Chapter 224.1: Where Someone They Missed Used To Be (1)
After asking for the agents’ understanding, Yoo Hye-Sook left work earlier than usual and dropped by the supermarket.
Ever since they got hit on the nose while protecting her with their lives, she started feeling bad and sorry for them every now and then.
The female agents usually wore a black suit with a white blouse or a cotton t-shirt. Unlike other women their age, the female agents' forearms were so thick that their sleeves looked too small. They also sometimes walked with their backs straight and shoulders thrown back, which made Yoo Hye-Sook think they looked as if they weren't just walking but also swaggering.
What surprised Yoo Hye-Sook the most when she started a charity was that far more people than she imagined started forcing her to donate. They weren’t just asking her to help, either; they were almost threatening her.
She used to be so surprised that seeing their horrible tattoos or scars made it hard for her to breathe. Now, however, they just looked cute in comparison to everything else.
People would sometimes even bring nail bats, filet knives, and even hooks attached to their wrists to their meetings. They would then smack her desk, making Yoo Hye-Sook think that she was going out of her mind.
“Hey, you! Come out here for a second,” one of the female agents had said.
“Are you bitches really that eager to die?” one man replied.
“Did you not hear me? I said come out here for a second!”
“Fine, bitch! I’ll rip your fucking mouth off!”
None of those who had left with the female agents ever came back inside. Rather, it was the agents who would return, still dusting their sleeves and smiling. Sometimes they would even look as if all their stress had disappeared.
Whenever Yoo Hye-Sook asked if they were okay out of sheer surprise, the female agents would simply reply that the rude people were lucky.
“We couldn’t have done anything if your son suddenly came in while they were kicking up a fuss in front of you,” they would often say with a smirk.
Since then, Yoo Hye-Sook had fallen into the habit of looking at the door whenever someone was being rude toward her.
It was impossible for her not to notice her son’s eyes glinting every now and then, which she guessed stemmed from him doing too much work for someone his age. Trying to accomplish tasks that were beyond his capabilities was likely making him furious.
Yoo Hye-Sook would always feel uncomfortable whenever he came home from his morning jog. To her, he seemed to be trying to endure everything one way or another but was struggling to.
She didn’t exactly know what he did. Her son just suddenly changed one day and, in one swift motion, broke the necks of people whom not even the strong agents assigned to her could do anything to. He also became a figure so important that the President, Prime Minister, and Director of the National Intelligence Service often asked him to have dinner with them.
Yoo Hye-Sook was curious. She wanted to know what Kang Chan was doing. However, her fear of putting him in even more danger by getting answers to her questions made her just leave the topic alone.
Every now and then, she would suddenly feel anxious while going about her day or after she had a bad dream. Eating made her chest feel constricted on those days. She would also have trouble breathing.
On the day she had been suddenly attacked in the office, on the day all of them ran away to the basement parking lot at their apartment, and after she saw Kang Chan running alongside the van immediately, she fell into the habit of always examining the door if a dangerous person visited her.
No matter what anyone said, Kang Chan deeply loved his parents.
Imagine if that son saw a rough man swearing by saying ‘fuck!’ in front of Yoo Hye-Sook and then saw him stabbing a knife into her desk.
Yoo Hye-Sook was horrified by just thinking about it.
“What’s wrong?” one of the female agents asked Yoo Hye-Sook.
“Ah! It’s nothing.”
Yoo Hye-Sook quickly turned her attention to the wood ear[1] when one of the female agents accompanying her began scanning their surroundings, surprise evident in her eyes.
Kang Chan would be going home today.
Yoo Hye-Sook remembered Kang Chan’s expression and the emotions that filled his big eyes when she fed him japchae.
“Are you going to make japchae?” one of the agents asked Yoo Hye-Sook.
“That’s right.”
The agent smiled in response as she examined their surroundings again.
Yoo Hye-Sook knew that the agents had a harder time doing their jobs in crowded areas, so she couldn’t take her time choosing what to buy. It was uncomfortable.
Honestly, there were a lot of times when she wanted to take her time looking around places by herself. However, that didn’t make her any less grateful that the government agents were protecting her, someone who could be considered nothing more than a normal citizen, so she couldn’t really complain.
“Madam, the ones over there look better,” one of the female agents recommended.
“You think so too?”
“Why are you buying that instead, then? Why don’t we just go over there?”
