Chapter 09
Heat rose from the torn linoleum, mottled with patches of mold.
My frozen feet tingled as if shocked with static when they touched the warm floor.
Maybe it was thanks to his grandmother’s easygoing kindness, but Sunwoo’s house, though my first time there, didn’t feel unfamiliar.
“Does Sunwoo get along well with his friends at school?”
His grandmother asked casually as she lit the gas burner.
At school, Sunwoo was someone harder to see than me, a celebrity.
He skipped classes often, and even when he came, he just lay his head down and slept.
“I think he gets along with everyone. He’s the kind who’s quietly popular.”
That was when I realized someone could smile even with just their back.
Every word his grandmother spoke dripped with love for Sunwoo.
I used to think life was something you lived alone, but when I saw this kind of unconditional love, a hollow space opened in my chest.
If I had a family too, would this emptiness be filled?
“When he was little, he got some pretty bad scars… I worry kids might tease him.”
His grandmother asked as she scooped rice generously into a bowl.
At her words, I thought of the burn scars on Sunwoo’s neck and the backs of his hands.
At school, he was famous for wearing his winter uniform even in summer.
“Sunwoo… isn’t the type to get picked on.”
I gave an awkward smile to his grandmother, who tilted her head, not understanding.
We were in the same class, but we had never exchanged a single word.
Once, I had asked a friend why everyone seemed to just ignore Sunwoo’s frequent absences.
“Getting involved with him is exhausting,” was the answer I got.
So please, don’t try to learn too much about your grandson, ma’am.
“I’m home.”
“Hi.”
Our eyes met—mine and Kim Sunwoo’s, who had just walked in wearing his school uniform.
He froze like an icicle.
“Sunwoo, you have to turn this in at school tomorrow—how could you leave it behind?”
I thought I heard a quiet curse.
Sunwoo, who had half stepped out, shoved his foot back into his sneaker and went outside again.
Bang—the front door slammed shut.
“Sunwoo! Dinner’s ready, so come in quickly!!”
His grandmother called out after him, her precious grandson who had to be fed on time no matter what.
I figured I should bring him back before the food she’d prepared went cold.
“Ma’am, I’ll go get Sunwoo. Just a moment.”
There was a narrow path beside the gate, and from beyond it came the dragging sound of sneakers.
Following it into the alley, I saw Sunwoo, hands in his pockets, kicking at the ground.
“You don’t even come to school, but you’re good at wearing the uniform?”
It was a narrow space, shaded from the sun.
As if he hadn’t heard me, Sunwoo naturally picked up the coal tongs.
Then, skillfully, he removed all the briquettes and replaced them.
It was something I’d once seen on TV.
“Can I try it too?”
I stepped closer behind him.
Startled by my voice, Sunwoo flinched and turned around.
“Hey, that’s dangerous.”
It was too cramped even to look up at him properly.
I barely managed to step back, but I could feel the stacked briquettes behind me.
“If you’re done, go. What, did you come here for some ‘poor family experience’?”
Sunwoo snapped at me as I stood there awkwardly.
Come to think of it, this was the first real conversation we’d ever had.
“I think you’ve got the wrong idea.”
“Is this part of your image management too?”
His consistent hostility left me speechless.
“Life’s really unfair. We both don’t have parents, but you’ve got a Gangnam apartment, and I’ve got Geumje-dong.”
It looked like he wouldn’t stop until he managed to wound me somehow.
This kind of obvious attack was almost laughable.
“Oh—so that’s why you’re taking revenge by ruining your life? Not even going to school?”
I looked up at him as I spoke.
I didn’t miss the way he bit his lip and drew in a breath.
His chest rose and fell heavily.
“Move—”
“Hm? What was that?”
“I said move.”
There was nowhere else for me to move.
It wasn’t worth wasting more emotion on him, so just like his grandmother had, I grabbed his wrist.
“Let’s go eat.”
“Tch.”
He finally spat out a curse.
He roughly shook off my grip, then grabbed the back of my coat.
“Get out of my sight.”
“Hey, seriously—let go!”
Only after being dragged out past the gate did I manage to break free from his grasp.
“Do people who live like this not have any privacy?”
We faced each other across the threshold.
It was just past six, but it was already dim outside.
Night fell earlier in Geumje-dong than anywhere else.
A flickering streetlamp cast light on Sunwoo’s reddened face.
