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Psst! We're moving!
Her eyes snapped open at the sound of the chair next to her being pulled back. She lifted her messy hair and anxiously checked her phone; it was already past 7 PM. She had slept for less than an hour, but her head felt clear, as if she’d had several hours of deep sleep.
“Oh? What’s this?”
On top of her Organizational Behavior textbook was a paper bag with the logo of the cafe on the first floor. Inside, there were easily pick-up-and-eat breads like egg and bacon, canelés, and cube sandwiches, along with a bottle of milk tea. Ye-seo peeled off the sticky note attached to the side of the bag.
[Did you sleep well? Don’t skip meals while you study.]
The handwriting was neat. It felt familiar, yet at the same time, new.
Who could it be? Who is it?
It wasn’t Chae-rin’s or Sae-eun’s handwriting, and it couldn’t be another classmate. A sudden image flashed in her mind, startling her.
No way. Senior Ju-hyeok...?
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The next day, Saturday, it rained heavily from dawn. The Aston Martin convertible cut through the drizzle and sped unhindered on the Sejong City roads before entering the Gamseong Intersection.
The car soon stopped in front of an elegant traditional Korean house in Doam-ri. Before he could even open the gate, the sound of a dog barking greeted him first. As soon as he stepped inside, a white ball of fur barked, “Woof!” and leapt into his arms. It was a Jack Russell Terrier with excellent jumping ability.
“Heedong, have you been well?”
The dog, as if its tail and tongue were motor-driven, frantically licked Ju-hyeok’s face. He entered the spacious hanok grounds, holding Heedong. His maternal grandmother, Seon Hye-suk, had already come out onto the wooden porch and eagerly welcomed her grandson, even without her socks on.
“Ju-hyeok! Oh my, my child is here!”
“Grandma.”
Seon Hye-suk pulled him into a hug. The embrace lasted for a long time, so much so that Heedong, caught in the middle, whined. Her grandson always brought a mixture of tenderness and heartache whenever she saw him.
Her deceased daughter’s precious legacy. The son of the sworn enemy who had cruelly murdered her daughter. Because of this, she had initially found him repulsive and even loathed him. It was unbearable every time her son-in-law’s features fleetingly appeared on her young grandson’s face. It was horrific.
But as he grew older, her grandson increasingly resembled her departed daughter. His small gestures, his every minor habit, reminded her of Hye-jeong in life. This made it more painful, but a greater feeling had to suppress the emotional agony.
This child isn’t the child of that terrible murderer. Ju-hyeok is my daughter Hye-jeong’s son. That’s all I need to remember. My poor child. My own child, whom I must embrace and save.
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Ye-seo sat blankly behind the pharmacy counter. Employee Jo Su-min had taken leave for personal reasons, so she had to help her mother all day. Her tightly organized final exam notes were in front of her, but what she couldn’t take her eyes off was her phone.
She finally seemed to make up her mind and scrolled through her phone’s contact list. The contact number from the messages they had exchanged before was saved as “Senior Han Ju-hyeok.”
“Okay. What’s the harm? If he says it’s not him, then it’s not.”
Before her courage could wane, she quickly typed and pressed the send button.
[Senior. Hello? I have something to ask, could I contact you for a moment?]
The “read” receipt disappeared a long time later, but a reply came immediately after he confirmed it.
[You already did.]
A smiling emoji followed. Just then, a call came through from his end. It was Han Ju-hyeok.
-Hi.
“Oh... Hello, Senior.”
-I thought a call would be better, whatever it is. What’s up?
“Oh, yes... well.”
Perhaps due to nervousness, her voice kept cracking.
“It’s nothing important. But someone left something to eat at my seat in the library yesterday while I dozed off... I wanted to ask if it was you.”
-You weren’t just dozing off.
Gasp. So it was Senior after all. Ye-seo bit her lower lip tightly. She couldn’t suppress her joy. At the same time, she worried if she had drooled or shown an undignified appearance.
“Se... Senior. I...”
-Don’t worry. You were sleeping very quietly. No drooling, no snoring, nothing like that.
Thank goodness. A sigh of relief escaped her without her realizing it.
“Thank you. Thanks to you... I ate well yesterday.”
-You’re always hungrier after waking up from a nap. I almost woke you up for dinner, but I just left.
A belated feeling of regret washed over her at his words. He should have just woken me up. It would have been good if he had. Then couldn’t we have had dinner just the two of us one more time?
Just then, loud dog barking echoed from beyond the phone. Following that, an elderly woman’s sharp voice was heard. Oh my, so noisy! It’s a delivery, a delivery! My ears are ringing.
-That’s my grandmother. I’m at my maternal grandmother’s house right now.
