Chapter 90
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 90
The day had come.
‘Time flies…’
It felt like he hadn’t done much of anything, but Seol [Lunar New Year] was already here.
For Dokyun, it was his first trip home in the six months since Chuseok.
The difference from last Chuseok was…
“Hurry up and pack.”
This time, he was going with Eun-seol.
Dokyun looked at Eun-seol, who was sitting on the sofa with her arms crossed, hurrying him along, and opened his mouth.
“Just a minute, please. We’ll be there for three days, you know. There’s a lot to pack.”
“Why didn’t you do it earlier?”
“…Uh.”
Hearing that, he was at a loss for words again.
If he had to make an excuse, it was Eun-sam’s novel’s fault.
The mental scars, which had lasted far longer than Dokyun had expected, had only recently healed. Dokyun, who had unintentionally let his novels pile up, had let out a happy scream and devoured the entire backlog.
That’s right. In short, he hadn’t prepared because he was busy having fun.
“I’m sorry…”
Eun-seol let out a deep sigh at Dokyun’s apology, which he offered while avoiding her gaze, and then spoke.
“Forget it. Just pack.”
“Yep.”
After his quick reply, Dokyun continued packing and checked for anything he’d missed.
‘Clothes, underwear… all the toiletries are already there…’
It seemed he had packed everything he needed.
“I think I’m about done. Let’s get going.”
As Dokyun said this, pulling his suitcase, Eun-seol stared blankly at his luggage before speaking.
“There should be a paper bag on the bottom shelf in the kitchen. Bring that, too.”
Couldn’t she have told me earlier?
Grumbling inwardly, Dokyun headed to the kitchen and found the paper bag Eun-seol had mentioned on the bottom shelf of the right-hand cabinet.
He reached out, took the bag, and after examining it, turned his gaze to Eun-seol and asked a question.
“What’s this?”
“A gift.”
“Huh?”
When Dokyun let out a dumbfounded sound at her short reply, Eun-seol glanced at him and added an explanation.
“You think I’d go empty-handed?”
He wasn’t imagining the wave of gratitude that washed over him at her words.
Asking Eun-seol was the right choice after all. It must have been a huge imposition on her, yet she was taking care of even these small details so meticulously.
“Thank you for being so thoughtful.”
“It’s nothing.”
As if his thanks were nothing, Eun-seol used her crutches to stand and headed for the door.
Dokyun gathered the luggage and the paper bag, followed her, and asked in a subtle voice.
“So, what’s inside?”
He asked because there were no markings on the outer packaging.
“Alcohol.”
A short answer came back.
A gift befitting her, I suppose. Dokyun let out a small laugh at her answer, nodded, and replied.
“My father will love it. He’s the type to jump out of bed in his sleep if you mention alcohol.”
“…Is that so?”
A question in response to his words.
When Dokyun shifted his gaze, he saw Eun-seol letting slip a pleased expression.
“Good.”
The corners of her mouth crept up slightly.
A sense of unease welled up in Dokyun, and he narrowed his eyes, glaring at the back of her head.
‘She’s not planning to become his drinking buddy, is she?’
This was a person who looked for a drink at every opportunity.
Furthermore, recalling how she always offered him a glass whenever she brought out alcohol, it seemed she was in need of a drinking partner.
Dokyun continued to glare suspiciously at the back of her head for a moment before shaking his head.
‘…Nah.’
Surely, no matter how much she liked to drink, she wouldn’t go that far.
Dismissing his rising anxiety as a mere misunderstanding, Dokyun shook off all his lingering suspicion and followed her.
If it really looked like she was going to start a drinking session, he could just stop her.
*
On the highway.
Dokyun looked out with a weary face at the endless lines of cars on the road.
It had been gridlocked like this for an hour already. So this was what the holiday traffic was like. He’d always taken public transportation and never experienced it firsthand, but driving himself was exhausting.
“…The traffic is pretty bad.”
Dokyun muttered, his tone tinged with annoyance at the endless sight.
“…”
There was no reply.
Feeling that something was off, Dokyun glanced over and finally realized she was asleep, narrowing his eyes.
Suddenly, a vein bulged on the back of his hand.
‘Agh…’
She was sound asleep, dead to the world.
He wasn’t in a position to snap at her, but he couldn’t help feeling a bit resentful seeing her sleeping so peacefully.
Couldn’t she at least stay awake and keep me company?
As that thought crossed his mind, Dokyun let out a deep sigh and turned his eyes back to the road ahead.
‘Right, she has every reason to be tired.’
As annoying as it was, it made sense when he thought about how she’d been the past few days.
Even after being discharged from the hospital, she had been handling some work here and there, but she seemed to have gotten drastically busier recently. Yesterday, she’d been glued to her laptop all day.
‘She said she runs a company, didn’t she?’
He wasn’t sure how that was possible for someone who couldn’t always be “out,” but she spent most of her time outside the body—aside from reading—working.
She never explained the details, so he didn’t know exactly what she did, but recalling the immense amount of documents he’d glimpsed on her laptop screen, it couldn’t be a small-scale operation.
Dokyun remembered Eun-seol groaning under the endless bombardment of paperwork and shook the thought away.
She’d worked so hard it would be strange if she wasn’t exhausted. It was better to let her rest peacefully now.
After some more time driving, Dokyun, who was yawning widely, spotted a sign for a rest stop in the distance and changed lanes.
Sleepiness was creeping up on him; if he kept going like this, he was liable to get into an accident.
‘Might as well grab a bite to eat while we’re here.’
The clock showed it was 1:00 PM.
Deciding it was better to eat now since they still had at least three more hours to go, Dokyun parked the car, turned off the engine, and looked at Eun-seol.
