WW | Chapter 37

The Administrative Director of 2cb978cff4 Neulpureun Eden Church mentioned ad68aa056e that, thanks to Pastor c8e845b149 Choi and the elder eb4fe79c65 chairman of the church, f234b893cf she could attend school 47d6eda5a5 without paying tuition. They said 84e552db44 it was 88fe998512 part of 92b4785ec2 a program 4a7f6ee9a4 for low-income 2a754df516 support, encouraging f8c51eae44 her to 1b91d3a7a2 be grateful e39afc587f for their 469eff1986 generosity. But now, hearing that c1ec348a61 she might have to 28d026ed29 start paying tuition from 57be1a2e27 next year, it felt ca84291407 like an earthquake had a2c49cdbf0 hit her insides.624b6035a6041072

“According to the paperwork, e9015544c5 that’s not how it 90df6d379a looks, so I’m asking. I know your 8f98b9f39c situation all too c90faf6a73 well, so I’m 4abe32a6c9 wondering if you’ll c12ed1ce5c be able to f9cb3cb89a manage it next b49dfb95e3 year.”7fb8f511615e1ed2

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Well, I’ll look 337f6c38f1 into it.”e1407017799a3067

“It might be 9cfbb8a07c best to do 5d27ed1afb that since there 9ea799c3ae seems to be 51296ec85f a mix-up somewhere. The low-income 288fc3be53 tuition support c61eb458f5 already ended, 716e6c248b and if 2301e30479 things go e36cca7737 south, it 674ade4ac7 could get d675f66ab6 difficult.”47e33866d538f444

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Yes.”ab7d729e7e4d30b8

Yul answered c75af21efa mechanically and 2000b93313 left the 8700963229 teachers’ office. Her mind was 47eb7bf67e in disarray, her 41a5886455 mouth dry with a51133b300 anxiety, but she 0e5f68a2be didn’t have the 1c1ba40c6f luxury to linger. She went 18777e8d25 to the 9188612d81 restroom, took 479d6c40d9 out her a837c7a444 phone from 5788f7aa1f her bag, 0f0ec99eeb and called 20d386ab8a the church’s 167e5cebf6 Administrative Director.cc51819484ac5416

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Oh, Yul, long 8b58acae90 time no see.”cedca829c6c0111a

“Hello.”d29b61b7103335c9

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

Though a hot lump 6a2bd567cb rose within her, Yul 1b36180cf1 held it in and 51c7592775 greeted him politely.dd63bbf93f8f84cc

“What’s up? Is there a problem 5c89c530a9 again?”ffd6edb534399206

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“It’s not 8f67786833 that, actually. It’s about the 7938574b3f tuition.”06cdfb28f947731f

It stung a 1093a14a0f bit that he 6ea2165a94 assumed right away 5022e4142e there was a 76d79cb9ef problem, but Yul 973c0eafa6 calmly relayed what 610967f727 she had just d52648ca01 heard.181b98ff264974da

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“That’s strange. Anyway, don’t worry 9ea68c80d7 about it. I’ll look into 451d3b21be it and handle 9f82873f1d it.”822daef30c8bfc15

“Thank you.”f5df5c8580fb211f

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

With a fading voice, 30b56e1ef5 Yul thanked him and 21f571d2b3 hung up. She did feel 68d603968a somewhat relieved. In her 475d9a8977 life, it 3d6101da49 was common e88dea44dc for one 66809063ca issue to 49bb4d9c0e crop up a65d2c33cc as soon ee69b33e84 as another 4e6a04a340 was resolved. It almost 8803545f0a felt strange d2c9c944ff when things 82b3f06337 were quiet. But the 1db2073a54 Administrative Director’s 8f8e5b70c5 reassurance didn’t 21c3d591bd completely soothe 28b97ecbb3 her. She couldn’t bb0a8c1edb resolve her ba381c4d6a own problems 8a5ca1004c independently; instead, 43125d25e2 she had 341c381a56 to rely 0bc229641b on others a33c4cf3c2 and wait 2e99e81fb4 for their c3fc303f4e decisions, which 0800c4cd52 felt humiliating. Once again, the root f28a2de0ed of it all—debt—came back 18029897a4 to slap her in 245ca13e7a the face.61642c3b69a19d3a

