By the time Kang Ji-won got back, it was already dark.
The house was quiet.
Strangely quiet.
Slowly, she stepped into her room and closed the door behind her, an uneasy feeling crept over her.
For a moment, she wondered if everything that had happened with Kang Ha-rin earlier had just been her imagination.
Maybe she’d been daydreaming.
Maybe none of it was real.
She hugged her knees and buried her face between them.
Ever since she’d learned that she didn’t have parents, that emptiness had left a scar she never really knew how to heal.
Now that she’d finally gotten the one thing she’d always wanted, she was terrified it had all been a dream.
Kang Ji-won shivered at the thought.
Then footsteps stopped outside her door.
“Kang Ji-won? Are you back?”
Her head lifted immediately.
Mum?.
Just hearing Ha-rin’s voice was enough to make some of the tension leave her body.
“Kang Ji-won?” Ha-rin called again.
Ji-won quickly stood and opened the door.
Creak…
Ha-rin was standing behind it, looking relieved.
“Where have you been? I’ve been searching everywhere for you! I checked all the places you usually go and even asked your friends, but I couldn’t find you.”
She said it all in one breath.
Ji-won blinked.
Only then did she realize how worried she’d made her.
“Sorry, Mum. I made you worry. Please don’t be angry.”
Ha-rin sighed before reaching over and ruffling her hair.
“You certainly made me worried, but how could I stay angry at my princess?”
Ji-won smiled.
“Hmm. I’m Mummy’s little princess.”
Ha-rin’s eyes softened.
“I really like the new you.”
Ji-won’s smile froze.
“But…” Ha-rin added, looking slightly uncertain.
“It still gives me goosebumps sometimes. It feels like you could change again at any moment.”
Ji-won’s smile faded.
It’s not the new me.
It’s the new Kang Ji-won.
For some reason, that thought still hurt.
To Ha-rin, she was Kang Ji-won.
But she wasn’t really her daughter.
And yet, somehow, they had both found something they’d lost.
And Ji-won had found a mother.
Even if Ha-rin had no idea that she’d already lost her daughter once.
Ha-rin suddenly reached into her pocket.
“I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer. You left this at home.”
She handed Ji-won her phone.
Ji-won stared at it.
I have a phone?
She turned it over in her hands, examining it as if she’d never seen one before.
Do phones even exist in this world?
She almost laughed at herself.
Of course they do.
Still, she was relieved.
At least now she wouldn’t have to walk around completely clueless about every character in this novel.
“Oh, that’s right. Thanks.”
Ha-rin smiled.
“Come on. Let’s go downstairs for dinner.”
After dinner, Ji-won said goodnight to her mum and headed upstairs with her phone.
Sitting on the edge of her bed for a moment, she turned on the device.
There were already several missed calls on the screen, most of them from numbers and names she certainly didn’t recognize.
Kang Ji-won frowned.
I really need to figure out whose numbers these are before I accidentally answer someone important.
Before she could think any further, the phone rang again.
Shen Huiling.
Ji-won’s heart immediately started racing.
Another character.
Oh gosh.
Don’t panic, Kang Ji-won.
She bit her lower lip, closed her eyes for a second, then answered.
“Hello…?”
“Kang Ji-won, where have you been?! I’ve been trying to contact you forever! I decided to try my luck one more time today, and finally, you picked up!”
The voice practically exploded through the phone.
Ji-won quickly moved it away from her ear.
Best friend?
Yep.
Definitely best friend.
“I’m so sorry, err… Huiling. I’ve been busy.”
Silence.
Ji-won held her breath.
One second.
Two.
Three.
“Fine. But that apology isn’t accepted.”
Ji-won’s shoulders relaxed.
“You’ll have to make it up to me tomorrow when we meet. You’re coming, right?”
Is something happening tomorrow?
I better say no.
I don’t even know what it is.
“No. I’m not.”
“What?!”
Huiling practically screamed.
“You’re not coming? Are you planning to quit?”
Oh gosh.
Can’t this girl just give me a hint?
“Err… maybe?”
“What do you mean, maybe? You can’t quit! You just can’t!”
Then Ji-won heard something that sounded suspiciously like crying.
What the—?
Did I actually make her cry?
“Ah-em… don’t cry, Huiling. Okay, fine. I won’t quit.”
“You won’t?” Huiling sniffed.
“Yeah. I promise. Just… make sure you pick me up tomorrow.”
She paused.
“Err… what time?”
A small chuckle came from the other end.
“What do you mean, what time? It’s the usual time, of course.”
Ji-won sighed.
I have to hand it to this character.
Other characters would’ve already leaked something by now.
This one just keeps beating around the bush.
Fine.
If Huiling didn’t want to tell her, she’d just ask directly.
“Hehehe. I really don’t remember the time. Can you tell me, please?”
Her voice became deliberately sweet.
“You… Kang Ji-won, we only went for a two-day break, and you’ve suddenly forgotten that school starts tomorrow?”
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