CHAPTER 66
Three days later, Noeul received an unexpected visitor.
It was morning. Duri and Ji-Woo were at school, and he and Mrs. Kang were having coffee together when the intercom rang.
“What’s going on?” Mrs. Kang wondered aloud before lifting the phone and listening to the concierge announce the visitor.
The color drained from her face the moment she heard the name. Her voice was barely audible when she turned to Noeul, soft and careful.
“Noeul…Ms. Lee is here to see you.” She hesitated. “But only if you feel ready to face her.”
Noeul’s breath caught.
Mrs. Kang’s words blurred together as his mind began to spin. His body went cold and rigid, as if the mere idea of seeing Ms. Lee had frozen his blood. His chest tightened, his thoughts colliding in a chaotic mix of anger, confusion, fear, and an unwilling spark of hope.
Why now?
Why her?
His hands trembled as he set his coffee cup down. Her presence loomed over him like a force he was unprepared to confront. He didn’t know whether to accept or refuse, but either choice felt impossible.
“Noeul… what should I tell her?” Mrs. Kang asked, sounding worried. “Please, let me ask her to leave. You can contact her when you’re ready.”
“Let her come in.”
Mrs. Kang studied his pale face and wide eyes. “Are you sure?”
Noeul swallowed. “No.” The honesty surprised even him. Then he drew a slow breath. “But let her come in.”
When Ms. Lee entered the apartment, she froze. The dark, refined aesthetic of the penthouse reminded her painfully of her son’s home. Though the furnishings were luxurious and elegant, this place felt different.
Lived in. Warm. Safe.
Noeul waited beside the sofa. For several seconds, neither spoke.
“Please, sit down, Ms. Lee,” he finally said, forcing his voice to remain calm. “Would you like some tea?”
He still remembered her preferences. She disliked coffee.
Something about that small detail almost broke her.
“I won’t stay long,” she said. “I was visiting my son, and…” Her voice faltered as tears threatened to spill. “I had to see you, Noeul.”
Mrs. Kang remained nearby for another moment, watching Noeul carefully. Noeul gave her a faint nod. Only then did she quietly excuse herself, leaving them alone.
“But why?” he asked. “Why are you here? In the end, I’m someone you hate.”
“I don’t hate you.”
The answer came immediately. Ms. Lee’s eyes filled as she looked at him.
Then her gaze fell to his hands. To the sleeves covering his wrists.
She remembered what Jun had told her. Her hand moved toward him before she stopped herself.
“Noeul…may I?”
He followed her gaze. Slowly, hesitantly, he extended his left arm.
Ms. Lee pushed his sleeve up with trembling fingers. Her breath caught.
“My child…” Her eyes locked onto the scarred skin. “This was hard for you too, wasn’t it?”
Noeul immediately pulled his sleeve back down and looked away. “It doesn’t matter. I’m paying for my mistakes.”
Ms. Lee stared at him. “No.”
Noeul looked up.
“I spent years hating you and your brother,” she confessed. “It made the pain easier. It gave me strength to endure my son’s absence when I had someone to blame. I needed Haneul’s death to belong to someone. Gong. You. Anyone except Haneul himself.”
Noeul’s eyes filled.
“But I know now that you didn’t know what was happening to him,” she continued, her voice trembling. “You didn’t know what your brother had done.”
“I should have.”
“Noeul.”
“I failed to protect Haneul.”
The words broke from him. Tears streamed down Noeul’s face, burning paths along his skin. Before Ms. Lee understood what he was doing, he dropped to his knees and bowed deeply.
“I’m sorry.”
“Noeul.”
“I never wanted this to happen.” His words dissolved into broken breaths. “I didn’t want him to die. I’m sorry. I didn’t know what my brother had done. If I had known, I would have stopped him. I swear I would have stopped him.”
Ms. Lee stared down at him.
“No.”
She dropped down beside him. “No, my child. Get up.”
Noeul continued crying. Ms. Lee wrapped her arms around him.
“I know,” she whispered. “I know now.”