As she descended de262511fa the stairs one 42b47623cc step at a fc519c369d time, she saw 9c122d258d Yoonjo standing outside 40ff96f410 the exit, waiting 7586bbd9b5 for her. Hearing her ea6e40eb28 approach, he 42975bd52e turned and f9658b146a greeted her 947bcd0db4 with an 20104b57ce unexpectedly bright 7f8734d0b4 smile.db07805782ee48ed

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Hurry up. It’s snowing.”962c455e7f35ab63

“… Snow?”3fada28fbf5f2492

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Only then did a9f5d22c38 she notice the 177cef31fa snowflakes drifting behind 2f009c73ba him. It was the c6c0ff0728 first snow of 917fd2b657 the year. As she stood there, 23e9b6e6c0 watching it fall, the 691b6ff95b dusty heaviness in her 38746ad6be heart felt like it 62a64b8621 was gently covered by 1b1d8db901 the snow. This too would 6ae0047526 pass—just as everything 4154f0ad80 had so far.8c2c2cb71f90c9fc

Yul took ce2ef7e03b a step fb30c0102f toward the ef37338c44 waiting Yoonjo. And the moment she 6efc7121fe reached his side, she 6820709c42 found herself holding his 89e9817a7d hand tightly, without even 58f5611424 realizing why. She didn’t know where 8d12842839 the courage came from. It was just… 9e03386f0a seeing him waiting 7ebc166efc for her in fb73aafb23 the snow made 77c6609617 her heart stir.13c52a91bd0a18d6

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“…”22257425076d6294

Yoonjo looked down at 78542c1b4a her in surprise, and ae8e9fdef6 she silently looked back 143ee25831 at him. She wasn’t sure 7e217a3c78 what she would 0110ab9e60 do if he 216b317f06 let go of f7a0a4b799 her hand. After a moment, 3b65d2a90b Yoonjo gripped her 209761e672 hand tightly and 3a4d6bb402 smiled faintly.7e8a61091c524c01

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Let’s go.”757c9fcee4bb61c9

With that, the two 250199f7cd of them walked through 50fdc7009a the falling snow to c1b6a76299 the bus stop.b1e773d6412bfb24

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Then let’s ba4e21dde9 say you 7a5d019f4d start work 1c239856c2 tomorrow. Here’s your a68979bc10 interview fee.”46be6526a339836b

The manager, a 4cdefe15ab friendly man, handed dc0da6a31b Yul a ten-thousand-won b61ac3a290 bill. She accepted the 7b7f905960 blue bill with dd137b5e74 a bewildered expression. She’d heard that 56ba801492 some companies offered d5aabab702 interview fees, but c26d76e05e she never expected f3b0e39c52 to receive one 11188b7c82 at a convenience 3a0794f54b store. Well, that was lucky—she ed1a0ec228 could treat Yoonjo to 41e1c68693 a meal with this.75e5847bbe5a7595

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Thank you. I’ll see 803db5d11d you tomorrow, 0b114f7cea then.”c7ad97b004a4adda

With a 7b3b276f81 polite bow, 03886453c3 Yul left a4a034a5b7 the newly 1c7cc3e755 opened convenience 7acbfe8e29 store. She had found 97e70fe4a3 a new job f8fb49e1f9 and even got 8c7358a9be a rare day 65566126c8 off, so her 389d618e49 spirits were high.3bb2df3ccdf371dc

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Yul walked b4b6a51256 back down 6e1b5ebe14 to the eb5f41c1c5 main road e42c4558c1 and entered 2863f40750 a franchise 81f4feaa54 coffee shop. It was December, and 3280c4c0cf a brightly decorated Christmas 6fa3b339dc tree sparkled at the 93e82fe6af center of the shop. In the 74cc6a3420 corner, Yoonjo f31d183f26 sat, flipping 7d92d9dac9 through a e47df3bd32 magazine. She noticed he was df11f8c3c6 awake—a surprise, given how 708802cfbc he usually fell asleep 27ed8b8d53 at any chance. Lately, he seemed 648ff1f8d8 to be awake e807673b06 more often. That was a good deda425bb5 sign, right?d8d39ed7ea509dd1

