Chapter 32: The Clue and the Lost Necklace

“What? How did you know that?”

Kang Taeyang turned to me with wide eyes.

Maybe he immediately felt it was nonsense, because his brow was deeply furrowed. But he couldn’t completely hide the flicker of hope in his glossy eyes.

“Hyung, want to come with me to the hospital?”

“…I told you, we already checked all the lockers there.”

“That’s not it. I think we’ll get an answer if we go see Minju.”

“Minju knows where my necklace is? Are you saying she stole it?”

The moment I said Minju’s name, Kang Taeyang’s eyes turned sharp. He was clearly uncomfortable with the fact that I suspected the child.

Frustrated, I ruffled my hair a little and took a small breath.

“No, I’m not saying Minju stole it.”

“Then what?”

When we met last time, Minju had been unusually fixated on the silver necklace Kang Taeyang always wore, fiddling with it. And at that time, Minju’s face had been full of hurt at how much closer Kang Taeyang and I had become than she had expected.

“Oh, that’s… ugh! It’s too complicated to explain. Just follow me and you’ll see.”

But I wasn’t confident I could logically persuade him of my guess, so I just reached out and grabbed Kang Taeyang’s wrist. His eyes narrowed, and he still seemed doubtful of my words. But since he had turned the whole house upside down and still couldn’t find the necklace, he had no choice but to follow me out.

We went down to the parking lot and got into Kang Taeyang’s Range Rover, heading straight to the hospital. Usually when I was with Kang Taeyang, the audio was never off, but today was different.

His lips stubbornly pressed together, Kang Taeyang focused only on driving with a cold face. Inside the silent car, only the sound of wind rushing past the windows droned on.

Sitting quietly in the passenger seat, I fiddled with my nails out of pointless nervousness.

‘Ah, if the necklace isn’t with Minju, I’m in big trouble…’

But I had a hunch that Minju definitely knew where the necklace was.

As we entered the hospital, the sharp sting of antiseptic pricked my nose. I covered the goosebumps that had risen under my short-sleeved shirt with my palm and walked toward the pediatric ward. Maybe because it was a weekday afternoon, the hallway was quiet.

Tap, tap.

With every step forward, my footsteps rang clearly on the white, smooth floor.

At least when I had come for volunteer work, it had felt more lively, maybe because there were outsiders. I glanced toward the loud crying and saw a child throwing a fit, saying they didn’t want any more chemotherapy, as if they were sick of the long fight with illness. The mother beside them looked exhausted and didn’t know what to do.

“Hey, hyung, why do you like kids so much?”

My heart ached, and I turned my head slowly as if lowering it. Even while watching all of that, Kang Taeyang’s expression remained blunt. I looked at his sturdy profile, his gaze focused far away, and suddenly became curious, so I asked.

“Isn’t that obvious? I’m a UNICEF ambassador, you know.”

“Ah, what are you saying, seriously.”

“Oh, look at this. You don’t believe me?”

Pfft, a burst of laughter escaped me. Thinking it was obviously a joke, I shook my head. Then Kang Taeyang glared at me with a rather wronged face. He stopped right where he was, rummaged through his pocket, and handed me his phone.

“I took a photo with Econ Mububu and Diego as a Korean representative last time.”

In the photo on the screen, Kang Taeyang was wearing a light blue short-sleeved T-shirt with the UNICEF logo clearly printed on it. Beside him, muscular foreign men as tall as Kang Taeyang and with broad shoulders were smiling brightly. Seeing Kang Taeyang waiting for my reaction with such a triumphant look, were they famous soccer players?

To me, these impressive players were complete strangers. Just like the painter Franz Verhardt I had seen at the art museum last time, aside from the romanceable characters, the game’s world seemed to share famous people with reality. But since I was ignorant about soccer in real life too, I couldn’t admire them as enthusiastically as Kang Taeyang wanted.

“Oh, I see. That’s really amazing, hyung!”

“Wow, I see. Yeon Wooju is completely soulless.”

“No, that’s not it… I just don’t really know who these people are.”

“Hah, you don’t know world-class players? More than that, Wooju, aren’t you way too uninterested in me?”

“No, last time you told me not to have impure intentions… Now you’re saying I’m too uninterested in you, hyung?”

“Tsk, I never told you not to have impure intentions toward me. I did misunderstand, but if it’s your impure intentions, Wooju, you’re always welcome?”

