EGOIST (Sang Woo x Fem!OC) [COMPLETED]

36

All the bills and notices were piling on her coffee table now, and she didn't have the time to settle in yet. Perhaps this was a mistake. Coming back to Seoul, Hae Young thought she'd be back in her old apartment in Gwanak-gu, but her plans had to be changed. She couldn't afford to be anywhere anymore, and the apartment she got in Deongson-dong was a result of sheer luck. Mrs. Kang had been a gracious host the moment they had met, and when she found out that she had one more apartment available, Hae Young took the chance.

Her job, however, was not something she wished for. The publishing company that hired her was close to failing, but they were desperate for editors. Tired, hungry, underpaid, it's like hitting rock bottom once again when she first went to Seoul to study in SNU. Only, the support was no longer there.

That's fine, she tells herself. She could look for better job opportunities somewhere. She has the qualifications, she can rise from this like she always did. She could go to districts with bigger pay, even try to work in Yeouido like she's always wanted. There was a pause in her thought, surprised with her own memory of five years ago. Has that been that long?

Either way, she cringes at the thought. In the span of five years, she was able to throw out all her savings into the drain. Medical bills, taxes, and all those other fees she can no longer count in her head. She sighs, this is why she had to come back. She needs to keep working to keep him alive. It didn't help either that the bank was biting her ass to pay her debts, and those loan sharks who gave her a false beacon of hope in her time of need. This was the future she had warned herself about.

Still, there was a sliver of hope as she returned to Seoul. The second she had unpacked her things, she immediately hopped on the train that led her to Ssangmun-dong. It was the city that she could call home. The street market and the people she thought she'd never meet again. When she visited Mrs. Cho for the first time in years, she was elated.

Mrs. Cho pulled her in for a tight embrace despite her soiled hands from cutting up fish guts. She was happy to see her again, pulling away with teary eyes. "I'm glad you decided to return. Things would have been dull without you, Hae Young."

"I miss you too, imo." She smiles.

There were a lot of things she wanted to tell her, all those years in Gangwon molding into a story perfect to be told over dinner.

She asks her where she lives now, she tells her she lives in Deongson-dong, much nearer now than when she had stayed in Gwanak-gu. It was an opportunity for her to visit the aging lady after work. There was a moment when Mrs. Cho felt as if she wouldn't need to be alone in her own home anymore.

"How is Gi-Hun?"

That was a mistake to ask, when Mrs. Cho only answered her with a frustrated sigh.

"He could be better, honestly." Mrs. Cho tells her.

He's in the pits again. His gambling addiction just worsened at this point. Hae Young sighs. Things didn't get better in the past few years.

She looks up at the sky. It was dusk already. As much as she wanted to lengthen this short-lived reunion, there is a lot of work to be done. She bids Mrs. Cho a closing gesture, much to her dismay. It took the two a while to say goodbye.

"Oh, Hae Young." She says, before letting the younger woman go.

"Would you want me to tell Sang-Woo that you were here?"

There was a sudden jolt of emotions that she hadn't felt in years making its way to her heart, though it only made it heart. She only gave the lady a tight-lipped smile.

"That won't be necessary, imo." She says. He doesn't need to know.