And that was the end with Seongjun.
Six years evaporated in an instant. Rage rose in her at odd intervals, hot and sudden. There were moments when Haeyoung wanted nothing more than to find Seongjun and slap him hard.
But right now, staying by her mother's side mattered more. Time felt both slow and terrible in its speed.
She saw them again on television. On the large monitor in the hospital lobby they were beaming.
What was that?
She couldn't hear the audio, but the subtitle at the bottom told the story.
—"Minji's the one who fed me. When you're acting, there are times money gets tight. Minji just notices without me saying anything and slips her card over, saying, 'Your limit isn't high, spend sparingly.' That's when I thought, I'm lucky to have a friend like her."
Ha. Ha. Ha. Haeyoung laughed without sound.
Minji? No. I did those things. You always had me bringing things over for you, what I bought, what my mother cooked, everything.
—"Once, a woman I dated basically stalked me."
—"Oh, her."
Minji smiled, full of meaning.
—"Minji just stepped forward and blocked her. From that tiny frame, charisma burst out, it was kind of cool."
—"I'm pretty cool, right?"
Minji chimed in with praise and then, contrary to the bravado, smiled shyly. White skin, cheeks that warmed in a pretty flush, and a dimple that made her inexplicably lovely.
The PD doing the interview gushed, "Minji, you're so cute."
"Thank you," she replied, pressing her hands together politely, perfect, finishing touch.
Only then did Haeyoung understand why Seongjun had said they should break up.
Every day she watched them on screen.
People adored their performance without knowing their true nature. Their mannerisms, their expressions, the clothes and accessories they wore, everything became a trend.
Celebrities echoed their catchphrases, rooting for their love. The whole country loved Seongjun and Minji.
When the show ended successfully, they didn't wait long to announce their relationship publicly. The internet overflowed with congratulatory messages; their couple photos graced magazine covers.
Minji shot commercials for top-tier beauty brands, and Seongjun moved into a bigger, better house. No one remembered the little studio where Haeyoung had been paying the rent.
Meanwhile, Seongran's life faded a day at a time. They used Haeyoung's misery as kindling to grow brighter and brighter.
Eventually, after long and painful life support, Seongran closed her eyes.
The funeral was quiet. Seongjun didn't come. But right outside the mortuary, at the bus stop, his face was blown up on a huge poster.
[Want to travel together?]
He was smiling broadly on a travel app ad plastered on the street.
Haeyoung laughed, hollow. A white hairpin she'd failed to remove flew off in the wind.
❋ ❋ ❋
—"This is station ○○."
She snapped awake. For a moment she stared around, dazed. She was on the subway.
What was this? Why was she here?
She glanced down at her phone. The message draft on the screen was a familiar one.
[Seongjun, thank you. I'm sorry for getting upset when I was the one asking for a favor.]
That was the message she had sent before her mother's death, asking Seongjun to take her mother to the hospital.
Why was she composing it now?
[202X.05.25 11:41am]
The date and time were wrong. Strange.
It's five months ago…
She muttered, and the train stopped. The doors opened. She watched, dazed, as people got off and on.
It was the station where she'd had the meeting. The realization hit her like a hammer.
She'd gone back to that day. To the day Seongran had her accident.
As the subway doors began to close, Haeyoung bolted out.
It didn't matter if this was a dream, if she could save Seongran even in a dream, she had to try.
She ran. Each time her lungs burned up into her throat, reality felt more solid than dream. The more real it felt, the faster she ran. How she'd come back wasn't important.
She'd come back, five months earlier.
She didn't stop running until her underwear was damp with sweat and she tumbled into her home.
Seongran was just stepping out. Stairs rose before her. Seongran would misstep, tumble. She'd roll down and then spend four months on a ventilator before finally dying.
"Mom, don't go! Stay put!"
Haeyoung ran. Seongran looked up when she called, then frowned at the sight of her rushing over.
"Haeyoung, what about work?"
