What You Must Lose to Know – 1

Kim Sung-ah’s eyes flutter open.

Silence blankets the surroundings. A faint, bluish light from outside filters through the window into the room.

The chirping of birds can be heard faintly.

“…….”

She gropes for her phone on the bedside table.

Her thumb taps the screen, and the darkened display lights up.

She checks the time. She’s woken up about ten minutes earlier than she needs to. Too ambiguous to fall back asleep.

As she slowly sits up, the thick blanket falls from her chest.

“…….”

She idly brushes the curtain with the back of her hand.

After fiddling with it for no particular reason, she rises to her feet.

Her bare feet touch the floor. The chill of the floor, which had cooled overnight, transfers to her feet. She had forgotten to turn on the heating.

“Ah….”

Yesterday was chaotic. Enough to forget about turning on the heating.

She slowly leaves the room. She glances at the room across the hall. The room where he stays.

Carefully, she moves her feet, stopping in front of the door.

She presses her ear against the door, listening for any sound from within. Hoping to hear the regular rhythm of his breathing.

Silence. Not a single sign of life.

-Knock knock

After lightly knocking on the door, she opens it.

It was a hopeful gesture. But as expected, he wasn’t there.

“The kitchen….”

Perhaps he’s already preparing breakfast.

Since she woke up a little earlier than usual, maybe he hasn’t come to wake her.

Her pace quickens as she heads to the first floor.

Descending the stairs two at a time, she cranes her neck to see into the kitchen.

His back, clad in an apron, wasn’t there, nor was the aroma of delicious food being prepared.

It was a small hope, but the impact of its collapse was considerable.

“He didn’t come back.”

Was he angrier than she thought?

-Thump

She felt as if something inside her was collapsing entirely.

“Suffocating.”

She mutters, pressing her thumb against her tightly constricted chest.

The kitchen was the same as yesterday.

She sat down at the table at a slower pace than before.

The remnants of the unappetizing dinner she had eaten were still there, untouched.

She picks up the chopsticks and pokes at the half-eaten bowl of rice.

She puts the dried-out rice and cold spam back into her mouth and chews mechanically.

She swallows the finely chopped pieces.

The cold temperature of the food dragged her mood further down.

“It’s awful.”

The food was as tasteless as it had been yesterday.

She throws down the chopsticks, picks up the dishes, and unhesitatingly dumps them into the sink.

Food scraps spilled from the dishes, scattering messily in the sink.

After roughly cleaning it with water, she went upstairs to the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later, having washed up, she paused on the landing, gazing down at the first floor.

She felt a familiar sensation, as if something that should always be there was missing.

She looked at the clock in the living room. It was almost time to get dressed and leave.

“…….”

After a long moment of contemplation, she turned and went back into her room.

And so, five minutes later.

Wearing a neatly ironed school uniform and her hair tied up in a tidy ponytail.

She came down from the second floor.

Putting on her shoes, she left the house with a greeting to no one in particular.

“I’m off.”

There was no reply.

She couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

“Are you okay, Unnie?”

Lee Hye-ji asked with a worried expression.

She was a girl Kim Sung-ah had been hanging out with at school recently. Of course, she was the one who had approached her first.

Kim Sung-ah and Lee Hye-ji were walking around the school track after eating lunch to help with digestion.

“I didn’t sleep very well.”

“Yeah, it looks like it. I thought you were sick again since you didn’t come to school.”

Since she had been absent from school from Monday until yesterday, it was only natural for her to say that.

“I’m not sick, though.”

“You must be busy then.”

“Something like that.”

She was staring blankly ahead. Her mind seemed to be somewhere else.

“Did something bad happen at home?”

Interest, or perhaps concern, or maybe just persistent curiosity.

Lee Hye-ji seemed to have many questions about her.

“No… it’s just….”

Kim Sung-ah, who had been trying to brush it off and change the subject, couldn’t finish her sentence.

Lee Hye-ji opened her mouth at the clearly strange reaction.

“Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

A word of sympathy, implying that she didn’t know the details but felt sorry for her situation.

Whether it was a comfort or not, Kim Sung-ah opened her tightly closed mouth.

“I had a fight with my Oppa.”

“By Oppa, do you mean your relative Oppa?”

“Yeah.”

“What happened?”

“Just… because of me skipping school.”

“Ah~”

A cool breeze swept across their foreheads.

For a moment, her bangs lifted, revealing Lee Hye-ji’s eyes.

Unlike her plain appearance, her eyes sparkled mysteriously.

“Anyway, the argument got pretty bad. I… I said some pretty harsh things to Oppa. And then Oppa left the house and hasn’t come back.”

“I see….”

Lee Hye-ji’s words were filled with heartfelt sympathy.

“Yeah. That’s what happened.”

She wondered if it was okay to tell this story to someone she hadn’t known for very long, but Kim Sung-ah wanted to confide in someone.

To tell them what had happened.

“Why don’t you try looking for your Oppa in places he might be?”

“Huh?”

“He might have gone back to his own house, or maybe he went to his girlfriend’s place for a while.”

Lee Hye-ji, who didn’t know that Kang In-ho had nowhere to go, offered a common suggestion.

“Ah, I guess so. Thanks.”

Kim Sung-ah said with a dazed expression.

“It’s nothing. Oh, I just got a call from home… you should go back first, Unnie.”

“Okay, I will.”

After seeing Lee Hye-ji off, Kim Sung-ah headed back to the classroom.

‘Does Ajusshi have anywhere to go?’

She was surprised at how much she was thinking about him today.

‘Where is he? Seriously.’

Worry, annoyance, and an inexplicable emotion were felt simultaneously.

After sending Kim Sung-ah away, Lee Hye-ji took out her phone behind the building.

“I told you not to contact me unless it’s important.”

The soft smile and voice she had shown Kim Sung-ah were nowhere to be found.

[Haha! I was just getting too restless to stay still.]

“Ugh… what do you want me to do?”

[Is the tracking going well?]

“That man is approaching the human family, but his whereabouts have become elusive again.”

[Maybe he realized and went to where the Magical Girl is.]

“Finally, you’re having a decent thought. I’m surprised, Tols.”

[Ha, stop with the sarcasm, Lilith.]

“Anyway, all I have to do is win over this girl and find out where that man is. If I find that man, I can find out the identity of the Magical Girl. If necessary, I can use her as a hostage.”

[Okay, then I expect good results.]

“I’m not your subordinate. Don’t talk to me like that.”

[Hahaha!! That feisty tone, it’s still charming.]

-Click

As the communication ended, Lee Hye-ji put down her phone and looked at the sky.

“Disgusting musclehead.”

She muttered with disgust.