Chapter 16. Like an Orphan

The stormy morning had passed.

The rain from the sky was coming down in heavier sheets.

Everyone had gone off to their respective areas, but Do-ah was riding in the [Ihwado-ga] van toward the village health clinic.

Rattle, rattle.

Sitting in the passenger seat with no cushioning whatsoever, she stared out the window.

‘Today… I was supposed to go into the inner quarters.’

She could have learned how to make Gumu-tteok…

Her gaze dropped to her foot as if blaming it, her mood as deflated as a popped balloon.

‘Look at your foot. What a mess. Foolish child.’

Eun-ja’s sharp scolding probably came from a place of care, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.

Thinking of how she’d made Eun-ja worry made tears well up unexpectedly.

In the end, Eun-ja had called the Village Chief’s second son, the local health officer, but he said house calls weren’t possible.

‘Then I’ll take her myself. I feel partly responsible for her ankle ending up like this.’

Because Gwon-ha stepped up, she had no choice but to get in the car.

It was a twenty-minute drive to the clinic.

In that short time, Do-ah was consumed with countless thoughts.

The man sitting next to her was uncomfortable enough, but that wasn’t the part she hated most.

‘Ugh, of all people, I really didn’t want to run into him.’

The thought of going to someone she already felt awkward around made her stomach turn.

She remembered what Seong-ju had said on his first day as the clinic’s public health doctor, and her face grew even paler.

‘Do-ah. Don’t you know why I volunteered to work here? It’s because of you. I couldn’t forget my first love, you.’

What was she supposed to do with that.

She had already rejected him once, yet Seong-ju continued to pursue her relentlessly.

If she hadn’t heard the truth of his feelings from Yeon-ah, she might have been swayed by that persistence.

Like an orphan, starved for affection.

Pathetically, desperately clinging to the hope that someone might truly be on her side.

‘Girls like you are the easiest. All it takes is a little kindness and you melt. Seong-ju oppa said the same thing.’

After that, every word out of Seong-ju’s mouth sounded twisted.

She avoided the clinic as much as possible because even running into him was uncomfortable.

She’d grown used to enduring pain in silence.

Ever since she’d been brought into this village as an orphan, she’d lived her life tiptoeing around others, terrified that showing weakness would get her cast out.

That hadn’t changed from childhood to adulthood.

So this time, she’d intended to do the same…

She turned her head away from the view of the rain-soaked green barley fields.

The man at the wheel had the profile of someone carved out of stone, his arrogant expression fixed on the road ahead.

Her eyes filled with quiet resentment.

‘…I said I was fine. Why stir up all this trouble.’

She felt angry for no real reason, as if all this was that lanky man’s fault.

But she didn’t want to talk to Gwon-ha anymore.

The more she spoke with him, the more entangled things felt.

‘He’s just a temporary guest. So why do I keep paying attention to him.’

She could usually brush people off easily, but somehow it didn’t work with him.

Maybe it was because their first meeting had been such a mess.

As she thought this, the van began to slow down.

They’d reached the fork at the edge of the village.

Without looking at her, Gwon-ha asked:

“Where do I go from here.”

“…”

“Straight or right?”

She didn’t answer the second time either.

He tapped the steering wheel with his finger, then glanced sideways.

Their eyes met and his pupils flickered noticeably.

Do-ah calmly stated what she wanted.

“Can’t we just stop by a pharmacy instead. I don’t think it’s serious enough for the hospital.”

“If it’s swollen that much, you should see a doctor. Unless you have a real reason for not wanting to go, let’s just go.”

She couldn’t bring herself to say she didn’t want to run into Seong-ju.

She didn’t like explaining her personal circumstances to anyone, least of all this man.

So she chose a vague excuse.

“I just don’t like busy places.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good reason to endure pain.”

“You said you boxed before. You said you know about these things.”

“I do, but to be sure you should get checked at the hospital…”

“Then you do it. Treat me.”

Even after she spoke, he didn’t answer.

He just stared at her with an unreadable expression.

His Adam’s apple bobbed visibly above his shirt collar.

“…Let’s at least get an X-ray. If there’s something wrong with the bone, there’s nothing I can do anyway.”

His answer made a faint crack appear between her brows.

She turned her head away sharply.

“Straight.”

He stepped on the gas again.

The van passed down a road lined with plane trees like curtains.

The steady spring rain tapping on the window filled the silence between them, accompanied by the creaking of the stiff seats.

They drove straight until they reached the clinic building at the end of the road.

The rain had stopped just in time.

When he tried to get out with her, she raised her hand to stop him.

“You stay here. I’ll go alone.”

“Let’s go together.”

“No. I prefer going alone. You’re not my guardian.”

Her tone was colder than a Siberian wind.

Leaving the frozen Gwon-ha behind, she got out of the van.

But the moment her feet touched the ground, she froze.

A man stood at the clinic entrance.

The Village Chief’s second son, Bong Seong-ju.

“Do-ah.”

His eyes shone with longing behind his white coat, while hers darkened immediately.

Her ankle might have been the injured part, but her wrist ached as if remembering the time he had grabbed her.

‘Don’t you really get how I feel? I’m the only one who understands your background. I’m a doctor, Do-ah. Once my public service is done, I’ll open a clinic in Seoul. You can leave that Ihwado-ga where you’re basically a servant. I’ll take care of you.’

It had been a disgusting display of so-called kindness.

He had mocked her origins as an orphan and belittled the work she devoted herself to.

That day’s confession had left an indelible wound.

Worse, drunk Seong-ju had crossed a line.

‘I told you no. I’ve never seen you as anything more.’
‘Why not? I’ve liked you since high school. I’m handsome, have a good job, and a healthy body. Look. Just looking at you gets me…’
‘Step back before I report you.’
‘Do-ah! Look at me. Please, look at me!’
‘Should I call the Village Chief?’

He had tried to pull her hand toward his lower body, but stumbled back when she pushed him.

If he hadn’t been the Village Chief’s son, she would have made an issue of it.

Eun-ja, who hated causing trouble in Yehwa Village, and the Village Chief, who had helped her integrate despite her reserved nature, were both on her mind.

She didn’t want to disgrace him.

So she’d chosen to simply avoid Seong-ju.

She never expected to face him again like this.

“What happened to your leg.”

“…”

“Come inside. We’ll run some tests. Give me your hand.”

His voice was laced with a strange, expectant gentleness.

But to her, it sounded like pure hypocrisy.

She pushed his hand away and looked up at him with cold eyes.

“I can walk on my own.”

Her voice was as calm as ever, but a chill radiated from her gaze.

Seong-ju swallowed dryly and clenched his awkwardly hanging hand.

“…Still the same. Am I still that uncomfortable to you?”

So this was why she hadn’t wanted to come.

This scene played out every time she saw him, and it was always irritating.

She didn’t sugarcoat it.

“Yes. You make me uncomfortable.”

“Why. Why am I uncomfortable. You don’t even have a man.”

His pretense crumbled in the face of her bluntness.

Do-ah sighed quietly at his complete lack of patience.

Maybe she had to be even more direct for him to get it.

Expressionless, she said:

“Whether I have a man or not, I’m telling you you’re not it.”

“…What?”

“Honestly, you’re just not attractive.”

“Hey, Joo Do-ah!”

The moment Seong-ju’s pride cracked and he grabbed her arm roughly, a towering shadow swept in like a storm.

“Let go of her hand.”