If Silk Flowers Bloom by the Water’s Edge Chapter 66

It took less than thirty minutes to pack his bag. Even though he had started after hearing from Old Lady Yomyung that a car from the Baekyeong Family would arrive in two hours, there was still an hour and a half left.

Old Lady Yomyung insisted that it was only because she hoped he would return home for the year-end, and there was no other reason for sending Yirok off in a hurry. It was as if she was making an excuse on behalf of the Jiju, as if to say it wasn’t because they suspected him of being a spy. Yirok, on the contrary, didn’t understand that part. The way Old Lady Yomyung was sending him off with placating words.

It would have been better if she had just said to go back to his hometown because he was suspicious. In any case, did he have any grounds to refuse? He didn’t want to go back, but he had nowhere else to stay.

Yirok slung the bag over his shoulder early and turned off the lights in his room. He was leaving behind the book Shinwoo had given him and the clothes he had received at Nanjubeol. After all, he couldn’t guarantee that he would return at the beginning of the year.

Yirok walked down the hallway, where the midday sunlight stretched long. And halfway down the hall, he came face to face with Chaho, who was walking with a towel around his neck. Chaho, who had been singing as he walked, stopped and looked Yirok up and down.

“Hey. Where are you going?”

Yirok walked past him as if he were talking to the air. But the persistent Chaho followed him all the way down the stairs.

“Are you leaving without saying goodbye to Jangsi?”

“Why would I.”

“‘Why would I’? What an attitude. Hey. Jangsi even brought you tangerines….”

Yirok turned to look at Chaho with eyes that showed his annoyance.

“Do you want me and her to get together?”

“Am I crazy?”

“Then why do you keep trying to set us up. That’s how you get someone interested when they weren’t before. You stupid bastard.”

Finally shaking off Chaho, who looked as if he had been punched, Yirok was able to leave the dormitory building. Seeing the sunlight stabbing his back like a blade, it must be almost lunchtime. Shinwoo, who had wagged his tail as he delivered the news that Yirok was being kicked out, would be bringing meat side dishes to his young lady.

It was an unbelievable interest to have in this situation. Leaving Nanjubeol today meant entering the disgusting den of Sarira to spend a crappy year-end and new year. And yet, why should he care whether meat was going into the mouth of that pretentious young lady or not?

With the sunlight he might not be able to see for a while at his back, Yirok walked to the zelkova tree. There was only one item left on the list of things he had to see before leaving.

Yirok’s eyes widened as he removed the stone wall and looked inside. It would be a lie to say he hadn’t expected a reply, but he hadn’t known it would come so quickly, right on time. A white note was placed there, as if someone had been hiding and watching him.

Just do your job well without thinking about anything

Yirok barely noticed that the handwriting on the note was different each time. A spy should do a spy’s job well. Why did Chaehwa’s face come to mind over the words ‘without thinking about anything’? Yirok stood in front of the collapsed stone wall like the winter wind. It was a biting wind that made one not look forward to spring at all.

🌹₊ ⊹

Yesterday, Yirok had said he couldn’t come due to circumstances, so she couldn’t give it to him again. Today, seeing as there was no reply to her text, he must be coming with a lunch box. The reason she believed he was coming despite the lack of a reply was probably taking into account Yirok’s shy personality.

Chaehwa held the gift wrapped in purple paper to her chest and looked toward the doorway more than a hundred times. Yirok arrives on time, not even a minute late. He is subtly affectionate, subtly a perfectionist, and subtly delicate. There were many things about him that were ambiguous in form but difficult to take one’s eyes off of. Today, too, Chaehwa put the butterfly pin in her hair and waited for the sound of footsteps to cross the threshold.

“Come in!”

She quickly called out to the shadow hesitating in front of the door. The shadow holding the lunch box opened the door after a shy pause. Chaehwa, hiding the gift behind her back, beamed. This gift would move even the fastidious Yirok.

“Young lady.”

But at the face of the guest opening the door, Chaehwa’s smile lost its strength. Dropping the gift, Chaehwa urgently tried to revive her fallen smile.

“Oh, Shinwoo.”

“You’ve waited a long time, haven’t you.”

At a loss for words, Chaehwa just shook her head. Shinwoo, being an old acquaintance, comfortably set up the table, opened the lunch box, and prepared lunch.

Even though it was a splendid spread, no different from the day before, Chaehwa felt let down. Her soured mood must have shown on her face. Shinwoo, who was setting the table, calmly continued his explanation.

“Yirok said he’s leaving today to spend the year-end at the Baekyeong Family.”

“Leaving?”

“Yes. He’ll probably be back when the Narye ceremony is held at the beginning of the year.”

There was nothing superfluous in Shinwoo’s straightforward explanation. Since it was the end of the year, there were often those who returned to their own families to spend time with them. The period when people were away was probably similar whether it was Nanjubeol or anywhere else. But regardless of the reason, Chaehwa couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

“But Shinwoo. He left without saying a word to me.”

Shinwoo, who was pouring Chaehwa’s favorite green tea into a thermos cup, paused. Chaehwa remembered the gift she had put behind her back and bit her lip.

“He’s so unaffectionate. The kid is so cold.”

“…Young lady. The soup is getting cold.”

“Okay.”

