Whisper Chapter 32

Something felt heavy and suffocating on her chest.  

 

She missed him. Lee Heewoo just closed her eyes until she arrived.  

 

After about forty minutes, Lee Heewoo got off the subway and followed the bob-haired ghost up the stairs, feeling disheartened at the thought of having to return the same way. Doing this again…  

 

Her legs felt heavy as she climbed. Up ahead, the excited bob-haired ghost waved at her to hurry up.  

  

–  Every time she disappears, she must have come here.  

– So, did that bastard of a father, that bastard of a husband, and the mother-in-law survive or not?  

 

The two ghosts were chattering nonsense, each saying something different.  

 

As she emerged from the subway station entrance, it became a little easier to breathe. Under the scorching sun, Lee Heewoo, who was now so transparent she almost looked pale, continued walking, following the bob-haired ghost. Their destination was right ahead.  

 

***  

 

Hyojeong Snack Bar.  

 

That was what the sign of the small shop, into which the bob-haired ghost disappeared, read. The sign was old and worn, with cracks in places and faded colors. As Lee Heewoo stepped inside, a middle-aged woman wearing a red apron greeted her with a warm smile.  

  

“Welcome. It’s really hot outside, isn’t it?”  

  

Inside, with all the doors open, only two electric fans were running. The bob-haired ghost beamed beside the woman.  

  

“No, I don’t really feel the heat much.”  

 

Anyone else would have been too hot to even consider eating here, but Lee Heewoo carefully sat on a creaky metal chair. The woman, who appeared to be in her mid-to-late fifties, took a bottle of water from the fridge and placed it on the small table along with a cup.  

 

Her expression made it clear she felt apologetic about the lack of air conditioning.  

 

“At least have some cold water. It’s barley tea I boiled this morning.”  

  

“Thank you.”  

  

The cold barley tea was rich and flavorful. Lee Heewoo smiled at the woman.  

 

– I heard the tteokbokki here is good. Order some.  

– What a pitiful sight. Some people stay unfortunate to the very end.  

 

The pretty ghost made a remark, to which the twin-braided ghost glared and muttered that the rude ones stay rude until the end.  

  

– Stepmother’s tteokbokki is delicious! The noodles too. Actually, everything’s good.  

  

The bob-haired ghost bounced excitedly like a child.  

  

I wish I could buy some tteokbokki for her stepmother just once.

 

Even after suffering through that ordeal and taking her own life, the bob-haired ghost couldn’t forget the woman who had been the only one to care for and support her, despite not being related by blood.  

 

“I’d like some tteokbokki, please. Oh, and noodles too.”  

 

“Are you sure you can eat all that? The portions are quite big.”  

 

The woman looked at Lee Heewoo with a doubtful expression, concern evident in her eyes.  

 

“I can eat it. I may not look like it, but I have a good appetite.”  

 

Lee Heewoo smiled brightly as she assured the woman she could manage. This was her first time eating tteokbokki, but she had tried noodles a few times before, whenever auntymade them for her.  

 

The woman nodded and brought over a plate of tteokbokki first. She also added a complimentary bowl of fish cake broth before heading back to the kitchen—or rather, the corner that barely passed for one.  

 

From her seat, Lee Heewoo could see the woman’s upper body. She stabbed a piece of tteokbokki with her fork and glanced at the woman.  

 

Her face was flushed from the heat as she kept wiping the sweat off her forehead with a towel.  

  

“How long have you been running this place?”  

 

With her eyes on the lady, she stuck out her tongue to taste the tteokbokki sauce.

 

Compared to other stores’ tteokbokki, it wasn’t particularly spicy, but to Lee Heewoo, who had never eaten anything spicy before, it was shockingly hot. Sss, sss. She had only tasted the sauce with the tip of her tongue, yet she ended up drinking an entire cup of water.

 

“It’s been around for a long time. Over twenty years now.”

 

“That long?”

 

Hearing that it had been around as long as her own age, Lee Heewoo’s eyes widened. She bit off the end of a tteokbokki stick and chewed while refilling her glass with water. It was spicy, yet addicting. Seeing her eat well, the short-haired ghost looked pleased.

 

“I kept telling myself I should stop, but I’ve been running it until now. It’s not like business is booming or anything.”

 

“The tteokbokki is delicious. This is the best tteokbokki I’ve ever had.”

