“I’m sorry. I just told you to go ahead and say hello, I didn’t know he’d do that to you.”
Jung Jehee, seen again after a long time, had become so beautiful that my head spun momentarily, even setting aside the nostalgia filter.
Was it the camera massage effect?
She started appearing more frequently on TV, and her appearance grew brighter by the day.
Her skin and complexion were better, and a sense of confidence seemed to permeate her expressions and actions.
While I felt like I was shriveling up day by day, Jehee looked like she was about to blossom into a beautiful flower, ready to emit fragrance all over the world.
No, was she already blooming?
I was sure she was popular.
She must be receiving so much love, not just within the guild or from the public, but even from the Hunters and Agency staff she met in the field, which was why she was becoming this beautiful.
I want to touch her.
I want to play with her soft, cushiony cheeks.
I want to kiss her all over her face. I want to hold those fragile shoulders in my arms and deeply inhale Jehee’s scent.
My stomach churned with surging desire.
I had to clench both my fists because I felt like I might act on it without realizing it, and when I folded my arms to hide my clenched fists, Jehee flinched and lowered her gaze.
“Why did you come suddenly? Did your siblings and Mom come too?”
“Yes. Mom is still in the car. I came to get my things. We’ve decided where we’re going to stay.”
“…Where?”
“The accommodation provided by the Agency. It’s surprisingly big and clean. There are even two rooms. There’s also a dining hall for the residents, and they say the food is delicious, and the nutritionist makes sure the balance is great.”
Watching her chatter happily, like a singing bird, made me so happy that I momentarily forgot the devastating reality that Jehee had left home.
However, every word from those pretty lips concluded with the fact that ‘she was doing well even after leaving our home.’
Realizing that fact anew, elation and despair mixed, turning my heart into a swamp.
“…Okay. That’s a relief.”
“Yeah. I’m not moving in right away, but it’s better to get my things out as soon as possible. I’ll take the big stuff later, and today I’ll focus on the smaller things…”
“Take what? I have nothing to give you.”
“Huh?”
“It’s all mine, so I can’t give you anything. You came all this way for nothing, so go back.”
When I spoke firmly, Jehee’s eyes widened, and she looked up at me.
“Uh… but.”
“What ‘but’? They’re the things I bought. Since I bought them, strictly speaking, they are all mine, so why are you taking them?”
“…You bought them, but you bought them for me.”
“I did. But I changed my mind. I won’t give them to you.”
“Why are you being so stubbornly childish? They’ll just be a burden for you to keep anyway.”
“That’s my business.”
It was a childish tantrum that sounded pathetic even to my own ears.
I knew I was being unreasonable, but I couldn’t concede.
With Jehee gone from the house built for her, if all her belongings vanished… this house would truly be nothing more than a shell.
I have to survive, too.
“Can I really not take them?”
“No.”
“Hmm…”
Jehee hesitated.
…It was unexpected.
I didn’t think she would be this insistent.
Especially since she was someone who usually tried not to owe me anything related to money, I thought she would immediately agree if I said no.
This wasn’t like Jehee.
When the thought occurred to me, ‘Was she that desperate to erase her traces from this house?’ my chest churned uncontrollably.
I steadied my breath.
If I didn’t, I might lose control of my emotions and do something reckless.
I wanted to be greedier, but it was probably right to back down here.
“If that’s all you wanted…”
“Th-Then… the things I used, please don’t give them to anyone else. Just keep them as yours.”
“…?”
“Ah.”
Jehee’s face instantly flushed bright red after she muttered something very quietly to herself.
Eventually, she snapped her head up and wildly waved her hands as if something was urgent, even though I hadn’t said a word.
“Th-That, no. No, it’s not that. Pretend you didn’t hear it and just do what you want. Since you gave them to me anyway, it’s not my place to say anything. Do whatever you want!”
“Oppa hasn’t gotten over you yet! Don’t you dare give the stuff in Oppa’s room to anyone else if you suddenly get a boyfriend! Oppa won’t be able to handle seeing that, seriously! Just throw them away instead!”
“E-Eunseo!”
I was stunned for a moment, then barely managed to regain my composure.
…Ah. Damn it.
She’s too cute.
Her face, red to the ears from embarrassment, her parted lips, and her fumbling hands, not knowing what to do and unable to scold her younger sister who was in her prime.
It was a relief that Jehee’s mother and siblings were with her.
If Jehee had been alone, I might not have been able to hold back, showering kisses all over that pretty, ripe-apple-like face, hugging her waist, and dragging her inside the house unconditionally.
The fact that she was already jealous of my future, unplanned girlfriend meant that, as her sister said, Jehee hadn’t completely gotten over her feelings for me yet.
I didn’t want Jehee to suffer heartache because of me, but at the same time, I felt relieved that she still ‘loved’ me.
