Four

"What?!"

Soo-ah's heart jumped at the loudness of his voice. She carefully moved aside, to stay clear from him, seeing as she knew nothing of how far his anger could take him.

"Yes, Jeong-hun. You need to find a way to make her feel you, to make her see you. It is up to you," Seong-ja said.

"I don't know the full story but isn't that a bit unfair? He came from lord knows where and you tell him this?"

Seong-ja laughed. "If he had been patient enough to listen to everything I had to say, none of this could have happened. You could have waited until she was reborn."

"You do realize that I am a mortal. I can die and how long will I wait for someone who is also a mortal to be reborn before I meet her again?" Jeong-hun asked wisely, making Soo-ah nod in support.

"That is where I would come in. I would preserve your soul for at least 50-100 years or more and bring you back to the world when she's reborn."

Soo-ah watched as Jeong-hun backed into the wall. He leaned against it and a restless expression took over his face. He looked like he had something to say but couldn't and ended up shaking his head.

"I have done what I am supposed to do. Take this, it will help you while you live your life here. This is the last time you'll ever see or hear me," seong-ja said and handed a brown bag to Jeong-hun.

Soo-ah walked over to them and placed her hand on the woman's shoulder.

"I hope I won't be seeing him too," Soo-ah said and the woman vanished, causing Soo-ah to almost fall. "That sneaky old woman. You can't leave me here with him!"

Soo-ah blew air from her mouth out of frustration and turned to face Jeong-hun who looked depressed. She ran her fingers through her hair and scratched her neck.

"Uh… you need to… listen, I understand what you may be going through but you need to leave. You can't stay here. You should probably start looking for how you're going to survive out here." Soo-ah waved her hand at him. "Especially when people can't see you. Tsk, I don't know why I'm always faced with bad luck."

Soo-ah waited for him to speak but he didn't, which annoyed her. She nibbled on her lip while thinking of what to do or say to get him to leave. She had things to do and having a stranger from the past wasn't helpful. Most importantly, it was wrong for a man to be in a room where women were. Haneul could come in and change without having an idea that a man was in the room with them.

The door opened and Haneul walked into the room, whistling a tune. She waved at a shocked Soo-ah before going over to her bed, which she sat on. Soo-ah glanced at Jeong-hun when he stood straight.

"She is even more beautiful than I remember," Jeong-hun said and slowly made his way toward her.

"I—" Soo-ah shut her mouth when she remembered that Haneul couldn't see him, so stopping him made no sense.

Soo-ah nibbled on her fingernail as the man approached her friend. He stood in front of her while she flipped through her books before sitting beside her on the bed. Soo-ah covered her mouth to stop herself from reacting when Jeong-hun raised his hand and touched her hair. Even as his fingers played with her hair, she barely moved.

Soo-ah shifted her attention to the man and stared at how sad he looked. She could see the longing and pain in his eyes and in the way he touched her hair, which made her heart ache slightly from pity. She sighed and rushed over to them, grabbed Jeong-hun which prompted Haneul to eye her strangely.

"What's wrong?" Haneul asked and eyed her up and down. "And why are you standing in such a weird way?"

"It's nothing," Soo-ah replied and left Jeong-hun's hand. "I wanted to let you know that I'll be going for a stroll. Don't stay up waiting for me. Bye."

Soo-ah grabbed his hand again and dragged him to the door. She opened the door and pushed him outside, then waved at Haneul before leaving the room.

She glared at a confused-looking Jeong-hun before dragging him through the quiet hallway. Her phone dinged in her pocket and she took it out to see what it was. On seeing her mother's text displayed on the screen, she stopped walking and swallowed hard. With everything that was happening, she had forgotten to send the money to her parents.

"Where are you taking me?" Jeong-hun asked. "What is that thing in your hand?"

"Quit asking stupid questions and come with me. I can't have you hanging around this place," Soo-ah retorted and continued to walk.

Three people walked out of a room upfront, and Soo-ah froze, wondering if they could see him but when she remembered they couldn't, she quickened her steps and reached where they stood. When one of them laughed and pointed at Soo-ah, she froze in fear.

"Was there a carnival? Who's that dressed like he's from our ancestor's era?" One asked and the others laughed.

"Wait," Soo-ah said and stood amid the three boys who stopped laughing. "You can see him? You can see the man beside me?"

They all looked at one another before laughing again.

"Come on, guys. It seems these two are clowns practicing magic tricks."

