Stranger

I bought a cream cake at a nearby café. Yeon Woojeong might not eat it, but the people around him might.

It had been a long time since I’d been to the Prosecutor’s Office. I hadn’t set foot inside since that day. Almost a year had passed, how time flies. I shook my head when I remembered the emotions I felt when I got out of the van and saw Yeon Woojeong waiting for me.

I had no intention of going in. I just wanted to deliver this, so I stood by the entrance and called Yeon Woojeong. Surprisingly, he answered promptly.

―Yeah.

“Are you busy?”

―Erm, it’s okay now. Oh, I said I’ll call you, didn’t I? Sorry.

“It’s fine. I’m outside the Prosecutors’ Office now. Can you go out for a moment?”

―Right now?

“Yeah. I have something for you.”

―Wait. Just a moment. I’m coming right now.

The call ended. They said a cold wave was coming, and it was freezing cold. Even speaking made my breath visible. I wore gloves and a scarf, so it was bearable.

I watched the traffic on the road before turning my attention to the building. Inside, I spotted Yeon Woojeong looking around.

“Mr. Yeon!”

I waved my hand, and he made his way over. Even though he came out only for a moment, I couldn’t believe he was only wearing a layer of coat in this cold.

“Here.”

I immediately handed over the cake and shopping bag to Yeon Woojeong. Surprisingly, he already had a shopping bag in his hand. 

“Go inside first.”

“No.”

I didn’t want to go in because there might be some people who recognized me. It would also be somewhat awkward to face Investigating Officer Lee and Ms. Kim again. Yeon Woojeong stared at me intensely, then put his hand over my shoulder and gently pushed me.

“Then, let’s stop by a café for a moment.”

“Are you not busy? I can just go home.”

“I need to cool off my head.”

Yeon Woojeong took me to a small café right in front of the Prosecutor’s Office. The sign at the entrance said it would close at 10 p.m., but there were still customers inside, likely due to extended hours for Christmas.

We sat down at a corner table. Yeon Woojeong ordered a hot Americano, and I opted for a hot chocolate. While ordering, he asked if we could eat the cake we had brought, and the café owner readily agreed. In return, Yeon Woojeong bought a few more macaroons from the café.

“Did you enjoy your dinner?”

“Yeah. How about you?”

“Me, too. Today was too hectic.”

He brushed up his disheveled hair. Looking at him, I drank my hot chocolate. It was warm and sweet, melting my frozen body.

“Here.”

Yeon Woojeong handed me the shopping bag he had put on the floor earlier. It had been with him since he came out, and it was quite big. 

“What is this?”

“A Christmas gift.”

He smirked and gestured with his head. The box wrapped in red paper was big. I took it out and gingerly tore off the wrap. There was a car picture on the surface of the box. 

“Oh…”

It was an RC car. Moreover, it was an off-road one, so I could tell it was cool just from the picture. I blinked in a daze as I didn’t expect it.

“Do you like it so much?”

I looked up and found Yeon Woojeong smiling at me. Right then, I realized that the corners of my lips had curled up on their own.

“Thank you.”

“Why don’t you take it out?”

“I’ll do that at home.”

“Okay.”

I rewrapped the box and carefully put it back in the shopping bag. I felt excited thinking about playing with it when Yeon Woojeong wasn’t around. I calmed myself and then pointed at the shopping bag in front of Yeon Woojeong.

“Open it, too.”

“Let’s see what my Jiho has for me.”

He smiled teasingly, took the package out of the shopping bag, and began to unwrap it. His eyes widened as he uncovered the fountain pen.

“It’s a fountain pen.”

“Yeah.”

Yeon Woojeong picked up the pen, examined it closely, then reached out to hold it up. He narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth as he looked at the pen.

“A candle flame?”

I didn’t expect he would think the same. I nodded. Somehow, I felt overwhelmed.

He brought the fountain pen closer and checked the engraved name. Then, Yeon Woojeong glanced at me. He didn’t ask why it was my name, not his, that was engraved. Instead, he pulled the corners of his lips up and kissed the engraved name.

I felt like I had been kissed in person. My palms itched, and I clenched my fists.

“Thank you. Although it was because of work, you must have been upset because we couldn’t meet.”

No, I didn’t feel upset just because of this. Christmas is just a Christmas. In fact, I had no fond memories of such days. However, now it had become a good day because I could go through it like any normal day. 

I gazed at Yeon Woojeong, who had a faint smile on his face as he looked at the pen. Suddenly, I remembered the conversation I had with Lee Cheolwoo earlier in the day. I also recalled the day when I got sick after getting beaten by Lee Sugeol and Yeon Woojeong had taken care of me. 

“Mr. Yeon. Lee Cheolwoo said he’s never thought about wanting to die.”

Yeon Woojeong might have found this topic sudden, but he didn’t think anything of it and focused on my story.

“It’s fascinating, isn’t it? He looks like someone from another world. There were times when I thought about it every day.”

Someone from another world. Yeah, the description felt fitting. I felt an infinite distance, and I felt like looking at the other side of the world I lived in. 

What would it be like to live a life where you never once thought about wanting to die?

“So, I hated it a bit, but… I thought it’d be nice if you were also like that.”

I wondered what it would have been like if Yeon Woojeong had never thought of such things in his life. Perhaps it was because he had thought of such things that he picked me up from the street, but still. I used to think that his unhappiness was precious to me, but what if the younger Yeon Woojeong had grown up without that look on his face, without any hardships…

“I’m sorry about that.”

“Huh?”

A smile tugged at Yeon Woojeong’s lips. Although he appeared tired, there was a glint in his eyes.

“I like that you thought of it.”

“… Mhm.”

I felt like I knew what Yeon Woojeong meant by that. I nodded, and he reached out for my hand on the table and played with it. 

“Are you upset?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just…”

Despite the thought, it crossed my mind that it was a great fortune that Yeon Woojeong was here with me. We had both dipped our toes in the same water and stood in the same place. Even though I wished Yeon Woojeong had lived a life where he never thought about wanting to die, I was comforted by the fact that he was like me. 

Suddenly, I felt embarrassed. Maybe I just wanted to whine at him or something. If Yeon Woojeong had been different from me, would I have been able to like him genuinely? No. I wasn’t that nice of a person.

As I lowered my head, his fingers slipped between mine. I looked up and saw that he was watching me with a slight tilt of his head. His eyes curved slightly. Those unyielding eyes sometimes made me feel small as if he knew everything, as if he knew all my ugly thoughts and was okay with them. Yet, that didn’t make me feel small. I became small in his hands for a moment, feeding off his warmth and growing again.

I squeezed his hand tightly. I felt my sunken mood lifted.

“We should eat the cake.”

Yeon Woojeong took the cake out of the box. He stuck the candle in the cream cake with strawberries on top. I had asked for just one candle, just in case, and I was pleased to see it set the mood.

He took out a lighter and lit the candle. The flame flickered.

“Make a wish.”

Yeon Woojeong, smiling beyond the small candlelight, was a reality that was more like an illusion. 

I had no wishes to make. A peaceful Christmas was already right in front of me.

I blew out the candle, and a thin wisp of smoke rose from it.