[ys] To Find You (10/10)
A/N: A very Happy New Year to everyone! I hope your 2018 will be an amazing year of adventure for you, wherever you are.
For those who stuck by this story, and encouraged me along with it - this is for you. Thank you, for getting me there.
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The whole episode feels like a dream to Joo-hyun over the next few days.
When she recalls walking the streets of Seoul, handing over the papers to Manager Kim’s boss - finally telling the truth about what has happened to her and so many other girls, its almost as if she can’t believe that she plucked up the courage to do all of that. But she did.
She tells Tae-yeon and Teuk the full story, the day after she gets back, during lunch. Tae-yeon hugs her; telling her she did the right thing. Their smiles dim a little when they hear that Manager Ahn took the papers though.
“It’ll be okay,” Teuk says, even though his eyes betray his own unease. “I’ll tell him I took the papers if need be, and hopefully… hopefully the main office makes a move before then.”
Joo-hyun bites her lip in response to this, because the last thing she wants is for another innocent person, especially Teuk, to lose his job over this. But there really isn’t anything anyone can do now, is there?
There are errant worries that puncture the triumph she feels, a million what ifs that run through her mind - what if he forgets all about it? What if the papers get lost in his cubicle? What if Manager Kim catches us first? What if we all lose our jobs?
She tries to put them out of her mind; tries to think about other things.
The night after she returns, she stops by Yong-hwa and Jong-hyun’s house. She didn’t see Jong-hyun that day at lunch, and so has no idea if Yong-hwa is even in there, if he has really returned home to Busan. Her heart twists a little, painfully, at that thought.
Even if Yong-hwa was in there, what would she say to him?
She ends up turning around and going home instead.
He’s still in Su-won, she tells herself with a confidence she can’t quite feel completely. Yong-hwa oppa wouldn’t have gone home without at least saying good-bye to me. He wouldn’t have.
Friday passes, and then the weekend feels indeterminably long to Joo-hyun’s ever-growing anxiety. By Monday, she is a ball of nerves, just waiting to be called to Manager Kim’s office to be yelled at, to be fired.
She tries to distract herself, opting to count the number of calculators she has assembled today.
She is at number 216, when she feels a hand at her elbow.
It is Tae-yeon, and her eyes are bright, feverish with excitement.
“Come and see.”
They are told strictly not to leave their workstations during a shift, told to report any toilet or water breaks to their line manager, to make sure that someone is standing in for them so as to ensure continuity, to ensure that they meet their target- but in that moment, Joo-hyun forgets it all.
She and Tae-yeon fly out of the room, taking the steps so quickly Joo-hyun’s almost certain she might have tripped if it hadn’t been for Tae-yeon’s constant hand; holding her fast as they make their way down to the ground level. Her heartbeat is racing in her ears, loud as the sound of her footsteps pounding.
Joo-hyun sees the crowd of workers first - surprisingly sizable, given that everyone should be deep into their shifts now. But she also sees the flash of lights, red and then blue, momentarily lighting up the faces of the spectators like fireworks.
The pair of them skirt the body of the crowd, Tae-yeon pulling Joo-hyun behind her until they are right in the front.
There are three figures, backs turned towards the whispering crowd as they head towards a waiting police car. Even as they watch the retreating group, Joo-hyun catches broken whispers from the workers clustered around her, piecing together the events from the morning.
“The police just barged in 10 minutes ago. Gave Soo-jin quite a shock, and on her first day back to work too…”
“What did he get arrested for?”
“I heard it was drugs.”
“No, no.” Someone says with an air of authority. “He’d been embezzling money from the company. Someone reported him, and the police came for him.”
There are exclamations all around.
“I heard he was also arrested for… touching the factory girls,” Another voice says, his voice dropping at the second part of his sentence. Joo-hyun feels a small thrill shoot through her - so they did take every part of her story seriously.
“Bastard.” Another voice adds in with unexpected vehemence and Joo-hyun can’t stop the smile that touches her lips at that statement.
The policemen put Manager Kim into the car and for a brief moment, Manager Kim looks up at the window, at the watching workers.
She thinks he might see her.
Joo-hyun stares head-on at him, refusing to let her gaze waver. This is nothing less, she tells him in her head, nothing less than what you deserve.
She isn’t sure if he sees her or if he’s just taking in the ensuing scene at large, but something uncomfortable flickers across his face and then he bows his head, obscuring his face from the rest of the onlookers and Joo-hyun watches as the police car pulls out of the factory.
A sudden hand on her shoulder startles her momentarily; Teuk is standing beside her now, a grim look on his face. His eyes also follow the departing car out of the factory lot.
Tae-yeon’s hand is at her elbow, a silent gesture of support.
Joo-hyun lets herself breathe then, and it comes a lot easier than she expected.
+++
It isn’t over, not like that.
She and a few other girls on the list are asked to come along to the police station, to give their testimonies against Manager Kim. Even though its obvious that Manager Kim is now fired and they have nothing to fear about stating the facts about what he did, it still takes courage to tell the truth, to take a stand. But none of the girls look nervous or afraid; and Joo-hyun marvels at their courage, but more importantly, she knows that this is the hardest step for them.
Everything else will seem easy by comparison.
It takes a good few hours at the police station, which means that she arrives back at the factory at about 4 pm, close to knocking off time. Still, she can squeeze in a couple of hours more, Joo-hyun thinks idly, wondering how she’s going to make up the missed time that she was at the police station for.
She probably has to discuss it with Teuk, she thinks, entering the main hall of the factory. Maybe she can take on a weekend shift or something…
And she comes skidding right to a stop.
Teuk is standing in the main hall as well, but he is not alone.
Yong-hwa is with him.
