51. An Early Summer Encounter (2)
51. An Early Summer Encounter (2)
"Ryu Baek-hwa."
Just uttering the name made the back of her neck feel cold, as if a cold blade had been pressed against it.
"It's been a while, Baek-seol unnie."
A sharp, cold beauty so similar to Baek-seol's that they could be called twins. But the pure white summer dress, the black hair cascading down to her back, and her slightly shorter stature than Baek-seol gave her a somewhat more girlish impression compared to her sister.
Ryu Baek-hwa was smiling as if she were genuinely happy to see her older sister.
But Baek-seol didn't miss how, despite the beautiful curve of her lips, her lifeless eyes remained completely still as they stared back at her.
"What are you doing here."
Baek-seol frowned even more deeply. Her usually calm and indifferent voice carried a sharp edge of wariness.
"Why do you say that? As if I've come to a place I shouldn't be."
Ryu Baek-hwa continued to smirk, speaking with a sly tone.
"I just came to meet a friend."
"A friend?"
Baek-seol snorted.
"I didn't know you had anyone you'd call a friend instead of a tool or a toy."
"Unnie, really. What do you take me for?"
"So you're saying that us meeting now is also just a coincidence on your way to meet this so-called 'friend'?"
"I suppose so?"
Baek-seol sighed deeply, pressing her forehead as if a headache was coming on.
"Then don't mind me and go on your way."
"Aww, how can you say that?"
Ryu Baek-hwa approached Baek-seol with a friendly voice.
"Meeting unnie after so long. This is fate."
Completely ignoring Baek-seol's glare, Ryu Baek-hwa looked at the display window Baek-seol had been staring at.
"Oh my, were you shopping? I didn't know unnie was interested in accessories like these."
"None of your business."
Baek-seol spat out the words and started walking as if to shake Ryu Baek-hwa off.
"Huhu, well, there might be sides to unnie I don't know about."
With a relaxed laugh as she caught up to Baek-seol, a frost seemed to settle over Ryu Baek-hwa's face for a moment.
"It's been years since you abandoned me and ran away."
"......"
Baek-seol's steps halted, and Ryu Baek-hwa also stopped, watching her reaction.
"I never abandoned you, nor did I run away."
Baek-seol said coldly.
"I just left to find my own life."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
"And you wanted to inherit Father's Company, didn't you? Me leaving home was actually good for you."
At Baek-seol's question, the corner of Ryu Baek-hwa's mouth lifted ever so slightly. It was a genuine expression, not the fabricated smile from before, and her face held a clear sneer.
"Maybe. If only Father would stop talking about unnie to me."
"......"
"'If it were your sister, she would have handled this more efficiently,' 'If it were your sister, she would have learned much faster.' Do you know how many times I've been compared to unnie while learning the company business? Even though unnie hasn't laid a hand on company matters since high school."
Ryu Baek-hwa's eyes flickered ominously as she spoke. To Baek-seol, they were utterly unreadable—or perhaps she didn't want to read them—beneath which it felt as if a sticky, black sludge was boiling.
The two stood staring at each other in silence for a while. The one who broke the heavy silence was Ryu Baek-hwa, who hid her eyes behind a newly formed smile.
"Well, but it's true that I want to inherit the company, as unnie said."
Taking the first step, Ryu Baek-hwa changed the subject.
"Shall we stop with the boring talk? This is the first time we've met since unnie left home, so tell me a bit about yourself. You never talk about yourself when we're on the phone."
"I have nothing to say."
Baek-seol replied curtly.
She wanted to get away from Ryu Baek-hwa immediately. But if she tried to force her away, she didn't know what she might do, so Baek-seol had no choice but to match her pace and walk beside her.
Though it was a rather hot day with the deepening summer sun beating down, walking with Ryu Baek-hwa felt like treading on thin ice.
That was exactly why Baek-seol disliked and was wary of her younger sister so much.
Her unpredictability—never knowing what action she might take. And yet, her obsession and possessiveness, ensuring she always got what she set her sights on.
Among the things Ryu Baek-hwa had always targeted were Father's Company and her own older sister, Baek-seol. And becoming Ryu Baek-hwa's target felt like always having a thorn at the back of your neck, never knowing when it might pierce you.
"Tell me anything."
Knowing that personality of Ryu Baek-hwa all too well,
"How has So-jeong unnie been lately?"
