53. Thank You

Getting out of the car, Haein stood in front of the house and thought something was strange. Soohyun should have arrived first, but not a single light was on inside the house.

Thinking that no one was home, she opened the front door and stepped inside, where she saw Soohyun’s neatly placed shoes.

As she looked at Soohyun’s shoes for a moment, the sensor light turned off. The house was once again enveloped in darkness.

“......Sunbae?”

Haein turned on the living room light and stepped inside. There was no sign of anyone on the first floor, so she went up the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor was also dark, so Haein turned on the light at the top of the stairs and slowly walked towards the bedroom again.

The bedroom door was slightly open. Haein gently widened the gap and found Soohyun sitting with his back to the door.

She was about to ask why he hadn’t turned on the light, but his figure sitting in the dark room looked unusual.

Come to think of it, she remembered him suddenly calling her during the day, saying he wanted to hear her voice.

It was a very strange thing. It was odd that someone who usually didn’t even reply to her messages had called her first, and even odder that he had suddenly said he wanted to hear her voice.

“......I’m home.”

She slowly approached him and sat down behind Soohyun. Soohyun felt Haein’s presence but didn’t turn his head or move, remaining still.

“Did something happen?”

She asked calmly and placed her hand on his back. She felt Soohyun’s back arch upwards and then relax again. Soon after, a deep sigh escaped his lips.

“......It was my mother’s death anniversary.”

His short words, spoken quietly, were filled with all sorts of emotions.

Haein hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to say. Then, she slowly moved her hand on his back. Gently stroking Soohyun’s back, she said,

“You’ve had a hard day.”

Perhaps just a simple phrase. But it was more comforting than a hundred words.

The moment Soohyun heard Haein’s words, his heart swelled as if pierced. Following the sensation of her small palm moving up and down his back, his whole body trembled.

“Ha. It’s been over ten years already.”

Trying to calm his surging emotions, Soohyun denied the feelings rising within him. It was something from the past. He should have forgotten it already. What he was feeling now was an overreaction.

“Sunbae.”

Haein, who had been stroking Soohyun’s back, called him in a calm voice. Her small hand continued to move on his back.

“They say sadness is something you sleep with until it becomes completely dull. Maybe people who have experienced loss all live pretending to be okay. But in reality, they’re not okay, are they? That empty space...”

“...Pretending to be okay...”

Mulling over Haein’s words, Soohyun couldn’t help but turn around and hug Haein, who was clinging to his back, tightly.

“Haein-ah.”

“Sunbae......”

Holding her small body in his arms, he felt the sharp edges of his nerves calm down.

Before Haein appeared, Soohyun had been sitting in the dark room of the empty house, sinking endlessly. He had been falling into a bottomless abyss.

It was something that always happened after visiting the grave on the anniversary.

It was revenge that had awakened him from the deep depression and suicidal thoughts. Using the fierce anger that he couldn’t die like this as a rope, he barely crawled out of it.

When he was being swallowed by the black mass that consumed him in endless loneliness, a small hand appeared. That warm hand stroked his back, pulling him out of the abyss.

‘What have I done to someone like you?’

Soohyun called Haein’s name repeatedly, hugging her so tightly that her body might break.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

He buried his forehead in her nape and cried out silently within himself. Words he couldn’t bring himself to say to her, “I’m sorry.”

‘Could you wait just a little longer?’

If he could properly drive Chairman Park out of Taeseong, wouldn’t there be a way for him to be with Haein?

A lingering affection for Haein was slowly growing within him. Things he had never thought of before were gradually settling in his heart.

Things like family, a wife.

“Haein-ah.”

Soohyun hugged Haein and fell onto the bed just like that. Haein, buried in the soft bedding, looked up at him and cupped his cheek with one hand.

“You must have had a very hard day today.”

“It’s okay.”

Because you’re here.

Complicated thoughts filled his head.

Pity for her, regret for his past actions. And yet, the situation where he couldn’t just keep her by his side as much as he wanted, his incompetent self having to make such a decision.

Even though they were pressed against each other, embracing without a single gap, he still felt a great distance between them.

What should I do with you?

Looking at Haein’s flushed cheeks, he thought of the red sunset he had seen once.

“Why?”

Haein asked, tilting her head, as Soohyun, who had stopped moving, just looked down at her.

Her round eyes searched his face, trying to understand Soohyun’s intentions. Her rolling eyes were so pretty that Soohyun sighed.

Had Yoon Haein always been this beautiful?

She was originally pretty, but was she this breathtakingly beautiful? Was she so lovely that it took his breath away just looking at her?

“Because you’re beautiful.”

Soohyun hugged Haein tightly, trying to hide his tearful face.

***

The next day, Soohyun, who had left work earlier than usual and arrived home, sat in his car for a while without getting out even after the car had stopped.