It can’t have been more than 2 weeks tops, since she’s last seen Yong-hwa, but he looks both achingly similar and different to her in that moment. Almost as if the image she had of him in her head was missing sharpness or definition, and now seeing him in real life, reminds her of all the million details her brain couldn’t have conjured up. Like the way he stands with his hands in his pockets, the way there is this dent that forms within the junction of his brows when he’s concentrating.
And when Teuk notices her, waves her over; Joo-hyun knows she’s not imagining the nervous swoop her stomach makes when his eyes meet hers.
I still haven’t told him, Joo-hyun thinks with some sudden anxiety. I still haven’t given him a reply, and I didn’t get in touch with him, didn’t say anything…
But any fears she might have about Yong-hwa being upset at her silence are allayed at the gentleness in his eyes, and Joo-hyun smiles at him, tentatively.
“Just got back from the police station?” Teuk says, concerned.
Joo-hyun nods. “It was okay.” She reports, linking her hands together in front of her. “They said that it would be unlikely that we needed to go to court when they press charges. But that if we needed, our identities would be protected.”
Teuk smiles then, his eyes softening in relief. “I’m glad.”
“I wanted to ask you, how I could make up the hours I missed today, oppa,” Joo-hyun begins. But Teuk waves his hand at her.
“I think we can all admit its been a crazy day for us, Joo-hyun,” Teuk says. There is a slight slump in his shoulders that suggests weariness that Joo-hyun hadn’t recognized until now. “Let’s just call it a day. In fact, you should go home. Get a good rest and come back tomorrow.”
Joo-hyun opens her mouth to protest, to say something, but what does escape her lips is a long, low sigh. Its only then that she realizes herself, the bone-deep exhaustion creeping up within her, an emotional lassitude piercing through the fog of adrenaline she’s been running on since Manager Kim’s arrest this morning.
Yong-hwa must see it too, because she feels his hand at her elbow, supporting her. “I think that’s enough of an answer,” Yong-hwa says lightly, and he starts to propel her towards the door. “Thank you, hyung.”
Teuk lays a friendly hand on Yong-hwa’s shoulder however, stopping the pair of them. “I hope you’ll reconsider, Yong-hwa. You know that my offer always stands.”
Joo-hyun looks between the pair of them, wondering what this might be about, but she cannot decipher the look that the two of them exchange; Yong-hwa’s edged in quiet warning, and Teuk’s, warm and unwavering. “I know, hyung.” Yong-hwa says finally. “I’ll let you know again, and… thank you. For everything.”
Teuk nods, and he turns on his heel, retreating back into the factory as Yong-hwa steers Joo-hyun out through its doors.
It is unusual for Joo-hyun to be out at this time; where afternoon is turning into into twilight and the sun is losing its glare, to turn everything it touches into a molten gold. With her arms wrapped around Yong-hwa’s waist, the bicycle flying beneath the pair of them, and the sweet smell of grass filling her nose, Joo-hyun can’t remember another moment where she felt this at peace, or this content.
She tucks her cheek against Yong-hwa’s back, strong and steady, and tightens her arms around him.
When the first shadows begin to take their place in the sky, she is dimly aware of the bicycle slowing to a stop, signaling the leg of their journey where they walk a ways together. She must have drifted off, she thinks with some surprise, as she hops off the bike, shaking off the stiffness in her limbs, catching a huge yawn behind her hand.
Yong-hwa notices it too, because there is teasing in his eyes as he touches a brief hand to her cheek. “I see someone fell asleep on the ride here.”
And Joo-hyun does smile then - how could she not, with Yong-hwa’s eyes, and his hand on her cheek - and she falls in with his teasing, “Of course. I had a comfortable pillow.”
Yong-hwa grins, acknowledging the joke and for a few minutes, there is an easy silence between the pair of them that is easily reminiscent of so many nights before this, when they knocked off and went home together. On some level, Joo-hyun’s mind thinks about the many things unresolved between the pair of them, serious things that need to be discussed and talked about. Yet, at the same time, Joo-hyun cannot bring herself to shatter this moment of serenity, this moment where she just is with Yong-hwa oppa. Simple moments that I’ve always had, Joo-hyun thinks with some surprise, but I’ve never fully appreciated until now.
“So,” Yong-hwa says, breaking the sudden downturn that her thoughts have been taken. “Teuk hyung offered me back my job.”
Joo-hyun turns to face him so quickly that she’s half afraid she’s twisted a muscle in her neck, but she’s more preoccupied with the sudden rush of joy that fills her at his announcement. “Really?”
Yong-hwa nods, but his eyes are lowered, kept to the ground for some reason. When his eyes do meet hers, they are faintly amused, probing. “Yeah,” He says with deliberate slowness. “Teuk hyung didn’t tell me the details, of course. But I heard that someone reported Manager Kim to his boss. That’s why he got fired today.”
Right. Joo-hyun realizes that Yong-hwa only knows the events of today, but not the other actions that had set this chain of events in gear. “Oh,” She says, and now it is her turn to avoid Yong-hwa’s gaze. She kicks a loose pebble off to the side of the road. “Yeah, that’s what I heard too.”
Of course, Yong-hwa must have some inkling of her involvement; must know that it was her who did it, but Joo-hyun doesn’t quite want to admit it to him yet. She imagines his scolding, his horror, when he finds out that she ventured all the way into the big city on her own, without company of any sort, and the danger she could have met - all things that she wants to avoid in this moment here, which is what propels her to tilt her chin up defiantly to meet his gaze. “I wonder who could have done that. To Manager Kim, I mean.”
Yong-hwa bites his lip then, seemingly fighting a smile. “Well,” He says, shrugging his shoulders. “Whoever it is… I’m thankful to her, but I fear that she might have done all that in vain. I turned down Teuk hyung’s offer.”
Joo-hyun knows she should be focusing on the fact that Yong-hwa has just called her out, but its as if all the air has gone out of her lungs at his words. “What?”
