A Gentle Intruder - Chapter 35

Several days passed.

Peaceful time continued. A fully ripe autumn fluttered all around. We walked the trail stepping on plane tree leaves during the best sunlit hours. The Taean trail was a very long path divided into several courses, but since we couldn’t walk all of it, we only strolled near the lodging each time, and soon the path became familiar.

Many things had become familiar.

I thought I probably couldn’t come back, but I would always miss it.

“How did you book this lodging, Jae Ho?”

And I would miss this man a lot too. I could see his neatly refined image through the media, but I learned that wasn’t his true self. His natural smile and comfortable daily life would remain in my heart like unfiltered dregs, tightening my chest from time to time.

“Well, Byung Hoon made the reservation, so I’m not sure.”

“I see.”

Our clasped hands were warm.

Just when I was considering extending this relationship a little longer, I learned an uncomfortable truth. It was quite a coincidental timing. As if it were a heavenly revelation not to be more greedy.

Why do you pretend not to know until the end that you’re the owner of this lodging?

Da Jung’s gaze turned to the ground.

She felt the tall man tilting his head to look at her. He was probably smiling. With a genuine smile that gently folded the corners of his eyes.

She hoped that smile was sincere. Although everything was in chaos, she hoped that at least Lee Jae Ho’s feelings for Yoon Da Jung were not a lie. Even if it started as a curiosity-driven game, she hoped he ended up truly liking her.

If I was the only one who liked him, it would be more miserable.

“Still, I’m curious why it was Taean.”

“Maybe… to meet you?”

I decided to remember only the good things.

That we met like fate, felt mutual attraction, and sincerely liked each other.

“About Pink, it seems she’ll give birth soon, so I asked a nearby resident in advance. They were already keeping an eye on her.”

“That’s kind.”

Even though this suspicious encounter was comforting, it would be fine to be happy until the end.

“This lodging. Is it really owned by an elderly couple? It seems too youthful in style for an elderly couple to have built it.”

“An architect probably built the house for them.”

I found my own emotions, unable to let go of that one strand of lingering attachment, rather ridiculous. Suddenly, I wished Jae Ho would confess all the facts fluently, which made me smile bitterly.

“Tell me more details about your grandfather’s birthday.”

“That’s all there is to it. We gathered as a family, blew out candles, and had a meal.”

I thought I should delete all his photos stored on the external hard drive.

Now such fabricated images held no meaning for Da Jung. The warmth of our held hands, the gentleness in our exchanged glances, the matching pace of our steps – such things had steadily piled up in my heart.

Lee Jae Ho and Oh Chae Won. The image of the handsome man and beautiful woman sitting face to face came to mind.

On the way back after the walk, my feet seemed to catch on an unusually large number of pebbles. A small stone got into my shoe and poked the sole of my foot, making Da Jung frown. Jae Ho quickly noticed and stopped to help remove the stone.

The stone was gone, but I still felt upset. Autumn was truly a dry season.

“These days, ‘I Love You From Back Then’ keeps airing reruns on TV. I’ve watched it several times too. Maybe it’s because Oh Chae Won’s drama is doing well.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. They say when a currently airing drama does well, other works starring that actor also benefit. Ah, but you probably know better.”

Jae Ho smiled silently.

“Jae Ho. To be honest, I don’t like Oh Chae Won. Because she matches so well with Lee Jae Ho in ‘I Love You From Back Then’. I’m jealous. I hope you two never see each other again.”

“Ah.”

The man stopped walking.

Da Jung vaguely stared at some point on the horizon beyond the sea past the trees. She couldn’t bring herself to face him. It was the first time she had expressed her emotions so messily.

He must have noticed.

All of it – the petty and troubled, irritating and sad selfishness.

I wish I could be a villainess, but lacking even that disposition, it was just a damp heart twisted on its own.

“…Are you jealous? Yoon Da Jung?”

The man asked.

“…Yes. I think I am a little.”

Da Jung finally spoke as if resigned. There was no other way. How ugly must she look.

Then the man suddenly approached and left a brief kiss on her lips. A deep chuckle resonated through his pleasant voice.

“Don’t be. I’m dying of excitement.”

“…!”

“No other woman means anything but Yoon Da Jung. Don’t have useless thoughts.”

There was no answer about not seeing Oh Chae Won again. Realizing that she needed such a specific answer, Da Jung became disgusted with herself. How could she have so many demands after deciding to leave anyway? She couldn’t understand her own heart.

“Okay.”

Da Jung nodded. Right. It was his life to live in Seoul. Whether it was Oh Chae Won or any other woman, it should be of no concern to Da Jung.

**

Jae Ho keenly noticed Da Jung’s mood. Since returning from Seoul, Da Jung had been constantly under low pressure and didn’t smile much. He could roughly guess what she was thinking, but he deliberately didn’t bring it up.

The trip is ending soon. She’s probably thinking about the farewell.

Was she preparing to return to reality as she had first said herself?

