TDIMEH Chapter 05

 

5. Is it true that Coco's husband is unemployed?

As Boss Nam had confidently promised, the food was quite delicious. However, Junhyuk quickly put down his utensils due to the uncomfortable stares directed at him.

"[When did Coco's husband come back from Africa?]"

"[Did Coco tell you anything?]"

"[I just called her earlier, but she didn’t answer. By the way, he looks much more handsome in person!]"

"[But why isn’t he wearing a military uniform?]"

"[Did he get discharged?]"

With voices that sounded as if they were blaming him for something, Junhyuk unconsciously glanced down at his attire—a formal suit.

"[Could it be... he was discharged?]"

"[Can professional soldiers even get discharged? Did he quit?]"

"[Then, doesn’t that make him unemployed?]"

"[What? Coco's husband is unemployed?]"

"[Oh no. What’s going to happen to our Coco?]"

Even after finishing the meal and stepping outside, the whispering continued.

On the way to the car, he encountered someone who made a similar comment.

By this point, Junhyuk began to wonder if the whole world, except for him, knew who Coco was.

He considered asking who Coco was, but since the name clearly sounded like that of a local, he concluded that there was no need to ask. He decided to keep his mouth shut.

It felt like he was the only one perceiving these stares.

Thanks to his quick wits, he had picked up on the commotion. However, Jisang and Moon Sohee, who were held captive by the endlessly chatty Boss Nam, seemed half out of their minds.

Ever since Junhyuk had mentioned that he would visit the cruise tomorrow, Boss Nam had been walking around with the face of someone who had the whole world in his hands.

Junhyuk decided that if he heard the name 'Coco' three more times, he would finally ask about it.

"Then, I will drive you to the hotel. I usually have a driver on weekdays, but since it’s the weekend, I’m driving myself."

He even added the unsolicited explanation that weekend drivers charge double the rate.

"You said it was the GK Grand Hotel, right? Let me see, the GPS... Huh?"

As he was about to tap the GPS, the boss spotted the phone lying below. It was the phone that had driven the passengers crazy by ringing incessantly but was never answered.

"Why is this here?"

Boss Nam's hand, which grabbed the phone lying facedown, unknowingly drew Junhyuk's gaze.

A sudden thought occurred to him—if the screen turned on, maybe there would be a photo.

He was never one to take an interest in other people’s lives. But, just as his gaze had kept drifting toward his ex-wife Jin Se-ah during their time together, his curiosity about this woman named Coco was strangely heightened.

Surely, she wouldn’t be wearing a mask in the photo.

Junhyuk's pitch-black pupils tracked the phone's trajectory.

Unlike his parched impatience, Boss Nam’s movement as he picked up the phone was frustratingly slow.

‘Why is he so slow?’

Junhyuk had to suppress the urge to snatch the small device and place it in his own hand to see for himself.

"My employee has never made a mistake like this before, but she must have been in a real hurry today. I should have known something was off when she ran off like that."

Feigning disinterest, Junhyuk tilted his head just enough to watch as Boss Nam touched the phone's screen without blinking once.

The screen would light up soon, and then his pointless curiosity would finally be satisfied.

"Huh? What’s wrong with this thing?"

Boss Nam tilted his head and tapped the screen several times.

Even after several attempts, the black screen showed no signs of brightening. Pressing the button on the side to turn it back on, the phone flashed for one second before going dark again.

Although he didn’t show it outright, Junhyuk's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly in disappointment.

"Looks like the battery's dead. It’s late at night, and it’s a bit much to go all the way to that neighborhood… What should I do?"

Muttering to himself, Boss Nam appeared to deliberate for a moment before deciding, "Well, she’ll be coming to the office tomorrow anyway, so I’ll just give it to her then." He slipped the phone into his pocket.

Junhyuk, watching Boss Nam enter the hotel address into the GPS, impulsively opened his mouth.

"Since we have nothing to do right now anyway, why don’t we return it to her right away if you know where she lives?"

As soon as he said it, a wave of regret washed over him, but it was too late—the dice had been cast.

"Huh? Right now?"

Boss Nam asked with eyes as wide as lanterns, and Junhyuk gave a casual nod as if he had no particular intention behind it.

Hearing this, Jisang poked his head out from the back seat.

"Oh! That’s a great idea. If we just go back to the hotel, we’ll have to deal with a bunch of hospitality formalities. This sounds way more fun."

It seemed his interest had waned after hearing about a family situation, but now Jisang, like Junhyuk, appeared curious about this woman.

"Are you crazy, oppa? Do you have so much free time that you’re going to return some stranger’s phone?"

Moon Sohee's annoyance, which she couldn't direct at Junhyuk, was now unleashed on Jisang.

"Think about how inconvenient it would be in this day and age to be without a phone. Besides, she left it here when she came to pick us up."

