Episode 16
"It's not even half the rent. You're not supposed to take in people you've never laid eyes on; I should've listened to my husband, what kind of pity came over me…."
Rose recalled the day she first saw the tenant standing before her, five years ago.
One stormy night, a haggard pregnant woman had arrived seeking shelter, cradling her swollen belly. It was obvious at a glance that she would bring trouble, so Rose had tried to turn her away, but because Harriet, a nearby resident, vouched for her, Rose gave her the oldest room on the highest floor.
She hadn't felt a single ounce of guilt through it all. She had even been proud of herself for providing a place to sleep for a woman of unknown origins.
The woman claimed to be an orphan and that her husband, also an orphan, had died in an accident, leaving her alone. But Rose had weathered all manner of hardships in her life and was far too seasoned to believe such an obvious lie.
She could tell at a glance that it was a lie. Whatever the woman's circumstances were, it wasn't Rose's business to know.
And so, five years had already passed. Under the pretext of overdue rent and interest, she could now quietly pocket the deposit. With the full intention of humiliating her and driving her out completely, Rose raised her voice.
"From the start, I don't even know where or how she's been peddling herself to get here…."
At the sudden commotion, the surrounding rooms opened one by one. Curious gazes poured through the gaps in the doors onto Rowena, who stood in silence, listening to the sudden torrent of abuse. Amidst it all, voices taking her side also spilled out from here and there.
"Please stop. Honestly… can't you leave the poor baby's mother alone?"
"I saw her coming home late from work last night too. Ma'am, your words are truly cruel."
"That's right. Everyone here knows she's not that kind of person."
Those chiming in were mostly neighbors whom Rowena had become acquainted with over the years.
At the slowly rising atmosphere of sympathy, Rose glared with fury and jabbed her finger.
"Ah, shut up! Shall I calculate right now how much rent all of you are behind on?"
"…."
"If not, then shut your mouths and go to sleep!"
At the sharp rebuke, the tenants all fell silent and shut their doors.
"Honestly, worthless wretches with nothing to their names, sticking their noses where they don't belong…."
Rose shook her head and fixed another glare on Rowena.
"I'll let it slide for today, but if the monthly rent is late again, know that you'll be evicted on the spot. Understood?"
"Yes. Thank you for understanding."
Rowena smiled faintly and bowed her head. Hmph. With a snort, Rose turned and walked away.
* * *
Damian had been a sickly child from birth.
Delivered by a midwife hurriedly called from the slums, he had suffered all manner of petty illnesses from the moment his umbilical cord was cut. It was something he wouldn't have had to endure had he grown up in a proper household with adequate food and care.
Every time the child coughed, Rowena felt as though layers were being peeled away from her heart.
"It seems he's been taking his medicine consistently. Even so, his fever and chills have improved greatly."
The physician removed his stethoscope and delivered his diagnosis gently.
"Thank you, Doctor."
Rowena secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Damian, oblivious to his mother's heart, burrowed into her embrace like a sticky burr.
"Mommy, I took my medicine well and listened well, so will you buy me a toy?"
Expectation colored his innocent face as he asked. Instead of answering, Rowena stroked his black hair.
"I'll buy it for you as a Christmas present… there's not much left until then, right?"
"Yay!"
It would be hard, but she could increase her evening shifts and start a side job. The only reason she had endured even this far was thanks to the money that had somehow ended up in her bag, though she didn't know when it had been placed there.
Thanks to the man who had known she wouldn't take it.
Swallowing the abruptly surging memories, Rowena took Damian's hand and stood up.
"Then we shall be going."
"Ah, just a moment."
The physician caught Rowena as she turned to leave and pulled a candy from his gown pocket to hand to Damian. Rowena met eyes with her son, who looked up at her as if asking permission, then glanced back at the physician.
At her gaze that seemed to ask if it was pity, the physician subtly spoke.
"My nephew is around Damian's age."
"…."
"That's why I'm giving it to him."
In truth, that wasn't the whole reason. From the first day the woman with a face worn by poverty had visited the clinic, he had secretly found his eyes drawn to her.
At first, it had been because of her beauty. But afterward, he had gradually become immersed in the tender gaze and voice with which she treated her son, and the desolate sorrow hidden within them.
From bits and pieces he had heard, Damian was a posthumous child, and her husband had died in an accident five years ago. He recalled the gossip-loving old women clicking their tongues in pity, saying it seemed she had wandered from place to place before settling here while heavily pregnant.
