June 2, 1997.
Vienna, Austria.
“Tsk, that took longer than I expected. I thought I’d be here by May.”
I grumbled as I walked through the streets of Vienna. Aside from Seo Ji-yeon, there were several other familiar faces around me.
There was Yoo Seon-jun, who had come from Germany while handling BBB business (the headquarters of BBB was firmly in Berlin), and next to him was Seo Joo-eun, smiling brightly as she gently rubbed her swollen belly. And Charles Gray, who had stopped by his relatives’ place en route to his family home in England...
Since it would’ve drawn too much attention to have only East Asians in the group, I made sure to mix in a Westerner.
“Come to think of it, this is your first time here, right, Charles?”
Charles was a newly recruited outsider, so he hadn’t yet built many connections within the “organization.” Honestly, there were even a few who weren’t too pleased about him.
That’s why I made time like this to help him get acquainted.
“Ah, hello. Um... you’re Miss Ha-yeon’s cousin, correct? I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Yeah, that’s right. I’ve heard plenty too. When Yoo Ha-yeon suddenly decided to bring in an outsider, I was wondering what kind of whim that was... What, did she pick you for your looks?”
Charles was oddly deferential, while Yoo Seon-jun had this vaguely dissatisfied air.
What the heck.
“Come on, Miss! This isn’t the time to be standing around. I’ve got a whole list of places to show you!”
Seo Ji-yeon, who usually hated traveling, had suddenly taken the initiative. She grabbed my wrist and turned away, her expression clearly sulky—probably jealous.
Mmm, cute.
“Charles is splitting off halfway through. Said he’s meeting someone here in Vienna.”
“...Yes. A relative of mine lives here.”
“Hmm, got it. Ha-yeon will handle it.”
Yoo Seon-jun nodded once, as if to say he wouldn’t meddle in my personal matters.
—Tap, tap. Tap.
“Ugh...”
“Ah, what’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?”
“No, it’s just these heels. They’re a little uncomfortable.”
I grimaced slightly.
It had been a while since I walked this much, and my feet were starting to hurt a bit.
“Then let’s take a break. It’s about time for a snack anyway.”
“...Maybe we should.”
Ugh, I held back because we were at a tourist spot. If I said I wasn’t going to walk anymore, I’d definitely get scolded. I rarely exercised since I tended to gain weight in my chest... Maybe it was time to start working out.
Thinking that, my gaze dropped to my chest, which seemed to assert its presence more than usual. It hadn’t always been this big...
Tsk. Maybe I should cut back on snacks.
Shaking my head, I tried to change the mood and asked my brother,
“By the way, where are the kids? Jae-yeon and Jae-eun.”
“They didn’t want to go to the concert, so they stayed home. And the other one’s still in the belly.”
Seo Joo-eun gently rubbed her belly and smiled softly.
“Geez, you’ve got it rough, Joo-eun. Is the third baby doing okay? I know it’s not really my place to say, but don’t overdo it.”
“Oh no, it’s fine. Thanks to you, Miss, I’ve been doing well. No need to worry.”
She used to be so stoic and blunt when she worked as a secretary... Now, her whole expression had softened. If someone saw her now, they’d have a hard time believing this was the same Seo Joo-eun who used to... bury people in the shadows.
Guess marriage really does change people.
Slide.
“Hi there.”
I bent down, aligned my gaze with her belly, and gently touched it.
—Tap.
“Oh, oooh... That was a kick. Man, I should’ve spent more time playing with Jae-yeon when he was little. Can’t believe I’ve already got three nieces and nephews...”
“Not three. Six. The others got married too.”
“What...”
Wait, seriously?
Stunned, I glanced around. Seo Ji-yeon was looking at me like I was garbage.
“...You didn’t know?”
“No, but... I mean... I’ve had stuff to do...”
Damn it.
Yeah. That’s just an excuse.
“Our family’s been doing shotgun weddings for generations, haven’t we? Just look at the Chairman. He had his first kid in his twenties. Okay, fine, it was a different era, but... besides Uncle Jin-ha, everyone else got married early.”
“Uh... Who was it again? Sang-jun oppa, right?”
“Yup. He actually married Cha Soo-a from Mirae Group. Just had their first kid recently. I mean, they dated for ten years, so it was kind of inevitable...”
“I thought they broke up? Wait, Grandpa approved of that?”
Yoo Seon-jun smirked and pointed at me.
