Chapter 105
After the Moscow affair ended, Owen returned to Eden City, feeling oddly fearful. Nikolai’s funeral was quietly held as a family affair. There were some voices suggesting an autopsy due to his sudden death, but it was dismissed when the family stated their unwillingness, considering Nikolai’s age.
Immediately after the funeral, Karlena was enthroned, and most people, knowing that Owen, whom Nikolai trusted the most and entrusted with the most important matters, stood behind her, accepted her without much noise.
Meanwhile, he found the old man who had made Sarin’s passport and learned about her new identity.
Should he be grateful that she didn’t leave the country?
Confirming that the child had fallen asleep, Owen slowly got up. He had hardly slept. The less sleep he got, the more sensitive he became to even the smallest things. With an expressionless face, he opened the door of the hospital room and found Yuri waiting there.
“Not yet.”
Throughout his waking hours, he asked Yuri for new information about Sarin every few minutes. Before Owen could ask, Yuri nodded first.
“It’s better to start before the condition worsens.”
He uttered words that included both the child’s condition and his own. Yuri looked uncomfortable at the short instruction to prepare for surgery.
“We still don’t know if she’ll make it. She might run away. Then…”
Was it worth saving the child?
He didn’t say it was not worth it. Even if the woman was here, Yuri was against it. Owen had never been the type to wield a knife.
Owen didn’t answer and raised his hand. There, half-melted candy was stuck. He unwrapped the candy and put it in his mouth, rolling it lightly on his tongue.
Crunch.
He bit into the candy, making a sharp sound as it shattered.
“Yeah, I wasn’t that affectionate. Then, is she really a runaway?”
As he chewed on the end of the stick, Owen asked Yuri softly. A dry bead of saliva rolled over the corner of his mouth, as if mocking him.
“It’s quite interesting.”
If it was an opportunity to erase traces and escape from himself, he didn’t know what expression or face he should put on. Walking down the deserted hospital corridor in the early hours of the morning, Owen said.
“I’ve never missed a fugitive. Yeah, maybe that’s better. After all, I’ll find her eventually.”
If he had even thought of fleeing from himself at this point of separation, it was amusing in itself.
“Owen.”
“I’m thinking if I’ve ever been this low. So, shut up.”
He had to put proper restraints on the little creature he had nurtured so beautifully. He knew the child in the hospital would play the role of a lure superbly. To do that, any part of the regrown organ could be sacrificed.
He had decided to handle it while she was not here, and now was the time to act.
The small face, busy blaming himself and feeling remorse, floated in front of him like a ghost. Sarin’s face overlapped with the wall of the White hospital. Owen closed and opened his eyes slowly.
He chewed on his lips in silence.
Seeing a familiar face after a long time, even if it was a hallucination, he could endure it.
As he stepped out of the hospital, the wind, which had been quite noisy, calmed down. Owen breathed as if he had just managed to catch his breath. After loosening the tight tie around his neck without realizing it, he looked at Eden City, where morning was approaching.
The city was not crumbling.
Even today, when night fell, it was a city that tempted gamblers and tourists with the most dazzling lights.
It was a refuge where it wouldn’t be strange to find something broken in a broken place.
He didn’t expect anything great.
Now Owen was thinking only about one thing here.
***
Gangwon Province.
Sarin, who woke up early before dawn, couldn’t bear the hard floor and groaned. Humans were said to be adaptable creatures, but her body, accustomed to the highest-quality bedding, still felt stiff and uncomfortable whenever she got up from the floor.
Nevertheless, she got up without caring and went out without changing, wearing yesterday’s outfit, which was slightly wrinkled from sleeping in it.
Carrying a clean bowl washed last night, she walked lightly to the village well outside the village. Although the temperature was quickly rising to summer, it still felt chilly before the sunrise. The weather in Gangwon Province was always like this.
Would Eden City have changed to this kind of weather by now?
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Sarin went to the well and drew the first water.
“Oh my, if you draw water like this every day, what are we going to do?”
“You should have come earlier like you said.”
“Why is it that there’s less morning sleep than being old? Oh dear…”
Sarin shook her head, airing out her thoughts. Then she immediately went to the well and drew the first water.
As Sarin was about to go back home after fetching water, an elderly woman from the village, one step behind her, expressed her displeasure. It was clear from her tone that she didn’t mean any real blame. Sarin chuckled lightly.
