Phase 3: Mother Gyeong-ae (11)
“Haa...”
“Sorry. Fucking hell...”
Eun-hui and I both sighed at the same time.
Hiring the guy had cost another ten million won. Even hauling packages all day only netted a little over a hundred thousand, and in just a day or two we’d blown through a combined twenty million. It would have been a lie to say it didn’t sting.
“Still, once he’s been paid, Dad’s going to do the work properly. I’ll be out there too, of course...”
Eun-hui looked dejected, as if she couldn’t save face in front of her junior.
“I’ll only call you for progress reports or when both of us are completely stuck.”
“Call me the second you need me.”
“But why do you spend so much money on Gyeong-jun?”
“He’s my friend. My only friend.”
This money had come from Gyeong-jun in the first place—what was there to regret? The only thing I couldn’t shake was the feeling that I hadn’t used it thriftily.
“Want to grab a drink? My fault, so I’ll buy.”
“Nah, I’m good. We’re still on the job.”
Eun-hui tapped her ear with a finger in agreement. The earbud jammed in there meant she was live-monitoring the two of them in real time.
“How’s the situation looking?”
Her face twisted at my question.
“Not great. That pig bitch has already started demanding more cash and valuables.”
“Wiretaps and location tracking are one thing. How are you planning to wrap this up?”
“I’ve got a scenario ready, but the decisive moment still hasn’t come. Ha, fucking hell—what if our Gyeong-jun ends up completely cleaned out?”
She didn’t hold back even in front of the guy who’d just dropped twenty million. That alone proved how deep she was in for Gyeong-jun, so I kept quiet. She said she had a scenario; I’d leave it to her.
“How long do you think it’ll take?”
“Two or three weeks at most.”
“Guess I’ll need more money ready.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Why not?”
“Dad said the first payment plus the extra will cover him for two weeks.”
Originally it was supposed to cost ten million a week, so this was basically breaking even. Human hearts were that thin. The feeling of taking a loss flipped into “we’re even,” and suddenly I could breathe again—even though the fact that twenty million was gone hadn’t changed at all.
“What do you even like so much about Gyeong-jun?”
“Hell if I know. At some point I just... started watching him.”
She pulled her cap down low, not wanting me to see her face flush. That look belonged to a girl nursing a crush.
When is my Hui-gyeong going to show me something like that? The lively side of her was nice, but I wanted her to show me that kind of shyness too. To get there, though, I first had to fix what happened this morning.
“If you start dating Gyeong-jun, what’s the first thing you want to do?”
“Dude, we haven’t even dealt with the pig bitch yet and you’re already drinking the kimchi soup?”
“Why not? I told you I’ll push hard for you. And imagining that stuff isn’t half bad.”
“How would you know?”
“I was a total virgin until recently.”
“Right. Things going okay with your girlfriend?”
I shrugged with a sigh, and Eun-hui looked startled.
“What? Yesterday you were still going on about ‘I love you.’”
“I don’t know. We suddenly fought and I have no idea what to do.”
“Who was in the wrong?”
“Neither of us, really. Just small mistakes on both sides.”
They weren’t small at all, but I felt obligated to paper over it that way. Seeing me droop, Eun-hui gave my shoulder a sympathetic pat.
“You love her?”
“Yeah, I love her.”
“Then let it sit for a bit.”
What did that mean? I shot her a look asking for an explanation. She kept her hand on my shoulder and continued.
“I go nuclear with Dad all the time too. You saw it just now, right? If you leave it like that, things stay frosty for a while, but then some chance to talk comes up. From there you either dig in deeper or pretend nothing happened and move on.”
“What if one side doesn’t want to just move on?”
“Then... you have to properly clear the air. The one who messed up has to apologize for real.”
The hand on my shoulder was warm. The seriousness with which she answered struck something inside me. Eun-hui might have a foul mouth, but she was full of quiet affection. Her advice felt different from everything else I’d heard so far, and it settled me more than I expected.
I thought that alone was enough, but the next thing she said left a deeper mark.
“That moment can’t be right this second.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You know you’re the one who should apologize, but it still feels unfair as hell—happens even with people you’re close to.”
“Huh. Never thought of it that way.”
“Same here. I never considered what you told me earlier.”
“What?”
“Gyeong-jun’s side of it. What happens later if I just get him a part-time job and dump the work on him. Back then I thought you sounded really mature.”
“Nah, I mean...”
Getting praised by the foul-mouthed noona made me ridiculously embarrassed. Mature? Me? The guy who’d sulked like a kid, stormed out after a fight, and nearly yelled at her dad earlier. The word didn’t fit me at all.
“Yeah. Whether this job works out or not, I’m going to apologize to Gyeong-jun.”
“Huh? Why would you?”
She dipped her head with a faint smile.
“Because I peeped on his private life however I wanted.”
That hit me. I could feel how much she liked Gyeong-jun, clear as day.
“You like him that much?”
“A ton. That’s why I feel just as sorry.”
“What if he gets mad?”
“It’ll sting, right? Even if I did it for him. He might get pissed right back or start whining. But I’ll hold it in. Because what I did was wrong.”
“I see.”
“Of course! I went and did it based on my own expectations. We’re adults. We have to take responsibility. I can’t just throw a tantrum and get irritated because I didn’t get the reaction I wanted.”