“Come on, ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) you think Grandpa even notices a ‘small’ group like that anymore? Thanks to his granddaughter, he’s got half of Korea in his pocket.”
“....”
Weirdly proud of that. I mean, having to break up with someone you love because of family circumstances... I wouldn’t really know, but that sounds sad.
Besides... Mom had a hard time too because of her family’s disapproval. Thinking about that, I guess Yoo Sang-jun finding and marrying his partner is something worth celebrating.
“Ji-won met someone last year too. They’re practically married now. And Sun-young aunt’s eldest, Do Hyun-jun, I heard he has a kid now too.”
“...That’s wild. All that happened while I wasn’t looking?”
“That’s life. The world keeps turning, even when you’re not in it.”
Yoo Seon-jun said this while staring at the Musikverein concert hall, famous for the Vienna Philharmonic.
“What about Seon-a unni?”
“Her? She’s in college. Don’t know if she’s seeing anyone. It’s not really something I can ask, is it? We barely have time to meet.”
Which means I should go ask her myself.
...Yeah, I haven’t seen the family much lately.
“Haa, I really should go back to Korea. I’ve been away too long.”
“Well, the LTCM crisis was huge. I get it. I struggled staying in Europe too, so I bet it was even harder for you.”
“...Still.”
Time is a finite resource.
Far more precious than money. Even if I live a long life, the era that’s passed will never return. The memories preserved in my head remain vivid and unchanged, but that only makes the sense of loss sharper.
...I regret it, unexpectedly. Maybe if I had siblings instead of cousins, things would’ve felt different. I wasn’t asking for parents, but a real younger sibling or older brother wouldn’t have been too much, right?
While I was lost in thought, somehow Yoo Seon-jun noticed and called out to me.
“Ha-yeon.”
“What.”
“Don’t worry too much. Do you know how rare it is to live as comfortably as you? And besides, you’re at a tourist site. You should be having fun. Smile and go with the flow. It’s not like you can fly back to Korea right now anyway, right?”
Hmm. That’s... a wise perspective.
Getting hung up on sunk costs is an irrational, uneconomical mindset.
Convinced, I accepted the slice of Sachertorte Seo Ji-yeon handed me.
Nom.
“Ah...”
Seo Ji-yeon crossed her arms and smiled smugly.
“Good, right?”
“Yeah. It’s good.”
The clean sweetness and tang of apricot jam triggered a wave of happiness in my brain. Humans really are simple creatures.
No matter how hard I try, I’m still a slave to my body. This is exactly why I don’t have sex.
“...Coffee too.”
“Here you go.”
Slurp.
It wasn’t quite like what I usually drank, but it was still high-quality. Probably felt that way because it paired well with the Sachertorte.
“So, feeling better?”
Seo Ji-yeon looked at me like I was pitiful. Once my scattered thoughts settled, a certain memory popped up.
“Wait a minute. This is your fault, Seo Ji-yeon. If you hadn’t accused me of being a trashy person who abandoned her family just to have fun...”
“W-What? Me?”
I decided to slightly alter the memory.
—“...You didn’t know?”
Scritch scritch.
—“How could you just go off and have fun when your family’s going through all that? Boo, Miss Trash! Total Yoo Ha-yeon behavior!”
Phew, done.
‘Why does this feel like I’m just stabbing myself...’
Feels like I’m picking at my own scabs. But really, verbal communication makes up surprisingly little of total human interaction. Most things are conveyed through gestures and atmosphere.
In that sense, I’m not technically lying. Yeah, yeah.
I shook off my thoughts and focused on savoring the sweetness in my mouth.
Clink.
At that moment, Charles scooped up some cream with a tiny spoon and offered it to me.
“You’re supposed to eat Sachertorte with cream. It’s too dry on its own.”
“Oh, thanks.”
I licked the soft, white whipped cream off the spoon. It wasn’t as sweet as I expected, but the texture was nice.
“Ahaha, there’s a lot more to enjoy this time around. Back when I came with Si-hyun, we— ah.”
Plop.
The spoon was small, and some cream fell onto my chest. Fortunately, I was wearing a low-cut top, so the outfit was safe.
As for my chest... well, I could wipe it.
“Ahem...”
To a European aristocrat like Charles, I guess that wasn’t the most polite thing to see. He cleared his throat and turned his head.
“...Phew. Miss, I’ll clean it for you.”
“Ahaha, sure. Thanks? Or maybe since Charles is closer...”
“I’ll do it.”
An odd tension sparked between them.
...This is getting fun.