HMGD 09

Chapter 09

Heat rose from the mold-stained, torn linoleum flooring here and there.

My frozen feet touched the warm floor, tingling as if static electricity were running through them.

Maybe because of the grandmother who treated me so warmly, Sunwoo’s house—despite being my first time there—didn’t feel unfamiliar at all.

“Does Sunwoo get along well with his friends at school?”

the grandmother asked casually as she turned on the gas burner.

At school, Sunwoo was even harder to see than I was as a celebrity.

He skipped often, and even when he did come to school, he spent most of the time sleeping with his head down on the desk.

“I think he gets along with everyone pretty well. He’s secretly the popular type.”

That was when I realized someone could smile even with just their back visible.

Every word the grandmother spoke overflowed with affection for Sunwoo.

I always thought life was something you lived alone, but whenever I saw this kind of unconditional love, a hollow ache spread somewhere in my chest.

If I had a family too, would this emptiness finally be filled?

“When he was little, he got some awful burn scars… I worried the kids might tease him.”

the grandmother asked as she piled rice into a bowl.

Her words made me think of the burn scars on Sunwoo’s neck and the backs of his hands.

Sunwoo was famous at school for wearing his winter uniform even during summer.

“Sunwoo… isn’t the type to get picked on.”

I gave an awkward smile to the grandmother, who tilted her head in confusion.

We were in the same class, but we’d never exchanged more than a few words.

Once, I’d asked a friend why everyone ignored Sunwoo’s constant absences.

“If you get involved with Sunwoo, your life gets tiring.”

That had been the answer.

So don’t try too hard to learn more about your grandson, Grandma.

“I’m home.”

“Oh, hello?”

My eyes met Kim Sunwoo’s as he walked in wearing his school uniform.

And Kim Sunwoo froze solid like an icicle.

“Sunwoo. This has to be turned in at school tomorrow. What were you thinking leaving it behind?”

I thought I heard him curse quietly.

Sunwoo shoved the foot he’d half stepped out with back into his sneaker, then turned around and headed outside again.

Bang.

The front door slammed shut.

“Sunwoo! Dinner’s ready, so hurry back in!”

The grandmother shouted after him when her precious grandson walked right back out before eating.

No matter what happened, she was the kind of grandmother who believed her grandson had to eat his meals on time.

Before the food she’d prepared got cold, I figured I should bring Sunwoo back.

“Grandma, I’ll go get him. Just a moment.”

There was a narrow path beside the gate, and from beyond it came the dragging sound of sneakers scraping the ground.

I followed the narrow path into the back alley and found Sunwoo kicking uselessly at the dirt with his hands shoved in his pockets.

“You skip school all the time, but you sure wear your uniform faithfully.”

The alley was cramped and blocked from sunlight.

Pretending not to hear me, Sunwoo casually picked up a coal briquette tong.

Then, with practiced ease, he removed all the briquettes and replaced them with new ones.

I’d seen something like it once on TV.

“Can I try it too?”

I stepped closer behind him.

At the sound of my voice, Sunwoo flinched and turned around.

“Hey, it’s dangerous.”

The space was so cramped I couldn’t even properly look up at him.

I barely managed to step back, but I could still feel the stacked coal briquettes pressing against my back.

“If you’re done here, leave. Did you come to experience poverty or something?”

Sunwoo snapped at me while I stood there awkwardly.

Come to think of it, this was the first real conversation we’d ever had.

“I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

“Is this image management too?”

His consistently aggressive attitude left me momentarily speechless.

“Life’s really unfair. We both grew up without parents, but you got a Gangnam apartment while I got Geumjedong.”

It looked like Sunwoo wouldn’t stop until he managed to wound me somehow.

But attacks this transparent were laughable.

“Ah—so this is your revenge? Ruining your life on purpose? Skipping school and all?”

I looked up at him as I spoke.

I didn’t miss the way he bit his lip and inhaled sharply.

His chest rose and fell heavily.

“Move…”

“Hm? What was that?”

“I said move.”

There was nowhere left for me to move in that cramped space.

There was no point wasting more emotions on Sunwoo, so just like his grandmother had done earlier, I grabbed his wrist and pulled.

“Let’s go eat.”

“Tch.”

A curse finally slipped out of Sunwoo’s mouth.

He roughly shook off the hand gripping his wrist and grabbed the back collar of my coat instead.

“Get out of my sight.”

“The hell? Let go of me!”

Only after being dragged all the way outside the gate by Sunwoo did I finally escape his grip.

“You think people living like this don’t deserve privacy either?”

We stood facing each other across the threshold of the gate.

It was only a little past six, but the surroundings were already dark.

Night came earlier in Geumjedong than anywhere else.

The flickering streetlight illuminated Sunwoo’s flushed face.

