Chapter 89
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Nari's Secret Move-Out
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A few days after our conversation, Gong Nari announced that she'd decided on a place to move.
"I'm going to live with my little brother away from the family home. I've been covering more than half the rent for our two-room place anyway, so splitting it with him won't be much of a burden."
"Really? That's a great decision!"
Seo Ina rejoiced more than anyone, as if it were her own good news.
"Enjoy your freedom! You won't regret it, I promise. ...Oh, when are you moving your stuff? Need any help?"
"Thank you all. Your honesty helped me make up my mind. We're moving next week."
"On the weekend?"
"No. My brother suggested we go when Mom and Dad aren't home, so we're doing it during the day on a weekday."
"That little brother's a smart one."
Seo Ina gave a thumbs-up in admiration. She shuddered, saying it was the right call—just notify them, don't ask for permission like with an older sister, or it'd never end.
Ah, but if it's just Gong Nari and her brother moving, how are they handling the move?
"If you're sneaking out without your parents knowing, won't you need a car?"
"I looked into it, and full-service packing moves are too expensive. So we're handling the packing and loading ourselves and just hiring a driver for a box truck."
Gong Nari scratched her head at my question.
"You're taking the bed too?"
"No. We'll each have our own rooms after the move, so not even the bed..."
"Then just load it into my car! I'll drive you."
"Move on Tuesday! I'll help out too. I'm confident with packing."
Why bother renting a truck? I readily offered my car.
Then Seo Ina stepped up, volunteering to help with the move as well. Seo Ina working for free? That's... incredibly rare.
"Is it okay to impose that much?"
Color bloomed on Gong Nari's face.
She gratefully accepted our offers, and we all resolved to swiftly move her things on a Tuesday afternoon when everyone was off.
On the appointed day, Seo Ina and I headed to Gong Nari's place.
"Sorry! Mom took the morning off, so I haven't packed yet. It'll be quick—just wait in the car for a bit!"
The siblings had said they'd presort essentials and for us to arrive around 2 p.m., but the room was still a total mess.
"We're here to help you move, so of course we'll pitch in. Hmm? Just delivery boxes?"
"Yeah, a friend who moved recently gave me her leftovers."
"Don't use those—use the boxes I brought. No handles make them hard to carry."
Seo Ina had prepared four plastic boxes with wheels and handles, like rolling suitcases.
"Did you buy these specially?"
"Nah, I already had them."
"Why do you have things like this...?"
"Oh, didn't you know, Nari? I run a vending machine business at Jungun High."
Gong Nari, who only knew about her YouTube and online shopping, gaped in surprise.
Come to think of it, we never got around to mentioning that.
"It's more doable than it seems. If you ever want to try, let me know—I'll help."
Pa-ba-ba-ba-bat!
Even as she chatted, Seo Ina's arms kept moving. She stacked items at an absurdly fast pace.
"You should skip that box. It's all books—too heavy. Mix in some clothes."
While working, she even pointed out a box pre-packed by Gong Nari's brother, Gong Maru.
"It's fine. I can carry it."
"Try it."
"This much is... Ugh?"
Gong Maru tried to lift it cockily, but unfortunately, her prediction was spot on.
A post office size-6 box stuffed with books? Probably 40 or 50 kg.
"I'll handle it, so pack the next ones like Ina said!"
Of course, to me, it was as light as gum.
I snatched the box from a dejected Gong Maru who was about to unpack it and lifted it effortlessly.
"Huh?!"
"I-it was super heavy!"
"I can deadlift 400 kg."
Of course, that was without using internal energy. With full power, I could lift a car easily.
Gong Maru, who'd just tried it, was slack-jawed. Seo Ina and Gong Nari, who knew I was somewhat strong, were also shocked.
"Keep packing. I'll take down the ready ones."
I stacked two more finished boxes on top of the book one.
"Whoa, Director! Won't you hurt yourself? Let me help...!"
"Pfft, why go up and down the stairs multiple times?"
