Chapter : 03
Kindness, My Foot
5:30 AM. Yohan left the house in light athletic gear, just as he always did.
The morning jog was a habit for him—a routine he never skipped unless the weather was exceptionally poor. With nothing out of the ordinary, he moved away from the house at his usual steady pace.
It was only after a safe distance had been established between them that Chowon emerged from the main gate. She stared blankly at the back of his receding figure for a moment before she began to follow him at a brisk pace.
Chowon was convinced that the presence she had felt outside her door previously belonged to this “totem pole” of a guy. It was a logical conclusion; he and she were the only ones in the house that day, and there had been no signs of a break-in by anyone else.
His jog eventually came to a halt at a derelict house tucked away in a corner of the neighborhood. It was a long-abandoned building, a “haunted house” surrounded by all sorts of wild rumors.
From a distance, Chowon watched as the guy she had been tailing opened the gate of the haunted house as if he belonged there. She kept herself hidden, her eyes sharp with tension. But in the next second, her energy seemed to sap away, and she let out a habitual sigh.
What came trotting out of the open gate, wagging its tail, was a white Jindo dog. Yohan knelt with a quiet smile and pulled a tin can from his hoodie pocket. As soon as he popped the lid, the dog buried its nose in the food and began to eat without hesitation.
“What the…”
The scene was so wholesome it was almost absurd.
‘Why don’t you feel like kicking me out?’ ‘…?’ ‘What if I’m a dangerous person?’
The cryptic words he had uttered the day after he arrived flashed through Chowon’s mind. Her answer—that she wasn’t afraid—had been sincere, but it would be a lie to say his presence didn’t bother her at all. He surely had a purpose for occupying a spot in the grandmother’s house under the guise of being a “guardian.”
The same applied to the grandmother. She wasn’t the type to let just anyone into her home without a reason.
More than the bloodstains she had found on the floor, this is what had been weighing on Chowon: the feeling that something was happening and she was the only one kept in the dark.
Well, there’s no need to stand here watching him feed a dog.
Chowon shook her head and slowly turned around. Honestly, this ridiculous game of “detective” wasn’t necessary. Whether it was the presence outside her door or the bloodstains, asking him directly would be the fastest way.
But, how to put it… talking to him felt a bit dangerous. He knew how to cross lines so naturally, and sometimes, he actually made her laugh. She wanted things to stay as they were—as if he were a stranger who didn’t matter, as if he didn’t exist.
“…That’s not how you tail someone.”
Yohan, who had been quietly stroking the dog’s head, let out an involuntary chuckle. He could clearly feel her presence growing more distant.
She can’t even muffle her footsteps.
Chowon would likely never know that Yohan had run much slower than usual today.
From Yohan’s perspective, what Chowon did today couldn’t even be called “tailing.” To be more precise, he had essentially led her along as she followed him.
The dog, which had been preoccupied with eating, finally finished its meal and looked up at Yohan with clear eyes. Yohan smiled gently and patted its head.
“She’s so clumsy. That’s what makes her cute, right?”
I can’t get used to this atmosphere.
Sitting in a corner of the Clover Tearoom, Chowon stared listlessly at the new scene unfolding before her.
Unlike the past when it was always quiet, the cafe was now packed to capacity without a single empty seat. The rowdy chatter and bursts of laughter were an added “bonus.” With a deep sigh, Chowon plugged in her earphones and turned up the volume.
Even when “retro” and “newtro” trends made old shops popular, the Clover Tearoom had always been an exception. It was located too far out of the way to catch those waves.
To others, it was just a dingy old shop frequented by the same faces: long-time neighborhood regulars, or middle-aged and elderly folks looking for a place to chat. Chowon had always been on the younger end of their clientele. At least, she was until recently.
“See? I told you, right?” “Whoa… he’s seriously handsome. At that level, isn’t he basically a celebrity?”
The voices of girls who appeared to be high schoolers pierced through Chowon’s earphones. Resigned, she blinked her eyes open and turned her head toward the counter. The “totem pole” guy, who had finally secured a part-time job there, was serving customers non-stop with his trademark bright smile.
His hands and mouth were busy taking orders from the line of customers. Beside him, the owner looked visibly flustered by the sudden influx of people, moving around busily.
This is really a problem.
Chowon snapped her laptop shut and leaned back against her chair. As she always did, she looked out the window at the neighborhood scenery. She truly loved the peaceful view from this seat. But today, even that felt unpleasant.
[Writer Eun, do you have time today?]
A message from Hyerim arrived just then.
[Nothing special.] [Something came up that I need to discuss. If you have time, should I head over there?]
Over here?
Chowon looked up again and scanned the interior of the tearoom. The sound of noisy chatter filled the air.
