Chapter 27
The orphanage was located in the deepest part of the neighborhood. As if it had been deliberately hidden away, you had to climb up a long alley carved into the mountainside before it finally came into view.
“Boss. We’ve arrived.”
Taeju, who had stopped the car, bowed his head and looked at the scenery visible through the car window.
In front of two shabby villas standing side by side, a van and a porter truck were parked. Even those were old vehicles with peeling paint on the outside.
Why on earth did he come here? No matter how much chasing debtors was his job, his boss wasn’t the type to be so unreasonable as to storm into an orphanage.
Jeonghyeok, sitting in the back, was buttoning up his jacket. It was puzzling that he was bothering to fix his appearance when he usually went around with his jacket loosened even when going to the construction company’s headquarters.
“Boss?”
“Wait here.”
“Pardon? Are you going in alone?”
Even to Taeju’s question, Jeonghyeok answered nothing and got out of the car. Past the narrow parking lot, there was a modestly maintained flower bed. The low stairs had worn edges at the corners.
Upon entering the villa’s entrance, photographs densely filling the wall surfaces greeted him. Normally he would have just passed by, but today those many photographs caught Jeonghyeok’s attention.
And for good reason—it was all Kim Yuwon. Most were photos taken with other children, but to Jeonghyeok, only Yuwon was visible.
A face much younger than now, a small frame, yet a bright smile that struck his eyes.
“……”
Jeonghyeok, who had been quietly scanning the photos, plucked off the topmost photo. It was Yuwon laughing innocently with cream smeared all over his mouth, apparently from eating cake. It was also one of the few solo photos. He must have been about ten years old. The kid looked so young it was hard to gauge his age.
Jeonghyeok roughly wiped off the sticky adhesive on the back of the photo. Then he slipped the photo into his jacket’s inner pocket. Not a trace of guilt was visible on his cold face.
Jeonghyeok climbed the stairs and knocked on the door marked ‘Office.’ A “Yes” could be heard from beyond the door, then a short-haired young woman opened the door.
The woman blinked her round eyes and made an “Ah” sound as if flustered.
“How… did you come here?”
“I’m Moon Jeonghyeok. I spoke with the director yesterday.”
Even after hearing Jeonghyeok’s name, the woman still tilted her head with a puzzled expression. Then, an older woman came out from behind.
“Ah, you’re the gentleman who contacted us yesterday. Please come this way. Teacher Kim, please prepare some tea.”
“Ah, yes.”
Only then did the woman, lowering her guard, hurry toward the kitchen. Meanwhile, the middle-aged woman placed indoor slippers in front of Jeonghyeok’s feet.
“Please put on the slippers and come in.”
They were cute slippers with ribbons attached. How am I supposed to wear these? Jeonghyeok slightly frowned, then reluctantly put on the slippers. His feet were so big that only his toes barely squeezed in, making it look ridiculous.
Looking around the interior carefully, it was called an office, but it seemed like a home converted into a working space. Just like at the building entrance, children’s photos were stuck here and there—on walls everywhere, on the computers where teachers worked and the partitions in front of them, on the side of the refrigerator visible in the distance.
“The children are really lovely, aren’t they?”
The middle-aged woman, noticing Jeonghyeok’s gaze, asked.
“Yes, well.”
Jeonghyeok followed the middle-aged woman into the room. Inside the room, which emanated a warm atmosphere throughout, there was a small desk and chair, and a sofa.
“Please sit.”
The woman wearing a light sky-blue blouse smiled with wrinkled eyes. He could tell without being told. She was the director that Yuwon had mentioned.
When Jeonghyeok sat on the sofa, the woman placed a business card on the low wooden table.
“I’m Yoon Misook.”
Dream Wing Orphanage Director Yoon Misook. That’s what was written on the business card. Jeonghyeok pocketed the card and said:
“I don’t have a separate business card.”
“That’s fine. Your name is Moon Jeonghyeok-ssi, if I remember correctly from yesterday. Right?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll call you Teacher Moon.”
The title of ‘teacher’ was a bit amusing, but Jeonghyeok just nodded. Whatever he was called didn’t matter.
