Chapter 6
by Han Yong-un
The night grew deeper.
Sun-young seemed to have already made up her mind about Dae-cheol, and with an attitude of not wanting to discuss the matter any further, she brought up another topic.
“By the way, how did you know about this house?”
This was something she had been curious about for a while.
Until a few days ago, when Dae-cheol had come to this house to beg, he had no idea whose house it was, yet in just a few days, how did he find out and even send a letter and come to visit— it had been suspicious from the beginning, but there had been no opportunity to ask until now.
“There are ways to find out.”
Dae-cheol smiled as if satisfied with Sun-young's attitude.
“Who did you ask?”
“No one.”
“Then how did you know? You couldn't have known beforehand.”
“How could I have known beforehand?”
“Exactly. How did you know?”
“A few days ago, you were at the corner of the road going towards Sajikgol in front of Haetae, right?”
“Did I go there… how do you know I went there?”
Sun-young's face turned red.
“What were you doing standing there at that time?”
Dae-cheol asked about what he had been suspicious of all along.
“No, how did you see that…?”
“You didn't see me then?”
“How could I see you?”
Sun-young's expression, as she stammered her answer, seemed somewhat unnatural.
“I thought it was you at that time. You were half-covering your face with a towel, right?”
“I don't know if that was the case. I covered my face, so how did you know?”
“Even if Sun-young covered her face completely, as long as I can see your body, I would know. Even if I can't see your whole body, I would recognize you if I see just a part of it.
Even though you didn't recognize me, I could tell just by looking at your heels.”
Dae-cheol's expression changed as if he was deep in thought.
“How did you know how to get home even if you saw me back then?”
“I followed you shortly after.”
Dae-cheol showed a shy expression again.
“Yes, that was the case.”
Sun-young showed no particular interest in that statement.
After a moment—
“By the way, what happened to that?”
she asked vaguely.
“What do you mean?”
“Where do you live now?”
“What house? If I had a house, would I be wandering around like this?”
“Then how do you manage?”
“What management?”
“Then where is that woman?”
“That woman, you mean the one who used to talk a lot?”
“Let's not talk about that. If we talk about it, it will be painful for you to hear, and I feel like it will make me sicker... It's better not to speak of that.”
Dae-cheol sighed.
Sun-young did not ask any further.
Then—
“So what happened to the gold mine?”
she asked, bringing it up.
“The gold mine?”
Dae-cheol thought for a while,
“The gold mine is still there.”
and then he tried not to say more.
Sun-young also did not have high expectations regarding that, so she did not pry further.
“I ate well today, but now I wonder where I will sleep…”
Dae-cheol seemed to want to get up but could not easily do so.
Sun-young, who was watching him, thought for a moment—
“Hello.”
and lightly cleared her throat.
“Yes.”
Dae-cheol raised his head as if he was hopeful.
“If you go, where will you go?”
“I have nowhere to go, but I can't just not go.”
“How long did you say it would take to cure the illness?”
“I can be cured if I receive treatment, but… I need to be able to receive treatment.”
“I don't know if there's a better place for treatment elsewhere, but if you truly have nowhere else to go… you can stay here while you receive treatment.”
Sun-young's face showed a firm determination.
“I appreciate your words, but can you really do that? What kind of face do I have to receive treatment?”
Dae-cheol appeared grateful yet embarrassed.
“You said that if you receive treatment for a while, you can be cured. Would it be okay if the illness worsens because you can't receive treatment?”
“While you're here, I may not be able to provide enough clothes, food, or treatment, but I will do my best to help, so please don't feel guilty and focus solely on your treatment.”
“They say that if you set your mind to it, you can quit opium. So you must quit.”
Sun-young continued speaking.
“And… while you are here, please don't think of us as a couple like before.”
“The reason I am doing this is not because I miss my husband.”
“My life is alive thanks to you, so I can't just ignore seeing you like this.”
“Since this life was saved because of you, I don't mind using it for you.”
“I believe this is the time to repay your kindness.”
“I will do my utmost to help, so please focus on your treatment.”
“And don't think of us as a couple. Starting tonight, I will be using a separate room, so please understand that.”
Sun-young spoke calmly, as if an adult were comforting a child.
“A person like me doesn’t matter if I die. What treatment are you talking about? Just stop.”
Dae-cheol said that, but inside, he felt discontent.
“No. Please don't think that way. An illness can be cured, right? You don't need to feel any burden being here.”
Sun-young spoke after a moment.
“First, you should change your clothes.”
She got up and rummaged through the wardrobe made from an oil crate placed on the wooden floor.
“These are only summer clothes…”
After opening another box and searching for a while, she pulled out an outer garment and placed it in front of Dae-cheol.
“Please wear this. I washed and stored the clothes you used to wear. It seems like they have found their owner again. Hurry and change.”
Sun-young went outside, tidied up the adjoining room, and stood in front of the inner room door, speaking.
“Have you changed your clothes?”
When Dae-cheol replied that he had changed, she finally opened the door and came in.
She folded the clothes he had taken off and placed them outside, then spread out the bedding for him.
“Sleep comfortably. If anything happens while you’re sleeping, don’t hesitate to call me. I’ve placed some water up top.”
Sun-young crossed over to the adjoining room with a small blanket, without turning on the light.
The clock was signaling midnight.
The weather was getting rough, and it started to rain.