Ephphatha Chapter 25

Seul-ah contacted Seo Han-seong again when her four-day hospitalization ended.

 

As she completed the discharge process and stepped outside the hospital, she found Seo Han-seong waiting for her. As she quietly approached him while he was on the phone with his back turned, he sensed her presence, turned around, and widened his eyes before hastily ending the call.

 

“Were you sick?”

 

“……”

 

He showed a worried expression at her noticeably gaunt face, but Seul-ah lowered her gaze instead of responding.

 

“I want to talk somewhere quiet.”

 

“……”

 

“Let’s go to my place.”

 

“…Alright. Get in.”

 

Even during the car ride, there was little conversation. Seo Han-seong occasionally voiced concerns about her condition, but Seul-ah did not reply. Eventually, he quietly drove her to her apartment.

 

The house, left empty for several days, was in disarray. Her mother’s floral blanket was crumpled near the bedroom door, the chrysanthemums on the shelf had wilted miserably, and on the dining table sat two water glasses she had never used. One of them had been turned into an ashtray.

 

Staring at the cigarette butts floating in the water, she quickly covered the entrance of the cup with her hand before Seo Han-seong, who had followed her inside, could see it.

 

“Have a seat. I’ll make some tea.”

 

“It’s fine. You look exhausted, Seul-ah, so just—”

 

“You can sit on the sofa.”

 

Perhaps sensing a certain resolve in her unusually firm tone, Seo Han-seong let out a heavy sigh and did as she instructed. Seul-ah briefly observed him sitting uncomfortably on the edge of the sofa before recalling a man of an entirely different demeanor. Then, she proceeded to clean up the cup with the floating cigarette butts.

 

She prepared only one cup of black tea, meant for Seo Han-seong, and carried it to the living room. He immediately stood up to receive it.

 

“Thank you. I’ll drink it well.”

 

“……”

 

Seul-ah nodded and took a seat across from him. In response, he sat on the floor rather than on the sofa, with the table between them. A moment of silence passed.

 

Seul-ah quietly observed Seo Han-seong as he sipped his tea. The subtle awkwardness in his demeanor, as if feeling guilty for asking her such a favor, did not seem insincere. His concern for her health also seemed genuine. At the very least, his kindness appeared real, even if he had approached her with ulterior motives.

 

Suddenly, she recalled their first meeting at the gallery—how he had brought up Kwak Chi-gyeom and the rumors surrounding Gimon Market. He had likely been trying to gauge how close she was to Kwak Chi-gyeom.

 

“……”

 

During her hospitalization, she had done a lot of thinking.

 

Her mother had said that Kwak Chi-gyeom could be trusted. Seo Han-seong had told her not to trust him. Kwak Chi-gyeom wanted to open Ephphatha.

 

If so, why had Kwak Chi-gyeom been near Aunt Chae-young, who had nothing to do with Ephphatha? Why was the prosecution investigating Gimon Market? Why had he gone through identity laundering?

 

Seo Han-seong’s warning that Kwak Chi-gyeom was not someone to trust didn’t seem wrong. Although her mother’s words lingered in her mind, she decided that she could determine the truth only after investigating.

 

If there were suspicions surrounding her mother’s death, Seul-ah wanted to uncover them. She wanted to understand what had turned her mother—and herself—into loners.

 

“I’ll accept your offer.”

 

Her cracked voice made Seo Han-seong pause mid-sip and set down his cup.

 

“Seul-ah.”

 

“Please keep your promise to look into my mother and my aunt.”

 

“…I will.”

 

“And I have another condition.”

 

As he nodded, signaling her to continue, Seul-ah spoke carefully.

 

“Keep seeing me as you have been.”

 

“What?”

 

“Mr.Kwak Chi-gyeom already suspects something between us. If we suddenly distance ourselves, it’ll seem suspicious.”

 

“……”

 

“For now, I want it to look like we’re still meeting.”

 

“That means…”

 

Seo Han-seong looked as if he couldn’t understand.

 

“That would make it harder for you to get close to Kwak Chi-gyeom.”

 

“It won’t matter. He doesn’t seem like someone particularly bound by morality.”

 

“What?”

 

“What you ultimately want is pillow talk, isn’t it?”

 

“……”

 

He shut his mouth, as if at a loss for words. Seul-ah felt a wave of shame at her own words but clenched her fists to suppress it.

 

Kwak Chi-gyeom was willing to do anything to open Ephphatha. If she refused to cooperate, there was no telling what he might do to her—no matter what kind of personal protection Seo Han-seong promised.

 

That was why Seul-ah decided to remain silent about Ephphatha.

 

A vault company with no publicly available information. A mother who had told her not to contact the police.

 

She wasn’t keeping quiet simply because she had been told to. If her mother had warned against reporting anything, it likely meant that Ephphatha was far from legal. If word of it reached the prosecution, it could ruin Kwak Chi-gyeom’s plans—and she had no doubt he wouldn’t let her off easily if that happened.

