Waiting in the Cold

“…What is this?”

“Food.”

It was obvious that what Shin I-hyeok had just taken out of the bag was a neatly packed lunch box.

That was not what Ju Hayan was asking.

“I mean, why this….”

“Does there need to be a reason.”

“I bought it because I felt like it.”

“Ah….”

“And it’s bad manners to visit someone’s house empty-handed.”

Ju Hayan thought it was strange.

What Shin I-hyeok said was perfectly reasonable.

But that kind of courtesy applied to ordinary social relationships.

Anyone would think they were acquaintances who had only recently gotten to know each other.

Shin I-hyeok spoke as if Ju Hayan had invited him over and he had come as a guest.

This was not the kind of kindness someone who had been cheated out of money would show to the debtor’s family.

But Ju Hayan had no way to explain that to him.

So, just like when she had first seen him in her house, she bowed awkwardly.

“Thank you.”

She hesitated even after receiving the lunch box.

Then she stood up.

She put the lunch into the microwave that had not been replaced in over ten years and was stained beyond repair.

She pulled out the low folding table she had wedged into the narrow space beside the sink and set it up.

Shin I-hyeok let out a small sound.

“Oh.”

“So that’s where you put it.”

Only then did she realize she had not asked whether he had eaten.

If he had bought this lunch, that meant he had gone to a restaurant.

“Did you eat?”

“I ate at the restaurant.”

“So don’t worry about me.”

The conversation died again.

An awkward silence settled into the room.

Maybe she was the only one who felt uncomfortable.

She should have heated it for only thirty seconds.

Even cold food would have been better if it let her pretend to be busy eating.

“Didn’t your CSAT end already.”

“What?”

Shin I-hyeok, who had leaned back against the dresser after she straightened up to take the lunch out, tilted his chin toward the clothes and bag she had shed like a snake skin.

From the look of her, rushing to work right after school, she could have passed for a model student coming back from evening self-study.

So he knew.

That she was a senior.

She did not like that he was learning more about her.

“School ended early.”

“I was late because I had a part-time job.”

“I didn’t know you were coming today….”

“A part-time job?”

“Yes.”

“A café in Sangdong….”

“Hm.”

After hearing her explanation, Shin I-hyeok nodded slowly.

Then he leaned his head back.

The faint humming sound that had been going on stopped.

A cheerful chime rang.

The moment she opened the lunch box, the smell of food rushed out.

Even the packaging had looked refined.

It was now clear that this was from a restaurant she would never normally think of visiting.

Even reheated, the fluffy rice and glossy meat whetted her appetite.

Earlier, she had felt uneasy, as if the lunch box itself carried Shin I-hyeok’s presence.

Now she could not take her eyes off the food.

She heard a soft laugh, like air leaking out.

When she lifted her head, she met his eyes.

He had been watching her.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Eat slowly.”

She lowered her head again and spoke softly.

In the narrow space, Shin I-hyeok heard it easily and replied.

Hearing the amusement in his voice, Ju Hayan chewed carefully.

It felt burdensome.

She could feel his gaze pouring down on her bowed head.

She could not tell if he wanted her to eat or not.

Afraid of upsetting her stomach after being given expensive food, she ate more slowly than usual.

Shin I-hyeok stayed there the entire time, until she finished the lunch.

“Hoo.”

Ju Hayan blew warm breath into her cupped hands.

White breath gathered briefly above her palms before dispersing.

She rubbed her hands together while watching it vanish.

As the year drew to a close, winter deepened.

Subzero temperatures were nothing unusual.

Standing alone on the lonely winter street at night, Ju Hayan hesitated.

Her house was right in front of her.

Her feet would not move.

She looked toward her home, one alley away.

Light spilled brightly from the window that barely rose above ground level.

Even though the owner was not home.

“Damn it, it’s cold.”

“Please just go home already.”

She muttered while rubbing her freezing legs together.

The closed window gave no response.

Ju Hayan sighed again, breath clouded with frost.

This time she gathered warmth in her hands and pressed them to her face.

Her cold cheeks stung.

‘Hello, Hayan.’

After the first announced visit, Shin I-hyeok began stopping by her place from time to time.

It happened once or twice a week.

The days were irregular.

Each time, Shin I-hyeok arrived first and waited for Ju Hayan to come home.

It was a strange arrangement.

There was something else unsettling.

Every time, without exception, he made sure she ate.

‘You must be hungry.’

‘Eat.’

It was concern she had never even received from her father.

Most of the time, it was neatly packed lunch boxes.

While Ju Hayan ate, Shin I-hyeok sat some distance away and watched.

Ju Hayan usually came home late after work.

By the time she finished eating, it was close to midnight.

Shin I-hyeok waited without complaint every time.

At first, she was flustered and uncomfortable, barely able to swallow her food.

But whether hunger was the real authority or time dulled things, she could now actually taste the food.

That did not mean she was fully at ease.

Before entering the house, she always checked the window light.

To see if someone was inside.

Even if the light was on, there was nothing she could really do.

At most, she could prepare herself.

“Uh….”

