#Side Story 14
Small quarrels during the wedding preparations persisted stubbornly afterward. Gyo-ha would frequently pull out his black card, while Hwi-kyung tried to dissuade him, insisting they stay within the agreed budget.
In between them, Gyo-ha’s family and Ok-ja merely clicked their tongues, asking, “So when are you two actually getting married…?”
“What kind of problems are you bringing to me when you’re not even doing your job properly?”
“Well, Hwi-kyung is making a fuss about why we need to replace everything when we already have furniture we’ve been using together.”
“Is that something you need to rush over and tell your sister who has a meeting to attend?”
“What else can I do? You’re the only married person I can consult with.”
“There’s Sung-ha too! He’s gotten his act together these days!”
“I don’t want to talk to Sung-ha.”
Since returning to Korea for wedding preparations, Gyo-ha had been pestering everyone he met to convince Hwi-kyung. Things had gotten so bad that Jung-hye had even offered to pay Hwi-kyung herself if they would just let Gyo-ha have the extravagant wedding he wanted.
But Hwi-kyung was equally stubborn. If a man decided to cover the wedding budget alone, there should be no second-guessing. Hwi-kyung flatly rejected offers from adults who wanted to contribute money. It was a matter of pride to show the wealthy that he had money too!
“Your husband is something else.”
“What do you mean?”
“Impressively frugal.”
He’s the type who should be a public servant… Jung-hye ignored her brother who was being difficult despite his age. Abandoned by his sister who told him to figure it out himself, Gyo-ha wiped his dry eyes.
Around the same time, Hwi-kyung was having a consultation of sorts with Se-young. After marrying Sung-ha, Se-young had quit her job and now frequently took Hwi-kyung on tours of famous cafés, claiming she was bored.
Since Se-young had long since reformed Sung-ha into a diligent breadwinner, she enjoyed dragging her future brother-in-law around to all the places she’d wanted to visit instead of her husband.
Only after being pulled by Se-young through restaurants, cafés, famous photo spots, and every floor of department stores could Hwi-kyung finally get into the car to go home. If this was a preview of in-law life, then the rumors about its harshness were true.
“How are the wedding preparations going? I meant to ask about that today, but you haven’t said a word all the way home.”
Though it was obvious she had just called him because she was bored, Se-young brought up Hwi-kyung’s wedding preparations as a conversation topic. Hwi-kyung froze like a statue while holding the steering wheel.
Today too, he had had a small argument with Gyo-ha. They never used to fight, but lately they disagreed on everything. Hwi-kyung had no intention of replacing their perfectly good household items, but Gyo-ha upset him by suggesting they change all the furniture for a fresh start with their marriage.
The two people, with extremely different personalities and upbringings, had somehow managed to compromise and live together until now—which seemed miraculous given how they clashed on everything. During the wedding preparations, Hwi-kyung had to acknowledge this fact.
“We fought a little.”
“Oh my, why?”
“We agreed to stay within budget for the wedding items, but he keeps wanting to do more. I told him not to replace things that are still fine, and he got upset about that.”
“Goodness.”
“Wedding preparations aren’t easy. Didn’t you fight about things like this?”
“We didn’t, because my honey would pretend to die if I told him to.”
“My honey…”
“This happens when you don’t establish dominance early on.”
Hwi-kyung gave up consulting with Se-young. First of all, although Sung-ha and Gyo-ha might seem similar, they were completely different people. And Hwi-kyung, influenced by Gyo-ha, had come to think it strange that one should establish dominance in a loving relationship.
It was practically inevitable that Gyo-ha wouldn’t listen to him. During their long cohabitation, Hwi-kyung had learned much about Gyo-ha.
Despite his appearance, he was good at practical living, and though he seemed to make impulsive purchases without thinking, he selected good products. Unlike Hwi-kyung, who tried to save a few pennies by choosing 2+1 deals at convenience stores, Gyo-ha would pick organic vegetables from department stores if they were going to eat something anyway.
Since they started living together, Hwi-kyung discovered new aspects of Gyo-ha every day. He seemed meticulous at times but had clumsy tendencies, bumping into things carelessly despite his large frame. Yet somehow, he rarely bruised.