“Young people nowadays come back from the city and are all out of energy. We’re going to have a feast for lunch later, so come to the village hall, okay?”
“Yes, I will.”
Although she said she would go, Grandma clicked her tongue, knowing that Sarin had never been to the village hall before.
In the end, Sarin returned to her hometown.
This place was the most comfortable for her. She had returned to a place she had never been able to leave. Everyone in the village knew her. Although the house had been passed on to someone else, she had some time before it was demolished, so she paid some money to the owner to use it.
Carefully carrying the water to avoid spilling it, her shoulders ached by the time she returned home.
Sarin placed the first water from the well on the well stand behind the house where the sun shone the brightest.
When she was young, she didn’t understand her mother’s action of fetching water and praying whenever something happened at home. She used to get angry, thinking that if it were such a good house, her mother wouldn’t have been so sick. But now, she found solace in this action, not knowing whom to pray to without any religion. Eventually, she recalled her mother’s way and felt comforted by this action alone.
She hoped Owen, Hayan, and those who were in trouble because of her were all at peace.
Sarin felt her neck with her hand, taking out a ring from it and wiping the smooth surface. It became meaningful to her just because it was the only item that hadn’t left Owen’s body for a moment.
“Today, I really need to do a thorough cleaning.”
Deciding to return to Korea wasn’t easy. Even though she went, she was deeply in debt, and she wanted to return the escape funds given by Karlena as soon as possible without touching them too much.
When she returned with some determination, Mrs. Hongcheon appeared in the village suddenly. She hugged Sarin, who had returned to the village, and some men appeared and said they had paid off all her debts.
“I think Owen paid it off so that I could come back.”
She imagined it herself, thinking that Owen had paid it off so that she could return to Korea comfortably.
Sarin started her day as if nothing had happened.
She swept and cleaned the worn-out floor of the old house, took out all the items in the warehouse, and cleaned them. Most of the items she used were still there. The things worth sweeping away seemed to have been taken by the villagers or the person who bought the house, but it didn’t matter anyway.
She had sold this house with the resolve not to come back again.
“Working diligently since the morning, huh?”
Mrs. Hongcheon’s voice was heard, and Sarin realized that it was still early morning. Sarin came out of the warehouse with a dusty face.
“You’re just staying here for a short time. Why bother cleaning the warehouse now?”
“Because I didn’t have time to clean up properly when I sold it.”
“Well, I’m not sure if I should say this.”
“What is it?”
Sarin straightened her back. There seemed to be a cobweb on her forehead, so Mrs. Hongcheon brushed it away with her hand.
“You know about Yong-sik, right? The one who’s gambling.”
“…Yes.”
For a moment, her heart sank. He was the only person she was afraid of in this small rural area. She had used loans several times because there was no treatment money for the child who was struggling to breathe. The interest was frighteningly high, and she couldn’t rest for a moment to pay it off.
“I heard you’ve been openly talking about it since you came back to the village. They say he miscalculated the interest. They say you took the money.”
“I know it’s all paid off.”
“Those scoundrels may argue a couple of times. They’re really nasty people, so they’ll be somewhere else for a while. I’m worried they might even come to your house soon.”
She didn’t know how much she had suffered. In the end, she had gone to Eden City because she was afraid they might harm the child. She had gone there with the thought that it might be her last resort. She was relieved to have finally returned home.
“They must have misunderstood.”
“Still, be careful, okay?”
“Yes. Don’t worry.”
Mrs. Hongcheon sighed. Although Sarin had returned alone, Hayan was nowhere to be found, and she only received answers that she was in a safe place whenever she asked. It seemed she still looked so bad that it was doubtful whether she was eating properly.
Moreover, she had been searching for something and working all day in this small house.
Every time she did that, Mrs. Hongcheon felt uneasy and found herself looking into it more often. She was afraid that Hayan might be preparing for the worst. Just by looking at her cleaning up around her house, she couldn’t help but think of the worst.
Trying to erase any indication of such thoughts as much as possible, Sarin put the bulgogi on the outdoor table.
“Anyway, if something happens, come running right away.”
“Yes.”
After finally reassuring Mrs. Hongcheon, Sarin turned her away. It was absurd to say that those who were gambling had miscalculated the interest. She dismissed the nonsense and continued cleaning the warehouse.
It had been a week since she returned to Korea.