Yong-hwa too, comes to a standstill, and Joo-hyun stares up at him, willing him to go on.
He exhales, and Joo-hyun’s heart constricts involuntarily at the somberness in his eyes. This is not one of his jokes. “I’m leaving Su-won, Hyun.”
No.
He’s leaving?
Embarrassingly, Joo-hyun feels an unexpected hot bite of tears at her eyelids and she blinks, trying to make sense of the words that have just left Yong-hwa’s mouth, trying to pull herself together, when really she is sure that it is all exposed - the pieces of her that are jagged, wide open and broken. She feels his hand again, settling comfortingly and familiar around the apple of her cheek, but she cannot force anything coherent, anything presentable and pleasant. “What?”
Yong-hwa’s expression is blurred through her film of sudden tears; she isn’t sure, but she thinks she might see something like fear flicker through his face. He takes another deep breath, and Joo-hyun tries to steel her heart to hear his pronouncement once again.
“I said,” Yong-hwa breathes, and she feels his other free hand curling around her own. “I’m leaving Su-won… and I want you to come with me.”
Oh.
There are a dozen thoughts that present themselves in the forefront of Joo-hyun’s mind in the space of the same second - Yong-hwa wants me to come with him; he isn’t leaving me; where are we going to go? What will I tell my parents? What is he thinking?
But the thought that stands out the most is this: Yong-hwa oppa is asking me to marry him and that’s the thought that shakes Joo-hyun’s knees, causing her to stumble back a little, if not for Yong-hwa’s hand which has moved from her cheek to her shoulder, holding her fast.
“Just… just listen to me, okay, Hyun?” It’s Yong-hwa oppa’s voice - breathless, nervous, a far cry from his usual confident and measured cadence - that makes Joo-hyun open her eyes to look right at him.
“When I first got fired,” Yong-hwa begins. “I wanted to go home to Busan. I think Jong-hyun told you about this.”
“But, as much as I wanted to… I couldn’t.” Yong-hwa’s fingers lock themselves tightly around Joo-hyun’s, holding on. “I knew that if I went home, it would be those same opportunities waiting for me. Working in a factory. Working on a fishing boat, maybe. And I couldn’t go home. Couldn’t make myself do those things all over again.”
“I told you before, I never wanted to do factory work,” Yong-hwa explains. “I only came to Su-won because I knew it was the right thing to do. I talked myself into it - told myself that Jong-hyun was coming up too, that the pay was good, that… that I had to grow up, get my head out of the clouds, and… start living right.”
“And so I came. And I wasn’t happy, but it wasn’t all bad either.” Yong-hwa’s gaze drops, flickering up in the next second to meet her eyes. “And then I met you, and… you made things good. I was happy… because of you.”
Joo-hyun is sure Yong-hwa can feel the heat of her cheeks, steadily increasing under his gaze and his words, but he goes on.
“And then… you got hurt. And,” Yong-hwa swallows hard. “I’d always known my feelings towards you, but this was different. I wanted to protect you, and take good care of you, and I couldn’t do a thing to stop it.”
Joo-hyun shakes her head mutely against his hand.
“So in a way, it was a good thing, that I lost my job. It made me think long and hard about the future that I wanted; gave me time to face up to the facts that…” Yong-hwa’s breath sounds suspiciously like a sigh. “That I haven’t been happy in a long time. And maybe its time to set things right.”
His fingers tighten on the edge of her jaw.
“I’m a terrible person to ask this of you, Hyun.” Yong-hwa swallows hard again, but this time, Joo-hyun sees that its with fear and apprehension. “No self-respecting girl commits herself to marriage with a man with absolutely no prospects, and I’m a wretch to ask it of you, but in the version of my future I see… I see you. I see you and me, and I don’t know where we are, but I know that we’re doing the things we love together. For me, its music. And I know you’ve never loved factory work; that its something you’re doing out of obligation too. I don’t know the exactness of it all, but I promise that we can find a way for you to follow your dreams too. I swear it on my life.”
Joo-hyun’s breath catches in her throat.
Yong-hwa is so close to her now. He seems to struggle for the words - and seeing him like this, Yong-hwa, their resident wordsmith, lacking for words, is something else altogether, and so Joo-hyun waits, the tiniest smile tickling her lips.
He shakes his head, seemingly out of patience with his own fumbling, and so it is with some wry amusement, that he asks her again. “I’m asking, Miss Joo-hyun, if you’ll marry me and leave Su-won to follow our dreams together.”
A million things are crowding together in Joo-hyun’s head at that moment, each chanting for her attention - her parents, their responsibilities, their finances, the logistics, the whole big picture plan of it all - but when Joo-hyun opens her mouth, the first word that rolls off her tongue is the only answer she’s had all along.
“Yes.” She says, and all those clamoring thoughts extinguish like candles, to blissful silence in her head. She says it again, and watches as Yong-hwa’s eyes ignite with a light of their own. “Yes, I’ll marry you, oppa.”
And then, Joo-hyun knows that this is it; this is the right time for the right words, and she reaches up, linking her arms around Yong-hwa to pull him towards her, until they are pressed together and she can feel the beating of his heart against her own.
“I love you, oppa.” She says, loud and clear, so that he can hear it. His heartbeat is strong and steady against her own. “I love you.”
+++
EPILOGUE
So in the end, Yong-hwa oppa has to ask Teuk for his job back, at least for another month.
They are getting married in Su-won proper, before departing, and Yong-hwa’s family is coming up from Busan to attend.