“Oh... I see.”
-Since we’re on the phone, I have something to ask too. Are you taking any summer session courses?
“Yes. Coincidentally, I got a call from the cafe asking me to work during the break. I’m planning to take about two courses anyway since I’ll be going to school.”
-What are you taking? I also signed up for six credits during the second registration period, in case I didn’t have enough time in my fourth year.
“What? You too, Senior?”
Her voice shot out automatically. Ye-seo quickly cleared her throat.
-Yeah. I almost didn’t get a spot.
“My major is Financial Management, and my minor is Foundation for Business English.”
-Really? I also signed up for Business English. Let’s take it together. Since I’m already taking Financial Management this semester, I can give you my notes and materials.
“What? But Senior, aren’t you good at English? I thought you went on an exchange program to the US last year...”
-No, actually, I’m not good at it.
“Huhh? That can’t be...”
The dog barking echoed again. As the barking grew closer, Han Ju-hyeok clicked his tongue lowly.
-I should hang up now. See you at school then.
Before she could reply, the call abruptly ended. Ye-seo stared blankly at her phone screen. She was bewildered. Not good at it? That’s ridiculous. I saw him chatting fluently with his foreign friends at the pancake house before. What is he talking about?
But her doubt was fleeting, quickly replaced by overwhelming joy. Chae-rin, Sae-eun, Dong-hwan, and all her other friends had their own plans for the summer—overseas trips, preparing for certifications, full-time part-time jobs, etc. Even Mi-ju, whose goal was to finish her credits as quickly as possible, was planning to take a credit exchange program with another university, leaving Ye-seo feeling somewhat alone.
But now, she would be taking a class with Senior Ju-hyeok. Her heart started beating faster at the thought of seeing him throughout the summer.
What do I do? This is too...
It was too good. She wanted to jump for joy. But instead of jumping, she just clutched her phone, her face flushed. That silent cheer continued until a customer opened the door and entered the pharmacy.
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Before she knew it, it was the last week of summer session. It had been such a busy few weeks with tutoring, her cafe part-time job, and an academic schedule even tighter than the regular semester, that she didn’t even realize how the five weeks had flown by.
Amidst all that, she was even more preoccupied helping her mother during the pharmacy employee’s early summer vacation. For pharmacy and housework, it was harder emotionally than physically.
-”Jeong-woo is taking summer classes too, you know. He’s already sensitive to heat, and he can’t even rest, how hard it must be for him. My Jeong-woo, I should be there to make sure he eats...”
One day, she even urged her to order various groceries online from a large supermarket and send them to Jeong-woo in the US. That day, she got so fed up with the constant “My Jeong-woo, my Jeong-woo” refrain that she finally talked back.
-”Mom, I have an exam tomorrow. They have Korean markets there too, and the campus cafeteria is well-stocked, so you don’t need to worry so much.”
Her twin brother only studied with the money sent to him. In contrast, she had to earn scholarships, self-fund her allowance and living expenses with part-time jobs, and frequently help out at the pharmacy. Yet, in her mother’s eyes, only Jeong-woo, who wasn’t there, seemed to exist.
-”How can you be so heartless and selfish? Don’t you feel sorry for your brother living in a foreign land trying to study where he can’t even communicate? Do you just care about yourself succeeding? Huh?”
-”That’s not it... Okay. I’ll order it and send it through the post office.”
She felt like she would explode several times a day, but she held it in. She could finally breathe a sigh of relief only after Su-min, the pharmacy employee, returned from her vacation.
And finally today, after finishing her Financial Management exam and stepping out of the lecture hall, she tasted freedom. It was past 6 PM, but the day was still bright, and her body felt light, as if she could fly through the blue sky.
She was also grateful to Han Ju-hyeok again. Given the tight nature of summer sessions, the exams also felt somewhat more rigorous, so his notes and materials were a great help.
That’s why she had texted Han Ju-hyeok yesterday, offering to buy him dinner on the last day. It was quite an impulsive suggestion, but since he readily agreed, she felt no embarrassment.
Ye-seo got off at Hannam Intersection with a fluttering heart and headed towards the naengmyeon restaurant. A unique building with a yellow roof tilted over blue and red primary-colored walls came into view. She had intended to go somewhere more expensive, but he insisted this was a good restaurant.
Han Ju-hyeok had already arrived and secured a table. Perhaps sensing her presence from afar, his gaze lifted from his phone and warmed as she entered.
The moment he raised one hand, Ye-seo’s heart began to race again. Although they had seen each other frequently during the summer session and sat side-by-side in classes, she had been so busy that they hadn’t had a meal alone like this. It was their first time since eating tteokbokki and drinking coffee together at the beginning of the team project.
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