episode_0049

Tick tock. The noisy cicada sounds tickled my ears through the window.

[ ……. ]

There was no response from Hanyewon on the other end of the speaker.

I couldn’t predict what expression she would be wearing right now.

[ Uh… Suddenly…? ]

She hesitated for a beat before subtly blurting out, “Do you have nothing to say?”

[ Did I not say that I loved you…? ]

Was she really unaware of what she was saying?

Or was she pretending not to know on purpose?

Either way, it was clear that I wouldn’t get the answer I wanted.

So, I gave her another chance.

“…Do you really have nothing to say?”

But.

[ Uh, what is it…? Did I do something wrong…? ]

Hanyewon kept stumbling over her words.

It felt like a twisting knife of betrayal in my gut.

“…Yewon.”

As I started to open up about the truth, I hesitated for a moment.

Why lie?

Were you happy playing with people all this time?

What’s different between you and Mayeonseo?

I wanted to vent my frustration and lash out, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

“…No.”

In the end, I mumbled with a heart full of blood.

[ Why…? What happened? ]

She still cautiously asked with her shameless voice.

Even the doubt crept in if she really liked me.

“…I’m cutting it off.”

[ Huh? ]

Unable to bear listening to her voice any longer, I abruptly hung up the phone.

And as I recalled Hanyewon’s voice filled with desperation, I clenched my fist tightly.

“…Damn it….”

I felt like I was going to lose my mind.

*

Hanyewon was greatly perplexed.

An uncertain anxiety settled on her face as she stared at the blank phone screen.

‘What’s going on…?’

Yuchan’s behavior, something she had never experienced before.

As she racked her brain in the unfamiliar situation, contemplating contacting him again.

Ring… Ring…

A message came from Yuchan.

♠ [ I’ll take some time to sort things out and contact you later. ]

♠ [ Don’t contact me until then. ]

The content seemed to hint at a breakup.

“What, what…?”

Startled, Hanyewon immediately tried calling Yuchan.

However.

[ The customer is not answering the call, after the beep, you will be connected to the voicemail… ]

He didn’t pick up the phone.

‘What’s this…’

Confused by the sudden bolt from the blue, Hanyewon was extremely bewildered.

‘Could it be?’

A fleeting possibility explaining Yuchan’s actions crossed her mind.

‘Did he figure it out?’

Perhaps he discovered her secret.

‘How?’

Admittedly, it was an unrealistic speculation.

How could Yuchan, who had been clueless all along, suddenly uncover a top-secret within the organization?

Absolutely, Kang Yuchan couldn’t know Hanyewon’s secret.

However, there existed a significant variable that could break that ‘absolute.’

‘Mayeonseo.’

The moment her presence emerged, an inexplicable plausibility arose.

‘That woman again.’

Gritting her teeth absentmindedly, Hanyewon felt a surge of intense hatred.

‘I need to meet her.’

With the thought of meeting Yuchan first and seeing how things went, she immediately requested a location trace from the organization.

But.

“……”

When she actually tried to contact the organization, her hand wouldn’t move properly.

It was due to the belated onset of anxiety.

If everything turned out to be true.

If Kang Yuchan really found out everything.

If he was deeply disappointed in her and his affection plummeted?

Just imagining it made her heart sink.

‘…No. That can’t be true. Yuchan couldn’t possibly dislike me, right? Yeah. There must be some misunderstanding. That woman must have influenced Yuchan again. Right. That must be it.’

Hanyewon desperately denied reality and rationalized fiercely while contacting the team with the conversation she had just had with Yuchan as evidence.

A big blue flame ignited within the Association.

Amid suspicions that confidential information might have been leaked, the department hastily conducted a security check.

They were able to uncover records indicating that someone had indeed taken the Kang Yuchan project.

Fortunately, they were able to identify several suspects related to the records, but one of the prominent suspects, a member of the security team, took their own life, plunging the incident into mystery.

Naturally, the identity of the person who took the confidential information and who received it remained undisclosed.

*

Feeling deep distrust in human relationships due to the events involving Ma Yeon-seo and Han Rye-won, I quickly packed my things and decided to leave Ma Yeon-seo’s house.

Fortunately, as promised, Ma Yeon-seo let me go without any fuss.

“Use this money to live.”

She even went as far as providing me with a secret account and a substantial amount of living expenses.

Of course, I had no intention of accepting.

“…It’s fine.”

I would rather be homeless on the streets than accept help from her.

…Even though she didn’t spare my pride.

“If you don’t take it, I’ll summon you once a day.”

“…What?”

“If you don’t like it, spend it all. So I can confirm that you’re living well. …To avoid unnecessary surveillance from me.”

Ma Yeon-seo, who had stopped her kind girl act, blatantly threatened me as usual.

Perhaps even this was an action for my sake from her perspective.

But I couldn’t care less.