[No. I’ll go to the publishing house today.]
She sent a quick reply and packed her things with a bored expression. Yohan, who had been busy taking orders, saw Chowon getting up and asked the customer in front of him for a moment. By the time Chowon opened the door to leave, Yohan had already caught up to her.
“Noona, where are you going?” “…Why do you need to know?” “I’m wondering where a person who only knows home and the tearoom could be headed.”
What do you even know about me?
She was a bit dumbfounded. But perhaps because her heart had softened slightly after seeing that peaceful scene at dawn, she didn’t feel like being prickly. She replied nonchalantly.
“…The publishing house.” “Ah, for work. Okay then. Get there safely.” “Sure.”
She nodded and turned away, but then abruptly stopped in her tracks.
Wait. Why is this so natural? “Get there safely”? “Sure”? Why doesn’t this exchange feel awkward at all?
The situation felt strange, and his ability to be so overly friendly was surprising, so Chowon looked back. Under the clear sky, Yohan stood there, watching her go.
When their eyes met, he smiled broadly and gave her a big wave. Under the pouring sunlight, his expression seemed even more radiant.
By the time she turned the corner and reached the bus stop, the ginkgo trees along the road had turned yellow. It felt like the height of autumn.
Feeling the cool breeze against her neck, Chowon stared up at the sky. Though there were scattered clouds, it was quite clear—a deep, transparent blue that suited the season perfectly.
Yes, it was definitely a clear day. That was why the drop of water that hit her forehead felt even more chilling.
For a moment, Chowon’s eyes widened like a small animal caught in an unexpected attack. It was only a single drop, but her entire body felt as though it were freezing stiff. Ignoring her state, the droplets began to fall faster—drip, drip, drip.
It was raining. A “sunshower” that no one had predicted on such a clear day.
A sunshower might be beautiful to some, but not to Chowon. As the pitter-patter of rain hitting the ground began to soak the world, Chowon’s mind began to spin.
Not here. Not now.
Beeeeeeeee—
The moment she stood up from the bench to run, a ringing sound like a warning siren erupted in her ears. Simultaneously, a horrific headache seized all her senses. Her swaying body collapsed straight onto the ground.
Her heart raced. Her breath grew shallow. She couldn’t control her body. Through it all, the rain didn’t stop, continuing to soak her. Every drop that touched her skin felt like a piercing needle.
Passersby began to gather. The sound of murmuring echoed like a distorted chorus. Slowly, the sounds of the world drifted away from her.
In that final moment, she thought she saw someone pushing through the crowd toward her.
The man didn’t untie the burlap sack until he reached the top of the cliff. Inside the bag lay a curled-up corpse, its body just beginning to stiffen.
It was a body that hadn’t yet reached adulthood. A boy, perhaps fifteen or sixteen.
The man’s brutish hands pulled the boy’s thin body from the bag and threw it down carelessly. Chowon knew that boy. Out of the group, he had been the most silent, the quietest, the shyest child.
It was raining. A heavy downpour, enough to soak them to the bone. Below the cliff, angry waves churned and crashed relentlessly against the rocks. The water, already rough, swirled like a vortex in the wind and rain.
The man threw a rope toward them.
“Find some rocks nearby and tie them. You know what this means.”
The children stood in silence, hesitating, not knowing what to do. Whether because of the freezing rain or the horror of the situation, one child was visibly trembling.
“Move, now!”
The man was also soaked, but his squared shoulders still looked formidable. When he shouted, it felt as though sparks would fly from his eyes.
Terrified, the children began to pick up rocks one by one. When one child started to cry aloud, the man strode over and struck the child’s head with his thick, rough hand. The child was sent flying by the merciless blow.
Chowon stood in the middle of that chaotic rain. A rope lay before her.
In that moment, the man’s rage-filled gaze turned toward her. He walked toward the dazed Chowon. As his hand cut through the air right in front of her, Chowon’s body instinctively recoiled.
That was when it happened. The pouring rain stopped. The wind cutting through the darkness and the sound of the waves—all vanished.
Confused, she opened her eyes to find that the man standing before her had crumbled into dust. The surrounding scenery was crumbling away like pieces of broken cake. The fragmented darkness was being sucked away somewhere.
Chowon looked up at the point where the darkness was disappearing. She felt a certain warmth in the air above her. She reached out and grabbed it.
Snap.
When she opened her eyes, she was in a hospital emergency room bed. Yohan was looking down at her with an unusually serious expression. Only then did she realize that what she had grabbed was Yohan’s hand, and the warmth she felt by her head had been his.
“…What is this?”
As her raspy voice emerged, blood flowing from Yohan’s hand dripped onto her arm and fell, thud, thud, onto the floor.
End Of Chapter : 03
