Coffee for a Debt Collector

Ju Hayan inserted her key into the tightly shut door and hesitated for a moment.

The inside of the house, which she had checked through the window, was lit.

She fumbled at her bag, suddenly worried that the tumbler inside might have tipped over, and then opened the door.

The moment she stepped into the entryway and was met with the light falling over her head, she glanced toward the corner of the room that was too small to properly call a living room.

Shin I-hyeok was sprawled there, somewhere between lying down and sitting up.

His eyes, which had been lowered toward something in his hands, flicked forward briefly.

Ju Hayan lowered her head as if she were simply taking off her shoes.

The floor of the house she had entered was, as always, warm.

“Hi, Hayan.”

“Hello.”

As she approached after greeting him, Ju Hayan checked what he was looking at.

At first she tilted her head, puzzled, but even on second glance, it was clearly a photograph in his hand.

She had stuffed them in a plastic bag without even a proper album—she had no idea where he had found them.

“I was bored, so I was looking through them. That’s alright, isn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

Strictly speaking, it was quite rude.

Not only was he sitting in a house without its owner present, he had gone through her drawers.

But applying ordinary standards to him felt meaningless, so Ju Hayan simply nodded.

Since their circumstances had worsened, there had been no new photos taken anyway.

They were all just records from when she was little.

While Ju Hayan changed into her pajamas, Shin I-hyeok flipped through the photos one by one.

There was a young Ju Hayan.

A younger father.

A mother.

“Is this your mother?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her.”

“They divorced when I was young. We don’t keep in touch now.”

Ju Hayan said it calmly, and Shin I-hyeok let it pass just as casually.

Perhaps because he had seen so many similar cases through his work.

Or perhaps because he simply wasn’t interested.

Instead, he remarked that she had been cute since childhood, making her feel awkward.

Ju Hayan chose to head for the kitchen instead.

Judging from the bag on top of the small refrigerator, it seemed to be food Shin I-hyeok had bought today.

When she unwrapped it, there were sandwiches inside.

In another box, a salad topped with meat.

She pulled out the low folding table wedged beside the sink and set it up, arranging the food neatly on top.

It looks good.

Her mouth watered on its own.

“You’ve gotten pretty natural.”

“Pardon?”

“Opening up the food without even asking.”

Hearing the faint amusement in his voice, Ju Hayan froze for a moment.

Was that laugh mocking her?

Come to think of it, she hadn’t even checked whether it was meant for her.

Had she made a mistake?

As her lips parted uncertainly, Shin I-hyeok waved a hand dismissively.

“It’s for you, kid.

I just find it admirable that you’re making sure to claim your share.”

“…Ah.”

That’s a relief.

So there wasn’t a problem.

Still feeling unsettled, Ju Hayan opened the small boxes more slowly than before.

There was no intention of defiance, but her embarrassment seeped into her movements.

“Are you sulking, Hayan?”

“No.”

“Your face says otherwise.”

With a teasing expression, Shin I-hyeok pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips.

He flicked the lighter’s wheel slowly, the cigarette bobbing lightly between his teeth.

He shouldn’t smoke inside.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to actually intend to light it.

The flame from the lighter flared now and then but never touched the tip.

Ju Hayan, who had been staring blankly at the sight, suddenly stood up as if remembering something.

She retrieved her bag from in front of the wardrobe, took out the tumbler, and opened the cabinet above the sink to pick the cleanest cup she owned.

Pour—

As she poured the drink from the tumbler into the cup, steam still rose faintly, even though it had cooled.

She felt grateful that the café’s staff-discount tumbler, given as a slightly defective product, worked better than expected.

Bringing drinks home from the café had now become the third day in a row.

On the first day, she had secretly filled a drink.

After that, she paid for it herself.

She had switched from iced to hot coffee, which made it easier to carry.

Several things had changed from her original plan, but this much she could bear.

Ju Hayan looked down at the drink she had done nothing but transfer into another cup.

After thinking about it for so long, she was still hesitating at the very end.

Before the already cooled coffee grew colder, she held it out to Shin I-hyeok.

From the moment she had begun bustling around at the sink in the narrow house where everything was visible from any corner, Shin I-hyeok had been watching quietly.

When she suddenly turned and extended something toward him, he raised a brow.

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

“An Americano. Do you not drink coffee?”

A flicker of faint bewilderment crossed his eyes at their meeting gaze.

Looking up at the girl who rubbed her cheek awkwardly with the back of her hand, Shin I-hyeok accepted the cup without protest.