Gong Nari freaked out and tried to share the load, but I declined. Lifting everything alone was far safer than others huffing and puffing on the stairs.
"Wow, you're ridiculously fast."
By the time I loaded one load into the car and returned, Seo Ina had finished packing at super speed.
"Whoa... You could do moving for a living."
"I worked part-time at a moving center before."
Seo Ina nodded proudly.
"I'll get the rest."
"No! I have to carry this one myself!"
They could have let me do it all alone.
Everyone clung to one box each, so I just handled the leftovers.
We'd arrived less than 30 minutes ago, but the messy room was emptied in a flash.
"Alright~ Off to the new nest~."
Gong Nari and Gong Maru's new place was about 30 minutes by car from the neighborhood.
It was midway between our clinic and Gong Maru's university, slightly closer to the university side. Apparently, better food options and cheaper rent there?
It was definitely cleaner and newer than their old two-room place.
"Oh, there's even an elevator here."
"Right? Spacious, close to the station—everything's great!"
After unloading?
Chinese delivery, of course.
Eating jjajangmyeon after helping with a move has been tradition since forever.
"Cheers to Nari's fun independent life!"
Seo Ina raised her cola glass with a toast.
"Cheers! Director, Ina—thank you so much. I get to live like this because of you two!"
"Thanks for convincing my sister."
Gong Nari downed hers in one go, while Gong Maru—somewhere she'd learned it—supported her right arm with her left as she drank.
"Fighting. Everything will work out for you two and your parents. If living together gets tough, talk to me anytime."
"Yep!"
"Then dig in, everyone."
"Thanks for the food!"
A few days later, Gong Nari's mother called the clinic once.
Did she check the business card I'd given her by chance? Or maybe she already knew the workplace and looked it up.
"Hello, Seongsu Clinic."
- You crazy bitch! Where'd you run off to, ditching your parents? Think I'll let you live well on your own?
Gong Nari happened to pick up.
She'd been so kind before, but this sudden change was no joke.
"I'll handle it—give me the receiver."
"Director, I got this."
Seo Ina and I, grasping the situation, asked for the phone.
But the tighter we pressed, the harder Gong Nari gripped it.
"I should have blocked her sooner. Sorry."
- You %#$!^!#&!*&!(*@&!
"......"
Click. Clack.
Gong Nari's teeth clattered. She froze at her mother's sudden barrage of curses.
"Nari, let me."
"This is harassment during work hours. I said I'd visit in about three years."
But after hesitating, she spoke up.
Calmly, enunciating each word deliberately.
- Is the director there? That wretch ran off with valuables! Cut her off!
Of course, if she'd listened to reason, it wouldn't have come to this.
Hearing my voice over the line, her mother raised hers even more.
I'd been right there during the move—what false accusation was this?
She must have been shocked by her kids vanishing secretly.
"......If you disrupt work one more time, I'll go to whatever church or temple you attend and show you what a real crazy bitch is."
- What?
"I'll smash your personal info, everything. Think I can't?"
- How dare you threaten me with that filthy tongue...
Hoo.
As expected, no reasoning with her.
"Just come here now."
Protecting staff is the boss's job.
I forcibly took the receiver and said.
- Ah...? Director?
"Let's talk in person. I guarantee you won't regret it."
- ......
Click.
The line went dead.
"She hung up?"
"Looks like it. Will she come?"
What? Anticlimax.
"Whoa, Director—you were scary just now."
Seo Ina, who'd overheard, gave a thumbs-up.
"Scary?"
"For a second, I felt a chill... no, killing intent."
Hm? What did I do?
I just planned to meet and gently persuade her.
I'm not the type to emit killing intent at civilians. Even if a bit leaked unintentionally, would it carry over the phone?
She probably quieted down because it was just her easy target kid on the line.
"Thank you, Director. Sorry for the trouble."
She'd stood firm against the curses, but once the call ended, Gong Nari teared up.
"No, you did great."
"Just keep handling it like that. Next time she calls, I'll take it."
