Chapter 26: I’ve been jealous all along

I’m sorry for showing you such an ugly side of myself last time. I sincerely apologize once again. So please, forgive me. Please don’t be disappointed. Please don’t abandon me. Please give me a suitable punishment.

Yes, I couldn’t overcome my base desires and once again did something you hate. I am truly a sinful woman. I deserve to be punished. But I will no longer punish myself arbitrarily. I have clearly realized that is an act you dislike.

Therefore, this time, I intend to carry out the punishment rationally, through thorough mutual agreement. Below is a list of candidates I have thought of, so please take your time to look them over and let me know at your convenience.

Slapping my cheeks until my nose bleeds, hitting me with a knuckle-duster for an hour…

“…”

The midday of a summer day, with a stinging heat lingering in the air.
I folded the letter I was reading, vowing to talk to Dasom no matter what during this farewell party, and placed it on the shelf.

****

“Hey.”
“Hold on.”
“Are you not done yet? We have to leave soon.”
“I told you to wait. Can’t you see I’m busy?”

The promised time was fast approaching, but Han Yeoreum’s battle with the curling iron in front of the mirror showed no signs of ending.

“Ah, seriously…!”
“Give it to me.”

I snatched the curling iron from Han Yeoreum’s hand. She looked up at me with a disgruntled expression and spoke,

“I can do it myself.”
“What are you doing, holding it so tightly? Are you trying to burn all your hair off?”

Han Yeoreum’s shoulders slumped as she watched me calmly create curls with the curling iron. She was probably feeling disappointed in herself.

“I definitely did it the way I learned, but it’s not working for me, why only for you…”
“Who gets it right from the start? That’s why I told you to take a picture yesterday.”

Seeing her pouting and complaining, I was reminded of how young she really was.

“Hey.”
“What?”

I gently spoke as I combed Han Yeoreum’s hair.

“Are you really going?”
“Where?”
“The farewell party. If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to force yourself. You can rest. Now that you have a smartphone, you won’t be bored.”
“I’ve already packed everything, what am I supposed to do if you say that now? And what am I going to do if I don’t go there? Spacing out while on my phone is only fun for an hour or two.”
“Well, you could watch a movie at the theater or go to a PC bang.”
“I’ll be too distracted to focus. In the first place, if you could have handled it by yourself, it would have been resolved long ago.”

I couldn’t think of any excuses, so I kept quiet. Han Yeoreum, seeing this, smirked as if she found it amusing and then spoke.

“Hey, should I really not go?”
Her downcast gaze was reflected in the mirror. If I told her not to come now, she probably wouldn’t.

But as Han Yeoreum said, I was a fool. I might make some ridiculous mistake if I tried to do it alone.
No, more than that, I didn’t want to ignore the decision she had made after much thought.

“No, please, I’ll be counting on you.”
“See? You didn’t even want me to stay, so why do you keep asking the same question? It’s annoying. Or what, is the answer already decided, and I just have to give it?”

Han Yeoreum said with a smirk.

“Oh, you’re quiet. You were talking my ear off until recently, why are you so quiet now?”

Feeling as if my heart had been laid bare, I could only silently style Han Yeoreum’s hair as she continued to twist her lips.

“Let’s go.”
“Yes, of course. We have to go. Even if I say I don’t want to go now, the answer is already set, right?”
“You didn’t forget anything, did you? Phone, change of clothes, spare socks, wallet?”
“Yes~. But what are you going to do if I did forget something? We have to go anyway.”
“Let’s go.”

Leaving the chattering Han Yeoreum behind, I meekly picked up the carrier with our luggage and opened the front door.

“Hmm-hmm-hmm~ Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm~.”

I had been dragging the carrier beside Han Yeoreum, who was humming a bizarre, incantation-like tune, for only a short while when I reached the officetel entrance and froze.

“Ah, I’ve been waiting. Mr. Yu Dojin, Ms. Han Yeoreum.”

