6. Unfamiliar Visitor

"Hmm..."

She lifted the reversed blanket above her head and got out of bed.

The drinking session had extended unexpectedly until the third round.

It had been a time that held more meaning than she had expected.

They had laughed a lot, gotten angry at each other, and shared their worries together.

"How did I get home yesterday..."

She scratched her tangled hair.

Had she drunk three bottles of soju, or maybe even more?

Her head was pounding from a hangover that felt like someone had hit it with a hammer.

Thankfully, today was Saturday; if it were a weekday, she would have suffered at work all morning.

Her phone displayed the time: 9:32 AM.

And...

"Who's this?"

The screen of her mobile phone showed a missed call from an unknown number.

Not just once, but three times.

Who could be calling her on a weekend morning?

If it were a work-related number, she would have all the contacts saved, even the clients she had met once, so it didn't seem likely.

"If it's urgent, they'll call again."

She might be criticized as being inadequate as a salesperson if someone saw her as they were driving by, but she simply didn't have the energy to talk to anyone right now.

She threw her phone onto the bedside table and stretched.

━ Ugh... Let's stick together until the end, okay?

━ Sure. Stop drinking, will you?

━ Yeong-su and Yeong-ha! It's just a name difference, we're practically brothers!

Suddenly, the words Kim Yeong-ha had said at the end of the drinking session yesterday came to mind.

He had finally given in to the alcohol and laid his head on the table, playing cute pranks.

And Choi Ye-ri.

Kim Ju-im had lost her senses first, and after that, she had clearly had a lot of conversations with Choi Ye-ri.

But all she could remember was Choi Ye-ri laughing with her mouth wide open at something I said, with her drooling visible.

I don't recall the actual content of the conversation.

Well, the atmosphere certainly hadn't been bad, that much I was sure of.

I probably didn't make any mistakes.

I got home fine too.

I don't know.

For now, the immediate issue isn't about retrieving memories.

I need to cure this hangover, and cure it fast.

My hardworking organs that were yelling in protest for overindulging last night were creating a ruckus.

She opened the bedroom door and walked out to the living room.

The sunlight pouring in through the veranda was illuminating the house.

"The weather is nice."

The cool breeze coming in through the open windows tickled her nose.

The apartment where I live is a 30-minute drive from work.

I paid 120 million won in key money and used 40 million won in loans, saving the rest purely from my job.

It's only 18 pyeong (about 59 square meters) in size, but it's not regrettable for me to live alone.

There were days when I barely had enough room to stretch in a windowless room, despite being 183 cm tall.

After graduating high school and leaving the orphanage, I moved between goshiwons (small, cheap accommodations) and one-room apartments for almost 10 years.

The day I moved into this place, which I could finally call a home, was a profoundly moving experience.

Even though it's a lease, it's the first address that's truly in my name.

I finally felt like I had become an adult.

To others, it might be trivial, but for someone like me who has been different from others since the beginning, this was not an insignificant moment.

It felt like I had accomplished something great.

She headed to the kitchen, poured water into a pot, and turned on the stove.

She took out radishes and dried anchovies from the refrigerator, cleaned them, and put them in the pot to make broth.

Kongnamul (soybean sprout) hangover soup.

It's the perfect meal for a hangover.

I'm not particularly skilled or passionate about cooking, but having lived alone for a long time, cooking became a survival skill.

Having a history of doing so, I've become somewhat proficient.

Ordering food would certainly be easier and tastier, but then there's the issue of money.

To order a single serving menu, you need to spend at least 10,000 won, and on top of that, there's a 2,000 or 3,000 won delivery fee.

With a little effort, I can save that money.

Interest rates are skyrocketing.

Even though I'm earning the same, the money going out has increased. I need to find a way to cut down on expenses.

"Let's see..."

The broth started to boil vigorously.

After removing the radishes and anchovies and adding a bit of mirin (rice wine) to remove the fishy smell, she let the broth steep a bit more.

Medium heat, with gochugaru (red pepper flakes) and minced garlic seasoning the broth. When she added bean sprouts seasoned with salt and chopped green onions, the clear broth transformed into a rich red color that looked spicy even at a glance.

"That's it, I guess."

She took a spoonful of the hangover soup broth and tasted it; it was exactly the flavor she had in mind.

She laid out some side dishes and brought the kongnamul hangover soup to the dining table.

As she was about to scoop rice into her bowl and pour soup over it...

Woong—

The cellphone on the table vibrated.

━ Assistant Manager! Did you wake up well today?

It was a KakaoTalk message from Choi Ye-ri.

She had sent a text asking if she had woken up fine along with a cute rabbit emoji waving its hand.

━ Even if you don't remember, when I woke up, I was at my house.

