…Honestly, I didn’t really want to go, but I couldn’t refuse the manager’s kindness. Plus, Bae Taehyun in front of me was looking at me with such desperate eyes.
I told Bae Taehyun to sit down, then grabbed an americano and went to Bae Taehyun’s seat.
“…Long time no see?”
“Right! Hyun-ah, have you been well?”
“Yeah… So how long has it been since we last saw each other?”
“We haven’t seen each other once since you turned twenty! We haven’t… Why didn’t you contact me?”
‘I’ turned twenty…? So our ages were different? Seeing as he called Lee Hyun “you,” it didn’t seem like he was younger than Lee Hyun. And why didn’t Lee Hyun contact him… I don’t know that either.
Trying to roughly infer from the information Bae Taehyun poured out, it seemed Lee Hyun’s hometown wasn’t Seoul. I had no idea what our relationship was, but I’d roughly thought we were high school friends or something, but if our ages were different, that might not be it either… Faced with the crossroads of whether to pretend to know him while playing along or to act crazy and pretend I’d lost my memory, I looked at Bae Taehyun with a blank expression.
“When are you coming down to Cheonan?”
Okay. Lee Hyun’s hometown is Cheonan. I lowered my eyes for no particular reason and said:
“There’s no point in going back… not really.”
“…Sorry. It definitely wouldn’t be good memories.”
Seeing as there was no one he was in contact with, I’d guessed randomly, and though I didn’t know what had happened, it seemed to have worked. I could feel cold sweat flowing down my back. For the record, I had no talent for lying or acting.
“…Yeah. That’s right.”
“Still… you should at least come visit Grandfather.”
I knew Lee Hyun didn’t have parents, but had there been a grandfather? That was a fact I didn’t know since grandparents weren’t listed on the family register. Well, normally a minor wouldn’t live alone. Of course, I had lived alone. So had he lived with his grandfather?
I had many questions but couldn’t ask them all. Plus, there was no one presumed to be a grandfather in Lee Hyun’s contacts. As I stared blankly at Bae Taehyun without knowing how to answer, Bae Taehyun bit his lip and said:
“You should at least come for the death anniversary. Of course, it’s not a good memory for me either. But the fact that you disposed of your grandfather’s house and everything as soon as you turned twenty and disappeared overnight…”
…He passed away. So Lee Hyun was completely without family. Suddenly hearing about Lee Hyun’s bleak family circumstances made me feel bad. Plus, being in a situation where I had to lie repeatedly was hard. I thought for a moment, then finally compromised and spoke:
“Sorry. But… I was in an accident a few days ago. It wasn’t a big accident, but anyway, since then there’s been some errors in my memory. So I don’t remember well.”
“What? That kind of drama-like thing actually happens in real life? Then you don’t remember me either?”
That kind of drama-like thing… Actually, it seemed like something that would get criticized even if used as a drama plot. But since it was more realistic than souls switching or possessing a novel, I roughly nodded.
“…Just the name and face.”
You gave me your business card, so I know that much.
“I see. Then I should help you.”
But Bae Taehyun in front of me seemed to have taken on some sense of duty from my sudden confession.
“Give me your contact info. Let’s meet often from now on. Later we can go visit Grandfather and Taekyung too… Yeah. Both of them.”
“Yeah…”
I handed my phone to Bae Taehyun in a daze.
“I… have to work?”
“Even seeing you work feels so weird…”
What kind of person was Lee Hyun exactly? Questions piled up from Bae Taehyun’s brief conversation. But doing my best not to show it, I returned to the counter. The manager at the counter was smiling meaningfully.
“So your hometown isn’t Seoul either?”
“It’s Cheonan.”
Though I just found that out myself.
“Were you two close?”
“…Probably?”
“An ambiguous relationship?”
“I don’t think so?”
I dodged the manager’s questions entirely and escaped from the spot. I felt a vibration from my apron and checked to find a text that seemed to be from Bae Taehyun.
Save my number!
Watching the manager’s reactions, I saved Bae Taehyun’s phone number. Suddenly I became curious about Lee Hyun’s whereabouts. If they found out the Lee Hyun they knew had disappeared—well, maybe not disappeared, but anyway, if they found out a different person had entered Lee Hyun’s body—I was both curious and not curious about how an original acquaintance would react.