Why do you make your life so complicated?

You have a grandmother who lives for no one but you.

“What, you think you’re some celebrity? You talk like you’re some important person.”

“Don’t try to lecture me. Someone who makes easy money off their face.”

“You need to actually care about someone to lecture them. Do you care about me?”

A breathy scoff escaped Sunwoo’s lips.

“Not a fucking bit.”

He frowned deeply as he answered in a low voice.

“Same here. I’m already struggling just trying to survive my own life.”

“Then stop acting like a spoiled brat.”

Sunwoo glared at me like he was trying to shoot lasers from his eyes.

Did he think that was supposed to scare someone?

“You think you can hurt me with something like that? Someone who gets dozens of rumors spread about them every single day?”

Sunwoo’s eyes widened.

Looking straight at his face, I spoke calmly but clearly.

“Instead of trying to get revenge on a world that doesn’t care about you, try treating the grandmother who only cares about you better.”

“What?”

“You think you’re the only tragic person in the world?”

Leaving behind Sunwoo’s complicated expression, I eventually turned away without ever eating the meal his grandmother had prepared.

I don’t really remember what happened after that.

I think that was the last conversation Sunwoo and I ever had.

At least until graduation.

The only memory I managed to dig up of Sunwoo turned out to be completely useless.

Hmm.

There’s no way he’s still holding onto what I said back then… right?

Middle-schooler Kim Sunwoo had been so simple you could practically see straight through him.

Lawyer Kim Sunwoo was the exact opposite.

Every word he said to me made me wonder several times over whether he was joking or serious.

“Ah—shit, that scared me.”

The vibration in my hand startled me so badly I nearly dropped my phone.

“Legal representative… Kim. Sun. Woo.”

Sunwoo muttered as he finished typing.

Only after completing the complaint did he type his own name beside “legal representative.” It was a habit of his.

As though taking over from him, the printer sitting diagonally across from him roared to life and began printing the complaint.

After two days of working overnight, he’d finally finished all the backed-up filings.

Of course, Yujin’s case was important too, but as one of the hottest lawyers in Seocho-dong, he wasn’t in a position to focus on her alone.

Sunwoo leaned back into the chair supporting him comfortably.

As soon as the tension left his body, the unpleasant feeling that had been bothering him for days resurfaced.

Tilting his head back, he remained motionless for a long while before finally stretching an arm toward the desk and picking up his phone.

The moment he disabled airplane mode, dozens of messenger notifications flooded in.

None of them were from Yujin.

The appeal has to be submitted by tomorrow, and she’s not even curious?

It was already past seven.

Sunwoo clearly had a reason to contact Yujin, and it wasn’t even that late at night.

The moment he realized he was paying more attention to Yujin than necessary, irritation surged through him.

Pressing a hand to his throbbing temple, Sunwoo exhaled deeply before finding Yujin’s name in his contacts.

—Yeah. Sun—

“I’ll send the appeal by email.”

Because Yujin answered so quickly it barely felt like the phone had rung, the words in his head slipped out abruptly.

—Thank you.

“Can you check it right away? If there are no problems, I’m planning to submit it immediately.”

—I’ll look at it right now.

“Are you home?”

—I’m in the parking lot. I stepped out for a bit… Though I don’t know if I really needed to tell you that.

As Yujin trailed off, Sunwoo pressed the phone closer to his ear.

“Did something happen?”

—I just met my mother-in-law.

“Anything important?”

—She told me to come back into the Daewoong family. Did I do something again that’ll make you scold me?

“Scold you? Me?”

Sunwoo burst out laughing at her words.

Who would ever scold you?

Anyone who picked a fight with you would be lucky not to get hit back harder.

—I’m sorry about before. I took it out on the person trying hardest to help with my lawsuit…

Sunwoo’s eyebrow twitched.

Having a child really does make people change.

Lee Yujin apologizing of all things.

“I didn’t call to hear an apology.”

—Ah, right. You’re busy, aren’t you?

“Let’s eat.”

Silence fell for a moment.

“We should talk face to face too. How about tonight?”

As the silence stretched on, Sunwoo added casually.

He could practically picture Yujin making a troubled expression on the other end.

It’s just dinner.

I stayed up all night yesterday working on your case, after all.

Sunwoo patiently waited for her answer.

—Then… do you want to come to my place?

“I’ll be there within an hour.”

He answered casually, but the corners of his mouth refused to come down.

His suggestion had been sudden, lacking logic, and entirely personal.

To the point where she could’ve refused without it being strange at all.

But this was the only answer he had for how to keep Yujin under control.

He would approach her in a way that made her trust him completely.

When Yujin was at her weakest, he would become the most dependable person in her life.

“Attorney.”

Ah, shit.

That startled me.

Why is she standing over there?