episode_0008

Just then, someone intervened. It was a young man who appeared to be about Mira’s age.

“Mister, what are you doing?”

“Huh? Who are you? Mind your own business and go on your way.”

The unruly customer glared irritably as he spoke, but the young man didn’t back down.

“I can’t do that.”

“What?”

“You’re in the wrong, Mister. What kind of scene are you causing here?”

“Scene…? What kind of disrespectful talk is that from a young punk to an adult? Who told you to talk like that? What ‘scene’ is this?! I’m just trying to assert my rights, and I can’t even argue about something the part-timer did wrong! Huh?!”

The customer, who had raised his voice, spoke threateningly to the young man.

Mira had not expected this situation at all. The angry customer could have just left, but the intervention of another customer had lit a new fuse.

It seemed as though he had intervened to take her side, but she didn’t feel grateful. Instead, she considered him strange.

She couldn’t understand why he would intervene in a dispute when there was nothing to gain, and she even thought it was foolish and stupid to reignite a situation that was already settled.

At the time, Mira felt no gratitude whatsoever.

The rude customer, starting to be outmaneuvered logically by the young man who was talking back clearly, began to throw punches. Although the young man took a punch or two, he didn’t retaliate with his own fists. However, he didn’t intend to just take the blows; he succeeded in pressing the man to the floor and subduing him by his back.

“Please call the police.”

At the young man’s words, Mira, who had been staring blankly, had no choice but to call the police. Even though she was soaked from the thrown drink, she hadn’t even considered reporting it somewhere or calling the police. It was just something that would be troublesome, so she thought it would be better to let it pass.

However, since the young man had intervened in the situation, it couldn’t be concluded that way. In any case, violence had occurred, and if she stood by idly in this state, she might be reprimanded by the manager. It was no longer just her problem.

The problematic customer, Mira, and the young man were escorted to the police station by the arriving officers.

The problematic customer claimed that the young man had started the quarrel and thrown the first punch, and that he had merely been hit. However, the entire course of the incident was captured on CCTV, and there was also Mira’s testimony.

Since assault is a crime that cannot be prosecuted against the victim’s will, the man who attacked first was bound to face criminal charges. Mira and the young man left the police station together.

Mira still felt it was her duty to express gratitude, as the young man had helped her. Of course, she also felt annoyed and dissatisfied that he had made things so troublesome, but she didn’t show it. Furthermore, the young man’s face, where he had been punched, was bruised.

“Um… thank you for your help.”

It wasn’t her true feeling, but she said it out of politeness.

“You don’t look grateful at all, though.”

It was the young man’s seemingly lighthearted joke, but Mira was flustered. She felt a bit guilty for having said “thank you” with a poker face.

“Ah… this is…”

Mira mumbled, unsure of what to say. She wasn’t unaware of how her tone and expression appeared to others. It would certainly be strange to say “thank you” with emotionless eyes.

Seeing Mira’s awkwardness, the man laughed and said,

“I was just kidding. Don’t worry so much about it.”

“…”

Mira couldn’t speak, walking with her head bowed, staring at the ground. As they exited the police station’s main gate, the young man spoke first.

“I’ll be going now. And if something like this happens again in the future, don’t just endure it; report it. Otherwise, they might come back and cause trouble again.”

Mira also nodded slightly and bid him farewell.

“Go home safely.”

The man finished speaking, turned his back, and began to leave. Mira watched his retreating figure, slowly moving further away, and though she thought she should go home too, her feet wouldn’t move.

He had intervened in a dispute for her, someone he had no connection to, yet she hadn’t properly conveyed her gratitude. She felt that letting him go ambiguously like this would definitely be rude.

Mira turned in the opposite direction, looked at the man’s receding back, and spoke.

“Excuse me…”

But her quiet voice didn’t reach the man.

“Hey!”

Only after she called out loudly did the man react and turn around. To the man who was looking at her as if asking what was wrong, Mira stammered,

“M-My house is just a short walk from here… would you like me to put some medicine on your bruise?”

Perhaps he hadn’t expected it, as the man stared blankly at Mira. Mira found his gaze burdensome, so she slightly averted her eyes and spoke. She felt she needed to give some reason.

“Because… the bruise might hurt.”

Mira’s voice involuntarily became smaller.

She couldn’t understand herself. It was a chance to part ways cleanly here, so why had she brought up such a thing?

-1-

Although this man had helped her, Mira hadn’t fully lowered her guard, especially since it was the first time she had seen him today.

‘But why did I try to invite him to my house…?’

It was an action she couldn’t understand herself.

Mira glanced sideways at the man walking beside her. There was almost no conversation between the two of them.

Perhaps finding the continuous silence awkward, the young man initiated conversation a few times, but Mira’s short, abrupt answers prevented the conversation from flowing properly.

Mira only spoke once they arrived at the front door of her house.

