“I just got angry and left. I must have been stressed.”

It was something that could have been overlooked since it was resolved well, but I had too much pent up and couldn’t control my anger.

“It’s okay, Da Eun, you must have had your reasons. You’ve lost so much weight, is it because of your emotional distress?”

Eun Suk responded instead of Hee Ju and turned on the music. The classical music, said to help calm the mind and body, filled the interior of the car.

The truck, which had been running smoothly, came to a sudden stop. The car in front had cut in abruptly.

“Da Eun, Hee Ju, are you alright?”

After checking on Da Eun and Hee Ju’s condition, Eun Suk quickly drove to catch up with the car in front, then opened the window and shouted.

“Oh my, sir. Why are you driving like that? Is there trouble at home?”

Her clear and melodious voice blended with the classical music.

The elegant string of curses that followed finally made it feel real that we had arrived at my aunt’s house.

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After passing the winding unpaved road, Eun Suk’s house came into view. Stone towers were piled up along the edge of the road. There was also a tower that Hee Ju had kicked down in a drunken fit of anger and hastily rebuilt.

Among the stone towers, purple cosmos flowers, planted by my uncle who loved flowers, were raising their heads.

Was it because of the classical music, or because of the peaceful scenery so different from the bustling city? All the worries from before had disappeared somewhere, and I felt at peace.

“Da Eun, you’re here? Your uncle has prepared japchae, egg rolls, baeksuk, and pickled cucumbers that you like.”

Hong Ki, who was grilling pork belly on a large grill over a wood fire, greeted us cheerfully.

Da Eun’s mouth watered at the sight of the food laid out on the outdoor bench.

“At this point, I wonder if there’s anything she doesn’t like.”

Hee Ju muttered, taking off her hat and throwing it onto the porch.

Da Eun poked Hee Ju in the side as she grumbled.

“I also brought lots of cake and bread that you like, uncle.”

“Oh, did you? We can have that for dessert!”

Hong Ki smiled happily as he placed the grilled pork belly on a plate.

“Ah, I brought cat treats. Was it Kkamang? Where is he?”

Da Eun asked, taking out the cat treats from her bag. She had been sending pictures for a while after adopting a kitten from the village chief’s cat that had many babies.

But suddenly, Hong Ki’s expression turned gloomy.

“He suddenly disappeared two days ago, and it was quite a scene with all the crying.”

Hee Ju whispered in Da Eun’s ear. Da Eun quietly slipped the cat treats back into her pocket.

“Dad, don’t worry too much. I’ll go look for him after we eat, and take a walk with Da Eun. Remember last time when Kkamang went to the village chief’s house, stole food, and came back after playing to his heart’s content? You eat too.”

Hee Ju urged, placing a spoon in Da Eun’s hand.

“I’ll eat well. Thank you, uncle and aunt.”

It was a hearty and healthy spread. Even as she ate hurriedly, seemingly forgetting the morning’s events, Da Eun’s heart ached whenever she looked at her aunt, who resembled her mother so much.

“Da Eun, take some eggs when you leave. You know they’re good free-range eggs, right?”

“I know, uncle. But I might end up breaking them all on the way, so maybe next time.”

“Then how about taking some kimchi? No, that might smell. I’ll pack some sweet potatoes for you.”

“Oh my, Da Eun might get indigestion. That’s enough.”

Eun Suk cut off Hong Ki’s words, worried that Da Eun might feel troubled.

After the meal, they drank coffee mix made with water boiled in a tin kettle.

“Song Da Eun, let’s go for a walk.”

Hee Ju grabbed Da Eun’s hand as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“Alright, go walk around the trail over there. They’ve done a good job with it. Don’t come back too late, we’ll have some makgeolli.”

Eun Suk pushed Da Eun and Hee Ju’s backs.

Da Eun and Hee Ju walked along the gravel path wearing Eun Suk’s rubber slippers. As they walked, looking around for Kkamang, Hee Ju poked Da Eun in the side.

“By the way, is it true? The guy who was almost your husband, he’s become a father? Have you seen the woman?”

Hee Ju asked urgently, as if she had been wanting to ask this for a while.

“You’re not excited about this, are you?”

“It’s not that, I just have a hunch about something.”

“What is it?”

“Kang Ji Sun showed me a picture taken from afar, saying Yang Ju Ri seemed to have a man. But…”

“It resembles the guy who was almost my husband?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“You’re right, the other person is Yang Ju Ri. She told me in the bride’s waiting room on the wedding day.”

“What a crazy bitch. You just left it at that?”

Hee Ju kept blowing air through her lips, as if she couldn’t believe it.

On the other hand, Da Eun had nothing to say.

“No, those bastards are the crazy ones. You don’t need to do anything. It’s not even worth cursing them out.”

Saying that, Hee Ju took out the makgeolli she had hidden in her bosom and poured it into a paper cup to hand over.

“When did you manage to grab that?”

“Don’t tell dad. I secretly took what he was saving.”

“Even if I don’t say anything, he’ll smell it.”

Da Eun said that, but still accepted and drank the makgeolli Hee Ju offered.

“Have a glass too.”

Da Eun poured makgeolli into an empty cup and handed it to Hee Ju.

“I’m planning to go back to Seoul soon.”

Hee Ju originally lived alone in Seoul. It wasn’t far from Da Eun’s house. She had come down to her parents’ home a year ago after being unable to write a single word since her early success as a children’s book author.

“Oh, when?”

