Chapter 5: She Was Hurt

Hwan sat alone on a worn-out couch, holding a glass of whiskey. The room was dimly lit, with long shadows dancing around him. Hwan took a deep breath, attempting to relax.

A younger Hwan, about 8 years old, was sleeping in his bed. The moonlight shined through the curtains, casting strange shadows across the room. Hwan gripped his pillow tightly, his eyes wide with terror. Arguments were muffled as they passed through the closed door. The sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the house. Hwan clenched his fists as his heart pounded.

"Please, stop fighting!" he muttered.

His cries went unheard as the volume of their yelling increased. Hwan's eyes welled up with tears as he realized he was helpless and overwhelmed.

Hwan sipped more whiskey, the taste burning his throat. His hands trembled as he tried to keep himself steady. Hwan took a deep breath, struggling to confront the memories that haunted him. He drank the last drop of whiskey from his glass. His mind was a whirlwind of emotions as he stared into the empty glass.

"I've carried these traumas for far too long," he said to himself.

He rose from his seat and attempted to walk, but he was unable to do so steadily.

Hwan walked down the busy city street. People were going about their daily activities on the streets, and the sounds of cars and chatter filled the air.

Hwan strolled along drunk.

A distracted driver, his attention temporarily diverted by a ringing phone, was speeding down the road in a silver sedan, unbeknownst to Hwan. The driver's gaze alternated between the road and the screen, oblivious to Hwan approaching the crosswalk ahead.

A horn blared as Hwan stepped onto the crosswalk.

The screeching of tires reached his ears...

###

Days have passed like pages in a book.

Madame Choi had given Mayu time to study art and its artists and familiarize herself with the museum.

She's currently sitting at her desk at the office.

She researched Hwan, who was also known as the son of a late popular female trot singer. While reading the article, Mayu's eyes were shocked. It also mentioned what tragically happened to Hwan's family when they were young.

She had goosebumps down her spine. "I only vaguely recall it now."

He also stated that he began painting as a hobby at a young age. His first artwork, entitled First Love, was recognized by a renowned and older painter who was his professor in college. After seeing that specific artwork, he encouraged Hwan to pursue painting to sell it. That made Hwan change his mind regarding his profession. Various art enthusiasts and well-known celebrities have been interested in Hwan's works. Hwan also mentioned in the interview that his first painting, the First Love, has been popular for auction, but he does not want to sell it because it's special to him. He just decided to display it in the gallery to showcase its beauty.

After reading the article, Mayu stood near the painting once again.

"I wonder why the hell this painting is special to him? And it's actually strange that people could see the beauty in it, although amateurs did it for fun," Mayu said to herself.

She was holding her phone, and she stared at its screen.

She checked his Instagram posts.

"How would I create a question and tagline for his exhibit?" She wondered while strolling through his Instagram.

She then decided to call him.

He answered the call, "Hwan-ah, can I see the photos that you'll exhibit next month?"

"Yeah, sure," he said on the other line.

"When?"

"Maybe after I get out of the hospital?"

"Bo*? Wae? What happened to you?" Mayu asked.

*What? (informal)

"I had an accident yesterday."

"Bo?! Gwaenchanha?"

"Ah, eung, I'm fine."

"Which hospital are you in?"

###

After work, Mayu decided to visit him while she brought packs of ginseng for good health. She was walking inside the hospital, going to the elevator, when her phone rang while she was holding it.

When she reached the front of the elevator door, she answered it, but the call suddenly dropped, so she looked at her phone with confusion.

When the elevator opened, she waited for everyone to go out first, and when the last person was about to go out, she decided to enter. Due to that, the woman who was going out bumped into her shoulder, which made her drop the box of ginseng on the floor.

"Joesonghamnida." Mayu said to the woman.

Mayu immediately picked up the box.

When Mayu went back to standing straight, she was surprised to see Bu Chun-Ae. She had pale white skin, and although her eyes were slanted, they had a double lid, but it was not round. Her semi-formal attire looks expensive, and her shoes don't look cheap. The handbag in her hand is also branded.

"Eesanim*? Annyeong haseyo," she bowed her head

*Director

The elevator door closed.

"You're here?" Bu Chun-ae asked.

"Ne, did you also visit Hw–Nam-nim?"

"Eung, are you going too?"

"Ne, I just want to know how he is."

"This is already unrelated to work; you don't have to do this."

"N-ne? This is about work; I will be quick."

"Araso. I need to go."

Mayu bowed her head and said, "Take care, eesanim."

Bu Chun-Ae left her.

"What a woman," Mayu said.

Mayu waited for minutes before the elevator going up arrived.