 

It wasn’t a lie. This was her first time eating tteokbokki. At her words, the lady smiled shyly and thanked her. Her eyes were gentle, and her face had a kind expression. Somehow, Heewoo felt a pang in her chest and stuffed a big piece of tteokbokki into her mouth, breathing out sharply as she chewed.

 

– Can’t she handle spicy food? How much water is she drinking for just one piece of tteokbokki?

– She looks like she’s had a rough life, but why can’t she eat something like this?

 

The ghosts whispered, but the short-haired ghost paid them no mind. She simply stroked the lady’s hair and rubbed her face against her shoulder.

 

“You’re such a pretty student.”

 

The lady glanced at Heewoo and smiled. Being called a student made Heewoo feel embarrassed, so she smiled awkwardly in return.

 

“I-I’m not pretty. But thank you for seeing me that way.”

 

“Oh, such humility. The way you speak and act, you’re nothing like youngster these days.”

 

As she rinsed the boiled noodles in water, the lady occasionally glanced at Heewoo’s face. When she had first walked in, her complexion had been pale, but now, after eating something spicy, the area around her eyes was slightly flushed, and her lips were red and plump from the heat. The lady suddenly wondered if she might be a celebrity, feeling ashamed for not recognizing her.

 

“Are you a celebrity by any chance?”

 

“Aah, no! I’m nothing like that.”

 

“Oh, I was wondering if I had been clueless. But then again, why would a celebrity come to my shop?”

 

“Even a celebrity would come if the food is good.”

 

Sincerely drawn to the addictive taste, Heewoo spoke earnestly. She had probably drunk too much water; her stomach was starting to feel full.

 

“I used to have a daughter as pretty as you.”

 

The voice that passed by was like a fleeting summer breeze. The short-haired ghost, who had been rubbing her face against the lady’s shoulder, suddenly froze. The other ghosts fell silent as well.

 

“…She must have been beautiful, just like you.”

 

The spiciness burned her stomach. On the chair beside her, her small handbag sat on top of her phone, which vibrated on silent mode, unnoticed by anyone.

 

“She looked just like me. My daughter, she resembled me.”

 

The short-haired ghost’s face turned blank. The lady’s tone was calm, the voice of someone who had long since swallowed their sorrow.

 

“Do you… not live together?”

 

It was hard to feign ignorance about something she already knew. Heewoo quietly observed the lady’s forced smile. Ever since they had met, the ghosts had never looked so solemn.

 

“She left for the heavens a long time ago. I planned to bring her back once I was settled, but things just didn’t work out.”

 

The daughter, who had inherited her mother’s features, covered her mouth with her hands and collapsed to the ground. Being young, Heewoo didn’t know what to say in such a situation.

 

“This is the first time I’m talking about this, but seeing a pretty student like you made me think of her. I’m sorry.”

 

“You can, you can talk more. I’d like to listen. I don’t have parents.”

 

At Heewoo’s words, the lady’s gentle eyes widened slightly before returning to normal. She placed the finished noodles onto a tray, setting them beside the tteokbokki, before sitting down on a chair away from her usual table.

 

“You must have had a tough time too. But sometimes, having no parents is better.”

 

Her gaze drifted to some unknown place beyond the open door, where the hot wind blew in.

 

Since the moment she could remember, Heewoo had been without parents, so she didn’t know whether having them or not made any difference. She simply stared at the noodles topped with an egg garnish.

 

“…I shouldn’t have married her off. I should have brought her with me. I regret it every day.”

 

“She… was married?”

 

“Yes. I abandoned her and ran away. Life was too hard. I planned to take her back, but then she told me she was getting married. I prayed so hard for her to be happy, but one day, I heard she had died. When I went to find her, they wouldn’t even tell me where her grave was. I kept going back, asking, and finally, they told me she had been cremated and her ashes scattered. But they wouldn’t tell me where they scattered them. And her father—the man—was drinking away the money he got from her death.”

 

The once-silent ghosts began cursing furiously. Heewoo, her brow furrowed, silently joined in. The short-haired ghost knelt at the lady’s feet.

 

“They threw out her belongings, calling them garbage. I managed to get them. I had asked someone who worked there to keep them for me. When I gave them money, they hesitated before speaking. They told me there was something in there that she had been holding when she died. When I asked what it was, they just said I would know when I saw it. I brought it back and opened it right here, in this very shop. And I cried like a madwoman.”

 

“…Why?”

 

The lady remained composed, even smiling faintly. How much must one cry to reach such a state? The tteokbokki she had eaten felt like a heavy lump in Heewoo’s chest.