Love - Chapter 3 Part 3

The day after waking up in a cheap motel in the market district, Jung-woo immediately went to a job placement agency and started working as a day laborer—backbreaking construction site work, what people commonly call “nogada.”

Half of the independence support money Jung-woo received upon leaving the facility went toward renting a tiny room in a slum, and the rest was entirely spent on Eun-hye’s new school uniform, textbooks, and living expenses for the two of them.

On their first day in the slum, Eun-hye tightly gripped his hand. Jung-woo looked into her eyes and made a promise as if confessing a sin:

“We’ll leave this place before summer comes. So trust me, just hang in a little longer. Eun-hye. I’m sorry.”

Back then, Eun-hye was certain Jung-woo would keep his promise. There was no reason not to believe him. She was barely sixteen, and Jung-woo was the only adult she could fully rely on—a truth she felt in her bones after leaving the facility.

Three months later, even before summer arrived, Jung-woo kept his promise. On the day they escaped the slum with nothing but a backpack each, they saw an ambulance blocking the narrow alley. The man next door, who used to scream when drunk, had once been a company president.

That he had committed suicide after three days of silence wasn’t even shocking to the people there, where death was routine.

The body on the stretcher was carried out of the room. Eun-hye, who hadn’t even been able to attend her mother’s funeral, was facing death for the first time. The corpse’s feet, not fully covered by the white sheet, looked blackened, like charred logs.

“Come here.”

Jung-woo, carrying both backpacks on his shoulders, scooped up Eun-hye, whose legs had gone weak and shaky.

“Close your eyes.”

Eun-hye buried her damp face in the nape of his neck. The strong smell of pain-relief patches clung to his entire body as he strode down the winding hill.

Their new home, secured by Jung-woo, was in a neighborhood packed with cram schools—a district known for students preparing for exams. He moved into the cheapest goshiwon (a tiny rented room) with no windows, while Eun-hye stayed in a women-only goshiwon just a block away.

“I won’t go back. I’ll live with Oppa, Sister Superior.”

When the Sister Superior from the orphanage visited the goshiwon, she looked at Eun-hye, who was raising her voice, and Jung-woo, silently standing by, then left with a smile.

“Peter… reminds me of when he was little. His eyes.”

Eun-hye couldn’t understand the Sister’s words to Jung-woo, whose last traces of boyhood had completely vanished. She was just relieved she didn’t have to return to the orphanage.

Life in the goshiwon was incomparably better than the slum. At least there was unlimited rice and kimchi, so Jung-woo no longer had to go hungry. Eun-hye could use the bathroom safely whenever she wanted. The only regret was not being able to live with Jung-woo, but he made her another promise:

“No matter what, I’ll make sure we have our own home before you graduate high school.”

Eun-hye started high school, and Jung-woo turned twenty-one. Around that time, he began learning tile work from a technician he met on construction sites. He had realized there was a limit to how much he could earn with just manual labor.

Though he followed the technician and learned the trade, the pay was meager until he reached a professional level. There were countless things Jung-woo wanted to do for Eun-hye, but the money in his hands was never enough.

“…Oppa?”

“I told you not to come here.”

The goshiwon where Jung-woo stayed was the cheapest in the area, mostly occupied by the elderly, unemployed, and the sick. He hated the thought of Eun-hye visiting such a place.

But… even if they ate street food together before parting, they had never gone a day without seeing each other. Yet lately, Jung-woo kept saying he was busy. Even on her birthday, he refused to meet. After holding back her frustration for two days, she finally stormed in angrily.

“What is this? Oppa. Your face… what happened?!”

Eun-hye’s face paled in shock.

“It’s nothing.”

His face was so battered she could barely look. His once-handsome features were bruised and split, his lips crusted with dried blood. His nose, which had been perfectly sculpted, was swollen to the point of blending into his cheekbones.

“…Oppa. Haa…!”

“I said I’m fine.”

He couldn’t possibly be fine. Eun-hye collapsed to her knees in front of him, her voice rising.

“Who did this to you? Oppa, who did this?!!!”

It didn’t matter that she had exams the next day. When someone in the next room banged on the wall, she ignored it.
“Let’s go to the police. Right now!”

“It’s from work. Remember I told you I met an old gym buddy and did some light sparring as a favor?”

Jung-woo tried to calm her, but Eun-hye was too upset to think straight.

