Chapter 3
He clearly opened his eyes.
Moreover, as soon as he opened his eyes, he greeted Dae-gil and thanked him.
However, while Soo-cheol was rushing out to deliver the news, the man’s eyes closed again. She was vaguely scared of him, but also curious, so the feeling of emptiness was indescribable.
“He is just tired. He is going to wake up again, so if he is hungry, bring him a bowl of rice cake soup. I have to go to the hospital.”
Dae-gil, who had finished preparing to go out, asked Haein to take care of the man.
In order to solely take care of the injured person, the hospital’s patients had been asked to visit a nearby pediatrician for the past few days. Now that he had seen him open his eyes and fully conscious, Dae-gil said he should go see the other patients and hurried.
“See you later, sis.”
Su-cheol, who had been unable to move for a long time, had no choice but to go out with Dae-gil due to the pressure of his part-time job.
“Have a nice day Grandpa. Have a nice day, Su-cheol.”
She told them to just leave it to her, but she felt embarrassed later.
‘What if he really wakes up before Grandfather comes? Do I know what kind of person he is and how can I meet him right away?’
What’s worse is, I’m in a situation where I can’t even open up to people I’ve just met without feeling awkward and talking to them, and then I’m dealing with a man I suspect to be a gangster.
After living here for two years, I began to think that maybe Dae-gil had forgotten my circumstances. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have entrusted me with a strange man without any hesitation.
Now that I think about it, it’s kind of incomprehensible that I just agreed without thinking much about it.
“What should I do…?”
Haein, who had been staring at the master bedroom door while scratching her fingernails, eventually got up from the porch and quietly opened the door.
The master bedroom was a room without any furniture except for a three-tiered wooden chest of drawers. Through the crack in the door that was opening slightly, the chest of drawers against the wall was visible first, and a man was lying neatly in front of it.
His legs were so long that they stretched all the way to the threshold and were not even completely covered by the blanket, with his feet sticking out.
Haein, who was startled by the big feet for no reason, cautiously entered the room and stood at his feet.
The man was lying down neatly, his hands folded over his stomach. There were bandages stuck all over his forehead and under his eyes, and Soo-cheol’s stretched-out T-shirt barely clung to his large body, looking as if it was about to burst.
Haein, who took off her sunglasses and slowly approached him, immediately burst into admiration.
Wow… that’s true.
“As the elders said, ‘He is certainly a face from the other world.’ So handsome.
She had seen countless handsome men since she debuted in the entertainment industry at the age of eighteen. But was there a face among them that she was so immediately amazed by? Especially when his skin was a mess with scars here and there and his eyes were closed.
As if appreciating a well-crafted work of art, Haein’s gaze carefully scanned every part of the man’s face.
His eyes were really long and dark. His eyelashes were thick, as if drawn with a pen, and his double eyelids were very dark. Perhaps when he opened his eyes, his long eyes would look even darker because of those dark double eyelids.
From his straight forehead to his sharp, cool nose bridge, he was perfect enough to be called the epitome of a handsome man, and his smooth, plump, crimson lips were beautiful enough to make me want to touch them even when they were a little dry.
“And….”
Beautiful. Rather, he was a man for whom that expression would be more appropriate.
“What’s going on…?”
I had assumed that he would have a strong impression since the store owner said that he was a bit rough. For her, who had only imagined that he would have a dark skin, his appearance was quite disconcerting.
I was staring at him as if I was possessed, and I didn’t even realize that my body was gradually leaning over. It was at that time that I was observing his face from various angles, like a commercial director looking for a satisfactory pace.
“… … !”
The man’s forehead twitched. His long eyelashes fluttered in succession. Even the sight of his eyeballs slowly rolling under his eyelids became vivid.
Haein, who was bitten by the sudden blow, quickly picked up her sunglasses and put them on. For a moment, she was conflicted about whether to run away, but before she could move, the man opened his eyes.
It was a surprise.
