TIN 131

Perhaps because they used seawater, the houses here had much better water flow than in the city. Though hot water didn’t come out naturally, thanks to the woman bringing a kettle of boiled water, I could wash without freezing to death. My body, long exhausted from the heat, didn’t mind the cool water anyway.

After washing up, I borrowed some clothes from the woman. A large T-shirt and shorts, they fit well except for being a tad on the short side. Even if there had been problems, they were certainly more comfortable to move in than the lace-covered dress.

I knew I should’ve saved more money. It felt too uncomfortable to receive all this for free. Though I knew I should decline, accepting it all quietly was essentially my mistake.

There was no such thing as kindness without cost. Living on the desolate streets, I’d long since realized this fact.

Yet why did I keep letting my guard down?

“My, my, washing up makes such a difference in appearance.”

When I returned to the room dressed in the borrowed clothes, the elderly woman and the younger woman were sitting face to face. The elderly woman nodded with satisfaction, seeing my cleaned-up appearance. In contrast, the younger woman sat with her arms crossed, seemingly displeased about something.

“Come, sit comfortably here.”

Seeing me awkwardly standing in the doorway, the elderly woman pointed to the cushion in front of her. Though she had seemed quite unstable earlier, she appeared to have composed herself now. As I awkwardly knelt down, she asked kindly.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

Having slept and eaten well, my physical condition couldn’t be better. My stomach, which had been queasy for days now, felt as comfortable as ever. Despite eating three bowls of porridge, I felt neither bloated nor were there any signs of indigestion.

“Don’t kneel, sit comfortably. Your leg is injured too.”

“…”

Her words surprised me. Though I’d tried not to limp, I must have been unconsciously dragging my right foot inside the house. When I stretched out my bent leg, my swollen ankle was clearly visible.

“Goodness, it looks even worse like this. Shouldn’t you go to a hospital?”

Actually, the time for hospital treatment had already passed, and I wasn’t in a position to go even if I wanted to. Without identification, being pursued, and having no money, how could I go to a hospital?

“Seo-kyung, you should properly take care of our guest.”

“Well, I didn’t know about the injury.”

Though grumbling, the woman took something from the side table. A rolled bandage and spray-type pain relief patch. As she came up to me, I pulled my knee up first, drawing my foot back.

“No, I don’t have any money…”

“I said it’s fine.”

I’d tried to say this earlier while eating the porridge but was interrupted. Again, I couldn’t refuse such kindness. The woman cut off my words as if they were nonsense and forcibly grabbed my leg.

“I said I’m not asking for money. I’d rather squeeze blood from a stone than try to get anything from you.”

She sprayed the medication on my ankle with a hiss. The cool scent of the pain relief patch seemed to pierce my nostrils. When I curled my toes at the cold sensation, she skillfully began wrapping the bandage.

“Don’t worry about it, this is all grandmother’s hobby anyway. She likes taking in people who wash up on the beach, feeding them, and giving them a place to sleep.”

The elderly woman just smiled silently at the woman’s words, which might not have been an exaggeration. It was no wonder the woman seemed to bring in strangers without hesitation—it was behavior learned from her grandmother.

“It doesn’t seem to need a splint, but be careful when walking for a while. Joint injuries are serious.”

I just nodded my head at the brief scolding.

This ankle hadn’t been properly treated since Theo bandaged it. After overworking the sprained area, it had now lost sensation and showed no signs of the pain subsiding. Even if I could never use it again, I couldn’t blame anyone for this.

“Is it not too tight?”

The woman stood up after checking my ankle one final time. She said she’d wash her hands since she’d touched the medication, and told us to have a chat in the meantime while she was gone.

Even after she left, no words were exchanged between the elderly woman and me for a while. Her gaze studying my face was now calm and composed, unlike before.

Eventually, blinking slowly, the elderly woman casually asked.

“What’s your name?”

“…”

There was no way I could answer. Though making something up wouldn’t be difficult, this time I didn’t want to. Seeing me unable to say anything, she kindly changed her question.

“How old are you?”

“…Twenty-five.”