Tae-yeon and Mi-young scream in the middle of lunch break when they hear the news, gabbling so furiously and running around the table to engulf Joo-hyun in a hug when they hear the news. Joo-hyun, torn between laughing and crying herself, can’t even bring herself to care that they’re making an absolute spectacle of themselves in front of the whole factory, as Yong-hwa grins from his usual seat next to her. He winces in the next moment though, when Tae-yeon manages to disentangle herself from their group hug to hit him for only giving them a few weeks to plan a wedding.
Yong-hwa visits her parents on the weekend after he proposes, and Joo-hyun is anxious - not that her parents won’t like Yong-hwa; because she knows that they’ll love him, but because of their questions that are sure to come about the future that lies ahead of them.
But for someone who said that he didn’t know where they would go next, Yong-hwa oppa answers all their questions with a calmness and thoughtfulness that amazes Joo-hyun. Yes, he has thought this through. They will need to discuss where to go together as a couple, but Yong-hwa has heard that a large music school will be opening in In-cheon. Also, In-cheon has many reputable schools; there should likely be night classes for Joo-hyun to attend. Yes, he has some savings - not much, but surely enough to tide them through their first few months in a new city. Of course, they will send letters often to both sets of parents, just to assure them that they are doing well and fine.
“I’ll bring her back to you to visit as often as we can manage, Father and Mother.” Yong-hwa says, finally. He looks at Joo-hyun. “I know how much she means to you… and I can assure you, that she means the same to me.”
His hand finds hers, and Joo-hyun smiles at him. Across the table, her mother dabs at her wet eyes and Joo-hyun knows that despite their misgivings, for better or for worse, her parents have been won over.
The weeks leading up to their wedding and departure are a blur, what with wedding preparations and planning for their future together and coming up with the exact logistics of it all, but they still manage to find time just to be with one another and those are the times that Joo-hyun cherishes the most. They cook together; Yong-hwa teaches her how to play a few chords on his battered guitar and plays a few popular songs for her. But for the most part, she is content to sit with him, her head against his shoulder, hands interlocked as they talk and share their thoughts, their dreams and their memories.
The week before the wedding, Yong-hwa’s family arrives in Su-won, and Joo-hyun is a nervous wreck; all the way to the station, she makes Yong-hwa practice her horrendous Busan accent with her, until his eyes twinkle in amusement and he pulls her closer to stamp an affectionate kiss against her cheek.
But she need not have worried, because Yong-hwa’s mother comes towards them with arms extended and eyes shiny with tears and the first person she hugs is Joo-hyun, not Yong-hwa.
Yong-hwa complains about that all the way home, but Joo-hyun can tell that he is pleased that his mother likes her.
Joo-hyun sees bits and pieces of Yong-hwa in his family in the days after that. He gets his mischievous, fun-loving side from his mother, whose tender smiles and aegyo Joo-hyun takes to immediately. Yong-hwa oppa’s characteristic steadiness and loyalty comes from his father, who does not speak much, but has an indispensible presence in any room that Joo-hyun instinctively comes to depend upon. Yong-hwa oppa has an older brother too; who only has warm smiles and calls her “sister-in-law” so easily that Joo-hyun wonders why she ever worried about fitting into their family.
Their wedding is to be held in a small church, not far from both their houses in the Jangan-gu district, where Joo-hyun’s father knows the pastor.
Tae-yeon is the only bridesmaid at Joo-hyun’s wedding - it is a small wedding after all - and she fluffs Joo-hyun’s skirt brightly . “Well, maknae,” She says, stepping back, but there is a naughty twinkle in her eye that alerts Joo-hyun to an incoming joke. “I guess you really did snap up one of the good ones after all.”
The older Joo-hyun would likely have huffed with embarrassed laughter at this joke, words spoken between the pair of them a lifetime ago, but some of her fiance’s ways have rubbed off on Joo-hyun, and so Joo-hyun quips, “I did,” She acknowledges. “But that’s not to say that there aren’t any other good men left to consider…”
Almost as if summoned, there is a short knock on the door of the side room where the pair of them are ensconced and Jong-hyun, Yong-hwa’s best man, pops his head in. Joo-hyun has to hide a smile at her unnie’s pinking cheeks. She gives it 2 weeks tops before something happens between those two. “5 minutes.” He adds quickly.
He looks as if he is about to say something more, but settles for another quick, small smile, and his eyes linger on Tae-yeon as he closes the door softly.
In the end, Joo-hyun walks down the aisle on the arm of her father in a simple white knee-length dress that Tae-yeon, Mi-young and her mother found for her. She carries a bouquet of pink tulips that Jung-shin and Min-hyuk presented to her this morning, as a gift for their “new sister-in-law”. She wears her mother’s lace veil, the one she wears to morning prayers at their church regularly. Tucked into the loops of hair at her ear, is a gold hairclip; given with love from Yong-hwa’s mother, now her new mother.
Through the veil, she sees Yong-hwa, waiting at the front of the church for her.
In spite of herself and her careful steps up the aisle, Joo-hyun’s breath stutters in her chest, because she can’t believe that that is her husband, and he is breathtakingly handsome in the suit that he borrowed from his father.
His eyes never leave her; not when she finally reaches the front, when her father pats her arm, tucking her hand into Yong-hwa’s and they face each other.
The vows are simple, something Joo-hyun has heard before at previous weddings, but it feels utterly surreal to have them leave her lips. But she says them with all the love and conviction she feels for Yong-hwa oppa, who must hear it because of the way he smiles that her - in that soft, awed way that makes her feel as though she is the only other person he can see in this world.
His voice doesn’t shake either, when he promises to love and cherish her with all that he has and all that he is, till death do them part. His hands are warm over hers, as he slips on her wedding band- a simple gold band, which used to be his grandmother’s. She slides his matching band on as well, her fingers lingering over his.
And then Yong-hwa lifts her bridal veil, and Joo-hyun knows she will remember this moment forever - Yong-hwa’s shining eyes; his wide grin, brilliant in all its joy; his hands on her waist, drawing her close; and his kiss, promising a lifetime together.