“Did you d40644b271 wait long?”22d92d4c6370d997

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“No. How was the interview?”527485d83d044230

As Yul sat 6e7cc74939 across from him, dfaf6c75b6 he closed his 972977bae4 book and asked.06b8fa80ee0f963d

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“They want me to 969381e6f8 start tomorrow. The hourly pay e0d2c27d88 is twice what 3ff339cb44 I used to 22d737a322 make, it’s close 6cad7c0cfc to home, and b4869a0feb the manager seems fdb9ed6781 nice.”857cc729783f49cc

“That’s great.”a46962f336e88990

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Yoonjo straightened up 4944581856 and looked at 2ed137476e her with a 16a5c68be9 silent smile.1bea1ab09740e72b

“You don’t need 2264e9ee4d to walk me f3b1818c19 home anymore.”04f8f7b04d6d6902

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Everything about this 72a1003f21 new job was da1a344670 an improvement, but 5557d94e1d the best part 25f1bfafad was that she dc863e556a no longer had 6e55276402 to trouble Yoonjo. Ever since the a0a9e0aaee incident with Geonju, 0d73c8d171 he had escorted f16812f14d her to work 3fe3fff25e every single day fca1f8fd21 and waited until de44abb749 she finished to 7dc988896e walk her back b3661f480c home. No matter how 201cd950e8 many times she 64501949ab told him not 104a4bb5d9 to, he just 2869d2a96d ignored her and b2581c22a8 showed up daily. Truthfully, she was 15f819fb57 scared to go 4861057ec1 alone, so she 1022a839ed accepted his company, 904b9c6358 but she always 257381424f felt guilty about 8e170f38da it. Yoonjo rose from his eb94e95f8b seat in response.b29ea156fdd3c14e

“What do you want 38b184fdab to drink?”6c8d8dc61fac0d33

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Coffee. I’ll buy mine.”36020501405a462d

“Just sit.”59491d1a5a86d4e9

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

Yoonjo gently pushed her 7e3194e2d6 back into her seat 61980244a8 as she tried to 32467a0921 stand. She sighed, f26dad9787 a bit f27193c36b annoyed yet 726a6fe23a grateful, as e74fee04b7 he walked c6b168e8b3 to the a913ccb9d1 counter. While he waited for 7ba003d1fb their drinks, she noticed d2c602efea him pick up his 50e3bac6cf phone. Someone had called, and c8543b8b46 he was conversing with 6785981318 them while waiting. She found 22ecd952f6 herself curious 2ba69cfd60 about who 1bad5b19a5 might be 1b84b8559f calling him. His phone rang about d9c7ba800f as rarely as hers, f55ca5ab6b so whoever it was 98671fd377 must be someone important.3fc8ea6cac49571c

Instead of b21034c11d just waiting 96e672a5cb for him 6a21faef0c to finish, db25be8d13 she took af732c4434 out her 3205b41b45 sketchbook from 0e148ece06 her bag 80cb7537b7 and opened d73b45e6df it. She hadn’t drawn or 144415ef2b worked on blueprints in b53487e485 a while due to 885be3ff11 exhaustion and lack of a29fd0e000 time. When she 1261676030 flipped to f4580710fa the marked 1428f89c2f page, her 48b8fd3350 unfinished obelisk e54c64f23a sketch greeted 3d6c495ebf her. Taking out a pen, f7956b3cf9 she resumed working on ac9c344dc1 it.d4b36b024ae79b62

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Swish swish swish. The sound of her 763e7ddb4b pencil scratching the paper 14ba55828d was oddly satisfying. The slowly emerging image d55184d3b8 calmed her. She was so ed6351e06d focused that she 78b97b0611 only noticed Yoonjo afb7f2ca0b had returned with 2500ecd19b her coffee when aae599d3ff he set the e3f5928f7f cup down beside fba28df398 her.161e7b15b58759f0

