TIC 13

Her face froze, as if buffering, then relaxed again.

“I can’t this week, I’m in Jirisan. Yeah, for work. Sorry.”

He didn’t know what the other person was saying, but she looked incredibly apologetic. He wondered who made her feel so guilty.

Had she called him Do-jun? Was it the insecticide that had come to the hotel with her trunk?

He had a disarming smile that, depending on your perspective, could be seen as charmingly friendly, uncomfortably suave, or even a little sleazy. This insecticide had claimed to be her friend. But judging by her expression, it seemed to be something more than friendship, which was strange.

He felt like he was watching a female grasshopper responding to a courtship song.

“Yeah, let’s meet when I get back. Mmm-hmm!”

Her last ‘Mmm-hmm’ was so full of aegyo that it even had a nasal tone.

“Is that the friend from before?”

He asked casually.

She looked up as if she hadn’t heard him, still staring at her phone even though the call had ended.

“What?”

“I said, is that the friend from before?”

“Ah! Yes. The friend who was with me when we switched trunks.”

She grinned, seemingly happy just thinking about that friend, and took a sip of her iced Americano. The way she pursed her little lips around the straw made him feel breathless.

“I actually fainted when I saw the trunk. I had never seen insects that big… It was shocking.”

“You fainted?”

Min-hyun was so surprised that he almost dropped his fork and knife.

“I assumed it would be filled with blankets and pillows, I never imagined it would contain… that.”

He felt both understanding and a pang of disappointment. He had assumed she didn’t like insects from the way she had reacted to his trunk in the hotel, as if it were a time bomb. He was also relieved that he hadn’t mentioned his entomological research, given her sensitive nature. It was all rather bittersweet.

“I apologize. I didn’t realize it would make you faint.”

“He’s the friend who came to my house and took me to the emergency room.”

Min-hyun was the one sitting next to her, and that friend, Do-jun, was in Seoul, over 300 kilometers away. But the emotional distance between Min-hyun and her felt much greater.

It was as if the insects he had spent his life studying were standing between them.

“He sounds like a good friend.”

Then why did he find this insecticide guy so irritating?

Min-hyun chewed and swallowed his French toast slowly. He had been hungry a few moments ago, but now the sweet bread felt as unappetizing as a wet rag.

And then, with impeccable timing, he received an unpleasant phone call.

Mother.

She has been quiet lately, so this must be the beginning of a new cycle.

“I’ll take this call.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Min-hyun met her gaze briefly, a soft smile on her face, and went out to the cafe’s terrace to answer the call.

“Yes, Mother.”

-How can you be so cold to your own mother and call me ‘Mother’? You never call to check on me. I made you a professor, and instead of filial piety…

He heard this all the time, but it never got old. It was a new torture every time. And it wasn’t even true that she had made him a professor.

-After what happened to your brother, who else do I have but you? You’re not being a good son.

“Yes.”

He replied curtly, glancing at the café window. She was pecking at her salad like a bird. Her stomach must be upset from lack of sleep, but he admired her effort to eat.

-You remember Mr. Choi, right? He’s opening a big bakery cafe in the new town. You know, he used to be a hotel chef. Invest in it. Okay? Make a big profit, then get married, give me grandchildren, that’s how you show filial piety.

He heard a man’s voice in the background, “Come on, Mrs. Jo, what an investment!” 

It was probably Mr. Choi. Since they were together at that hour, they must have spent the night together. It was a familiar scene from his childhood.

He no longer felt disgust or hatred. He didn’t feel any resentment or pity for his mother who led such a life. Every time he received a call from her, Min-hyun thought of himself as an actor in a boring play.

A son whose sense of self was numb, faithfully playing his role. Like someone who would have been the subject of Sartre’s research if he had been born in mid-20th century Europe.

“Mother.”

Perhaps offended by his cold, abrupt tone, there was silence on the other end of the line.

“I’m working. I’ll call you later.”

-Ugh, the way you talk! Where are you working? At school? Should I come to school?

His mother, who loved to brag about her professor son, would never dare to come to his university. She wouldn’t want to lose the substantial allowance he sent her.

