Chapter 557 (2/2)

Junmin poured a glass of soju and poured it over the burial mound before drinking one himself. The alcohol that went down his throat felt bitter like a grass root. Junmin frowned because of the bitter taste.

“For some strange reason, drinking here makes it taste really bad. Is it because of you? Or is it because of my guilty conscience?”

He poured another glass before scattering it.

“I say this every time, but what would you be like right now if the traffic accident didn’t happen that day? I really can’t imagine it. Would you have gone to Hollywood? No, well, you didn’t like studying, so I guess English was a little hard for you. Perhaps you might have become one of the numerous actors who disappeared without making a name for themself.”

He emptied the glass in his mouth. It tasted way too bitter.

“I really don’t like ‘what if’s. Haejoo, you should know that as well, about how much I despise uncertain things. Despite that, you know, I keep thinking about those ‘what if’s. What if I went to the hospital quickly, what if the traffic accident didn’t happen, what if you stayed at home that day, and what if… you didn’t meet me in the first place.”

He took a portion of the snacks in front of the grave. He then poured a glass of soju and put it next to them.

“These days, your juniors are doing their best. Thanks to them, the company’s getting bigger. I’ll bring them here once. You’ve never seen them before, but I hope you can take care of them. They are the people that work in the company that’s named after you. I really wanted to go with AJ, but that was already registered as a company. Actress Jung Haejoo or Jung Haejoo Actress doesn’t really make a difference, so please understand. I know you must be getting fed up listening to all this since I tell you this every time I come here, but please listen to me anyway. I really don’t have anything else to talk about.”

After looking at the grave without a word for a while, Junmin took out his phone from his pocket. It didn’t feel like a lot of time had passed, but it was already past 4 in the afternoon.

“I’ll get going now. Have a good rest.”

After cleaning around the grave one more time, he dusted the mud off his pants and turned around. Just then, he saw someone walking up the mountain. That path wasn’t a hiking route. There was only one reason for its existence - to lead to this place. Junmin pressed down on the flat cap that he had taken off before. He wondered who it was. It couldn’t be Haejoo’s parents, because she didn’t have any family members. The figure kept coming closer.

There was a reaction from the other party as well. Junmin narrowed his eyes. The moment his aged eyes discerned who that person was, he exclaimed.

“I always thought it was strange. The grave was way too clean. It didn’t take that long for me to realize that someone’s been cleaning this place right before the date of her death. The 23rd. That was the day of the accident. I did think it would be you, so I didn’t bother coming. But I did come today, just in case. So it turns out I was right after all.”

“It’s been a long time since we met in private.”

“Yes, president. It really has.”

“What’s that?” Joohyun asked as she looked at the plastic bag in his hand.

Junmin said that they were shrimp crackers and Anseongtang-myun. When he did, Joohyun shrugged and opened her own plastic bag. There was a bag of shrimp crackers and Anseongtang-myun as well. What was different was that there was rice wine instead of soju.

“I’ll get going first.”

Junmin walked past her.

“You’re going already?”

“I did what I came here to do. Also, you probably don’t like me being here.”

Joohyun had treated Haejoo like a real sister. Junmin still couldn’t forget Joohyun’s eyes that looked at him at the hospital on that day - the day Haejoo died. It’s all because of you - the high school girl’s eyes that just witnessed the death of her elder sister seemed to be saying those words.

“It’s been quite a long time,” Joohyun said.

Junmin did not stop.

Hearing those words, Junmin stopped and quietly turned around.

“Come. So that unni doesn’t feel lonely. Or do you still find me hard to deal with?”

Joohyun took out the bottle of rice wine.

“Haven’t we aged quite a lot to be shy? I’m thirty four and you are…”

Junmin quietly replied ‘fifty-one’ when he saw her eyes staring at him.

“How about it? We’re old enough now, so shouldn’t it be fine? It’s not like we’re at an age where we would get hurt just because we reveal what we’re thinking. Well, if you still don’t want to, I can’t stop you.”

Her faint smile overlapped with Haejoo’s. Junmin nodded before turning around fully.

“Unni, I’m here. Moreover, there’s one more person today. What? He came here just now? It’s fine. You always liked it rowdy,” Joohyun said as she raised the rice wine above her head.

[1] A specific brand of ramyun.