I've Been Possessed, But What If I Get Pregnant First? - C93
#93
The face indicating the store door with his chin while operating his cell phone still had a smile on it. As I hurriedly opened the store door and went inside, the cold air greeted the man and me as expected.
“It’s, it’s very cold today.”
I tried to make small talk with the breath scattering hazily every time I exhaled, but the man answered indifferently. Feeling awkward, I glanced at the man and saw he was just wearing a black suit, not seeming very cold as he said.
“Ah, you said you left something… Where did you sit yesterday?”
“I sat over there but I don’t see it.”
I turned my head following the man’s gesture, but there was clearly nothing at a glance. Maybe Grandma kept it separately.
“Wait a moment, I’ll check if it’s being kept separately. What does it look like?”
“Alright, thanks. It was a black box. About this size.”
“Okay.”
As I walked to the back room connected to the kitchen, recalling what the man said, that’s when it happened. My mind went blank at the sight unfolding before my eyes. The inside of the kitchen was in complete chaos as if a flood had occurred.
“Oh no, what do I do?”
Forgetting the man was waiting, I hurriedly focused on cleaning up the flooded floor. Water was rising on the kitchen floor that had a sunken structure.
I left the water running last night just in case, but it seemed insufficient in the cold dawn. Seeing the store in a mess with the burst water pipe, I grew anxious. Taking off my outerwear and rolling up my sleeves, I scooped up the water with a basin.
I don’t know how long I frantically bailed out the water. My waist hurt so much and my whole body was soaked, my lips trembling from the cold. No matter how much I moved, water kept flowing from somewhere, like pouring water into a bottomless pot. My hands and feet soaked in cold water didn’t even feel sensation anymore. What should I do about this?
“Haa…”
As I sighed at the overwhelming reality, I heard footsteps behind me.
Ah, right. The customer!
“What’s this?”
“Hic-“
As expected, the man who came all the way to the back looking for me alternated looking at me and the kitchen, frowning. My heart sank with a thud at his rapidly darkening face.
‘What do I do… He must be really angry.’
“Were you doing this all this time?”
“I apologize. I was too, too shocked and urgent that I forgot…”
I bowed deeply and apologized. I felt sorry, thinking I made him wait too long when the customer must be busy and cold too. Tears quickly welled up in my eyes and flowed down my coldly frozen cheeks.
“No, I’m not angry- Hey, fuck. Why are you crying and making a fuss?”
The man swept his hair up with a troubled face and stretched his legs to come inside as is. The shoes the man was wearing were obviously very high-end at a glance. If those touch the water…
“Ah, don’t!”
Even as I waved my hands wildly saying he didn’t need to come in, the man didn’t stop his feet. In the end, the man’s shoes got completely wet and I blankly stared.
“Hey, kiddo. Your body is like an ice box.”
The man touched my cheek with the back of his hand, clicked his tongue, then took off his clothes and covered me with them. He took me, dumbfounded, outside and immediately made a call to someone.
My mouth gaped at the situation that unfolded in an instant. Exactly 10 minutes after the man started the call, people carrying various equipment entered the store and began repairing the messy kitchen.
‘What on earth is this situation?’
Why are people we didn’t even call suddenly repairing our store? Grandma’s store was a popular local restaurant, but it was so cheap that the profits weren’t high. If they suddenly charge a huge repair fee, it would be troublesome… How much would it cost?
As I fretted with a serious face, the man handed me a piece of clothing and said,
“Change into this. You’ll catch a cold like that.”
As I just stared at the abruptly handed clothing, the man pointed to the back room with his chin as if asking what I was doing. Hesitating, I bowed my head and passed through the kitchen being repaired by the people to head to the back room.
Since I came to the room, I searched for items the man might have left behind, but there was nothing.
I wanted to help with something…
I went outside with a dejected face, and the people had already all disappeared. Instead, I could find him sitting on a dining chair, raising his head with the neatly organized kitchen.
“Looks good on you.”
Kwon Taebeom smiled and spoke, looking at me who had changed into a navy tracksuit. I don’t know why my face reddened at those words, I cleared my throat for no reason and said,
“Th- thank you… I’ll give you the money. How much- ah…”
As I hurriedly shoved my hand into my pocket, I remembered Kim Sangchul and his gang took all the money I had yesterday. I didn’t have a single 10 won coin on me right now.