In front of me was a black sedan. And it was the top-of-the-line model of a foreign car brand I had only ever seen in online news.

“Uh, ah, are we riding in this?”

Han Yeoreum’s jaw dropped. Even to an ignoramus like her, it must have looked incredibly luxurious.

“Yes, that’s right. Please give me your luggage and get in.”
“Yes, no. I’ll help you. No, what if I scratch it… Uh, so.”

Oh Cheongmyeong smiled and took our luggage, placing it in the trunk. Feeling slightly overwhelmed, I opened the passenger door.

“Then, let’s depart.”

Oh Cheongmyeong carefully checked if our seatbelts were fastened properly and then started the engine.

****

An hour and a half had passed since the car started moving, and I was on the verge of drowning in a sea of awkwardness.

“Pffft—Pfft, Pfffoooo… Slurp, Cough—.”

Summer, who could have been a conversational partner, had long since passed out and transformed into a living amylase dispenser.
As a rebound from sleeping too soundly yesterday, I wasn’t even slightly drowsy and had been sitting in the passenger seat, blankly gazing at the scenery outside, but even that was reaching its limit.

“Thank you for the ride today.”
“Not at all. It’s my job to escort you both.”

Oh Cheongmyeong replied with a smile.

“Well, it’s taking quite a while. Can I ask where exactly we’re going? I know it’s one of Minseo’s villas, but…”
“Ah, I apologize. I see you wouldn’t know. I wanted to tell you sooner, but the young lady asked me to keep it a secret until the day of, for a surprise.”
“It’s alright.”
“Thank you for your understanding. In any case, the place I’ll be taking you today is an island owned by the Oh family.”
“Owned? You mean the entire island?”

I thought it would be a villa at most, or perhaps a private estate if it was large, but an entire island?

“Yes, that’s correct. It was acquired when the previous chairman was actively buying land. At the time, there were plans to develop it as a tourist destination, but various circumstances led to those plans being scrapped, and it is now used as a private resort. The current chairman is quite fond of the scenery there.”
“I see.”
“It’s not a very large island, but it has most of the necessary facilities, such as a beach and a campground. Most importantly, there’s electricity on the island, so you’ll be able to enjoy yourselves comfortably. It’s also regularly maintained.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Thank you.”

Around that time, I decided to ask him something I had been wanting to ask.

“This is a personal question, but.”
“It’s alright, please speak freely.”
“Why weren’t you by Minseo’s side until now?”

Even after hearing a potentially offensive question, Oh Cheongmyeong still wore a smile.

“I’ve known Minseo since college, but I don’t recall ever seeing you.”
“Yes, well, there were various circumstances.”

He continued calmly.

“The biggest reason was that the young lady didn’t want me to.”
“Minseo, you mean?”
“Yes, the young lady doesn’t trust me. So she doesn’t think of relying on me. As it happens, I’m now, very honorably, serving as her attendant.”

It seemed there was some deep history between the two of them.

“If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask what happened? As I mentioned before, I’d like to know more about Minseo.”
“I apologize. Even at Mr. Dojin’s request, I cannot speak of that.”
“No, it’s fine. I think I asked something too personal.”
“It’s alright. The young lady is also asking various things of you, Mr. Dojin. I should at least answer your questions.”

The clear sky stretched endlessly beyond the window. When a cloud drifting across it obscured the sun, Oh Cheongmyeong slowly opened his mouth.

“Actually, you see.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“I’ve been jealous of you, Mr. Dojin, all this time.”
“Excuse me?”

Startled by his absurd remark, I turned to look at his face. It was so downcast that it was hard to believe he was the same person I had been talking to just moments before.

“That’s why, after the meal that day, I felt unbearably ashamed.”
“What do you mean by that…”
“Mr. Dojin.”

A faint shadow flickered in his eyes behind his glasses.

“Please take good care of my younger sister.”

After those words, the man didn’t speak again until we got out of the car.