 

She had to cooperate with Seo Han-seong while ensuring that Kwak Chi-gyeom did not grow suspicious of her.

 

Balancing between both of them was an act she wasn’t sure she could pull off. Could she really deceive Kwak Chi-gyeom?

 

“What will you do?”

 

Even so, she intended to try.

 

If she had remained ignorant, it would have been different. But now that she knew, she refused to be dragged along helplessly. It wasn’t just for her mother and Aunt Chae-young—it was also for herself.

 

Both Kwak Chi-gyeom and Seo Han-seong had approached her for their own purposes and sought to use her. The only choice Seul-ah had was to put herself first. She couldn’t fully trust Seo Han-seong either. What she trusted was not the man himself, but his profession.

 

What she had learned from living with a frail body was that life was safest when she controlled it herself. Just as maintaining regular habits was the healthiest way to live.

 

So she would try. If everyone was using her, why couldn’t she use them in return?

 

“I’m sorry for asking this of you, Seul-ah.”

 

I have to survive too.

 

***

 

Late at night, the figure sitting alone on the bed in the darkened room looked particularly small.  

 

Seul-ah, who had been hugging her knees, lost in thought, took several deep breaths before finally unlocking the screen of her phone. Her slowly moving thumb hesitated for a long time over Kwak Chi-gyeom’s name. But soon, reaffirming her decision, she made the call.  

 

The dial tone rang for quite a while.  

 

As Chi-gyeom didn’t pick up, Seul-ah had to repeatedly tap her chest with her fist to calm her anxiously pounding heart. She tried to recall her doctor’s advice not to overexert herself in daily life, striving to regain her composure. But just as she took a breath in, the call connected.  

 

Cough!

 

— What?

 

His voice was drowsy, laced with annoyance, as if he had just woken up.  

 

Cough. Cough.

 

Suppressing her coughing fit, Seul-ah barely managed to open her mouth.  

 

“It’s… it’s me.”  

 

— Who doesn’t know that? Are you protesting in the middle of the night, claiming you’re sick or something? What is it?

 

“……”  

 

— Why did you call?

 

Chi-gyeom yawned as he asked sluggishly. When Seul-ah remained silent, hesitating, he clicked his tongue in frustration. Then, from the other end of the call, she heard the sound of leather creaking—it seemed like he was getting up.  

 

“Were you sleeping?”  

 

— Yeah. Thanks to you, I was woken up from a dream where I was hanging out with some older women. So, get to the point. I hope it’s something more worthwhile than a threesome.

 

“…Kwak Chi-gyeom, you’re seriously the worst.”  

 

— That’s your point? I’ll admit it. Now hang up.

 

“That’s not it…!”  

 

Sensing that he was really about to end the call, she hurriedly stopped him. He let out an irritated sigh.  

 

— Then what?

 

“…Last time…”  

 

The memory of standing naked in front of Chi-gyeom flashed through her mind, making her face burn. But she pressed on.  

 

“I wanted to thank you for taking care of me.”  

 

— ……

 

“I was so out of it at the time that I think all I did was get angry at you… But thinking back, it seems like you really did just take care of me.”  

 

— What is this now?

 

“If my fever hadn’t gone down, things could’ve been really bad. Thanks to you, I got through it safely. I’m grateful for that.”  

 

Though Chi-gyeom let out a scoffing laugh, as if in disbelief, Seul-ah ignored him and continued with the words she had prepared in advance.  

 

“But that doesn’t mean I forgive you for breaking in without permission. Apologize.”  

 

— Oh, come on.

 

“And… for seeing my body…”  

 

— Wow, really.

 

“…Why did you come to my house that day?”  

 

He let out another yawn.  

 

— I heard you were dying, so I went.

 

“How did you know I was sick?”  

 

— Anyone could tell, with the way you live.

 

“What do you mean? Speak clearly so I can understand.”  

 

— Why are you being so annoying? Just go to sleep.

 

Realizing she wouldn’t get a proper answer from him, Seul-ah gave up on pressing further and instead brought up the real reason for her call.  

 

“Kwak Chi-gyeom.”  

 

— What.?

 

“Show me Ephphatha.”  

 

— …… 

 

“I’ve only heard about it from you, but I’ve never seen it myself. I couldn’t find anything online, and my mom told me not to ask about it, so I have no one else to ask.”  

 

—……

 

“Does it really exist?”  

 

There was a brief silence before Chi-gyeom let out a soft chuckle.  

 

— You’ve been quiet all this time, so why are you suddenly curious about that?

 

She had anticipated this reaction, so she responded without hesitation.  

 

“Because I’d rather it didn’t exist.”  

 

— Why?

 

“…Honestly, it’s hard.”