CH 75

“Can you please provide me with your ID?” It was a question the staff had asked a countless time but today her voice faltered.

“Do I need to?”

“Yes.”

“I lost it. What should I do if I don’t have it with me now?”

“Ah… then would you kindly fill out an application for reissuance of your ID first?” She hurriedly handed him a form.

The application form required a resident registration number which he had no idea about. Kwon Chae-woo frowned. The staff stared at the man frozen over the application form. Kwon Chae-woo put down his pen and rubbed his temples.

“Can I borrow your phone for a second? I need to call someone.”

“My phone?” the staff asked. It was a little unusual to see someone without a phone these days. But his eyes, although handsome, looked very threatening, so she obliged. She pushed her phone forwards on the table.

Kwon Chae-woo picked up the phone and slowly dialed a number. His jaw clenched as an unpleasant voice answered.

“Hello, it’s me,” said Kwon Chae-woo.

“… Chae-woo?”

There was no hint of emotion in that cold voice. Kwon Chae-woo had the same voice. He still didn’t know why he felt so hostile towards his brother. His emotion was completely different from when he had learnt So Lee-yeon was his wife.

“I memorized your number when I was trying to erase it without Lee-yeon knowing.”

There was no response from the other end. Kwon Chae-woo let out a short sigh. “It’s hard to forget someone as annoying as you.”

A heavy silence followed. The only sound hat was heard from the other end was of the man tapping on his desk.

“So, what’s the matter?” asked his brother.

“I need my resident registration number.”

A short, dry laugh escaped from Kwon Ki-seok’s mouth. “Looks like your memory isn’t back yet.”

It was hard to tell whether it was relief or disappointment that was heard in his voice.

“My resident registration number,” repeated Kwon Chae-woo, unwilling to extend the conversation any more than necessary.

“Why don’t you ask So Lee-yeon?”

He knew that Kwon Ki-seok was trying to provoke him. “Don’t you dare say her name.”

“She would tear down the sky if you asked her to,” said kwon Ki-seok. “She is quite… loyal.”

Kwon Chae-woo held the phone a little away from his ears and closed his eyes as though trying to restrain his anger. With an effort, Kwon Chae-woo held back the barrage of curse words wanting to erupt from his mouth.

“You’d better not make me repeat myself,” said Kwon Chae-woo coldly.

“What is the name of the document you need, Chae-woo,” said Kwon Ki-seok.

“Family relation certificate.”

Kwon Ki-seok burst out laughing. The tendons stood out on Kwon Chae-woo’s hand that was holding the phone.

“But it would take some time to get your ID card,” said his brother.

“That’s not your business,” snapped Kwon Chae-woo.

“Of course. But since you managed to surprise me, I will gladly give you a gift.”

Kwon Chae-woo’s eyebrows twitched.

“Wait there for a bit,” said Kwon Ki-seok and ended the call.

Kwon Chae-woo put down the phone on the table with mixed feelings. Several minutes passed and someone walked out of the door from inside of the office. The man looked panicked. He was the head of the township office. He half-ran to Kwon Chae-woo looking very pale.

“We will try our best to reissue your ID within today,” stammered the man. He handed Kwon Chae-woo a piece of paper with a trembling hand.

Family Relation Certificate.

Kwon Chae-woo quickly looked through the document.

* * *

“What do you think marriage is?”

The second man Lee-yeon met was a carpenter close to her age with impressively thick arms. His tanned skin and loud voice made Lee-yeon flinch. But the man was very friendly to talk to. The man, who had been chatting endlessly about his hobbies, suddenly changed the topic with that question.

“Uh…” Lee-yeon hesitated. I think marriage is a… tomb.

The man shrugged his shoulders and placed his huge hands on the table. “Marriage is a major life event for me.”

Lee-yeon nodded and listened attentively.

“You said you are thirty-two, right?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Then you’ll probably relate to what I’m saying.”

“Relate to what exactly?” asked Lee-yeon in genuine confusion.

“Showing our parents that we are living a happy life!” said the man, excitedly.

Lee-yeon didn’t know what to say.

“Things have changed, and I wouldn’t expect sacrifices from my wife, of course,” he said. “I want to go camping or travel abroad for a month with my mother and father-in-law.” His eyes twinkled. “What do you think about that, Miss Lee-yeon?”

“Ah…” Lee-yeon suddenly found it very difficult to breathe. She knew his intentions were good. But the moment he had said ‘marriage’, Kwon Chae-woo’s face had drifted in her mind. She shook her head to brush off the thought. “It does seem like you have some great plans, but…”

Lee-yeon took a deep breath and smiled. “I don’t really love my family.”

“What?” The man’s eyes widened. Lee-yeon didn’t miss the frown that appeared on his face for a fleeting moment. Lee-yeon had a sinking feeling in her stomach. The realization that she might not really be able to meet someone ordinary to enjoy her time hit her like a blow.

Lee-yeon felt ashamed of herself. She had been rejected and shamed so many times, and yet she never learnt. She always tried to be someone she was not so that she could live a life she couldn’t have.

Lee-yeon couldn’t connect with any of the men she met. One couldn’t let go of his first love, and the other one was a devoted son. Both were wonderful people who were ready to live together with someone else. But in Lee-yeon’s world, there was no one there. She only had those trees she had planted. She realized that their world was not made for her. She might not even be able to live in it, after all.

“You’re all I have and all I need. And I thought this was the same for you, too.”

If only I could hear that again, lamented Lee-yeon. Outside the window, grey clouds covered the sky slowly darkening the town. Lee-yeon wanted to leave this place and run home.

The five men she met today all had stories. Stories about their school days or their families or their dating life. Lee-yeon felt more and more upset as she realized how disconnected she felt from them. She didn’t have any interesting, typical stories to share about her life from her past or the present.

“Miss Lee-yeon, what are you thinking about?”

Lee-yeon raised her head in surprise. “Ah… it’s nothing.”

She had to admit to herself that she couldn’t really forget the times she had spent with Kwon Chae-woo these past few months.

What’s wrong with me?!

The man in front of her took a sip of his coffee. “Miss Lee-yeon, what’s your ideal type?”

“I… don’t think I have one.”

“Really?”

Lee-yeon’s face darkened. There was something that Hwang Jo-yoon had said that she couldn’t deny or forget.

“You’re not the kind of woman who can date a man! You hate being with people!”

‘Who in the world would understand a woman who goes to see trees every night and makes fertilizer at home even on weekends?”

She turned back to the window to watch the pouring rain. Her heart pounded. Her face turned red. Am I going insane? Lee-yeon rubbed her eyes as if she couldn’t believe what she saw. Outside the window, she saw a man standing alone in the heavy rain.

Everyone on the street was running to avoid the rain and take some shelter but Kwon Chae-woo stood there frozen like a statue, facing the café where she was.