episode_0028

“Do you even know what time it is right now? Where have you been and just coming in now–”

Late evening. As I arrived home and opened the front door, a man with a deeply furrowed face approached as if he were extremely angry.

But as our eyes met, the man’s expression softened, quickly turning into a look of confusion.

“You… were you crying?”

As the man’s concerned words seeped through, I wiped the corners of my eyes with my right index finger and felt the moistness.

“…No, I didn’t cry.”

In reality, I wanted to cry without even realizing it.

The fact that the me before becoming Joo Eun-hye died.

The humans I had known as my mom and dad were not my biological parents.

And the friends I had only considered as acquaintances and nothing more turned out to be incredibly precious beings.

Feeling unjust and regretful for realizing this too late…

But these tears were not mine… they were Joo Eun-hye’s tears. I don’t know why they were in my eyes, but I remember her looking at me and crying. These were undoubtedly tears shed for me.

“I don’t know what happened, but come in first. Let’s talk inside.”

“…Sorry for being late, sir– ow!”

As I tightly held onto the man’s hand and was led inside, I felt a sharp pain in the sole of my foot as I stepped on the wooden floor. Bowing my head to investigate the source of the pain, I realized that I had come home barefoot without even wearing shoes.

“What about your shoes?”

How should I explain that I was too distracted to put them on? The current me and the past me are completely different. So, going to that funeral was already an unnatural thing, how should I explain it to the man?

“Sorry, sir.”

I couldn’t lift my head in front of the man since earlier. Being late and entering the house in a mess without wearing shoes… I just felt sorry and more sorry.

“…Stay still and don’t move.”

“Huh? What’s sudd– whoa!”

Releasing my hand, the man suddenly said something strange. Then, I felt his arms wrapping around my back and legs, and my vision swayed as my body was lifted up.

“Ah, sir, what is this–”

Unintentionally wrapping my arms around his neck and looking down, the man, who let out a small sigh, opened his mouth with a slightly annoyed expression.

“Just bear with it for a bit, I’ll put you down soon. Okay?”

“Yes…”

I nodded helplessly, but I couldn’t help but worry a bit.

Won’t it be too heavy? I must have gained a lot of weight since I first came here.

This posture feels a bit strange… isn’t this the princess carry position? Ugh!

My face flushed for no reason, I closed my eyes and leaned on the man. Slowly, my body descended, and I found myself sitting on the soft sofa where I had opened my eyes for the first time when I came here.

“Alright, sit there and wait quietly.”

“Yes…”

Feeling embarrassed for not being in that position before, I couldn’t even lift my head for a moment. No, just looking at the man was embarrassing and shameful… It was even difficult for me to look at him out of gratitude.

As my already calmed heart became even more complicated, my chest thumped mercilessly and my head felt numb. Is my body breaking down?

“–Can you move a bit? Or should I help you take it off?”

Placing his hand on his left chest and fanning himself to cool down his flushed face, the man who knelt in front of me suddenly blurted out something strange.

“Hey…!! What, are you trying to undress me, mister! You pervert! Sea squirt! Sea urchin pervert!!”

Shocked by his nonsensical statement, I shook my head in disbelief and mercilessly smacked his head. What on earth was he talking about? Is he crazy for real!

“No, listen to me properly! Take off your socks!!”

“What?”

Frowning, the man grabbed my arms. As my gaze shifted from his face to my feet, I noticed that my white socks, now covered in dust, had a dirty stain on them.

Oh, I see. It’s only natural that they’re dirty since I’ve been running around barefoot all this time… It’s even weirder that I didn’t realize it until now.

“Ouch, it’s cold!”

“Don’t move, seriously…”

Slowly removing my socks, the man’s gaze shifted to his left, where I noticed a first aid kit lying there. It’s probably nothing serious, so making a fuss over such a small thing seems unnecessary.