His admirable qualities as a roommate included organizing the shoe rack without being asked and always hanging clothes neatly, but his drawbacks were that his lifestyle easily became irregular if he wasn’t careful, and once fixated on something, he would cook only that for a while.
However, until they were bound by the framework of “marriage,” Hwi-kyung had been able to accept Gyo-ha’s diverse aspects. Gyo-ha didn’t have any flaws that Hwi-kyung absolutely couldn’t tolerate—like walking on carpets with shoes on.
“Just accept it when he offers.”
“I want to give back too. Who knows when I’ll be able to do something for him after we’re married.”
“You’re making too much of this. Or maybe try talking to Gyo-ha about it.”
“That’s a bit…”
“Why?”
“It would seem like I love him too much.”
Se-young’s contemptuous gaze briefly touched Hwi-kyung’s cheek. Hwi-kyung deliberately ignored it.
If Hwi-kyung’s phone hadn’t rung at that precise moment, he would have been subjected to unspeakable curses from Se-young. Since he was driving, Hwi-kyung answered the call on hands-free.
“Is this Jung Hwi-kyung?”
“Yes.”
“This is Korea University Hospital.”
Words that might make some suspect a voice phishing scam followed.
“We need a guardian’s consent for Kim Ji-ae’s surgery, so we contacted you.”
* * *
After encountering Ji-ae in Sokcho, Hwi-kyung suffered from nightmares for a while. The dim fluorescent light of the dining table kept flickering in his mind. Hwi-kyung hanged himself from the lampshade, hoping to finally die, while Ji-ae smiled with transcendent detachment.
“You can’t die.”
That’s what Ji-ae would say. Hwi-kyung, you can’t die and leave your mother behind. It was more of a curse than a plea. Hwi-kyung would wake from these dreams after hearing her voice, which was clear despite her translucent silhouette.
Whenever Gyo-ha was away and he slept alone, he would have nightmares, and Ji-ae appeared in all of them. Hwi-kyung didn’t understand why he had such dreams. After all, he didn’t know how Ji-ae had saved him.
After their encounter in Sokcho, Ji-ae disappeared again. Ok-ja said she had probably returned to Vietnam where she had been staying recently. Hwi-kyung quietly asked only Ok-ja if Ji-ae was doing well. Unfortunately, Ji-ae hadn’t said a word even to Ok-ja about whether she was doing well or not.
So Hwi-kyung assumed Ji-ae was getting by reasonably well. Though he didn’t know where or what she was doing, shouldn’t someone who abandoned their family be living comfortably in some far-off land?
But contrary to Hwi-kyung’s thoughts, Ji-ae wasn’t in good condition when they met again. Hwi-kyung didn’t even get to ask what kind of accident she had suffered, yielding to the doctor’s urgent request to sign the surgery consent form as soon as possible. He wrote his name in the guardian signature field without knowing what was happening.
It felt especially strange given how awkwardly they had parted the last time they met. Though he resented Ji-ae, Hwi-kyung had hoped she was living well somewhere unknown to him. Not returning injured like this.
“Can I know what kind of accident happened?”
“It was a traffic accident. A hit-and-run, but fortunately there was a witness, so she was quickly transported to the hospital.”
Why would someone who had been wandering abroad suddenly return to Korea and have such an accident? Hwi-kyung couldn’t believe he had become Ji-ae’s guardian. It was surprising that they were still legally connected, and on the other hand, the boundary of family felt too heavy.
Despite thinking he never wanted to see her again, Hwi-kyung hoped Ji-ae wouldn’t die. The death of someone you can’t forgive is only cruel to those who remain.
Fortunately, Ji-ae’s surgery results were positive. Her lungs had filled with blood and she had nearly been in danger, but thanks to the timely emergency operation, appropriate measures could be taken.
While thanking the medical staff, Hwi-kyung felt suffocated not knowing how to treat Ji-ae. He planned to stay as her guardian until she regained consciousness, but what came after was the problem.
“Hwi-kyung, at least have this for now.”
Gyo-ha, who had rushed over as soon as he received Hwi-kyung’s call, handed him a can of coffee. Though he didn’t want to eat anything, Hwi-kyung held the warm can of coffee Gyo-ha gave him while looking at Ji-ae.
This time, avoiding conversation would be impossible. It was time they unavoidably faced each other.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
