Chapter 54.1

Chapter 54.1

“Ah!”

Miran jolted awake with a start. A slanted beam of light cut through the darkness of the bedroom, filtering between the blackout curtains.

She looked around frantically. The large bed had grown cold, and she was alone in the silent bedroom. Her heart sank.

“And…”

Her voice, hoarse and broken, couldn’t finish his name as her throat tightened. The bedside clock showed nine o’clock.

But just in case—

She tried to get out of bed but immediately collapsed. Her legs had no strength. To make matters worse, she might have twisted her ankle in the fall, as a dull pain throbbed in her left ankle.

“Ughh…”

Tears poured down. How could she have fallen asleep during those precious few hours?

She hated herself, resented herself for not being able to see Andre off. Holding onto the bed, Miran limped into the living room. Though this was clearly Andre’s room, only her luggage remained lonely on the sofa, with no trace of him to be found.

She stood there blankly, head hanging down. Teardrops fell, dotting the floor. It all felt like a long dream.

‘We’ll probably never meet again.’

Her lungs felt like they’d shrunk to the size of fingernails, making it hard to breathe. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and took a deep breath.

‘Time to go home.’

She trudged back to the bedroom and turned on the bathroom light. His razor and toothbrush stood in a glass cup on the sink. With trembling hands, she picked up the cup. Only then did she notice her reflection in the mirror.

Her red nose, contorted face, streaming tears, and the way she clutched the cup with his razor and toothbrush made for a pitiful and almost comical sight that would frighten any onlooker.

Mid-cry, she burst out laughing, then wiped her tears with her palm. The glint of cuff links in the mirror caught her eye. Realizing Andre had dressed her in his shirt before leaving, Miran finally collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

After crying her heart out until her throat was raw, feeling as if all moisture had evaporated from her body, she finally stood up.

With swollen eyes, she showered and changed clothes. She carefully folded Andre’s shirt and packed away his razor and toothbrush. Like her father’s photo atop her mother’s wardrobe, these were proof that Andre had truly existed in her life.

That’s when she noticed the white envelope on the nightstand where Andre had removed his watch.

“What’s this, looks just like an envelope of money.”

Miran opened the heavy envelope and gasped. Her heart sank. The envelope was stuffed with crisp hundred-dollar bills.

“…What is all this?”

She blinked in confusion.

“Surely he didn’t leave this for me? No way, why would he give me money? He must have forgotten it.”

She picked up the note. The cursive handwriting was difficult to read.

“For your… L…ost, lost. I know this word, what did it mean again? Then opportu- is this an ‘n’ or a ‘u’? Geez. I’ll have to look this up in a dictionary when I get home.”

As she squinted at the long final word, sunlight shone through the thin paper, revealing pen marks on the back. She flipped it over to find more writing. Unlike the hurried scrawl on the front, this was written more neatly and was easier to read.

[997 Fifth Avenue

#PH

New York, NY 10021

USA]

Miran jumped up and down, waving the note.

“An address! He left his address!”

This could only mean Andre wanted to maintain their connection too.

“I’ll write him a letter asking how to return this money!”

Miran was overjoyed to have found an important excuse to contact Andre. Just as she was leaving the bedroom after carefully tucking the note and envelope into the deepest part of her bag, the doorbell rang.

“…Andre?!”

Had he come back for the large sum of money he’d forgotten? Frozen for a moment, Miran rushed to open the door.

“Hello, Room service! Good morning, this is room service!”