Episode 37
As expected of someone emigrating next week, Joon-hyeok’s apartment was nearly empty when Joon-wan arrived.
“Do you even have a table?”
It wasn’t exactly a model home, more like a chaotic emptiness. Joon-wan looked around as he took off his shoes and entered the apartment.
“I have a kitchen island. Let’s eat there. I’ll order delivery. How about jjajangmyeon?”
Joon-hyeok seemed carefree. The kitchen was bare, with only the island and two bar stools.
“Did Mother visit already?”
“Of course. She came by a while ago. She grilled me about when I would be back. It’s not like I’m never coming back. I’ll visit during holidays and vacations.”
He smiled, seeking Joon-wan’s agreement.
“But I guess that’s how mothers feel when their children leave.”
“…”
“Did she say anything to you?”
“The usual nagging.”
Joon-wan mentioned the phone calls he had received.
“She wants me to take over the family business since you’re not interested.”
It was mainly about who would inherit their father’s company. He had repeatedly told her he had no intention of doing so.
“Are you interested?”
“No, I’d rather you take it.”
“Sorry, but I’m not interested either.”
His brother didn’t seem interested either.
“If we’re having jjajangmyeon, should I order a set menu?”
Joon-wan suddenly looked at his brother.
“Why… aren’t you married, brother?”
His mother wasn’t the only one who had asked him that. A few days ago, Hanin had also asked why a perfectly capable person like him wasn’t in a relationship or married.
‘But does being capable… mean you have to be in a relationship?’
Joon-hyeok was handsome, had a respectable profession, and even a family business to inherit.
‘I’m not the only one… He must have had opportunities.’
“Marriage?”
Joon-hyeok chuckled.
“You’re curious about that now? I’ve dated quite a bit, you know? Just haven’t gotten married.”
He added,
“I’m actually in a relationship right now.”
Joon-wan frowned.
“So, you’re breaking up with your girlfriend to emigrate?”
They weren’t estranged, but they had always lived their own lives, their relationship almost impersonal, to the point where people commented on their lack of brotherly affection.
“Why? She could build her career in Korea too.”
He didn’t know why he was suddenly feeling irritated.
“Is she okay with breaking up?”
He had always maintained a clear boundary between his brother’s life and his own, but he suddenly felt a surge of curiosity.
“Hmm…”
Joon-hyeok leaned back against the kitchen island and looked at him.
“Don’t tell Mother, but I’m emigrating to be with my girlfriend. I’m the one following her.”
Joon-wan processed his words a beat later.
“What? What?”
“Ah, the delivery guy is here.”
The doorbell rang.
“He’s always fast because I live nearby.”
Joon-hyeok, despite his bombshell announcement, smiled and ran a hand through his hair.
“Wow, it feels good to finally say it out loud. Let’s talk while we eat. I’m starving. I’ll tell you the details then.”
The story he heard while eating jjajangmyeon made him wonder, ‘Was my brother always like this?’
“She was one of our mentors during our internship at the hospital. She’s older than me and has a child who’s starting college this year.”
“…”
“Oh, she’s not married now. Well… she’s divorced, but that’s a long story. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I pursued her for years. She kept rejecting me, but I persisted.”
“…”
“She finally agreed to let me be by her side two years ago. But Joon-wan, are you going to eat your jjajangmyeon while listening to this? It’s going to get soggy.”
“Oh, right.”
He picked up his chopsticks and started eating, but the food tasted bland.
‘This isn’t something you casually discuss over jjajangmyeon.’
He had always been a model student, obediently following the rules, even when he politely refused his parents’ pressure to inherit the family business. But his brother’s love life was surprisingly unconventional.
“Her child is going to college abroad. They might even live there permanently after graduation. So, she’s been thinking about moving abroad too.”
“Ah.”
“It wasn’t a decision we made together. Her life has revolved around her child for a long time.”
“…I see.”
“And I think that’s right.”
Joon-hyeok continued, his expression relieved.
“So, I have to adapt, right? That’s why I decided to pack my bags and follow her. That’s why I’m emigrating.”
Joon-wan had no idea. He looked at his brother, unsure of what to say, and Joon-hyeok smiled.
“This would probably make Mother faint, wouldn’t it?”
Yes, it would be a shocking revelation.
“I know she doesn’t fit Mother’s ideal daughter-in-law, but she has no intention of marrying me. And I don’t want to force her. Do you have to get married just because you love someone?”
He wiped his mouth with a tissue, rested his elbows on the kitchen island, and cupped his chin in his hand, lost in thought.