The more he looked at her, the more his interest grew. Deep down, he knew he shouldn't, but it was an irresistible attraction.
Blankly alternating her gaze between her son and Philip, Rowena let out a small sigh inwardly.
"You should say thank you to Doctor Philip, Damian."
"Thank you!"
At her granted permission, Damian smiled brightly and bowed politely to Philip.
As he handed over the candy, Philip recalled the boy's father from Damian's face.
Skin as white and smooth as cold marble, hair as black as pitch. Eyes with pigment so faint and transparent they were like ice.
His appearance was so striking that his mother's features were hardly visible at all. Whoever he was, he must have been a man who would not compare at all to the woman before him even if they stood side by side.
"Well then."
Rowena, holding the child's hand firmly, bowed. Behind her, Philip had reached out his hand, but he slowly lowered his arm at the sound of the door closing.
Patients continued after that. Trying hard to forget about her, he was calling the next patient's name when a nurse knocked on the door.
"Doctor?"
"What is it?"
"A man is here asking for you; I think you need to come out. He says he's looking for someone."
There weren't many people who came to this remote city looking for someone. Perplexed, Philip stepped out of the examination room to see the nurse's face pale with fear. The patients who had been waiting in the waiting room had also all disappeared.
"Wh-what is this…?"
The moment he sensed the strange atmosphere, someone called out to him.
"Are you Doctor Philip McWood?"
It was a cold voice. At the same time, chills ran down his spine. He turned with a creak and met eyes with a man who had somehow gotten hold of a patient record and was rummaging through it.
He was a tall man wearing a deep fedora and a black coat.
"What on earth are you—ugh!"
Before he could finish shouting, men approached from behind, twisted his arms, and forced him to his knees. The man crouched down to his eye level, grabbed the back of Philip's head, and made him look up.
"I'll ask only once, Doctor McWood. Blonde, green eyes, a beauty in her late twenties. Her name is Rowena Filone, though she probably used an alias."
The woman who had left just over an hour ago flashed through his mind.
"Has a woman like that come here?"
"I… I don't know."
Philip shook his head instinctively. The moment he met the man's eyes, an intuition that he must never speak dominated him.
The man, who had been staring at him as if trying to read his true intentions, rose to his feet.
"If she comes, contact me through this hotel. I'll reward you handsomely."
He had a subordinate hand over a business card. Philip read the name written upon it with trembling eyes.
Zenox Gillitus.
A businessman who had recently risen swiftly from the underworld.
* * *
"Auntie!"
Damian smiled brightly and hugged Harriet. Harriet laughed and stroked Damian's head as the small body fit snugly into her arms.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah! You too, Auntie?"
"I slept wonderfully. You listened to Mommy, right?"
At the continued question, Damian rolled his eyes instead of answering. Rowena, who had been watching the two quietly, snickered and cut in.
"You don't want to say that you whined about not wanting to go to bed early, do you?"
"Mommy!"
Damian turned his head sharply with a pout.
"We were going to keep it a secret in front of Auntie Harriet."
"When did I say that?"
Rowena puffed out her soft cheek and cast her gaze toward the twins hiding behind Harriet's back.
"How have you been, Lawrence? Rosaline?"
"Auntie Rebecca!"
"Come here."
As soon as she opened her arms, the twins dove into her embrace.
Belatedly feeling jealous, Damian stretched his arms out to hug his mother. At the sight, Rowena burst into laughter.
"Damian. You hugged Auntie Harriet, but now you're upset that your younger siblings are hugging Mommy?"
"Mommy is mine!"
"So greedy."
"So different from Mommy, who's an angel in this world. Who did you take after to be like this? Could it be Daddy?"
Harriet giggled and pulled the twins into her own embrace. Stiffening for a moment at the unexpected word, Rowena apologized with an awkward expression.
"I'm sorry to leave them with you again."
"What are you talking about? It's better since they have a friend."
Harriet was two years older than her, a team leader at a textile factory, and someone Rowena had relied on for the past five years. She was also a benefactor who had introduced Rowena to a midwife and a job.
"Rebecca, you came here when I was pregnant with the twins. We've been birth companions since then, so don't feel too sorry."
"I'm ashamed to keep receiving your help every time."
"That's exactly why I'm telling you not to say such things."
Smiling with a wrinkled nose, Harriet gestured for the twins and Damian to play in the front yard.
As soon as the signal was given, the children rushed out in a swarm, and the chaotic house grew a little peaceful.
The two went straight to the kitchen and sat facing each other. Harriet, bringing out warm tea, asked cautiously.