Chapter 43 (1/2)
Seol Ji-Hu continued to wander aimlessly on a certain street.
Not because he didn't know what he wanted to do… he was hesitant. Hesitation gripped him tightly and prevented him from taking that last step.
For a while, he walked the same street over and over again. Eventually, his steps cautiously slowed to a stop as if he was standing on slippery ice. And while standing still, he took a look inside a certain coffee shop through its front window.
His gaze was directed beyond the tables and chairs, to a young woman preparing coffee beyond the counter.
She was Yu Seon-Hwah.
….She was truly beautiful.
Her clear eyes seemed to imply how honest she was; the light s.h.i.+ning within those eyes was calm yet pa.s.sionate; her slender hands cautiously handled the hot water; the soft and warm radiance whenever she smiled….
Was that guy confessing to her? A man receiving a mug of coffee from her hesitantly pushed forward his phone. Yu Seon-Hwah's eyes opened up a little wider, but she still managed to shake her head softly enough for her neatly-tucked-in hair to gently brush her neck.
The man still tried to present her with his phone, but only after she bowed her waist did he withdraw his disappointed hand. Even though she seemed a bit troubled, never once did Yu Seon-Hwah lose her charming smile.
The shop's door issued a ring, and the rejected man walked out.
Seeing that man's back trudge away, Seol Ji-Hu felt a certain amount of unexplainable deja vu.
He took in several breaths and reached out towards the door handle, only to freeze on the spot again.
He would've reached the door if he let his hand inch forward just a little bit more. However, the distance between himself and the door to the shop suddenly felt so wide and impossible to close, and it grabbed hold of him tightly.
”……….”
In the end, he withdrew his hand and placed it on his chest. That was when he felt it.
….His pounding heart.
His fear.
The tables would be filled with patrons right past the lunch hour. But, after four in the afternoon, the shop would usually become less crowded.
After the man who had been occupying a certain table for a long time finally left, a waitress finished tidying up his table, returned to the counter, and began speaking to her co-workers.
”Body, six points.”
Then, another waitress who was busy with wiping clean one of the display shelves, began laughing her head off.
”Wow, how generous of you. Face, three points.”
”Fas.h.i.+on sense, five points.”
Finally, a different waitress stopped organising the vibration bells and chimed in as if she was waiting for this chance. She then clicked her tongue.
”A total of 14 points. How unfortunate, but rejected!”
”Girls?!” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
Yu Seon-Hwah stopped operating the POS terminal and turned around to face the waitresses. They stopped their chat and then, began giggling non-stop.
Seeing this Yu Seon-Hwah slowly shook her head.
”It's not that much fun, though.” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
”Eii, unni should stop being coy, you know? We all know that you're secretly enjoying this.”
”What do you mean, enjoying what? I just find it a little troubling, that's all. If you continue to….” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
”That's only because you're such a stonewall, you know? By the way, Manager Yu? Wasn't that second person to confess today?”
”It was ten people last week…. At this rate, we might have a new record?”
Seeing three waitresses chat among themselves in clear excitement, Yu Seon-Hwah could only sigh softly to herself.
The truth was, she was blessed with outstanding beauty, so there were quite a few men who would approach her and ask her out during the day.
Also, there would be no man alive who would simply walk by disinterested after hearing her comforting voice and the way she gracefully carried herself.
Such events kept occuring every single day, so the three girls working as part-time waitresses here began a.s.signing points to all the potential suitors asking her out.
One of them was tasked with the body, another one with the face, while the last girl, with the so-called fas.h.i.+on sense. They began critiquing without anyone's permission; they even arbitrarily decided that the top combined points should be 30, too.
Of course, Yu Seon-Hwah told them to stop and behave themselves, but in a strange twist of logic, the girls began arguing in their defence that, if any guy wished to date their respected manager, then he had to score at least 24 points or higher.
As an aside, out of hundreds of men who tried their luck, 25 had been the highest score so far. For something these girls started as a bit of joke, as a way to kill some time, the three of them were rather strict in their judging criteria.
In any case, Yu Seon-Hwah herself wanted this critique panel to disband with immediate effect. After all, no matter how careful these girls were, there was bound to be a slip-up sooner or later, and the customer might overhear them, which would naturally lead to a huge headache.
”Ohh! We might have our third candidate for the day!”
”Where, where?”
”Right outside. Look, there he is. He's been standing there for the past hour or so, hesitating like that.”
”You're right. Should we take a closer look?”
They only pretended to listen to her and never really tried to heed her warnings.
Seeing the three girls huddle around and began whispering amongst each other, Yu Seon-Hwah decided to ignore them completely. The owner of the shop often called the girls ‘the three no-answer stooges' and at this very moment, she sort of understood where that sentiment was coming from.
In the meantime, one of the girls with an arrogant expression studied the youth outside, before suddenly going ”Hul?” and blinked her eyes several times.
The guy outside was tall. His chest and biceps were st.u.r.dy. He possessed the type of a body that this girl preferred, the one where the muscles were tough yet agile and smooth without looking like a bodybuilder's. The girl's lips loosened in a foolish grin.
”Hi~ya. His b.u.t.t and his waist are so dreamy! Body, ten points!”
She then turned her head towards another girl rubbing her chin like an arrogant old man. This girl had a really high standard and so far, never had issued a single nine pointer, never mind the perfect ten. It was not for nothing she was tasked with judging the face.
”….Hmm, he's okay. Eight points.”
”I knew you'd do that!”
”Knew what?”
