Even If It's Not Love

Getting down from the chair, Yoo-hwa stopped while heading to the room. The living room was much brighter than when she first came here. Seeing that there were more flowers than a few days ago, it seemed that the housekeeper had bought them.

Flowers lined up in front of the living room window, where light poured in. Seeing the flowers lined up, each showing off its own color, made her feel like she was in a garden.

“Can I ask you a favor?”

“Yes. Of course.”

The housekeeper stopped what she was doing and stared at Yoo-hwa.

“Please take away all the flowers in this house.”

“…”

“It would be even better if you threw them away.”

“… The flowers?”

The housekeeping lady asked with a bewildered face.

“Yes.”

“…”

“Is it troublesome?”

“No. I’ll do as you say.”

The housekeeper accepted it without asking any further.

Yoo-hwa wondered if she should clean them up herself, but she didn’t feel like touching those flowers. Because her heart moved easily even with such a small thing. If she cleaned up all these flowers, she would remember Woo-hyun, her mind would weaken, and she should try to understand him.

“Thank you.”

Yoo-hwa entered the room without paying attention to the flowers that were decorating the living room on purpose.

***

As the housekeeper cleaned up all the fake flowers that were filling the living room, the previously bright living room felt desolate. The housekeeper seemed to be unhappy with that, but she didn’t express it much.

A round pattern remained on the table. It was the mark left by the vase that had been there until a while ago. Even the vase left a mark in its place.

Yoo-hwa looked at that meaningless pattern. She couldn’t figure out how time would pass if she didn’t do this. Woo-hyun kept her locked and wouldn’t let her go out, to the point she wondered if he was trying to take care of her, and didn’t show up for days.

The good news was that the housekeeper had been staying at this house for a few days, so the sound of people was constant. After seeing her face for a few days, she became familiar with the housekeeper and even shared all kinds of personal stories.

Although they weren’t deep conversations, she was just happy that there was someone to talk to, even if lightly. Moreover, the housekeeper was quick-witted, so she was not the kind of person to ask about someone else’s situation just because she told hers or because she was curious. Because of that, Yoo-hwa was able to listen to the housekeeper’s story more comfortably and waste some time.

“But why are you staying here for a few days?”

After thinking about it a few times, Yoo-hwa asked carefully.

“Are you uncomfortable with me?”

“No, it’s not that. I was just wondering why you’re suddenly staying here for so many days. You must have your family at home.”

Yoo-hwa quickly shook her hands, in case she would misunderstand.

“I told you before. Although it’s rare, I understand this kind of thing, so it’s okay. And rather than commuting right now…”

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

The housekeeper quickly stopped talking and shook her head. Yoo-hwa looked at her suspiciously, but the housekeeping lady did not say anything else. She missed her timing to question her after that because she got up from her seat with the excuse to do household chores.

She did have the thought that there was some kind of connection between Woo-hyun leaving the house for a few days and the housekeeper staying at the house for a few days, but she couldn’t guess what was going on.

Yoo-hwa sat on the living room sofa and looked beyond the window. She tried to help the housekeeper a few times because time went by really slowly, but she was stopped repeatedly.

“If you do my job, I’ll be very uncomfortable. You’re helping me by just staying still.”

Her mother came to mind when she said she was helping her by staying still, and Yoo-hwa had no choice but to stop.

When the housekeeper was busy doing the chores, all Yoo-hwa did was watch TV. She watched the news and a talk show sometimes, but it didn’t make her laugh, so she changed the channel. When she was tired of even that, she looked at the scenery outside the window as she was doing now.

The world beyond the open window showed a different sky and landscape every day. It seemed that her complicated mind would disappear when looking at it.

She was looking up at the sky and then turned her gaze down.

It was the same today.

People wearing plain clothes walked around at the entrance of the apartment. Some were gathering and talking, while others were strolling. She couldn’t see their faces clearly since she was so high up, but their outward appearance seemed to be the same for days. They didn’t wear black suits, but Yoo-hwa knew that they were related to Woo-hyun.

A few days ago, she faced them as they were looking up at Woo-hyun’s house. She didn’t know if their gazes met, but they were definitely looking at this place.

What was going on, that a housekeeper was staying in the house and people were scattered in front of the apartment complex for her safety?

… Was Woo-hyun ever coming back?

She was suddenly frightened. She was afraid it would be the last time she saw Woo-hyun.

Yoo-hwa shook her head urgently as if to shake off her bad thoughts.

***