Limits of Paradise

The woman on her knees blinked, unable to answer the sudden question. Tae-eun, not wanting to create a bigger scene, tugged at Hyun-ho’s hand. She also didn’t want him to know about her past struggles.

“Hyun-ho, stop. Let’s just go.”

“I need to know what’s going on.”

But he stood firm, holding her hand tightly.

“What did you do that was so wrong that you’re on your knees?”

“De…Deputy Director Ha Sung-joo…”

As Park Min-seo stammered out the name, Tae-eun squeezed her eyes shut. She wanted to escape immediately, but Hyun-ho stood his ground, as if he had taken root there.

“Because Assistant Manager Lee Ye-jin committed suicide… they said Assistant Manager Song was going to report us to the Ministry of Labor, that she was gathering evidence…”

“Hyun-ho, please. People are watching. Let’s just go.”

Tae-eun pleaded with him, her voice desperate. She couldn’t bear to hear Ye-jin’s name being mentioned in front of so many people.

“So, what did you do?”

But Hyun-ho didn’t look back at her. His eyes were fixed on the half-crazed Park Min-seo.

“I, I dumped my clerical work on her… We had a separate chat room where we gossiped about her every day, took secret photos of her, and shared them while calling her pathetic…”

Tae-eun’s vision darkened. The events of the past two years were being laid bare in front of him. Her hand, clasped in his, trembled violently. Anger, resentment, and shame surged through her all at once.

“Every time we had a weekly report, we intentionally left her name out. If there was a mistake, we blamed it on her. We ate lunch and laughed together without her…”

Memories she had decided to bury floated to the surface. The air that changed whenever she walked by, the piercing glares, the mocking laughter, the messages filled with insults that pretended to be misdirected.

She had resolved to find any evidence and expose it, whether to the Ministry of Labor, the courts, or the media, to make sure they paid for why Ye-jin had died.

But before that, Tae-eun herself had withered away. There was no way she could endure a place even Ye-jin couldn’t. She wasn’t strong enough to seek revenge for her friend.

That truth was unbearably painful.

So much so that she wanted to follow her friend.

Deep despair and guilt climbed up her legs. She couldn’t even cry out, her throat choked with emotion. She could only blame herself for not comforting her friend more while following the same doomed path.

“It was me who spread the rumor that you were having an affair with the team leader.”

Suddenly, a red flame flared up in front of her eyes. She shook off Hyun-ho’s hand, stepped forward, and slapped Park Min-seo across the face.

She saw nothing else. The long-suppressed anger surged, consuming her, and she swung her arm with all her might.

Her fleeting sanity returned, and she heard the sharp sound of the slap belatedly. Only then did she realize she had struck Park Min-seo multiple times. She looked down at her trembling hand and quickly stepped back.

“Do you still want to just leave?”

A cold voice came from beside her. She looked up through tear-blurred eyes to see Hyun-ho looking at her with an expression she had never seen before.

“You were so angry, yet you were going to keep it bottled up?”

His face was also painted with vivid anger. His thick throat bobbed as if he was holding something back.

“Hit her until you feel better. I’ll take care of the aftermath.”

But Tae-eun shook her head and took a few steps back from the woman on her knees. She didn’t want to get tangled up with these people any longer, now that she had quit. She also didn’t want to deal with the unfamiliar emotions that had suddenly surfaced.

“No, let’s just go. I want to rest.”

“Don’t worry, hit her as much as she hit you.”

Hyun-ho tried to pull her forward, but Tae-eun planted her feet firmly, resisting. She didn’t want to break down any further in front of all these people.

“No, no… please, let’s just go.”

She whispered, her voice low and pleading. The man still looked at her with an expression full of unresolved anger. Meanwhile, Park Min-seo crawled back over, clasping her hands together and begging.

“I’m sorry, Assistant Manager. I’m really sorry. I won’t do it again. I was wrong.”

The woman clung to Tae-eun’s pant leg, muttering quickly. Her eyes darted around unfocused, seemingly unaware of the pain from her slapped cheek.

“No! Get away!”

Tae-eun screamed, shaking off the grip on her pant leg. Hyun-ho quickly hugged her trembling body and led her away from the hallway.

The crowd near the bathroom fell silent and made way for them. After they passed, those who had turned on their cameras went into their albums and deleted all the saved files. They walked past the kneeling woman as if nothing had happened.

