Tying Up Loose Ends

While Yeo Ri was busy entertaining her visitors, Gun was on his way to Yeo Ri's school for his first errand of the day.

He had already called in advance and Yeo Ri's homeroom teacher and the principal was already waiting for him at her school.

"You must be Student Lee Yeo Ri's brother. I am Kim Misun, Yeo Ri's homeroom teacher," Ms. Kim said with a heartfelt look just as she spotted Gun, "You've gone through a lot. I'm glad that Student Lee Yeo Ri, and you as well, are fine." After briefly introducing herself, she led the younger boy to the principal's office to discuss about Yeo Ri's situation.

The principal of Yanghwa Middle School was a portly old man with white hair and kind eyes. "Come and sit," he ushered the two as they stepped into his office. "I've heard all about what happened. I can't believe that one of our precious student had gone through all that. Is the student alright?"

Gun politely nodded his head, "Yes. She's recovering well."

"That's good, that's good," the principal smiled, his shoulders sagging in relief. Although he did not know the student personally, he still felt bad for her who had gone through such nightmarish experiences.

"The doctor hasn't specified when she can be discharged, and we don't know if she even wants to go back to school, so I was wondering if it was possible for her to take a prolonged leave of absence?"

The principal thought for a moment before nodding his head, "I understand. In regards to Student Lee Yeo Ri, she can take a leave of absence until she graduates. However, she will still need to take the final exam. If, at that time, she is unable to return to the school, I'll send an invigilator to watch over her so she can take the exam at the same time as her peers."

"Thank you, Mr. Principal," Gun hurriedly bowed his head in gratitude.

"Ah, in that case..." Kim Misun exclaimed, drawing the attention of the two to her. "I will volunteer to tutor Student Yeo Ri. Don't worry, I'll work hard and prepare the materials, so she would be able to follow the lessons at school if she decides to come back," she offered. She had always felt bad for not helping Yeo Ri when she could. Kim Misun had thought that because of her inattentiveness, Yeo Ri had gotten into that predicament. After all, it just so happens that it happened on the very same day she called Yeo Ri and her father to school, that man had gotten a chance to accost the girl.

"That's very kind of you, Teacher Kim. Thank you very much," Gun bowed deeply at the teacher.

"No, no, it is my pleasure."

"That's great! I hope that Student Lee Yeo Ri will become well enough to come back to school. Good luck to your family, Student Lee Gun."

"Yes, thank you." Gun bowed to the two elders again, then bade his farewells.

After dealing with Yeo Ri's matters, he went back to their studio apartment to cancel the contract. With Yeo Ri in the hospital and Hyuk arrested, there was really no need for them to keep it. Even if they did, only Gun could go back there. But since he needed to take care of Yeo Ri, it had already been decided by him early on that he would stay at the hospital with the girl.

"Do you really have to?" Uncle Shim asked with a worried look. It had been a long time since he last saw the Lee trio, and when one of them finally showed up, it had been about cancelling their contract. "Did something happen? Why so suddenly...?"

Gun had already packed everything up into boxes. Over the time they lived in the apartment, their belongings had increased somewhat. After packing up, he called a delivery service and had it delivered to Yeo Ri's hospital room.

Gun shook his head, "We just... had some 'issues'. In any case, the 'issues' have been solved, so we don't need to rent another place anymore. The time we spent here was short, but thank you for everything," Gun said, bowing to the man.

"I see, so you all went back to your home?" Uncle Shim cracked a bittersweet smile. "That's good. You kids shouldn't make your parents worry, alright?" He patted the boy's shoulder.

"I'm sorry for making you look for another tenant so soon," Gun said with a small smile. Except for the time he found out about Yeo Ri and Hyuk's relationship, he only had good memories of the place. This man and his family had been rather genial to them in the several weeks that they had spent staying at the apartment. They also had nice neighbours and the surrounding area was safe and peaceful. He felt that it was a pity that they had to leave the place so soon.

The two went through the documents and finally, the contract was cancelled and the deposit was returned.

"Good luck with everything, Gun-ah," Uncle Shim said with a kind, fatherly smile. "Auntie Shim and the rest would be so sad to hear that you left. Do come and visit us every now and then, okay?"

"Yes. Thank you, Uncle."

Then, the two parted ways.