“You might think I’m crazy, but I truly love her. I’m happy just being by her side, and I feel content when I’m with her.”
It was like seeing a different side of his brother, a hidden facet of the moon.
“I want to keep living like this. I’ve felt this way for over eight years. It’s not just a fleeting infatuation, it’s love, don’t you think?”
But why did he say it?
He could have simply said, “I see. I support you, brother,” and left it at that.
“I also…”
He couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth, despite thinking, ‘No!’
“I also live with the woman I love.”
They say secrets have a way of revealing themselves.
“Damn it…”
He closed his eyes.
“What?”
It was Joon-hyeok’s turn to be surprised. There’s no brother like your own, but sometimes, roles reversed.
“You live with her? You’re cohabitating?”
He instantly regretted his words, but it was too late.
“What do you mean?”
“Well… uh…”
It was a long story.
“Who is she?”
He fidgeted with his hands, his eyes still closed. If he told his brother the truth, he would be dragged to a mental hospital.
“It’s a long story… I met this woman while hiking in the mountains one night.”
Technically, she was an earthworm back then.
“What? In the mountains? At night? A woman? How?”
Even he could smell the suspicion in his own words. Joon-hyeok asked with a serious expression,
“So, who is she?”
“Well… she has amnesia and doesn’t know who she is. I couldn’t just leave her in the mountains, so I brought her home…”
His brother’s expression grew even more serious.
“Did you call the police? Did you try to identify her through fingerprints or anything?”
“Uh… but… nothing came up.”
“Nothing came up? How?”
He was starting to regret telling his brother anything.
“Uh… she doesn’t seem to exist in the national registry.”
“Ah, we get cases like that at the hospital sometimes, unidentified patients… What is it? Is she involved in some crime? Is she even Korean?”
“…I don’t know.”
Korean… She had been living in this land for over a thousand years, so technically, she probably was.
‘But she’s not human.’
He couldn’t tell his brother she was an Imugi who couldn’t ascend.
“Try posting about her online.”
“I’m worried she might be involved in something dangerous.”
“Suggest a shelter or something.”
“She has no identification or passport, so I’m afraid she might be detained.”
His attempt to conceal the truth and make the story sound plausible had turned into a snowball rolling down a snowy mountainside.
“Oh…”
Joon-hyeok was speechless. He probably never imagined his younger brother being involved in a more dramatic relationship than his own.
Joon-wan regretted everything.
“I didn’t like her at first. So, it wasn’t a romantic cohabitation. I was just trying to help her…”
But he couldn’t stop himself, even though he felt like he was making things worse instead of cleaning up the mess.
“I fell in love with her.”
“…”
“With someone who will leave my house once she regains her memories. Someone I might never see again, someone who lives in a different world… It’s a one-sided love.”
He had finally reached the point.
“I fell in love with her. I think I did.”
He was surprised by his own confession.
“My… heart… seems to be drawn to her.”
That was what he wanted to tell his brother.
He wasn’t asking for anything. He just needed to confide in someone, like the king who confessed his donkey ears to the reeds.
“What should I do? This is wrong, but strangely, sometimes, I hope she regains her memories… but…”
He wouldn’t have said such honest words to anyone else, especially not to his brother, who would soon be gone.
“At the same time, I wish she would stay by my side. Just like this…”
It was a selfish desire.
‘Even though I can’t take responsibility for her entire life.’
“…”
Joon-hyeok, who had been silent, finally spoke, picking at the cold sweet and sour pork with his chopsticks.
“Does she have any feelings for you?”
“…”
“Why do you think she’ll leave you once she regains her memories?”
Joon-wan bit his lip.
“I don’t know how to define your relationship, but the bond you’ve formed won’t disappear just because she remembers her past, will it?”
“…”
“You don’t need to assume she’ll leave you once she returns to her original life.”
He sighed, feeling frustrated by his brother’s words.
“I understand why you’re trying to suppress your feelings. I know you. You probably don’t want to burden her with your emotions, especially since she’s already struggling with amnesia.”
“…”
“But wouldn’t her regaining her memories be necessary for your relationship to progress?”
It was a valid point.
“That’s the only way you can properly confess your feelings, right? You don’t want to confess now because you don’t want to burden her?”
Joon-wan nodded, unable to argue. His brother was right.
“I can recommend a good doctor, so take her to the hospital and get her checked out.”
“…Okay.”
If she were just an ordinary human, what she needed to recover wasn’t her memories, but her strength. And if she regained that strength, she wouldn’t be ascending to the heavens…