Chapter 3
The man smirked, one corner of his mouth lifting.
It was the expected reaction. The man who knew very well that he was handsome, and was aware that he had superior physique compared to others, so he acted haughty like a princess with a high nose. She hadn’t imagined she’d reunite with Seo Yohan in Jinhong-ri, where the average age was 63.
“Are you being serious, or do you have ulterior motives?”
At the sudden, piercing question, Heena responded without hesitation.
“Of course, I’m serious. Judging by what you’re saying, it seems like we’re meeting for the first time. Isn’t that right?”
His narrowed eyes stared directly at her face.
She planned to spend a season, maybe two at most, in Jinhong-ri, so she wanted to be on purely platonic, almost stranger-like terms with Seo Yohan for a comfortable stay.
“Ah, so Ms. Jeong Heena wants to know me.”
This time, it was Heena who chuckled dryly.
“You’ve been saying incomprehensible things since earlier. What does it matter if we know each other or not? What difference does it make if I’m being serious or have ulterior motives?”
Because from now on, he was nothing to her.
“I’m trying to accommodate you. In the way Ms. Jeong Heena wants. Because of someone, accommodating others is basically ingrained in me.”
A sarcastic tone returned. He had been like this since earlier. She had planned to go along with him with polite words and then leave, but since he kept getting on her nerves, Heena couldn’t just stand there and take it.
“Accommodate? The person who’s the worst at that? Thinking you’re good at accommodating must be your own delusion.”
“Jeong Hee, I mean, you’re not really in a position to say that…”
Heena was speechless at his assertive tone. Unable to bear the silence, he continued to run his mouth.
“You’re always the one who needs to be accommodated, Ms. Jeong Heena.”
Flushed with anger, her face heated up. Heena put her hands on her hips and sighed deeply.
“Stop it. Do you want to be this childish?”
“Why? Does it hurt your feelings when I tell the truth?”
“Why would the truth hurt my feelings? My feelings are hurt because it’s not true.”
“You haven’t changed. Still obsessed with that truth, those facts.”
“You haven’t changed either. Still whining like a child.”
Seo Yohan frowned deeply. He was looking at Heena with a look of contempt, as if he’d heard something unbearable.
“Whining? You thought all the emotional appeals I made were just whining?”
“Stop playing word games.”
Heena knew what he was going to say next. It was obvious. Does it look like I’m joking right now?
“Does it look like I’m joking right now?”
At his predictable words, a scoff escaped her lips. She was starting to get tired. Since they lived next door to each other, they would see each other often, and she didn’t want to waste her energy on a pointless power struggle.
“Let’s not make things difficult and try to avoid each other while I’m staying here. Okay?”
“You’re still the same, making these unilateral pronouncements.”
“Oh, honestly. I said let’s stop. I’m not free enough to be doing this with you.”
“What are you so busy with?”
“Uh, that…! Th, there’s, something.”
“Probably just going to crash and sleep.”
It was true. She had absolutely nothing to be busy with. Since she came here to rest, she was planning to just crash and sleep.
Heena brushed back the hair that had fallen over her forehead.
The moment she saw the man’s handsome face, a childhood memory flashed through her mind. The boy who was Jeong Hee-tae’s friend, shyly holding out his hands full of cornelian cherries.
She should have been careful from the moment she had that dream about him after arriving in Jinhong-ri. She had no idea that dream would be precognitive. No wonder it felt so unsettling.
She hadn’t dreamt that she’d run into her ex-boyfriend, whom she had a terrible fight with before breaking up, in the place she came to for a peaceful rest.
✦⋆🍒.₊ ⊹
Back at home, dumbfounded, Heena stared blankly at her empty hands. It wasn’t because she was upset about the tteokbokki Seo Yohan had taken. It was because she was flabbergasted by this twist of fate, meeting Seo Yohan, here, now, of all places.
“You’re forcing yourself to eat tteokbokki because of me, aren’t you? You hate this because it’s spicy. Should I rinse it in water for you?”
“Not water.”
Yohan chuckled, pressing his lips against Heena’s.
“Feed me what you were sucking on.”
“Ew, that’s gross…”
“Your saliva is my saliva and my saliva is yours, so what’s so gross about it?”
“…….”
“It’s going to get mixed up anyway.”
The memory of them constantly kissing each other while eating tteokbokki came flooding back.
“Oh, please! No! Don’t think about these things!”
Heena thrashed around, messing up her hair. Just the thought of it gave her goosebumps.
“Let’s stop this. I’ve thought about it for a long time, and I can’t do this anymore.”
It was always Seo Yohan who initiated the breakups. Although she was partly to blame for pushing things to the extreme, Yohan, who was often lost in his own thoughts and had a wide range of emotions, must have always envisioned the end of their relationship.
“You’re breaking up with me again?”
“How can I continue seeing you after hearing something like that?”
“Just because of those words?”
“‘Just’? It might be ‘just’ for you, but for me, those are words I’ll never forget.”
“Fine, let’s do it. I’m really tired now, too. It’s not just you who’s struggling, Seo Yohan.”
“That’s why I’m saying it’s better for both of us to stop this.”
With Seo Yohan’s words about stopping for the sake of both of them, she couldn’t contact him anymore. They had broken up and gotten back together several times, but that time, his sincerity was so palpable.
Heena laid out her bedding and lay down in her room. She never wanted to recall those feelings again. She didn’t want to remember walking home alone after drinking, or the moments she stared at his contact information on her phone, agonizing over whether to press the call button.
Seeing Seo Yohan today brought back the stinging pain she felt after their breakup. Desperate to forget everything, she squeezed her eyes shut, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
✦⋆🍒.₊ ⊹
The makgeolli man, his face flushed, had quietly whispered to Heena about the bus stop. He said he’d bought a few bottles of makgeolli that could only be found in town, and invited her over if she wanted to try some.
She woke up from a short nap and it was dinner time. She didn’t have any particular cravings and the silence was making her feel chilly, so she figured going where people were gathered might not be a bad idea.
As she opened her carrier to choose something to wear, a thought suddenly occurred to her.
‘Wait… Does that mean Seo Yohan might be there, too?’
The makgeolli man couldn’t have invited only her.
Heena, the maximalist, chose a t-shirt and stretched-out sweatpants that she wouldn’t even wear at home from among the clothes she’d brought. It was an outfit that would make it impossible for Seo Yohan to mistakenly think she’d dressed up for him.
Six in the evening. With no tall buildings around, she had a clear view of the sun setting beyond the horizon. She could have seen this scenery yesterday if she hadn’t fallen asleep. She felt a pang of regret but consoled herself with the thought that she would see this view to her heart’s content from now on.
Heena put on her shabby fleece jacket and stepped out the gate. As she zipped it up, she heard the gate next door open.
“…….”
“…….”
Even if they were ill-fated, could they really be this ill-fated? To run into each other twice in one day?