She waved her hands hard and ran until her lungs hurt. Luckily, Seongran halted, hesitated, and stayed where she was.
Mom won't get hurt. I can stop this.
Just as that thought settled, a car at the intersection lunged toward Haeyoung.
Screech!
"Ugh."
She braced with her hands and fell backward. The sky looked sharply blue; in the bright expanse, Seongran's face floated into view.
"Haeyoung! Are you okay? Didn't get hurt?"
"Is Mom okay?"
"What do you mean? You were hit by a car!"
Seongran scolded, and relief rushed over Haeyoung. She fell back and lay there. It was a light collision, but her waist ached.
Still, it was fine. If she could be the one to take the bad luck for her mother, she would gladly accept worse.
"Can you stand? Are you okay?"
She opened her eyes and looked at the sky again. A man's face appeared beside her mother's anxious expression.
"Are you hurt?"
He was backlit, his features hard to make out at first. He extended a hand. When Haeyoung took it, he hauled her roughly to her feet, and then she saw his face.
A smooth forehead, thick brows, sharp eyes, a mouth that seemed set in irritation, and a tall frame that required her to lift her gaze.
She knew him. From before.
"Seo Haeyoung?"
"Ah."
"Right."
It clicked. He was the man who had found Seongran on the street and taken her to the ER.
He'd stood beside the staggering Haeyoung, informed her of Seongran's condition, and left without another word. He'd even checked in a few times afterward to ask about Seongran's condition.
He'd been the stranger who happened to find her mother on the street that day. If he hadn't, her mother might have died there.
"Thank you."
Now that she'd returned to the past, she hadn't even thought about how he knew her name, she just bowed, full of gratitude.
He stared at her. The gaze lingered, and Haeyoung dropped her eyes. The hand he still held showed where hers had been caught.
"Hmm."
She twisted her hand free; a ticklish feeling lingered on her palm.
"I'm fine. I darted out. You can go."
She didn't even intend to accept payment for medical expenses from this lifesaving stranger.
He continued to look at her. His stare was intense, almost more than necessary.
"Hmm. I don't have a business card on me."
"It's okay."
He ruffled his hair, thinking for a moment.
"Wait."
"What are you—"
He trudged toward his car, opened the driver's door, stuck his head inside, and there was a small rustle. He came back and forced something into Haeyoung's hand, a parking permit sticker or a contact placard that had been attached to his windshield.
[000–0000–0000]
What was that?
"I'm Han Yoonhyuk. You can bill me."
He said it slowly and hung up the conversation. An odd man.
Haeyoung hesitated a beat and then slipped the tag into her pocket. Of course she didn't intend to call.
❋ ❋ ❋
Three days later, Seongjun, who hadn't contacted her once since the hospital, sent a message asking to meet.
"Why didn't you call?"
He looked a little thinner as he sat down. Any promise about taking her mother to the hospital seemed already forgotten.
She watched him silently. She wanted to break up then and there and storm out, but she held back, nothing she could do would wound Seongjun the way he'd hurt her.
She stirred sugar into her tea. The granules melted instantly; the sweetness sharpened her senses.
"What are you smiling about?"
"I was busy."
"Busy how? Are you eating well? Haeyoung, you can't lose more weight. You're too thin."
She looked at him for a long moment.
Why was he acting affectionate? There was probably no love left in him, he must consider their relationship a nuisance, something he'd been stuck in too long.
"I've been taking care of myself."
Her voice was strangely cold. Seongjun's eyes rolled with a puzzled look.
"Why's your tone like that? Are you mad at me?"
"You mad because I did something?"
"No. A few days ago, your mother's hospital thing? I called and she said she didn't need you to come, so I figured it's fine. Overreacting, is it?"
Overreacting…
Again with that word. Still the same trash even after everything.
"Fine. Okay. Sorry. I'll take responsibility. I was wrong."
Seongjun smiled in a teasing, cute way.
(End of Chapter 3)
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