/
Chapter 10: Only You (2)
When Kang Chan came down from the rooftop, the downcast Kim Mi-Young’s startled face greeted him. He had told her to wait for him in the classroom, but it seemed like she had been feeling uneasy. However, what was there to feel uneasy about?
Kang Chan pondered over what he should do over the weekend. He was planning to make Yoo Hye-Sook feel as at ease as possible, so he pushed his plans to Monday.
Even though he was only her son on the surface, Yoo Hye-Sook would be separated from her son forever in a month and a half’s time. Hence, he wanted to at least leave her some good memories. He didn’t get to share any good memories with his mother from his past life and it hurt so much that he couldn’t bring himself to do this to someone else.
“Chan, can we walk home?” Kim Mi-Young suggested as they walked out of the school gate, albeit with much difficulty.
He didn’t think it would be a problem since walking a little more wouldn’t make much of a difference.
When Kang Chan nodded, Kim Mi-Young smiled and started walking.
“So… are a lot of guys interested in that?”
What the hell is she saying?
“And you guys watch porn, too. I heard guys like girls who do that. Is that really the case?”
Even though he didn't know why she was talking about porn, Kang Chan knew what Kim Mi-Young was getting at. He couldn't help but sigh.
“Hey!”
Startled by Kang Chan’s exclamation, Kim Mi-Young stared at him blankly. Her face was so red that anybody who’d see them would easily misunderstand the situation.
“Stop talking nonsense. Focus on your studies.”
Kim Mi-Young trudged on, looking crestfallen.
“I’m not as charming as Eun-Sil. And my chest is so big that the other kids tease me about it.”
‘Goddammit!’ Kang Chan clenched his teeth.
She was childish and obstinate. She looked physically mature, but she wasn’t as mature mentally. Heo Eun-Sil was too shameless, and Snow White was like a child. Something was seriously wrong with this school.
‘In any case, why did she even bring that up?’
Kang Chan suddenly remembered Heo Eun-Sil. She hadn’t rolled down her skirt when she went to get the cigarette. Perhaps Kim Mi-Young saw that. He had certainly become Smithen.
“Do you like me?” Kang Chan felt goosebumps forming when he said that. But it was a crazy situation. Kim Mi-Young nodded the moment he asked the question, her cheeks and eyes red.
Could this airhead… Am I her first love?
“Whenever I think of you, my heart races and skips a beat, and I can’t help but smile.”
Kang Chan laughed out loud immediately. It seemed like Snow White had gathered her courage to confess her feelings to him. Kang Chan sighed in a way that Snow White wouldn’t notice.
“That’s why it bothers me that you’re seeing Eun-Sil. If it’s because of that, I’ll… I’ll do it too.”
“Gaaah!” Kang Chan unintentionally let out his frustration.
If he were to turn her down coldly, Kim Mi-Young would be extremely upset. She might push him away and resent him for the rest of her life.
“Eun-Sil.”
But Kang Chan accidentally called her by the wrong name. Kim Mi-Young paused for a second and looked back at him. Tears were already welling up in her eyes.
“I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant…"
Kang Chan wanted to give up and forget about it, but he gritted his teeth and held it in.
‘Let’s not get agitated.’
He had made a huge promise to himself, but why were all these kids so extreme? Even more than the people living in Africa, that hellhole.
“There’s nothing between me and Eun-Sil. She only wanted to talk to me because the gangsters wanted to call me due to the fight we had yesterday.”
Snow White didn’t lift her head.
When Kang Chan glanced at her, he realized Snow White was crying.
Goddammit! I’m not equipped to deal with this, and I don’t have an aptitude for it either.
Kang Chan was a lot more comfortable dealing with the enemy attacking him with knives than with Yoo Hye-Sook or Kim Mi-Young.
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to force yourself to hang out with me. I know you’re not interested in me.”
Kim Mi-Young was crying as she spoke. Would it be okay to leave her as she was?
However, Kang Chan was bothered by the coldness in her voice and how her eyes were glued to the ground.
