Small and Fragile Things - Chapter 9

The next day and the day after that, Muk-hyun headed to Seon-Idong after finishing work. Jung Yoon wasn’t the only one who found this routine odd.

Today again, just like clockwork, Muk-hyun showed up around the same time, and the girl tilted her head at him like she couldn’t figure it out. Like she genuinely wondered why he came every day.

“Hey, bunny.”

Yet she clearly didn’t know how to hide the little flicker of delight on her face. Maybe she didn’t even realize it herself. It wasn’t hard to guess — she’d probably spent more days down in that basement with no one visiting than with.

“Been crying?”

He came closer and, without asking, brushed his fingers under her eyes to check. She didn’t even try to push him away, just looked up at him quietly. The wary, stiff look that used to fill her eyes was fading more and more every day.

“They’re all red.”

“…Rubbed them.”

Muk-hyun stared at her face for a while like he was looking for something, then turned away, cracked the window, and lit up a cigarette. The second the lighter clicked, she pulled the same face every time — a little scowl, not quite angry but sulky.

“I told you to say it, not chew on it.”

“……”

“You always mumble it inside, huh? Like it’s a habit.”

“It’s not.”

Busted, she flicked her eyes away and pretended to look elsewhere.

“Yeah, right.”

She always did that — pouted her lip to one side whenever she didn’t like something or wanted to say something but didn’t.

“Here.”

He pulled something from his pocket and tossed it into her lap. A small pack of marble-shaped chocolate — the cheap kind you’d find at any neighborhood corner store. Muk-hyun took another drag from his cigarette, watching her face light up like a bulb.

A couple of days ago, maybe two? He’d grabbed the same chocolate while buying cigarettes, tossed it at her, and said it was a gift.

A gift…?

The look on her face then had been priceless — like a kid seeing a balloon for the first time. She’d looked at him like she couldn’t believe it was real. He’d ended up unwrapping it for her himself before she could melt it in her palm, popped it in her mouth, and watched her grin like she’d tasted magic.

Since then, he’d been bringing her one every time he came.

While Muk-hyun smoked, she carefully nibbled the chocolate, slowly like she didn’t want to waste even a crumb. The little room filled up with the quiet sound of him exhaling smoke and her tiny crunching bites. Muk-hyun thought there was something nice about this silence — not heavy, just calm.

“What’d you do today?”

Same question every day. And every day, she gave almost the same answer. Slept all day, woke up to stare out the window for a bit, ate whatever Gi-seon brought her, lay down again, drifted back to sleep. Basically, a peaceful little shut-in routine.

She said she’d done pretty much the same again today. But this time, something about it made Muk-hyun pause.

Muk-hyun found himself thinking — if all she did was eat and sleep, shouldn’t she have put on a bit of weight by now? But she still looked just as frail as before. Her complexion had gotten a little better, but that was about it.

“You don’t like porridge?”

She tilted her head, thought for a while, then shook it. Watching that tiny head wobble like that, Muk-hyun had a sudden urge to crack it open and peek inside. Instead, he shifted his gaze to the plastic container sitting on the table. The porridge Gi-seon had brought for dinner was barely touched.

Muk-hyun had tried all kinds — bought every kind they sold at the porridge shop — but she’d always just poke at it once or twice and then stop. Even Gi-seon, who usually wasn’t the fussing type, had frowned and said she didn’t get how anyone could live off two spoonfuls of porridge. She’d even sighed, which said a lot.

“Open up.”

Muk-hyun stepped closer, an idea popping into his head. She flinched back so fast it was almost funny. Her eyes went wide, clear as glass, but suddenly clouded with fear. She looked like she’d crawl under the bed again if he made one wrong move.

Muk-hyun caught exactly what that reflex meant.

“Hey, open your mouth. I said aah.”

“……”

“You want me to do it for you?”

She gave in reluctantly, lips parting just enough to show neat, small teeth lined up inside. Well, at least she wasn’t having trouble eating because of her teeth. His eyes drifted down to her lips naturally. Soft, plump — not a single crease, like jelly. Her tiny tongue shrank back in her mouth like it was scared too. He figured you could barely fit two fingers in there, maybe.

