For a moment, I couldn’t recognize the man calling my name. But then the memories suddenly came flooding back, and his face gradually overlapped with someone I had deliberately tried to forget.
Along with remembering who he was, a sense of confusion and unease rose within me.
The closer the man came, the more my body stiffened with every step he took.
Why was I running into this person here?
I had to use every ounce of self-control I had to keep my panic from showing during this utterly ill-fated reunion.
—-“Wow, it really is Eun Woo! What are the odds of us running into each other here? This is great!”
“Gyu Min hyung…”
….Kang Gyu Min….
He was four years older than Gyu Ho.
How could the world be cruel enough to arrange a coincidence like this?
I slowly stood up and awkwardly faced this unwelcome visitor.
When I moved into their main house, Gyu Min had already moved out on his own, so we rarely crossed paths. Once in a while, he would stop by on the weekends, but I was usually out, so I could count the number of times we’d met on one hand.
Even so, along with Gyu Ho’s father, he was one of the people who made me feel the most suffocated.
He didn’t openly scrutinize or mistreat me the way his father or youngest brother did.
His discomfort was much harder to put into words—a feeling that only I seemed to notice.
The superiority and arrogance in his eyes, mixed with his pity for someone in a weaker position, always made me feel small and pathetic.
Other than that, our relationship had been one of mutual indifference.
However, because Gyu Ho trusted and relied heavily on his older brother, Gyu Min had still been an intimidating presence in his own way.
He must have heard quite a few things about me from Gyu Ho.
The last time we’d met had been around my high school graduation, shortly after I left their house.
It had been a very long time.
“…Hello, hyung. Have you been well? It’s really surprising to see you here… Do you have something to do here?”
I forced my stiff facial muscles to move and managed to squeeze out a polite smile.
—“Oh, I’m here for a seminar today. They hold academic conferences and training sessions here all the time.”
A seminar?
Right. I’d forgotten that he was a doctor too.
I’d heard that this was a major tertiary hospital, so academic conferences and professional consultations were held here all the time.
Even so, I never imagined I’d run into him like this.
I forced my lips into a smile, while he continued asking questions as casually as though he hadn’t noticed—or perhaps didn’t care—that I was uncomfortable.
—-“You’re the one I should be asking about. Why are you here, Eun Woo? I’m here for work, but what brings you all the way to a major university hospital like this? Is something wrong with you? Or is something wrong with your mother?”
At his concerned tone, I shook my head and quickly came up with an excuse.
“No, I’m fine. I just came to meet someone I know.”
—“Here?”
The genuine surprise on his face immediately made me regret my answer.
I should have come up with another excuse.
For a doctor, hearing that someone had come to meet an acquaintance at one of the country’s top hospitals would naturally make them assume that person was a patient.
And knowing my circumstances as well as he did, he would obviously think of my mother first.
I was afraid I’d accidentally handed him the perfect opening for unnecessary gossip.
Besides, I absolutely didn’t want to reveal anything personal or give him room to speculate, so I hurriedly changed the subject.
“Yes, it’s just a private matter. By the way, you still look as dashing as ever.”
Perhaps because my words sounded overly formal as I deliberately avoided his gaze, Gyu Min chuckled softly.
It seemed he’d realized I didn’t want to continue the conversation.
—-“Dashing? I’m exhausted. Anyway, even though we’re in different years, we went to the same university, but I never saw you around campus. You’ve graduated already, haven’t you?”
“It’s because we’re in different departments, and the campus is huge. Besides… I haven’t graduated yet. I’ve taken a leave of absence.”
—-“…A leave of absence?”
The moment he heard those words, his pupils widened in surprise.
Then he began probing me with a subtle, almost mischievous curiosity.
I knew perfectly well that those questions weren’t coming from genuine concern.
He was still the same.
—-“I see. You must have your own reasons, but you’re not planning to go back to music, are you?”
“No, not at all. It’s nothing serious. I just wanted to take a little break. I wanted to be lazy for a while…”
—-“Ah, everyone needs a break sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with resting for a while. I’m sure you’ve already thought about what you want to do.”
Even though it was a baseless excuse, I had no reason to tell him that my mother’s worsening condition had made it impossible for me to concentrate on my studies.
If I did, he’d look at me with that ridiculous half-pitying expression again.
Your life is still stuck in the same place, isn’t it? You haven’t changed at all. You’re still just as pathetic.
He was probably thinking exactly that.
In reality, my circumstances were even worse than before—so bad that I had been forced to choose surrogacy.
But I absolutely didn’t want a single crack in my story to reach that family.
Besides, the contract forbade me from saying anything.
—-“Oh, Eun Woo. Are you still in contact with Gyu Ho?”
I didn’t understand why he was asking when he already knew the answer.
These probing questions with unclear intentions made me extremely uncomfortable.
“…No. Not at all.”
I shook my head with a faint smile.
There was no way Gyu Min hadn’t known about the feelings between Gyu Ho and me back then.
Perhaps it was precisely because he knew that he was asking now—to confirm what I felt in the present.
