US 09

Chapter 9

She had set out with bravado.

But the hand of Se-im gripping the steering wheel was slick with sweat. It had been a long time since she’d driven, and her movements were clumsy. She had stepped on the accelerator with the single-minded determination to teach Cha Tae-mok a lesson — that arrogant man who’d shown up unannounced at her school and rudely ordered her into his car.

Still, thankfully, her tension gradually eased. After a while, she even felt relaxed enough to glance around. The quiet neighborhood scenery drifted into her sight.

This was exactly why I avoided looking around even when I walked…

Unexpectedly, her nose stung.

The old corner shop that had closed down when the convenience store opened still had a sign reading “Fresh Handmade Tofu” hanging on it. Her eyes quickly grew hot. It reminded her of her mother, who used to supply tofu to that very shop.

Her mother had been blind in one eye, but she was incredibly dexterous. She cooked well — so well that whenever she moved kitchens, her customers would follow her. She also drew beautifully.

Using her mother’s skills as an excuse, the neighbors would often dump their chores onto her. Each time, her mother would do them without a word of complaint. During her adolescence, Se-im found that frustrating and resented her bitterly.

People who clicked their tongues saying, “Poor thing, with those faded eyes” — and then asked for favors. Why did she…?

That’s how it had been.

And yet…

The mural painted on the community center wall, the sculptures decorating the library courtyard, even the colorful clothing donation bins that didn’t quite fit the rundown hillside neighborhood — all of it had become her mother’s legacy, one she no longer wanted to lose.

Tears clung to her throat, and her eyelids grew heavy. Quickly blinking her eyes, Se-im straightened her spine.

Now it was time to turn onto the back road.

Carefully scanning the way ahead, she slowly drove up the incline.

“Oh, seriously…”

Se-im stared at the two tires buried in a muddy ditch and finally let out a deep sigh. The heavy rain a few days ago must have turned that spot into a muddy pit.

“Ha…”

Her eyes rolled instinctively toward the car’s logo. Three prongs branching out and gleaming — clearly, it was worth a fortune.

Pressing her throbbing temples with her fingers, she pulled up her knees and looked up the steep road. She was about halfway up, she guessed. Since she had to get the car out, she needed to call someone…

But she had no idea who to call. Asking someone she knew for help meant explaining why she was driving Cha Tae-mok’s car, which made her hesitate.

Lost in thought, Se-im picked up her phone. She was just starting to press her father’s number, chewing nervously on the inside of her cheek.

Just then, a taxi turned the corner from the other side.

Taxis rarely passed through the back road of this nearly abandoned hillside village. So she instantly guessed who the passenger was. Sure enough, stepping out of the back seat was Cha Tae-mok.

“……”

She felt like crawling into a mouse hole. Her tongue, momentarily robbed of any excuse, stiffened.

Meanwhile, kwang — he slammed the car door shut and strode toward her with long, quick steps.

A cold current swirled in his darkened eyes. His expression, in contrast, was blank. She could only guess that he was angry.

And he had every right to be. This looked like a new car…

“Look, that’s…”

Before she could finish, her words were blocked by his broad chest.

“……!”

Not only was it surprising that he suddenly pulled her into an embrace, but the crushing force of his arms was even more startling. She could barely breathe and had to hit his back. But his hard body didn’t budge.

“Cha Tae-mok.”

Since their eyes weren’t meeting, she couldn’t tell why he was acting this way. But the rough sound of his breath near her ear made her yield for the moment. She didn’t even resist much when his palm grabbed the back of her head.

Gradually, her own anxious breathing calmed down.

Se-im waited silently, then lifted her flattened cheek. When she pushed him away, he finally stepped back.

At last, she faced Cha Tae-mok. His face looked somehow disheveled. Reading the unstable emotions seeping through his features, Se-im found herself unable to speak for a while.

He was the one who broke the silence first.

“I’ll assume ruining my car was an accident too.”

“…….”

“You’ve gotten a lot more reckless since I last saw you.”

Se-im’s eyes darted between his, and she swallowed dryly. It took a long time for her to part her lips, trying to calm her racing heart.

“What’s going on?”

Somehow, she sensed desperation.

Even without him revealing his feelings, she could tell just by looking into his pupils. It was a kind of habit. One that effortlessly erased the years they had spent apart.