Haein, who had retreated to the wall in an instant while sitting, sat stiffly with her back pressed against the wall.
The man was blinking slowly, staring at the ceiling. Haein just stared at him, motionless like a plaster statue.
Gulp. The moment the dry saliva ran down his throat, the man, conscious of his surroundings, turned his head towards Haein.
“… … .”
I didn’t know what the slowly distorted eyebrows meant. The eyes that scanned up and down seemed to be wandering without finding an answer. It was as if he was seeing a strange creature for the first time in his life.
Haein sat stiffly and faced him. Not knowing what to say, her mouth unintentionally closed.
Anyone who saw her could clearly see that she was nervous, but with her sunglasses and mask covering her face, she looked like a mannequin.
The man’s eyebrows furrowed even further. Only then, as if he had come to his senses completely, he spoke to her in a sharp voice.
“What is this….”
As it turned out, a standoff occurred.
The man who had managed to sit up with difficulty was leaning against the wall and staring at Haein. Haein, who was still sitting against the wall opposite, just rolled her eyes awkwardly behind her sunglasses.
About five minutes ago, Haein, who had silently placed a glass of water next to him, returned to the same spot and was now stuck against the wall again.
He’s so damn handsome.
That was all she had left for the man with his eyes open. It was a moment when she understood once again why Soo-cheol had called him ‘super’ handsome, while even using vulgar language.
He set down the glass of water. When I glanced at his eyes from up close, they were a light gray-brown. How could this man have such a mysterious eye color? I thought he might be a mixed-race.
“Are you a nurse?”
It was the first thing he said, staring at me without taking his eyes off me. I was so nervous that my heart sank as soon as the man’s mouth fell open.
“What on earth are you?” The eyes scanning me curiously asked. Haein cleared her throat and barely opened her mouth.
“Oh, I… I’m just a guest here.”
Her voice cracked horribly. She couldn’t quite loosen her locked throat, and ended up with a comical, slightly off-key note.
But the man asked back with a puzzled expression, as if he didn’t care about the condition of her voice.
“…guest?”
It seemed unexpected that a stranger was a guest in a place that wasn’t even a guesthouse.
“Yes. Uh, I was just traveling… and then I came here.”
As stiff as my posture was, I was extremely rigid like a robot. Even when I first stood in front of the camera as a rookie, I wasn’t this flustered, but the voice coming out of my mouth felt foreign, as if it wasn’t my own.
“Ah, travel… .”
The man nodded absentmindedly. It seemed as if he was just going to understand it and move on. No, he asked the question, but it seemed as if he wasn’t very interested.
He picked up the glass of water, moistened the inside of his mouth, and then leaned the back of his head against the wall lazily.
The expression on his face as he looked down was arrogant beyond the comparison. It was probably not that he was intentionally looking down on me, but the man had a strange aura that made him feel strangely oppressive towards others even though his entire body was wrapped in bandages.
I had thought of him as a handsome and innocent prince, but what a complete misjudgment. Upon closer inspection, I saw that he was a man who exuded an aura that suited the world of darkness better than anyone else.
For example, he almost looked like a villain in a movie who is so evil that he stabs his opponent in the stomach with a knife while smiling neatly and elegantly.
Oh my god.
Haein’s hand, which had been resting on her thigh, was firmly drawn in. When I thought about the 90% possiblity, a cold sweat formed on my back. I felt my blood dry up at the fact that a gangster I had only seen in movies was right in front of me.
Yongsun’s words, “That guy is really kind-hearted,” have long since evaporated without a trace.
The man’s head tilted slightly. His crooked gaze was still fixed on Haein’s face. To be exact, on top of the sunglasses and mask that covered her face.
“Your speech doesn’t seem to be typical of this area.”
He paused for a moment, perhaps holding his abdomen because of the pain, then let out the breath he had been holding and asked.
“Are you from Seoul?”
The tone of voice was consistently languid. It was probably because he had regained consciousness after a few days and was exhausted, but because of the tone full of weariness, the image of the man as an even more villainous figure was ingrained in my mind.
