I am back – Chapter 157

Upon hearing the greeting and turning around, there were two people standing there.

One of them was Ga-young. Naturally, it was her since we were supposed to meet. She wore a thick, dark brown coat, and beneath it, it seemed she was in her school uniform.

Next to Ga-young stood a middle-aged woman, about the same height as her.

The resemblance to Ga-young indicated she was a beauty, but she looked much older. Unlike Ga-young, who still had some baby fat, this woman had a gaunt face.

It was Ga-young’s mother, whom I had seen once before.

Her face was filled with concern. Well, she had that expression back then too. There was an aura of constant worry about her. I didn’t know what she was worrying about, though.

Actually, I might find out the cause of her concern today.

Ga-young’s mother bowed her head at her older sister and then turned her gaze toward me.

For a moment, her expression seemed to change to one of surprise, but she calmly bowed her head, and so I did the same.

It felt a bit strange. When I was in this world… I was still a student. Even after graduating high school, I would have been in university for another four years, and I definitely wouldn’t have been treated as an “adult.”

After skipping that process and coming back to Korea, I had now become a person who was regarded as an adult by anyone. It was still a bit difficult to adjust to the sight of someone older than me bowing their head in greeting.

“Hello. I’m Ga-young’s mother. Today… I came because I have something to say to Miss Lee A-yoon.”

After hesitating a bit, Ga-young’s mother spoke.

Then she looked at me and said, “I’ve heard that you wanted to listen to the story together.”

“Yes. We agreed on that.”

Before I could even respond, my older sister confidently stated.

Ga-young’s mother merely nodded, without asking any more questions.

“Well then… where shall we sit to share this conversation?”

It was certainly too cold outside for a discussion.

*

At a nearby café.

The heater was cranked up a bit too high inside the building.

But thanks to that, it felt warm as soon as we stepped in. It was a welcome change.

I had a hot Americano, my sister ordered a café latte, and Ga-young’s mother and Ga-young had ice Americanos. Somehow, it didn’t feel like the right time to order desserts, so we just bought coffee and sat facing each other.

“……”

After a moment’s hesitation, Ga-young’s mother took out a thick envelope from her coat.

The light brown envelope… looked suspiciously like it contained money. It didn’t feel like it could house a letter of that thickness.

As we were frozen in place watching her place the envelope neatly on the table, Ga-young’s mother opened her mouth.

“I heard you’re leaving tomorrow. I thought I should return this to you.”

My sister and I exchanged looks.

My sister turned to look at the envelope again.

With trembling hands, she confirmed she could take the envelope and managed to wear a stiff smile on her face.

“This money is…?”

“It’s the money that Ga-young earned while working at the bakery. I thought it was only right to return it. After all, Ga-young didn’t originally work there to be paid.”

We looked at Ga-young. Her face had turned pale, and she sat with her head slightly bowed.

“It seems to be more than we paid her as a salary.”

My sister calmly pointed out.

“Yes. She must have paid taxes too.”

“…No, even if we think about that…”

My sister looked inside the envelope again.

The contents were all 50,000 won bills. It certainly looked like a lot. At least from the exterior of the envelope, it did.

“……”

Ga-young’s mother paused briefly before bowing her head deeply and speaking.

“I’m sorry.”

“Pardon?”

Caught off guard by the increasingly puzzling situation, my sister replied in surprise.

“…I heard that you were like family with the person who passed away that day. I apologize for not attending the funeral…”

“…Ah.”

Only then did my sister realize what she was saying and turned to look at Ga-young.

I felt the same way.

The person my sister had been close with, and the one who died.

It wasn’t just a simple death; it was an accident, a death that clearly involved someone else’s wrongdoing.

Ga-young’s mother was now speaking of my story.

“I understand that no matter how I put it, not having visited for five years is a great rudeness and mistake. If you have anything you wish to say, I will gladly listen.”

“Um, well…”

My sister seemed to want to say something, but ultimately lost her words and looked dazed.

