episode_0011

Mira’s voice was cold as she tried to shake off his hand. It must have been difficult for her to show such a frosty attitude, given how much she had been indebted to Minho, but her current demeanor showed just how angry she was.

Minho refused in a firm tone.

“I can’t let go. You’ll just run away again.”

“I told you not to meddle! Why do you keep interfering? When you really think about it, Mr. Minho and I are nothing to each other!”

“How are you nothing to each other?! Ms. Mira, you’re someone Yunyoung cherished. And Yunyoung is my friend.”

Mira glared at him sharply and shouted.

“Mr. Minho, you might be Yunyoung’s friend, but you’re not my friend. Let go. Let go right now. I said let go!”

As he still held her wrist despite her demands, Mira’s words grew increasingly harsh.

When he still didn’t listen, she started hitting Minho with her other hand.

“Let go! I said let go! Can’t you hear me?!”

Minho didn’t dodge her fists, which were filled with resentment. Gradually, the strength drained from Mira’s arm, and her punches weakened.

“If hitting me like this helps you let it out, then hit me.”

“It’s annoying. Mr. Minho, you’re really annoying.”

Even amidst that, Minho didn’t let go of Mira’s arm as he spoke.

“You’re not the only one who’s sad, Ms. Mira. You’re not the only one who’s hurting. You know Yunyoung’s mother lost her husband years ago and raised Yunyoung and Yunhee alone, right? No matter what you think of Yunyoung’s mother, her grief is absolutely no less than yours. And yet, she’s trying to live on. You’re the only one who’s giving up and throwing everything away.”

“To me… Yunyoung was everything.”

Mira squeezed out a choked voice. Then, as if her legs gave out, she collapsed onto the spot. With tear-filled eyes, she looked up at Minho and spoke.

Her voice was weak, as if it could fade at any moment.

“I have nothing left now. Nothing…”

“That’s not true!”

“Huh…?”

“To me, Ms. Mira, you are also a precious person. We might have been strangers when we met at the funeral, but it’s not like that now. Now, Ms. Mira, to me, you’re no different from a part of Yunyoung that he left behind. So I want to help you no matter what.”

—

People were gathered in the parking lot in front of the columbarium, preparing to leave after finishing their memorial. They were Yunyoung’s grandparents, his mother, his younger sister, and close relatives.

One by one, they exchanged farewells and got into their respective vehicles, beginning to depart. The last ones remaining were Yunyoung’s mother, his younger sister, and Minho.

Yunyoung’s mother took Minho’s hand and expressed her gratitude for him coming all this way.

“It must have been hard to find the time, but thank you for remembering and coming, Minho.”

She was deeply grateful to Minho for not forgetting her son’s memorial day and coming, even though he was busy. Many of Yunyoung’s friends had come to the funeral, but Minho was the only one who visited a year later.

The other friends had no reason to dedicate time and money to Yunyoung, whom they would no longer see. It was harsh, but that was reality. When a person dies, relationships naturally sever.

Yet, the feelings Yunyoung’s mother had for Minho, who hadn’t forgotten Yunyoung and had come to this place, were extraordinary. She felt as though no amount of thanks would be enough.

Minho waved his hand as if it were nothing.

“No, Mother. You know what kind of relationship Yunyoung and I had. If you say things like that, I’ll feel upset.”

“For you to say that, Yunyoung in heaven will surely be grateful. It’s snowing a lot. You should head back soon before the roads get blocked.”

“I’m just going to stop by the restroom for a moment.”

“Alright, then we’ll head off first.”

“Okay. Please drive carefully in the snow.”

Yunyoung’s mother got into the driver’s seat, and Yunhee, his younger sister, got into the passenger seat, waving her hand.

“Minho Oppa, see you next time.”

“Okay. See you next time too.”

The car started and drove away. As the car disappeared from his sight, Minho headed to the lounge on the second floor. Mira was sitting there, her face pale, in a chair.

“Everyone’s gone.”

“I see.”

Her voice was weak.

“Ms. Mira, you should go now too.”

“I’ll stay a little longer.”

Mira wanted to remain longer in this place where Yunyoung slept. Minho couldn’t bring himself to leave her, so he sat in the empty chair beside her.

Mira didn’t seem to care whether Minho sat down or not. With blurry eyes, she stared at the floor as if lost in thought. Quite some time passed, but no conversation exchanged between the two.

Minho watched the snowflakes outside the window grow heavier.