“What will you do?”

“….”

With no better option, I reluctantly took the bankbook and left the house.

“I’ll wait for you.”

Accompanied by Ma Yeon-seo’s affectionate farewell.

‘…Where should I go.’

Finally freed, I felt a slightly awkward sense of liberation.

It was almost like being half-free, but the relief of not having to deal with human relationships put my mind at ease.

Maybe that’s why people turn to temples or mountains.

‘First, I should find a place to stay.’

Unfortunately, I had long disposed of my original home.

With no reason to stay, I decided to leave Seoul altogether.

So, I chose Suwon in Gyeonggi Province.

There wasn’t any particular reason.

I just happened to come across a famous pig skin restaurant in Suwon while passing by.

“Oh. You made a good choice. Suwon is really great for young people to live in, you know?”

The real estate ajumma I found in Suwon claimed to be a local and insisted that living there was much better than Seoul.

‘Hmm, is that so.’

Seems like everyone thinks their hometown is the best.

“So, what kind of place are you looking for?”

“I want to move in as soon as possible, and I’d prefer the monthly rent to be as low as possible.”

Having nowhere to go immediately, I started looking for a place with quick move-in as the goal.

Staying in a motel-like place for a while was okay, but I felt more comfortable knowing I had a place to stretch out comfortably.

“There are quite a few officetels available for immediate occupancy. What’s your budget?”

“I don’t mind the deposit, as long as the monthly rent is 50 or less.”

The real estate ajumma scratched her head and looked at the map.

“50… Hmm. It might be tough to find an officetel for 50. How about a villa or a house?”

“I’m fine with living in a villa as long as it’s not a basement.”

“As long as it’s not a basement… Okay. Let’s start looking around.”

And so, we began searching for a suitable property.

“The rent was raised, so you moved to a new place? Anyway, there are no major issues.”

The second place I visited was a 7-square-meter one-room apartment about 3 minutes away from the first room.

“This place has no major issues?”

The structure and conditions were decent, but it had many problems in various aspects.

“Oh… Rusty water is coming out.”

“It’s an old house. If you let it run for a bit, it’ll be fine.”

With many areas needing attention, visible mold here and there, and even sunlight barely entering, I decided to pass on this place.

“I think this third place might be quite nice.”

The third place we arrived at was an 8-square-meter 1.5-room apartment located quite far from downtown.

“The kitchen and bathroom are separate from the room. The room is quite spacious too. The layout is good, right?”

“Wow. It’s definitely nice.”

This place was the most appealing among all the places I had seen so far.

There didn’t seem to be any significant issues, and I thought it would be really comfortable to live here.

The problem is…

“There’s nothing around here.”

“Well, there’s everything you need around here. Even a convenience store is just a 3-minute walk away.”

If only those 3 minutes weren’t like a sprint.

“…I’ll pass on this one and move to the next place.”

Reluctantly passing on the third place, I rode in a car led by a lady to the last place.

“I wasn’t planning on showing you this place… but I’m showing it to you specially.”

The final place was a 14-square-meter two-room apartment not far from the bustling area.

“Oh. This is really nice.”

Although the building itself was old, there were no issues inside, the surrounding infrastructure was good, and even the move-in cleaning had been done, leaving nothing lacking.

Why is such a great deal still available?

“This area is slated for redevelopment.”

That’s because the house could collapse at any time.

“The city is debating whether to demolish it or not… So now, the deposit is almost non-existent.”

“Ah…”

Despite being a ticking time bomb with a fatal flaw, I was drawn to it because the conditions were so good.

It felt like a place meant for me, someone who might be drawn away at any moment.

Since I was going to live somewhere, I wanted to live comfortably in a spacious home.

“I’ll take this place.”

And so, I somehow secured a new place to call home…

After having dinner at a nearby restaurant and buying necessary items at the mart, a flaw I hadn’t considered at all became apparent.

♬ ♩ ♪ ♩

The issue was that the soundproofing was poor.

“That makes sense.”

Is there an otaku living next door? Even late into the night, Japanese music continued to play loudly.

I tried my best to endure it as much as possible.

“Ugh, it’s so loud, seriously!”

Unable to bear the noise pollution that continued until lunchtime the next day, I immediately stormed into the neighboring apartment.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As I pounded on the thick metal door, the Japanese music blaring clearly in the hallway gradually quieted down.

Soon, footsteps seemed to rush from inside, and shortly after, the door creaked open.

“Who’s there?”

“Hello. I’m the new neighbor from next door.”

And then…

“Huh?”

“?!”

Facing the otaku neighbor next door, I confirmed her face and was taken aback.

“Why is she here?”

A cool and composed face with a prominent chest that caught the eye no matter where you looked.

Shin Yuna.

The girl I coincidentally met in Gangneung not long ago appeared from the neighboring apartment.