That much I could answer. I couldn’t hide everything if I wanted to ask about Yoon Ji-soo.

“Twenty-five…”

The old woman seemed lost in thought for a while even though I could tell she had heard my answer. The traces of time were clearly visible in her slightly furrowed eyes. After a moment, she let out a long breath and gave a faint smile.

“Yes…it’s already been that long.”

For some reason, the old woman’s face looked more at ease as she said this. Unlike before, she didn’t seem shocked, surprised, or guarded. She just asked with a gentle smile on her face.

“How do you know Ji-soo?”

“…Yes.”

I instinctively straightened my posture. Though I didn’t kneel again, I found myself unconsciously sitting up straight.

“Do you…know Yoon Ji-soo?”

My throat was parched. Asking the old woman now made me more nervous than when I had questioned the woman. Just like when I fled from the mansion, when I was face-to-face with Joo Do-hwa, my palms became damp with sweat.

“Of course, I do.”

The old woman’s answer was like rain in a drought to me. As I leaned forward eagerly, she began her story in a slow tone.

“It was when our Seo-kyung was six years old…”

“…”

“That’s when my daughter disappeared in the sea.”

At first glance, this story seemed unrelated to Yoon Ji-soo. Unless the missing daughter was Yoon Ji-soo herself. However, instead of interrupting, I focused on the old woman’s story.

“It happened not long after Seo-kyung’s father died, so people said…that she followed her husband.”

I could imagine it without having been there to see or hear it. People often found it easiest to make assumptions about others’ misfortunes.

“But that’s nonsense. There’s no way a mother would make such a choice, leaving behind such a pretty daughter.”

Glancing at the closed door, I thought perhaps the woman had deliberately avoided being here. I had a feeling her dissatisfied expression before I came in was because she knew what sort of story was about to be told.

“I searched the beach every day, believing she was still alive. I thought if I could at least find a body, then I could believe it.”

My throat tightened, understanding those feelings. The pain of searching for someone who had disappeared wasn’t something you could understand without first experiencing it.

“Then I met this young lady…”

“…!”

I knew instinctively. That the young lady he was talking about was Yoon Ji-soo. The very person I had spent my whole life searching for. The one I still hadn’t found.

“It was dark, so at first I thought she was my daughter. This is private property, so others don’t come here.”

‘Hey, this is private property.’

She made the same mistake I did. The sign I had carelessly passed must have indicated it was private property.

“When I realized she wasn’t my daughter, I was going to send her away, but she suddenly collapsed. How could someone dressed so nicely have been so hungry…”

As she spoke, the old woman opened a cabinet beneath the TV. It was locked so securely that there were two locks on it. As I stretched my neck to see what precious thing it might be, my eyes widened at what the old woman held in her hands.

“She looked like she’d die if she left it behind, so I brought her in and let her sleep. Fed her too.”

It was a very worn album. The corners of the cover were shabby, and the pages had already turned yellow. Before I could wonder why she’d taken it out, the old woman held the album toward me and turned the cover.

“That young lady had eyes as blue as yours, young man.”

What appeared was a woman with long hair reaching her waist, smiling brightly. She wore loose clothes that seemed borrowed and held a small girl in her arms. Her eyes, blue as the ocean, shone brilliantly in the sunlight.

“Later she told me that her name was Ji-soo.”

“…Ah.”

My chest began to flutter. My mind went blank, and I could barely hear the old woman’s words. The emotion welling up from inside got caught in my throat before it could escape.

Since I didn’t have a single photograph, all I had to remember about that person was from my childhood memories. The face that smiled at me, the warmth of her embrace, the touch that tickled my cheeks, and something like a pheromone that emanated from her.

But since memories couldn’t last forever, it was incredibly difficult to preserve everything completely. No matter how many times I went over them trying not to forget, there was nothing I could do about them becoming hazier and fading as more time passed. Even if I tried with all my might to hold onto them, there were inevitably parts that leaked away.

Yes, but…

“…”

We looked alike, truly. Even more than he remembered. Enough to make Chairman Joo, the woman, and the old woman shaken up when they saw me.