“Staying in places like this for too long will give you and the other agents a hard time,” Yoo Hye-Sook answered.
Cha Min-Jeong smiled as if she found her reply funny. “You’re planning to make japchae for your son, aren’t you?”
“How did you know?”
“Well, we do have to plan according to his schedule. Please take your time choosing.”
Even with her insistence, Yoo Hye-Sook still couldn’t stop feeling bad.
“Madam.” Cha Min-Jeong turned to Yoo Hye-Sook again after looking around once more. “If you hesitate to go to places that you want to go to or do what you want to do because you feel bad for us, then that means we’re not doing our jobs properly.”
“That’s not it.”
Cha Min-Jeong bowed as a way of saying thanks. She then continued, “We’ll let you know if things are really dangerous or if we’re having a hard time protecting you. Until then, please relax and do what you want to do.”
“Thank you.” Feeling a little more relaxed now, Yoo Hye-Sook got to properly choose what to buy as quickly as possible. She was so grateful for their consideration that she wanted to decrease the amount of time they had to guard her if possible.
After a while, she got some spinach, wood ears, and meat. Only after a while did she remember to buy glass noodles,[2] which was the most important ingredient when making japchae.
When Yoo Hye-Sook lifted her head and tried to find where the noodles were, Cha Min-Jeon quickly shifted. She radioed in orders from time to time, which meant a lot more agents were in the area. Yoo Hye-Sook simply couldn’t see them.
“Move to area B-3,” Cha Min-Jeong quickly told the other agents as Yoo Hye-Sook began to walk toward the noodles section.
Thinking they were communicating more frequently today, Yoo Hye-Sook found herself checking other people’s moods. As she walked past the coffee and oil aisle and turned to the ramen and glass noodles section, someone approached her.
“Channy!” Yoo Hye-Sook exclaimed. Tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.
“What happened?” Yoo Hye-Sook asked.
“They told me you were out here shopping, so I thought about surprising you,” Kang Chan said.
Cha Min-Jeong greeted Kang Chan with a bow, then discretely stepped away.
“Let me take those. What are you planning to buy?” he asked.
“I’m buying ingredients for japchae.”
“Really?”
Yoo Hye-Sook let go of Kang Chan—whom she hugged tightly—and took one of the glass noodles that were on the shelf.
“Do you need anything else?” Kang Chan asked.
“No, I’ve got everything else I need.” Yoo Hye-Sook honestly felt somewhat upset that her surprise was ruined when Kang Chan came here.
“How about we look around to see if we need anything else?” Kang Chan suggested.
“Aren’t you tired, Channy?”
“Not at all!”
Smiling, Kang Chan pushed the cart past the shelves.
“Why don’t we go over there?” he then offered, leading her mother further inside the supermarket.
Yoo Hye-Sook felt as if she wouldn’t be afraid even if the entire world pounced on them right now.
While browsing, they tried bulgogi, dumplings, milk, buchimgae[3], naengmyeon, and even broth.
They carefully chose each orange and took their time finding the right melon, sweet potatoes, and carrots.
Wouldn’t Channy find this boring?
Yoo Hye-Sook turned her head, finding Kang Chan smiling.
“Mother, I’m sorry to ask this of you, but can you make a lot of japchae?” Kang Chan asked.
“Why? How much more should I make?”
“About six agents are working hard to keep us safe right now. I want to show off your japchae to them.”
“What if it doesn’t taste good?”
“That’s impossible.”
Yoo Hye-Sook was happy. Her son had become cheekier lately as well.
“Oh my! Hye-Sook!” someone exclaimed to Yoo Hye-Sook.
“Ah! Hello,” Yoo Hye-Sook greeted.
“Wow! You seem to be on a date with your son! I heard that he’s going to Seoul National University.”
As Kang Chan bowed and greeted them, the people nearby glanced at them.
“I’m jealous. Anyway, I’ll see you later.”
“She’s one of the older ladies that live at the apartment complex next to ours—the one that Mi-Young lives at,” Yoo Hye-Sook explained.
“Ah!” Kang Chan just nodded in response.
1. Wood ear is the colloquial English name for Auricularia auricula-judae, a species of fungus ☜
2. The type of transparent noodle that's used in japchae is made from sweet potato starch ☜
3. Buchimgae, or Korean pancake, refers broadly to any type of pan-fried ingredients soaked in egg or a batter mixed with other ingredients. ☜
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