—-“You didn’t even know he’d gone to America back then. I only heard that he’d left suddenly.”
The memory of Gyu Ho, who had begun distancing himself from me before suddenly disappearing, came rushing back.
No matter how many times I revisited it, it had never been a pleasant memory.
—“Ah… that. His schedule suddenly became extremely busy, so he had too much on his plate. Right after failing to get into Hankuk University, he didn’t have the time or energy to think about anything else. He had to move on to his next plan quickly and couldn’t afford to delay. It wasn’t just you who didn’t know Gyu Ho was going to America. He left so suddenly that I don’t think anyone knew. Anyway, it was about his future.”
“Yes. That’s true.”
What a lie.
All of Gyu Ho’s other friends knew he was going to America.
Among everyone close to him, I was the only one who had been deliberately kept out of the truth.
Gyu Min’s desperate attempt to defend his younger brother was almost touching enough to bring tears to my eyes.
Unfortunately, Kang Gyu Ho’s name no longer held any weight for me.
He was a person from my past, and we would never have anything to do with each other again.
—-“Gyu Ho is doing well. His plans changed a little, but he adapted quickly. He got into a very good school and is studying biology. That’s the best major if he wants to go to medical school later. The medical education system over there is a little different from ours. Seeing him experience so many new things makes me think it was actually fortunate that he didn’t get into Hankuk University’s medical school. You must be curious about how he’s doing too, right?”
Not at all.
I genuinely couldn’t care less how Kang Gyu Ho was living or dying in America.
And once again, Gyu Min’s strange way of speaking was obvious.
What did he mean by “fortunate that he didn’t get into Hankuk University”?
He should call things by their proper names.
Kang Gyu Ho hadn’t chosen not to go.
He simply hadn’t been able to get in.
That family’s habit of refusing to acknowledge failure and covering it up with pretty words to preserve their pride hadn’t changed at all.
—“Eun Woo, you should go back to school soon and start preparing for employment. When your circumstances are difficult, it’s best to become independent as soon as possible, don’t you think? Your university’s reputation carries a lot of weight, so if you work hard, I’m sure you can get into a good company.”
His words sounded like concern, but they were still saturated with excessive pity.
I was tired of it.
I should say goodbye and leave before this irritation grew any worse. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
—-“Also, my mother worries about you a lot. Why haven’t you contacted her even once? It’s really lucky that we ran into each other here. Can I have your phone number?”
“…What?”
No.
I really didn’t want to give it to him.
I didn’t want to have even one more connection tying me to that family.
But how could I say I didn’t have a phone when one was clearly sitting right there?
I had no idea how to refuse.
Maybe I could say it was broken.
I desperately searched my mind for the least awkward excuse.
But just then…
~~“Mr. Eun Woo. You’re here?”
A familiar, warm, low voice came from behind me.
It was a savior I never could have expected.
At the sound of his voice, I quickly turned around.
Cha Ju Heon was standing there, staring directly at me.
I had never been so happy to see him.
~~~“Did you wait long? I’m sorry I was late.”
The timing of Cha Ju Heon’s appearance couldn’t have been more perfect.
A smile immediately bloomed across my lips, and I welcomed him with the brightest smile I’d given him since we’d met.
Cha Ju Heon silently watched me smile at him.
Then he pulled the mask that had been hanging beneath his chin back up, covering his handsome face once again.
Because of that, I couldn’t tell what expression he was making.
It was probably the same emotionless face he always wore.
“No, not at all. I haven’t been waiting long.”
~~~“The examination took longer than expected. I’m sorry. Let’s go. You must be tired too.”
Cha Ju Heon completely ignored Gyu Min, who was standing right in front of him, without even sparing him a glance.
Then he gently placed a hand behind my back and turned me around as though intending to leave, giving me no opportunity to say goodbye to Gyu Min.
__“Wait, Eun Woo?”
Cha Ju Heon’s sudden appearance had left Gyu Min in an awkward position, and he called my name in bewilderment.
Which was understandable.
If you were a normal person, even if you didn’t know someone, you would at least nod or say hello when you saw them standing there.
No one would blatantly ignore another person like that.
Even I thought the situation was a little strange, so I secretly glanced up at Cha Ju Heon.
But apparently, he had no intention of greeting Gyu Min at all.
Gyu Min hurried after us and called out to me, lightly grabbing my arm as Cha Ju Heon was leading me away.
The instant he touched me, Cha Ju Heon’s gaze suddenly turned razor-sharp, as though the touch of a stranger had offended him immensely.
___“Eun Woo, wait a moment. Gyu Ho is coming back to Korea soon. When he does, we should all get together. Take this.”
Gyu Min held us back and slipped his business card into my hand.
But before I could even touch it, Cha Ju Heon pinched the card between two fingers as though he were holding something filthy.
Keeping his hand awkwardly extended, he glanced at the writing on the card before tossing it onto the nearby table as if throwing away garbage.
Then he took a bottle of disinfectant out of his bag.
Why on earth was he taking that out right now?
“Director?”
Without the slightest hesitation, Cha Ju Heon began spraying the disinfectant over my arm and into the air around us.