Chapter 10.1
“Just kidding.”
“….”
“Anyway, that’s a different story. I lack attention to detail or delicacy. So just tell me directly if you need anything.”
Despite how attentively he looked after her, his words made her throat feel hot. Yeon-ha quickly turned her eyes away, inadvertently landing on his firm arm. His scars were long and deep, visible even through his short sleeves.
“I need a shower too.”
Min-gyu added casually, saying it was hot again after being outside. As he brushed past her, Yeon-ha impulsively grabbed his arm. He paused and looked at her curiously. She quickly let go and whispered, “…Thank you.”
Was he not expecting that? His dark eyes looked a bit surprised. Though embarrassed, Yeon-ha felt it was a necessary thing to say. After all, he had put so much thought into everything for her. She didn’t want to add anything more.
She just secretly vowed to repay him much more in the future.
“What’s there to thank me for?”
It seemed like he was about to say more, but his lips pressed tightly shut.
While Min-gyu was in the bathroom, Yeon-ha changed back and carefully hung the dress in the closet. She thought she wouldn’t have a chance to wear it anytime soon. She had no special occasion to wear something so pretty. Maybe next spring, she thought.
Suddenly, she felt a wave of melancholy and buried herself back under the blankets. The new, slightly scratchy blanket felt strangely uncomfortable. The sound of running water from the bathroom made her ears feel oddly full.
She just closed her eyes again.
*
Unlike most kids her age, Yeon-ha never had parents. It sounds strange, but since they weren’t around from as far back as she could remember, it felt natural.
Instead, she had her grandmother. Her grandmother was everything to her and her world. With a strong personality and practical skills, her grandmother was immensely proud of her only granddaughter, feeling both pity and deep love for her.
“She’s so smart and pretty. How much better off would she be if she had good parents?”
That was her grandmother’s constant refrain. Whether Yeon-ha came first in her class, won a competition, or simply helped with household chores, her grandmother always said the same thing.
When Yeon-ha was young, she responded with various comments, but as she grew older, she just smiled, understanding it was her grandmother’s way of showing affection.
Although she couldn’t say she never felt sorrow or loneliness, Yeon-ha considered herself happy because of her grandmother. No matter how tough things got, a hug from her grandmother would instantly lift her spirits. Any frost in her heart melted away in her grandmother’s presence.
But despite their deep affection for each other, life wasn’t easy.
Due to her upbringing, Yeon-ha was more mature than her peers. As she grew older, she became acutely aware of her situation and the inevitable deficiencies that came with it. She felt sorry for her grandmother, who worked tirelessly at a restaurant, and couldn’t imagine playing with friends or resting at home after school.
Without being told, she went to the restaurant every day after classes. She helped with serving, kitchen tasks, and even cleaning the place.
“Why are you here again? You must be tired from studying. Go have some fun.”
Yeon-ha knew her grandmother’s words, accompanied by slipping her some money, were sincere, but she couldn’t comply. On days when she couldn’t help at the restaurant, she’d go straight home, finish all the house chores, and then focus solely on her studies. It felt wrong to rest while her grandmother worked so hard.
Alongside her affection and gratitude toward her only guardian, a hidden sense of anxiety and guilt lurked within her. Yeon-ha constantly worried about her grandmother, who was raising her instead of her absent mother.
This fear, almost like a primal instinct, had deeply rooted itself in her heart and never left. Her heart would sink at her grandmother’s nighttime coughs, and seeing her hold the bankbook with a weary face made her anxious. She felt she needed to do more, to do something immediately.
“I need to make a lot of money and make sure she lives in comfort.”
This wasn’t just a typical, admirable resolve for someone her age. It was a desperate vow, akin to a survival instinct. In reality, her grandmother had no obligation to care for her. If it weren’t for her, her grandmother wouldn’t have to struggle so much.
Thus, Yeon-ha felt she had to alleviate her grandmother’s hardships by any means necessary.