Fork and Fire

“Oh dear, you dropped your fork, Miss.”

A man at the next table leaned over and picked it up.

He wiped the fallen fork with a napkin, then frowned and handed her his clean one instead.

“Can’t give a lady something that touched the ground. I’m no knight, but I’ve got some manners.”

She couldn’t catch every word, but she understood enough. She gave him a small smile and accepted the fork.

Such a simple gesture. Such a fleeting moment.

And yet, it shifted something inside her.

For the first time in a long while, she felt like she belonged in a world where people laughed, chatted, and shared meals. A place where she wasn’t some outsider to be feared, or pitied, or ignored. Just… a person.

Now, she could finally begin to understand Minjoo. The way she had longed for a normal life here, among normal people.

That wish didn’t seem so strange anymore. Heesoo could feel it, too—buried deep and swelling. Her chest ached again.

“Hey now, that bread looks way too good.”