10-3
by Han Yong-un
“Oh, you always have such smooth words.”
Sun-young smiled as she spoke, but there was an undeniable joy on her face.
Then she quietly muttered.
“Are you saying that only those with money can get married… and those without money should live and die alone?”
She lifted her head.
“You live according to what you have, and if you don’t have, you live without it.”
At that, Jeong-soon immediately retorted.
“You really seem desperate to get married as soon as possible, don’t you?”
“Here she goes again.”
“If you’re that eager, how have you managed to endure until now?”
Jeong-soon even pretended to get up from her seat.
“Alright. I’ll go right now and bring Mr. Kim.”
“What?”
“I’ll make Mr. Seo the officiant, and I’ll be the witness, so you can hold the wedding right here today.”
“Oh dear!”
Sun-young laughed and grabbed Jeong-soon’s arm.
“Sit down. Don’t tease me.”
“Tease you?”
Jeong-soon sat back down with a thud and laughed.
Then suddenly, her expression changed.
“By the way.”
“Hmm?”
“Mr. Kim didn’t come here just to see you.”
Sun-young’s eyes changed in an instant.
“What do you mean?”
Jeong-soon lowered her voice slightly.
“He said there was an urgent matter.”
“Urgent matter?”
“Yeah.”
Jeong-soon continued speaking slowly.
“They found a gold mine somewhere…”
Sun-young’s eyes widened.
“A gold mine?”
“To apply for that, they need money for the registration fee and various other expenses, but they don’t have that money.”
“……”
“So, he came to find Mr. Seo to try and arrange something, but it seems it didn’t go well.”
Jeong-soon looked regretful.
“Mr. Kim seemed really frustrated.”
Sun-young had been listening silently by now.
“It seems like the gold mine has a lot of potential…”
Jeong-soon clicked her tongue.
“If we don't apply now, it might end up in someone else's hands.”
“Then…”
Sun-young asked cautiously.
“How much do you need?”
“The application fee is one hundred won.”
Jeong-soon said, folding her fingers.
“If you add in various other costs, it’s about one hundred fifty won.”
“One hundred fifty won…”
Sun-young murmured quietly.
“So, with just that money, you can secure the gold mine?”
“That's right.”
Jeong-soon nodded.
“As long as you apply first, others can't take it.”
Sun-young fell into thought for a moment.
She had heard many stories lately about people becoming rich overnight from gold mines.
“So, what about Teacher Kim right now…”
“He must have left empty-handed.”
Jeong-soon smiled bitterly.
“He'll try to find money here and there, but will it be easy?”
Sun-young rested her chin on her hand.
Her expression grew darker.
“So, there's a high chance it won't work out anywhere else…”
“That's why he came to find Teacher Seo.”
Jeong-soon sighed softly.
“It seems he has fallen to the bottom.”
Sun-young's gaze slowly wavered.
‘One hundred fifty won…’
That amount was certainly not small.
But—
It wasn't impossible either.
Sun-young unconsciously clenched her fingers tightly.
The money she had been saving little by little until now.
Money she had hidden away without anyone knowing.
That money flashed through her mind.
What if with that money—
She could open a path for Dae-cheol?
Sun-young bit her lip.
And slowly opened her mouth.
“Then… if we do this…”
It was the moment she was about to say something.
“Jeong-soon is here?”
Both of them jumped at the sudden voice of Suk-ja.
“What are you two talking about so seriously?”
Suk-ja walked out from inside and looked into the room.
Sun-young and Jeong-soon stood up simultaneously as if they were caught doing something bad in secret.
Jeong-soon awkwardly smiled first.
“Hello. It’s raining and I was bored, so I came to visit for a bit.”
Then she hurriedly said.
“I should get going now.”
“Why do you have to go?”
Suk-ja waved her hand with a smile.
“Since it’s raining and there are no guests today, stay a bit longer.”
Then she glanced at Sun-young.
“Our Sun-young talks about you all the time.”
Jeong-soon’s face turned red for no reason.
“No, it’s just…”
But Suk-ja was already walking back toward the bar.
“Stay a bit longer.”
Sun-young quickly grabbed Jeong-soon.
“Stay a little longer.”
But strangely, Jeong-soon was different from usual.
“No. I’ll just go today.”
She hurriedly went outside.
Sun-young quickly followed her out.
It felt like there was something more she needed to say.
But there were people’s eyes near the bar.
Moreover, it was still pouring rain outside.
In the end, Sun-young could only watch Jeong-soon’s retreating figure—
and slowly had no choice but to stop walking.