Chapter 15
In the end, the call went unanswered and hung up, and we stayed there for a while.
Oppa.
One of those words I’d hardly ever spoken in my life, one of the top five words I’d never really had reason to say.
It didn’t exist in my life and probably never would become familiar.
So instead of answering the call with the endless crying on the other end, I just stood there, rolling the embarrassing word around in my mouth.
‘Surely he’s not a boyfriend?’
The absurd thought crossed my mind.
We stared blankly at the phone for a while before suddenly snapping back to our senses. Then, shrugging at Yoonjae who was still looking at me, I said:
“They said it’s… Oppa.”
There was no other way to explain it, so after saying that, the man who’d been sitting on the sofa stood up.
“I’ve said before, I’m not going to get involved in that problem. You handle it yourself.”
“……”
“Make sure I don’t hear about it.”
That problem?
The indifference and coldness I thought had briefly disappeared brought my mind back from its daze caused by that one unfamiliar word.
Don’t make a fuss, don’t be a bother.
That’s exactly what Yoonjae’s words meant. I couldn’t understand everything, but it also meant he knew something.
‘I can’t exactly ask him outright.’
If only I’d pretended to have lost my memory from the start, maybe it would’ve been easier. But we were already married under contract, so it would’ve been meaningless anyway—just a late regret.
In the end, I didn’t even start writing the contract clause I was supposed to, and while Yoonjae left the living room, I narrowed my eyes at my phone.
“Joo Ae-jung.”
Who is Joo Ae-jung?
Back in the room, I wrestled with the fundamental question I should’ve figured out first amid these wandering days.
“Joo… Ae… Jung.”
Murmuring the name again, I wrote down everything I knew about “Ae-jung” on the paper in front of me.
Name: Joo Ae-jung. Same age as me. Employee in the Sales Department at Yeongdo Group.
That was all I knew about the woman who’d taken my fiancé. I’d acted like I’d dug into her background, but in reality, it was all gossip dug up by others.
‘I just needed to get a chance and leave Korea, so there was no reason to pick a fight.’
I held the pen in my mouth and crossed my arms.
‘She’s definitely not a girlfriend, so that must mean a real brother.’
But this was only speculation.
In the end, to survive, I needed to know about this body. And there were two intuitive ways to find out about Joo Ae-jung.
First, hire someone.
Even without going personally, there are people who, with just a name, can dig up your elementary school desk mate. The problem was I had no money.
That was also the main reason why I couldn’t do as I pleased in this body after coming here.
“I can’t even retrieve the money I sent to the States.”
It wasn’t like I didn’t regret it, but rationally speaking, now wasn’t the time to care about that.
Anyway, if the easiest method was out, then the only option was the second one.
“Seeing is believing.”
I picked up my phone and moved my fingers quickly.
<I’ll come myself.>
Gowoori’s way was always to go and confront directly.
A residential area packed with private homes snaking through hive-like alleys.
After an hour’s ride from Seoul, the taxi stopped at the entrance of one such alley and I got out.
“34-7.”
Without looking back at the departing taxi, I recited the address still in my head and glanced around.
The first impression of an everyday street I’d never experienced wasn’t as bad as I thought.
I walked through an alley filled not with cleanliness but with the smell and traces of people, heading toward my destination.
‘1, 3, 5….’
The place I’d arrived at now was the address on the ID card in my wallet.
I’d found this wallet while searching the room—no cash, just a few business cards, a toy-like tiny key, and a card.
“If only I could’ve gotten the car key.”
There was even a driver’s license in the wallet, which meant I could drive. I missed my beloved car parked at the airport as I reached number 7.
Then I looked at the large gate and the house beyond.
‘It’s… bigger than I thought.’
Contrary to my expectation of a hard life, the environment wasn’t bad at all.
With the fresh lesson that one shouldn’t assume things about people, I straightened my clothes.
“O… ppa?”
The word felt awkward in my mouth and made my body feel itchy.
Scratching my arm for no reason, I placed my hand on the gate with worried eyes.
If they were family, of course the brother would know his sister had changed. Then how was I supposed to explain this absurd situation?
Do I say I accidentally stole your sister’s body?
“……”
After a moment of silence, I shrugged.
