Finally, What Was Coming Has Arrived
Finally, what was coming had arrived.
………… Two weeks later, lunchtime. White rice, bean sprout soup, japchae, cheap sausages, and pork stir-fry. It was a menu that stole the show with the rice, but honestly, it was carb overload. That was pretty much standard for factory cafeterias. Their goal wasn't healthy meals—it was fueling up the workers. Still, this place was pretty popular among the factory folks. Cheap prices, huge portions, enough to stuff yourself full.
Thick dialects mixed with slurping sounds and the scrape of metal spoons on trays assaulted my eardrums. Just another ordinary lunchtime. But unlike the other workers, I had no appetite today. Couldn't say why. Just felt off. Since morning, my back had been prickling like someone was watching me. I tried brushing it off as ghost vibration syndrome, but the unease wouldn't fade.
I was stirring my untouched bean sprout soup when someone tapped my shoulder.
"Ma, Han."
I turned to see the team leader standing there, toothpick in his mouth. The guy who normally shoveled food faster than anyone looked grim today.
"Got visitors."
"...Me?"
"Yup. Couple o' ladies lookin' for ya."
He glanced at me sideways.
"Seem like Seoul folk. Way they dress... ain't local girls."
My spoon froze. Women. Two of them. From Seoul.
I stood from the tray without taking a single bite. The ajusshis around me hooted, "Women!?" "Two of 'em!?" but their voices didn't register.
Finally, what was coming has come.
Thinking that oddly calmed me. ...Not really, but I pulled myself together anyway.
I pushed open the cafeteria door and stepped out. Under the slate roof, workers in coveralls clustered with paper cups of instant coffee, murmuring. The fishy smell clinging to them wafted on the breeze. A bit further off, in the empty lot by the cafeteria, two figures stood side by side.
Lee Jin-ah wore a deep navy cashmere coat; Han Sol, a beige wool one. Both had spotless, glossy shoes, perfectly styled hair, and flawless skin even under the sunlight. So out of place. Like color characters dropped into a black-and-white film—they didn't fit this drab scene at all.
Lee Jin-ah and Han Sol. Faces I hadn't seen in three months.
I'd imagined them haggard, or glaring like demons in rage. But there they were, serene and still beautiful. Maybe even more so.
As I hesitated and took a step forward, the sea breeze shifted.
Whoosh.
The scent tickling my nose wasn't ocean brine or factory grease. Floral. The refined flower fragrance from that empty envelope in my mailbox two weeks ago. The smell of my past, come to claim my present.
…………
"...How'd you find this place?"
I tried to sound casual and detached, but my voice cracked.
Lee Jin-ah nodded toward the factory.
"Hired a PI. Cost a pretty penny, but you left a trail a mile wide, sunbae."
She laid out her "Tracking the Midnight Runaway Han Kang" like it was no big deal.
"Rental car GPS and card records led us right here. Confirmed you came to this little coastal town. Finding a middle-aged guy from Seoul who just moved nearby? Not hard."
...As expected.
Truth be told, I'd half-expected this. When the team leader asked if I knew anyone from Seoul. When I found that perfumed empty envelope.
I swallowed my bitterness and studied them quietly.
But something was off. Really off.
This reunion wasn't what I'd pictured. I'd expected them to rush me, slap me, curse me out, or cling sobbing to my leg. After those screams and wails from our last call, it seemed inevitable.
Yet here they stood, eerily composed. No frenzy, just suspicious calm. Faces I'd imagined twisted in fury glowed with vitality; their eyes were clear and steady.
"...So, why'd you come?"
I forced a stiff tone.
"I already said on the phone. We're done. Nothing left to say."
Lee Jin-ah let out a small scoff.
"That's your story, sunbae. Not ours."
Han Sol nodded beside her.
"Let's go to your place first, Dad. Standing around here doesn't look good with people watching."
A demand delivered like it was the most natural thing.
Her voice was nothing like the hysteria from three months ago over the phone.
I hesitated. Decided to push back hard. Couldn't let them drag me off.
"No, I got nothing to say. Go home."