“Yes.”
As the answers were cut off in a single word, silence inevitably fell. Although conversation is possible only when there is at least some question marks between the giver and receiver, Haein was at a loss as to what questions to ask.
Where did you come from? How did you get hurt? Are you really a gangster?
Oh, this doesn’t seem to be it.
I thought it would be better to just avoid the situation, but I was going crazy because I couldn’t even figure out the timing.
Again the man’s question suddenly came across.
“Did you get a plastic surgery?”
I couldn’t figure out what his questions meant. My heart skipped a beat for a moment, wondering if it was meant to imply, ‘That’s not the face I know.’
“…Yes?”
When she asked again, the man frowned and nodded at Haein’s face.
“It looks a bit over to wear all this while you are inside.”
Ah.
Was that all? It was not much different from the innocent question that everyone had when they first saw her. I was nervous that my feet were going numb for no reason, so I wondered if there was a hidden meaning.
“Why are you wrapping your face so tightly? Did you hurt yourself somewhere?”
It was a question I had heard countless times since I came to this town, but I don’t know why I felt so hurt when this man asked me the same question.
Haein shook her head, sighing in relief.
“No. It’s just that, I have some circumstances.”
“Would it be rude to ask you to take it off?”
The next question followed relatively quickly. It was asked at an unexpected time and with unexpected words, so my breathing was suddenly tangled.
Unable to hide his embarrassment, he added with a corner of his mouth tilted up.
“I thought maybe you looked familiar.”
The anxiety that had subsided just two seconds ago came rushing back to my head. My heart was pounding uncontrollably, wondering if he had really recognized me even a little.
The face hidden behind the shield turned pale in an instant. The tips of her tightly clenched fingers lost their blood and became cold.
What the hell is this guy?
Haein stared at the man who was completely incomprehensible, then pretended to be indifferent and spoke in a strong voice.
“Pardon me, but no.”
The man chuckled, perhaps because it was an unexpected response.
Then she spoke with a frown on her face, while still smiling.
“Oh, I’m sorry. If you recognize me then it will be a bit difficult for me.”
So what does this mean? Does it mean that I would be embarrassed if someone I know found out about my situation?
If you think about it simply, it seems like that’s the right answer, but Haein, whose feet kept getting numb, didn’t feel at ease at all.
Ah, this is not going to work. I can’t breathe. I think I need to get out of this room quickly.
Let’s interpret it simply. There would be only one answer he wanted.
“I’m a tight-lipped person. I have nowhere to talk and go. And even if I wanted to talk, I don’t know anyone here.”
I didn’t stammer much, but I spoke at the speed of a bullet. Anyway, I couldn’t believe how lucky I was that I could speak so fluently.
Haein didn’t miss the opportunity and quickly continued.
“The owner, I mean the grandfather is in the hospital. If you need anything, just call me. I’m staying in the room next door. Then, get some rest.”
It was perfect. It was a perfect ending that could have been made with the right timing to stand up. It was the moment when Haein got up without hesitation and quickly started walking.
“Wait for a sec.”
Haein, whose ankles were tied again, looked back at him with a desperate face. Even though it was clear that she was looking down on him, his eyes still felt arrogant and were pointed at me pitifully.
“Can I borrow your cell phone?”
He added with a very pitiful expression.
“I need to contact someone urgently, but I lost it.”
Haein’s gaze shifted to the small rattan basket placed beside him.
A black cigarette case, a gold lighter, a blood-soaked gray wallet and wristwatch.
As he said, there was no cell phone in the place where Daegil had apparently put his belongings.
Yeah, well… . Since the only numbers saved in my contacts are Cheol-yong and Ji-yoon, I can just erase them for now. There’s no reason to be stingy since he can’t find out anything from my 2G phone that has nothing else in it.
“…wait a minute.”
After thinking for a moment, Haein reluctantly answered and left the room.
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