Chaehwa, who was about to eat the beef and radish soup with the spoon Shinwoo had brought her, suddenly froze. Shinwoo, who had been watching anxiously, unconsciously reached out his hand. The moment his hand touched the falling spoon, Chaehwa shot up.

“Young lady.”

“I have something to give him. Yirok should be at the dormitory by now, right?”

“He left.”

“What?”

“He said he was leaving early… so.”

Shaking her head to cut Shinwoo off, Chaehwa hurriedly grabbed the gift. She shook off Shinwoo, who was trying to stop her by grabbing the end of her sleeve, ran, and opened the door of her residence. The silk skirt she had been given to wear to move gracefully was of no use. Chaehwa ran breathlessly down the path where snow and mud mixed.

Of course, she knew he wasn’t leaving for good. Since she had a phone endowed with special powers, he would be able to use his phone even after returning to the other side. And she could just give him the gift at the beginning of the year, couldn’t she?

But not even the countless rational reasons could stop her from running to him. Chaehwa’s intuition was telling her that Yirok was still within Nanjubeol. The staff members who were moving laundry were surprised and their mouths fell open as they saw Chaehwa running towards them with a clatter and leaping over a puddle of muddy water.

Chaehwa ignored the calls of “Young lady, young lady,” and her heart, which had been running, slowed down. Her heartbeat seemed to have fainted in surprise from a run she had never done in her life. But upon discovering the back of someone who was just about to leave through the main gate, her heart regained consciousness. It was beating with an honest rhythm, thump, thump, as if it had never stopped.

“Yirok!”

Yirok, who was carrying a single bag on his shoulder just as he had when he arrived, paused and turned around. The butterfly pin, which she had so prettily put in, had slipped down, ruining her hair. It was a day where nothing went according to her intentions, but Chaehwa was satisfied just by the fact that Yirok, with his widened eyes, had turned to look at her.

Unable to control her running speed, Chaehwa tried to stop but twisted her leg. The ground was slippery, and one of Chaehwa’s legs shot out. On the verge of being humiliated, Chaehwa’s gaze went to her feet. As she spread her arms to balance herself, a sturdy support appeared.

“Ah….”

Chaehwa raised her gaze to the tall figure that effortlessly blocked the daylight. The expression on Yirok’s face as he indifferently held the end of her sleeve was strange. It was a gaze that was a mixture of surprise, bewilderment, and an unknown heat, as if he had never thought he would see her.

Yirok’s hand let go after seeing that Chaehwa was no longer losing her balance. His hand, as it released the end of her sleeve, was so hot. Not even feeling the cold, Chaehwa held out the gift in her hand.

“I was going to give you this. How could you leave without a word. How will you get a meal anywhere being so heartless?”

As if his hand couldn’t reach for the lilac-like gift wrap, Yirok just looked at it. Her face flushing, Chaehwa grabbed his idle wrist and forced the gift into his hand.

“Take it.”

“What is this.”

“You’ll know when you see it. Open it when you get back. I put an explanation in there, too.”

She hadn’t expected Yirok to smile brightly after receiving it, but she hadn’t expected such a bland reaction either. She was grumbling to herself that he had a talent for deflating the giver. Even after putting the gift in his bag, Yirok looked inside as if he had forgotten something. She had expected something to come out, but not long after, Yirok zipped up the bag. The light in his eyes, when he looked back, was gone.

“I have nothing to give you. Don’t expect anything.”

“Ha. No, I wasn’t expecting anything either. This is just because I’m grateful for your effort in carrying the meat side dishes.”

Yirok nodded, but his face looked unsettled. It seemed to be time to go, as Yirok looked toward the main gate. The time had come to say a final goodbye. Speaking of repayment, a lightbulb went off in Chaehwa’s clever head.

“Yirok. Do you want to give me a gift, too?”

“A gift? You’re trying to get blood from a….”

Ignoring his prickly response, Chaehwa took her phone out of her lucky pouch. She captured Yirok, who was once again saying something she couldn’t understand, on camera. Click, a picture of Yirok in the middle of talking was taken. She carefully showed the phone to Yirok, who was standing there like a broken robot.

“With this picture, you’ve repaid me.”

Yirok was looking intently at the picture of himself. The time had come to say goodbye. As if Yirok would shout for her to delete the picture at any moment, Chaehwa quickly waved her hand.

“Bye.”

Yirok didn’t answer and raised his gaze to look at Chaehwa. Afraid of him telling her to delete it, Chaehwa turned tail and quickly walked away. I won’t look back no matter what he says. On her way, with a picture of Yirok in her heart, she heard the voice of Yirok, who she thought would have given up by now.

“Chaehwa Kim.”

She had only ever been called Chaehwa of Nanjubeol, never tied to the outside surname of ‘Kim’. Dumbfounded, Chaehwa turned around and saw Yirok holding a phone just like her. Click, the sound invariably hit her ears.

“Uh, uh.”

“Stay healthy.”

Yirok said a simple farewell, turned around, and went through the main gate. Chaehwa had just desperately wanted a picture of Yirok. Conversely, she was confident that Yirok would neither take a picture of her nor want one.

A bratty outsider. An unremarkable Haenang. But when Yirok went out the main gate and she could no longer feel his presence….

A void that had never existed before appeared in Chaehwa’s day.