The number '1' disappeared from the text message I had sent.

━ You were all pretty drunk yesterday. I vaguely remember you, Assistant Manager, shaking my hand and getting into a taxi.

━ Ye-ri, are you okay? Did you get home safely?

━ Yes :)

━ By the way, how many bottles did we drink yesterday? Kim Ju-im eventually collapsed completely later on.

━ I remember drinking three bottles yesterday... but I can't remember anything after that... I was drinking with Assistant Manager, trying to keep up with your pace. I'm sorry ㅠㅠ

━ No worries. You could handle it, so I let you have the drinks. But, did I do anything wrong yesterday?

━ Oops! Don't you remember?

With the surprise rabbit emoji, Choi Ye-ri's messages suddenly stopped.

What's going on, why am I feeling so anxious?

I put down the spoon I was holding and pondered what to reply.

Another message came in from Choi Ye-ri.

━ Actually, I don't remember either, so I was going to ask Assistant Manager about it, lol.

━ Really? Well, as long as we didn't make any major mistakes, let's just forget about anything that happened during the drinking session. Agreed? What's said and done during a drinking session stays there.

━ No, I do remember. Assistant Manager said a lot of nice things to me.

━ That's good to hear. Okay then

, take care this weekend, and I'll see you on Monday.

━ Assistant Manager.

━ Yes?

━ Do you have any plans for the weekend?

Choi Ye-ri's message was followed by the polite rabbit emoji with a question mark above its head, its head tilted.

━ Well, I'm planning to stay home today. Tomorrow, I might go out somewhere.

━ Ah... I understand! See you on Monday!

After exchanging messages with Choi Ye-ri, I took a few spoonfuls of rice.

"Wow, I'm alive."

As soon as the spicy broth reached my stomach, it made my insides feel better.

"Should I start a business? A kongnamul hangover soup restaurant."

I laughed to myself, saying meaningless things.

Shuu—

As I was drying myself off after taking a shower and getting out, my hangover had significantly eased.

"Now I feel like a human."

I towel-dried myself and picked up my mobile phone.

There was a missed call on the call log. It bothered me a bit that there was a missed call, but for now, I have someone to call.

Sister Cha Ho-yeong.

The director of 'Charity Nursery,' where I grew up until I became an adult. She's practically my father, not just anyone.

"Hello?"

It was her gentle voice as always.

"Sister, it's me, Yeong-su."

"Yeah, Yeong-su. I've been feeling really good since I woke up today, and I thought a call from you might be coming."

"Is everything okay?"

"Wouldn't it be odd if there was nothing wrong with an old nun like me? I'm just living my days looking after the children."

"Are you healthy? I remember you went to the hospital for a check-up, and I hope everything's fine."

"Yeah, I should be good for another 20 years or so. It seems our heavenly Father wants me to work even harder with this old body of mine. Haha."

Although she said that, she has been struggling with digestion issues, and her left ear doesn't hear very well despite her age.

"Sister. Is it okay to call you after the Mass tomorrow? I'm planning to leave then."

"Yeah. Be careful on the road."

"But Sister..."

"Hmm?"

"Is it okay for me to visit the nursery tomorrow? Won't Mass be over around noon?"

"Yeong-su, it's always a pleasure to have you visit, but why right after Mass? How nice would it be if you came to Mass with the kids?"

"You do realize it's been 10 years since I've been indifferent about this, right?"

"I understand. Just remember that God always loves you. How have you been lately?"

Sister. I really respect her, but I don't believe in God.

If there really is a God, why is there so much injustice in the world?

Why did God always turn away from my tearful prayers when I was a child, wishing for my mom and dad to come and take me home?

I hide the thoughts I can't confess to Sister, and I speak more brightly.

"Good. It's not without its challenges, but things are going well at work."

"Of course. No matter where you are or what you do, I knew you'd do well. There was always something different about you compared to the other kids when you were little."

Ding-dong—

At that moment, the intercom buzzed.

"Hello?"

The voice of a woman came from outside.

What's this?

Who could be visiting me at this hour?

I picked up my phone and looked at the intercom screen.

A young woman was standing there.

"Hello. Are you Mr. Han Yeong-su?"

"Yes. That's me. But I think you should be the one to introduce yourself first."

"I apologize for not introducing myself first. I called you several times, but since I couldn't reach you, I had to come see you in person. Here's my business card."

The woman reached into her briefcase and handed me a business card.

Gwangwol Law Firm

Attorney Go Yoon-a

The name was printed in gold on the business card.

I had heard of Gwangwol before.

One of the top law firms in Asia, a place that is often depicted in dramas and movies.

Go Yoon-a, she's definitely not someone I would have any connection to.