Chapter 60

Chapter 60

The barley tea trickled in and stopped exactly at the two-thirds mark of the crystal glass. Sometimes Heeju completely forgot that the housekeeper’s eyes couldn’t see. With her gaze fixed on the glass, Heeju nodded absentmindedly.

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

“Would you like to have dinner at the main house?”

“Um, no. I didn’t hear anything about a party. I’ll eat something on my own, so please don’t worry about me.”

At Heeju’s casual reply, the housekeeper tilted her head.

“Oh my, really? That’s strange… I heard everyone was gathering there tonight.”

“I’m just the Executive Director’s personal physician, so I guess it unrelated to me. Really, you don’t need to worry about my meals.”

Still, the housekeeper didn’t lose her puzzled expression. Just then, the front door burst open and Sungang walked in.

“Ah, I should just ask Gang-ah.”

Sungang hadn’t said a single word yet, but the housekeeper seemed to have recognized him just from his footsteps. Or was it his scent?

Heeju found the housekeeper’s ability to identify people fascinating and sniffed with her nose. Sungang, coming in from outside, carried the cold wind and the scent of winter with him.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

Sungang shivered and patted the snow off his shoulders. Having been discharged from the hospital a few days ago, Sungang had actually gotten even bigger during his stay. It was the result of eating well, sleeping well, and lifting dumbbells whenever he had time.

It hadn’t been long since his discharge, yet he grumbled that his colleagues were still treating him like a patient and not letting him work. Today, from early morning, he had gone out and swept the snow piled up from the main gate to the front door.

Sungang took off his damp beanie and walked toward the kitchen. Perhaps because he had been out in the cold wind, the scar across his face was red and swollen, giving him an even more rugged appearance than usual.

“Oh, sujebi?”

Sungang craned his neck, glanced at Heeju’s bowl, and brightened up. He took off his thick coat, hung it on a chair, and said,

“Auntie, give me a bowl too.”

The housekeeper was already heading to the kitchen to scoop sujebi for Sungang.

“Yes, just wait a bit.”

“Whew, I’ve earned my meal today.”

Sungang swept his wet hair back and boasted. He looked like he was expecting praise for the good deed he had done since morning. Having sweated while sweeping snow, a slight smell of sweat came from Sungang.

Heeju was one of those forensic pathologists with a strong enough stomach that she could even eat in the autopsy room, so the smell of sweat was not an issue for her at all. As Heeju silently blew on her sujebi broth, Sungang rolled up his sleeves and cleared his throat loudly.

“There’s been a lot of snow this year.”

“You worked hard, Gang-ah. If it’s not enough, tell me?”

The housekeeper brought a large bowl filled with sujebi and set it down in front of Sungang.

“Ah, I’ll eat well. This weather really calls for sujebi.”

Sungang picked up his spoon and slurped the broth first. Then he let out a satisfied “Kreuuh” sound.

“By the way, I heard there’s some party at the main house tonight. Haven’t you heard anything, Gang-ah? It seems the doctor hasn’t heard anything either.”

At the housekeeper’s words, Sungang’s spoon stopped abruptly in mid-air. He glanced at Heeju sitting across from him. When their eyes met, Sungang looked slightly flustered and quickly averted his gaze.

What’s going on?

It was a suspicious reaction. Finding it odd, Heeju stared directly at him. Sungang lowered his eyes and stirred his broth unnecessarily while speaking quickly.

“That thing? It’s obvious. They’re just gathering all the scruffy bastards together under the excuse of the new year and drinking. Ugh, just thinking about it is tiresome. I’m not going either.”

“Gang-ah, you’ve grown up, huh? You used to love nothing more than gathering with a bunch of people, drinking, and having fun.”

The housekeeper covered her mouth with her hand and laughed softly.

“Wasn’t it Gang-ah who always lasted the longest at drinking parties?”

“Aish, Auntie, what kind of… I wasn’t that bad. I only did that when I was young. Getting drunk and acting like an idiot at this age is the most pathetic thing.”

Sungang scooped up a huge spoonful of sujebi and swallowed it in one bite.

