17 – 17.
Late at night.
I covered Hanryowon, who was dozing off leaning against the wall, with a blanket and stepped outside for a moment to get some fresh air.
There were many people there, like me, enjoying the breeze or smoking. Every one of them had a weary expression.
And so did I.
“There probably won’t be anyone else coming now.”
I sat down on a bench and pondered about who else might come to pay their respects.
In fact, there were no relatives to speak of in our house. The only mourners were the ladies who were close to my mother before we moved, and the people from the mart where my mother used to work.
There were no acquaintances around me to notify, so apart from Hanryowon and her little brother, there were no visitors either.
It was a lonely life for my mother and me.
“Now the snow has completely stopped.”
How long had it been since I regained my hazy consciousness while facing the chilly winter wind?
“Excuse me.”
A man in a dark coat approached me and started talking.
“?”
At first, I thought he was someone asking to borrow a lighter or something.
“Mr. Kang Yoo-chan. Is that correct?”
He called out my name without hesitation.
“…Who are you?”
“I came here at the request of Miss Ma Yeon-seo.”
“…What?”
I hurriedly searched for my phone.
Then, as I stepped outside again, I checked the accumulated messages and missed calls.
Sure enough, there were countless messages from Ma Yeon-seo.
[What are you doing?]
[Why aren’t you answering my calls?]
[Where are you?]
[Please answer the phone quickly]
At first, the messages and calls were just asking about my whereabouts.
[Are you going to keep ignoring me?]
After a while of no contact, she suddenly sent a comforting message with a calm tone.
[I heard about your mother.]
[I should have been there with you. I’m sorry.]
[One person will go. We will receive help from that person.]
[I will also go to Korea soon….]
I didn’t explain anything.
‘…Mayeonseo…!’
I dial the phone, suppressing the anger boiling up in the cold wind.
Then, a familiar voice comes through the speaker.
[Yes, Yoo Chan.]
The anger I had bottled up bursts out at that calm voice.
“How…did you know that our mother passed away?”
[….]
“Answer me. How did you know?”
There was no response from the other end of the line, so she breathes out a quiet sigh and continues.
[I’m planning to go on the earliest flight….]
“Don’t beat around the bush, just answer!”
[….]
A brief silence follows.
“We’ve hired someone.”
She confesses with a resigned tone.
[Because you suddenly stopped contacting us.]
I suspected it. You really did secretly put someone on surveillance.
Just because we didn’t contact each other for a few hours!
“You… What on earth do you think of me…?”
I was speechless with disbelief.
“Do you think I secretly kept an eye on you? Huh?”
[…That’s not it.]
“That’s not it at all!!”
As I burst into anger, the gazes of the people who came out to smoke were directed at me.
[Don’t get angry. I did it all for you.]
In the midst of this, Mayeonseo was babbling nonsense, saying it was all for me.
I felt dizzy.
“You think I had someone secretly watch over me for my sake? Did you expect me to say ‘Ah, thank you’ and tremble like a fool? You should have some sense of how to treat people!!!”
My lips trembled.
Nevertheless, Mayeonseo still tried to persuade me calmly.
[Yuchan… I understand your feelings, but you’re too excited right now…]
“Damn it, what do you know!!”
[…!]
Overwhelmed with sorrow, I revealed the feelings I had hidden deep inside since the Hanyeo-won incident.
“I… I was like that back then. I’ll do better from now on, I won’t look elsewhere, so please don’t do this! But what is this? The price of love is surveillance? I’m not a bastard. Do I have to live while being watched by you, who is always suspicious?”
[Yuchan…]
“Please, let me breathe…! I’ve done everything you asked for…! I’ve done everything you told me to do!! I cut off all my human relationships because of you, I only looked at you! But why are you going this far…? What did I do wrong?!!”
[Kang Yoo-chan]
As I vented my frustration, a cold voice came through the speaker.
“f*ck…”
The icy voice made my body involuntarily shrink.
“…First, let’s hold my mother’s funeral. I’ll arrange for someone to clean up the house, so stay at our place for now. Let’s talk again when I come back to Korea.”
Ma Yeon-seo had naturally suggested that I come to her house.
Her words were so obvious that I almost overlooked them.
She had been thinking about me all this time.
“I don’t want to.”
“…What?”
“Didn’t you hear me? I said I don’t want to.”
“Sigh… Yoo-chan.”
“Do you think I know what I’ll go through if I go there? Will you put a leash on me this time? Maybe break my limbs? You enjoy that kind of thing, don’t you?”
Ma Yeon-seo clenched her teeth in anger.
She too seemed to be getting angry, as her tone became sharp.
“…You know there’s Hanyeo Garden there too.”
It was an open threat.
“Even though you know, you’re not saying anything. Because you love me.”
It was astonishing how she stubbornly appealed to love.