***

Tae-eun couldn’t remember a single thing about the musical. She stood under the warm shower, trembling and staring blankly at the opposite wall. Hyun-ho entered the bathroom, but she couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes.

“Let me wash your hair.”

When she turned off the water and lowered her head, his large hands squeezed shampoo and gently massaged her wet hair. He looked down at her slightly trembling body and turned the warm water back on. Despite being fully dressed, he let the water pour over him too.

“You’ll get all wet.”

“So what.”

Tae-eun closed her eyes and focused on the soothing pressure of his fingers on her scalp. She concentrated on the comforting sensation he provided, trying to replace the unfamiliar feeling of having slapped someone.

When he rinsed the bubbles out and she lifted her head, Hyun-ho pulled her into his arms. He slowly caressed her trembling back.

“I’ve never thought you were wrong or strange.”

Tears welled up again, and she blinked several times. She could only nod silently, afraid her voice would betray her emotions.

“You can do anything in front of me.”

His words made her stiff body relax. She buried her face in his chest, hiding her tears as the shower water drenched them both.

As he lathered a shower sponge and washed her body, her trembling gradually subsided. Her heart, which had been pounding wildly, returned to a normal rhythm.

His words, that he was on her side, soothed the suddenly reopened wounds. His deep, rough voice acted like an ointment, carefully healing her injuries.

Tae-eun looked down at the man crouched to wash her feet. She noticed the silver piercing in his right earlobe.

The part touching his skin had turned black.

“Is this piercing silver?”

At her unexpected question, Hyun-ho looked up with a puzzled expression.

“No, it’s platinum.”

“Then why is it black here?”

For a moment, the soft muscles of his face hardened. He lowered his head again and continued washing her feet.

“Must have gotten something on it. I’ll clean it later.”

Tae-eun stared at him, unconvinced, and reached out to his right ear. But he stood up before she could touch it.

As the warm water poured over her shoulders, the bubbles slid down her body. He smiled gently.

“Shall we have dinner at the bar upstairs?”

“You can’t drink.”

“It’s just for the mood. They say the night view from there is beautiful.”

“Okay, that sounds nice.”

She felt better than before, but her eyes kept drifting to his piercing. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing something.

***

Ha Sung-joo bent over and vomited clear stomach acid. He hadn’t eaten anything for five days, yet his stomach still churned like he was on a rocky boat. Meanwhile, urine dribbled out of his malfunctioning genitals, soaking his pants.

“Ugh…”

When he lifted his head, the long hair was there again, swaying gently as if to taunt him. As he looked up further, he saw Lee Ye-jin’s pale face glaring at him with a twisted smile. His bloodshot eyes were locked onto her, unable to escape.

There was nowhere to hide in the house. If he left the bathroom, the sound of a rubber mallet thudded from downstairs, and if he hid under the blankets, someone would knock on the closed door.

Several times he thought someone had actually come to visit, only to pull back the blanket and find Lee Ye-jin mimicking the knocking sound with her mouth. Having fainted multiple times, Ha Sung-joo hadn’t left his house since last Friday.

“Am I supposed to live like this forever?”

The question choked him. At this point, he just wanted to give up. He couldn’t face Ye-jin any longer.

He grabbed the long hair dangling in front of him. Ye-jin’s lips stretched into a grotesque smile, almost reaching her ears. He heard her laugh gleefully.

The black hair quickly formed a noose and dangled before his face. Trembling, he exhaled and slipped his head through the loop.

“Gah…!”

The hair tightened around his neck with brutal force. His feet lifted off the ground.

“Ugh!”

The pain jolted him awake, and he struggled to free himself from the noose. But the more he fought, the tighter it constricted. His face turned a deep red, and his eyes rolled back.

Ha Sung-joo’s mother, who had rushed to Seoul from Chuncheon, barged into his apartment. She had received a call from his team leader, informing her that her son had been absent without notice for two days. He hadn’t answered her calls either.

“Sung-joo!”

She was horrified to see dark stains on the living room floor and ran into the master bedroom. The stench of sweat and urine assaulted her, but her son was nowhere to be seen.

“Sung-joo! Sung-joo!”

When she flung open the bathroom door, she collapsed on the spot.

Her son was hanging from the showerhead.

 

 

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