“…”

As he took off my left sock, the man suddenly put on a serious expression. Then, he hurriedly poured antiseptic on a gauze from the first aid kit and applied it to the sole of my foot.

“Ouch, it hurts!”

“Endure the pain for a bit! Damn it… Juyeonhye, what were you doing to get your foot in this condition!!”

Huh? Why is this man getting angry?

“Enough, now that I’ve applied the medicine and bandaged it, you need to stay still and not move. Got it?”

“Y-yes.”

Why is he making such a fuss with that expression? It’s just a little scratch…

“Phew~ Can you walk? Be careful not to let water get in when you wash for a while. Also, refrain from running to prevent the wound from getting worse.”

Although the man still had a stern expression, he seemed to have relaxed a bit as he gave me his instructions.

“Excuse me, mister.”

“Why do you call me?”

I suddenly had a question I wanted to ask the man.

“Are you… very angry?”

For some reason, looking at the man’s face, I could tell that he was really angry. Why? Is it because I’m still a fake wife under contract? But it feels like… something else…

— Thud!

“Ow–!”

“You fool. Of course, I’m angry, aren’t I?”

As I blinked in surprise after being hit for the first time in a long while, the man, who was staring at me intently, continued with a more furrowed expression.

“Juyeonhye, have you forgotten the promise we made before? We agreed not to do such foolish things again… I won’t interfere with whatever you do, but I don’t want to see you getting hurt like this. Do you understand!?”

With his powerful statement, I stared at the man with rabbit eyes, blinking continuously.

“Sigh… This won’t work. Juyeonhye, give me your hand.”

“My hand? Y-yes, okay…”

Although I was puzzled by his sudden request, I had no reason to refuse the serious-looking man, so I gently reached out my left hand.

Suddenly reaching out his hand as well, our pinky fingers intertwined, forming a firm connection.

“Since the promise has been broken, we’ll start over from the beginning. You must not break it again. Understand?”

Broken promise… I see. I broke a promise with Uncle… That’s why Uncle is so angry.

“Yeah, sorry for breaking the promise, Uncle.”

“If you’re sorry, then don’t do things that you’ll be sorry for… Seriously, do you know how worried I’ve been because of you?”

Worried…?

“Uncle, you weren’t mad at me for breaking the promise, but because you were worried about me?”

– Thwack!

“Ouch!”

As I looked at Uncle with a grimace after the hit, his heavily furrowed face gradually softened, and he soon showed a smile, saying, “You fool, of course I was mad because I was worried about you. Why else would I be mad at you?”

Yeah, I think I understand now. Why did I want to live after facing death in front of Joo Eun-hye for real?

“Hehe, sorry for making you worry, Uncle.”

“…Phew, you look better when you smile than when you’re gloomy.”

After a moment of sighing, Uncle, with a gentle smile on his face, patted my head. It seems like he was genuinely mad not just because of the contract we made, but because he was sincerely worried about me.

“Well, now that it’s settled, let’s end it here. It’s a bit late for dinner, so how about ordering pizza?”

Come to think of it, it was already past 9 o’clock. My stomach was growling from skipping dinner, but since I had rushed out without preparing anything, I couldn’t even buy side dishes, so Uncle’s suggestion was more than welcome.

“Yeah! I love pizza!”

“Sure, sure, what could you possibly dislike?”

“What’s with you, Uncle? How do you know about me to say that~”

In response to Uncle’s teasing, I playfully jabbed his side with my elbow.

“Well, I’ve never seen you dislike anything… Why? If there’s anything you don’t want to eat, tell me in advance.”

Honestly, there’s nothing I dislike or can’t eat. But just in case I accidentally choose a menu that doesn’t suit this picky eater Uncle.

“I dislike everything Uncle dislikes!”

For now, let’s just be a little liar. If Uncle dislikes something, I’ll feel bad for no reason, so I’m not doing it to be mean.

I just want to do it because I want to.

My place is right here.

So, Uncle? So…

…Please don’t look at me with those strange eyes.