What the hell did they shove in here so many times that she’d flinch like this?

His eyes dropped to her skinny hand, gripping the blanket so hard her knuckles looked raw.

“Your mouth’s fine. Guess it’s not that you can’t eat ‘cause it hurts.”

“……”

“Well, you had no problem gobbling up chocolate, huh?”

She looked up at him, eyes wide, like she was about to ask What? Muk-hyun stared back, right into those painfully clear eyes — and something weird happened.

It was like blinking and blacking out for a split second. Just snip — a chunk of memory gone. When he came to, he realized his thumb was brushing over her lips.

Muk-hyun’s expression darkened instantly. Again…

This wasn’t even the first time. The same thing had happened last night too. He didn’t know if something was wrong with his head or if this girl was working some kind of witchcraft. Sh1t. He cursed under his breath, feeling the familiar throb of an incoming headache.

“Eat the porridge properly. If you don’t, no more chocolate.”

He shoved his thumb, still warm from her lips, right into her mouth like it was nothing — just to vent the frustration. But when she only flinched for a second and then, like it was normal, gently pressed her tongue to it, he felt that annoying twist in his gut again.

“Who taught you that bad habit, huh?”

His voice dropped low, and she shrank back like a startled kitten. He was the one pushing it, but she looked like she was the one caught doing something wrong. That quick flash of shame — whatever it meant—was enough to set something smoldering under Muk-hyun’s skin.

The sick feeling from earlier scattered. In its place, heat was starting to crawl up. The only reason he pulled his finger back was because he still had a scrap of conscience left — let’s just say that.

“Um…”

She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something but hesitated again. Muk-hyun ran a hand over his sunken eyes and waited.

“That…”

He noticed her hand again — clutching the blanket so tight it looked like she’d tear it apart. That hand was starting to get on his nerves for some reason. He didn’t know why, but his eyes kept drifting there — to that pale wrist with bones poking out, the bluish bruises like water stains on her hand, those twig-like fingers. What about it was so distracting?

Just when he’d managed to tamp down the heat bubbling up in him, her thin, thread-like voice floated over.

“Why… are you nice to me?”

She squeezed the words out, barely there. She hesitated, then lifted her head to meet his eyes. The fact that she could ask that — while sitting here in this dump, living off watery porridge — told Muk-hyun enough about how she’d been treated before.

“I want… to know why.”

Good question. He didn’t talk to her much. Mostly just sat there staring at those big round eyes — what was so important about that that he’d come here every day?

“I’m curious.”

That was about the only answer that made sense. If he had to name a reason he kept showing up, that was it.

“About what…?”

“I don’t know what you are to Kim Deok-gyu.”

She’d deny it. He didn’t even have to hear her answer to know that.

“…I don’t know him.”

Figures. She clearly had no idea what her own face looked like when she lied — if she did, she wouldn’t be able to say it so firmly. Her expression practically screamed I’m panicking, but she was still forcing it out. He almost found it admirable.

“Really? The house you were locked up in — that was his. The guys guarding you — all hired by Kim Deok-gyu. So you’re telling me you don’t know him? You think that makes sense?”

“I really don’t know him.”

“If you don’t know Kim Deok-gyu, then what about Moon Hee-sook?”

“M… Moon Hee-sook?”

“All those shots they were giving you — what were they?”

“I don’t know. No one ever told me…”

Muk-hyun pressed his lips together. Her sloppy lies were starting to poke at his nerves.

“All I know is Park Eun-young… the doctor… and that, that… man. That’s all.”

She was talking more than she ever had, which only proved she was trying really hard. She’d probably spent all day lying around thinking up excuses. He almost laughed at how the mouth that used to stay shut forever was now spitting words like bullets.

“I really didn’t know. I didn’t know whose house that was.”

Was she pretending not to know Kim Deok-gyu to hide what she was? Or was she protecting him?

“I really don’t know that name…”

The more he listened, the more an odd frustration started to rise in him.