Fallen

Downpour

One step, should be okay.

It was with that thought, initially, that Ri Jeong Hyeok had taken a step out of his comfort zone to go to the Yoon residence that late spring evening to see if he could catch a glimpse of Seri.

The struggle against logic and propriety had been immense— the lady had after all, clearly told him not to contact her again.

Still, he had gone ahead with taking that first step, no matter if it was okay or not.

It shouldn't end like this, he kept telling himself.

All these feelings and emotions, the ones that cut the deepest, are also those that are the most absurd.
Subconsciously longing for impossible things, precisely because they are impossible, and nostalgia for what never was.

More importantly, the former Captain was haunted by the desire for what could have been between them, amid regret over himself not being a certain young bureaucrat.

He was no expert when it came to the matters of the heart, but Jeong Hyeok knew, he'd regret for life should he let go without trying.

Now, many steps later, the former military captain found himself at the main gates of the Yoon residence again.

"I would like to see Miss Yoon."

"Mr. Ri, I have already said this, but Miss Yoon is not available." One of their housekeepers, Na Wol Suk, replied, the knit between her brows failing to disguise her growing exasperation. "Please leave."

"It's alright," His obstinacy surprised even himself. "I'll wait."

Further attempts by the middle-aged housekeeper to persuade him to go were futile, as the former Captain persisted with standing outside the Yoon residence's front gate.

Whenever he wasn't running the noodle stall, the Yoon residence's main gate would be where he spends hours on end, waiting for a miracle.

Time would gradually layer on streaks of color in intensifying gradient, and daylight would inevitably turn into nightfall.

He would quietly leave with the night, yet day after day, as long as time allowed for it, Ri Jeong Hyeok would come back.

Everyone in the Yoon residence had noticed the regular presence of a certain former military captain by now, of course.

Something had obviously happened between the two young people, but Seri's poorly concealed agony has led everyone to skirt around the topic, blatantly ignoring the elephant in the room.

Even the Governor, who could have easily ordered for people to remove Ri Jeong Hyeok from outside his mansion, opted to take a step back, amid personal respect for and gratitude towards the war veteran.

But still, not once had Seri emerged from the house to meet Jeong Hyeok.

With each passing day, Jeong Hyeok's determination to see her only increased.

He couldn't possibly give up now, not when the Fifth Company boys had recently shared some unsettling findings following Jeong Hyeok's request of them in helping with some investigations.

"We already know this Cha Sang Woo is an asshole," Pyo Chi Su had declared dramatically when they had met at the Captain's apartment. "But he seems to be more than an average, basic asshole."

That was what Jeong Hyeok had thought, too.

Cha Sang Woo, considering that he was a Western-educated elite bureaucrat, appeared to have much deeper ties with...more sinister parties.

"Captain, I don't know if I am being overly presumptuous, but..." Gwang Beom continued quietly, "He seems to be in active contact with people in the black markets and underworld, though we haven't managed to find out what exactly is he doing."