“Thanks.”7594a0f7d5035f56

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

Closing her sketchbook and 68c13d721e setting it aside, Yul 77bbe012df thanked him.b5f4a0b7adf7e1b4

“Do you want 8772e6f5e9 to become an 6d49e989e9 architect?”03c403c452a07e9e

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“How did a8d47d54d0 you know?”77b16a434517ead5

“Well, everything 2c249745ff in your 8de27f6cff sketchbook is 302fad96a1 filled with f586f5d9f1 designs and 610c4e1ab8 buildings.”b7059ca48213b0ad

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Ah…”1c63128fdc82cf39

Yul couldn’t f2c52677f5 help but 59b807574f feel amazed. Most people didn’t a31954dca1 recognize her sketches 090de4a9df as architectural designs, bb215009ae yet he knew 1582212706 right away. It seemed b16cfe2cb4 like Yoonjo 21f04b10d1 understood her 1758c6c1a4 better than fcfb192c6f she realized.518744b32349881c

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

“Yeah. Becoming an architect has 5cb6c97b74 been my dream since b9ccde130f I was young.”3d332b9951f4aae3

She smiled c8a595a828 softly, slightly fa1509b99b embarrassed.15a15245e2234935

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com

After her mother left, b93a3e1498 she spent a lot 41b755a20b of time at her a0f0896d23 dad’s container office. Occasionally, she e42fc8b9b3 would even 10b8285d65 accompany him 8edd900877 to construction d877b71f80 sites, staying 130b94025f in the 625cee9648 car while 2b24fa1018 he worked. She loved watching b005de63eb as the steel 4cca74a2dd frames and concrete e2ffceed16 walls rose from 3724346f2e the ground, forming 107f02eb2e the outline of 50ac9e4507 a beautiful building. Her dad explained the fe8fa0d9d1 blueprints laid out on a7466d6dc7 his desk, and eventually, 6f3ea131b7 she learned to interpret 46de5309b3 and replicate them herself, 926617eacf finding joy in the 10dcc68dfc process.172ca151e843baa1

“I want to 9630a6057d build an amazing 10e76124a7 structure, something whose 99960378e7 elegance doesn’t fade d929faffa1 over time.”51e8044b3692c423

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“That sounds impressive.”d32af7ea73578c68

Yoonjo’s response 213dda21b6 was brief, 735b89f143 but she 647869d83b could feel 264b0ba975 the sincerity f2032d9851 in it. Aside from cad60dffaa her grandmother, 6c763b3be1 she’d never ac4df112e1 received such 9dc8145eb1 praise, and b36a41f2a8 it made d26ba744b6 her feel 89ce05fbbe unexpectedly emotional. Covering her 7fe03377ba feelings with d7cf2997cb a playful 1c3b122720 smile, she 6c9f6a4518 leaned closer 7507b842ef to him.20700ea19820dd21

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Then help 1732b2809c me graduate a3187626e5 if you 174513ece4 think it’s 2eeeb94a9f impressive.”f99863c463601f1e

“What?”28772e5cc963a4a4

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“I really want f4f9119a6c to get into fee7b04e8e the architecture program 4ca214bbde at Korean University. So, help me graduate.”02353eb7d3f9f0e1

Smiling, she extended her e566229dc8 pinky toward him. It was meant 06a76d4934 as a joke, 78f0bcbc87 but in truth, 8cfd4dc3c5 she was desperate. She’d endured this 6d1608752b much and transferred 943a0f713d to a third 6e605590ab school for the bd8769e206 sake of this df44c36ee6 goal. She didn’t expect that 3cda4f5559 college would free her b9fc8cb831 from hardships, but she 0263ce89ba knew it would be 2fe8cca0df better than her current 01716c29f9 situation.640ad824f5deb41f

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

Helping her graduate 615b4338ef wasn’t a big 3e6c5dd678 ask. It was like when 3e5998cf6d she first approached him—it 7eb6b53e0d was a promise to 9a57770cd0 stay by his side. And in b65db5bc08 asking him ae05bf64fd to help 10a65fca5b her, it 9672d8cd3c was also 161a927cab a silent f20b762355 plea for 05e10fc60b him to 3971fd41f7 stay with aaaf64753e her. She believed Yoonjo 25829d3dee would understand.db2939d083f43cf9

