She also revealed how she couldn’t protect her grandmother on her deathbed.

Who asked?

At first, it seemed like she was trying to show at least some courtesy to the person who came to visit her grandmother. On the other hand, she seemed to be talking about herself to a stranger because she was too dark and naive in this world.

“I wanted to show my grandmother how I was doing when I left home, but then… It happened.”

Should he warn her that it’s dangerous? Or accuse her of being stupid?

Hyewon’s wet eyes filled Eunhyuk’s vision, and even though they held a deep sadness, she didn’t let her tears fall. A mourner had stopped by this remote country house, and she had to serve them before she could fathom her grief for the departed.

She had to work all day, every day, without any help.

“If you’re fired without cause, you can collect unemployment.”

He threw it out there like it was a great solution, but even a woman living in the middle of nowhere should know such a basic thing.

She’s more likely to eat things she doesn’t have.

Eunhyuk slowly traced the pure, white face of a woman who didn’t look like she belonged in the mountain village.

It was an extremely common face. One that is familiar enough.

Big eyes with double eyelids. A modestly sized nose.

Her lips curled up as if she were nervous under his gaze.

Even though she looks like she’s only skin and bones, she seems to have a lot of volume. She looked like a city girl. The incongruity in her appearance, which was unlikely to live in a place like this, was strangely eye-catching. He wasn’t even joking.

What was the point of this when he’ll never see her again?

Eunhyuk thought for a moment. He wondered if it was right to tell her that his grandfather was looking for someone who already passed away.

True to his nature, he wouldn’t have said anything useless, but he was annoyed by the woman’s bottomless eyes. She really wished to know what his relationship was with Soonok.

“There is someone looking for your grandmother.”

“My grandmother?”

“Cha Woongyu. I’m his grandson.”

Ah…”

The woman’s expression was subtle when she heard the name.

It was understandable that she was surprised.

Even though she lived in a small village in the mountains, there was no one in Korea who didn’t know the Chairman of Samwoo Group, Cha Woongyu. Still, she didn’t seem to believe him. It made Eunhyuk secretly proud, so he pulled out his business card.

Her face slightly darkened as she accepted the business card. The woman’s eyes widened as she read the words, but it seemed like she already knew them by heart.

“… I often heard from my grandmother that they were very close when she worked in Seoul.”

Eunhyuk had heard it from Woongyu, too.

Soonok was the eldest daughter in a family of three girls. She had worked in a textile factory and fed her family with the money she earned. That’s where her relationship with his grandfather began- when he was helping the previous chairman run a second textile factory.

It was customary to start out as a general manager of a factory when learning the job, and now Eunhyuk is a manager of a garment production factory.

How about that?

Since she had already passed away, it became difficult for them to reunite as wished. Since he came and checked it out himself, he had done everything he could.

Isn’t it rather fortunate?

He doesn’t have to go back and forth to this shitty mountain village anymore, and his grandfather has no reason to be so stubborn.

That’s it. That was all.

Eunhyuk picked up the yukgaejang, which he didn’t like at all, and slowly pushed himself to his feet.

“I’ll let my grandpa know the news.”

It didn’t suit his temper to mourn for someone he didn’t like, let alone know.

“Excuse me.”

Sensing he was about to take advantage of the brief lull in the rain to leave, Hyewon scrambled to her feet and grabbed the hem of his shirt.

His expression, which he had managed to keep in check the entire time, ferociously crumpled.

It was just a slight touch, unstained and unwrinkled, but to Eunhyuk, she was just a stranger. There was no way he was going to feel good about a stranger touching the hem of his clothes.

“Sir, I’m sorry. In my haste, I didn’t realize…”

Hyewon’s cheeks flushed as she bit her lip in surprise.

“There must be some letters my grandmother wrote to your grandfather while she was alive. I’ll find them for you in a moment, so just stay a while.”

She’s annoying.

When he stuck his hands in his pockets and gave a vague agreement, she quickly darted into another room

The pouring rain was eerie. Add in the rumbling sounds, it became plain irritating to him.

Sitting on the floor, Eunhyuk picked up a cigarette and fumbled in his pocket for a lighter.

“Ah, lighter.”

He left his lighter in the car.

Nothing else could go wrong.

He hadn’t expected to be this deep into the mountains, so he hadn’t thought to bring a lighter. There was no way he’d be able to get back up the steep trail if he went after it.

‘Fuck.’

Eunhyuk swallowed the curse, unable to let it out in a way that would appease him.

He shifted so he could watch Hyewon rummage around the cabinet through the half-open door, chewing on an unlit cigarette filter.

It was like there was a thorn in his mouth and he couldn’t stand it.

Eunhyuk pathetically watched as Hyewon began to pull out the remaining items, eager to take advantage of the opportunity to organize the deceased’s belongings.

The longer she stalled, the more he wanted to get back to Seoul as soon as possible.

As he waited for Hyewon, the rain, which had eased off for a while, intensified again.

Another curse word formed in his mouth at the thought of traveling back down the long, steep slope.

It was a long time later before Hyewon searched the entire room and found a few letters.

She handed over a stack of envelopes with her dirty, dusty hands. They were so filthy that he was reluctant to even reach for them.

She spent an hour searching for them, so he decided to take them anyway.

The envelopes, made from Hanji paper, were damp and soggy. He roughly stuffed the letters into the inside pocket of his coat, hoping that it would prove that he had come and gone. Then, Eunhyuk gave a brief bow and turned away.

Kofi