Monday, 06 August 2007

• *Chapter Eighteen* Blinding Memories Are Making My Heart Ache Part II

  
  

  
  

  
  

  < Part 2 >

  
  

  
  

  “Is he really a plutocrat?” asked En Chan despondently.

  
  

  “Looks that way. I knew he was rich, but I didn't know he was that rich. I should've known when a young man poured all that money into the store. His watch too, like Ha Rim said, not to mention it didn't look like he did anything before this store. Where would a guy like that get so much money? I thought, he's probably from a pretty rich household. Still... Dong Yi Group....” said Mr. Hong, letting out a sigh.

  
  

  “Man made money, not the other way around. Even so, the man's got a bit of a wicked streak, hasn't he? It's like I'm seeing him in a new light. Some people don't have the money to run even this one store, and some people own several huge companies. When I look at him, I think I understand what people mean when they say that money earns money. When that guy first talked about 300% and whatnot, I secretly laughed at him. All right, go ahead, go ahead and make a fool out of yourself. Looks like you still don't know how bitter the world is. And look, he goes and does it. Damn, money really makes a moron out of a person, doesn't it?”

  
  

  En Chan agreed with him. She'd believed him to be the youngest son of some rich family, but there was a huge difference between that and being a plutocrat who was a part of the enormous Dong Yi Group. It was like the difference between saying, 'look at that big mountain over there' and saying 'look, that's Mt. Everest.'

  
  

  “The building owner told us to get out,” said En Chan, as if talking about somebody else.

  
  

  “Which building owner?”

  
  

  “Our house.”

  
  

  “What? Why? He's kicking you out now that the dojo master's gone? What a jerk!”

  
  

  “He says he's demolishing the building and rebuilding it.”

  
  

  “Oh..... that building is pretty old, huh?”

  
  

  En Chan, who'd been sitting still, suddenly looked at the ramen box on top of the cabinet and said,

  
  

  “Se Cham Ramen's from Dong Yi Group, right?”

  
  

  Mr. Hong, who'd followed her gaze, nodded.

  
  

  “Probably.”

  
  

  “The multivitamin my mom takes every day's from Dong Yi Pharmaceuticals. I know because I buy it for her. Do you know who built the apartment complex behind the market there?”

  
  

  “Dong Yi Construction.”

  
  

  “Bingo.”

  
  

  “That's not all. The fusion Korean chain food restaurant my wife likes is theirs too.”

  
  

  “The company En Se auditioned with last time is D Entertainment.”

  
  

  “Right. That's Dong Yi Group's too.”

  
  

  “But they dropped her.”

  
  

  “Bastards.”

  
  

  A silence ensued. The inferiority and powerlessness, the feeling of injustice and unnameable anger that a commoner felt when they looked at a plutocrat made their lips heavy.

  
  

  “You have to find somewhere to live. Want me to help you?”

  
  

  At his words, En Chan smiled and said in a self-mocking tone,

  
  

  “We have no money.”

  
  

  “H-how much do you have?”

  
  

  “Nothing but debts. But they say our sajang is a plutocrat.”

  
  

  Suddenly, something hot flared up inside of En Chan. An emotion she hadn't known she had seemed to break into a thousand pieces. Something that had been stacking up in her heart unbenownst to her came tumbling down at all once.

  
  

  “I've never once thought this before..... Well, no... when Dad died, and now.... but... the world is really unfair, isn't it? I really tried hard to live my best.... I tried my best to keep my promise... with my dad... and.....”

  
  

  En Chan burst into tears. Mr. Hong didn't know what to do with himself. Ever since he'd gotten to know En Chan, he'd never seen her cry.

  
  

  “Ch-chan-ah..... what's the matter.....”

  
  

  “H-how could he? Tricking me like that..... And he was so far away..... I didn't know he was someone who was so far out of reach....... I d-didn't know......”

  
  

  En Chan buried her face in her lap and sobbed. The harder she tried to control herself, the harder her emotions rose up from inside of her, and she could not stop crying. The memories they'd shared together rose up in her mind. Those memories came to her like scenes in a movie. When they'd first met in the street, and she'd thought he was an arrogant bastard, the time she'd met him in the hotel and had put her hand on his bare chest, the awkward kiss they'd shared in front of so many people, memories of Coffee Prince, the fight in the parking lot when they'd gone to buy dishware, when they played basketball, when he pierced her ear, when he wrapped her hand up for her......

  
  

  Suddenly, shock struck down on her head. I.... I like him. The moment the thought came to her, an uncontrollable wave of sorrow crashed into her. Shock tore at her chest. It was painful, as if her heart was being ripped to shreds.

  
  

  “W-what do I do..... oh God, ahjussi..... what do I do.......”

  
  

  En Chan began to weep. Mr. Hong, feeling sympathetic towards her, awkwardly put out his hand to pat her on the back and tried to comfort her. But now that En Chan's tears had came out of their gate, they had no intention of holding back or stopping. Then abruptly she stood up. She went toward the window and turned with her back to him. She quickly wiped away her tears and turned around at him and said in a husky voice,

  
  

  “I-I'm just embarrassed is all. To have looked up a tree I can't climb. For someone like our sajangnim, someone like me has no chance. He probably doesn't think of me as more than a spot on the ground, right?”

  
  

  “Chan-ah.”

  
  

  “Damn, how embarrassing. You c-can't tell anyone, ok? If you tell anyone, you be my son, heads up seven up. Ah-ahjussi.... I want to be alone for a while.”

  
  

  Thick tears fell from En Chan's eyes. Just then, the employee's lounge door flung open. En Chan immediately turned her body toward the window and hid her tears.

  
  

  “What are you going to eat for lunch? We're going to order from Gong Joo Restaurant today. Hyung, you want a bulgogi dubbab, right?”

  
  

  “I-I'm not eating.”

  
  

  “Ahjussi, you want—..... w-wait. What? Hyung, I think I heard you wrong.....”

  
  

  “L-let's go outside.”

  
  

  Mr. Hong dragged a dazed Ha Rim outside. Han Kyul was getting ready to leave to get to his lunch date with his mother. Ha Rim, who had been dragged out from the employee's lounge, said in a shocked voice,

  
  

  “Hey, Nak Kyun. En Chan hyung's saying he's not eating lunch.”

  
  

  “April Fool's Day's already passed.”

  
  

  “I'm serious. Either that or I'm going deaf. Ahjussi, you heard it, right?”

  
  

  “Just leave him. Channy has those kinds of moments too, you know.”

  
  

  Immediately, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Mr. Hong. Nak Kyun, who'd been cleaning off the tables, stopped with a cup held up in the air. Sun Ki stopped drying his cup, and Han Kyul stopped in the middle of putting on his jacket. Everyone froze, as if someone had said “Red light.” The first one to hear “green light” was Han Kyul.

  
  

  “What's going on? Is he inside?”

  
  

  Mr. Hong stopped Han Kyul, who was trying to get into the lounge.

  
  

  “He wants to be alone.”

  
  

  “What?” Han Kyul looked at Mr. Hong in surprise, but all he could do against a head-shaking Mr. Hong was to look at the door.

  
  
  
  
  

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