When she reached the floor, she looked for the room number that was sent by Hwan through text. When she found it, she took a glimpse through the glass on the door. Hwan was sitting straight on the bed, and his left leg was bandaged. On the sofa near the bed, a woman was sitting. When she looked closely at her, she realized that it was *Imo.

*Auntie

She brightly opened the door when she saw his auntie. "Annyeong haseyo." she bowed as she opened the door.

"Annyeong haseyo." The aunt of Hwan said while she slightly bowed her head.

"Look at you," Mayu said to Hwan as she shook her head, and then she put the box of ginseng on the side table near the bed.

"Do you remember my imo?" Hwan asked Mayu.

"Of course!" She faced his auntie. "Do you still remember me, imo? You still look pretty."

She stood up to walk towards Mayu before she squinted her monolid eyes to look at her and shook her head in confusion. "I don't remember,"

"It's me, Mayu. The daughter of Sylvia and Mario Acda? Your Filipino neighbor back in the days?" Mayu said.

"Whoa, jinjja?!" She came towards Mayu and held her arm. "Omo, you still look young! You look pretty!"

"Aniyo, you look much prettier and have never aged."

His aunt fluttered. "How are you? Where have you been?" she asked Mayu.

"I'm working in the museum. I'll be working with Hwan-ah."

"It's good to see you after so many years!"

"Ne, I'm happy I'm back."

"Where are my manners? Do you want some coffee? I'll buy you some coffee," She said. "I'll be back."

She left Mayu and Hwan in the room, which made Mayu focus on Hwan on the bed.

"How are you?" She walked near the bedside. "Is this hurting?" she asked, trying to poke the left leg with a bandage.

"Thanks for coming," Hwan said.

"What the hell happened?"

"I was drunk. When I was about to cross the pedestrian, I did not see the stop light turn red."

"Good thing your leg got injured, not your hands. You should be careful. If you want a drinking buddy, you can call me."

"I need some time alone."

"Why? Do you have any problems?"

"I can't paint."

"Why?"

"Maybe I feel empty."

"Maybe you're burnt out. You need inspiration. You need love."

He chuckled. "I need love.

"It's a creative block. The passion has gone; you need another reason to ignite your passion. Have you tried traveling?"

"Yes." He nodded his head. "I've been traveling since the beginning of the year."

"Watch some movies and series related to the arts or romance.

"I also tried that."

"Meeting new people? Like blind dates?"

"Have you tried that?"

"You need to consider being in a relationship. Being alone in this absurd world is boring."

"Boring? Not lonely?"

"I'm single, but I'm not lonely."

"About your exhibit. Can I see your photos? I want to create a title for your exhibit and make an invitation about it."

"After I get out of this, I'll show you."

"When is that?"

"Ahm, tomorrow?"

"Okay, the day after tomorrow?"

"Okay, call."

After that conversation, the door opened, and Hwan's aunt arrived with an iced Americano in her hand. Mayu immediately offered her hand to help her carry the coffee and thanked her.

"Can we talk outside?" She asked, so Mayu nodded her head.

"This may be shameful, but can you please take care of Ye-sung-a for tonight?" She asked her.

"N-ne?" She asked as if she had heard her mistake.

"Do you remember Tae-eun? Yesung's yeodongsaeng*? She just gave birth 3 days ago and she needs help taking care of her baby." (Younger sister)

"Ah, you will go home tonight?"

"Eung, is it okay with you?"

She swallowed first, "N-n-ne, it's alright."

"Gomowo*, his secretary, will be here tomorrow. As payment for doing this, I'll invite you to eat with us someday." (Thanks)

"N-n-ne, no problem, imo." she said unsurely.

###

Hwan's aunt had already left. Mayu was sitting uncomfortably on the sofa with nothing to say.

She silently sighed with her breath.

"I don't feel awkward being alone with Hwan. Instead, I find it ironically funny because I left him years ago without saying a proper goodbye, but now I must stay with him for a night that feels like a lifetime. It seems that fate is playing with me, with karma as its comrade. After returning to Seoul, I never once thought of meeting him. I felt like I was done with him." Mayu thought to herself. "In the early years after I left Seoul, I doubted Hwan's words because they didn't synchronize with his actions. I was sure that doubting his intentions was right. But as the years went by, the memories lingered in my head, and sometimes he appeared in my dreams. Living far from him made me realize that his words were real, just as were the moments we shared. As I grew older, I found out that Hwan was not the only problem. I was also."

"But there's a question I need to ask first, why did he do that?" She whispered in her head. "Now that I remember all of these, I want to speak to him about them. But there's this thought that convinces me that maybe Hwan does not remember anymore. Maybe it's not important for him since it happened years ago. I think I was the only one who was bothered about it. I somehow feel ridiculous digging into the past that has faded away."

"Did you have dinner?" Mayu finally said.

"Yes, my aunt and I ate together. How about you?"