Then, with a careful knock-knock sound, the short-haired woman came in. She placed two cups of green tea on the table and left.
Misook pointed to the teacup in front of Jeonghyeok with both hands and said:
“Please drink.”
When Jeonghyeok nodded, she smiled brightly and took a sip of her own tea. She was a woman who exuded elegance even in small actions. Even when she lifted and set down the glass cup, not a single clinking sound could be heard.
He naturally recalled Yuwon placing his spoon and chopsticks on the table when he first ate jajangmyeon. Despite his shabby appearance, he had such neat manners, as if he had received education somewhere. It seemed he had indeed learned properly from someone.
“You said you want to help our orphanage.”
Misook, who had taken a sip of the bitter green tea, spoke up. Listening closely, even her voice and speech patterns seemed similar. Jeonghyeok looked at Misook, who reminded him of Yuwon in various ways.
“Yes. About once a quarter. I was thinking of providing support mainly with daily necessities.”
When Jeonghyeok answered, Misook straightened her back. Even her gentle eyes showed wariness. It was such a small change that you wouldn’t notice unless you observed carefully.
“May I ask the reason?”
“What kind of reason do you mean?”
“I’ve been running this place for quite a while… and this is the first time I’ve seen you. I’m curious about why you want to donate to our facility.”
Intuition that comes from experience is hard to ignore. Misook keenly felt this fact as she looked at Jeonghyeok sitting in front of her.
With his handsome face and proper attire, his appearance looked neat at first glance. However, looking at the man’s eyes, she could tell. He wasn’t an ordinary person. At least, he didn’t seem like the type to donate to a small orphanage like this without reason.
If he considered it an unpleasant suspicion, it couldn’t be helped, but as the director, she thought she had to do at least this much.
“Do you know Kim Yuwon, who used to live here?”
“You know Yuwon?”
“He’s learning work under me. We’re also living together.”
Jeonghyeok, who had instantly read Misook’s inner thoughts, brought out the story he had prepared. As expected, as soon as she heard Yuwon’s name, Misook’s expression visibly brightened.
“When he contacted me recently, he only said the restaurant where he worked had closed down. He must have found a new job.”
As if truly proud, Misook didn’t hide her overwhelming smile. She clasped her hands, which showed the passage of time, and leaned closer.
“When you say you’re living together… does that mean our Yuwon is staying where you live, Teacher?”
“Yes. He said he didn’t have a proper place to stay, so I arranged it that way.”
“Taking in a grown young man isn’t easy work.”
“Yuwon is such an upright and sincere kid that I wanted to help him a bit.”
Even while spouting lies without changing his expression, he somehow felt no hesitation. Was I always this skilled at lying? While Jeonghyeok was surprised by his own pretense, Misook was smiling, lost in memories.
“Our Yuwon has such a good heart. He helped me a lot here too.”
“Yuwon said he received a lot of help from you, Director.”
“Did he? What a good boy…”
Misook gazed into the distance with deep eyes. She was probably recalling Yuwon from the past.
What kind of expression would the woman make if she knew that good boy was crying beneath him every night? Would she abandon her dignified posture and slap him? Or would she freeze in horror instead?
Well, whatever reaction she showed wouldn’t matter. Jeonghyeok smoothly raised the corners of his mouth and said:
“I hope many upright children like Yuwon will come from this place in the future.”
“……”
“That’s why I want to donate.”
The low voice of the man wearing a perfect mask resonated. To Misook’s ears, it sounded exactly like an angel’s voice.
“Yuwon really met a good teacher.”
“Not at all. I can’t do much due to circumstances, so please don’t expect too much.”
“Oh, don’t say such things.”
Misook waved her hands dismissively. Even a single packet of ramen, the heart behind it is precious, she said, so the teacher was giving his precious heart to them. She added gentle, kind words.
Jeonghyeok, who had been silently listening to Misook’s words, drained the green tea in front of him in one gulp. The moderately lukewarm liquid slid smoothly down his throat.
Now it was time to get to the main point.
“Director. May I ask you for just one favor?”
As if asking what it was, Misook nodded repeatedly and said:
“Yes, of course.”
Yellow sunlight filtering through the curtains was seeping into the room.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