“Will you be mine?”
Kim Mi-Young stopped in her tracks, turned around, and looked at him suspiciously. Passers-by were looking at them; a female student in a school uniform was crying in front of a male student with a bandaged left hand.
Kang Chan ignored the gazes of the elderly people that walked past while clicking their tongues.
“Do you love me?”
How old was she exactly? Regardless, if he were to say no, it would mean that everything he said before was a lie. Why did he have to mention Heo Eun-Sil’s name out of the blue? What a useless bitch.
Snow White waited eagerly for his answer.
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
There seemed to be a change of role, but Kang Chan nodded.
“Then, I’ll be yours?” Kim Mi-Young asked.
Kang Chan immediately laughed out loud but hastily said something to cover it up.
“I laughed ‘cause I like you. Because I really like you. From today onwards, you’re mine. You absolutely cannot fall for other guys. You should only have eyes for me.”
“You’ll be the only man I’ll love.”
Goddammit! Don’t say that!
Kang Chan felt he should change Snow White’s nickname to ‘Simpleton’.
It took slightly over thirty minutes for them to walk home. Kim Mi-Young was very talkative the entire time. She asked him, ‘Why am I Snow White?’ to which Kang Chan answered, ‘It’s a secret,’ and they moved on from that topic. Regardless of how slow-witted he was, Kang Chan couldn’t say it was because her bangs were tacky.
They arrived at the entrance of the apartment.
“Mi-Young!” A stick-thin, middle-aged woman called out to Kim Mi-Young. Snow White ran over to her while Kang Chan walked casually.
“Mom, this is Chan. You know Chan, right?”
Kang Chan bowed his head slightly and said a simple greeting.
“Did you not go to hagwon?” Her mother questioned her in an angry tone. When Kang Chan glanced at Mi-Young, it was clear she had lied to him about not having to go to hagwon.
“Something came up.”
“You guys are students! What could’ve possibly come up? Don’t you know you can’t live like a proper human being if you don’t go to college? You should at least go to a college in Seoul. And you. I’ve heard bad rumors about you recently.”
Her mother cornered Kang Chan in front of the embarrassed Kim Mi-Young. It was as if Mi-Young’s mother was chastising her husband for squandering his salary on gambling. At that moment, her gaze shifted to his left hand.
“I’ll take my leave now.” Kang Chan then made his way toward his house because he felt that he would make everyone feel uncomfortable in the event he lost his temper if he continued standing there.
“Bye, get home safe!”
Kang Chan raised his hand in response without looking back at Kim Mi-Young.
He heard her mother telling her, ‘You know what happens when you hang out with someone like him, right? I can’t have that happen!’ but he didn’t care. No, in fact, he hoped internally for that to happen.
‘Please stop her from hanging out with me.’
He felt more relieved thinking that perhaps one of his problems would resolve itself if things went well.
Kang Chan took the elevator and went home.
“Welcome home.”
“Yes.”
Yoo Hye-Sook cautiously greeted Kang Chan. Kang Chan was trying his best to be nice to her. It was something he had promised himself he would do even if it was hard. It would be over in a month and a half at the most.
“Is there anything to eat?”
“Hmm? You want to eat something?”
Kang Chan wasn’t hungry––it was just an excuse to strike up a conversation with her.
“We have nothing at home, though. What should I do?”
He just had to pick the wrong question. Yoo Hye-Sook had opened the fridge. Aside from some side dishes, all they had was a slice of cheese.
“Wait here. I’ll buy some fruits for you.”
Yoo Hye-Sook looked very happy and grateful. It seemed like she considered him asking for something to eat a good thing.
“Shall we go together?”
She stopped just as she grabbed her purse to leave, looking flustered. Her eyes turned red within a few seconds.
“Let’s go together. It’ll be heavy to carry back.”
“Is that okay with you?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
Kang Chan placed his bag down and put on his shoes again. He assumed she was holding herself back from asking questions like ‘You don’t hate me?’ or ‘Do you really want to go together?’, but Kang Chan didn’t dig deeper.
