Chapter 17.2

Chapter 17.2

It was just under a month later that Yeon-ha received an unexpected ‘proposal’ from Kwon Min-gyu.

Her condition couldn’t be explained by the simple fact that she had injured her ankle. The countless unnamed emotions that had accumulated over her life and exploded at a certain point had nowhere to go and eventually spread like poison within her.

That evening, as the end of the year approached, Yeon-ha was lying in one corner of the living room. The living room was cold, but the small room inside was even draftier. Despite a cold wave warning, the space was chilly without any warmth, as the boiler was not turned on. T

The house, which had always been neatly organized despite its small size, had become cluttered with things. The only relatively clean area was the kitchen, where she prepared food. The refrigerator was empty, and on the sink, near a convenience store bag, lay a bag with half-eaten, hardened bread and an empty water bottle.

In other words, it didn’t quite feel like a place where someone lived.

It’s so cold.

Yeon-ha woke up with this obvious thought, slowly lifting her heavy eyelids.

‘I’m thirsty.’

Her throat felt parched, and she coughed painfully. The sound was harsh and grating. After a bout of coughing, Yeon-ha struggled to lift her heavy body. Even the short distance to the kitchen felt like a monumental effort. She carefully moved, trying not to put weight on her injured foot, using the crutches she had grown accustomed to. She didn’t even realize she had a high fever. She had no energy to notice her own condition.

She was deeply disappointed to find the water bottle empty. She thought there was some left.

‘I could boil some water…’

But she didn’t have the strength.

Her weak body stumbled back under the blanket. She had been lying down all day, repeatedly falling asleep and waking up, but since she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday, her stomach was in pain. Despite the physiological reaction, she strangely didn’t feel any hunger.

She reached out and grabbed her phone, which was lying nearby. The battery was dead, and it wouldn’t turn on.

It didn’t matter.

Yeon-ha closed her eyes again out of habit. She opened and closed them several times. Thoughts floated sporadically in her feverish mind. When was she supposed to get her cast removed? Next week? Or was it this week? Her sense of time was distorted. Anyway, she needed to go to the hospital soon.

At her last checkup, the stitches in her ankle had been removed, but there was still a long road ahead. The doctor estimated it would take another three months before she could return to her normal routine, but the prognosis was uncertain.

In the cluttered room, a neatly placed envelope contained the medical report she had requested, just in case she needed to submit it to her university.

“Even if I take a leave of absence, I still have to pay tuition,” she thought.

As this thought crossed her mind, the face of the man with the grim expression standing before her suddenly came to mind, prompting a bitter laugh. In the moment, his presence always made her tense, but looking back, she wondered why she always got so nervous.

The night Min-kyu had carried her up the stairs, Yeon-ha had sent him five months’ worth of rent, hospital bills, and food expenses as soon as she got inside, without even changing her clothes. Despite this, she was still short of the full rent amount. She sent what she could, not wanting to be completely out of money.

As she typed a message asking if she could delay this month’s rent, her phone suddenly rang. The number wasn’t saved, but she already knew whose face would appear.

“What did I tell you? Huh?”

Before she could even react to the sudden loud voice on the other end, he burst out, angrily asking if she thought he was the kind of person who would take money from someone who was sick. Yeon-ha, struggling to keep her composure, responded as calmly as she could.

“Of course, I have to pay you.”

“Forget it. Just give me your account number. Or should I come and bring the cash?”

His voice was harsh, full of anger, leaving Yeon-ha momentarily stunned.

“You did a great job calculating everything. Did you sneak a receipt or something?”

His sarcastic remarks poured through the phone. She remained silent, having no words to counter. After a moment of heavy breathing on his part, he abruptly hung up.

“….”

Yeon-ha stared at the phone screen, her face pale. She was anxious, feeling he might show up at any moment. With her mind in turmoil, it was only near dawn that she finally managed to fall asleep.