Even If It’s Not Love - Chapter 49-1

Someone came out of the alley and approached Woo-hyun, who was standing stiff, and informed him that the situation was over. The man walked as quietly as Woo-hyun. The one that moved first at those words was Yoo-hwa. She went up the alleyway. Contrary to the expectation that he would step aside, Woo-hyun stood blankly and looked down at her with an incomprehensible expression.

It was an expression that he seemed to have a lot to say, and at the same time, nothing to say at all. She felt shocked for some reason, but even Yoo-hwa thought it was just her delusion.

Her ridiculous delusion that she really hoped Woo-hyun would be like that.

Even after a moment passed, Woo-hyun didn’t show any intention to move aside.

“Shall I push through?”

In the end, only after Yoo-hwa asked did Woo-hyun move out of the way.

As if she was familiar with the darkness that had settled down on the alley, Yoo-hwa went up the path. She could feel steps following her, but she pretended not to know.

The house was even more messed up than she had imagined. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to have opened the front door and gone inside, so her few remaining household items were fine, but the yard was covered in blood. Whether someone had hit their head on the faucet, it was all red. The blowing wind carried the nauseating smell of blood, making her frown.

The people who followed Yoo-hwa began to clean up the house. Yoo-hwa stepped into the house, avoiding their glancing eyes.

For some reason, the air in the house was more chilling than outside. She rubbed her arms with her hands, but it only lasted for a moment. When the warmth she had worked hard to create quickly disappeared and the cold rushed in, Yoo-hwa gave up on enduring the cold.

That day, the noise beyond the door continued for a long time. It seemed that someone had sprayed water on the yard, and someone else angrily said, ‘Which stupid bastard sprayed water on the yard in this cold weather?’, and then a quick, ‘I apologize.’, was heard through the thin window.

Afterwards, except for the sound of cleaning up that came through the door, there was no other sound. After the cleaning was finished, she could hear signs of a presence, as if there were people in all the houses including the room next to her.

Though she didn’t hear anyone move in.

But even if it was nonsense, the sounds of people that she heard from beyond the old walls were clear. Eventually, Yoo-hwa, who had gotten up, quietly opened the door and stepped out. Even though she tried hard, there was a screeching sound. As if they had been waiting for that sound, the doors here and there opened.

The people who came out of the door of the four houses looked at Yoo-hwa in unison. Their gaze was so obvious that the yard felt like a stage. She paused for a moment at their actions that clearly had the purpose of watching her.

“What on earth are you doing here?”

Despite Yoo-hwa’s question, the men did not answer.

“I asked what you were doing.”

The question she asked once more also dispersed meaninglessly. A cold breeze blew through the heavy silence as they gazed back and forth.

The men were obviously keeping watch on her.

It was obvious who was behind this.

“So if you’re worried about me, instead of locking me up somewhere, try not to let this happen. Put people in a place that they can’t see, like before.”

She said those words herself. However, there was no need to overprotect her surroundings like this. Moreover, it was more obvious than ever before.

Why?

She asked inwardly.

Why was he doing this now?

Meaningless words surged, and then disappeared.

Yoo-hwa silently turned her head and went inside her house.

Screech, thud, click, thud, thud.

Subsequently, she heard the door of the four houses closing one after the other. At the end of it came a breathtaking silence. Even so, Yoo-hwa couldn’t let out the breath she was holding in.

***

In the late afternoon, Executive Director Kim stood in the middle of the shopping mall in which interior decorations had just been finished. In the middle of a huge gathering of important people and their subordinates, he was talking about how the founding of the Gasan Savings Bank was such a celebration.

“As everyone knows, this was the place where the Chairman was at first. He took his first job in the organization, working in a container box, and now he’s founding the Gasan Savings Bank. Just as a container box becomes a shopping mall like this, we, who used to be criticized for being gangsters, are now respectable executives at a savings bank! We did what they said we couldn’t do! They don’t know how meaningful this day is!”

As if claiming innocence, Executive Director Kim, wearing a white suit, raised one hand to the gathered people and shouted, “The Chairman’s success is our success”. Executive Director Kim, who had a talent for inciting people, led the members of the organization to increase their sense of accomplishment and emotions.