”I knew that you like guys with softer, more delicate looks.”
”What do you mean? Look, that guy's face is manly enough, don't you think so?”
She went, Mm, mm, nodded her head, and smiled in satisfaction.
”Well, we might have the highest point scorer of all time if this keeps up. So, how about his fas.h.i.+on sense?”
”….Ten points…. No, nine. His shoes are a bit of mismatch.”
”Ohh? I get her, but what's up with you?”
”You know, that top he's wearing? That one alone should cost a few hundred thousands.” (TL: In Won, not in dollars.)
”Hiieck.”
The girls gasped in surprise, before one of them tilted her head.
”Wait a minute, didn't you say before that you hate name brands?”
”No, it all depends on how you wear the name brands, okay? It's not the same with you buying the most expensive stuff out there so you can show off, and someone carefully choosing and picking the right combination like him.”
”R, really? I can't tell.”
”With him, well, I think either a pro coordinator got him to wear those, or he could be someone really interested in fas.h.i.+on. Even though he looks simple and plain on the outside, he can't fool my eyes. He's got a killer fas.h.i.+on sense.”
An evaluation that bordered on gus.h.i.+ng praises was made.
”Let's see. 10 points, 8, and 9….”
”27 points! The history has been rewritten!”
The girls clapped their hands, and one of them spun around to look at Yu Seon-Hwah, in the middle of concentrating on her job and not minding whether they were throwing a party or not.
”Unni! Manager! It's a 27! Finally, we have a guy who can bring down your unwavering wall!”
”….Girls.” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
Yu Seon-Hwah's voice became heavy. There was a limit to her keeping quiet and ignoring them. She finally decided to teach these girls an unforgettable lesson today.
”I told you girls to stop this, didn't I? How would he feel if he hears you and your…….” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
Her words blurred and the tone went up the moment her eyes drifted to the outside of the shop. Yu Seon-Hwah froze up in the middle of her speech.
But, that was to be expected. The girls spoke of a guy who could bring down her wall, but that person turned out to be someone who had already done that once.
”….I…. Wait. I'll be back soon.” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
Yu Seon-Hwah took off her hat, grabbed her handbag, and hurriedly walked out from behind the counter.
Ring, the doorbell issued a ring once more.
Seol Ji-Hu stopped wasting time and momentarily held his breath.
Yu Seon-Hwah, still wearing the shop's uniform, was now standing in front of him.
He felt his entire body, starting from the fingertips, freezing up after being subjected to her cold eyes.
”…You even decided to show up at my place of work.” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
”Seon-Hwah.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Follow me. I don't want to raise a fuss here.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Yu Seon-Hwah declared as so and began walking towards the backstreet without waiting for his consent. He had no choice but to follow after her.
A short while later, Yu Seon-Hwah stopped walking in front and turned around to face him. Seol Ji-Hu too reflexively stopped.
”……..”
She stared at him for a long time without saying a word.
Seol Ji-Hu's head slowly lowered as if he was a criminal who knew his crimes. For some reason… he found it hard to look at her in the eye.
There were only six, maybe seven steps between him and her. However, he sensed this wordless pressure that forbade him getting closer.
The first person to break the silence was Yu Seon-Hwah.
”First of all, take these.” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
Seol Ji-Hu received his old bank card and the mobile phone and his expression became slightly dazed.
”T, thanks. I had forgotten about them….” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”You forgot? No, you were just trying to create an excuse for yourself. You were being clever, because I said I'll call the police.” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
”No, really. I did forget them.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Stop. Fine. So, why are you here today?” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
Her voice remained cold.
”You left behind ₩2 million that night.” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
”….Yeah.”
”Now that you thought about it, you want that money after all, is that it? What? Should I give it to you, then?” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
”N, no. That's not it. The thing is….” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”Fine. I'll give you. I'll give it to you, so….” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
Yu Seon-Hwah pulled ₩2 million, cash, from her handbag and thrust them out as if she was about to throw them away. It seemed that she had the cash ready just in case Seol Ji-Hu came to visit her one day.
”Take it, and please leave, right now. I need to go back to work.” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
Her voice, filled with resentment and anger, tore into his body and began stabbing his innards like a dagger.
”Take this, and never appear before me ever again.” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
She used to be a kind, loving girlfriend once upon a time.
”This is the last time I'll turn blind eye. Don't ever think another cheap ploy like this will work in the future.” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
It felt like she went past the point of despising him and into the realm of hating him now.
‘Get a grip, get a grip….' (Seol Ji-Hu)
He stood there, his lips flapping helplessly for a while, before he was able to squeeze out some words with considerable difficulty.
”I'm sorry…. for coming to see you during your work.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”There was something I have to say to you…. But, I thought that, if it's not today, then I won't be able to… S, so, like, I….” (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu began biting his lips. This was not it. This was wrong. Even he could tell this was gibberish. There were so many things he wanted to say to her, but his head became an untidy mess that was impossible to unravel.
Slowly.
He had to do it, slowly.
Today was the last day.
Unlike with his family, he had to end it with Yu Seon-Hwah today.
Seol Ji-Hu made up his mind once more; only then did some calmness return to his heart.
”I know you're really busy, but is it possible for us to talk? Ten minutes, five, no, even three minutes will be fine.” (Seol Ji-Hu)
”……..”
A short bout of silence later, Yu Seon-Hwah retracted the hand carrying the money. He raised his gaze, a little more hopeful, but her eyes remained cold and critical.
”You want to talk?” (Yu Seon-Hwah)
”Yes….”