TIC 17

Cicadas buzzed and the woman in Min-hyun’s arms began to sob. Pent-up grief oozed like putrid slime from her fragile frame, which seemed to crumble like a dead insect.

He had lied and told her he had just come out into the courtyard. But in reality, he had been behind her from the moment she had begun to confide in her mother about her struggles.

‘Mom, I’m struggling because of you.’

Her emotions were tightly packed, dense and heavy. It was a word that was uttered with barely a breath, a word that couldn’t scream out ‘Why?’ or even express a slight annoyance such as a mother and daughter might share. It was a word that choked back a sob of injustice.

He understood how she felt.

Min-hyun hadn’t understood why he felt so drawn to her. But now he did. She was the same kind as him.

What kind of childhood did you have, Ji Cho-yeon-ssi?

Min-hyun stroked her back gently and comforted her. The questions he wanted to ask lingered on the tip of his tongue.

He had to respect her wish, the line she had drawn in the asphalt with her white sneaker, telling him not to cross it. So he held her close, comforting her, keeping his questions buried deep in his heart.

Her slender shoulders trembled uncontrollably. The tremors echoed his own pain. Her sobs and his grief were on the same frequency. Maybe that was why he had recognized her so easily.

“I’m done crying now.”

She loosened her grip on his waist and backed away slightly. Her voice was thick with tears, her lips, declaring that she was done crying, were bright red. They looked so tempting he wanted to kiss her senseless.

“This is serious.”

Min-hyun lowered his voice and added, “You’re beautiful even when you cry.”

Her tear-filled eyes softened as she looked up at him.

“Let’s go back inside.”

He took her hand gently. He didn’t hold it awkwardly like when they stepped on yeast, but he intertwined their fingers one by one and locked them together.

I understand your pain.

He hoped his silent comfort would reach her through their intertwined fingers.

As they entered the restaurant, the owner gestured to an empty table. A set meal of thimbleweed and soybean paste soup with freshwater snails, bulgogi, and lotus leaf rice was already laid out. The owner’s wife took a chilled bottle of glutinous rice wine from the fridge and stared at Cho-yeon’s face.

“Who made our beautiful bride cry? Was it her husband?”

“No.”

She smiled awkwardly and shook her head.

“I’m the one who made her cry.”

Min-hyun made a sad face, as if he had committed a grave sin.

“Oh? Get rid of a husband like that. There are plenty of men in the world, why live with one who makes you cry? You don’t live for a handsome face. A husband who makes his wife cry should be kicked out!”

“Honey, you said you don’t live for a handsome face? Then what about me?”

The owner’s wife bit back a smile and looked at the owner who was serving glutinous rice wine behind her.

“Even though my old man’s face is a bit… lacking, he never made me cry.”

A burst of laughter erupted among the women. The owner’s wife placed spoons on their table and whispered, just loud enough for them to hear, “Even family ties can be broken by deep sorrow. Don’t cry. You have such a good husband.”

As if she had witnessed what had happened in the courtyard, the owner’s wife patted Cho-yeon on the shoulder and went to check on other tables.

Cho-yeon held her chopsticks and seemed to be choking back tears.

“Tears always come when there is someone there to comfort you.”

Min-hyun reached out and gently wiped her cheek with his thumb.

“Because you know someone will wipe them away.”

He wondered how long it would take to wipe away all the tears in her heart.

“I was too harsh before. I apologize.”

Tears streamed down her face as she nodded.

“Didn’t she tell you not to cry? You have such a good husband.”

She laughed through her tears at his teasing.

Would he ever be able to ask?

Ji Cho-yeon-ssi, what kind of life have you led?

***

They checked out of the hotel where they had stayed for two nights. They moved to a newly opened boutique onsen hotel. Thanks to booking an extra room when they arrived in Jirisan, they were able to get rooms facing each other.

“Well, have a nice evening.”

She didn’t mention that he should try the outdoor onsen and sauna facilities on the first floor. She felt bad for asking too much of him since he had come on short notice to replace Professor Park.

To be honest, she couldn’t look him straight in the eye after crying in his arms in the brewery courtyard. The embarrassment of that moment, coupled with the lingering shame of her outburst after she had sobered up, made her feel a little self-loathing.

