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Dark clouds began to spread across the once clear sky. The two came down the slope. On the bench in front of the small store, the grandmother was still sitting and peeling garlic. Ja-kyeong asked Il-hyun to lend her his wallet. She took out several checks from his wallet and placed them in the grandmother's hand. Her drooping eyelids widened slightly as she looked up at Ja-kyeong.
Ja-kyeong picked up the garlic bag and shook it.
"For the garlic."
Whether she couldn't see the letters properly, the old woman alternately looked at the check and Ja-kyeong's face. Her wrinkled eyes narrowed. Ja-kyeong smiled and walked toward where the car was. As she was about to get in the car, the store's old woman called out to Ja-kyeong. Wondering what it was about, she approached, and the woman handed her money and two drinks.
"You're that kid who used to live in the house up there, right?"
Surprised, Ja-kyeong was lost for words. She snatched the garlic bag Ja-kyeong was holding and smiled warmly with her wrinkled face.
"Why take something you can't even eat."
"…."
"You've got those bright eyes, just like when you were little."
Tsk tsk, she laughed then turned around and went into the store. Her stooped back was pitiful. Ja-kyeong looked at the drinks in her hand. She remembered. She remembered me. With a choked-up face, she watched the old woman's bent back, then ran over and stuffed the money into her pocket.
This is for the bread.
Then she returned to the car as if fleeing. She started the engine and drove down, and in the rearview mirror, she could see the old woman standing still and watching. The overcast sky began to drop a raindrop or two, and the car went back down the road it came from.
"What are you thinking?"
Ja-kyeong took her eyes off the rearview mirror and looked at Kang Il-hyun.
"I feel strange."
"Why?"
"I thought it would be terrible, but it's not as bad as I expected."
"That's a relief."
It was unexpected. She thought he would make a big show of it, but that one phrase was it.
"Thank you…."
After hesitating, she finally conveyed her sincerity. If not for him, she wouldn't have dared to come this far. Fortunately, it must have been a passing shower, as after pouring down once, the sky cleared as if nothing had happened.
Driving into the city, the two went to a cafe and had tea. The cafe was bustling with people due to the sudden rain. After ordering, they sat by the window when the bell rang. When Ja-kyeong tried to move, Il-hyun got up first and went to the counter.
His appearance bringing the tray with teacups was unexpectedly steady. He seemed like someone who had never done such a thing in his life. People's gazes followed his movements. Ja-kyeong could notice that people's attention in the noisy cafe was focused on him.
He brought the tea and placed it in front of Ja-kyeong.
"Drink."
He took a sip of the espresso he ordered and made a subtle expression.
"How is it?"
Curious about the taste, she asked, but his expression was severe.
"If this were my employee, I would have fired them immediately."
Chuckling, she drank the watermelon juice placed in front of her. Compared to the juice the Sang-ju lady made, it was far inferior, but it was passable.
"You really like watermelon."
"It's delicious."
"Should I quit everything and go to the countryside to grow watermelons?"
Looking at his eyes, she couldn't tell if he was joking or not.
"Will you pay me?"
"We're engaged, so what's yours is mine and what's mine is yours."
Startled, she almost spat out the juice. She looked around to see if anyone heard. Engaged. Since when. Crazy? She shot lasers with her eyes, but Kang Il-hyun pretended not to notice. As evidence, he showed her the photo that came out strangely earlier, so she bit the straw hard with her front teeth.
"You decide everything on your own. In the morning, you lied about doing some ancestral rite or whatever."
"Who said it was a lie."
Ja-kyeong scoffed. So that's real? She shot back, telling him not to make her laugh. Did he think she wouldn't know he was saying it to scare her? Il-hyun called someone as if to prove a point and put it on speakerphone. After a moment, a man's voice came from the other side.
"It's me, Attorney Park."
[Yes, CEO. You're calling directly, did something happen?]
"You know what I mentioned last week. How did it go."
Ah... The attorney's flustered voice came through the receiver. The sound was hard to hear, so Ja-kyeong leaned forward and brought her face close to the phone.
[Well... there are many legal and ethical issues with that.]
"Attorney."
[Yes, CEO.]
"If I were going to worry about law, ethics, and such things, why would I pay you a lot of money to hire you. Right?"
[Yes... That's right.]
"Burying one more person, it's not that difficult a thing."
While speaking to the attorney, his eyes looked at Ja-kyeong and smiled. Ja-kyeong bit the straw and silently cursed with her mouth. It was real. He really thought about burying someone, this crazy bastard. After finishing the call, Il-hyun rested his chin and stared at Ja-kyeong.
"Did you hear?"
"I'll pretend I didn't."
"Accept your fate."