In his hand, he held a jewelry box he had bought at the department store a little while ago. Holding the white cardboard box adorned with a deep green ribbon, Soohyun caressed it and fell into thought.

It was the first time in his life that he had personally chosen a gift for someone.

He often had gifts prepared for formal greetings, but Soohyun had never chosen them with his own hands.

When a gift was needed, the secretarial staff would take care of the list, and he would only approve whether it was appropriate for the recipient or not. He literally just approved and confirmed, but he had never sincerely chosen something while thinking about the other person.

But he had scoured the luxury brand stores in the department store to find a necklace that would suit Haein.

Every time Soohyun shook his head, the managers were thrown into a panic, bringing out items from the store one by one, until eventually, the jewelry boxes piled up like a mountain on the table.

Even after looking at dozens of necklaces, he wasn’t satisfied, spending time choosing and choosing again.

Giving a gift to a woman was more difficult than making business decisions. Soohyun sat in the store, hesitating until the moment his chosen item was being wrapped, and then he couldn’t help but chuckle.

His own behavior was so absurd that he couldn’t understand it himself.

Truthfully, he wanted to bring the entire store and tell her to choose whatever she wanted. But since his wife only shook her head, saying she didn’t need jewelry or expensive clothes, he had no choice.

With her sibling lying sick like that, what was the point of her wearing pretty things alone? That was her attitude.

‘What if she doesn’t like it?’

His anxious self felt a bit ridiculous. His actions were as clumsy as a teenager about to confess his first love.

Soohyun laughed hollowly and got out of the car.

Stepping inside the house, he saw Haein busily moving around in the kitchen. He had told her he would be home a little early today, but she was so focused on preparing dinner that she didn’t seem to notice him entering.

Seeing the food photos she had been sending, he had assumed she was getting help from the staff, but in fact, Haein was preparing dinner all by herself.

Soohyun silently watched her back as she skillfully turned around, taking care of the soup and arranging the side dishes.

He vaguely remembered seeing a similar scene a long time ago, when his mother was still alive.

“Oh? When did you get here?”

Haein, who had turned around to open the refrigerator, saw Soohyun and asked, her face lighting up.

“Just now.”

He deliberately spoke in a dry voice. He was supposed to hand over what he was holding, but it felt awkward, perhaps because it was something he hadn’t done before.

“This.”

Soohyun placed the shopping bag he was holding on the kitchen island, as if it were nothing special.

“What’s this?”

“A gift.”

“What’s the occasion for a gift?”

“I told you last time I wanted to repay you.”

“Ah.”

“Open it.”

Unable to resist Soohyun’s urging, Haein wiped her wet hands on her apron and opened the shopping bag. Soohyun silently watched as a white box was lifted into her hands and the ribbon was untied.

“Oh my.”

Opening the box, Haein held a gold necklace with a four-leaf clover design densely studded with diamonds, and she was speechless for a moment. Soohyun wondered if he had chosen something that didn’t suit her taste and quickly spoke up.

“If you don’t like it, you can go and exchange it for something else.”

“No.”

“Are you okay with it?”

“It’s so beautiful.”

Feeling impatient, Soohyun took the necklace out of the box and put it around Haein’s neck.

“It looks beautiful.”

The rose-pink pendant around her white neck blended well with her skin. Haein looked at her reflection in the decorative mirror attached to one side of the kitchen, as if amazed by her appearance with the necklace.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes...”

Haein’s expression was subtle, not overly joyful, yet not particularly displeased either. Soohyun, wondering if he was forcing an answer, approached her and carefully spoke again.

“Actually, I’ve never personally chosen a gift before, so I’m not sure.”

The top of Haein’s head reached just below his chin. Soohyun rested his face on her head and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Her familiar scent, which he loved, filled the air.

“Um, it’s not that...”

Haein shook her head and turned around to face Soohyun.

“It’s just that... it’s the first time I’ve ever received a proper gift.”

“Really? I should buy you many more in the future.”

“This one alone... is enough.”

Haein, looking at her reflection in the mirror, awkwardly fiddled with the necklace.

“Haha. I don’t know why I’m so awkward. I guess it’s because it’s the first time I’ve received something that’s truly a gift.”

Haein turned her watery eyes away and awkwardly pulled away. Her eyes were glistening with moisture, so Soohyun couldn’t bring himself to turn towards the dressing room and just stood there looking at Haein.

What was it about such a small thing that brought tears to her eyes?

It was obvious that she had never received a proper date or birthday celebration. But beyond just liking it, he hadn’t expected her to react with such pitiful emotion.

When Haein turned back with a dishcloth, saying she would finish what she was doing, Soohyun spoke the words he had been rehearsing in his mind all along.

“Haein-ah. Thank you.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for being here, by my side.”

“Ah.”

“Thank you.”

In that instant, tears welled up in Haein’s eyes, forming droplets that then fell with a plink.