For those who stuck by this story, and encouraged me along with it - this is for you. Thank you, for getting me there.
+++
The whole episode feels like a dream to Joo-hyun over the next few days.
When she recalls walking the streets of Seoul, handing over the papers to Manager Kim’s boss - finally telling the truth about what has happened to her and so many other girls, its almost as if she can’t believe that she plucked up the courage to do all of that. But she did.
She tells Tae-yeon and Teuk the full story, the day after she gets back, during lunch. Tae-yeon hugs her; telling her she did the right thing. Their smiles dim a little when they hear that Manager Ahn took the papers though.
“It’ll be okay,” Teuk says, even though his eyes betray his own unease. “I’ll tell him I took the papers if need be, and hopefully… hopefully the main office makes a move before then.”
Joo-hyun bites her lip in response to this, because the last thing she wants is for another innocent person, especially Teuk, to lose his job over this. But there really isn’t anything anyone can do now, is there?
There are errant worries that puncture the triumph she feels, a million what ifs that run through her mind - what if he forgets all about it? What if the papers get lost in his cubicle? What if Manager Kim catches us first? What if we all lose our jobs?
She tries to put them out of her mind; tries to think about other things.
The night after she returns, she stops by Yong-hwa and Jong-hyun’s house. She didn’t see Jong-hyun that day at lunch, and so has no idea if Yong-hwa is even in there, if he has really returned home to Busan. Her heart twists a little, painfully, at that thought.
Even if Yong-hwa was in there, what would she say to him?
She ends up turning around and going home instead.
He’s still in Su-won, she tells herself with a confidence she can’t quite feel completely. Yong-hwa oppa wouldn’t have gone home without at least saying good-bye to me. He wouldn’t have.
Friday passes, and then the weekend feels indeterminably long to Joo-hyun’s ever-growing anxiety. By Monday, she is a ball of nerves, just waiting to be called to Manager Kim’s office to be yelled at, to be fired.
She tries to distract herself, opting to count the number of calculators she has assembled today.
She is at number 216, when she feels a hand at her elbow.
It is Tae-yeon, and her eyes are bright, feverish with excitement.
“Come and see.”
They are told strictly not to leave their workstations during a shift, told to report any toilet or water breaks to their line manager, to make sure that someone is standing in for them so as to ensure continuity, to ensure that they meet their target- but in that moment, Joo-hyun forgets it all.
She and Tae-yeon fly out of the room, taking the steps so quickly Joo-hyun’s almost certain she might have tripped if it hadn’t been for Tae-yeon’s constant hand; holding her fast as they make their way down to the ground level. Her heartbeat is racing in her ears, loud as the sound of her footsteps pounding.
Joo-hyun sees the crowd of workers first - surprisingly sizable, given that everyone should be deep into their shifts now. But she also sees the flash of lights, red and then blue, momentarily lighting up the faces of the spectators like fireworks.
The pair of them skirt the body of the crowd, Tae-yeon pulling Joo-hyun behind her until they are right in the front.
There are three figures, backs turned towards the whispering crowd as they head towards a waiting police car. Even as they watch the retreating group, Joo-hyun catches broken whispers from the workers clustered around her, piecing together the events from the morning.
“The police just barged in 10 minutes ago. Gave Soo-jin quite a shock, and on her first day back to work too…”
“What did he get arrested for?”
“I heard it was drugs.”
“No, no.” Someone says with an air of authority. “He’d been embezzling money from the company. Someone reported him, and the police came for him.”
There are exclamations all around.
“I heard he was also arrested for… touching the factory girls,” Another voice says, his voice dropping at the second part of his sentence. Joo-hyun feels a small thrill shoot through her - so they did take every part of her story seriously.
“Bastard.” Another voice adds in with unexpected vehemence and Joo-hyun can’t stop the smile that touches her lips at that statement.
The policemen put Manager Kim into the car and for a brief moment, Manager Kim looks up at the window, at the watching workers.
She thinks he might see her.
Joo-hyun stares head-on at him, refusing to let her gaze waver. This is nothing less, she tells him in her head, nothing less than what you deserve.
She isn’t sure if he sees her or if he’s just taking in the ensuing scene at large, but something uncomfortable flickers across his face and then he bows his head, obscuring his face from the rest of the onlookers and Joo-hyun watches as the police car pulls out of the factory.
A sudden hand on her shoulder startles her momentarily; Teuk is standing beside her now, a grim look on his face. His eyes also follow the departing car out of the factory lot.
Tae-yeon’s hand is at her elbow, a silent gesture of support.
Joo-hyun lets herself breathe then, and it comes a lot easier than she expected.
+++
It isn’t over, not like that.
She and a few other girls on the list are asked to come along to the police station, to give their testimonies against Manager Kim. Even though its obvious that Manager Kim is now fired and they have nothing to fear about stating the facts about what he did, it still takes courage to tell the truth, to take a stand. But none of the girls look nervous or afraid; and Joo-hyun marvels at their courage, but more importantly, she knows that this is the hardest step for them.
Everything else will seem easy by comparison.
It takes a good few hours at the police station, which means that she arrives back at the factory at about 4 pm, close to knocking off time. Still, she can squeeze in a couple of hours more, Joo-hyun thinks idly, wondering how she’s going to make up the missed time that she was at the police station for.
She probably has to discuss it with Teuk, she thinks, entering the main hall of the factory. Maybe she can take on a weekend shift or something…
And she comes skidding right to a stop.
Teuk is standing in the main hall as well, but he is not alone.
Yong-hwa is with him.