Tae-mok didn’t answer; he only folded his eyes in a faint smile. Then he swept his hair back with a slightly slack gesture. He doesn’t know that’s a habit of his. You always do that whenever you want to change the subject.

Sure enough, he stepped toward the car and abruptly opened the driver’s door.

“Sit.”

“…Why?”

“We have to get it out.”

“You’re going to… do it yourself?”

Tae-mok threw his jacket into the car and walked around to the back, quietly assessing the situation. Then, without hesitation, he stepped into the mud with both feet. Se-im stared in utter shock.

“Why would you go in there…!”

He gave the rear of the stuck car a single push, then came back up onto the road.

“If you want to push, we can switch places.”

There was no stopping him now — he’d already soaked his leather shoes in mud.

Reluctantly, she sat in the driver’s seat and reached for the seatbelt when a hand came over and click — buckled it for her. Then he touched the display, seeming to change some mode.

“Put your foot on the accelerator. Step on it when I tell you. Pushing it hard all at once won’t work, so you’ll increase speed slowly.”

“No, just call a tow truck…”

Completely dismissing her opinion, Tae-mok rolled down the window fully, then kwang — shut the door.

Nervous, Se-im gripped the steering wheel and watched the side mirror. She saw him pick up a few thick branches scattered nearby and wedge them under both tires.

Soon, his fist pounded the car body: thump, thump.

“Press it.”

Gulping, Se-im timidly pressed the accelerator.

She saw mud spattering wildly around the spinning wheels. He was pushing the car and getting splashed with muddy water as well.

Unable to stand it, Se-im stuck her head out the open window.

“It’s not working?”

“Press harder.”

“Harder?”

“Harder.”

Vroom, vroom—

The engine grew louder. The fierce rumbling vibration made her even more anxious.

“It’s not working!”

Tae-mok straightened up and pounded the car with his pushing arm again: thump, thump.

“I said press harder.”

At his relentless urging, she put more force into her toes.

“I’m pressing! But the car is…!”

BZZZZT—!

The sound of grinding parts grew even more intense.

The jolting motion that shook her whole body frayed her nerves. Just as Se-im, her hands clammy with cold sweat, gripped the steering wheel again—

The heavy shuddering stopped for a moment.

“Huh…?”

CRUNCH—!

The car landed roughly back on the ground. Through the now-clearer view, she could tell they were halfway successful.

Se-im poked her head out the window and hurriedly looked back.

“Cha Tae-mok!”

“What are you doing? You stopped pressing.”

“J-just wait!”

Hastily putting her foot back on the accelerator, Se-im squeezed her eyes shut and pushed down firmly with her toes.

WHOOOSH—! WHOOOOSH—!

Behind the sharp, ear-piercing engine noise, his merciless command fell again.

“More!”

“More…?”

That was when—

For a moment, the car was lifted by a strong force, seemed to float in the air, then landed on the ground in an instant.

“Brake!”

At the savage order, her foot reacted quickly.

SKREEEE—

At last, the chaotic roar faded.

“Haah… ha, haah.”

The whole world became calm.

Fumbling to unbuckle her seatbelt, Se-im scrambled out of the car.

The previous moments had been brutal for someone as inexperienced at driving as she was. Holding onto the now-stopped car, she gasped for breath when suddenly a handkerchief appeared.

The gentle hand wiping her cold sweat was annoyingly tender. It’s not like you’re giving me medicine after poisoning me… Of course, she knew she had no right to complain, since she’d gotten his tires stuck.

Even when she shook her head side to side, she couldn’t dodge his large hand.

“That’s enough. You’re way more of a mess, you know?”

Having stepped into the mud himself, his once-pristine outfit was inevitably ruined.

As if agreeing, Tae-mok chuckled and tossed the handkerchief aside.

“Yeah, I’m a mess.”

Then, in an instant, he snatched her hand.

“……!”

“I’m just wearing a suit, but I’m a fucking mess, Se-im.”

Her captured hand, against her will, had to trace down his solid chest, smearing her palm with the squelchy residue that had stained his shirt.

Her brow furrowed, but he didn’t seem to care at all.

“Because we’re both a mess—”

In fact, he seemed almost deliberately dirtier. When he tightly grasped her hand, now stained brown, she finally understood his intent.

“So, Han Se-im. Don’t push me away anymore. And don’t be scared.”

“…….”

“I’m more than capable of affording to have you ruin a car like this now.”