169 – Finding the Ring
“Hmm… I guess that’s it this time.”
I’ve taken care of my family to a certain extent, so now I have to take care of Ara’s family.
Even if they said they would take care of it, their parents are dead and they don’t even know about their maternal or paternal family.
We haven’t seen each other since we were young, so we rarely see each other.
“Then all I can do is…”
Not long ago, when I went to the charnel house where Ara’s parents were sleeping, I heard the existence of the ring again.
If it was not found at home or at the scene,
Where did it really go?
And in the case of the house, it was said that Ara ransacked most of it by using people’s money with her own money.
But it wasn’t found… I guess she wasn’t wearing the ring in the first place and didn’t leave it at home?
Now that something had occurred to her, she decided to go down to where Ara lived to look for it.
Her hometown where Ara lived before making her debut as an idol.
To Gimhae.
“But it’s a bit hard to drive…”
A feeling of fear followed because she had never been on a highway before.
Still, if you want to drive a car, you have to use all your concentration to drive safely.
This is because I don’t have the confidence to drive while maintaining such concentration for several hours.
“I should take the KTX and then the bus.”
Ara will be worried, but if she brings Junghwan or Minho with her, she will feel relieved.
Because I’m scared to go alone too.
***
From Noble mtl dot com
“They said it was in the countryside…”
“What? Gimhae is a countryside?”
“Isn’t it the top one in Gyeongnam, excluding Changwon?”
Junghwan and Minho patted me on the back, saying I was talking nonsense again.
I thought it was a rural area because it was called the countryside, but it doesn’t feel that way at all.
The bus terminal was somehow connected to the New World Department Store, and there was even a light rail line, so it was very easy to get to and from Busan.
If a place like this is called the countryside, what exactly is the countryside I think of?
“Let’s go and eat some food first.”
“But it doesn’t look like there’s anywhere worth eating?”
There was a river in front that was neither big nor small, and there were New World Department Store and E-Mart, but it was not a busy area.
But it’s not a place where cars don’t pass.
By the way.
Coincidentally, Shinsegae Department Store and E-Mart are adjacent to each other.
E-Mart has a food court, so it’s perfect for a quick meal.
“Food court? I heard that Gimhae’s back meat is delicious.”
“You need to know where the restaurant is.”
“Then I’ll find it, so just wait a moment.”
He grabbed me as if admonishing me for acting too quickly.
Actually, I have no interest in what kind of food I eat when I come to Gimhae.
I just want to quickly find the ring and make Ara happy.
“It looks like there isn’t one around here.”
“Really? That’s a shame.”
“Then let’s take care of business first and then let’s go eat.”
“Umm…Well, I’m not that hungry.”
“I’ll order black bean noodles later.”
Two people changed the menu in just 10 seconds.
I’m not sure now whether I’m broad-minded or capricious.
I guess he was considerate of me.
“Where did your wife’s address say?”
“Uh… Bunseong-ro….”
Junghwan asked me for the address and quickly called a taxi.
*
What greeted us when we arrived at the address was a large house. When Ara was well on her way, she saved up all her money to buy her parents a house, she said.
There is no other daughter like that.
She was told by her parents that she was a cute daughter who was very naughty.
Ugh…
Ah, my heart just hurts more.
“It’s here, right?”
She nodded in response to Jeonghwan’s question.
This is because it looks exactly like the building that Ara showed me.
“Let’s see… The password…”
They said the first digit of Ara’s resident registration number is the password.
From the password, I felt that it was filled with love for her daughter.
But this is dangerous.
Now that there are no people at home, shouldn’t we change it?
“What are you doing? Come on, don’t go in.”
“Uh…Okay, let’s go in…”
“Why are you like this earlier?”
Minho puts his hand on my forehead, asking where it hurts.
There was no heat in my head, so it was only lukewarm.
“I don’t have a fever.”
“It’s not like that…hehehe, what do you guys know? We’re not even married.”
“What, are you bragging about being the winner?”
Do you know what it feels like to move into the home of your parents-in-law who have already passed away?
Thinking of that, I sighed and opened the door.
It was very clean inside because they called a cleaning center every time to clean it.
Even in the small yard, the grass is well-maintained, so much so that you can come in and live right away.