As Seo Ina and I patted her shoulders, praising her, Gong Nari burst into the tears she'd held back and hugged our chests.
"Waaah. Thank you all!"
Fortunately, she had at least a shred of conscience—or maybe she sensed the killing intent in the voice.
Gong Nari's mother never called the clinic again.
Ah... I really wanted to persuade her kindly and change her heart. What a shame.
"Huh?"
As if answering my regret, I ran into Gong Nari's mother again in the park soon after.
To get to the mart, you pass here, and she seemed to proselytize here often.
"N-not that way. Shall we head in for today?"
I tried to approach.
But as soon as our eyes met, she linked arms with her group and quick-marched the other way.
Hmm.
She vanished too fast to see clearly, but judging by her energy, she hadn't weakened much.
Looks like she's eating fine, at least.
As they say, no matter how much they curse death or life, they fill their own bellies.
Gong Nari quickly adapted to her new place. Even with a slightly longer commute, her face brightened day by day.
Using independence as a turning point, she opened up more to the other staff and occasionally hung out on days off.
Gradually, the temporary surge of out-of-town patients from Hyun Jumi and Park Seseon tapered off, and the clinic stabilized.
"Yo, Director! Hi~ It's packed in here!"
Finally, Cha Lila, who'd been coming to Seongsu Clinic for over a year, glanced around the waiting room.
It had actually thinned out some, but compared to when Cha Lila first came for treatment... yeah, still crowded.
"Wow, Lila. Long time no see. How've you been?"
I was grateful to everyone who trusted and visited me, but early patients felt especially welcoming.
Cha Lila wasn't from the very start, but as Kim Ijin's junior, she was in the same category.
"Arm been okay since then? I heard from Ijin you're training well."
"You bet! Thanks to you, it healed clean—I'm flying around out there!"
Cha Lila swung her arm around to prove it was fine.
True to her word, today's patient wasn't Cha Lila.
"Ijin's senior visited our alma mater recently, right? She invited me over since she was at school. Somehow ended up introducing me to Dad too. He never listened when I nagged him to try the clinic! But the second Ijin suggested he give it a shot, here he is!"
Cha Lila pointed enthusiastically at the stern-faced middle-aged man beside her.
Unlike her bright, cheerful grin, the man's face showed no expression.
His features were sharp with clear shadows, but with no movement, he felt more like a mannequin or statue than a person.
They don't look alike at all. This guy's...?
"My dad!"
The chart showed Chae Seonggye, 58 years old.
Preliminary symptoms from the desk: facial paralysis.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Chae. Welcome. When did the facial paralysis start?"
I nodded to Chae Seonggye and asked about the onset.
Like all illnesses, timing mattered, but especially for peripheral facial paralysis. No change or worsening in the first 3-4 weeks, then magically improving after a month in over 70% of cases.
"It's been a while."
No movement on Chae Seonggye's right face as he spoke.
His left lip moved some. But far less than a normal person's speech, coming off emotionless.
"Roughly? Over a month? A year? Five years?"
"About 30 years."
......Pardon?
"Hmm, were you very fatigued or under mental stress at the time?"
I was a bit—no, quite—flustered.
Too long. Way too long.
It's routine to ask about triggers for facial paralysis patients, but after that long, would he even remember?
"Yes. I failed the civil service exam."
"......"
Ah, that.
Must've been a huge shock.
"I went to the Incheon seaside, grieving. Wondered how to go on, cried till sunrise. Then wind hit me, and this happened."
"I see. What treatment did you try back then?"
"Too out of it at first. Tried acupuncture for a few months three years later—no effect."
Missed the treatment window too.
"Try moving your mouth. Ah, ee, oh."
"Ah, ee, oh."
Fortunately, the facial muscles responded, albeit imbalanced.
'Oh.'
I breathed a sigh of relief.
If the nerves were completely detached and rigid, nothing to be done. But this state had options.
Though calling it facial paralysis treatment was a stretch.
Practically plastic surgery.