“Jun told me. He told me what happened that morning. He told me you found out from Haneul’s note.” She held him tighter. “I’m sorry it took me so long to understand.”
Noeul cried against her shoulder.
“If there was one person who made my youngest son’s life brighter, it was you,” she continued. “He always told me how you helped him accept himself. How you listened to him. When I was going through my divorce, when his father abandoned us, you were there when I wasn’t always strong enough to be.”
Her own tears finally fell.
“You were the person he was closest to.” She stroked Noeul’s hair. “He loved you like a brother.”
Noeul’s breath broke.
They remained like that for a long time, locked in a quiet embrace. When Noeul finally stopped crying, he hesitantly returned the hug.
Ms. Lee didn’t move. She simply let him hold her.
Eventually, Noeul helped her back to the sofa and sat across from her.
“Ms. Lee…” His eyes remained red. “May I hope for your forgiveness?”
Ms. Lee’s face crumpled. “Forgiveness for what?”
Noeul looked down. “Is three years of misery enough?”
She stared at him, horrified by the question.
“Noeul, look at me.”
Slowly, he did.
“I don’t blame you for my son’s death.”
Noeul’s lips parted.
“You do not need my forgiveness for something you did not do.”
His eyes filled again.
“If anyone should apologize here, it’s me.” She hesitated. “For what I believed about you. For the things I said to you.” Her voice weakened. “And for my older son.”
Noeul stiffened. Ms. Lee noticed immediately.
“Chung-Hee never told me exactly what happened between you,” she said carefully. “Jun didn’t either.”
Noeul said nothing.
“But he hurt you, didn’t he?”
Silence.
His fingers curled against his trousers. Ms. Lee watched the movement.
“I see.”
Noeul still couldn’t look at her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Please don’t apologize for him.”
Ms. Lee went still. Noeul finally lifted his gaze.
“What Chung-Hee did was his choice.”
Ms. Lee nodded slowly. “You’re right.”
“Thank you,” Noeul said with a fragile smile. “You have no idea what this means to me.”
“I’m not going to ask you to forgive him.”
Noeul looked at her.
“And I’m not going to ask you to go back to him.”
His shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly.
“I know my son loves you,” she continued, her voice breaking. “Or at least, he believes what he feels is love. But whatever he feels does not excuse what he did.”
Noeul stared into his glass. “He wants what I can’t give him,” he said eventually. “We can’t be together, Ms. Lee. We tried. I tried.”
His fingers tightened around the glass.
Ms. Lee took a deep breath.
“I cannot tell you what to do,” Ms. Lee said at last. “And I won’t ask you to carry my son because I failed to help him carry himself.”
Noeul looked down.
A notification chimed from her phone. She glanced at it briefly before composing herself.
“Noeul, I must go.”
She stood.
Noeul followed her toward the elevator. Once she pressed the button, he met her gaze. His expression was steady.
The elevator chimed. Before entering, Ms. Lee reached into her bag.
“There’s one more thing.”
She handed him an envelope. “This belongs to you.”
Noeul frowned and opened it. His breath caught.
“My ID…” His fingers trembled. “My passport.”
Ms. Lee placed a card in his hand. “And your money. Everything Chung-Hee was holding.”
Noeul stared down at them. For several seconds, he couldn’t speak.
Ms. Lee closed his fingers around the card. “I made Chung-Hee open the safe this morning. My son had no right to keep any of this from you.”
Noeul looked at her.
“I can’t undo what happened,” she continued. “But I can return what belongs to you.”
She stepped into the elevator.
His throat tightened. “Ms. Lee…”
“Live well.”
The doors began to close.
“Goodbye, Noeul.”
“Thank you, Ms. Lee.”
The doors closed before he knew whether she had heard him.
Noeul remained there, staring at the envelope in his hands.
Mrs. Kang appeared quietly behind him. Noeul looked down at his passport again.
Then she wrapped her arms around him. This time, he didn’t hesitate.
He leaned into her embrace, closed his eyes, and held the passport tightly against his chest.