“I don’t know. Whatever happens, happens.”
I concluded that worrying wouldn’t change anything and boldly pushed the gate open.
If this was “home,” then I wasn’t exactly a guest to be pressing the doorbell.
Creak.
The un-oiled gate opened to reveal a wooden platform perfect for lying on during a sunny day and an ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts in the middle.
I instinctively frowned at the sight of the disgusting black ashes, then quickly looked away and walked straight in.
“Excuse me.”
And without hesitation or worry about entering a stranger’s home, I grabbed the unlocked front door and opened it.
“Ugh.”
At once, the smell of cigarettes hit me like a wave.
“No matter how much of a personal preference it is…”
The smoke-stained smell inside was nauseating.
Yoonjae smoked too, but I’d never smelled it on him, which made it worse. Unconsciously covering my nose and grimacing, I forced myself inside despite wanting to turn back.
“I’m here. Hello?”
It was the best greeting I could muster at the moment.
But despite my effort, there was no sign of anyone.
‘What, no one’s home?’
I’d just said I’d come and barged in, but I didn’t expect no one to be there.
I took off my shoes, stepped inside, and looked around at the house, which seemed neat but wasn’t.
‘It’s dirty.’
Darkness aside, the disarray gave me an immediate sense of discomfort.
After briefly looking around the living room, I soon stood in front of the door opposite the entrance.
“This must be it.”
A small doll hanging on the door.
In this smoky, colorless space, it was the only splash of color. For some reason, I instinctively knew this was Ae-jung’s room.
I hesitated briefly, but my hand was already on the doorknob, turning it.
Creak.
The door opened as if it hadn’t been opened in a long time.
“……”
The first impression of the room was “darkness.”
In the small room with an odd chill, there was no trace of a human presence, only dust piled up.
Barren, no decoration—exactly the same colorless feeling I’d gotten the first time I’d seen “Joo Ae-jung.”
‘It’s even darker than the living room.’
Feeling around for a light switch I couldn’t find, my eyes first landed on the blinds.
Swish.
I pulled up the blinds that made the room even darker, squinting involuntarily.
“What is this, a chicken coop?”
Beyond the blinds were security bars and a close brick wall, probably the fence connected to the next house.
Next, I moved to the desk attached to the bookshelf. The old, worn desk was neat, and the bookshelf was filled with novels and outdated textbooks.
What caught my attention among them was an admission certificate placed in the middle of the shelf.
“Korea University Admission Certificate. College of Liberal Studies.”
It was certainly a good university, but who displayed an admission certificate like this these days?
Of course, it differed from person to person, and with Liberal Studies, it also meant she must have been very smart.
But this admission certificate had one inconsistency.
‘…I heard she didn’t go to college.’
I hadn’t checked myself, but the gossip I’d heard said so. Moreover, Korea University was also where Ha Yoonjae had gone.
“No graduation album either.”
Lined up below were elementary, middle, and high school graduation albums, but no college album.
Maybe she hadn’t bought it, but given she’d displayed the admission certificate, that didn’t seem likely.
‘Did she drop out?’
While I was examining the certificate closely, I saw something behind it.
“…?”
As if something was hidden, when I shifted the admission certificate slightly, there was a box. I immediately sensed what it was and pulled it out.
“…Ha.”
The box was full of mail.
Without even looking closely, most of them were demand letters. Loan repayments, overdue interest…
Now I understood exactly what Ha Yoonjae’s words had meant.
[Half of the remaining money will be sent after the wedding, so know that.]
I bit my lips tasting bitter as I rifled through the mail. At the bottom of the box, I found something.
‘This is it.’
Inside was a diary.
A cute little diary with a small lock.
‘At least this will give me the basics.’
Since I couldn’t keep rummaging through the room, I settled for that, putting the diary in my bag.
After returning everything else to its place and checking once more, I turned around.
“—Ah!”
But as soon as I turned, I was startled and cried out at the silhouette standing in the backlight greeting me.
Clutching my pounding heart, breathing hard, I saw the corners of the man’s mouth curl up as he suddenly appeared.
“You threatened me like you were about to die that we’d never see each other again—and yet here you’ve come, on your own two feet.”
