"So, are you not going to do it?"
Lee Yeon, who had entered a nearby café, wore a troubled expression the entire time. She had just been bombarded by people's shifting desires, each wave of them hitting her like radiation. Even in that drained state, she could clearly feel Kwon Chae-woo's glancing gaze.
From small curiosities to larger desires to win favor, various signals from women's eyes came and went.
"The camera might be filming......"
Chu Ja swallowed her words at Lee Yeon's defensive posture.
"Lee Yeon-ssi, why a camera?"
But Kwon Chae-woo couldn't let it go. When it came to Lee Yeon, he didn't want to miss anything. Looking at his sincere eyes, Lee Yeon reluctantly parted her lips.
"Just...... I want to live as quietly as possible. If it gets broadcast, things might get noisy."
She shrugged as if it was nothing, but her expression said otherwise. Kwon Chae-woo readily nodded, but he firmly registered that So Lee Yeon was avoiding something.
"Hey, Director So!"
At that moment, a husky voice called out to her brashly.
This voice. Lee Yeon's face subtly contorted. But she quickly hid her feelings and smoothed her expression. She rose from her seat to offer a greeting.
"Hello."
"How long has it been! We live in the same area, isn't it too little contact between us?"
The director of D Hospital, Jo Gyeong-cheon, was a man who boasted a full head of hair despite being past sixty, and was once Lee Yeon's superior.
Already exhausted in body and mind, seeing that brazen face made her feel utterly unlucky. There were countless reasons she disliked him.
"Come, come, say hello. You two haven't seen each other in a while either, right?"
Director Jo gave his disciple's back a push forward.
Lee Yeon's hand clenched and unclenched.
Before coming to Huaidao, the tiny 4-pyeong rented room in Seoul where she lived. Involuntarily recalling that semi-basement, a non-existent claustrophobia seemed to overwhelm her. Her expression management faltered.
"I brought him to Huaidao this time. You two used to be close. You should acknowledge each other and get along again."
"......"
"Young people shouldn't just touch the surface of things. Go somewhere with nice scenery, sip some coffee together."
Director Jo was as clueless as ever. Or perhaps, pretending to be clueless made life more convenient.
His disciple Hwang Jo-yoon still had a scholarly face, fingering his sparse eyebrows. The small pupils beneath were still unsettling.
"Lee Yeon-ah, it's been a while."
"Yes, Senior, have you been well?"
Lee Yeon offered only perfunctory words before turning her gaze away.
Before coming down to Huaidao, Lee Yeon had trained under Jo Gyeong-cheon for five years. A young graduate from a junior college was the lowest class in that world. Even generously speaking, there was no respect in the work environment.
Especially Jo Gyeong-cheon's most cherished disciple, Hwang Jo-yoon.
An elite since his undergraduate days, whether because Lee Yeon had nothing made her an easy target, he stalked her at every opportunity.
When she witnessed those damp, sharp eyes pressed close against the semi-basement window. When Lee Yeon, unable to bear it any longer, revealed this fact to the hospital, the one who got fired wasn't him—it was Lee Yeon.
"Young people should catch up on old times. I'll—"
Jo Gyeong-cheon's gaze turned toward Chu Ja.
Chu Ja readily stood up and secretly winked at Lee Yeon. It was a signal that she'd extract some information somehow. Lee Yeon was able to smile a little, as if her chest had loosened.
When the two had vacated their seats.
"Hey, Lee Yeon-ah."
Hwang Jo-yoon reached his arm toward her. Then Kwon Chae-woo, who was beside her, pulled her waist strongly and seated her back down. Hwang Jo-yoon's hand waved through empty air, and Lee Yeon didn't understand what was happening.
"Lee Yeon-ssi, I'm anxious."
Kwon Chae-woo drew close. His body heat, reaching her like a heat haze, was warm.
"Who is that person?"
"Um......"
Unable to bring herself to speak, she only hesitated, and his arm dug into her waist as if urging an answer. Then he folded his broad shoulders and hid behind her.
Whether it was anxiety or wariness, Lee Yeon couldn't tell, but seeing Hwang Jo-yoon suddenly flinch, it seemed to be the latter.
"Is he someone I know?"
With that one question, Lee Yeon instantly understood the anxiety the man was displaying.
If it was someone he knew, Kwon Chae-woo, who had lost his memory, would feel troubled. Then memories she didn't want to share came out smoothly without any trouble.