It can’t have been more than 2 weeks tops, since she’s last seen Yong-hwa, but he looks both achingly similar and different to her in that moment. Almost as if the image she had of him in her head was missing sharpness or definition, and now seeing him in real life, reminds her of all the million details her brain couldn’t have conjured up. Like the way he stands with his hands in his pockets, the way there is this dent that forms within the junction of his brows when he’s concentrating.
And when Teuk notices her, waves her over; Joo-hyun knows she’s not imagining the nervous swoop her stomach makes when his eyes meet hers.
I still haven’t told him, Joo-hyun thinks with some sudden anxiety. I still haven’t given him a reply, and I didn’t get in touch with him, didn’t say anything…
But any fears she might have about Yong-hwa being upset at her silence are allayed at the gentleness in his eyes, and Joo-hyun smiles at him, tentatively.
“Just got back from the police station?” Teuk says, concerned.
Joo-hyun nods. “It was okay.” She reports, linking her hands together in front of her. “They said that it would be unlikely that we needed to go to court when they press charges. But that if we needed, our identities would be protected.”
Teuk smiles then, his eyes softening in relief. “I’m glad.”
“I wanted to ask you, how I could make up the hours I missed today, oppa,” Joo-hyun begins. But Teuk waves his hand at her.
“I think we can all admit its been a crazy day for us, Joo-hyun,” Teuk says. There is a slight slump in his shoulders that suggests weariness that Joo-hyun hadn’t recognized until now. “Let’s just call it a day. In fact, you should go home. Get a good rest and come back tomorrow.”
Joo-hyun opens her mouth to protest, to say something, but what does escape her lips is a long, low sigh. Its only then that she realizes herself, the bone-deep exhaustion creeping up within her, an emotional lassitude piercing through the fog of adrenaline she’s been running on since Manager Kim’s arrest this morning.
Yong-hwa must see it too, because she feels his hand at her elbow, supporting her. “I think that’s enough of an answer,” Yong-hwa says lightly, and he starts to propel her towards the door. “Thank you, hyung.”
Teuk lays a friendly hand on Yong-hwa’s shoulder however, stopping the pair of them. “I hope you’ll reconsider, Yong-hwa. You know that my offer always stands.”
Joo-hyun looks between the pair of them, wondering what this might be about, but she cannot decipher the look that the two of them exchange; Yong-hwa’s edged in quiet warning, and Teuk’s, warm and unwavering. “I know, hyung.” Yong-hwa says finally. “I’ll let you know again, and… thank you. For everything.”
Teuk nods, and he turns on his heel, retreating back into the factory as Yong-hwa steers Joo-hyun out through its doors.
It is unusual for Joo-hyun to be out at this time; where afternoon is turning into into twilight and the sun is losing its glare, to turn everything it touches into a molten gold. With her arms wrapped around Yong-hwa’s waist, the bicycle flying beneath the pair of them, and the sweet smell of grass filling her nose, Joo-hyun can’t remember another moment where she felt this at peace, or this content.
She tucks her cheek against Yong-hwa’s back, strong and steady, and tightens her arms around him.
When the first shadows begin to take their place in the sky, she is dimly aware of the bicycle slowing to a stop, signaling the leg of their journey where they walk a ways together. She must have drifted off, she thinks with some surprise, as she hops off the bike, shaking off the stiffness in her limbs, catching a huge yawn behind her hand.
Yong-hwa notices it too, because there is teasing in his eyes as he touches a brief hand to her cheek. “I see someone fell asleep on the ride here.”
And Joo-hyun does smile then - how could she not, with Yong-hwa’s eyes, and his hand on her cheek - and she falls in with his teasing, “Of course. I had a comfortable pillow.”
Yong-hwa grins, acknowledging the joke and for a few minutes, there is an easy silence between the pair of them that is easily reminiscent of so many nights before this, when they knocked off and went home together. On some level, Joo-hyun’s mind thinks about the many things unresolved between the pair of them, serious things that need to be discussed and talked about. Yet, at the same time, Joo-hyun cannot bring herself to shatter this moment of serenity, this moment where she just is with Yong-hwa oppa. Simple moments that I’ve always had, Joo-hyun thinks with some surprise, but I’ve never fully appreciated until now.
“So,” Yong-hwa says, breaking the sudden downturn that her thoughts have been taken. “Teuk hyung offered me back my job.”
Joo-hyun turns to face him so quickly that she’s half afraid she’s twisted a muscle in her neck, but she’s more preoccupied with the sudden rush of joy that fills her at his announcement. “Really?”
Yong-hwa nods, but his eyes are lowered, kept to the ground for some reason. When his eyes do meet hers, they are faintly amused, probing. “Yeah,” He says with deliberate slowness. “Teuk hyung didn’t tell me the details, of course. But I heard that someone reported Manager Kim to his boss. That’s why he got fired today.”
Right. Joo-hyun realizes that Yong-hwa only knows the events of today, but not the other actions that had set this chain of events in gear. “Oh,” She says, and now it is her turn to avoid Yong-hwa’s gaze. She kicks a loose pebble off to the side of the road. “Yeah, that’s what I heard too.”
Of course, Yong-hwa must have some inkling of her involvement; must know that it was her who did it, but Joo-hyun doesn’t quite want to admit it to him yet. She imagines his scolding, his horror, when he finds out that she ventured all the way into the big city on her own, without company of any sort, and the danger she could have met - all things that she wants to avoid in this moment here, which is what propels her to tilt her chin up defiantly to meet his gaze. “I wonder who could have done that. To Manager Kim, I mean.”
Yong-hwa bites his lip then, seemingly fighting a smile. “Well,” He says, shrugging his shoulders. “Whoever it is… I’m thankful to her, but I fear that she might have done all that in vain. I turned down Teuk hyung’s offer.”
Joo-hyun knows she should be focusing on the fact that Yong-hwa has just called her out, but its as if all the air has gone out of her lungs at his words. “What?”