At least for the time being, she wouldn’t open her heart to someone else.
And she definitely wouldn’t allow anyone else to touch her body.
She was still ‘my Jung Jehee.’
“I won’t give them to anyone. I just thought it would feel too empty if you suddenly left and all your things disappeared too. The house is already cold enough with not much furniture.”
“Oh, I see. Okay. Call me if you don’t need them anymore.”
“…Yeah.”
Although there would never be a day when I didn’t need them.
But Jehee’s expression brightened considerably, perhaps pleased that I had promised.
Her smiling face was so lovely that I desperately wanted to caress her eyes, pinch her nose, and massage her cheeks, but I managed to restrain myself.
Jehee, too, didn’t reach out to hold my hand or open her arms for a hug like she used to do routinely.
In fact, she stood one step further back than usual.
I could clearly feel her distancing herself from me.
…In order to get over her feelings for me.
“I’ll contact you again.”
She said that, but Jehee never visited the house again after that day.
She rarely contacted me first unless it was something crucial she absolutely had to let me know.
Even considering that Jehee, who was awkward with electronics, wasn’t fond of messaging, the frequency of her contacting me had decreased drastically compared to before.
That’s why I deliberately created the group chat.
It clearly wasn’t just because she was reluctant to talk due to what happened between us.
The fact that Jehee was living a very busy life recently was a fact known not only to me but to every citizen in South Korea.
It was a natural consequence for someone who had yearned for a Hunter’s life for so long and had just properly stepped into it.
The group chat was only somewhat useful because Cha Taeyang, the Guild Master and her mentor, was in it.
If it had been anyone else, it might have been useless.
Even if we were still living together, I think there would have been more days we didn’t see each other than days we did.
In any case, it was clear that my life would have been significantly tougher without the group chat.
[Cha Taeyang: Expect it. The reporters flocked to the guild today and got tons of interviews, so Jehee will be all over the news tomorrow, for sure.]
[Me: OK]
[Clumsy Jehee: Ah… ㅠ]
[Cha Taeyang: Jehee! Get used to it! A hero must bear the public’s expectations and live up to them!]
[Clumsy Jehee: Yes… I know…]
After buying all the albums and paper newspapers featuring Jehee’s face, and having a meal, I checked the message thread leisurely to find that Cha Taeyang and Jehee were chattering away, having finished their schedule for the day.
[Clumsy Jehee: Taehwan]
[Me: ?]
[Clumsy Jehee: Aren’t you doing any activities? I’d like to go around with you if you’re okay with it.]
[Cha Taeyang: We welcome it ㅇㅇ]
[Me: Ah.]
[Me: I have no plans for the time being]
[Cha Taeyang: Aren’t you doing too little these days? Didn’t the Director say anything??]
[Me: He hasn’t said anything. I worked hard right after my re-awakening, so it’s fine for now.]
[Clumsy Jehee: I see…]
[Clumsy Jehee: Okay. Tell me if you change your mind! Seriously!]
[Me: Sure]
Jehee seemed to have wanted to work with me for a while, but for the time being, I had no intention of working as ‘Grey Coat’ or even as ‘S-Class Hunter Im Taehwan.’
‘There’s no need for two heroes.’
The dream Jehee had held for so long had become a reality.
This was her moment to shine the brightest, becoming famous to the point where the changes were noticeable day by day, and becoming someone’s idol.
I thought there was no need for me to step forward and distract the attention; it would be better to hide in the shadows, I thought… I had completely misjudged the situation at that time.
From the start, there was no way I could lead a life ‘normally’ without Jehee.
The reason I was able to maintain a somewhat normal exterior and strive to lead a minimal human life was because I had learned the lesson from my previous ‘rehearsal’ that I needed to keep up appearances to avoid causing Jehee unnecessary worry.
In truth, I was nothing more than an empty shell, not just in my heart but in my mind as well.
That’s why I missed so many things that should have been obvious.
That some kind of crisis would inevitably strike Jehee’s heroic journey, that Jehee, who viewed the world with endlessly kind eyes, was vulnerable to someone’s malice.
Furthermore, that someone’s malice can be so irrational that they carry it out even to their own ruin, so meticulously detailed it makes you shake your head, and endlessly close to darkness.
— Im Taehwan, you crazy bastard! Why are you only picking up the phone now!
The incident occurred on the day I fell asleep as if collapsing, after staying in the ‘Jung Jehee Archives’ I created on the second floor until late, scraping Jehee’s articles and collecting videos.
I woke up to the sudden ringing of the phone.
It was the ringtone of the secondary phone I had given Cha Taeyang for emergency contact.
The fact that I still managed to think things like ‘Why is he suddenly yelling?’ even after answering the phone showed that I truly wasn’t in my right mind at the time.
