In-yeop heaved a sigh to calm himself. He is irritated right now but he has no right to be mad since he is talking to their boss. "Where do I bring the girl?"
"Oh, no no no! You are not bringing the girl anywhere," the man said and smirked. "I want...
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In-yeop washed his face and joined the others for lunch. The lunch was full of noise since they were eating with the kids. Soomi and In-yeop sat together with the members and caretakers of the organization. One of the members keeps on telling them funny experiences he had with the kids and every story makes Soomi laugh. In-yeop remained silent throughout the time, glancing at Soomi from time to time. He doesn't care about whatever conversation they are having. He is satisfied with just looking at Soomi's smile.
After their lunch, everyone went back to work. They were all busy cleaning the children's rooms and Soomi helped as much as she could. She was enjoying what she's doing that she did not notice that the sun is about to set. She looked around and realized that she hasn't seen In-yeop the whole afternoon. She excused herself and looked for the guy. She tried the place where she knows no one will be around because she knows that In-yeop always wants to be alone -- the rooftop.
Her lips formed a smile when her guess was right. He's standing near the rooftop's railing, looking up at the dimming sky. Soomi paused for a while to appreciate what she's seeing. In-yeop looks so peaceful watching the birds go by, his hair that seems so soft is being blown by the wind. She placed her hand on top of her chest as she felt her heart beating fast. She now knows why she's feeling this way and she can't deny it anymore.
She's falling for him. She's falling for the guy who almost killed her.
At first, she thought it was just some feeling which will pass by. She thought that the reason why her heart keeps on beating like that whenever he is near her is that she finds him attractive. However, as she came to know him better, what she feels is not just attraction. She likes In-yeop.
In-yeop must have felt her presence so he looked at her, giving her his signature stare like he doesn't care about the world. Soomi smiled and walked towards him.
"What are you doing here?" She asked as she got near him.
"It's chaotic down there," he said and looked down at the people who start to call the kids to go inside the building since it is almost night. Both of them watch as the kids run inside while some are still playing chase with the caretakers since they still do not want to get inside.
"I wish I could be a kid again," Soomi said which made In-yeop look at her. "Innocent and carefree. Smiling even though they do not know what happened or will happen to them."
"When they grow up, they will realize what it is that happened to them," In-yeop said and this time it is Soomi who looked at him. "They will realize how cruel life is. Their smiles will fade and will be replaced by anger and revenge."
Soomi stared at In-yeop whose eyes are fixated on the children laughing with their friends. Her heart aches for him. She knows he experienced a lot of pain, felt different kinds of pain, and this pain haunts him all the time. This is the reason why he doesn't socialize with others because it is hard for him to trust anyone because of his experiences.
Soomi reached for his hand which is placed on the concrete barrier of the rooftop. In-yeop looked at her hand on top of his then looked at her. "You are not a bad guy," Soomi softly said.
"You don't know what you're saying," In-yeop said. "Don't you remember my job? What I did to you? I almost killed you."
"But you didn't," Soomi said with a small smile. "You saved my life." When In-yeop did not speak, she continued. "You may not realize it but you have saved a lot of lives. You saved Yumi and those children," she said and looked down at the kids. She once again looked at him. "You're not a bad guy, In-yeop."
This is the first time that someone spoke words like this to In-yeop and it made him feel confused. He always thought that no one will ever understand how he feels because they have never experienced the hardships he experienced. The pain he felt when he saw how her parents were killed in front of him. Right now, he is stuck somewhere between what if, what might, what could have, and what never will. Every day he searches for the answers to these questions that it already numbed him. He is a broken soul.
However, with Soomi's words, he feels different. He feels like there is a shade of light lighting his path. He feels like he has a purpose. He realized that even a broken soul like him can still be fixed.
He looks at her hand on top of his again and he felt the warmth of it. He moved his hand and clasped it on hers. He was not satisfied with it and started lacing their fingers. He looks at Soomi and the girl is just staring at her, not bothered by what he did. She even smiled at him.
"There you are." Soomi immediately pulled her hand from In-yeop's touch when they heard a voice from the rooftop's entrance. It was Yumi and she's giving them a suspicious smile.
"Am I interrupting something?" She asked as she walked closer to the two.
"N-No. We were just talking," Soomi stuttered. Yumi chuckled at her reaction.
"It's time to go. It's getting dark. The road is bumpy and it will be dangerous if we will go later," Yumi explained to them.
"When will you visit them again?" Soomi asked with a lace of disappointment in her voice upon hearing that they will already leave.
"I'll visit again next month," Yumi answered. "You can come with me again if you are still with us by that time?"
If you are still with us. That sentence hit Soomi hard. She knows she has to leave them and continue her plan but she silently wishes that she could stay with them for a bit longer.
They bid goodbye to the kids and the caretakers and promised them to come back. They hit the road and after almost an hour ride, they finally reached home.