Yong-hwa too, comes to a standstill, and Joo-hyun stares up at him, willing him to go on.
He exhales, and Joo-hyun’s heart constricts involuntarily at the somberness in his eyes. This is not one of his jokes. “I’m leaving Su-won, Hyun.”
No.
He’s leaving?
Embarrassingly, Joo-hyun feels an unexpected hot bite of tears at her eyelids and she blinks, trying to make sense of the words that have just left Yong-hwa’s mouth, trying to pull herself together, when really she is sure that it is all exposed - the pieces of her that are jagged, wide open and broken. She feels his hand again, settling comfortingly and familiar around the apple of her cheek, but she cannot force anything coherent, anything presentable and pleasant. “What?”
Yong-hwa’s expression is blurred through her film of sudden tears; she isn’t sure, but she thinks she might see something like fear flicker through his face. He takes another deep breath, and Joo-hyun tries to steel her heart to hear his pronouncement once again.
“I said,” Yong-hwa breathes, and she feels his other free hand curling around her own. “I’m leaving Su-won… and I want you to come with me.”
Oh.
There are a dozen thoughts that present themselves in the forefront of Joo-hyun’s mind in the space of the same second - Yong-hwa wants me to come with him; he isn’t leaving me; where are we going to go? What will I tell my parents? What is he thinking?
But the thought that stands out the most is this: Yong-hwa oppa is asking me to marry him and that’s the thought that shakes Joo-hyun’s knees, causing her to stumble back a little, if not for Yong-hwa’s hand which has moved from her cheek to her shoulder, holding her fast.
“Just… just listen to me, okay, Hyun?” It’s Yong-hwa oppa’s voice - breathless, nervous, a far cry from his usual confident and measured cadence - that makes Joo-hyun open her eyes to look right at him.
“When I first got fired,” Yong-hwa begins. “I wanted to go home to Busan. I think Jong-hyun told you about this.”
“But, as much as I wanted to… I couldn’t.” Yong-hwa’s fingers lock themselves tightly around Joo-hyun’s, holding on. “I knew that if I went home, it would be those same opportunities waiting for me. Working in a factory. Working on a fishing boat, maybe. And I couldn’t go home. Couldn’t make myself do those things all over again.”
“I told you before, I never wanted to do factory work,” Yong-hwa explains. “I only came to Su-won because I knew it was the right thing to do. I talked myself into it - told myself that Jong-hyun was coming up too, that the pay was good, that… that I had to grow up, get my head out of the clouds, and… start living right.”
“And so I came. And I wasn’t happy, but it wasn’t all bad either.” Yong-hwa’s gaze drops, flickering up in the next second to meet her eyes. “And then I met you, and… you made things good. I was happy… because of you.”
Joo-hyun is sure Yong-hwa can feel the heat of her cheeks, steadily increasing under his gaze and his words, but he goes on.
“And then… you got hurt. And,” Yong-hwa swallows hard. “I’d always known my feelings towards you, but this was different. I wanted to protect you, and take good care of you, and I couldn’t do a thing to stop it.”
Joo-hyun shakes her head mutely against his hand.
“So in a way, it was a good thing, that I lost my job. It made me think long and hard about the future that I wanted; gave me time to face up to the facts that…” Yong-hwa’s breath sounds suspiciously like a sigh. “That I haven’t been happy in a long time. And maybe its time to set things right.”
His fingers tighten on the edge of her jaw.
“I’m a terrible person to ask this of you, Hyun.” Yong-hwa swallows hard again, but this time, Joo-hyun sees that its with fear and apprehension. “No self-respecting girl commits herself to marriage with a man with absolutely no prospects, and I’m a wretch to ask it of you, but in the version of my future I see… I see you. I see you and me, and I don’t know where we are, but I know that we’re doing the things we love together. For me, its music. And I know you’ve never loved factory work; that its something you’re doing out of obligation too. I don’t know the exactness of it all, but I promise that we can find a way for you to follow your dreams too. I swear it on my life.”
Joo-hyun’s breath catches in her throat.
Yong-hwa is so close to her now. He seems to struggle for the words - and seeing him like this, Yong-hwa, their resident wordsmith, lacking for words, is something else altogether, and so Joo-hyun waits, the tiniest smile tickling her lips.
He shakes his head, seemingly out of patience with his own fumbling, and so it is with some wry amusement, that he asks her again. “I’m asking, Miss Joo-hyun, if you’ll marry me and leave Su-won to follow our dreams together.”
A million things are crowding together in Joo-hyun’s head at that moment, each chanting for her attention - her parents, their responsibilities, their finances, the logistics, the whole big picture plan of it all - but when Joo-hyun opens her mouth, the first word that rolls off her tongue is the only answer she’s had all along.
“Yes.” She says, and all those clamoring thoughts extinguish like candles, to blissful silence in her head. She says it again, and watches as Yong-hwa’s eyes ignite with a light of their own. “Yes, I’ll marry you, oppa.”
And then, Joo-hyun knows that this is it; this is the right time for the right words, and she reaches up, linking her arms around Yong-hwa to pull him towards her, until they are pressed together and she can feel the beating of his heart against her own.
“I love you, oppa.” She says, loud and clear, so that he can hear it. His heartbeat is strong and steady against her own. “I love you.”
+++
EPILOGUE
So in the end, Yong-hwa oppa has to ask Teuk for his job back, at least for another month.
They are getting married in Su-won proper, before departing, and Yong-hwa’s family is coming up from Busan to attend.
Tae-yeon and Mi-young scream in the middle of lunch break when they hear the news, gabbling so furiously and running around the table to engulf Joo-hyun in a hug when they hear the news. Joo-hyun, torn between laughing and crying herself, can’t even bring herself to care that they’re making an absolute spectacle of themselves in front of the whole factory, as Yong-hwa grins from his usual seat next to her. He winces in the next moment though, when Tae-yeon manages to disentangle herself from their group hug to hit him for only giving them a few weeks to plan a wedding.