I tried to draw a firm line and turn away, but neither blinked.
"You know we wouldn't come all this way without your work and home addresses, sunbae."
Han Sol picked up seamlessly.
"And you'll regret it if you don't talk to us now."
She glanced around. Factory workers sipping coffee and peeking our way, distant factories, shops at the village edge.
"Rumors fly in a place like this. Half a day for a full lap. Once they hear what Dad did in Seoul, what kind of life he led..."
"What, catching villains?"
I knew it wasn't that, but asked anyway. Their silent smiles answered.
"Or what, harass me? Stalk me wherever I go for a one-woman protest?"
Thorns crept into my voice.
Lee Jin-ah waved it off.
"Nothing like that. Our 'regret' means something else. It's for your sake, actually."
For my sake? No clue what that meant. Their whole attitude was baffling. No accusations, no demands or pleas to come back.
How to put it? Like once we talked properly, everything would magically sort itself out.
At a loss for words, I glanced between them. Then a sudden question slipped out.
"...You two that close?"
Lee Jin-ah and Han Sol looked at each other in unison. A wordless exchange of glances, lips curling up almost simultaneously.
...What the hell is that?
They'd barely had contact before. As far as I knew, the only time they'd met was that one cafe meetup with me in the middle, sipping coffee awkwardly before splitting quick.
And now... they should see each other as rivals or obstacles.
Yet they moved like a perfectly synced duo. Pace, tone—no room for me to cut in.
Han Sol gave a wry smile.
"When you've got a common goal, you join hands."
Common goal. Obviously me.
No choice for now. Shoving them off and going back to lunch or work? I'd choke on both.
I sighed and nodded.
"...Fine. Got it."
…………
Told the team leader it was family business, early out. He and the others gave meaningful looks, but I silently shed my coveralls and shut my locker.
Their eyes screamed curiosity and envy. Two young, pretty Seoul women. Not one, but two. Did that ajusshi save a country in a past life? Secret billionaire? Fuckin' jealous.
I smirked inwardly.
Yeah, envy away. But I'm the one dying here.
Not the flowery field you imagine. This is a minefield.
We left the factory, walking toward the village. None of us spoke. Just footsteps.
Meanwhile, I was—
Fuck, I'm screwed. For real.
No predicting what threats Lee Jin-ah might pull or wild moves from Han Sol. They were too calm. Rage or tears would've let me react on instinct, but this poise? What now?
Yeom Hana was home. Meeting her had to be part of their plan.
If—just if—things turned physical there?
My brain auto-simulated. Could I... hit them? My once-beloved junior, the girl I saw as a daughter? Never. Not in normal circumstances.
But...
Han Sol had already attacked Yeom Hana once. If she went for the gut again, and Lee Jin-ah joined? Despair circuits spun endless loops. Choke Lee Jin-ah: 3 seconds. Knockout: 10. Break Han Sol's arm: 2.
...I'm insane.
Chills ran down my spine. Here I was, calculating villain-hunting moves against them to protect Yeom Hana.
Disgusting.
Yet if it meant safeguarding Yeom Hana and the baby...
Harboring that madness in my chest, we reached the house.
Shit—forgot to text Yeom Hana.
Should've warned her. How bad would the shock be from these uninvited guests?
"This it?"
Lee Jin-ah's voice from behind. She stood gazing at the gate, composed.
Meaning they'd known the address all along.
Click.
The front door creaked open. And then—
"Whoa?! Ajusshi! Early out?"
Yeom Hana bounded out with a bright smile. Her belly bulged clearly under her T-shirt now. 16 weeks. No hiding it.
"Why early? Missed me that mu—...?"
Her cheerful words trailed off, cut short.
The two women behind me. Yeom Hana's eyes shook as she spotted them.
At the same instant, Lee Jin-ah and Han Sol's gazes shifted.
From Yeom Hana's face.
Down.
Stopping on the swollen belly.
Silence.
Lee Jin-ah's lips twitched up faintly.
Han Sol's eyes narrowed.
Their expressions twisted strangely—
Then, faint smiles spread.