“This is… light? How could anyone do this to your face…? Hic…”

Her resentful tears fell one by one, soaking her school blouse. If Jung-woo had been beaten this badly, how strong must his opponent have been? The terrifying news articles she’d looked up online flashed through her mind.

“It wasn’t hard. For me, it was easy. More importantly, Eun-hye. Here.”

As if trying to distract her, he pulled something from the desk.

“…What is this?”

“Your birthday present. Sorry it’s late.”

Eun-hye’s tear-filled eyes widened. In his calloused, bruised, and split hands was a stylish wallet with a luxury logo.

“I heard kids these days all carry something like this.”

“……”

Her fists trembled silently at her sides. Half envy, half jealousy—she had once offhandedly said she didn’t understand kids like that.

Stupid. Stupid, foolish Lee Eun-hye.

If she could go back in time, she would have sewn her careless mouth shut.

Jung-woo, who paid rent for two goshiwons, bought her reference books, sneakers, and meat every week because “you need to eat a lot while you’re growing,” yet wore the same two T-shirts and a worn-out jacket for a year.

“Don’t feel bad. You’re my sister.”

Jung-woo grimaced through his swollen face. Only then did she realize he was smiling. In his tiny room—even smaller than hers—Eun-hye bit her lip hard.

Everything felt like her fault. Leaving the facility with Jung-woo might have been a mistake. No, chasing after him crying and begging God to bring him back when he was being taken away for adoption might have been the real sin.

“Who… who asked you to buy me something like this…?”

Jung-woo’s face stiffened slightly. Feeling guilty but unable to stop, Eun-hye raised her voice.

“Did I ever say I needed this…?!”

From the next room, someone banged on the wall again and shouted curses.

“You damn bastards! If you’re gonna fight, take it outside!”

A dark fire flashed in Jung-woo’s eyes.

BANG! BANG!

He slammed the wall so hard the entire room seemed to shake. The next room fell silent. Even Eun-hye, startled by the icy rage radiating from him, clamped her mouth shut.

“If you come here again, I’ll kill whoever let you in.”

Jung-woo was angry. Realizing this, she couldn’t speak. It was the first time Eun-hye understood how terrifying it was when someone who never got angry finally did.

“Lee Eun-hye.”

“I’m sorry, Oppa.”

“Look at me. You don’t need to apologize.”

Eun-hye slowly lifted her head. Meeting his gaze with her damp eyes, Jung-woo asked in a low, cold voice:
“Who am I to you?”

“…My brother.”

Her trembling voice was barely a whisper.

“Right. You’re my sister. We’re family.”

With his bruised, battered face and one eye half-swollen shut, Jung-woo asked her:

“And you think I can’t even do this much for you?”

“I hate seeing you hurt because of me.”

She mustered the last of her courage to resist, but it failed. Jung-woo glared at her with a twisted expression.

“Then go back to the orphanage.”

Jung-woo was always like this. This wasn’t like the time she got caught working part-time behind his back or when she tried one of his cigarette butts out of curiosity. Every time, he drove her into a corner with the same threat. Leave. Run away, do whatever you want, but never show your face in front of me again. He delivered these chilling threats as casually as breathing.

Eun-hye always apologized profusely. But seeing his battered face now, her resolve wavered. Wouldn’t Jung-woo live much more comfortably without her?

“If you’re gonna cry over something this stupid, I can’t be with you.”

“I know.”

“What do you know?”

“That I’m… a heavy burden to you. I know that.”

She wiped her flushed face with her palm and muttered.

“But… even knowing I’m making you suffer… I still want to stay with you… hic… I’m sorry…”

She didn’t even know exactly what she was apologizing for, but she felt unbearably guilty.

“I’m sorry, Oppa…”

She knew Jung-woo hated crying, so she always held back. But this time, she couldn’t. Biting her lip didn’t stop the tears or the snot. She shouldn’t throw a tantrum like a child anymore. Eun-hye exhaled a damp breath and bowed her head deeply.

“Okay. I’ll go.”

“Eun-hye.”

“I’ll call Sister Superior. I won’t be stubborn anymore. I won’t make you suffer…”

Jung-woo’s hand cupped her wet cheek, forcing her to meet his eyes. She tried to steel herself, afraid her resolve would crumble if she looked at him.

“Who said I’m suffering?”