CH 55.2

She sat on the doorsill, like usual, and looked at the main entrance, from which a hazy light came in. Getting fired from the company yesterday and meeting with Woo-hyun in a fit of anger; everything felt distant, like a lie.

She’d rather it was a lie.

“Why did we have to meet again like this?”

That hearing those words was a lie.

That even the distorted face and the hand that grabbed her shoulder were a lie.

Her empty eyes waved around.

Yoo-hwa, who motionlessly looked at the gray-colored window, stood up as if to shake off her thoughts. She wasn’t hungry, but she felt like she had to eat something. She had to eat and do the dishes, she had to clean the house. If she moved around the house while doing things like that, she would surely forget about what happened yesterday.

She sighed, and her hands, opening the rice cooker, stopped. The rice cooker was empty. Come to think of it, she ate last night and slept, but she forgot about it. It was ridiculous and absurd. Yoo-hwa, who had been sitting absentminded for a while, stood up.

Going grocery shopping, updating her bankbook after checking if the salary for the time she worked had been deposited, and going home.

She changed her clothes while arranging the things she had to do in her head. Leaving the house, Yoo-hwa looked up. It wasn’t that late, but it was already getting dark.

As she updated her bankbook at the bank that was located on the way, the amount of a few thousand won was imprinted on it. Still, thanks to having worked for some time, her bank balance was a little swollen. Though if she doesn’t find a new job, even this will disappear in no time.

She dreamed of the moment when she would have to deal with these trivial concerns. She hoped there would be a moment when she could escape from threats, killings, violence, and things like that, and realize that she was living her life properly through trivial worries. But when that moment came, she couldn’t feel any joy.

“Why did we have to meet again like this?”

Suddenly, the thoughts in her head were fiercer than the cold wind.

After putting the bankbook in her pocket, which she almost dropped as she lost the strength in her hand, she headed to the mart. After picking a few things that were easy to make and eat, she stood in front of the register. The cashier glanced at her face and began to scan the barcodes of her items.

“Oh my.”

The cashier raised her voice. The dazed Yoo-hwa looked up and faced the cashier, who was smiling.

“Congratulations! You won the event!”

“… Event?”

The cashier smiled softly and nodded as Yoo-hwa asked with a puzzled face.

“Yes. We have a surprise event where we give mart gift certificates for every tissue and wet tissue bought.”

“Ah, really?”

Yoo-hwa looked at her in embarrassment as it was something she had never experienced before. She had never won anything since she was born.

“Yes! Do you have a minute? The goods are in the warehouse.”

“…”

She was thinking if they didn’t usually bring them.

“We have to take a picture of the winners of the event.”

“If you need to take a photo, I’ll refuse.”

The moment Yoo-hwa instantly refused, the cashier looked embarrassed.

“Ah, I can barely see your face. If you’re shy, you can cover your face with the gift certificate. There are a lot of people like that. The gift certificate is 100,000 won for each tissue and wet tissue. Isn’t that a waste?”

“…”

She wanted to say no, but it was indeed a waste because she had to save money.

She didn’t know when she would get another job.

When Yoo-hwa looked troubled for a moment, the cashier whispered as if she was telling her a secret.

“You’re the first winner of this event, so I think I’ll be scolded by the owner if you leave like this. The owner is a superstitious person. If I tell him the first winner didn’t receive it and just left, I think he’ll say I am being dishonest…”

The female cashier gave an awkward smile. Yoo-hwa looked at the cashier’s face, who looked much younger than her.

“Can’t you help me just this once?”

The cashier’s round face was filled with eagerness. Even though she knew she was not in a situation to feel sorry for anyone, she could no longer turn away from the young cashier who was hanging on to her, so she nodded reluctantly. As she did, the cashier’s face brightened up.

“Please follow me. We have to take your picture, and fill out the receipt certificate… Sir! We have a winner!”

At the sound of the cashier shouting, someone in a shabby outfit, who was far away, rushed in. Instead of looking at the owner, Yoo-hwa looked at the cashier.

It seemed her voice trembled just now.

Her tightly smiling lips were uneasy. When their eyes met, the cashier smiled brightly and asked, ‘What’s wrong?’ Meanwhile, as the owner approached them in a hurry and talked to her, Yoo-hwa turned her eyes to him.

“Gosh, congratulations! I thought the machine was broken because it wasn’t picking out winners, but you were chosen with this rattling sound! Oh, that’s a relief. Can you please spare me a moment?”

The owner acted exaggeratedly and pointed to the inner part of the mart. While Yoo-hwa was pondering for a moment, the owner moved busily and walked ahead. The cashier pushed her back with the words, ‘Good luck!’, so she carefully went after the owner. Seeing it from behind, the owner’s gait was somewhat unnatural. She wondered if he had some problem with his legs, but that wasn’t the case either. It was a stiffened gait, which started from his stiffened back to his feet. She felt strangely anxious.