They got to the front of the elevator.
“I’m sorry,” Kang Chan muttered.
Yoo Hye-Sook’s lower lip trembled while looking straight at the elevator door.
“I knew you were just being nice but I was still rude to you. I guess the incident thoroughly shocked me. I’ll try my best to do better from now on. And thank you.”
They were in a small space, so Kang Chan’s voice echoed a little. Feeling sorry for his body’s owner, and both sorry and grateful for Yoo Hye-Sook, who was just being nice to the wrong person, he spoke with sincerity.
Yoo Hye-Sook sniffled and wiped her tears with her long fingers. When the elevator opened, Kang Chan held the door for her and pressed the button for the first floor.
Kang Chan couldn’t say a word because the small elevator was filled with Yoo Hye-Sook’s emotions. As she sniffled, it felt as though the pain and sadness she had been struggling with had left her body through her tears.
Fortunately, the elevator didn’t stop on other floors. After leaving the main entrance and smelling the fresh air outside, Yoo Hye-Sook took a deep breath.
“I’m so happy that I no longer envy anyone in this world.”
Could she really love a son who kept getting into trouble, did nothing but grumble all the time, and did as he pleased?
“Chan! Should we ask your father to buy dinner?”
After asking him the question, she acted as though she had made a mistake. It seemed like she thought she had gone too far.
“Sure.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Yoo Hye-Sook’s eyes widened. She looked beautiful. This was the look of a mother who genuinely loved her child. Kang Chan never thought he would see that look ever in his life.
“Let me call him.”
They stood in front of the apartment complex as she called Kang Dae-Kyung. After saying a bunch of childish phrases like ‘Chan thanked me!’ and ‘My son loves me so much!’, Yoo Hye-Sook and Kang Dae-Kyung finally decided on the restaurant.
“Your dad wants us to go to his workplace.”
Yoo Hye-Sook hung up, only then realizing that she was wearing house clothes, which seriously bummed her out. But it was already getting late, so they took a taxi anyway.
“The intersection at Yeongdong Bridge, please.”
After Yoo Hye-Sook gave the directions to the driver, The hidden awkwardness began to surface.
“What are we eating?” Kang Chan decided to try his best to converse with her. He thought 45 days might be too short to create memories that a person would cherish for a lifetime.
Yoo Hye-Sook appeared to be a talkative person by nature or maybe it was just because she was briefly excited, but she didn’t stop talking. When she mentioned that if anything were to happen to him back at the hospital, she was prepared to die with him and that she had lost the will to live after seeing his cold eyes, Kang Chan felt emotional.
It had to have been very hard on her.
“Right! Didn’t you say you have plans on Sunday?” Kang Chan asked Yoo Hye-Sook.
“Hmm? Do you want to come with me? Can you?”
“Of course. Where are we going?”
“You know Aunt Seong-Hee, right? She’s always bragging about her son, so I was planning to take all of us to a French restaurant. I’m childish, aren’t I?”
There are mothers like her in this world, huh?
Finding Yoo Hye-Sook adorable, Kang Chan laughed.
“You’re not childish at all.”
“Thank you, my dear son. Are you really going to go with me?”
“Of course.”
Yoo Hye-Sook teared up even at the littlest things Kang Chan said.
Kang Dae-Kyung’s office was located in the same direction as Nonhyeon-dong from Yeongdong Bridge. Shortly after, Kang Dae-Kyung emerged from the building looking happy.
“Honey!”
Kang Chan chuckled softly after hearing Yoo Hye-Sook’s voice that was full of aegyo[1].
“Are you done with work?”
“Yeah! Let’s see. Wow! My dear son has brought his mom back to how she used to be.”
Kang Dae-Kyung looked at the two of them alternatively with a genuine smile on his face. He was truly happy to see them.
“Hmph. What did I do to deserve this?”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.”
The three of them headed to a famous restaurant known for its spicy seafood stew. There were quite a lot of people there because it was Friday evening, but the restaurant owner was very happy to see Kang Dae-Kyung, who seemed to be a regular here. Since Kang Chan was already playing the part of a good son, he obediently greeted the owner.
