She wanted to lash out at Sung-jun. Ha-young hurried out of the hospital like a ghost and headed straight to his house.
The front door was open, so there was no need to punch in the passcode. Just as she was about to take off her shoes, she heard Min-ji's chirping voice, as bright as a nightingale.
"I don't like braised mackerel."
"Ugh, Woo Min-ji, how do you expect to grow if you're such a picky eater?"
"I am growing!"
"Growing? Says the little runt."
"Jo Sung-jun, you're so annoying."
"Take some beef bone soup with you, then. I heard it's made with premium Korean beef."
"You don't like that either? Fine. Next time, I'll ask Mother to make braised short ribs."
"Mother? She's not even your mother-in-law. Why are you calling her that?"
"Oh right, Ha-young kept nagging me to call her 'Mother,' so it just stuck. That woman."
Their giggles rang in her ears like alarm bells. Her blood felt like it was running in reverse — her whole body flushed hot, then turned deathly cold. It was like being submerged in water; nothing felt real anymore.
"Anyway, if you're old and broke, you might as well just die early. Even today, they told me to take her to the hospital. Do I look like I'm in a position to play caretaker? Seo Hae-young is the most annoying. She should be grateful I even bother to meet her."
"Right. If this goes well, she'll end up with an actor for a son-in-law."
"Son-in-law? Yeah, right."
"You've been dating for six years. You're not going to get married?"
"She's not really marriage material."
"Why not? She's good-looking at least."
"She just looks stiff. Her personality is stiff too. Everything about her is stiff and frustrating. I want to break up, but I can't even do that."
"Why not? Because of the deposit?"
"Yeah. If I break up with her, I have to move out right away. But I really think this time things will work out, so I need to end it. I'm sick of it. Dating someone who's not even on the same level as me."
"No feelings left, but you're stuck because of money… that's rough."
"I guess I'll have to take you in."
There was a hint of anticipation in Sung-joon's slightly lowered voice.
"…What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, if you're not married by the time you're thirty-five, this noona will take care of you."
"Really? No backing out later."
"Yeah, but what if I get married before that?"
"Hey, get over here."
Laughter burst out from the two of them. Hae-young, dragging her heavy legs, took a step forward, then another, slowly walking inside.
Sung-joon pulled Min-ji into a hug and playfully shook her, and Min-ji hit him with a fist that didn't look like it could hurt anyone. Lost in their happiness, they didn't even notice Hae-young coming in.
Really? Just friends? Then why am I the one feeling suspicious and jealous?
You said it annoyed you so much. But does this really look like friendship to you?
It wasn't Min-ji coming between the two of us—it was me who had come between Sung-joon and Min-ji. Like an idiot, I'm only now realizing it for sure.
Then I noticed what Min-ji was wearing. That expensive gray T-shirt I had bought for Sung-joon not long ago, when he said he had nothing to wear.
He said he liked it, but never wore it. When I asked him why, he just brushed it off with a vague excuse.
"You don't eat beef bone soup, right? Then I guess I'll throw it out."
"Throw it out? What a waste."
"It's not like I made it."
The milky broth in the large pot spilled into the sink with a loud splash.
I had stood in the kitchen all night on aching legs, just to make that soup.
The image of my mother standing there overlapped with the memory of her lying in the ICU.
And then, my mother telling me not to come and bother Sung-joon, even if I wanted to help, struggling as she left the house, and the image of her lying unconscious on the cold asphalt at the bottom of the hill after falling, waiting until someone passed by—all of it played vividly in my mind.
What Sung-joon rejected just now wasn't simply some soup he didn't want to eat. It was Hae-young. It was her mother.
"Sung-joon."
"What, what is it?"
He looked startled like he had seen a ghost, then rolled his eyes. He was trying to figure out exactly how much of the scene I had seen.
"When did you get here? If you came, why didn't you say anything? Why are you standing there so eerily silent?"
"Why did you do that?"
"Why did I throw this away? You know I don't like beef bone soup. Could you at least tell me if you're not going to eat it? Throwing food away is a hassle. Do you know how hard it is to deal with food waste—"
"My mom is in the hospital right now."
