〈Chapter 22〉

The Ex-Girlfriend Visits Her Family Home

* * *

By the time his stomach-bursting lunch was starting to digest, Si-hyeon was making his way uphill—the vibrations rattled throughout his entire body as his ears rang from the piercing roar of the exhaust pipe.

‘It’s my first time riding in a cultivator, but it’s actually not bad.’

Sitting in the cargo bed and looking back, the sea began to reveal itself more and more as they climbed the hill.

It was a landscape so beautiful he would have taken a photo immediately—if only he had his phone. However, there was something else catching Si-hyeon’s attention even more…

“You… you know how to drive a cultivator?”

It was Yerin, who was currently gripping the steering handles. At Si-hyeon’s admiring voice, she stuck her chest out triumphantly and replied.

“Of course. If I put my mind to it, I could drive this thing all the way to Daegu.”

Typical. Give her a little praise and she tries to fly all the way to outer space.

Si-hyeon let out a dumbfounded breath and continued.

“When did you even get a license?”

“Hm? I don’t have one.”

“…What do you mean you don’t? I’m pretty sure you need a farm machinery license to drive this.”

“Oh~ that?”

Yerin fell silent for a moment.

Then, she turned back with a devious smirk.

“Si-hyeon.”

“Yeah.”

Yerin whispered quietly into his ear, as if sharing a deep secret.

“In a tiny village like this… as long as you don’t get caught, anything goes.”

“Anything goes? You don’t mean…!”

“Yep, I’m unlicensed.”

Seeing Yerin’s bright, innocent smile, cold sweat began to pour down Si-hyeon’s spine.

‘Wait… now that I look closely, is this thing wobbling?’

It drifted slightly to the left, then jerked back to the right just as things got precarious. This zig-zagging driving style amplified Si-hyeon’s anxiety.

“This isn’t going to work… Let’s pull over somewhere safe.”

“Why? I’m driving just fine.”

“Regardless of whether you’re ‘driving fine’ or not, don’t you know it’s illegal the moment you don’t have a license?”

“What… was that what you were worried about?”

Yerin curled her lip as if his concern was laughable.

“It’s fine. I’m close with the folks at the local police substation, so if I just act cute a few times, they’ll laugh and let it slide!”

“Unbelievable.”

Watching his thoroughly corrupted childhood friend, Si-hyeon shut his eyes tightly.

How did he end up agreeing to come here? It hadn’t even been a day, and he was already starting to regret it.

On the other hand, Yerin—who had been worried about getting more of a lecture from Si-hyeon—looked around and smiled brightly.

“Grandma! Grandpa! I’m here!!”

As Yerin waved in every direction, the farmers busy with their work shouted back.

“Oh my… has our little puppy arrived!!”

“She even brought her husband along this time!”

In this village, Yerin had a presence greater than any idol. Si-hyeon’s jaw dropped at the cheers coming from every corner.

“You… you’re pretty popular, huh?”

“Of course. These are people I’ve been with since I was a kid.”

After being welcomed all the way up the hill, the two arrived at the terraced paddies. It was a field carved into the mountain in the shape of giant step-like levels, and the space was quite vast.

“Grandma said she’d be planting lettuce down below, so let’s plant carrots here.”

“What do you want me to do to help?”

Yerin gave him a sly, playful smirk.

“How about… giving me a kiss every time I get tired?”

Si-hyeon gave a “fist of fury” (a light noogie) to Yerin, who had been teasing him since the bus ride. Having failed to seize the initiative, Yerin smoothed her hair and pointed to rows of soil covered in black plastic.

“If you poke holes in the plastic at regular intervals, I’ll plant the carrot seedlings in them…”

Since Si-hyeon was quick on the uptake when it came to manual labor, he performed his task immediately.

Since the grandmother had already planted half the field, the work ended quickly. Yerin straightened her back, she then drove the cultivator—with Sihyeon riding along—back to its original spot.

“Si-hyeon, come here. I’ll give you something delicious.”