"I don't want to think that being caught by a crazy person and being buried alive is my fate."
When she made a crying face, his expression became very pleased. There are so many ways to show affection. She turned away and looked out the window, pretending not to notice. Then she saw a movie theater across the street. Il-hyun's gaze naturally followed.
"Want to go see?"
Without hesitation, she nodded readily. Watching a movie and then going to eat dinner would fit the time perfectly. To anyone, it would look like an ordinary daily life, but for the two who had to live through war every day, these were rather special things.
Fortunately, the theater wasn't crowded since it was a weekday afternoon. After buying tickets and even getting popcorn and cola, an announcement came to enter the theater. After checking the location of the theater, they went inside. As expected, there weren't many people. Ja-kyeong put the drink in the armrest holder and held the popcorn.
During the ten minutes or so of advertisements, Ja-kyeong looked around the theater. Unexpectedly, there were many men who came alone. Looking closely, they were sitting like wooden statues to an unnatural degree. It grated on her nerves, so she kept looking in that direction.
When the ads ended, the movie started, and the screen was filled with the protagonist's face. It was a French film, and according to the pamphlet, it dealt with the love and separation of lovers in a rut. Soon after, an angry woman's voice came from within the screen.
The woman moved her hands violently and hurled abuse at the man, but the exhausted man leaned back in his chair and busied himself ignoring the woman. Eventually, the woman was left alone, found a bottle of alcohol, and put a cigarette in her mouth. The woman's expression looking out the window was lonely. The movie was more depressing than expected, and Ja-kyeong didn't even think to put popcorn in her mouth and watched Kang Il-hyun sitting next to her.
No matter how she looked at it, this wasn't Kang Il-hyun's taste. Did she suggest watching it for nothing. She kept looking at him out of concern, and he turned around.
"Why?"
At his whisper, Ja-kyeong brought her lips to his ear.
"Is it fun?"
"No."
As expected.
"But I think it'll get interesting from here on."
He made a cryptic smile and focused on the movie again. Thinking it was fortunate, Ja-kyeong also tried to immerse herself in the movie. Just then, Kang Il-hyun's hand, which had been on the armrest, approached the popcorn bucket. She thought he was going to eat popcorn, but it slid down and groped Ja-kyeong's thigh.
She frowned and looked at him, and he turned his head and moved his lips silently. I want to do it. Ja-kyeong understood exactly and grimaced, pulling his hand away. His hand slipped out like a loach and ended up fondling her crotch.
"Ah, hey!"
She yelled without realizing it, and everyone in the theater's attention focused on them. Ja-kyeong's face turned bright red as she bit her lip and looked straight ahead. Then she made eye contact with the men sitting in front and her expression hardened. She felt a sense of déjà vu from them as they quickly averted their gaze.
Ja-kyeong put down the popcorn bucket and nudged Il-hyun's leg with her foot. Their eyes met, and Il-hyun tilted his head slightly to the side. The two stood up simultaneously and left the theater.
Hurriedly catching the elevator and pressing the button for the first floor, the entrance door of the theater they had just left opened, and someone else came out.
The elevator closed as it was.
"Did you see?"
Il-hyun asked, and Ja-kyeong nodded.
The men sitting alone in the theater. They were dressed in ordinary clothes, but she could tell they were of the same kind as them.
"How did you know?"
"There was one I recognized."
"So you touched my crotch on purpose?"
"No. I touched that because I wanted to touch it."
Of course. When she looked at him with disbelief, he grinned.
They arrived at the underground parking lot, the elevator doors opened, and they got off and moved to the car. At that moment, the doors of other cars around them opened one by one, and people got out. Their appearance was not ordinary. The two stopped walking and looked around for a way out. As expected, they were guarding from all directions to prevent escape.
There was no choice but to break through. When she tried to go forward, Il-hyun handed her the car key. She caught it reflexively, and he made an unexpected suggestion.
"Let's bet on who gets to the car first."
Ha. Ja-kyeong looked at him with disbelief.
"You want to do that in this situation?"
"If I win, tonight you have to wear lacy lingerie with flowers on it."
Looking at him grinning sleazily, Ja-kyeong ground her teeth. This person, really pushing it.
"Then if I win, can I do you from behind?"
"Suit yourself."
Seeing his confidence, she was so annoyed she actually wanted to do it. Ja-kyeong sneered and pulled out a gun from behind her waist. When she inserted the magazine and loaded it, Kang Il-hyun's expression turned vicious.
"What the hell. When did you get a gun? Isn't that a foul?"
"If you don't like it, go get one yourself somewhere."
"You…!"
Ja-kyeong stretched her neck left and right, then darted out quickly.
"I'm going first. Keep your promise."