“Soon? I feel like I can write something now.”

Hee Ju’s eyes sparkled like stars. For a moment, Da Eun envied Hee Ju. She could no longer remember what her own dream was, living day by day just trying to get by.

“I submitted my resignation letter.”

“That’s out of the blue? Why? Because of the guy who was almost your husband?”

“No. Because of my boss.”

“Ah, your boss… That can happen.”

“Now let’s look for Kkamang. We can’t let uncle cry again today.”

The two searched around the neighborhood for Kkamang for a long time but returned home without any success. This time, the table was full of drinking snacks.

Da Eun, who was approaching mindlessly, stopped in her tracks. She had belatedly discovered it.

Cha Yu Kwon sitting in the very spot where she had been sitting until just a moment ago.

It was an exceptionally good morning.

Yu Kwon had slept soundly without even dreaming, and woke up without an alarm. The early autumn sunlight streaming through the curtains he had forgotten to close completely felt good too.

He went to work in a good mood, only to receive Da Eun’s resignation letter and the ring he had given her via quick service.

“If you provide me with your account details, I will first send you 50 million won. I will pay the rest as severance pay.

And don’t worry, I will continue to work until I’ve fully handed over to the new employee.”

It was a clear rejection. Something Yu Kwon was not used to.

He stared for a long time at the hastily scribbled resignation letter, which showed how urgent she had been.

“How cute, Song Da Eun.”

Contrary to his words, the corners of his mouth twitched.

He had never imagined this turn of events. He thought she might reject the ring, but he didn’t expect to receive her resignation letter like this.

After all he had done to keep Da Eun by his side when she had applied for another department.

It wasn’t that the absence of a secretary would hinder his work. It was just a bit inconvenient and troublesome. Even as he thought this, Yu Kwon couldn’t concentrate on his work. The face of the vexing Song Da Eun kept coming to mind.

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In the end, Yu Kwon left work early and went straight to Da Eun’s house. When he knocked on the green gate that he felt would soon become familiar, Geum Suk, who was just about to go out, opened the door.

“Hello, mother. Da Eun’s phone is turned off, so I took the liberty of coming here.”

“…Oh. But Da Eun isn’t here right now, what should we do?”

“Do you know where she might have gone?”

“She probably went to Hee Ju’s place.”

“Do you mean Gong Hee Ju?”

“You know Hee Ju?”

“Yes, in college…”

At that moment, the paper in Geum Suk’s hand caught Yu Kwon’s eye.

“Mother, may I take a look at that paper?”

“This? It’s just a list of things to buy at the market?”

Geum Suk, tilting her head in confusion, handed the paper to Yu Kwon.

He fixed his gaze on the back of the paper Geum Suk had been looking at. It was indeed Da Eun’s handwriting.

“Resignation letter.

I quit because my boss is too annoying.”

There was a line drawn straight through the middle.

She must have written this as practice before writing the resignation letter she sent to him. As the vexation that had been slowly rising reached its peak, he felt he needed to find Da Eun as soon as possible.

“Could I get the address of where Da Eun went?”

Geum Suk took a pen out of her pocket and wrote it down on the paper.

“It’s my sister’s house, she used to go there often when she ran away. Oh, not exactly running away, more like traveling…?”

“Thank you.”

Yu Kwon bowed his head in gratitude. After Geum Suk had disappeared in the distance, Yu Kwon stared down at the address.

“Running away has become quite a habit for her.”

“Da Eun, your lover is here!”

“My lover…?”

It was already bewildering that Cha Yu Kwon was there, but to call him her lover? Da Eun almost collapsed on the floor, but Hee Ju barely caught her.

“It seems the ancestral spirits helped you break off your engagement.”

“Do you want to die?”

“After all that, Cha Yu Kwon is in front of you again. If this isn’t fate, what is it?”

“I asked if you want to die.”

Talking about fate and such nonsense.

Da Eun’s head was already hurting from Yu Kwon’s sudden appearance, and now Hee Ju was chiming in beside her.

“Come to think of it, Senior Yu Kwon, you looked full of regret at the wedding venue. But how did you know to come to our house?”

That’s right. Did he put a tracking device on me or something?

She felt an overwhelming urge to run back home. But on the other hand, she was also a little glad. Just a tiny bit, a speck. This was probably due to the generosity of the scenery.

Hee Ju pulled Da Eun’s arm and brought her in front of Yu Kwon.

“Senior, it’s been a while.”

“Yeah.”

Yu Kwon responded just as formally to Hee Ju’s perfunctory greeting.

“You know Hee Ju too?”

“Yes. She’s a senior from school.”

Hee Ju sat Da Eun down next to Yu Kwon and briefly answered Eun Suk’s question.

Instead of confronting Yu Kwon, Da Eun accepted the glass Hong Ki offered.

The awkward dinner continued, with only Da Eun feeling out of place. Everyone else seemed to be in high spirits, but she couldn’t quite blend in.

Wishing for this moment to pass quickly, she kept drinking makgeolli.

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“We should head in now. You young ones enjoy yourselves. Just clean up the table a bit.”

Eun Suk gracefully dragged Hong Ki, who wanted to stay out longer, into the room.

The three left on the outdoor bench awkwardly raised their glasses.

At that moment, Yu Kwon’s phone rang. As he stood up to take the call, Da Eun finally took a deep breath.

Hee Ju, who Da Eun thought would ask all sorts of questions, was silently looking at her with a meaningful smile.