Nighttime, in a small apartment near S University.
Yeo Ri's eyes suddenly snapped open in the middle of the night. Her back was slightly covered with cold sweat and she was panting lightly. Her eyes shook as if she had just woken up from a bad dream. She slowly sat up, trying to control her breathing so the man sleeping soundly next to her—Gun—would not wake up.
This was a common occurrence.
Yeo Ri blinked her eyes once, twice, thrice, until the sense of disorientation and grogginess finally wore off. She glanced around the room, as though confirming that she was indeed in their new house and not that scary room.
She heaved a silent breath of relief, loosening her tightened fists. Quietly, she stood up, careful not to startle Gun from his rest. This had been an almost daily happening; perhaps it was due to her unfamiliarity to the new place.
She headed towards the study desk that Gun had assembled for her, and sat down on the matching chair. She turned the desk lamp on, shining some light in the otherwise dark room.
From the corner of her eyes, she could see the somewhat shiny surface of the full-sized mirror hanging on the wall to her right. She turned her head slightly to look at her reflection and narrowed her eyes.
She pursed her lips, muttering, "Ugly."
"Dirty little sl*t," she added.
"Why are you so ugly?" She repeated, staring into the reflected pair of dimmed eyes. She was deathly pale and resembled a walking corpse. 'So ugly, so dirty,' she thought. 'So dumb.'
A slight hint of hatred flashed within her dull orbs, making her look rather alive.
As if unable to stand looking at herself anymore, she turned away, instead focusing on the various items laid out on the desk.
She picked out a clean, blank piece of paper from a stack to her left and chose a black-inked pen. This, too, was a common occurrence.
When she found herself unable to fall asleep, she would start writing another letter to send to Hyuk. It eased her loneliness somewhat; whenever she wrote to him, it felt as if he was quietly listening to her talk. It was rather therapeutic.
Though, despite her newfound habit, she never wrote anything about her bad dreams or her insomnia to him; as usual, she liked to keep certain things to herself so he wouldn't worry.
Uncapping the cap, she began to write...
'Dear Hyuk-oppa,
How are you? I hope you're healthy and out of trouble. Hehe, something funny happened today! I went to visit Ra Hee at the hospital and... ... ...'
...
..
.
Morning.
When Gun woke up, Yeo Ri was already up and about, a rag in her hand. She looked to be cleaning the one-room apartment restlessly.
"Can't sleep again?" Gun asked, disapproval in his tone. "Yeo Ri-ah, why didn't you wake me up? Oppa would've accompanied you until you fall asleep again."
Yeo Ri smiled apologetically but shook her head at Gun, "I can't do that, Oppa. I saw online that university students rarely get enough sleep, so they should charge up during the holidays. You'll be a university student in just a few more weeks. I can't let you take that risk." She looked at him seriously, determined to stick with her reasoning.
"I can never win against you, can I?" Gun complained, his eyes softening indulgently as he gazed at his adorable baby sister.
"Nope!" Yeo Ri giggled, flashing him a happy smile. No trace of the gloominess from the night before could be detected on her face. It was as if she was a completely different person.
The two spent their morning in peace and quiet.
At around 11 a.m., Gun received a phone call from Hwang Se Jin.
"Gun, did you hear? It seems like the investigations for Lee Do Joon's case is over. They've finally identified the last of the victims' bodies. It's finally over," the older man said. His voice sounded light and enthusiastic.
"The case is closed?" Gun repeated slowly, feeling a sense of surrealism.
"Yes. The police just called me earlier. They'll probably inform you sometime today," Hwang Se Jin affirmed. They had been waiting for years, and now, his sister could finally rest in peace. He suddenly felt liberated. Though it was a pity that his sister had passed away, he had already came to terms with the fact that she was dead ages ago.
"My family is holding a funeral for my sister. You can come, if you want," he added. "You've worked hard, Gun. Thank you for everything." Hwang Se Jin felt indebted to Gun. Had he not reached out to him all those years ago, he would have never thought he could find closure.
Gun shook his head, "No, thank you. I wouldn't want to intrude. After all..." It was my father who took her life, he inwardly said. He doubted that Mr. and Mrs. Hwang would be comfortable with him there.
"...Well, I'll give you the address if you changed your mind." Hwang Se Jin gave Gun the time and place of the funeral before hanging up.
Gun looked up to Yeo Ri who was sitting on the bed, her back against the wall, with her eyes closed. He could hear the faint melodic sound of a song coming out of the earphones she was wearing. He stared at her for some time before finally deciding to shake her.
"Yeo Ri-ah," he softly called out.
Yeo Ri opened her eyes and took out her earphones. "Hm?" She looked at him quizzically with a hint of a smile on her face.
"Do you have plans later? I suddenly feel like going somewhere."
"Go where?"
Gun lowered his eyelids for a moment before he looked at her again, replying, "Mom's grave."
"..." Yeo Ri heard his reply and looked at her hands silently. Should she go? To her mother's grave? She wondered.
All this time, she never really cared about her absent mother whom she barely had a recollection of. At first, she felt resentful because the woman had 'left' her children behind, but after hearing that she was dead... although she was sad, she got over it rather easily. To her, the person called Han Yeoreum was as estranged to her as Heo Woo Seung. Now, all that was left was indifference and a faint trace of longing.
"Yeo Ri-ah?" Gun noticed her strange reaction and became worried. Yeo Ri was extremely young when Han Yeoreum died, so he wondered if she felt indignant.
"Mm, I'll go," she finally decided. She brought up a small smile on her face, hiding her thoughts. Gun couldn't figure out what she was feeling and became even more worried.
Yeo Ri pulled the corner of her lips upwards, feeling helpless at Gun's concerned expression. "What is it, Oppa? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No, it's nothing... are you really fine with coming with me? If it's too painful, then you—" he nervously said. Han Yeoreum was only his stepmother, but even he felt sorrowful. Who knew what Yeo Ri—her biological daughter—would feel. Visiting the grave of their dead mother must be very hard for her, he painfully thought.
"What are you talking about, Oppa? I'll be fine; you don't have to worry about me," Yeo Ri reassured him. She sighed in her heart. Even now, Gun still thought of her as an innocent and fragile child. She wondered if he would be disappointed with her if he knew what she was actually thinking of.
"Okay, then," Gun nodded. Just as Yeo Ri had predicted in her mind, Gun showed an expression as if he was thinking, 'she's acting strong even though she's hurting inside.'
"Shall we go and get ready? I'll pack our lunch and you can go buy some flowers before we go," she said. The grave was a two-hour train ride from their new home and some preparations needed to be done before they leave the house.
"Okay," Gun flashed a smile at Yeo Ri before getting ready to go out and buy a bouquet of flowers for their mother.