Jae Ho had no intention of adding even a speck of dust to that thought, so he kept pretending not to know. And he had Secretary Jung contract an officetel convenient for commuting to the hospital and prepare a suitable car.

There was no way Da Jung would ever leave him.

Only three days remained.

He was prepared to fill it with the happiest memories.

As they approached the lodging, the smell of burning firewood wafted over. When Da Jung looked puzzled, Jae Ho said as he entered the yard:

“You seemed down, so I prepared a camping trip.”

“Camping?”

“Just a modest setup in the yard. Byung Hoon should have everything ready.”

“Why so suddenly……”

“Because of the fire.”

Recently, Da Jung had confessed her fear of fire to Jae Ho, and he was inwardly greatly surprised.

Thanks to the posts Da Jung had been writing on the free board, he knew she had nightmares, but he didn’t know the substance of it was fire. And the fact that she had actually fainted upon seeing real fire.

Thinking that Da Jung was nurturing a monster the same size as himself made his heart ache. He knew better than anyone how terrifying that fear could be.

“How about trying to overcome the fire?”

Jae Ho had started camping because of fire too. He wanted to overcome his fear and see reality clearly. After about 2 years of effort, he could now calmly light firewood. It was thanks to the efforts of Byung Hoon and Secretary Jung.

Jae Ho wanted to become the same kind of existence for Da Jung.

“No. I’m scared of fire……”

Da Jung habitually stepped back. However, thanks to Byung Hoon running over with a loud greeting, she couldn’t retreat further.

“Noona! Noona! Da Jung noona! Have you been well? Wow! Noona, you’ve become even prettier than last week!”

It was Byung Hoon, acting as friendly as a real brother after meeting just a few times. Unable to harden her expression at his smiling approach, Da Jung forced a smile.

“Mr. Byung Hoon. Hello. When did you arrive?”

“Just earlier! I prepared all this! I was so excited to have something to do!”

Da Jung’s eyes widened as she looked around the yard.

A large tent and tarp, camping table, and even a barbecue set – a perfect mood camping setup was prepared. Gas lanterns and string lights, called the flower of camping, twinkled brightly to welcome Da Jung.

“Wow. Jae Ho. How is this modest in any way?”

“Oh! It is modest! It’s all set up minimally!”

Byung Hoon answered instead, piling firewood on one side. Then he joked with Jae Ho that if they had set it up properly, it wouldn’t have fit in this yard. Difficult camping terms that Da Jung didn’t know poured out.

“Wow……”

Jae Ho seated the amazed Da Jung in a chair and carefully tended to the firewood. Byung Hoon was already placing meat on the grill prepared on one side. Soft ballads drifted from somewhere.

“Since you worked hard, I’ll feed you before sending you off, Kim Byung Hoon.”

Jae Ho said in a low voice. Da Jung nodded.

“Sure. I can stay and play more.”

“I don’t like that.”

Jae Ho cut him off. Byung Hoon, who was grilling meat, frowned deeply.

“Wow. I feel hurt. Maybe I should just sleep over.”

Jae Ho ignored him shamelessly as if he hadn’t heard.

“Next time, let’s go camping properly in my camper van, Yoon Da Jung. It’ll be much better than today.”

As he said this, he handed Da Jung a soft knee blanket. Da Jung wrapped herself in it and smiled faintly. She hoped her smile didn’t look too artificial.

Jae Ho kept mentioning “next time” since returning from Seoul. She understood the meaning behind those words, but on the other hand, she was puzzled. If his purpose was simple fun, wouldn’t it be natural to end it here?

Jae Ho acted as if we had promised a future further than now. As if anticipating “next time” was quite an easy thing.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

He asked again while cutting and serving the meat Byung Hoon had handed over. His expression momentarily looked so desperate that Da Jung was seized by a strange impulse. What if she asked what kind of relationship we were, how far he intended to go?

If she took courage using this emotional atmosphere…

“Hm? Camping.”

But the man urged an answer, cutting off Da Jung’s reverie.

“Okay.”

The man’s face brightened at finally hearing a response.

**

After Byung Hoon finished eating and left, Jae Ho added a few more logs to the fire. As he did so, he emphasized several times that Da Jung was currently quite far from the fire, and that he had perfect control over this fire.

Da Jung nodded tensely.

“It’s called fire gazing. Looking at the burning firewood. It’s quite healing.”

“…Yes.”

“It can be healing for you too, Yoon Da Jung. The fire is confined. Fire trapped in a fire pit is safe.”

Crackle, crackle.

The firewood burns down. Like the colors of autumn, or like her inner feelings.

Da Jung gazed silently at the red glow.

As the fire swayed in the wind as if alive, she felt a little scared, but it was definitely a fire that didn’t grow any larger. She understood what Jae Ho meant by saying it was “confined”.

It flattened itself in various shapes, then straightened up boldly, but its flamboyant dance never left the confines of the fire pit. Even when strong winds blew, it swayed momentarily but returned to the fire pit. As she watched for a while, she felt gradually more reassured.

“…It is confined.”