What do I do…
What about the repair cost? And the cost of these clothes? I just chewed on my innocent lips and lowered my eyes to avoid the man’s gaze.
“Hyungnim.”
At that moment, someone called the man and slightly opened the store door. At those words, the man turned his head and replied that he’d be right out.
Ah…
Why does this moment feel so regretful, is it because it’s the warm affection I’m feeling after a long time? My face flushed and I felt the man’s cologne scent strongly.
I stealthily raised my eyes and peeked at the man, and our eyes met. Surprised, I lowered my head, and the man took out whatever yellow bills he could grab from his wallet and put them in my hand.
“It’s a token of gratitude. Buy some snacks with this or something.”
“What? Ah, no, it’s okay. Rather, I…”
“When an adult gives you something, you just say ‘thank you’ and accept it.”
I don’t know why he’s giving me money when there’s nothing to thank me for. He’s the one who helped me… I hesitated, but at his resolute gaze, I had no choice but to accept the bills the man handed me. It was the first time I had such a large sum of money.
I worried about what if Kim Sangchul took it from me while I had it. As I tightly held the end of the bill and chewed my lip, the man said he’ll see me again next time and ruffled my hair. As the man turned his body and walked away, my regret deepened even more. I moved my lips towards the man, then mustered up the courage and shouted,
“Pl- please come again!”
Then the man, who I thought would never look back, threw his gaze at me. As if finding my words about coming again amusing, the man spoke with a small laugh.
“But kiddo. Next time, press your index and middle fingers with your thumb like this. Clench it this way.”
Suddenly, the man’s hot warmth touched my hand. The man unfolded my fist clenched with my thumb and folded it again, continuing,
“As if putting strength up to your wrist. This way, the impact is good and you won’t get hurt either.”
So there’s a method to clenching a fist too. Is that why he laughed at me earlier? With an embarrassed face, I blinked, and the man left the restaurant with another laugh.
The tightly closed door and the swaying chime seemed to ring distantly in my head.
***
“Hic, sob, huuu…”
I had no recollection of how I escaped the karaoke room. I think I just desperately resisted with the thought that I had to get out of there no matter what. I picked up whatever I could grab and hit Kim Sangchul’s head with a bottle. When I came to my senses, my hands were covered in blood.
My hands trembled and I couldn’t breathe at the thought of hurting someone. I might go to prison like this. I often thought I wish Kim Sangchul would die, but I didn’t really want him to die.
I couldn’t go to Grandma’s house like this. I ran away from downtown without a plan and walked, and my feet headed to Grandma’s store.
These days, Grandma hasn’t been well, so she said she’s closing the store and resting for a while. So if I go to the store now, no one will be there. I put strength in my staggering legs and walked down the alley, wiping my tear-soaked face.
“Hic, huuu…”
Even if I bit my lip hard and held back my tears, it didn’t easily stop. Like a collapsing sand castle, the dam of emotions that surpassed the limit endlessly crumbled. The gazes of people around me poked at me crying loudly in the middle of the street as if I was strange.
Unable to endure those gazes, I covered my face with both hands and held my breath. I forcibly inhaled the breath that couldn’t be drawn properly and scratched my palm with my nails. Then blood seeped between my nails, leaving indelible traces on my body.
I just wanted to live normally like others, why is it so hard for me? Everything felt miserable.
“Hic, sob… huu…”
“Hey, kiddo.”
As I was crying profusely, an unexpected voice was heard in my ears. The scent of the man’s cologne that I had wistfully savored several times was felt, and my world darkened. As I raised my deeply bowed head, the man I saw that time was staring at me.
“Why are you crying and making a scene in the middle of the street?”
“Sob, uh… sob.”
“Did something happen?”
“Waah… hic, sob, uh…”
Have I ever been this happy to see someone? Even though I only met him once without knowing his name, my tears didn’t stop at his kind, comforting voice.
“Hey, go buy something to drink. Like strawberry milk or grape juice, something like that.”
“Yes, hyungnim.”