TBE 10

chapter 10

“…I see.”

Feeling oddly empty, Yoona slumped back against the driver’s seat. Only then did she clearly recall what the senior, Dohyeon, had said at the freshman welcome party. Amid the absurdity and anger of that day, his voice surfaced in her memory:

• “Don’t you like it? You must have drained your doctor husband dry. Now, seeing the spiritual world as more appealing, you divorced and came to university, didn’t you?”

He had clearly read the divorce article, the posts circulating on social media, and even the comments attached. Using bits of personal information her ex-husband occasionally mentioned to maintain his wholesome, family-man image, people speculated wildly about the reason for their divorce.

[He supposedly chased her at first sight back in her PR days, only to get slapped in the face. The girl from Seoul who only cares about studying really got him good.]
[With an eight-year age gap, she’s just in her mid-twenties. No kids, so she probably wanted to reclaim her life. Since a lawsuit wouldn’t succeed, they probably settled. Looks like she fully utilized her high school brain.]

Most of it was like that. It was infuriating beyond belief, but if she wanted to get the maximum alimony, she had no choice but to stay silent, as agreed with her ex-husband. For Yoona, a high school graduate and adoptee, who wanted to stand on her own, that money was essential.

Once, a leaked wedding photo caused some customers to recognize her and whisper. Of course, she had accepted the possibility that many people might eventually find out. Even the digital mortuary service she had hired at great expense couldn’t erase every trace perfectly.

“…So that’s why everyone was subtly avoiding me.”

Her voice sank. She hadn’t expected the rumor to spread within less than a week of starting university. The age difference wasn’t why people kept their distance—it seemed she had been mistaken.

Slowly, Yoona lifted her head and asked Seoyeon in a tense voice:

“So… did you talk to me out of pity? Or… curiosity?”

“No, how do you think I see people? To someone like me from Gunsan, this is just a big city. If I stayed in a motel there, would people not see awkward stuff once or twice?”

“….”

“Strangers just look for something to gossip about because their lives are boring. So I thought I’d at least pay attention, and… wow, you’re actually smart. Even from Chungnam? Totally my sister, honestly.”

After speaking, Seoyeon just shrugged.

For Yoona, who had spent so many years thoroughly alone—living with a husband she would have been better off without and a family that was neither here nor there—the expression “my sister” felt strange yet warm.

Yoona felt an immediate pang of guilt for snapping at Seoyeon, who had approached her with genuine kindness. Tears welled up, a mixture of long-suppressed sorrow and relief.

“I’m sorry… sob…”

“Cute, why are you crying? Who should really be crying? Want me to expose what that damn doctor did to you? Huh?!”

Seoyeon, the only person so far to get angry on her behalf, made Yoona feel both relieved and grateful. Eventually, Yoona laughed through her tears, which fell in thick drops.

Seoyeon hurriedly rummaged through the glove box, grabbed some tissues, and handed them to Yoona. Yoona pressed them against her eyes and said:

“…Just you and me know this, Seoyeon.”

“…Don’t worry. It must be frustrating if people gossip about this.”

“Thank you.”

With her tears wiped away, a genuine smile spread across Yoona’s face, and the two of them got out of the car.

They stacked their belongings neatly onto the folding cart they had brought and packed the suitcase securely before heading to the elevator.

“Are you really not dropping ‘Understanding Traditional Korean Architecture’?”

Gitae, having just sipped from the straw in his takeaway cup, asked Yeongwon, who only nodded.

With a shallow sigh, Gitae adjusted the paper bag in his other hand.

“Sigh. Well, it’s Yeongwon, so she’ll manage even in a fourth-year class. Even though it’s absolute grading, if you compete with fourth-years who are pros at reports, kids like me will get absolutely trounced. Otherwise, it’s a perfect general education course.”

“….”

Yeongwon was indeed worried. That’s why she had debated whether to recommend it to Yoona, and in the meantime, the spots filled up quickly, forcing them to rush to the café even at a late hour.

Even Yeongwon admitted there wasn’t a better general education option for Yoona’s situation. She felt slightly guilty for forgetting to mention she was taking the course herself, but there would be a chance to tell her eventually.

As usual, Gitae chattered beside her while Yeongwon nodded along, and soon they arrived in front of the officetel complex.

“Let’s go in quickly. The burgers will get cold…”

“…Ha…”

Gitae had come to Yeongwon’s home over the weekend because of the console game, as he had warned. After receiving a terse ‘ㅗ’ response, he threatened to tell Yoona if Yeongwon didn’t let him use the living room as a gaming space.

Reluctantly, Yeongwon had allowed him to bring his gaming device home, muttering, “No wonder you can’t meet girls if you game all weekend.” She herself had never tried weekend strategies to escape being single, so he had no room to complain.

At the elevator, Gitae pressed the button, but it bypassed the first floor and went to the basement. The elevator didn’t return for quite a while.

“We’ll wait until it’s over…”

When Gitae was grumbling, the elevator from the third basement level finally began to rise. The doors opened to reveal two women scrambling to make space inside the crowded lift.

“Sorry, we have a lot of luggage…”

“….”

“….”

Gitae’s eyes widened, and Yeongwon stiffened upon seeing them. Yeongwon addressed the woman practically pressing against the wall.

“…Boss.”

Only then did Yoona, pressed against the wall, lift her head, revealing wide, round eyes.

“Yeongwon? What are you doing here?”

“…Waiting to go upstairs…”

“…You live here… uh…”

As Yoona tried to answer, the doors began to close. In the tight space, she couldn’t turn her body, and Seoyeon was in a similar predicament.

“Ah, I can’t reach the button…! Ah…”

With Seoyeon’s exclamation, the doors closed. Gitae, having regained his wits first, quickly pressed the button, but the elevator was already moving. He removed his hand and asked, slightly gleeful:

“Seeing this mess and pretending not to know… that’s not the way of a gentleman, right?”

“….”

Yeongwon ran a hand through her hair in exasperation.

“The table’s too small… I’m sorry, everyone…”

Yoona looked apologetic as the three people sat on the floor with their disposable containers. The two-person table/desk couldn’t accommodate four people, and there was only one chair to begin with.

“No, Boss. When moving, isn’t eating like this standard? Your home has a neat charm and simplicity, like its owner.”

Gitae said with a grin, holding his malatang bowl, clearly delighted to make his presence known to Yoona.

“You can just call me Junior Yoona. You’ve known Yeongwon since before enrollment… I’m not even Gitae’s boss…”

“Then, to avoid any sleepless discomfort, let’s go with Yoona-noona…”

“Enough…”

Yeongwon cut off Gitae, who was escalating his words, and focused on eating. Seoyeon, glancing at Yeongwon, giggled and asked:

“But Yeongwon-seonbae, isn’t it bland? The noodles here are tasteless.”

“Why are you suddenly using a dialect? Are you from Chungcheong?”

Gitae’s eyes widened. Seoyeon had spoken in standard Seoul speech just moments ago, so the sudden change surprised him.

“Yes, from Chungnam. Well, I guess we don’t need to bother with noodles here.”

Seoyeon chuckled to herself, clearly amused by her own thoughts.