"Since when did you start caring about other people’s business, oppa?"

Her face was openly displeased, and a sharp wariness was evident in her expression.

"This isn’t about caring—it’s just the right thing to do. Don’t you have any sense of decency?"

"Not 'caring,' but 'duty,' you mean."

"Same difference."

"Junhyuk, you too? Why are you getting involved in this kind of thing? Busy people like us don't have time to deal with an employee’s lost phone..."

"Let’s go before it gets any later."

Before Jisang and Moon Sohee’s argument could drag on, Junhyuk threw out a firm statement.

"J-Junhyuk?"

"Right? I knew it. This is the better choice, after all. So what are we waiting for? Let’s get going."

Outnumbered 2-to-1, Moon Sohee finally clamped her mouth shut and sharply turned her head away to express her dissatisfaction.

After driving for about 30 minutes from the port, they arrived in a neighborhood that didn’t seem safe at all.

The road was so dark that only the faint glow from the windows of nearby houses provided any visibility.

"The security around here isn’t great, so please avoid opening the windows."

The sight of the old, crumbling shacks packed closely together reminded them of the underdeveloped parts of Seoul before urban renewal.

No, this area felt far more dangerous and unsettling. It was hard to understand why someone who commuted to an office would live in a place like this.

Perhaps noticing the doubt in Junhyuk's gaze, Boss Nam, who had parked along the narrow street, glanced at the rows of nearly identical houses and explained.

"Most Koreans wouldn’t live in a neighborhood like this, but I heard Coco insisted on living here to save every penny she could. Still, she seems to know a lot of the locals here, so I guess she hasn't had any major issues so far."

"Ah, so her husband is from around here?"

In response to Jisang's comment, Boss Nam shook his head.

"No, her husband is in Africa. I heard she came here alone to earn money."

"Isn't it easier to make money in Korea? That’s why so many people come to our country."

"Well, I’m sure she has her own personal reasons. It’s rare for people who end up here to not have a story to tell."

"That’s true."

"Alright, I’ll quickly deliver the phone and be back. If the address is correct, I think it’s that house over there."

The house Boss Nam pointed at was a square-shaped building that, at least for now, didn’t look like it would collapse. The white paint on its exterior had mostly peeled off, but it still had two visible windows.

Even so, no matter how generously one looked at it, it didn't quite feel like a 'home.'

"Let’s go together."

".........."

Jisang quickly jumped out of the car, and although Junhyuk didn’t say anything, he naturally found himself standing next to them.

Noticing their puzzled glances, he hastily came up with an excuse.

"If you’re looking to invest in real estate, you have to pay attention to alleys like these. Redevelopment opportunities can pop up anywhere."

Even though they had only stepped a bit away from the car, the hot, muggy air squeezed through the hanging laundry strung across the narrow alleys. The scent of local spices hinted that some houses were preparing dinner.

The houses were packed so tightly together that you could probably see what people were wearing or eating. Privacy seemed non-existent in this neighborhood.

For some reason, Junhyuk's eyebrows grew more and more crooked in displeasure.

Even Moon Sohee, who initially intended to stay in the car, changed her mind and joined them, saying she was too scared to be left alone.

All this, just to deliver a single phone—how many people had gathered now?

A comical procession weaved its way down the narrow alley.

***

A few hours earlier.

Leaving Boss Nam and Do Junhyuk's group behind, Se-ah ran until she was gasping for breath. She only slowed down after the office had shrunk to a mere dot in the distance. Her legs trembled from the sudden burst of running.

‘I thought I was going to get caught.’

Feeling a damp sensation, she pulled off her mask, revealing beads of sweat clinging to her nose bridge and philtrum. She tugged at the sleeve of her short-sleeve shirt to wipe her mouth and stuffed the sweat-drenched mask into her pocket since there was nowhere to throw it away.

She took off her oversized, dragonfly-like sunglasses, and her now-clear field of vision revealed an overturned wooden crate.

Though it was dusty, it didn’t seem to have any protruding nails, so she promptly sat on it to catch her breath.

When a small cloud of dust rose, she casually brushed it away with her palm and rested her chin on her hands, which she propped on her knees.

If this were three years ago, she wouldn’t have dared to imagine doing something like this. But after surviving for three years in this place without any money, she had grown indifferent to things like this.

By now, she could probably even sleep on the street if she had to.

It wasn’t shaded, so the blazing sun beat directly down on the top of her head. But her mind was already boiling like molten lava, so she barely noticed.

The reason for her burning anger was, of course, her ex-husband, Do Junhyuk.

"What on earth is he doing here?"

🌼; 'The dice had been cast' means that a decision or action has been taken that cannot be undone, and the outcome is now left to chance or fate. It implies that there's no turning back, and whatever happens next is beyond one's control

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