"So? You know what that means."
"She fell down the hill."
"What?"
"She might not make it."
Sung-joon's eyes widened. Yeah, you should be that shocked. That's what makes you human.
"Was it really that hard to do this one thing? If you didn't want to go, you could have just called me. You broke our promise—"
"That's not my fault! You know I had my reasons!"
The surprise on Sung-joon's face quickly turned into anger.
Sung-joon shouted angrily, as if that would let him avoid all blame.
"Don't go blaming me for everything. Your mom hurt her leg—why are you blaming me for that?"
Still, I thought at least he would show some concern or apologize.
"...You bastard."
Tears suddenly welled up and streamed down my cheeks.
"Bastard? Are you crazy? Watch your language. You're crossing the line right now."
"Who crossed the line first—!"
Hae-young couldn't finish her sentence. Min-ji suddenly stepped between them.
"Unni, are you okay?"
Min-ji's big round eyes were scrunched up in worry.
"Please calm down first. Unni, you're way too worked up."
"Okay, calm down. Just go for now. I'll scold Sung-joon."
"What?"
"Sung-joon, apologize to Hae-young quickly."
"It's not like I did it on purpose…"
"But still! Don't you see how upset she is right now?"
Sung-joon, who had been glaring at Hae-young like he wanted to kill her just moments ago, immediately shrank back.
Hae-young looked between the two of them. Was this some kind of show right in front of me?
"I told you to help me later. Come at night if you want. You listen to me well, so why do you always get so twisted when it comes to my sister? Now apologize."
Reluctantly, Sung-joon said sorry. Min-ji took Hae-young's hand—a small, warm hand.
"Please understand, kind unni. Sung-joon says he didn't do it on purpose."
What are they trying to do right now?
"Min-ji, would you understand?"
"Huh?"
"This is between the two of us. Please step back."
Min-ji moved her lips as if scared but didn't step aside. Her gentle eyes looked straight at Hae-young.
"He already apologized. This is too much. I can't just step back. Sung-joon is my friend too. I can't just watch you torment my friend."
"Didn't you hear that because of Sung-joon, my mom might die?"
"Sung-joon said he didn't do it on purpose, and he already apologized. No matter how long you've been together, Sung-joon isn't your husband. This is a bit much."
"That's true. I've heard it all too—how you always take your anger out only on Sung-joon."
Min-ji's small shoulders trembled. It was like she was standing up to the villain just to protect Sung-joon.
"Sung-joon is struggling so much because of you. He even says he can't breathe, feels suffocated whenever he sees you, and thinks he's worthless."
What did I even do?
Lately, they hadn't even been on a proper date.
If anything, when Sung-joon complained that they had no money and were eating instant noodles every day, I'd bring him food in bundles. I never even got a chance to properly say I wouldn't disturb his acting practice before being hurried out.
"Sung-joon really said that?"
As Hae-young took a step forward, Min-ji gasped like she had seen a ghost and drew in a sharp breath.
Maybe out of a sense of justice to protect the fragile girl, Sung-joon wrapped his arm around Min-ji's shoulder.
From his embrace, Min-ji let fall large tears as if she had been holding them back.
Seeing that, Sung-joon's face hardened fiercely. It looked like he might raise his hand against Hae-young at any moment.
"You're really cruel. Why do you treat Min-ji like that? If you're angry, take it out on me!"
Hae-young just stared at Sung-joon like an idiot. Everything they said was completely wrong, so she didn't even know where to begin arguing.
"Did you think I didn't go because I expected your mom to be like that? If you cared so much, you take care of your own damn mother. Why is it my fault?"
"If you couldn't come, you should've just called me!"
"Enough. I'm sick of you always making me out to be the bad guy. Just get out. End this. I'm really fed up now."
I was supposed to be the one saying these words of farewell.
"Don't you understand? I'm saying let's break up. Get out—won't you leave?"
Sung-joon raised his voice aggressively.
Min-ji grabbed his sleeve and half-covered herself as she stared silently at Hae-young. Her large, tear-filled eyes stayed etched deeply in my mind.
Right now, the one who needed to be driven away was Hae-young herself.