Why do you live so complicatedly?
You’ve got a grandmother who lives only for you.
“What are you, some kind of celebrity? You talk like you’re someone important.”
“Don’t try to lecture me. Making easy money off your face—”
“You need to care first if you’re going to lecture someone. Do you care about me?”
A deflating sound escaped Sunwoo’s lips.
“Not a damn bit.”
He said it with a scowl, his voice low.
“Same here. I’m too busy just living my own life.”
“Cut the whining and shut up.”
He stared at me like he was about to shoot lasers from his eyes.
Does he think that scares anyone?
“Do you really think you can hurt me that way? I’m someone who gets dozens of rumors a day.”
His eyes widened.
Looking straight at him, I spoke calmly but clearly.
“Instead of trying to get revenge on a world that doesn’t care about you, be good to the grandmother who only cares about you.”
“What?”
“You’re the only one who thinks you’re that pitiful.”
Leaving behind his complicated expression, I ended up walking away without eating the meal his grandmother had prepared.
I don’t remember much after that.
That conversation was probably the last we ever had.
Until graduation.
The only memory of Sunwoo I could barely dredge up wasn’t helpful at all.
Hmm.
He didn’t hold onto what I said, did he?
If middle schooler Kim Sunwoo had been so simple you could read him like a book, lawyer Kim Sunwoo was the complete opposite.
I had to think several times about whether what he said to me was a joke or sincere.
“Ugh, that scared me.”
The vibration in my hand startled me—I almost dropped my phone.
“Legal representative… Kim. Sun. Woo.”
Muttering to himself, Sunwoo finished typing.
It was his habit to type his name next to “legal representative” only after completing the complaint.
As if taking over his baton, the printer diagonally across from him roared to life and began spitting out the document.
After two days of working overnight, he had finally finished all the backlogged filings.
Of course, Eugene’s case was important, but as one of the top lawyers in Seocho-dong, he couldn’t afford to focus on her alone.
Leaning back into his chair that gently supported him, Sunwoo let his weight sink in.
As the tension drained, the lingering discomfort that had been bothering him resurfaced.
Tilting his head back, he stayed still for a while before stretching out his arm to grab his phone from the desk.
When he turned off airplane mode, dozens of messenger notifications flooded in.
None of them were from Eugene.
The appeal is due tomorrow—doesn’t she even care?
It was already past seven.
He had a clear reason to contact Eugene, and it wasn’t an unreasonably late hour.
The moment he realized he was thinking about her more than necessary, irritation flared.
He pressed his fingers to his throbbing temple, exhaled deeply, then found her number in his contacts.
—Hello, Sun—
“I’ll send the appeal by email.”
She picked up so quickly that the words in his head slipped out before he could adjust them.
—Thanks.
“Can you check it right away? If there’s no issue, I’ll submit it immediately.”
—I’ll check it now.
“Are you home?”
—I’m in the parking lot. I stepped out for a bit… not sure if I need to tell you that.
Her voice trailed off, and Sunwoo pressed the phone closer to his ear.
“Did something happen?”
—I just met my mother-in-law.
“Anything important?”
—She told me to come back to Daewoong Group. Did I do something you’ll scold me for again?
“Scold you? Me?”
Sunwoo let out a laugh.
Who would scold you?
Anyone who tried would probably just get knocked down instead.
—I’m sorry about before. You’re trying to handle my case, and I just—
His eyebrow twitched.
So children really do make things complicated.
Yoo Eugene, apologizing.
“I didn’t call to hear an apology.”
—Oh, right. You’re busy, aren’t you?
“Let’s get a meal.”
A brief silence followed.
“We can talk in person. How about today?”
As the silence stretched, Sunwoo added calmly.
He could almost picture her looking troubled on the other end.
It’s just a meal.
I stayed up all night working on your case yesterday, you know.
He waited patiently for her answer.
—Then… do you want to come over?
“I’ll be there within an hour.”
He answered casually, but the corner of his mouth wouldn’t go down.
His suggestion had been sudden, lacking justification, even trivial.
It wouldn’t have been strange if she had refused.
The answer to how to control Eugene was simple.
He would get closer to her until she could trust him completely.
At the moment when she was most vulnerable, he would be the most reliable presence.
“Attorney.”
Damn it.
That startled me.
Why is she standing there?