“It’s only 7 p.m., what are you going to do?”

He asked casually, seemingly with no ulterior motive.

“I’m going to write the daily report for the company.”

She had already written more than half of it earlier, when she had some free time.

“My legs are sore from stepping on all that yeast. I need to rest. I’ll see you later.”

He turned away first. She felt a pang of disappointment at his short farewell, but there was no reason to stop him.

“Yes, Professor, you should rest as well.”

Cho-yeon entered her room and took some more pictures of the room. She had a lot of things to check: the hygiene of the bedding, the cleanliness of the floor and the bathroom, the presence of dust on the curtains, the cleanliness of the glasses provided, and so on.

Being a new hotel, it was in better condition than the one they had stayed in before. However, the formaldehyde levels were slightly higher than the recommended indoor air quality standards for new apartment buildings in Korea. Sensitive guests might experience headaches or eye strain.

Cho-yeon added her notes to the daily report and sent the email to Team Leader Kim. She added that she would send the onsen inspection report tomorrow.

Should I go to the onsen now?

Cho-yeon stretched. She got up from her laptop and opened her trunk. Swimsuits were required for the mixed-gender outdoor onsen.

She grabbed her swimsuit bag and toiletries and went to the sauna on the first floor. After a quick shower, she changed into her bikini. She had planned to wear a rash guard over it, but there was a sign in the locker room that said ‘No rash guards allowed.’ She reluctantly left her rash guard in the locker.

She hoped she could relax in the hot water and sleep peacefully tonight.

She’d been on edge since this project began. She was afraid of accidentally revealing her private life. Her mind was a mixture of gratitude and embarrassment after he comforted her.

Mom, Do-jun…

She had sent a message to Do-jun, but he hadn’t answered. It seemed like it was over. The precious connection, which she had desperately wanted to remain just friends, had been severed. It wasn’t easy to shake off the feeling of desolation.

Butterflies undergo a complete metamorphosis? She wished that she could transform into a completely different being like a butterfly. Even if she ended up as a moth after emerging from the chrysalis, that would be fine. She was filled with the desire to become someone completely different.

As she turned a corner with a row of bamboo trees, four small open-air baths came into view. Three of the smaller baths had signs that read ‘Lemon,’ ‘Mint,’ and ‘Ginseng,’ and bubbles were rising from the largest bath in the middle.

And there, sitting in the bath, was an unexpected figure. Kwon Min-hyun. He was sitting with his arms stretched out on the rock railing. The combination of his broad chest and shoulder muscles looked even more solid than the rock railing. Cho-yeon stared at him in fascination as he leaned back with his eyes closed.

His face was slightly flushed from the hot water and his hair was slicked back, revealing his clean-cut features. He looked so alluring that she thought a picture of him would make a great addition to the travel product ad.

His sexy appearance rooted her to the spot. Should she go in or not?

“Ji Cho-yeon-ssi?”

Just as she was about to turn around, thinking she would come back later, he called her name.

“I thought you were resting. You came down?”

Cho-yeon smiled awkwardly and stepped into the water, self-conscious about her bikini. Ouch, hot! The hot water pricked her skin and she fidgeted.

“My calves were sore, so I went down. I wasn’t sure if it was you, Ji Cho-yeon-ssi.”

Cho-yeon was sitting near the entrance, and he was on the opposite side, farthest from the entrance. There were no other guests.

“You’re not wearing your glasses.”

“They’re useless here.”

He wiped his face with a wet hand. Water trickled down his sharp jaw and masculine neck.

“Can’t you see well without your glasses?”

“I can’t hear.”

“Hear what?”

“The sound of the waterfall makes your voice muffled. And your face looks like a boiled egg, I can’t see your features.”

A man who seemed to be the onsen attendant glanced at them and went back inside.

“Should I keep yelling? People come and go through that entrance. Come over here.”

There was no reason to refuse. Cho-yeon moved carefully through the water. She wished she had worn her rash guard. Wearing only her bikini made her reluctant to get out of the water.

Cho-yeon stopped about a meter away and sat down with her back against the wall.

“Your eyesight must be really bad. Can’t you see my face even now? How close do I have to get?”

He moved closer, causing ripples in the water. His face was now directly in front of hers.

“You have to be this close for me to be able to see you.”