Even though she talked about investments and big profits, she never dared to ask for a lump sum. She was too cowardly, afraid of breaking off their relationship completely.

That was why she was an incompetently bad person. She was unable to cut the ties completely, which made her even worse.

“I’m not at school. I’m on a business trip.”

-Are you abroad? Where this time? Did you go somewhere nice? Take me with you next time. You don’t even enjoy those places, you just sleep in hotels after work, isn’t that a waste?

“I have to go back inside. I’m going to hang up now.”

-Min-hyun, I’m not just saying this, but can’t you really invest this time? I’m thinking of following Mr. Choi and baking bread there for fun.

“Do as you please.”

Min-hyun hung up when he heard a sudden outburst of cursing. It seemed that the man his mother met this time was greedy. Maybe he would not give up until he got a share.

Maybe it was a fee for breaking the tiresome bond between parent and child. How long would the freedom he bought with this hefty fee last? One year, two years?

The quality of the men his mother saw deteriorated over time. When she was younger, she had relationships that resembled normal romances. But as she became entangled in stalking, infidelity, and deceit, the caliber of her partners diminished.

He sighed, but the tightness in his chest remained. Min-hyun habitually reached into his pocket, then stopped. It had been years since he quit smoking, but he sometimes craved a cigarette after talking to his mother.

Should I buy a pack at the convenience store when I get back to the hotel?

He didn’t ponder for long. He would be with her for five more days, and he didn’t want to smell like cigarettes around a non-smoker.

When he entered the cafe, she was leaning the back of her head against the window, her eyes closed. She had eaten about half of her salad and sandwich and seemed to be dozing off.

Dozing with her back to the sunlight, she looked like a butterfly playing dead with its wings folded. Sometimes when he tried to catch a butterfly, it would freeze with its wings tightly shut as a survival tactic. It was a last resort. Her nap must be her last resort to cope with life.

Min-hyun quietly went to the counter and ordered two more drinks and asked for a blanket. The friendly looking owner smiled and gave him a reproachful look.

“Your girlfriend looks sleep-deprived. She’s been dozing off since earlier.”

Normally he would have frowned at the suggestive joke, but Min-hyun just smiled. He didn’t want to deny the implication that she was his girlfriend.

“Here’s a blanket. It’s freshly washed.”

It was a cute blanket with a picture of a baby bunny on it.

“Why did you order two more drinks? Just have one more.”

“Thank you.”

Min-hyun returned to his seat with the warm herbal tea and the blanket. He gently draped the blanket over her, her legs stretched out on the bench. He was afraid she would wake up, but she just purred softly and even started to snore.

The owner opened the cafe door to let in some fresh air. The wind chimes tinkled in the cool mountain breeze.

Checking the itinerary she had sent him, he saw they had two hours before their next appointment. It was fine to let her sleep.

Min-hyun sipped his herbal tea and watched her sleep peacefully. The anxiety in his heart subsided, though he doubted it was because of the tea. His gaze remained on her.

Her neck hurt and she opened her eyes. She must have dozed off for a while, her neck stiff from leaning against the window.

Startled, Cho-yeon quickly grabbed her phone from the table.

“You slept for an hour. We still have an hour until our next appointment.”

Her heart pounded. The table was clean and there was a teacup next to him. He was looking down at a magazine, his elbow on the table.

“What’s your sign?”

“Leo.”

“Leo… August or September?”

He asked, looking up.

“August.”

“When in August?”

He was oddly specific after just asking for her sign.

“August 1st.”

Cho-yeon, still groggy from her nap, mumbled her birthday.

“Here, this month’s Leo horoscope. Your financial luck is excellent. It says you have unexpected luck. A chance meeting will bring you luck, and a repeated chance relationship will be your lucky charm, so don’t let it go. Lucky object: Something with a baby bunny. Lucky direction: South. Lucky number: 112.”

“What?”

The repeated chance relationship was with Kwon Min-hyun. The blanket she used had a baby bunny pattern, this place was 300 km south of Seoul, and the password of the switched suitcase was 112.

“Let me see that magazine.”

When Cho-yeon reached for it, he closed the magazine and pressed it down with his elbow.

“Take it if you can.”