"He's a senior from the hospital where I used to work. Kwon Chae-woo-ssi doesn't know him, so you can relax."
"......Ah."
He slowly nodded his head. However, the arm tightening around her waist remained for some reason.
Rather, he wrapped around Lee Yeon more completely and even joined both hands near her side. It wasn't like he was finishing a ribbon wrap. She ended up completely bound by him.
She wanted to admonish Kwon Chae-woo for his behavior, but—
"Lee Yeon-ah, who's that next to you?"
Hwang Jo-yoon asked urgently, glancing at Lee Yeon's waist.
"That's right, Lee Yeon-ssi. Introduce me too."
Suddenly feeling the warm touch through her clothes, Lee Yeon straightened her waist. Her tightly held waist felt alien to her.
"......This is Kwon Chae-woo-ssi. He's a man I live with."
Cohabitation was better than marriage, right? Lee Yeon subtly dug a hole, but Hwang Jo-yoon, who lived with subtle neurosis, couldn't accept those words calmly. His silent eyes twisted strangely.
"......You, marriage, you got married?"
She clicked her tongue internally. At the same time, Kwon Chae-woo pressed his lips near her earlobe and whispered.
"You should nod."
"......!"
—You should nod.
He urged her again. Goosebumps rose somewhere on her skin. It was because of the hand patting Lee Yeon's waist.
Ah, that spot tickles......! Lee Yeon twisted her body and inadvertently nodded. Then, as if driving a wedge, Kwon Chae-woo's voice immediately followed.
"I'm her husband."
Hwang Jo-yoon wiped his mouth and asked again to confirm.
"So Lee Yeon, you're saying you got married?"
The obvious doubt that it couldn't be true made her feel bad.
Thinking about it, Hwang Jo-yoon was always like that. No matter how much she revealed her inner turmoil, it was useless. He was the type who would never admit that he was wrong.
"No, Lee Yeon-ah. Wait a minute. I just can't believe it. What do you mean marriage. That can't be right. Are you okay?"
Hwang Jo-yoon's lips trembled pitifully.
When her senior secretly spat into the flower bed, when she heard he played by cutting flowers with scissors as a child. She disliked every moment, but she especially hated that aspect.
When things didn't go his way, Hwang Jo-yoon would tremble his lips and dismiss it as the other person's problem.
Such a convenient way of thinking.
Lee Yeon, tired of such arguments, voluntarily quit the hospital.
"You weren't that kind of person."
"......What do you mean by that?"
"You're not someone who could date men......! No, you originally hated getting involved with people at all! Lee Yeon-ah, don't I know you?"
"......"
"Who understands a kid who goes to look at trees every night, makes fertilizer at home on weekends. You know that only I could accept that, so why did you make such a mistake!"
How does this senior never change?
"Must be because I wasn't by your side, that's why you made such a mistake......"
Hwang Jo-yoon opened his eyes wide and trembled with rage.
Lee Yeon felt a fresh wave of stress making her head throb. She knew Hwang Jo-yoon followed her after work hours, but having no money, she couldn't move.
On days she took a different path, he would explode in tantrums. Watching a man spray spit and recklessly pour out his emotions, Lee Yeon could only resent her own birth.
Because her birth was like that, karma had piled up.
Still, to open a tree hospital, she had to complete her training hours, so Lee Yeon gritted her teeth and went. Let's endure as long as I can endure. Compared to her past life, this pathetic scholar was nothing.
And in the end, she made it here on her own.
"Senior, why are you fussing like we just met yesterday?"
"No, Lee Yeon-ah. Is that bit of time important between us?"
"It's been years since I left that hospital. As you can see, I have a hus...band, and I opened a hospital and am living well. Senior must still think I'm an easy target."
"Lee Yeon-ah."
He licked his lips quickly as if anxious.
"You're making a scene in front of your junior's husband."
"Is that really a husband?!"
The one who had been flustered suddenly shouted back.
"......What did you say?"
"Bring a family relation certificate! Until then, I won't believe it!"
"......"
Lee Yeon froze and couldn't respond.
Because the truth was struck precisely.
Terrified that everything might be exposed, and hurt that she was frightened of Hwang Jo-yoon again, she bit her lip hard.
Then, a faint snort was heard. A sound only Lee Yeon, who was close, could hear.