But today, when she habitually checked the window and saw it lit, she stopped in the alley.

Should she try waiting until the man got tired and left.

It was a purely impulsive thought.

“Wow.”

“It’s freezing.”

“Ugh.”

“I can’t take this anymore.”

That resolve did not last even thirty minutes.

Shin I-hyeok was patient enough to wait until near midnight.

Inside the house, passing time was easy.

No matter how she looked at it, the one suffering outside was herself.

In the end, unable to endure the cold, Ju Hayan turned back toward home.

Only after kicking every pebble scattered in the alley.

Idiot.

She had not accounted for the cold.

Clicking her tongue, Ju Hayan descended the steps to her house.

“I’m home.”

Her greeting trembled.

As soon as she entered, she saw Shin I-hyeok.

The large man was seated just as usual.

Because she already knew he was there, she did not panic.

She bowed her head.

“You’re late.”

“Ah… yes.”

“Work ended late.”

She brushed past the question and stepped inside.

Only then did she feel alive again as warmth wrapped around her.

She let out a long, quiet breath and went straight to the wardrobe.

First, she removed her outerwear stiff with cold.

She changed into the hoodie she wore as pajamas.

She shivered the entire time.

Her legs were probably red and frozen.

She wanted to take them off and check.

In front of this unfamiliar man, changing her top was all she could manage.

She tugged the hem of the thick hoodie down and turned around.

Their eyes met.

Shin I-hyeok reached his hand toward her.

“…?”

She stared, unable to read his intent.

He lightly waved his hand up and down.

“Give me your hand.”

Her hand.

She looked at him in confusion.

He showed no sign of explaining.

Reluctantly, Ju Hayan slowly held her hand out.

The wary hand drew closer.

Shin I-hyeok waited silently.

The moment their fingertips nearly touched, he grabbed her hand.

“It’s cold.”

He frowned as he rubbed her small hand, nearly hidden in his own.

Ju Hayan bit her lip awkwardly.

Her hands, darkened from the cold, were still trembling faintly.

No wonder she had felt his gaze while changing.

She tried to pull her hand back.

He did not let go.

Instead, he caught her wrist and pulled her toward him.

Ju Hayan was guided down beside him.

A thick blanket dropped over her.

She bowed her head under its weight.

When she lifted it, Shin I-hyeok pulled one side of the blanket around her chest.

“Ah, I’m fine.”

“It’s just cold outside.”

“Just stay under it until you warm up.”

“I’m really fine….”

She lowered her head at the hands tucking the blanket around her.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

Shin I-hyeok laughed and said she looked like a snowman.

…….

It was awkward.

Seeing each other more often did not mean they talked more.

When Shin I-hyeok spoke, Ju Hayan barely managed to respond.

Sitting silently beside him now, doing nothing, felt deeply uncomfortable.

With her hand still trapped, Ju Hayan sat blankly beside Shin I-hyeok as he fiddled with his phone.

The wall clock was behind her.

She had no idea how much time passed.

Warmth built under the blanket.

Her mind grew drowsy.

Her eyes fluttered.

Still, falling asleep beside him felt wrong.

Fighting the sleep, Ju Hayan abruptly threw the blanket off.

“I’m warm now.”

She looked ready to jump up.

Only after Shin I-hyeok rubbed her hand for a while longer did he let go.

Rubbing her palms against her thighs inside the blanket had paid off.

“I left food in the fridge.”

She answered obediently.

“Yes.”

She prepared the small table.

Sleepy and warm, she felt she could eat and fall asleep right away.

Shin I-hyeok silently watched her move around the narrow kitchen.

When he saw her sit down and take a large bite, he spoke, as if something had just occurred to him.

“Come to think of it.”

“It’s been a cold snap lately.”

“It must be really cold outside.”

Ju Hayan lifted her head slightly from over the lunch box.

With puffed cheeks and only her eyes raised, she looked like a hamster.

Shin I-hyeok did not bother hiding the smile spreading around his eyes.

“On days like this, even sleeping rough would be hard.”

“That’d be rough, wouldn’t it.”

“…….”

“That’s why I say leaving home only brings trouble.”

“Foolish.”

He clicked his tongue.

The sentences were fragmented.

Who they were directed at was obvious.

Ju Hayan slowly stopped chewing and lowered her gaze.

“Did your father contact you at all?”

“…No.”

She answered with her mouth still partly full.

Shin I-hyeok nodded.

Then he suddenly clicked his tongue again.

“I heard that even before borrowing the fifty million, he kept borrowing small amounts.”

“A hundred.”

“Two hundred at a time.”

“…….”

“If he borrowed that much, he could’ve used it on the house.”

“There’s nothing decent here.”

“No TV.”

“No refrigerator.”

“The place isn’t even soundproof.”

“…….”

“Or he could’ve at least given his kid some allowance.”

“A father, of all things.”

Speaking as if he truly did not understand, Shin I-hyeok looked around the house.

Then he looked at Ju Hayan sitting in the corner that served as bedroom, kitchen, and living room.

As if only just remembering she was there.