"Not yet."

"I have cups of instant ramyeon on the cabinet. You wanna eat that?"

"Yeah, sure."

Mayu went to the side table beside the bed to open the cabinet. When she opened it, there were a bunch of ramyeon in cups, so she took one out. Above the cabinet, there's hot water. She removed the lid of the cup and put the ingredients in before she poured the hot water in. She momentarily put the cup above the side table.

"Sorry about this," Hwan said.

"About what?"

"For staying here with me tonight."

"It's fine. It kind of feels good that Imo still thinks of me as your close neighbor. It feels like nothing has changed."

"But everything has changed."

"Yeah, change is the only permanent thing."

"How was it?"

"How was what?"

"Going back to the Philippines?"

"It was difficult when we arrived. I didn't know how to speak Tagalog, and my English was not good. But as the years went by, I came to appreciate the weather and its surroundings, although it had a huge difference in Seoul."

"Were you happy there?"

"It was the right decision to go back home."

He smiled, but it never reached his eyes. "That's good to hear."

"How about you? Are you happy now?"

He gently chuckled, saying, "I don't know if I should be happy, but I'm satisfied with my life."

"Imo told me that you have a secretary. That's great to have one."

"Yeah, I needed help. I cannot do it alone. Speaking of, I cannot do it alone. Can you please hand me the crutch?"

"Sure."

Mayu helped him first remove his legs from the bed before handing him the crutch at the corner of the side table. Hwan put both of the crutches under his armpits, and then he gently walked while Mayu's hands were in a position to catch him in case he fell. She followed him and walked towards the restroom until he closed the door. Mayu waited for him to go out to assist him in going to his bed. When Hwan reached the bed, he sat down and handed over the crutch to Mayu to put it in the corner.

"Thanks," Hwan said while sitting on the side of the bed.

After she put the crutch in the corner, she held the cup, and then she took a seat on the sofa before she could eat.

"Why didn't you tell me you'd leave?" He suddenly asked when Mayu was about to eat the noodles with chopsticks.

She was unsure, "Leave? Did I?"

"Yeah, you left without telling me."

Hwan's statements made her open her mouth and pause for a moment. "You did not tell me that you're dating Areum," She bravely said before she continued eating her ramyeon.

"Because of that?"

She swallowed first, saying, "If you had told me, I might have told you too."

He signed, "I might have dated her, but I never left you."

She smirked. "When you hid it from me, that's the same as being left alone. I helped both of you to be together, but you never told me?"

"You helped us?" he asked, surprised.

"Oh, I did!" She protested.

He chuckled with irritation while he put his hands on his waist. "How the hell did you help us?"

"I did some things for you to communicate with her. And other stuff!"

"I think, I never asked for you to do that."

Mayu was shocked by what she heard. "It was my doing all along." She thought to herself.

"Y-yeah, you did not. But... I..." In the end, she signed, "I-I-I don't remember anymore." She continued eating her ramyeon.

"This time, don't do anything without telling me."

"O-okay?" She wondered why. "Wae? Are you dating someone?"

He sighed heavily and said, "I'm not sure."

"You're always not sure," She murmured.

"Shut up, just eat your ramyeon."

He went to lie on the bed.

###

Mayu tried to lie down on the sofa in the hospital room with Hwan. The only light that was on was the lampshade at the side of Hwan's bed. She's lying on the sofa with her eyes wide open.

"The conversation with Hwan earlier made me remember the things I did to Areum and Hwan. I finally realized that I did it voluntarily, but not to help Hwan with Areum. I realized now that I did that and had felt restless being together with them because I was hurt. Now being with Hwan after all those years has made me slowly understand the past." She thought to herself.

She raised her head to see if Hwan was sleeping. When she saw that his face was relaxed while his eyes were closed, she sighed.

"I guess seeing him again is worth something," she whispered.

###

When Mayu woke up, Hwan was already awake and having breakfast in bed. She got up, and then she wiped her blurry eyesight.

Beside the bed, a woman was standing facing Hwan while talking to him. The woman was petite and not that tall, with short black hair.

Hwan noticed that she was finally awake and asked her to have breakfast. Mayu stood up while the woman faced her.

"Annyeong haseyo." Mayu slightly bowed her head to her.

"Annyeong haseyo." The woman did the same while she hesitated to ask Hwan about who she was.

"She's Mayumi Acda."he told her. "Mayu this is Lee Soo-guk my secretary."

"Nice meeting you. You may call me Mayu." She slightly bowed her head.

"Nice meeting you too, Mayu-shi. You're not Korean?" Lee Soo-guk asked Mayu.

"Ne, I'm Filipino."

"Your pronunciation is impressive," Lee Soo-guk said, and then she faced Hwan. "I'll process your release paper."