“It’s clean…”
“Ara, how long have your parents lived here?”
“Is it one year?”
Ara started to come into her own at the age of 17, so it must have been around that time.
The time between when she found her crying on the stairs and when she started to wake up was about two years…
After opening the front door, we decided to split up and look for things.
I decided to take charge of the master bedroom, storage room, bathroom, and small parking lot.
“If you find the ring, Seonghwan will make the black bean noodles.”
“I’ll buy you at least a few hundred bowls, so just find it.”
“Lee Yeol~ Are you going to eat sweet and sour pork too?”
To be honest, I am willing to buy even an apartment.
As long as she can see Ara happy, she wouldn’t mind spending that much money.
After this, I decided to look for the master bedroom for the first time.
I looked at the master bedroom, which was so clean that it looked like someone might have been lying down watching TV just a moment ago.
I think she knows to some extent why Ara doesn’t want to come down here.
For Ara, returning to the house where her parents lived must have been very difficult and painful.
“Hmm… It’s not here as expected.”
The people Ara hired must have already looked for it.
It is unlikely that it will be found in the master bedroom.
“A place to take off the ring…”
If you think about it simply,
Over the head of the bed in the master bedroom, the sink in the bathroom, and the countertop in the kitchen.
These three are very likely.
But the question that arises is why neither of them were wearing rings.
If only one was found, could it be possible that both are missing?
In the first place, wedding rings are usually not taken off often.
From the time I made it, I started using it and minimized the decorations to make it less cumbersome.
“Then it must be the master bedroom. Anyone can understand taking off the ring when sleeping.”
So, the places I want to focus on are the head of the bed and the dressing table in the master bedroom.
And, just in case, it is a bathroom.
***
I searched everywhere, but ended up in vain and ended up in the living room.
And one by one, Jeonghwan and Minho came out.
Looking at his expression, it looks like he couldn’t find it.
Still, I asked out of anticipation.
“Did you find it?”
“No, I don’t have one either.”
“If there was, people who came looking for it before us would have found it.”
As expected…
I already knew this, but I still sighed out of regret.
The two people tapped my shoulder to cheer me up.
“Where in the world is there a dutiful son or daughter like you and Ara?”
“Okay! Lighten up your face.”
“…Yes, thank you.”
Yes.
Ara is probably sadder than me, so what should I do if I frown like this?
At least as a husband, I have to comfort Ara.
“Then, shall we eat Jjajangmyeon?”
“Wow! Jjajangmyeon!”
“Order two servings of sweet and sour pork!”
“Two!?”
“One is not enough.”
Then, we ordered not only Jjajangmyeon but also Jjamppong to share.
We started ordering amounts that seemed like the three of us would never be able to eat them.
How long has it been?
Perhaps because the store was close, delivery arrived less than 30 minutes later.
First, hand Minho his card and tell him to pay.
She remembered that Ara had said that there were disposable plates in the kitchen, so she headed to the kitchen.
“The plate in front…Is here.”
For some reason, the front plate was not in the drawer, but in the two-door cabinet of the sink.
This was a place where you could control things like the sink and water tap.
“Did someone touch it?”
Junghwan and Minho can’t do that.
These two people have manners that are embedded in their bones.
Then it must be Arai.
It must have been here before and put there.
I took out three disposable front plates and closed the door.
No…I tried to close it.
Until I saw it.
The moment I was about to close the door, something sparkling caught my eye.
I opened the door and looked at it with my cell phone to see if chopsticks or spoons had fallen out.
“Huh?”
After checking, it wasn’t like that.
What was left there was a rather large accessory storage box.
I didn’t understand.
Why is something like that lying under the cabinet?
Invisibly, as if someone had hidden it…
Rather than being away, it felt like it was hidden.
I also would not have imagined that there would be something there if the light had not been reflected.
It was a little deep, but not so much that I couldn’t get it out, so I put my hand in and caught it.
“uuu!”
It’s not heavy, but it gets caught on something and gets in the way.
It took time to take it out.
Junghwan and Minho have already called me and it’s no longer a fuss.
It looks like a baby bird waiting for its mother bird.
“You two! Come here for a moment!”
I called out loudly to the two people.
I think I’ll be able to see Ara’s smile when I get home.