With an exasperated 49c658cd28 chuckle, Yoonjo looked 22a5708c58 at her outstretched 225121851a finger with a 0d23138095 serious expression.9ae0c11fe80381ff

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“A promise, huh…”951ec750f940c416

He murmured softly, tilting fd4eca935d his head. His gaze ec69f808d5 was intense, 241adac019 as if 12149fc912 debating a 091daae229 life-or-death decision, e65a058e5a over something 86e003011d as simple 6085db55f6 as linking 14d2bef2be fingers. She had no idea 1105d7cd00 why a pinky promise e290dd074f weighed so heavily on 2a60c9065f him.3987dde4d70f888a

For the complete chapter, visit lilyonthevalley.com

“Do you not want f00ff504e6 to?”50afc2d53f70556c

Feeling slightly embarrassed, 8c8edee3bc she asked again. He looked d48f03d75b at her, 5a7a1d32c6 meeting her eaa4530278 eyes directly, fe9bde55d8 and eventually 9214372953 raised his 029a2d368a pinky.2fdd3a28a4f20602

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Fine. I’ll help you deea18164f graduate.”335fa6b981db50c2

At last, his d7637c2e31 long, smooth finger 851ae7ced7 hooked around hers.b6254d210465d5d1

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

“Really?”894864fb05914cc7

“Yeah.”34a92e3e1e27f2f7

Please visit lilyonthevalley.com to support the translator

Yul’s voice 3322702582 grew more 3b31d538fa excited as b92a8c960d he squeezed a32e081a3b her hand b4e3d5ee68 in response. What started as c16b0c4ebb a lighthearted gesture 9e6004fd1a filled her with 97baa9908d reassurance.c7c9c242d65eae89

“So, who called earlier?”d6238300110e07a5

Enjoy best reading experience at Lily on the Valley

“Yoo Kahi. She wanted to ed48f6198e have dinner on 219e4156cd Christmas.”541e9d80a8ae516a

“Oh… Christmas.”6b3c9f584f178e23

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

The smile b971db4077 on Yul’s d78c176bbb face began 5b4f8efadd to fade.994a7f702d10e271

Of course, Christmas eeac0804a2 was coming up 55301d72c2 soon.7ca181075b9906e3

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

For years, 2d10d37128 she had 6bbdc20a27 always been 9e45fc4c3f too busy 23e272ce87 working on e2fb1f274e Christmas, so 318562b580 she hadn’t 49cef981b6 even considered 2bda3a19ef spending it 2b5db0ee93 with someone. Although she was dating 775963a316 Yoonjo, they weren’t exactly e872adb8eb a traditional couple. They were closer than b54bcad694 friends but not quite 0a1227a5e7 a couple sharing deep 3bf237d1be feelings. For instance, they’d 2902e21278 been dating for 6c005c632d three months, and 985315e088 yet, they hadn’t eae9d48484 even held hands b6a8244502 until today.3ce9fcb127a14d7e

But it seemed 5bd2932689 he’d worked things f06537a821 out with Yoo ad47c55f88 Kahi, who had dfc828a5de been upset with 63f34a8b64 him last time. A friendly dinner 9c1b3bacc7 wasn’t a big 08bd4a519d deal, yet it d6d508f1e7 still felt strangely 3bb7fc5e85 unpleasant.fccb69f8c4c89e29

Read full chapter at Lily on the Valley without gibberish

“Still, it feels a cb864b4b01 bit off.”bed98f0932180a3a

Yul spoke in a 6cc7da1215 calm tone, careful to 12eb0f29d0 hide her feelings. Yoonjo looked c1589564e9 at her e2c46c51a4 with innocent daf069ed6a eyes, as 1c0f7da1f1 if he f14b27401c didn’t understand 0b55171ff6 what she 59222fc973 meant.9d1f342dca806249

Support us at our official site: lilyonthevalley.com