Baek-seol thought she had to prevent Ryu Baek-hwa from getting close to So-jeong.
"......"
Seeing Baek-seol's silent glare, Ryu Baek-hwa burst out laughing, "Keuhut."
"Now it feels like you're really looking at me."
"Stay away from So-jeong."
"Oh my, she's unnie's best friend—no, your only friend. Can't I, your younger sister, even ask how she's doing?"
"No."
"It's not like I'm going to do anything to So-jeong unnie."
"After all you've done, do you think I'd believe that?"
Baek-seol said through gritted teeth.
"Just as you found out about So-jeong, I have ways of knowing if you approach her. If you so much as lay a finger on So-jeong, it won't end with words."
"I know. What I want is the unnie I knew, not a broken version of her. If I didn't know that, I would have already had a cozy meeting with So-jeong unnie."
Ryu Baek-hwa added, spinning around on the crosswalk.
"But unnie, you can't run away forever."
"......"
"You hate this personality of mine and Father's, but you know that same blood flows in your veins too, right? Having one or two good people by your side won't let you escape from it."
Baek-seol gave no reply.
The urge to refute her sister's presumptuous words welled up inside her, but if she opened her mouth to spit them out, it felt like only monstrous sounds would come out—sounds that would somehow prove her sister right.
As if sensing Baek-seol's thoughts, Ryu Baek-hwa didn't wait for her answer and pointed to one side of the crosswalk, putting on her fake smile again.
"Well then, I'll be going this way. It was nice to see you after so long."
"Where are you going."
"I told you, didn't I? I came to meet a friend. It's almost time to meet them."
......Was that statement actually true?
"I was originally thinking of not coming, but since I got to see unnie too, it turned out to be a gain in the end. Huhu, I should come to meet friends more often from now on. Who knows? I might run into unnie again by chance."
Just then, the traffic light changed, and Ryu Baek-hwa walked away without looking back at Baek-seol, her steps relaxed yet somehow precarious.
Baek-seol didn't take her eyes off Ryu Baek-hwa until she disappeared into the crowd.
After she completely vanished from sight, Baek-seol had to look around for a moment, disoriented about where she was, like someone waking from a terrible nightmare.
Only then did she realize she had been walking aimlessly just to get away from Ryu Baek-hwa, without knowing where she was going. She let out another sigh.
"Haa......"
Her head throbbed. Even as she walked back to the place she was supposed to meet So-jeong, Ryu Baek-hwa's words and the expressions she had shown echoed annoyingly in her mind.
'You hate this personality of mine and Father's, but you know that same blood flows in your veins too, right? Having one or two good people by your side won't let you escape from it.'
Ryu Baek-hwa's words seemed to directly translate the doubts that occasionally surged from the depths of her own heart.
While living with So-jeong, Baek-seol had thought she had somewhat resolved these questions that always tormented her.
But just briefly facing her past had caused the voice she thought she wouldn't hear again to start tormenting her mind like this.
"......"
I want to see So-jeong.
Baek-seol thought quietly in her tangled mind.
But she still had quite a while to wait until the time she was supposed to meet So-jeong. Thinking the remaining time would pass very slowly, she decided to go into a nearby cafe to kill time.
"Huh, Baek-seol?"
Just then, So-jeong's voice came from behind Baek-seol.
Baek-seol whipped her head around. For a moment, she thought she might have misheard, or that she might be hearing things because she was thinking about So-jeong so much.
"Hehe, fancy meeting you here?"
But in her field of vision as she turned around was So-jeong, wearing a slightly oversized blouse and a tennis skirt, smiling brightly at her.
"So-jeong-ah."
Baek-seol called her name as if longing for her.
For a moment, she thought she should act normal so So-jeong wouldn't notice she had just met Ryu Baek-hwa.
Not wanting to worry So-jeong unnecessarily, she tried to put on her usual impassive expression.
But as soon as So-jeong saw Baek-seol's face when she turned around, her eyebrows drooped with concern and she took a step closer.
"Baek-seol-ah. Are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere? Your complexion doesn't look good."
"......"
So-jeong's kindness was always like warm sunlight gently descending.
A kindness that approached and bestowed gentle warmth before you even sought it or noticed it was there.
"I'm okay."
Baek-seol gave a shallow smile.
"I'm okay now."