The owner guided them to their seats and Kang Dae-Kyung proceeded to place their order.
“You mind if I have some soju? You can drive us back.”
With Yoo Hye-Sook looking happier, and Kang Chan putting in the effort to be a good son, Kang Dae-Kyung also tried to smile at the end of every sentence. It was a sight Kang Chan never could’ve imagined. Kang Dae-Kyung asking for permission to have a drink felt unfamiliar, but it was nice. Yoo Hye-Sook bragged to Kang Dae-Kyung about how Kang Chan was going to have a meal with her and her friend on Sunday.
***
After having a pleasant meal, Kang Chan was truly in high spirits. He washed up, returned to his room, and laid down in bed.
“I hope you can see this. I’ll be doing my best as well, so don’t be too upset about having your body taken away from you. I’ll try even harder to be a good son during the remaining time I have left here.” Kang Chan muttered to himself while facing the ceiling.
Bzzzzz.
His phone vibrated.
He was too lazy to take his phone around with him and had thought it had died, but it seemed like it was still on.
[I just got done with hagwon. Can we meet by the bench for a bit?]
It was a message from Kim Mi-Young. What should he do? It was 9:50 P.M. according to his phone.
[Are you asleep?]
Texting was cumbersome, and he could go for a smoke anyway, so he called Kim Mi-Young.
– Hello?
“Yeah, when should we meet?”
–– I’m already at the bench.
Grinning, Kang Chan told her to wait for him, then hung up.
“I’m going for a walk!”
Kang Chan left immediately after hearing an ‘Okay!’ coming from the master bedroom. Snow White was kicking the floor, as usual.
“Chan!”
It was his first time seeing Kim Mi-Young smile so brightly. She ran toward him as if she was going to hug Kang Chan at any moment.
‘Ugh!’
“Shouldn’t you be going home? Your mom is going to get worried.”
“Hagwon ended early. I was supposed to do some self-studying before taking the hagwon bus, but I decided to come home on my own. I have thirty minutes of free time.”
She looked extremely elated.
“I’m sorry about my mom.”
“It’s okay. Adults can be like that. Have you eaten?”
“I had a sandwich. I can always go home and eat something later. Also, I’m on a diet.”
“You don’t have to lose any weight. You look good.”
“Really?” Kim Mi-Young smiled.
“If you’re hungry, let’s go eat something. I’ll buy you pork cutlets.”
Being with Kim Mi-Young made Kang Chan feel like he was just hanging out with his youngest sibling whom he had a huge age gap with. Hence, he grew more comfortable being around her.
“No, it’s okay. I’m on a diet. I want to be thinner than Eun-Sil.”
“I don’t like girls like her. They’re too skinny. Girls that look healthy like you are more attractive.”
“Really? Is that really the case?”
Is there nowhere to smoke? Kang Chan looked around, trying to find a secluded place to smoke.
“Let’s…” After hearing Kim Mi-Young speak, Kang Chan suddenly came to his senses.
“Snow White.”
“Yes!”
“I want to treat you right. Let’s go on a 2-day 1-night trip during school vacation. Maybe to a beach. Let’s do that, okay?”
Kim Mi-Young’s cheeks blushed under the scarlet light.
“Instead…”
What now?
“Can we kiss each other? Everyone else is doing it.”
He couldn’t lose his temper.
‘Hold it in. Hold it in.’
Kim Mi-Young seemed to be afraid when Kang Chan’s eyes looked angry.
“I’ll give you a kiss if you come in first place in the final exam.”
Kang Chan secretly smiled delightedly after seeing Kim Mi-Young’s surprised face, delighted with the really good excuse he came up with. He was planning to go to France during the school vacation, after all. He admired his ability to adapt fast.
“I’ve been in first place all along. I’ll come in first place again this time around!”
Up until Kim Mi-Young responded to him.
1. Cute display of affection that is often expressed through a cute voice, changes to speech, etc. ☜