Still dead to the world.
Watching her, Dokyun felt a small smile escape and reached out to wake her.
“Eun-seol-ssi, wake up.”
Her body stirred slightly as he gently tapped her shoulder.
A moment later, she slowly opened her eyes. They darted around before finding Dokyun, and she let out a small yawn and asked a question.
“…Are we there?”
Her voice was thick with sleep.
“No, we stopped at a rest area. I thought we’d take a short break.”
“Ah…”
Eun-seol, who had been blankly rolling her eyes at his words, nodded and replied.
“Okay.”
“Let’s get lunch while we’re out. It’s lunchtime.”
As Dokyun said this, pointing to the clock, Eun-seol glanced at it and nodded.
After getting out of the car, Dokyun draped his coat over her as she got out and continued.
“What would you like to eat?”
“…I’ll decide when we get there.”
Is she still half-asleep?
Dokyun looked at Eun-seol, who was shivering slightly and answering blankly, then nodded and started walking.
The rest stop during the holiday travel season was, quite literally, a sea of people.
It was so crowded with people stopping to rest or eat that it took a long time just to order food.
After waiting in line for a while, Dokyun turned to her in front of the self-service kiosk and asked.
“What are you having?”
At his question, her eyes turned to the kiosk.
Eun-seol’s gaze scanned the menu for a moment.
“Cheese pork cutlet.”
For once, a normal answer came out of her.
Inwardly surprised, Dokyun then realized that a rest stop wouldn’t sell something like cilantro kalguksu [knife-cut noodle soup] and nodded.
Right, even if they sold it here, probably no one would eat it.
Dokyun let out a small chuckle at the stray thought, then selected ramen for himself and paid.
A while later, Dokyun brought their food to an empty table, handed Eun-seol her meal, and spoke.
“Judging by the traffic, I think we have about three more hours to go.”
He said it as a rough estimate, not knowing how much more traffic they’d hit. She scowled and swore.
“Fucking hell.”
Flinch.
He flinched at her words.
When you thought about it, she was only here because of his slip of the tongue.
Feeling a surge of guilt for putting her through this trouble, Dokyun offered her a small apology.
“I’m sorry. It’s my fault you’re…”
At his words, her gaze turned to him. She let out a deep sigh and replied in a dismissive tone.
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
“I know, but I’m still sorry.”
“If you know, then act like it.”
Dokyun watched her as she said that and began to eat.
The way she picked up the pork cutlet with her chopsticks, pulling at the stretching cheese.
Feeling a small smile emerge at how quickly she’d dismissed him, Dokyun picked up his own chopsticks and offered his thanks.
“…Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
Again, her tone was dismissive, as if it were nothing.
*
The gridlocked highway finally ended, and the familiar scenery of his hometown stretched out to welcome Dokyun.
The school across the way and the stationery store in front of it. The market stretching out to the side. It all stirred a sense of nostalgia.
Thankfully, unlike the rapidly changing city, his hometown always welcomed him with the same familiar face.
Of course, it wasn’t just for him, but he couldn’t help feeling grateful to his hometown for always remaining the same, preserving things for him to remember even if he didn’t visit often.
He might forget while living in the city, but as soon as he returned, old memories would come flooding back, and he’d remember what was where.
The corners of his mouth crept up, and he hummed for a moment before speaking, his mood thoroughly lifted.
“Eun-seol-ssi, we’re here.”
“Yes, I can see that.”
She didn’t fall asleep this time? He glanced over and saw her looking at the school and market in the distance.
Dokyun let out a small laugh, turned his eyes back to the road, and began to speak.
“See that market over there? That’s where I used to hang out every day after school. The tteokbokki they sold near the entrance was so good…”
It was that feeling you get—the urge to point things out and explain them when you visit your hometown with someone from out of town.
“…And that elementary school up ahead is the one I went to. I was in the 77th graduating class, so the school is 98 years old this year.”
As Dokyun continued his explanation, caught up in the feeling, she listened for a long time before suddenly replying.
“It’s suddenly hitting me just how old you are.”
Flinch.
Her reply completely shattered the nostalgic mood.
Feeling a sting of guilt, Dokyun pouted and grumbled.
“Hey, why bring up my age all of a sudden?”
“Then you shouldn’t have started it. Did you really think you wouldn’t reek of old age, explaining everything like some grandpa who’s seen it all?”
Her words beat him down.
Once again, Dokyun’s mouth snapped shut.
He remained silent for a moment, but the desire to protest welled up, and he opened his mouth again to speak.
“Come to think of it…”
“What.”
Is it really a good idea to bring this up?
After hesitating for a moment, Dokyun shot Eun-seol a sidelong glance and then, with a feeling of ‘Ah, what the hell,’ spat out the words.
“Eun-seol-ssi, why do you speak informally to me? Aren’t I older than you?”
In truth, it was something he should have addressed much earlier, but he had suppressed it, feeling guilty even as he said it.
He hadn’t said anything because he was afraid of being called an old geezer for pulling the age card, but he figured seeing her flustered face would be a decent trade-off, so he asked the question.
“Consider your mental age. You act like a damn brat all the time, and you expect me to use honorifics with you?”
What came back was a scathing rebuke.
His mouth clamped shut again.
A montage of his past behavior in front of her flashed through Dokyun’s mind.
Rolling on the floor crying his eyes out. Scuffling with Eun-sam until his eyes rolled back. Cackling as he dumped his entire fortune into a novel.
“…Let’s just pretend this conversation never happened.”
“Just drive.”
“Yep.”
It seemed he would never be able to win an argument against her.