I was staring intently at Ga-young.

I couldn’t see what expression she was making. She had her head down and her face was hidden by her hair. But it was easy to imagine that she had an expression similar to her mother’s.

Pale, yet somber.

“Ah… but still, it would be better for you to visit Siyun’s mother first…”

“I’ve already done that. The address where Ga-young received was given by her mother…”

“…Ah.”

“That day, since you were like family with the person who passed away and you were still mourning, she asked me to go visit you and talk to you…”

“…”

She had already gone to visit my mom as well.

My sister’s gaze darted around, showing an expression as if she didn’t know how to take in this situation. It settled on me after wandering aimlessly.

I didn’t directly see that moment. At that time, I was looking at Ga-young.

My sister’s hand, which was on top of mine, squeezed tighter.

…I was the one involved, yet I had nothing to say here. There were many things I was curious about. Whether she was alright, if she had any serious injuries. If she was suffering from trauma.

Whether it was the right decision to push you back that day.

“What happened that day?”

“……”

Ga-young’s mother hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.

“The news I received was… late at night.”

Her voice cracked.

Ga-young’s father had already passed away when she was young.

Ga-young had no choice but to grow up completely in her mother’s care. Because of her work schedule of leaving early and returning late, she was often by herself in the afternoons.

She would play with friends and wander around the neighborhood.

But she always returned home to wait for her mother when it was time for her to finish work.

That day should have been the same, but when her mother returned home, Ga-young was not there.

Without a cellphone, Ga-young had no way to call her mom, and most importantly, that day, she was deeply shocked from witnessing someone die right before her eyes.

Not only a mental shock but also a physical injury. It required a considerable amount of force to push Ga-young out of the way of an oncoming truck.

I had used all my strength, even adding my own body weight behind it, to push her away, leading to Ga-young collapsing on the street with a broken wrist.

“Ah…”

When I let out such a sound, the squeeze on my sister’s hand grew tighter.

“But I thought that was no issue at all. After all, you’re the one who saved my daughter. So I thought I should at least attend the funeral…”

Barely finding Ga-young at the hospital, I went to the funeral taking place in the same hospital.

But—

“…The funeral parlor was extremely chaotic.”

That was how my sister remembered her own funeral.

Reporters flocked, company people mixed in, politicians arrived, and floral tributes were sent without restraint.

Older Sister Yu-ri was fighting to return those floral tributes, while she was upset about the obvious visit from politicians and celebrities.

My high school friends and my sister’s university friends all gathered to make a human barricade against the reporters who rushed in.

“I’m sorry.”

Ga-young’s mother bowed her head to us once more.

“Even though that was the situation that day, I should have visited… I ran away. And after several years, I apologize like this. I am truly sorry…”

“……”

Ga-young once again remained silent with her head deeply bowed.

The fingers on my sister’s hand were almost turning white.

My sister was looking at me.

Her expression revealed her worry. It seemed she couldn’t predict how I would react to those words.

I…

I had no idea what to say, so I just sat there blankly.

“…What did Siyun’s mother say?”

My mom hadn’t contacted my sister separately.

Could it have been because she wanted to give me a chance to speak directly like this?

“…She said she was glad that you came.”

“……”

My sister slightly nodded.

She was still gripping my hand tightly.

My sister’s gaze turned toward me.

I briefly looked at her, then turned my attention back to Ga-young.

Ga-young’s shoulders were slightly trembling. Was she crying?

I looked back at my sister and nodded slightly.

…It’s okay as long as you’re alive. That’s what I thought.

Just like when I jumped in front of the car that day.

If I apologized to my mom first and then came to my sister, if my mom had accepted that apology…

I had nothing more to hope for then.

“…Then, I’m okay too. It’s all in the past now… and Siyun, you just wanted to help. You weren’t expecting anything in return.”

“…”

I could hear Ga-young sniffing.

“…I’m sorry. Really, I’m sorry…”

The two of them lowered their heads for a long while like that.