CH 74

The first man she met was older than her. He was an owner of a small bookstore.

Lee-yeon looked at the man curiously trying to appear nonchalant. His smile did not leave his face the whole time she talked. He listened to her very attentively and constantly looked her in the eyes as if she was a very important customer. Lee-yeon thought the man was very thoughtful.

“What is your favorite tree, Lee-yeon?”

I can feel a high level of EQ in his question. He was the kind of man Lee-yeon tried to turn Kwon Chae-woo into. Someone kind and thoughtful…

No! Lee-yeon shook her head. Stop thinking about him. I didn’t come all the way here just to think about Kwon Chae-woo.

Lee-yeon pushed aside her thoughts and tried to focus on the man in front of him. “I like spruce,” she said as an answer to his question.

“I’ve heard of it. Isn’t that tree usually used to make musical instruments?”

“You’re right.” Lee-yeon smiled.

“Is there any particular reason you like that tree?”

Lee-yeon paused for a moment. “I think because of my childhood memories associated with it. It has a nice name, too.” She shrugged her shoulders.

“Huh?” The man tilted his head in confusion.

Lee-yeon raised her teacup to her lips. “There was a small tree in the mountain behind where I lived when I was young.”

The man listened to her politely and intently. She smiled. “It was a small tree, but it had dense leaves, So, I used to sit under that tree because it gave a lot of shade. This might sound weird but whenever I sat under it, I could hear a music from somewhere else. Whenever I leaned back on its trunk, I could hear a melody.” She couldn’t help smiling at the memory.

“Weren’t you just dreaming?”

Choo-ja had said the same thing when she told her about that. Once, Lee-yeon had brought Choo-ja to the mountain to prove it to her, but the forest that day was embarrassingly silent.

“It was real,” said Lee-yeon.

Lee-yeon had climbed the mountain again the next day. The melody drifted to her as if it had been waiting for her all this time. It was then she realized that the tree only sang when she was alone.

“Was it a spruce tree?”

“No, it wasn’t.” Lee-yeon shook her head. “I don’t remember clearly. When I went back there for a visit, the area had been cleared for redevelopment.” Her voice was dull, but her eyes were filled with certain kind of longing.

“I named it the ‘tree that sings alone’. But I came to understand that some people call spruce by that name. So, I also started calling it spruce.”

“Sounds like a fairytale.” The man smiled softly.

Bzzzz, Bzzzz.

The man’s phone on the table rang. When he looked at his phone, his face darkened.

“It’s alright. You can take that call.”

The man thanked her and picked up the call. “Yes, Ji Soo…”

He was no longer the calm and attentive man he was a while ago. He fidgeted and looked out of the window with wet eyes, He seemed anxious.

“Did you feed your baby? How about the medicine? I bought some porridge. Why didn’t you give him that first?”

Lee-yeon watched him out of the corner of her eyes as she ate her cake.

“Well then… I’ll stop by on my way home.” He pressed his forehead and let out a sigh, “Don’t say that! I told you.” He raised his voice and gritted his teeth as if he was trying hard to restrain himself.

Lee-yeon wondered what was wrong as she took another bite of her cake.

“Don’t mind my mother.”

His mother is involved as well?

“Why are you saying this isn’t any of my business? We’ve known each other since middle school!” said the man, frustrated. “If he’s your child, he’s my child, too.”

As the conversation continued, the sweet cake tasted too repulsive in Lee-yeon’s mouth. As she took her last bite, she observed the man carefully who changed every second with that call.

Choo-ja, I think I just heard something hilarious. This guy seems to have a twisted logic. I am not sure he knows that. He seems considerate but something feels weird…. He’s out.

* * *

At a small township office.

The staff, who was sitting at the window, dropped the papers in her hand when she saw a tall, good-looking guy walk into the office.

The man’s eyes which looked around the office rested on the staff.

“Hello,” the staff greeted, nervously. “How may I help you?”

Kwon Chae-woo stood there for a while as if lost in thought, then raised his eyebrows. “I came to check on a family relationship certificate.”

His voice held no emotion.