The moment she handed it over, Ju Hayan retreated as if he might burn himself, pretending to busy herself with the sandwich box.

Out of nervousness, she spoke quickly.

“Um… since I work at a café, they let me have one drink a day.

So, um… that’s why I brought it.

I didn’t actually buy it….”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she wondered if they had been unnecessary.

They were true, yet not entirely true.

For something meant as an explanation, her voice lacked confidence.

Shin I-hyeok, who had been silently watching her as if deep in thought, let out a quiet laugh.

“Hayan. Ju Hayan.”

“……”

“You look sharp, but are you actually soft inside? Why are you taking care of a debt collector?”

His tone was gentle, almost like coaxing a child.

It didn’t quite sound like reproach.

Nor did it sound like praise.

Unable to grasp his intention, Ju Hayan’s lips parted, then closed again.

“You buy me meals every time you come… so I’m grateful.

I always just receive things.

I wanted to give you something too.

A-and from now on, you don’t have to keep bringing things….”

Her voice was so small it seemed it might vanish.

To hide the embarrassment rising within her, she rubbed her thumb over the textured box she was holding.

She hadn’t expected gratitude.

They weren’t that kind of relationship.

She had considered that he might mock her, given his personality.

But faced with his lukewarm reaction, she didn’t know how to respond.

She couldn’t read what lay in his eyes.

“When you were little, didn’t they teach you not to follow people who offer you sweets?

If someone you barely know gives you candy, are you going to give them something back too?

What if I just grabbed you and took you away?”

“……”

“Hayan. I’m someone who holds a grudge against your father.

How do you know what I might do to him while acting all sweet like this?

Haven’t you heard that private lenders are scary?”

He spoke as if carefully pointing out forgotten facts one by one.

At first, she had watched his expression to see if he was offended.

But as he continued, something inside her tightened instead.

The way he treated her like a naïve child began to feel like ridicule.

Ju Hayan, who had lowered her head, lifted it at the sudden mention of her father.

Her father had never been devoted to the family.

If he had been, perhaps none of this would have happened.

He had been absent often enough that sometimes, burdened by the present, she forgot he had run away and abandoned her.

“Have you found my dad?”

“You still seem attached to him.”

Was she?

Whenever she thought of him, mixed feelings arose.

The man who gave birth to her.

The man who abandoned her.

It would be a lie to say she never missed him.

But perhaps what she longed for wasn’t him, but the idea of a home.

At times, she even thought that since he had run away from his child, he should at least be suffering somewhere.

“Not yet. But I’m looking diligently. I’ll find him soon.”

“Ah….”

“When I bring him back, all you have to say is ‘Please spare me.’

That’s what the meals are for.

It’s not something you need to waste your heart on.”

“……”

“If you’re that grateful, give it in cash instead. Loan repayment.”

His last words sounded light, perhaps a joke.

But his actions were clear.

What he could give her.

What she could never give him.

And having seen through her shallow intention, he refused it cleanly.

At his airy remark, heat rushed to her cheeks.

Only then did Ju Hayan realize she had overstepped.

Perhaps she had grown too comfortable with him without noticing.

Their relationship was not mutual.

It was one-sided.

She had no grounds to push away the charity-like kindness he extended.

“Still, thank you for thinking of me.”

“Yes….”

“I mean it.”

Even as her face reddened from her neck upward, Shin I-hyeok didn’t point it out.

Instead, he leaned closer to meet her eyes.

The closer he came, the further her gaze sank toward the floor.

After lingering near her flushed face for a while, he straightened.

The faint rustle of fabric followed as he searched his pocket.

“I enjoyed it. This is in return.”

He placed a chocolate on the table.

The sight overlapped with the memory of him offering candy in the car earlier.

Curiosity made Ju Hayan glance up.

She felt faintly exasperated.

“…Thank you.”

Despite her feelings, her voice bowed obediently.

He took a large sip of the coffee, barely a third gone, then stood.

The warmth left in his hand from holding the cup brushed through her hair briefly in a gesture that felt almost like praise before falling away.

Soon the soft thud of his shoe heel sounded, followed by the unlocking and locking of the door.

Only then did Ju Hayan lift her head.

“Ha….”

The space that had just held another person fell quiet.

She let out a long sigh, pulled her knees to her chest, and rested her cheek against them.

She picked up the chocolate left alone on the table, turned it over in her hands, then let it drop with a dull thud.

Today’s attempt.

Result: failure.