One Year Marriage

Chapter 3

Kang-jae Cha.

The young son of the household where my mother worked as a housekeeper for many years.

The boy who gave me rides on the back of his bicycle.

The older brother, two years my senior, who rejected my confession of love ten years ago.

The man I wait for every day.

I like him...

Even though he and I... We’ve never shared a deep conversation. I don’t even have his contact information. Now, we’re just a restaurant owner and a customer exchanging meals for money.

“I? What? What’s taking you so long?” Yae-boon asked.

“Uhh...” Moon-young trailed off. “I guess I like someone who is tall, neat, and handsome.”

Instead of saying who I truly liked, a generic, common answer slipped from my lips under pressure.

“That’s it?”

“I think so...”

“Oh dear,” lamented Yae-boon. “I wonder who you’ll ever end up with. Do you even know how to pick the right person...?”

As Moon-young resumed walking forward, she glanced briefly at her muttering mother and let out a deep sigh that shook her chest.

And...

Mom, you’re the one who made him lonely. You betrayed the lady of the house for money...

That’s why I can’t even bring myself to admit I like him—even though my heart feels like it’s going to burst whenever he’s near.

＊ ＊ ＊

From a time she couldn’t even remember until the end of her nineteenth year, Moon-young had grown up in the annex of the Seongbuk-dong home of the chairman of Yoojung Construction.

During that time, her mother, Yae-boon, had managed the household. She’d been known as Kang-gyung-daek.

Yae-boon regarded those days as dusty, distant memories, but Moon-young recalled her youth like it was yesterday. Throughout her time at the estate, Moon-young’s heart had been captured by Kang-jae Cha. Even now, just thinking of him sent sharp pangs through her chest.

“Moon-young. Want to ride my bike?”

“Moon-young. Want to study with me?”

“Moon-young.”

The tender, warm voice that used to call her name had disappeared when Moon-young had turned thirteen. It’d all changed when the master of the main house—or rather, the owner of the second-floor guest home—had been replaced.

The lady of the house, whom Moon-young’s mother had served, had been cast out for infidelity. Around that time, when Moon-young was eight, a boy her age and his mother had moved into the second floor of the annex and later claimed the main house as their own.

They’d referred to them as the mistress and the illegitimate son. From then on, everyone had addressed them with reverence as the lady of the house and young master, Sun-jae.

At the same time, the boy who’d captured Moon-young’s heart had been banished from the main house to the second floor of the guest house.

“Here’s the money I promised. It’s more than enough to pay off your husband’s debts. Moon-young’s entering middle school, right? You’ll be able to afford expensive tutors and nice clothes.”

“Ma’am, you can still...”

“Still what? That woman was caught in an immoral act and got what she deserved. No matter what anyone says, that’s the truth. Do you think you’ll be safe if you try to deny it now? Think carefully. I’m the lady of the house now for Yoojung Construction. I’m the wife of Yoojung Construction.”

That day, the woman had come to the annex, patted Yae-boon’s shoulder, and handed her an envelope. Moon-young had seen it all with her own eyes.

Even as a child, Moon-young had known. She’d understood that her mother had played a big part in the previous lady leaving the house. Moon-young hadn’t known the specifics of her mother’s actions, but it’d been clear that her mother had betrayed the lady and accepted money from the woman who’d taken her place.

Shaken by the unbelievable sight, Moon-young had turned to flee from the front entrance, only to find Kang-jae standing behind her. The boy, who’d been glaring murderously over her shoulder, had spun around and stormed away, leaving Moon-young frozen in shock.

From that moment on—yes, from that moment—he’d stopped calling Moon-young’s name.

“Where are you going this late?”

“I have indigestion, so I’m going to jump rope for a bit, Mom.”

“Indigestion again? Skip your classes tomorrow and go to the hospital with me.”

“No. It’s nothing—I just ate too much.”

After school, Kang-jae had often locked himself in his room and refused to come out. On those nights, Moon-young had used indigestion as an excuse to step out to see him. There’d been countless nights when she’d secretly ached at the sight of him sitting by the second-floor window, loneliness etched across his features.