Thinking these thoughts, I naturally thought of Eun Haejin.
Eun Haejin, whom Lee Hyun liked. I kept thinking I wanted to grab onto any clue as soon as possible and tell Eun Haejin the truth.
“Hyun-ssi! The boss is coming soon? Watch things alone for a bit. I’m going to leave 10 minutes early today. Thanks.”
“Yes! Thank you for your hard work, Manager-nim.”
I answered hurriedly to the manager’s farewell greeting that broke my reverie. After sending the manager off, I was checking the cash register alone when a large hand suddenly grabbed a bundle of thousand-won bills and started counting them.
“Boss?”
“It was really busy today.”
It was Cha Hyunwoo. …But with split lips and a bruise on his cheek.
I was so shocked that I dropped all the five-thousand-won bills I’d been counting.
“What’s this?”
“Hm?”
“Your face… what’s this on your face?”
I was so shocked I couldn’t speak properly. However, Cha Hyunwoo only smiled awkwardly at my question without further explanation.
After that, I followed Cha Hyunwoo around and pressed him several times, but Cha Hyunwoo clumsily changed the subject and brushed off my words. Cha Hyunwoo seemed bothered by the injury too, pulling out a mask from somewhere and putting it on before taking orders as usual. After that, the cafe was so busy there was no chance to bring it up again.
***
“Hyun-ah, you should clock out now.”
When I checked the time, it was already time to leave. I was so worried about Cha Hyunwoo wearing a mask that my feet wouldn’t move.
“Won’t you tell me why your face is like that?”
Without realizing it, I spoke somewhat angrily. The fact that Cha Hyunwoo had gotten hit somewhere made me feel terrible. No, actually I was getting really angry.
“…I’ll tell you later.”
“When is later?”
“Later.”
I wanted to drag Cha Hyunwoo somewhere right now and interrogate him, but I had the meeting Jung Yoonseo had arranged for this evening. …Plus, even if I found out where he’d been hit, there was nothing I could do about it.
“Tell me after work tomorrow. I’m working then too.”
“You get off earlier than me though.”
“I’ll wait.”
“…You’d have to wait three hours.”
“My place is close anyway, so it’s fine.”
But still, I felt like I needed to know. At my firm words, Cha Hyunwoo hesitated then nodded. Only after getting confirmation from Cha Hyunwoo did I go to change my clothes.
“…I’m clocking out.”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow, Hyun-ah.”
“…Yes.”
Even after leaving work, my heart felt too heavy. I hurriedly stopped by the convenience store in front and bought ointment and bandages, then headed back to the cafe.
“Hyun-ah?”
“Use this. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“…Thanks.”
After handing Cha Hyunwoo the ointment and bandages, I really left the cafe. When I checked the time, excluding travel time, there seemed to be exactly about 30 minutes left until the dinner meeting Jung Yoonseo had arranged. It seemed I’d done well to bring my laptop and all the materials in case I was late. I got on the bus and headed to the address Jung Yoonseo had given me.
***
When I arrived, there was more time left than I’d thought. Was it because I’d thought so generously about the time? I sat on a bench in front of the restaurant and called the company head Jung Yoonseo had sent me.
[Hello?]
“Hello. I’m the employee from Team Leader Jung’s side who’s supposed to meet today. I’m calling because I’ve arrived at the meeting place.”
[Already? Just like someone from Team Leader Jung’s side… You came really early. Your name?]
Seeing them refer to Jung Yoonseo as Team Leader Jung, they seemed to be fairly close with Jung Yoonseo. I answered even more clearly.
“It’s Lee Hyun. A single-character name.”
[Lee Hyun-ssi? That’s an unusual name. I’m almost there too, so wait in front for just a bit.]
“Yes. Please take your time coming.”
[Yeah… Have a cigarette or something. I’ll be right there.]
“Yes.”
Judging by the voice, it seemed to be a woman a bit older than me. While sitting on the bench waiting for the representative and carefully re-reading the file Jung Yoonseo had given me, a pair of black sneakers entered my view.
“You’re Lee Hyun-ssi, right?”
I jumped up from my seat and bowed deeply in greeting.
“Hello.”
