episode_0083

… … … … …

Park A-young knelt on the floor and held the note the boy had left to her chest.

“Brother… … How… … How could this happen… … Because I lack the strength… … !”

Her cries were a mixture of anger, sadness, and mad affection. Tears ran down her cheeks, soaking her already messy face.

“I’m sorry… … I’m sorry… … !

There is no one else who truly cares for you, brother… …! I couldn’t protect you from those evil women… …!”

Park A-young’s screams gradually lost their power. Her body was filled with wounds and fatigue, and her mind was heavy with despair and self-reproach.

Finally, she lost the strength to continue sobbing, and collapsed on the floor. Even then, the note the boy had left behind was still held tightly between her breasts.

“Brother… … Sorry… … .”

Her voice was now so quiet that even she could not hear it. Her tears had long since dried.

At that moment, the sound of the cabin door quietly opening was heard. Park Ah-young barely managed to raise her head and look toward the door.

The president of the association was standing there.

At the sight of the association president appearing at the door, anger, wariness, and fear alternately flashed through Park Ah-young’s eyes.

Park Ah-young gritted her teeth, but her injured and exhausted body did not listen to her. She could not even raise her body.

The chairman slowly approached her. The sound of his footsteps echoed through the quiet cabin.

“Why… …you came?”

Park Ah-young’s voice cracked. Her hands held the note held to her chest tighter. That small piece of paper felt like her last hope in life.

“You came to finish me off… ”

There was determination in her eyes, but it couldn’t completely hide the fear hidden within them.

“I’m not afraid of death. But… … I’m so scared of losing my brother to those evil women… …

If I don’t save you… you’ll be surrounded by those crazy women forever… ”

Park Ah-young’s words, which she had been barely able to utter with a trembling voice, became slurred. Tears were welling up in her eyes, but she no longer had the strength to cry.

The president of the association knelt down on one knee in front of her. His expression was hard to read, but Park A-young instinctively caught the tiredness in his eyes.

“I didn’t come here to kill you.”

At his words, Park Ah-young’s eyes trembled slightly. Doubt and hope intertwined.

“The reason I attacked you together with Lee Seo-yeon and Kim Tae-yang is… …because your actions almost destroyed the balance that was barely maintained.

Now that the child has been retrieved and balance restored, there is no need to attack you.

… … That’s what I’m saying.”

The association president smiled with a tired face.

“Actually, if you do well, you can join those ‘bad women’.”

Park A-young’s eyes opened wide.

… … … … …

A few days had passed since the strange incident that had occurred when I went to the cabin with Sister Ayoung. I was just sitting by the window in my room, looking up at the sky.

‘What is love…?’

Perhaps love is not something you just receive unilaterally, but something you fill in each other’s shortcomings and grow together.

Like in dramas, receiving love, money, fame, and everything else from a prince charming on a white horse doesn’t exist in reality.

When you say prince charming, I naturally think of the women I usually interact with.

Sister Seo-yeon, Teacher Wol-hee, Mr. Ghost, President Haneul, Miss Seo-ah, Miss Tae-yang, Sister A-young. They are all so amazing. Just being close to them makes me very lucky.

But at the same time, the longer I get to know them, the more I realize my ordinariness.

Compared to those shining ladies… … I am really just an ordinary person with nothing. Even dating them once was something I could never have dared dream of.

So I was hoping to have a normal, cute girlfriend who was on my level. While I was living with that thought, I recently had a girl I was a little concerned about.

It was midsummer, and she was a girl of the same age that I met while working part-time at a logistics center. At first, we were just fellow part-time workers, but as we worked hard and often helped each other, we had the opportunity to talk.

Summer was an ordinary college student. She seemed to have a brighter future than me, who just worked part-time at a logistics center to earn a living and save a little.

Still, compared to the girls I knew, Yeoreum was at least in the category of ‘ordinary’. In fact, thanks to that, I was able to treat her more comfortably than them.

Whenever I talked to Summer, my heart would pound a little. Maybe… … this is what love is. An ordinary relationship where you understand each other and grow together.

Of course, this is just my one-sided crush, and I still don’t know what Yeoreum thinks of me. To her, I might just feel like an ordinary part-time coworker.

But maybe… … what if things could get better between us? Maybe we could even date?

My heart raced as I thought about it. Yeoreum’s smiling face, the way she flipped her hair, even the slight frown she gave when she lifted the heavy box.

To be completely honest, the women at the social gathering were much more beautiful, but Yeoreum was definitely a decent and attractive girl.

But reality wasn’t easy. First of all, I was completely sick of this kind of love story.

I’ve never confessed to a girl, let alone had a girlfriend, so I didn’t know how to get along with the girl I had feelings for. I just felt lost.

“Ugh, what should I do… … ?”

I sighed and scratched my head. The sky outside the window was still clear, but my heart was still heavy.

While I was thinking about it, a good idea suddenly came to me.

“Oh, right. You can ask for advice, right?”

There was a squeaking sound as I jumped up from my chair. Anyway, I don’t have to worry about it alone. There are so many wonderful women around me, so there will definitely be someone who can give me advice and proper guidance.

For example… … Well, for example, Mr. Sun seems to have a lot of experience with this kind of interaction, so he could give you some bold advice. Or there’s also Mr. Sky.

As I was mentally organizing a list of acquaintances I should ask for advice, a strange sense of unease crossed my mind. It was as if it was a warning that I was going down a very wrong path.

What on earth was this feeling? A cold sweat ran down my spine. It was as if someone with long silver hair was… … shouting ‘Please don’t do that!’ behind me.

But I decided to ignore that uneasy feeling. I shook my head vigorously to shake the thought away.

“Don’t worry about anything. You’re all good people who care about me, so why are you so scared? Come to your senses.”

Now I have to decide who to ask for advice from first. I weighed each person’s strengths and weaknesses in my head.

At first, President Sky was the strongest candidate, but I ruled him out because he is also my employer.

Next was the second most powerful candidate, Sun-nim, but somehow… … I thought he would be too amused and ask for something difficult, so I put him on hold for now.

“Hmm… … I guess Seoyeon is the best after all? But I’ve been living with her for a year now.”

After making the decision, my heart felt much lighter. I was sure that Seoyeon would give me good advice. I grabbed my phone, full of hope.

Just before I called my sister, I had that ominous feeling again, but I thought it was nothing and called her. After a few rings, I heard my sister’s voice.

“Hello? Autumn, what’s going on?”

“Ah, Sister. Do you have time today? I would like to get some advice… … .”

There was silence for a moment. I could hear my sister breathing on the other end of the phone.

“Consultation? What’s going on?”

I could hear worry in my sister’s voice. I decided not to tell my story over the phone because it would be too long and would defeat the purpose of the consultation.

“That’s… …not a big deal, but it’s a little serious. I want to ask you for advice.”

Another silence. This time it was longer. My heartbeat rang in my ears.

“Okay. Let’s meet at lunch. Near the Awakening Association headquarters.”

My sister’s voice sounded a little different than usual. She seemed a little pleased with my request for advice.

“Yes, thank you, sis!”

After hanging up the phone, I finally exhaled. Now it was time to take the first step toward becoming closer to Summer… … It wasn’t about hiding, it was time to learn how to take the first step. With that in mind, I started to get ready to go out.

However, in a corner of my heart, that uneasy feeling still hadn’t gone away. It was like someone was constantly nagging me not to do it.

Of course, that would be a needless worry. Perhaps I was hesitant without realizing it because I was embarrassed to ask others for relationship advice.

“It’s okay, everything will be okay.”

While muttering like that, I waited to meet Sister Seoyeon.