I grumbled, wondering what tune I was supposed to dance to, and Kang Taeyang, who had slyly fired back, winked.

‘Ah, what more is there to say, really.’

I could never win against Kang Taeyang in a war of words. Still, he had seemed incredibly stressed while at home, but now that we were outside, he looked at least a little relieved.

“Oh, we’re already here. Hyung, Minju is here right now, right?”

“I’ll go check if it’s visiting hours. Wait here.”

When we arrived at the pediatric cancer ward, Kang Taeyang headed to the desk with familiarity. He seemed to say something to the nurse, and whether the conversation went well, he told me to wait for Minju in the visiting room.

The desks in the visiting room were low out of consideration for children. The crooked drawings on the walls and the cloth dolls lined up on the shelves also hinted that this was a pediatric cancer ward. Before long, the light green door slid open, and a little girl wearing a pink yarn hat with pointed ears sticking up on both sides peeked her head out.

“…Tch, Taeyang oppa came with Teacher Wooju again?”

Minju, her face slightly flushed, came into the visiting room looking for Kang Taeyang. But when she spotted me next to him, her face quickly turned sulky again. She hugged the doll in her arms tightly and muttered grumpily without even greeting me properly.

“Oh, I ran into him on the way and we came in together.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. Teacher is a university student here, didn’t you know, Minju?”

I deliberately pulled Minju toward me and patted her head. Maybe her feelings had eased a little, because she slowly turned her turned-away head back toward me. She couldn’t quite like me or dislike me, and it seemed her young heart was complicated in its own way.

“But why did oppa and teacher suddenly come to see me today?”

“Oh, that’s right, Minju. There’s something you can help Taeyang hyung with.”

“I can help Taeyang oppa?”

“Yeah, I think this is something only you can do among us, Minju.”

“…First, tell me what it is.”

He had come to the hospital because of my suggestion, but once Kang Taeyang actually saw Minju’s face, he didn’t look very comfortable. Sitting with his back against the sofa cushion, Kang Taeyang crossed his arms and leaned back. It was as if he was telling me to go ahead and try.

“Minju, have you ever seen the necklace Taeyang hyung always wears?”

“…”

“About this big? It’s made of a thin silver plate.”

“Ah, no? I don’t know anything about that.”

The moment the necklace came out of my mouth, Minju’s eyes went wide with shock. She tried to hide her expression, but her voice, barely managing an answer, trembled badly. She was a child after all, so she couldn’t skillfully feign calm.

“I see. What should we do? That necklace is very precious to Taeyang hyung, the only one in the world…”

“…Ah.”

“We’ve been looking since yesterday evening, but we couldn’t find it anywhere. So Taeyang hyung has been really sad.”

After I finished speaking, I raised my elbow and poked Kang Taeyang, who was sitting next to me. He flinched and parted his thick lips slightly. Minju’s face was bright red, and she couldn’t properly meet either of our eyes. Kang Taeyang seemed to have noticed that her reaction was unusual too.

“Yeah, Wooju is right. Oppa has been really upset these past couple of days.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. That necklace was given to oppa by someone precious, so it’s something that can never be bought new again.”

Kang Taeyang showed off his usual showmanship and answered in a tone laden with hurt. At that, a powerful earthquake seemed to shake Minju’s pupils, and the corners of her mouth twitched rapidly. Beneath the calm surface, a great storm was raging inside the girl’s heart. She seemed anxious, sad, and afraid, agonizing over it terribly.

“Well, if Minju doesn’t know either, there’s nothing we can do.”

“Ah… hng…”

“Taeyang hyung, then shall we go to the rehabilitation training room this time?”

“Sure. I guess the necklace is lost forever.”

Thump, I pretended not to notice Minju’s reaction at all and asked slyly. Hah, Kang Taeyang let out a pointed sigh and buried his face in his hands.

‘Thank goodness we work so well together at times like this.’

Thud, Kang Taeyang rose noisily from his seat and draped an arm around my shoulders.

“Um…”

Just as we were about to turn around and leave Minju behind, a small voice came from behind us.

“Taeyang oppa’s necklace, actually, Minju has it.”

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Did The Sickly Beauty Get Some Candied Oranges Today?

ComedyDramaFantasy

Read Now →
Not interested