Soo-ah watched in horror as they walked away. She gulped and looked up at Jeong-hun.

"They can see me too?" Jeong-hun asked in a low voice.

×××

Soo-ah and Jeong-hun were sitting on one of the park's benches in silence while staring at the pool of water in front of them. Soo-ah was still stunned and disturbed about the discovery. It was going to make things hard for her in terms of getting rid of the man sitting beside her.

"We need a plan," Soo-ah said, breaking the heavy silence.

"What do you have in mind? We need to start working on getting my beloved back," Jeong-hun said and she scoffed.

"Count me out on that plan because I won't be doing anything for you," she replied and sighed heavily. "Listen, since people can see you and Haneul—"

"Chun-Ja," Jeong-hun corrected in a cold tone.

"Haneul," Soo-ah stubbornly said. "Since she can't see you, and others can. You need to find a place to stay."

"I will stay with you," he said and Soo-ah groaned.

"Please, no. It can't happen. You're going to get us in trouble. One, you're not a legal citizen of the country. Two, you need to find a house to live in. Three, you need to change from whatever you're wearing to modern-day clothes. Four, you're poor and I am too."

Jeong-hun said nothing afterward, which angered her. When she opened her mouth to speak again, he raised his hand that held the same brown bag Seong-ja had given him. It clanked when he shook it which made her curious.

"This is enough gold to make me not appear poor and build a house," he said and dropped the bag on her lap. "Find me a piece of land, we will purchase it and hire powerful builders to build me a house fit for royalty."

Soo-ah groaned. "We have a long way to go."

×××

Soo-ah stepped into a huge jewelry store with Jeong-hun following behind. She smiled and ran to the counter where an elderly man stood, smiling too.

"Hello, uncle," she greeted in glee and propped her elbows on the glass counter. "How are you?"

"I am fine. I haven't seen you since forever," he said and chuckled.

"Come on, uncle. You saw me yesterday," she said and he pointed at Jeong-hun.

"Who is he?" The man asked and Jeong-hun bowed curtly.

"I am the—"

Soo-ah stepped on his foot, causing him to hunch over with a groan while she had a smile on her face.

"He is an old friend. We need your help, uncle," Soo-ah said in a soft and sad tone. "All his life, he has lived in a village that barely has any development and knows nothing about modernity. His family is rich and he came here to live life. Also, he has this."

Soo-ah took out the bag and pulled out a small slab of gold which caused the man to gasp before grabbing it. She watched as he inspected the gold with his magnifying glass.

"Do you know how authentic and ancient this is? People would kill to get this? How did he get a hold of this, Soo-ah?" The man asked.

"Uncle, I told you. He's from an underdeveloped village and things are a bit ancient there. I need you to help me with some cash. He needs it to get a house, food, and clothes here."

The man nodded frantically. "I will help but is there more?"

"Why do you ask?" Soo-ah asked.

"We could auction them for a lot of cash. It could help him with more than just a single slab. This alone is worth ten million won. That's how much I can give you for a second hand price," he said.

"We'll take it," Soo-ah said.

The man nodded and left the counter. Soo-ah patted Jeong-hun and motioned for him to stay silent before going behind the counter and going straight to where the man had gone. She met him in the back, counting some money.

"Uncle," she said and he hummed. "I need a favor."

"Is it your family again?"

"Yes. Can you help me send this," she paused and took out some cash from her pocket. "This is sixty thousand won. Please, help me send the exact amount from your account to them."

"Soo-ah, you can keep the money. But, how long will you keep using your savings to help your family who does not care about you?" He asked in a fatherly tone.

"They're my family and—"

"I know but you need to learn how to say no to them. They don't support you and they need to maintain that lack of support by not asking you for funds."

Soo-ah almost teared up but held herself back from crying. She nodded in understanding and put the money back. She watched as he stacked wads of cash into a small bag and then handed it to her.

"Give this to your friend and thank him for the gold. This will give me enough money to open a new branch," he said and chuckled.

Soo-ah nodded and left the room. She went up to Jeong-hun and elbowed him to get his attention when he was focused on a diamond necklace.

"This is enough money to help you from here on out," she said and handed him the bag. "I'll go now."

"Wait!" He called out.

"What?"

Jeong-hun sighed. "I need your help. Help me get myself before I let you go. You are the only one I have."

Soo-ah cursed herself for not locking the door in his face after pushing him out of their room.