Yerin then led Si-hyeon to a certain tree. Looking up, he discovered something hanging there in various colors—red, purple, and an unripe-looking green.

“What are those?”

“They’re called figs, and they’re super tasty.”

Licking her lips, Yerin took a bamboo pole and poked at a fig. Before long, it fell to the ground with a thud.

Si-hyeon picked it up, and just as he was about to wait for the next fig…

“Aaahh! Go away! Get lost!”

Bees swarmed around Yerin. Terrified, she hurled the pole away and scrambled to get out of there, with Si-hyeon trailing behind her.

“I guess the bees know how good those figs are, too. They’re absolutely refusing to share,” Si-hyeon said with a laugh.

Yerin stomped her feet in a fit of pique.

“It’s our tree! Why are they the ones eating? Tell them to pay up if they want some!”

After shrieking for a while, Ye-rin looked at the single fig in Si-hyeon’s hand with a mournful gaze.

“Hing… we only managed to save one.”

Yerin looked dejected, and Si-hyeon—finding her adorable—noticed a stream nearby.

Scrub, scrub.

He rinsed the fig in the stream water and split it in half.

The bright red, perfectly ripe flesh inside made his mouth water.

“Here.”

He gave one half to her and ate the other half himself. It was sweet; he could see why she said it was delicious.

“Thanks. I got to try something like this thanks to you.”

At Si-hyeon’s mix of a compliment and consolation, Yerin’s face—which had been busy munching on the fig—gradually brightened up.

“Right? Told you it was good, didn’t I?”

“Yeah. It’s sweet, right up my alley.”

With a satisfied expression, she nodded repeatedly. Then, not a moment later, she let out an “Oof” and plopped down where she stood.

“Oh my… my legs hurt so much I can’t walk another step~”

Her acting was truly atrocious. Suppressing a smile, Si-hyeon realized what she was after and bent his knees.

“Want a piggyback ride?”

“Really?”

Just as Yerin was about to wrap her arms around his neck, Si-hyeon stood straight up and bolted away.

“Hey!!”

For someone who just said her legs hurt, she sure chased after him just fine.

* * *

Before long, the sun set, and the early night of the countryside settled in.

Inside the room, their grandmother had laid out only one blanket.

With a gentle smile, she said:

“This old lady sleeps better alone, so you two can just sleep together, ya hear?”

“No, Grandma. I can just sleep in the living room.”

The grandmother deliberately avoided Si-hyeon’s protesting gaze.

“I only have two blankets, so you’ll just have to understand.”

“I don’t even need a blanket…”

“You have no idea how chilly it gets here at night! Don’t go talkin’ nonsense like that.”

Faced with her firm stance, Sihyeon had no choice but to give in.

Behind his back, Yerin secretly flashed a thumbs-up. The grandmother gave a slight, knowing nod and left the room.

“I guess we have no choice but to sleep together. Right?”

“Even so…”

“Why~? Back when you first broke up with Chae-yeon, you slept just fine next to me.”

“That was because I didn’t really see you ‘that way’ back then, but now…”

“Now?”

Yerin’s eyes glinted, and Si-hyeon, suddenly overcome with embarrassment, hid himself under the covers. But even so, he was still in the palm of her hand. Grinning, she hugged him right through the blanket and whispered.

“I really like you so much. I love you, Si-hyeon…”

Si-hyeon, who had been starved for affection as a side effect of his breakup, trembled as he listened to her confession.

Not long after, as he poked his head out, Yerin immediately pulled him into an embrace.

Mwah ♡

She expressed her love without a single hint of hesitation.

* * *

After a thirty-minute trip from her studio apartment, Chae-yeon arrived at her family home. After fumbling with the digital door lock for a moment, she cautiously entered the passcode.

Beep-bee-reek!

Perhaps because the surroundings were so quiet, the sound of the door lock seemed exceptionally loud. Startled by the noise, she swallowed hard and opened the door.

“…I’m home.”

She said it softly—but there was no response.

