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Chapter 15
Yoonjae summoned Suyeon to his office.
From the moment she stepped inside, his eyes never left her. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft.
“Are you feeling any better today?”
“I’m fine.”
“About yesterday…”
“Yesterday is already behind us. I’d prefer it if you didn’t trouble yourself over it. I’ve prepared a new shirt for you.”
Even as their words passed back and forth, Yoonjae’s gaze lingered on her, quietly studying her face.
“I’m not the kind of man who can live owing someone a debt.”
“…Pardon?”
At that, Yoonjae rose from his chair.
“Perhaps you don’t feel that way, Secretary Chae. But I can’t simply pretend that what happened didn’t happen. I’ll be leaving the office a little earlier than usual today for personal business. Let the others know they can head home once their work is done.”
“Yes, sir.”
True to his word, that afternoon Yoonjae left the company nearly two hours earlier than usual. The staff of the secretariat, with their work neatly tied up, hurried out in turn.
On her way home.
Suyeon’s gaze stretched to the cramped alley lined with buildings standing shoulder to shoulder.
It had been quite some time since she had come to live in this neighborhood.
Back in her student days, Yongsun had pressed money into her hand—savings he’d made for her college tuition—but Suyeon had stubbornly refused. Instead, she took on part-time jobs between her classes, little by little saving enough to rent her current studio apartment.
The space was small, the amenities minimal, the rent barely affordable. But it was her first home earned with her own strength. That made even the inconveniences precious.
Her dream had been to save up after finding stable work, to make things better, to find a place where she could live together with Yongsun.
But before that dream could come true, Yongsun had gone somewhere she could never follow.
At the memory, a sharp sting rose at the tip of her nose.
Even the steep alleyway that froze into a sheet of ice every winter had become familiar, the discomfort dulled by routine.
As she slowly made her way toward her building, her phone rang loudly.
[Is this Ms. Chae Hayoon?]
“Yes, speaking… who is this?”
[I’m the air conditioner installer. I’m downstairs by your building. Are you home?]
Startled, Suyeon lifted her gaze.
By a large truck, a man holding a phone spotted her and quickly approached.
“Ms. Chae Hayoon?”
“That’s me, but… an air conditioner? I never ordered one.”
Her brows furrowed as confusion tangled in her head.
“I only deliver and install. You should confirm with the person who placed the order. But I need to install it today, so could you open the front door?”
Just as Suyeon fumbled for her phone, a new message arrived.
Her eyes flickered as she read it.
On the screen glowed a message that filled the entire display:
—As I said, I can’t live owing a debt. This happened because of me, and this is my way of easing that debt. No refusing. No saying it’s fine. Because it isn’t fine for me. So just accept it.
Suyeon immediately tried calling, but only the automated voice repeated that the recipient could not answer.
Before her bewilderment could fade, another truck pulled up in front of her building.
Her unease was rarely wrong. Her phone lit up again, vibrating wildly.
“Ms. Chae Hayoon?” a second deliveryman hurried toward her.
“Wh-what is this now?”
“Your order of an air purifier and dishwasher.”
“…Was the order placed under the name Jung Yoonjae?”
“That’s correct. He also requested a gas range replacement.”
“Gas range?”
“Yes, he asked for it to be switched to an induction stove.”
The narrow alley, crammed with one-room apartments, was suddenly jammed with trucks delivering appliances Yoonjae had ordered.
The sight was so absurd Suyeon had to force back her breath.
“Ah, you’re here.”
Her landlady appeared, hurrying over with bright eyes.
“Looks like our Hayoon has finally gotten herself a boyfriend.”
“…Excuse me?”
Her landlady’s curious eyes darted up and down Suyeon, lips curling in delight.
“You should’ve told me earlier. When I got the call, I nearly fainted with surprise.”
“Call?”
“Someone called to ask for understanding about today’s air conditioner and stove installation. Honestly, it’s not like it costs me anything—and thanks to you, I’ve got a feast coming.”
“…What?”
“You didn’t know? Your boyfriend must be thoughtful. Wanted to surprise you, maybe. Not saying a word to you, just taking care of it behind the scenes.”
The casual use of the word boyfriend made Suyeon’s brows twitch.
“He even sent fruit and meat gift sets to every tenant here, and to me too. Said he was sorry about the noise and parking trouble.”
Suyeon’s cheeks flushed. Her lips parted, but only a breath of disbelief escaped.
“I always thought you did nothing but work, and yet here you are with a boyfriend. Congratulations! He must be a good man—anyone who goes out of their way to think of the neighbors like this surely is. Plenty of tenants here have gone on to buy houses and marry. I’ll be expecting good news from you soon too.”
What on earth was he thinking?
Her landlady’s voice faded into the background as Suyeon’s mind spiraled into chaos.
Gripping the stair railing, her trembling hand carried her up one step at a time.
Inside her small studio, the new wall-mounted air conditioner, the vacuum, the washer-dryer, the dishwasher, the induction stove—
Unfamiliar objects everywhere, staring back at her.
Suyeon swallowed dryly, her face etched with nothing but shock.
Was it a headache rising? She pressed her temple, standing still, when her phone lit up with the name Executive Director Jung.
She quickly answered.
“Director!”
[My, I didn’t expect you to wait so anxiously.]
“What is all this?”
[Didn’t I tell you? I can’t live owing someone.]
“I told you clearly, I’m fine.”
[And I told you—I am not fine.]
“Director, I can’t accept these extravagant things just so you can ease your mind. I have no reason to accept them.”
[Do you really think this is only about easing my mind?]
The line buzzed with the tension between them.
“Then… if you feel that guilty toward me, I’ll accept the feeling. But this—this is too much. I was also responsible for what happened that day.”
[If it were up to me, I’d move you into a new home immediately. But I know you’d throw down a resignation letter if I did. So this is my compromise. Don’t call it excessive.]
“Director…”
[There are more than enough reasons for you to accept. Money can buy appliances, but it cannot heal the wound in your heart. This is the best I can do for now. So don’t refuse. If it makes you uncomfortable, think of it as a perk for my secretary.]
With that, the call ended.
Standing in her own room, Suyeon suddenly felt like a stranger there.
Her eyes flicked over the new appliances, but her thoughts drifted far away.
A memory surfaced.
When she was ten, and Yoonjae twelve.
It had been a two-sided fault. She hadn’t looked, darting out into the road, and the bicycle had hit her.
But Yoonjae had taken all the blame, pressing clothes, shoes, even a hat into her hands, desperate to give her more. And on top of that, gifts—school supplies, bags, storybooks, sneakers, toys—anything a little girl might want, stacked high in her family’s boarding house.
He hadn’t hidden his feelings, not even then. His way of giving was his way of speaking.
Eighteen years had passed since that summer.
The boy of twelve had become a man.
The girl of ten had become a woman.
But deep inside Suyeon’s heart, that summer’s Yoonjae still lived on, breathing quietly in her memory.
“Money can buy appliances, but it cannot heal the wound in your heart.”
“Back then, too… Yoonjae only knew how to give, because that was the only way he knew how to speak his feelings.”