While chewing, he asked Heeju as if seeking agreement.

“Isn’t that right? Kid?”

Heeju felt like he was trying to hide something, but she brushed it off lightly and answered.

“If you think of it as networking… isn’t it better to attend if possible?”

“A person just needs to be good at their job. Since when did networking involve drinking? Don’t tell me you’re the type to suck up to people at work? Oh, wait. I forgot. You don’t even have the balls to be a suck-up.”

Sungang laughed loudly by himself as if his own joke was absolutely hilarious. Where on earth did they all pick up such crude language? Heeju made a disgusted face, put down her spoon, and drank water.

“My goodness, you’ll say anything in front of the doctor. How rude.”

Instead of Heeju, the housekeeper slapped Sungang on the back and scolded him. Perhaps because her hand was stronger than it looked, Sungang reached behind and rubbed the spot while grumbling.

“I’m older, I’m her oppa, so why are you talking about manners, Auntie?”

“Still, she’s a doctor.”

“Wow, it’s really miserable being someone who didn’t study well as a kid, seriously.”

“Anyway, Gang-ah, you can have dinner with the doctor tonight. I’ll head over now. There seems to be a lot to prepare.”

“Just do it roughly. It’s not like they’re doing anything that special.”

After the housekeeper left, only the clattering of utensils could be heard on the dining table for a while. Around the time Heeju put down her chopsticks, Sungang also slurped up the remaining broth straight from the bowl and set it down with a thud.

Having quickly finished one whole bowl of sujebi, Sungang looked at Heeju and grinned.

“Kid, do you like tteokbokki?”

***

That evening, Sungang bought instant tteokbokki and persistently nagged Heeju to come downstairs even though she said she wasn’t in the mood to eat. When she reluctantly went down, the living room table was already fully set with food.

Bright red tteokbokki was boiling vigorously in a wide pan on a portable gas burner. Sungang split a pack of ramen noodles in half and put them into the pan as he said,

“Hey, kiddo. Doesn’t this remind you of school days? Skipping night study with friends and eating stuff like this.”

“…Is that so? I didn’t have friends in middle school, and I didn’t go to high school.”

“…….”

“But I do like tteokbokki.”

Although she couldn’t relate to Sungang’s memories, her statement that she liked tteokbokki was genuine.

Sungang also laid out the fried items and soondae they had bought together. The amount was far too much for two people, but it seemed like Sungang could finish it all.

“Do you like fish cakes?”

“I like fish cakes more than tteok.”

“This kid knows how to eat.”

Once the ramen noodles were cooked, Sungang scooped some tteokbokki with a ladle and handed it to Heeju.

“Tteokbokki goes perfectly with beer, you know.”

Sungang brought over beers with frost on them and opened one. The loud hissing sound echoed. While thinking that Sungang’s attitude was a bit strange, Heeju clinked her can against the one he held out.

“Happy New Year. May you receive lots of blessings.”

Sungang was gulping down his beer with a good wish when the front door rattled open and cold outside air rushed in. The person who entered along with the presence was Chulhyun. And he was with a woman.

“Oh my, is Sungang-ssi on a date?”

Heeju had seen the woman before. She was the one who had been with Gukhyun at the orphanage sponsorship event.

Heeju had only seen her once from afar. The fact that she clearly remembered the three syllables of the name Kwon Suah meant that, whether she wanted to or not, Heeju had been unconsciously aware of the woman’s existence.

And right now, Heeju felt uncomfortable with herself for feeling uneasy about the woman’s presence. She had hoped a situation like this wouldn’t arise.

She put down the beer can, pretending to be indifferent. Unlike Heeju who was trying to appear calm, Sungang openly showed his displeasure.

“What is it? What brings you here?”

“Are you upset that I interrupted your date? Seeing Sungang-ssi dating is quite refreshing.”

Suah smiled gently and took off her coat, draping it over her arm.

“Don’t mind me. I came because of Gukhyun oppa.”

“Why are you looking for hyung-nim here?”

Sungang scrunched up his face.

“They said there’s some celebration party or whatever at the main house. He’ll probably be there.”