＊ ＊ ＊

Back in the present, Moon-young’s gaze landed on the sign for her father’s business.

[Happiness Laundromat]

Despite the rise of unmanned and branded chain laundromats, her father’s small shop had remained a fixture in the neighborhood. It was the small laundromat her mother had been able to preserve with the money she’d received in exchange for betraying the previous lady of the house.

For this laundromat...

Seeing her reflection in the darkened window, Moon-young shook her head slightly, trying to erase the thoughts crowding her mind.

“Aren’t you going in? What are you doing standing there?” asked Yae-boon.

“Oh, I’m coming.”

Yae-boon opened the laundromat door and stepped inside first. Moon-young turned, closed the umbrella, and shook off the rainwater.

“Look at how soaked your clothes are.”

Yae-boon’s hand came down gently on Moon-young’s shoulder. As she brushed the rainwater off Moon-young’s jacket, she spoke.

“Moon-young. Make sure to take care of yourself first. I’m old now, so it doesn’t matter if I get rained or snowed on.”

Her loving touch feels unbearably heavy. While I basked in overwhelming love, how lonely must he have been in that house?

The memories of those days refused to fade from Moon-young’s mind.

After locking the laundromat door, Moon-young headed straight to her room. She didn’t even bother taking off her jacket as she collapsed onto her bed, letting out a long sigh.

Even though she knew her mother was at fault, Moon-young could not help but feel like an accomplice for having grown up under her shadow—that was why she felt so sorry about Kang-jae. She felt hurt as she watched him; she wanted to reach out but never dared to get close.

“Why does it have to be today... of all days...?”

Instead of her thoughts fading, they only grew heavier. Moon-young collapsed completely onto her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

“Get in the car. I told you I’d give you a ride.”

Unlike Kang-jae Cha, his half-brother Sun-jae Cha had smothered Moon-young with an annoying and uncomfortable kind of affection. During high school, she’d had to endure awkward morning disputes about him driving her to her new school, which had been slightly farther away than her previous one. This was despite him having known that his mother would not have approved of a relationship between them, given the social differences she’d always enforced.

“I’ll get scolded by your mother. I don’t want to.”

“I’ll keep it a secret. You know the driver won’t say anything.”

“Still.”

“Do you know how sketchy this road is?!”

“It’s fine. If things get dangerous, I’ll just call the police. I’m leaving.”

“Moon-young Suh! Moon-young!”

Ignoring the chauffeur-driven car Sun-jae had ridden in, Moon-young had always walked down the hill lined with mansions. She would soon find Kang-jae, who’d left before them.

She’d never been able to walk alongside him, so she’d always carefully trailed behind his shadow. The time spent following behind him had passed in the blink of an eye, and before she’d known it, they would arrive at her school.

Back then, she would wave silently at his back—the back of a man who never greeted her, never looked behind him, and always stared straight ahead.

He’d attended a foreign-language high school in the opposite direction from hers, and she’d dared to imagine that he might’ve walked her to school each morning before heading back the other way.

The image of Kang-jae in his school uniform, walking away, floated above Moon-young on the right side of the ceiling. Feeling strangely nostalgic, she shifted her gaze to the other side.

However, on the left side of the ceiling...

“I like you, Oppa...”

“Did I ever give you any reason to think I like you back?”

“What? Oh... No, not really...”

“Then don’t waste my time. I don’t like you.”

It’d happened when her mother had quit working at the mansion. This had been Moon-young’s bold confession—she’d known she would likely be rejected.

Kang-jae had firmly turned down her final desperate attempt.

Moon-young then stared at the center of the ceiling. There, she saw the memory of Kang-jae unexpectedly showing up as a customer not long after she’d opened her restaurant. She’d thought she had let go of her feelings, but the moment she’d seen him, her heart had sunk, and she’d realized.

Ah, I still like him.

What she had been seeking in the people who approached her, claiming to like her, was his aura, his sorrowful eyes, his lonely silhouette—perhaps everything about him.

“Yes. That’s how it was...”

And so, Moon-young had begun to wait... even though he was a man she could never be with.

It was all because she liked him so much.