"Thanks," Hwan said.

"I'll leave for a while," Lee Soo-guk said to Mayu before she left them.

"I bought you a cup of coffee and a sandwich. Here, take it," Hwan said while he handed over the cup of hot coffee and a wrapped sandwich to Mayu.

Mayu came towards him to get it. "Gomawo. I'll eat this first, then I'll leave."

"Araso, take your time," Hwan said.

Mayu sat back on the sofa. "Did you have a good sleep?" Hwan asked.

"Y-yeah, I did," Mayu said while chewing.

"Thanks for being here."

She swallowed first. "It's alright; I'm not busy after work anyway." Then she took a sip from her coffee.

Moments later, the door opened because Bu Chun-ae entered the room. She directly walked towards the side bed of Hwan. While eating, Mayu looked at her from head to toe.

Hwan looked at her. "You don't need to be here. Soo-guk is already here."

"I know, but I want to be here." She said with a firm voice.

While they were talking, Mayu continued eating her sandwich.

Mayu listened to them and thought, "This woman has elegance but has a hostile tone, although she's politely speaking with Hwan. The conversation with Hwan is somewhat of a couples' quarrel."

This thought made her choke. She tried to drink the coffee to swallow the food in her throat. Due to this, she made a noise in the middle of their conversation that made both pauses. Bu Chun-ae stopped talking, and she finally noticed Mayu behind her.

"J-joesonghaeyo," Mayu said after she drank the coffee.

The Bu Chun-ae frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Mayu suddenly wiped her lips and stood up. "Annyeong haseyo." She said formally while she bowed her head.

"Did you stay for the night?" Bu Chun-ae asked.

"N-ne."

"You said you'll be quick."

"My aunt asked her if she could stay for the night," Hwan said.

"Why would she ask her that? She's not your fiancée."

"We were once neighbors when we were young," Hwan said.

The Bu Chun-ae looked at Mayu from head to toe with judgmental eyes that made her conscious. "So, do you already know her before I hired her?"

"Eung." Hwan said.

Mayu awkwardly said, "Hwan-ah, I must go."

"What's with the casual way of speaking to him, Mayu-shi?" Bu Chun-ae suddenly asked with a surly tone.

"N-ne?" Mayu asked.

"Hwan-ah?" Bu Chun-ae asked with a tone of disbelief.

Since Mayu could not respond to this, she looked at Hwan.

"We were close. She's been calling me that since we were young." Hwan explained and signed. "You can go now, Mayu."

"And you're speaking to her casually too," Bu Chun-ae said with annoyance while staring at Hwan.

Mayu swallowed.

"Maybe the reason why Hwan feels unsure about his relationship with her is due to her assertive personality." She thought to herself, and this somehow made her shake her head slightly.

Hwan tried to explain again, but frustratedly, with a refined tone, that they've known each other since they were kids.

"Arasseo." Bu Chun-ae finally gave in.

"I must go now, Hwan..." Mayu said carefully with hesitation.

"Araso, thanks again."

Mayu bowed her head to Bu Chun-ae before she came toward the door and closed it behind her.

When she finally left the room, she sighed heavily with her mouth while she touched her chest.

"That woman is problematic." She shook her head sideways. "Poor Hwan."

"You're going home already?" A woman suddenly showed up on her right side.

"K-kamjagiya*!" Mayu said.

*A phrase said when you're surprised

"Mianhaeyo*, did I surprise you?" Lee Soo-guk said.

*Sorry (formal)

"Aniyo, it's fine. Ne, I'm going home."

"It's my first time seeing you. How do you know Nam-nim?" Lee Soo-guk asked.

"Hwan-a and I were neighbors when we were young."

"Hwan-a? I thought only his late mother called him that?"

"Is that a problem?" Mayu sincerely asked.

Lee Soo-guk gently chuckled, "Aniyo, it means you're really close to him."

"We were," Mayu confirmed. "Is Eesanim his girlfriend?"

"They are already engaged."

Mayu was shocked; she covered her mouth and said, "Whoa, jinjjayo?!"

Lee Soo-guk slightly smiled and spoke with gentleness. "What is your name again?"

"Mayumi Acda. You may call me Mayu."

"I think I've heard that before. Mayu?" She thought for a while.

Seconds later, her eyes widened. "Y-you, you are that girl?"

"Ne?" Mayu asked.

Lee Soo-guk smiled and said, "I am pleased to finally meet you, Mayu-shi." She offered her hand to Mayu for a handshake. "I never expected to meet you someday. Nam-nim said you left the country."

"Ah, jeongmalyo? He mentioned me?" Mayu fondly reached her hand to Lee Soo-guk.

She slightly nodded, saying, "Yes, he did."

*Why (formal)

"I'm not the right person to answer that."