Chapter 17. The Person I Want to Live With
Haeyeong looked like a wet mouse. Gaenari and her followers looked at each other and laughed.
Gaenari walked over to Haeyeong, brushed her hair back, and said sweetly,
“Oops, sorry. I thought it was Moon Chakyung who went in there.”
Haeyeong gave a cold smile at the obvious lie.
So Chakyung deserves to get soaked?
These girls still didn’t get it.
Haeyeong bit her lip and looked straight into Gaenari’s eyes.
“Just do it to me instead.”
“Huh? What?”
“Whether it’s bullying or splashing water, do it to me. Not to Chakyung.”
At Haeyeong’s bold words, Gaenari poked her shoulder with her finger.
“Ugh, don’t play the hero. That’s annoying.”
Then Gaenari crossed her arms and looked down at Haeyeong.
“Too bad. No one in our class wants to help with your hero act.”
Haeyeong stared back sharply and said,
“You act like you’re something great, huh?”
Haeyeong had heard from Chakyung that Gaenari’s family was rich. Her dad ran a decent food company. So the other kids tried not to upset her.
But even if there were invisible ranks in society, bullying people like this was still wrong.
“Even if you’re rich, you’re still acting like trash.”
“What did you say?!”
Ignoring Gaenari’s angry face, Haeyeong walked past her followers toward the sink across from the stalls.
“And I…”
She raised both faucet handles with a quick motion. Water gushed out loudly, filling the bathroom.
“…I’m not a hero.”
Haeyeong looked back and said,
“I’m a crazy girl.”
Then she put her hands in the water.
“KYAAAH!!”
Water splashed everywhere, hitting Gaenari and her followers.
Their nicely done makeup and hair got soaked. They looked shocked. Seeing that, Haeyeong aimed the water directly at their faces and heads.
She had played with water at home since she was young, so she was really good at using the water like a gun.
You’re done for now.
“If you splash me with a bucket, I’ll splash you back like this!”
Splaaash—shhhh!
One of the girls ran out. The rest quickly followed.
“You—you! Just wait, I’ll get you next time!”
Gaenari made eye contact with Haeyeong, who looked completely crazy now, and backed away without saying more.
Now alone, Haeyeong turned off the faucet.
She looked down. Water dripped down her navy school uniform and fell onto the orange bathroom tiles.
“Ugh, I’m all wet.”
She checked inside her shirt and sighed when she saw her bra was soaked too.
Luckily, she had her gym clothes in her locker. Haeyeong changed into them. It was cold, but better than wearing a wet uniform.
Holding the wet clothes in a plastic bag, she walked toward the bus stop and muttered,
“Just try messing with me again. I won’t let it go.”
As she walked, still angry, she thought it was a good thing she got splashed, not Chakyung.
Chakyung was too kind to fight back.
‘I really need to protect her.’
“Oh, right. The bookstore!”
Thinking about it, she had walked to her usual bus stop to go home.
“I need to take the bus from the other side to go to the bookstore.”
She frowned and walked toward the crosswalk.
It was annoying, but she needed the textbook for tomorrow’s class.
Dragging herself like a soaked sponge, she crossed the road.
“Hey, student! Wake up!”
“Uh… huh? Yes?”
“This is the last stop!”
The bus driver’s loud voice woke her. Haeyeong wiped her mouth and looked outside.
It was dark. There were many parked buses. Everything looked unfamiliar, and she got chills.
“W-Where am I?”
“No idea where you meant to get off, but this is the last stop, kid! Get off! I need to eat!”
“O-Okay!”
The driver looked annoyed and hungry.
Haeyeong grabbed her stuff quickly, said sorry, and got off the bus.
Tadak—
As soon as she got off, the bus drove away.
It was silent.
“…I’m so screwed.”
Why did she fall asleep?
She hit her head with her hand, scolding herself.
Then she heard someone shouting from a distance.
“Student! You can’t stay here! Go out!”
“Okay!”
She quickly replied and looked for the way out.
Even if she ended up at the last stop, she just had to take a bus back.
Haeyeong was usually cheerful and positive. But today, nothing was going right.
When she reached the last stop near the bus depot, she realized something terrible: she had left her wallet on the bus.
She had held it in her hand instead of putting it in her bag.
When she went back to the depot, they told her that the bus had already left again with a new driver.
She reported her lost item, then went back to the stop and sat down.
Thankfully, one kind driver gave her some money for the ride home.
“Ugh… nothing works today.”
She couldn’t buy the book, couldn’t go home, and didn’t study.
Her face looked tired like a student who had wasted the day.
Remembering the driver said the bus wouldn’t come for a while, she put her bag beside her and relaxed her arms and legs.
“Living in Seoul isn’t easy.”
If she were in Pohang, she could have called Uncle Cheolsu to come get her.
Or she could have called her grandma and complained a little.
“I fell asleep on the bus…”
Her grandma would call her a fool, and Haeyeong would grumble but smile.
But if she were in Pohang, this probably wouldn’t have happened at all.
“…Why?”
The smell of trees and soil on the spring night hit her nose.
“…Why am I so sad?”
Trying not to cry, she let out her feelings.
Even the lucky charm Taeseong gave her couldn’t fill the emptiness.
Her grandma’s sudden sickness, the marriage, the change in life…
New place. New people. New air.
Things she said were “okay” suddenly felt really sad now.
She pressed her eyes with both hands, then turned her head and reached for something.
The keyring from Taeseong.
“…Why does this small thing make me feel better?”
To be honest, the first person she thought of when she got stuck was Joo Taeseong.
He felt like the closest person in this new city.
Maybe this is what her grandma wanted—someone who would come to mind when she was sad or struggling.
Not someone gone, but someone still here.
Someone to live life with.
“…Even if I feel angry now, maybe later I’ll see it was better this way.”
Maybe her grandma didn’t just want someone to take care of her.
Maybe she wanted someone for Haeyeong to want to live with.
At 19, she didn’t fully understand her grandma’s heart. But she didn’t completely not understand either.
When she finally does understand it all… will she look like her grandma?
As she held the keyring, she got lost in thought and reached into her pocket.
“…Should I call him?”
Maybe ask him to come get her?
They lived in the same house—wouldn’t that be okay?
She hesitated and touched her phone.
But her hand didn’t move easily.
She looked at the green four-leaf clover on the keyring.
The lucky charm from Taeseong.
It was the reason she hesitated.
He gave her luck… and she didn’t want to show him how unlucky she was today.
As she sat there thinking, the phone screen went dark.
But then—ding!
The screen lit up again with a message.
Haeyeong’s eyes widened when she saw it.