Yong-hwa visits her parents on the weekend after he proposes, and Joo-hyun is anxious - not that her parents won’t like Yong-hwa; because she knows that they’ll love him, but because of their questions that are sure to come about the future that lies ahead of them.
But for someone who said that he didn’t know where they would go next, Yong-hwa oppa answers all their questions with a calmness and thoughtfulness that amazes Joo-hyun. Yes, he has thought this through. They will need to discuss where to go together as a couple, but Yong-hwa has heard that a large music school will be opening in In-cheon. Also, In-cheon has many reputable schools; there should likely be night classes for Joo-hyun to attend. Yes, he has some savings - not much, but surely enough to tide them through their first few months in a new city. Of course, they will send letters often to both sets of parents, just to assure them that they are doing well and fine.
“I’ll bring her back to you to visit as often as we can manage, Father and Mother.” Yong-hwa says, finally. He looks at Joo-hyun. “I know how much she means to you… and I can assure you, that she means the same to me.”
His hand finds hers, and Joo-hyun smiles at him. Across the table, her mother dabs at her wet eyes and Joo-hyun knows that despite their misgivings, for better or for worse, her parents have been won over.
The weeks leading up to their wedding and departure are a blur, what with wedding preparations and planning for their future together and coming up with the exact logistics of it all, but they still manage to find time just to be with one another and those are the times that Joo-hyun cherishes the most. They cook together; Yong-hwa teaches her how to play a few chords on his battered guitar and plays a few popular songs for her. But for the most part, she is content to sit with him, her head against his shoulder, hands interlocked as they talk and share their thoughts, their dreams and their memories.
The week before the wedding, Yong-hwa’s family arrives in Su-won, and Joo-hyun is a nervous wreck; all the way to the station, she makes Yong-hwa practice her horrendous Busan accent with her, until his eyes twinkle in amusement and he pulls her closer to stamp an affectionate kiss against her cheek.
But she need not have worried, because Yong-hwa’s mother comes towards them with arms extended and eyes shiny with tears and the first person she hugs is Joo-hyun, not Yong-hwa.
Yong-hwa complains about that all the way home, but Joo-hyun can tell that he is pleased that his mother likes her.
Joo-hyun sees bits and pieces of Yong-hwa in his family in the days after that. He gets his mischievous, fun-loving side from his mother, whose tender smiles and aegyo Joo-hyun takes to immediately. Yong-hwa oppa’s characteristic steadiness and loyalty comes from his father, who does not speak much, but has an indispensible presence in any room that Joo-hyun instinctively comes to depend upon. Yong-hwa oppa has an older brother too; who only has warm smiles and calls her “sister-in-law” so easily that Joo-hyun wonders why she ever worried about fitting into their family.
Their wedding is to be held in a small church, not far from both their houses in the Jangan-gu district, where Joo-hyun’s father knows the pastor.
Tae-yeon is the only bridesmaid at Joo-hyun’s wedding - it is a small wedding after all - and she fluffs Joo-hyun’s skirt brightly . “Well, maknae,” She says, stepping back, but there is a naughty twinkle in her eye that alerts Joo-hyun to an incoming joke. “I guess you really did snap up one of the good ones after all.”
The older Joo-hyun would likely have huffed with embarrassed laughter at this joke, words spoken between the pair of them a lifetime ago, but some of her fiance’s ways have rubbed off on Joo-hyun, and so Joo-hyun quips, “I did,” She acknowledges. “But that’s not to say that there aren’t any other good men left to consider…”
Almost as if summoned, there is a short knock on the door of the side room where the pair of them are ensconced and Jong-hyun, Yong-hwa’s best man, pops his head in. Joo-hyun has to hide a smile at her unnie’s pinking cheeks. She gives it 2 weeks tops before something happens between those two. “5 minutes.” He adds quickly.
He looks as if he is about to say something more, but settles for another quick, small smile, and his eyes linger on Tae-yeon as he closes the door softly.
In the end, Joo-hyun walks down the aisle on the arm of her father in a simple white knee-length dress that Tae-yeon, Mi-young and her mother found for her. She carries a bouquet of pink tulips that Jung-shin and Min-hyuk presented to her this morning, as a gift for their “new sister-in-law”. She wears her mother’s lace veil, the one she wears to morning prayers at their church regularly. Tucked into the loops of hair at her ear, is a gold hairclip; given with love from Yong-hwa’s mother, now her new mother.
Through the veil, she sees Yong-hwa, waiting at the front of the church for her.
In spite of herself and her careful steps up the aisle, Joo-hyun’s breath stutters in her chest, because she can’t believe that that is her husband, and he is breathtakingly handsome in the suit that he borrowed from his father.
His eyes never leave her; not when she finally reaches the front, when her father pats her arm, tucking her hand into Yong-hwa’s and they face each other.
The vows are simple, something Joo-hyun has heard before at previous weddings, but it feels utterly surreal to have them leave her lips. But she says them with all the love and conviction she feels for Yong-hwa oppa, who must hear it because of the way he smiles that her - in that soft, awed way that makes her feel as though she is the only other person he can see in this world.
His voice doesn’t shake either, when he promises to love and cherish her with all that he has and all that he is, till death do them part. His hands are warm over hers, as he slips on her wedding band- a simple gold band, which used to be his grandmother’s. She slides his matching band on as well, her fingers lingering over his.
And then Yong-hwa lifts her bridal veil, and Joo-hyun knows she will remember this moment forever - Yong-hwa’s shining eyes; his wide grin, brilliant in all its joy; his hands on her waist, drawing her close; and his kiss, promising a lifetime together.