can you be like that? Between you and me. I still can’t understand it, no matter how much I think about it.”

Before Kangeun could reply, Hyunwoo turned away first. Kangeun watched his back as he disappeared, leaving a cold chill behind, and brushed up her hair that had fallen down. She briefly massaged the back of her neck in frustration, but soon, thinking of Siheon who would be waiting for her, she left the office.

“Aren’t you hungry? You didn’t seem to eat much for dinner.”

Kangeun, holding a cup of coffee, looked up at Siheon. Siheon smiled as if to say he was fine, his eyes never leaving her.

While they ate dinner together, Kangeun had been curious about how Siheon had spent his time. But Siheon had told her they would talk slowly, pouring his heart into taking care of her so she could focus on her meal. Then, at the café, he had insisted that Kangeun speak first.

“Hmm, where should I start……. After you left like that……”

Siheon listened quietly to Kangeun’s voice. He made eye contact as she poured out the difficult days of her past, nodding, and at times, he took her hand to stroke the back of it.

“I was really naive. No matter how much we delivered milk or saved money, a large part of our living expenses was taken from Dad’s bank account. It turned out it was all marked as bank debt.”

Kangeun dropped her gaze, noticing Siheon’s expression darken. Even if she could speak of it simply with a smile now, it had been incredibly difficult for her back then. She lived to keep the promise she’d made to Siheon: to just stay alive. She endured, looking only at the hope that if she survived somehow, she could meet Siheon again.

But it seemed the world wouldn’t even allow her the faint light of hope she’d managed to harbor. Misfortune kept finding her. It drove her relentlessly into a dark abyss, as if asking if she could still stand and endure even after all this.

“The house that was held as collateral by the bank had long been sold to a third-tier financial institution. Not long after you left, loan sharks showed up.”

“……Loan sharks?”

“Yes. They told me to get out because the house was theirs. I checked, and it was true. In one morning, I had nowhere to stay. The fortunate thing was that rumors of neighborhood redevelopment had started to circulate. That meant the debt I had to pay down decreased. Of course, even then, the interest was higher than the principal, so it couldn’t be resolved.”

“Did you look into renouncing the inheritance?”

“I tried, but it didn’t work with the loan sharks. They said they would get the money back one way or another. At first, they pretended to wait, but later, they said there seemed to be no way for money to come out of me, so they would rather…… Ah.”

Kangeun, retracing her past, shut her mouth. Back then, Kangeun had barely escaped being subjected to terrible things by loan sharks several times. She had been surrounded and threatened by low-life thugs, and had her hair pulled and been slammed against a wall.

She had to go through that chaos in front of her boarding room, in her lecture hall, and even in the middle of the street. They had even come to the academy where she worked and caused a scene, and no one protected her. None of the teachers who usually liked her stepped in.

She stood before the director with disheveled hair and messy clothes. She couldn’t even cover the scratches on her face and neck, and she apologized for causing trouble, swallowing her tears. That was how she was fired.

She had almost spilled all those things to Siheon. Glancing at Siheon cautiously, she saw he was clenching his fist, which was resting on the table, tightly. Her heart ached at his fury and sadness, which were conveyed just by the veins popping out on the back of his hand, so she didn’t have the courage to look at his face.

“Sorry……. I talked too much.”

“I want to hear more. I want to know everything. Tell me.”

“Just, it was like that. And then, I received help from Jaeseon-ajusshi.”

“Jaeseon-ajusshi……?”

Kangeun nodded. Every sorrowful night, she had looked for Siheon. She would groan in pain and ask if she really had to keep living like this. Just as the light of hope was fading and she was closing her eyes, thinking she couldn’t endure it anymore, Jaeseon had appeared.

“Yes. He’s a colleague of Dad’s who used to come over to our house often when Mom was alive. He quit his job as a firefighter and went to Italy to settle down. He said he heard the news of Dad’s funeral late. He cried a lot, saying Dad was his benefactor, and that he still had so much gratitude to repay him, but he had missed his chance.”

“Ah…….”

“It had been a long time since someone spoke of Dad as a good person. It was nice to meet someone who cried with me. So, without any shame, I accepted his help……. I tidied up my life in Korea and followed him to Italy. Ever since then, I’ve been living there.”

In Kangeun’s field of vision, she saw Siheon slightly twisting his tightly shut mouth. Kangeun felt like she understood Siheon’s heart.

“Siheon-ah, I didn’t say that to make you miserable……”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there with you when Ajusshi passed away.”

“…….”

“You must have had a really hard time all by yourself.”

Thinking of that time made her throat choke up again. Kangeun shook her head and smiled as if to say it was okay. Soon, the two eyes she met were wet. When she hurriedly handed him a napkin, Siheon gave a faint smile and gripped her hand.

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? It’s not like you did it on purpose. But Siheon-ah, let’s stop talking about me now, and let’s hear about you. How have you been? You really were doing well, right? Where were you sick?”

Siheon didn’t answer immediately but smiled. As he rubbed the back of her hand like he used to tickle her, he opened his mouth after a long time.

“I was doing well.”

“……Really?”

“My body wasn’t good. I had surgery, and thankfully, the prognosis was good. I received good treatment. The reason I couldn’t contact you was……. Because there were circumstances. I’m sorry.”

“Siheon-ah, what were you sick with? If it was enough to require surgery……”

“Just, it wasn’t a complicated surgery. I’m fine now.”

“Are you sure you’re completely healed?”

“Yes. Completely. Do I look sick to you?”

“……No.”

“Then why are you looking at me like that?”

Siheon smiled and took a sip of the lukewarm water. Kangeun thought it was clear that he was deliberately smiling brightly.

It had been like that for a long time. Kangeun would pour out everything to Siheon, but Siheon rarely talked about himself. There were times when that made her feel upset. However, since she knew he wouldn’t speak once he closed his mouth, no matter how much she begged, she had come to wait, thinking he would tell her one day.

Following the staff’s announcement that the café was closing, the two came out onto the street and began to walk. Kangeun looked down at his feet, which were keeping pace with hers. The shortened stride, the slower pace when walking with her. It was all exactly the way she remembered Siheon.

“But Siheon-ah, do you dislike coffee?”

“Hmm…….”

“You didn’t drink wine, and you didn’t drink coffee. You kept drinking only water. Oh, are you sensitive to caffeine?”

“Rather than sensitive……”

“What is it? If you don’t even like coffee, how did you think to bring a coffee company into Korea? Well, preferences and business are different problems, though.”

“Yes.”

“But why our company, specifically? There are countless café brands.”

“I did it to meet Go Kangeun.”

Kangeun laughed at his brazenness, as if he had planned it out, but Siheon did not laugh. He simply looked down at her as if she were something precious.

“By the way, the coffee there earlier wasn’t very good.”

“Really? Hmm, I heard that café had the best-tasting coffee in this neighborhood.”

“I worked at a famous coffee shop in Verona for several years. I make good coffee. My hand-drip skills are quite decent, too.”

“Hmm…….”

“Come over to my place next time. I have a moka pot at home, too. I’ll brew you some coffee……. Ah, sorry.”

Realizing belatedly that she had recommended coffee to Siheon, who didn’t enjoy it much, Kangeun apologized. Seeing the tongue she’d stuck out between her lips while pronouncing ‘sorry,’ Siheon had no idea what he was imagining, and her face remained purely innocent.