“I think we should probably leave now. It’s snowing more than I expected. If we’re late, the roads might get blocked.”

Only then did Mira look out the window. Her face showed that she had been so lost in thought, she hadn’t noticed the situation outside at all.

“How did you get here, Ms. Mira?”

“I came by bus.”

“Bus? Does a bus stop nearby?”

This area was far from any residential homes and located on a mountain slope. Logically, it didn’t seem like there would be a bus stop nearby.

At most, the only users would be visitors to the columbarium, and they would surely drive their own cars to such a remote place, not take public transportation.

“There’s a bus stop on the road down the hill.”

“You mean the one at the entrance to the village? No, it would take at least 30-40 minutes to walk from there to here. You didn’t really walk all the way, did you?”

“It’s not that far.”

“I told you I was attending the memorial too, didn’t I? If you were coming, you could have asked me for a ride.”

“Well…”

Mira had indeed thought about it. But she couldn’t easily bring herself to ask, not wanting to burden Minho and feeling sorry. Since Yunyoung’s death, she had been continuously indebted to him.

Taking public transportation and coming all the way here only took a long time; it wasn’t difficult. So she gave up on asking for a favor and came alone.

However, she knew well why Minho’s voice held anger now, and she couldn’t speak properly. Minho continued.

“Then how are you going to leave here? It’s snowing now, are you going to walk down to the village?”

“…”

“From now on, if you’re going to visit here, please contact me. I’ll adjust my schedule and give you a ride. Of course, I can’t do that if you come every day.”

“No, I couldn’t…”

“Don’t be so stubborn. Besides, you’re not the only one who has business here, Ms. Mira. You can just think that I also came to see Yunyoung each time. Let’s go now.”

Minho walked a few steps, then stopped. He spoke to Mira, who was still standing blankly on the spot.

“Aren’t you going to follow?”

At his words, Mira hesitated and then began to move. Minho got into the driver’s seat, and once Mira got into the passenger seat, he started the engine and gripped the steering wheel.

He drove the car out of the columbarium.

After driving down the hill for about 15 minutes, a rural village appeared. As he passed the bus stop on the opposite side of the road, Minho asked.

“Isn’t that the bus stop you mentioned, Ms. Mira?”

“Yes.”

“It’s much farther than I thought. What were you thinking, saying you’d walk? What would you do on a snowy day like this?”

“…”

Mira had nothing to say. It was the result of not paying attention to the weather forecast. Minho, who was driving and looking ahead, said:

“What I said earlier, I meant it. If you need to come here, contact me.”

“Even if I take the bus, it’s fi—”

Minho cut her off and spoke in an angry voice.

“The buses aren’t frequent, so you’d have to wait a long time. Are you going to foolishly wait for hours every time? Stop being so stubborn and tiring people out, and just listen to me.”

Mira nodded slightly.

While Minho was driving, she stared blankly out the window. Minho discreetly looked for an opportunity to talk to her, but she looked so depressed that he couldn’t find the right moment to speak.

According to his plan, he wanted to have various conversations with Mira on the way, narrowing the awkward distance between them. As Yunyoung’s girlfriend, he wanted to help her until she could return to society. To do that, narrowing the distance between them was a priority, but it seemed difficult today.

—

“M-Mr. Minho… do you know how agonizing it is for me? Huh?”

Minho looked at the person drunkenly slurring her words at him. Her voluminous hair was full and fluffy, and her large, brown eyes usually gave an innocent and quiet impression, but now they were unfocused.

“Are you listening to my words?!”

“I’m listening, Ms. Mira.”

“Okay… So what I’m saying is…”

Mira, who was normally quiet and introverted, had become a completely different person after drinking.

To not exaggerate even a little, it felt as if someone had put on Mira’s face and was imitating her.

Minho had been the one to offer her alcohol first, though she hadn’t wanted to drink, but he never expected things to go this far. Several empty soju bottles were already on the table.

Mira had drunk most of them; Minho had only had a little.

With unfocused eyes and cheeks flushed from the alcohol, Mira was clearly heavily intoxicated to anyone who saw her. Minho had been telling her to stop drinking for a while now, but she wouldn’t listen.

Mira usually didn’t drink, but today was Yunyoung’s memorial day, and it was even snowing just like the day of the incident, which seemed to have made her so melancholic that she had overindulged.

Minho had offered her alcohol at dinner to help her ease her mind, much like he had offered her a cigarette, never dreaming that things would turn out like this.