“Yeah...”
I was taking a lot in. Mom’s words, the trainer’s words, Eun-hui’s words—every one of them had bones in it. If I’d heard them even a little earlier, the way I treated Hui-gyeong might have been different, and maybe she wouldn’t have lashed out so roughly.
“You’re surprisingly thoughtful, noona.”
“What? Hey, that kind of compliment doesn’t make me happy at all!”
Pulling her cap down didn’t hide the way her mouth had gone soft. Eun-hui cleared her throat, rummaged through the bag she was holding, and held out two small notebooks.
“What’s this?”
“Couple Q&A books. You each take one, write answers to the questions inside, then look at them together later.”
“Why give them to me?”
“I bought them because I wanted to do them with Gyeong-jun, but right now you look like you need them more.”
I accepted them without protest. Opening a notebook, I found pages packed with questions that were embarrassing yet asked for honest feelings about the other person—how they saw me, what they hoped for from me, what they wanted to do together. Starved for Hui-gyeong’s honesty, I tucked them away gratefully.
“Thanks, noona.”
“I’m the one who should thank you. Making you throw around that kind of money.”
“If things work out later, let’s throw a celebration party. I’ll go all out.”
“Oh-ya~. You heading out?”
“Yeah, I should.”
I waved and turned away without lingering. The summer sun was sinking. It would be dark soon. The closer I got to home, the darker my heart would get to match. I’d only heard advice; I hadn’t found any answers. The question of what face I should show Hui-gyeong only grew heavier.
Still, I had to go.
To the side of the wife I loved.
To cut straight to the conclusion: I never made it to Hui-gyeong’s side.
“You’re not going.”
The moment I stepped inside, Mom blocked me from heading to the room. The smile was gone; only firmness watched me. It would have been easy to shake off the hand clamping my arm, but I didn’t dare.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
I frantically looked for Hui-gyeong, but through the open doorway she was only staring this way, dazed. After getting chewed out by an already furious Mom that morning, of course she couldn’t do a thing.
“I’m going into my room.”
“Is that so? Hui-gyeong said it’s the newlywed room you two live in together.”
“What...? When?”
“This morning.”
All I had heard was that Hui-gyeong had said I wasn’t the best. That alone had turned my insides inside out... and she’d confessed everything to Mom?
Seeing my stunned face, Hui-gyeong dropped her head. Even so, the fact that my little sister couldn’t say a word only made me resent her more.
“I already knew about the rest of it. How could I not, with the filthy sounds pouring out of that room nonstop?”
“...Mom, I’ll explain everything.”
“Explain what...? How the two of you ended up like this...?”
I tried to scramble for some excuse, but in front of Mom, who was already starting to cry, my courage evaporated. When I hung my head too, Hui-gyeong jumped in urgently.
“Oppa and I are serious.”
“Hui-gyeong, be quiet. After the things you said this morning, what do you mean ‘serious’? Have you even apologized to Gyeong-hun yet?”
“Ah... not yet...”
“Then apologize right now. If you do, I’ll look the other way for a while.”
“Mom...”
Hui-gyeong only dithered. The hope I’d been holding inside soured into disappointment.
Ah, this isn’t it. After all the advice from the trainer and from Eun-hui, I’d wanted to act more mature... but how narrow-hearted was I that her hesitation still made me feel hurt all over again?
“Go on.”
“Ah... th-that’s...”
Please, Hui-gyeong, say something—anything. Even while her breathing turned ragged, she couldn’t get a single word out. Mom smiled thinly at her.
“See? You’re not desperate at all.”
“Ah... uuuh...”
She buried her face in both hands and broke down crying. It was pitiful and heartbreaking. Strength drained from my whole body. If Hui-gyeong couldn’t do it, I should have been the one to step up, I should have said something... but I was as limp as waterlogged cotton.
“I can’t stop you completely, but at night at least—no contact between the two of you.”
I could only let myself be led wherever Mom pulled me. She headed for the master bedroom. When she dragged me in still unwashed, Hui-gyeong finally snapped her head up and looked at me.
“Oppa!”
But it was already too late. Mom opened the door, shoved me inside, slipped in after me, and locked it from the inside.
“Oppaaa! Mom, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please don’t do this!”
To Hui-gyeong pounding on the door, Mom shouted coldly.
“I’m not the one who needs to be sorry!”
“Mommaaa! Waaah, Mommaaaaaa!!!”
Her raw, desperate sobs made me worry she might pass out. I started to move on pure reflex, but Mom blocked me and spoke toward the outside.
“Jo Hui-gyeong.”
“Momma...! Please...!”
“Crying doesn’t solve anything. Think it over by yourself. What you two did between blood siblings is unforgivable, but before that... think carefully about what brought you all the way here.”
“......”
In the end Hui-gyeong went back, sniffling. Everything had happened so fast that my head was numb and spinning. I didn’t know whether to beg Mom or argue with her. I clutched my head as a headache bloomed and stood there hollowed out—when Mom called me in a low voice.
“Gyeong-hun... will you... hold me for a bit...?”
Mom was crying.
I had made Mom cry.
Both of the women I had sworn to protect with my own hands were crying because of me. Swallowing a bitter breath, I pulled her into my arms. Mom pulled me back even harder. With her crushing hug locked around me, all that remained was regret.