It made me feel a sense of despair, as if even the slightest bit of affection had crumbled away.
“Love… Yes… If that’s your love… I can’t do it anymore.”
[ …You, now… ]
“Yeonso, let’s stop now. Us.”
[ …. ]
“I can’t endure it anymore. Pretending for you, accommodating to your unpredictable moods, it’s all tiresome.”
[ …That’s enough, Kang Yoochan. ]
A voice filled with clear anger pierces my ears.
In the past, I would have gently tried to calm him down, but now I have no intention of doing so.
What will happen if I don’t stop? Will he kill me? Ah, did I say I can’t die? Then, go ahead and kill Hanyeo Garden. I’ll die along with it.
[ You… ]
“Stop making fun of people, and stop watching me. Ma Yeonseo, I’m not your toy.”
Pouring out my suppressed hatred, I take a deep breath, leaving my final words.
“…We’re done. I hope we never have any contact from now on.”
[ Kang Yoochan…! Just cut it off! ]
A rare wavering voice reaches my ears.
Firmly, I close my eyes and decisively end the call.
“…Sigh….”
Suddenly, fatigue rushes over me like a wave.
*
Yeonso stared blankly at the disconnected screen.
And then, the small lizard crouching on the table lifted its head and looked up at her.
“…?”
She was the C-grade summon she had recently contracted.
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“……”
Swoosh. The hand that reached out gently stroked the lizard as it reflected on the harsh words Yu-chan had uttered.
“Damn it, what the hell do you know?!”
He had insulted her and blamed her.
“Yeonseo, let’s stop now. Us.”
And his voice, which held an unimaginable farewell.
“Dare.”
For her, who equated separation with death, parting was simply a request to die.
Once again, the furious Yeonseo accidentally exerted force on the hand that was stroking the lizard.
“…!!!”
The lizard, held tightly without any movement, began to shake its body desperately, begging to be spared.
Flutter! Flutter! Flutter!
But she did not release her grip.
Instead, she tightened her hold on the lizard, as if she would crush it in her hand.
Flutter! Flutter! Flutter! Flutter…! Flutter…!
A summon that was not a high-level existence could not resist its contractor.
The lizard, which was a relatively strong creature, could do nothing but struggle against its unexpected owner’s invasion.
Thump… Th…ump…
Just before its breath was completely cut off, it was finally able to loosen its grip on the hand and escape.
Snap. Even though the lizard had completely freed itself, it showed no further movement.
It was just limp, barely able to gasp for breath.
“……”
Yeonseo suddenly thought of Yoochan from the sight of the lizard.
“If only I could make a human my summoned being.”
She briefly imagined Yoochan as her summoned being, but unfortunately, it was nothing more than a mere delusion.
After all, humans couldn’t become summoned beings.
Summoning itself was a structure that didn’t work with “humans” as its target.
“What a shame.”
Having finished venting her frustration, Yeonseo summoned the lizard back.
And then, reflecting on her somewhat emotional actions, she pondered how she would deal with Yoochan when she returned to Korea.
“What should I do?”
She didn’t understand Yoochan’s sincerity in the slightest.
*
Thanks to Hanryeowon and her little uncle, her mother’s funeral was able to be concluded smoothly.
“Thank you so much for your help.”
“Not me, thank Ryowon.”
“Thank you, Ryeowon.”
“hehehe. What did I do?”
In addition, the two of them offered to help with anything they needed, becoming a reliable support force.
It was truly a connection that provided strength in many ways.
“…You worked really hard….”
After returning home, I started taking care of the administrative tasks that I had put off.
“What brings you here?”
“I want to organize my mother’s bank account.”
After going to the bank, fortunately, there were no debts or anything like that in our household.
After calculating all the money my mother had saved and the insurance money, there was about 30 million won left.
I didn’t want to touch that money, so I decided to keep it safely in an unused account.
I prayed that there would never come a day when I had to use that money.
“I guess it’s time for me to leave this house too.”
I had already made up my mind to move out of the villa where I used to live.
As someone who still couldn’t earn enough money, it was difficult for me to afford the rent, and above all, it was too big for me to live alone.
“Tsk tsk. It’s tough being young….”
Fortunately, the landlady, who understood my situation, helped me out with various things, giving me a little breathing room.
I guess I’m lucky if you consider this luck.
After sorting out all the problems, I found myself lying on the bed that still smelled like my mother.
“…Now, I’m truly alone….”
Finally, at that moment when I realized I was alone, I was lost in empty thoughts.
Ding-dong. Ding-dong. Someone pressed the doorbell.
“Yes?”
Startled, I quickly stood up and opened the door, wondering if it was someone from the office.
“Who is it?”
After confirming the identity of the visitor, I stiffened and spoke.
“…Long time no see.”
Mayeonseo. She had come to my house.