“Can you wait here? I’ll get the ointment from inside.”

She didn’t want to bring the man inside her house, so she intended to keep him at the entrance. It was true that Mira’s demeanor showed signs of caution, but the man didn’t seem to mind.

“Yes, alright.”

Leaving him outside, Mira opened the front door and entered her house alone. She then came back out with ointment and cotton swabs. Seeing this, the man spoke with a puzzled look.

“Isn’t that for wounds?”

“Huh?”

The ointment Mira had was ‘Hoshidin’, a well-known ointment.

“Hoshidin won’t work for bruises. I heard there’s a separate ointment for bruises.”

She had thought that her usual wound ointment would also be effective for bruises. Flustered by the man’s observation, she stammered.

“Then, I… I’ll go to the pharmacy and get some…”

“No, there’s no need for that. It’s not serious enough to buy a special ointment… and it’s better than nothing, right?”

The young man took the ointment and cotton swabs from Mira’s hesitant hand.

“You don’t happen to have a hand mirror, do you? I don’t know exactly where the bruise is.”

“It’s around your right eye…”

“Around here?”

“Not there, a bit lower.”

“Here?”

“A little higher.”

“Around here?”

“I’ll just apply it myself.”

Frustrated, Mira took back the ointment and cotton swabs. She then stretched out her hand and applied the ointment to the man’s bruised area. It was such a simple task that it was finished quickly.

The man saw Mira’s hand pull away and asked,

“Are you done?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

At his words, Mira thought it wasn’t something that deserved thanks, but she didn’t voice it. She didn’t want to say unnecessary things.

Soon after, Mira hesitated, took out her wallet from her pocket, and held out a 10,000 won bill as if to hand it over. The man, seeing this, asked,

“What’s this?”

“Buy some bruise ointment with it. I thought that would be good for your bruise.”

The man, who had been silent for a moment, suddenly burst into laughter. After a brief laugh, he looked into Mira’s eyes and said,

“You were worried about that?”

“That’s not it…”

Mira’s face felt hot for some reason, and she couldn’t lift her head. The man said,

“It’s not a big bruise, and this much will heal in a few days. It’s not even serious enough to put ointment on. And if I were to get compensation for medicine, it should be from the person who hit me.”

“It’s because of me… so please take it.”

Mira wanted to resolve her apology with money, at least. She didn’t want any awkwardness remaining in human relationships.

“It seems like you’ll only feel relieved if I take it. In that case, can you put the money away and grant me a different request?”

“A different request…?”

“Tell me your name.”

-1-

The next day was the weekend. Since Mira worked weekdays, she spent two days resting thoroughly. And the incident occurred on Monday afternoon.

Mira, who had gone to work as usual, was manning the convenience store counter. She had just finished serving a continuous stream of customers a few minutes earlier and was taking a brief break to catch her breath.

Just then, the entrance bell jingled, and a customer entered. Mira, about to greet them, was surprised to see a familiar face.

It was the young man who had subdued the unruly customer at the convenience store last week. Mira had even accompanied them to the police station as a witness for the assault incident.

He had introduced himself as Lee Yunyoung. He was the man who, out of the blue, had asked for her name instead when she tried to give him money for bruise ointment.

At the time, she had been flustered and caught off guard, so Mira had told him without even asking why. She had thought he might come back to the convenience store, but she had completely forgotten about it because she was busy with her part-time job.

“Hello.”

“Ah… hello.”

Since Yunyoung was the first to smile and greet her, Mira, who had been momentarily stunned, regained her composure and returned the greeting.

After he entered the store, she wondered if he might try to talk to her… It bothered her. She pondered how she should respond if he did, but contrary to her expectations, Yunyoung headed toward the display shelves to choose items like any regular customer.

Mira thought she was foolish for having strange thoughts. She just needed to do her part-time job professionally as before. A convenience store part-time job was simple if you dealt with customers without any emotion. So…

Yunyoung brought the items to the counter. It was a buy-one-get-one-free drink.

“That’s 2,400 won.”

Yunyoung took out his card from his wallet.

“Do you have a rewards card or points card…?”

“No, I don’t.”

They didn’t exchange any words beyond those of an employee and a customer. However, Yunyoung handed her one of his purchases and said,

“Mira-ssi, have one. I can’t drink this much.”

When her name came out of the man’s mouth, Mira felt a strange sensation. It had also been a long time since someone remembered her name and called her by it.

One might know an employee’s name by looking at their convenience store name tag, but that wasn’t the case here. Mira hadn’t received her own name tag, so she was currently using a name tag that someone else had used. If he had spoken based on the name tag, he would have surely called out someone else’s name.

Mira felt a strange sensation regarding this man, Lee Yunyoung. What was clear was that it wasn’t an unpleasant or negative feeling. However, a desire not to get closer made her want to refuse the man’s offer.