‘Are they both out?’

Tilting her head, she looked around the house.

“…No one’s here.”

All the tension she’d built up at the door melted into a quiet sigh.

She went into her room and unpacked her things.

‘They must’ve been cleaning it regularly…’

Even though she hadn’t been home for months, her room was spotless—ready to be used at any time.

The thought made her chest tighten.

After quietly looking around, she sat on the bed and checked her phone.

‘No message from Si-hyeon…’

She had been checking all throughout vacation—even inside the taxi—so why did she keep hoping?

Suddenly overcome with sadness, Chae-yeon hugged her pillow and brooded over the pain of their breakup.

‘Chae-yeon, do you even like me?’

‘Why can’t you answer me?’

‘Selfish bitch.’

Because she couldn’t even say “I love you” once, she had ended up leaving him with nothing but disappointment. The sight of his back as he left her behind with a look of contempt continued to tighten its grip on her heart every single day.

“I like you… I love you… I love you enough to give you my everything..I’m sorry I can’t express it. Instead, but once this trauma is fixed,I’ll return all the love you gave me—twice over.”

A mantra she recited whenever the pain became too much.

How happy would Si-hyeon be if she could express her affection? Just imagining that future gradually eased the tightness in her chest.

For a brief moment, freed from the pain of the breakup, Chae-yeon turned on her phone and opened her gallery. Then, losing track of time, she stared intently at photos of Si-hyeon.

“You’re so cute… just looking at you makes me happy…”

The love she had suppressed was running rampant in a place Si-hyeon didn’t know about. Her unfocused eyes were filled with Si-hyeon’s face, and that image flowed deep into her heart.

And bit by bit—just as Chae-yeon’s hand was about to move between her thighs—

Beep-bee-reek!

At the sound of the door lock, Chae-yeon snapped back to her senses. She tidied her disheveled hair, smoothed her wrinkled clothes, and cleared her throat with a dry cough before stepping out of her room.

“You’re home.”

The moment she looked toward the entrance, her eyes widened.

Suyeon and Dong-hoon had just come in—together.

And they were holding hands.

“Oh my, Chae-yeon, when did you get here?”

“Our daughter must be on break already, huh?”

Their faces were full of warmth and smiles. Seeing them, an inexplicable sense of unease settled deep in Chae-yeon’s chest.

Still, she answered without letting it show.

“I arrived around lunchtime.”

“Really? Have you eaten?”

When Chae-yeon shook her head, Suyeon smiled tenderly.

“Then I should get started on a meal first.”

As she headed toward the kitchen, Suyeon suddenly turned back to Dong-hoon as if remembering something.

“Give me your bag. I’ll put it away for you.”

“Thanks, honey.”

Watching her parents act so affectionate, Chae-yeon’s body gradually stiffened.

Especially her mother’s smile—it felt just like the Su-yeon from before the divorce. The familiarity made her mind spiral in confusion.

Suyeon tied on an apron and went to prepare a meal.

Chae-yeon, finally snapping out of her daze, asked Dong-hoon.

“Dad. You came in with Mom… what were you two doing?”

“We went to a counseling center. I’ve been going with your mom every weekend.”

“A counseling center…?”

To think her parents were frequenting the same kind of place she had visited so many times.

More than the fact that her parents had gone to a counseling center,

what truly shocked Chae-yeon was how much her mother had changed.

‘How could Mom…’

She had clearly been in a far worse state than herself—so how could she look as if she had overcome her trauma?

Unable to accept it, Chae-yeon felt her stomach churn.

Meanwhile, Dong-hoon—unaware of her turmoil—continued to speak with a face overflowing with happiness.

“Your mother has changed a lot, hasn’t she? Whether it’s the effect of the counseling or not, lately she’s been smiling often. She even holds my hand… I’m truly happy that she seems to be changing bit by bit.”

He went on listing all the ways Suyeon had improved,

but none of it reached Chae-yeon.

Or rather—

she could hear it,

but she didn’t want to.

* * *

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