Episode 20

The voice that hadn’t registered before now pierced sharply through the air. So-hee could feel the eyes of every customer in the store turn toward the counter in unison.

There were murmurs, but she couldn’t make out what anyone was saying.

“…I’ll apply again another time.”

Face deathly pale, So-hee forced her frozen legs to move and stepped out of the convenience store. The stares trailing her scratched cruelly down her spine.

As she walked, she blinked back tears. The ringing in her left ear hadn’t stopped, and her vision blurred.

Her heart pounded relentlessly, refusing to calm down. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, yet she could never get used to it. She shut her gritty eyelids tightly, then opened them with a deep breath—

“So-hee!”

Someone grabbed her shoulder. She turned and saw a familiar face—it was Ji-min, her university classmate.

“Oppa, hang on, let me call you back. I just ran into a classmate who’s on leave. Yeah, yeah, I’ll call again later.”

Ji-min ended her call the moment she confirmed it was So-hee she’d stopped. Her face lit up as she tucked away her phone. Her bright, high-pitched voice struck So-hee’s ears with painful clarity.

“Wow, how long has it been!”

Just then, two more people walked out of the convenience store and stood beside Ji-min. They were classmates—people So-hee only vaguely knew by face and name. The two whispered to each other, casting sideways glances at So-hee.

“…Yeah, right.”

An awkward smile crept onto So-hee’s face. She had no idea how to respond. Aside from Seo Ji-hoon, whom she often saw due to tutoring Dayoung, this was the first time she’d run into people from school in public.

Since shortly after enrolling, she had been on the run from Kim Joong-sik’s gang, making it nearly impossible to make friends or connect with others.

Ji-min, with her sociable and cheerful nature, had always been the one to greet So-hee first, but in truth, they had only taken one class together. She had never even spoken to the other two classmates.

“Perfect timing. We’re headed to a café right now—come with us!”

“Ah, I…”

“It’s been ages—you have to at least have coffee. The café’s right next door, it’s not far. Come on!”

Ji-min, all smiles, grabbed So-hee’s hand and tugged her along. Without time to refuse, So-hee found herself being dragged into the café with her classmates.

Ordering the cheapest tea on the menu, So-hee carried it to the table where the others were already seated.

The franchise café was packed in the afternoon, filled with people simply living their normal lives. People studying, reading books alone, chatting in groups—all at ease in their worlds.

No one else sat as awkwardly or uncomfortably as So-hee.

She felt like she was floating—out of place. Hands gently wrapped around the white mug, So-hee just waited for the time to pass.

Midway through chatting about her boyfriend, Ji-min stirred her ice-filled drink with a straw and suddenly changed the topic.

“I’ve never seen a top student take a leave of absence before.”

So-hee, who had been awkwardly staring at the teabag in her mug, finally lifted her head. They were talking about her.

“When I heard you suddenly took a leave, I thought you’d gone abroad to study or something. What have you even been doing since taking time off?”

One of the classmates tugged Ji-min’s sleeve under the table, trying to stop her. Ji-min brushed off the hand, annoyed at the tugging. So-hee saw the entire exchange clearly.

“…Just this and that… working part-time.”

Her throat was tight, and the words came out barely audible.

“Really? Part-time jobs? But don’t you get a full scholarship?”

“Yeah… I do, but…”

She didn’t know how to respond. Apparently, Ji-min didn’t know about the rumors involving So-hee and the loan sharks. As she hesitated, thankfully another classmate changed the topic, sparing her from answering.

“Hey guys, did you hear? About that senior in the political science department who was on Everytime?”

Their conversation shifted to typical campus gossip: complaints about professors who graded harshly, rumors about a returning student from military service, a senior who generously shared old test materials, extracurriculars to apply for during break, who was dating whom from which department…

There wasn’t a single thing So-hee could relate to. And of course not—she couldn’t attend school and work at the same time. If she didn’t work, she couldn’t pay off her debt.

The moment she had submitted her leave of absence to handle that mountain of debt, she’d abandoned the hope of returning. Until now, school had felt like a distant world, but hearing her classmates talk about their everyday lives made reality hit—she didn’t belong in that world.

“I’m going to the restroom real quick.”

Overwhelmed, So-hee stepped away for a moment, only to realize she’d left her phone behind. She turned back—and stopped dead in her tracks.

“Yoon So-hee, wow. So that’s how she’s been living.”

From right behind them, So-hee heard her name. Her classmates were still talking, voices loud in their excitement.

“What about her?”

“Ji-min, seriously? Get a clue. I tried to warn you with looks so many times. What, were you doing it on purpose? You made it super awkward.”

“What? What’s so awkward?”

“Did you not see that coat? And that bag? I honestly thought she’d picked them up from a donation bin.”

“Ugh, Kim Se-jin, ‘donation bin’? You’re crazy.”

Laughter followed, and So-hee’s fingertips went cold. Why was it that her hearing only seemed to work in moments like this—never when she actually needed it?

“She did look kinda shabby, but I just thought she left the house in a rush. Is she really that broke? Taking a leave of absence with a full scholarship is so weird. That’s why I thought she’d gone abroad.”

“In those rags? Abroad? Don’t you know she was chased around by loan sharks? Thugs even came to school and beat her up. And earlier at the convenience store…”

As So-hee approached the table, the conversation stopped abruptly. The three girls froze, watching her warily.

In the heavy silence, So-hee calmly picked up her phone and bag.

“Something came up. I’ll be heading out.”

“W-wait, already? We just saw you after so long…”

“She’s probably just busy.”

“We didn’t even get to talk properly… Let’s meet up again. I’ll text you, your number hasn’t changed, right?”

So-hee bit her lip, then let it go and looked at her classmates with a stiff smile.

“No. Don’t contact me.”

“What?”

“Sorry, but I’m busy. I don’t think we’ll be seeing each other again.”

…What had she expected? Without regret, So-hee turned her back on them.

“Well, take care.”

As she left the café, raindrops began to fall from a sky shaded in gray. There hadn’t been any forecast—it must be a sudden shower.

Clutching her bag, So-hee plunged into the crowd of people walking under umbrellas. The rain grew heavier.

Why is it so cold?

Had winter rain always been this bitter? Her soaked body steadily lost heat, and the water running down her skin felt warmer by comparison.

She couldn’t take a bus like this, so walking home was the only option. Raising her sleeve, she wiped the rain off her cheeks.

People passing by stared at her strangely—So-hee, walking without an umbrella.

A person who didn’t belong anywhere.

A poor, miserable deaf girl.

That was the only identity people saw in her. It wasn’t even surprising. Whether they were younger, older, or the same age—she didn’t belong. Always on the outskirts, always ignored—a pitiful girl. That was who she was.

By the time she reached home, she was drenched from head to toe. Water dripped from her body, soaking the floor.

As she opened her wardrobe for dry clothes, her hand paused. Between the old, worn fabrics hung a luxurious cashmere coat—the one the man had draped over her naked body.

I never returned this…

Too heavy for a regular hanger, she’d put it on the sturdiest one she had. Her hands, trembling from the cold, gently touched the coat.

Firm, soft, and rich—the fabric wrapped around her fingers, and the man’s scent, embedded deeply in the coat, rushed over her.

So intense, so vivid—it was impossible to forget his presence.

After a hot shower, So-hee crawled under her thin blanket. Her whole body burned, her skin ached like it had been pricked by needles. The throb of her impacted wisdom tooth added to the pain.