By Zephyria As soon as day broke, Mu-hae crossed the gate and headed to Jaegang District. As soon as he got into the taxi, Joo-oh threw off his jacket and fixed his hair.
After Mu-hae had fixed it for him a few times, he now tidied up his messy hair on his own. Soon, looking neat, he sparkled his eyes and reached out his hand.
“I want to see it too.”
“See what.”
“The bracelet.”
Even though it was Joo-oh who had obtained the item, the bracelet had not left Mu-hae’s inner pocket even once since Mu-hae snatched it away yesterday.
His expectant face beamed at Mu-hae. Joo-oh seemed to be in a much better mood than the day before, after sleeping and waking up in the same bed.
Each time he blinked, his dense eyelashes fluttered above his curved eyes. Watching his excited eyes, Mu-hae eventually took the bracelet out of his pocket.
As the unique white bracelet rested on his soft hand, Mu-hae somehow thought it would suit Joo-oh well too.
“Wow. Look at this.”
The bracelet really looked exactly as Olga had described. Of course, the drawing she gave was somewhat crude, but the starburst engraving in the center was drawn as if she had seen it, even the angle was the same.
To remember an item that disappeared 17 years ago so accurately, she must have cherished it quite a bit, so how did she end up losing this bracelet?
‘There was something else inside. So, to check the weight, he lied that it wasn’t solid Platinum but just plated, and gave her one-tenth of the price?Suddenly, a behind-the-scenes story he had heard at the temporary bus stop flashed through his mind.
Well, whatever was inside this slender bracelet, it probably wasn’t a trick to reduce the amount of Platinum.
Rather, it might have some function embedded in it. Rich guys often do secret things anyway.
That’s probably why Olga had been searching for the bracelet all this time.
“It’s prettier in person.”
As she said, the bracelet was more of a product than he thought. It had a clean, neutral design, and although it lacked a flashy touch, it had a strong sense of luxury.
Now, if he gets some kind of story from Olga in exchange for this, everything will be over. As Joo-oh stared at his hand, he handed the bracelet over as if he was done, and Mu-hae wrapped the jewelry in tissue and put it in his inner pocket.
‘He brought this because he wanted to see that woman happy.’
It was a favor given for an unnecessarily kind reason, but in fact, it was uncertain whether Olga would really be overjoyed to receive this bracelet.
Isn’t it a Gift from a lover she was trying to break up with in the first place? Once its usefulness is removed, what meaning will it really have for her?
Clicking his tongue and turning his head, Mu-hae’s eyes caught sight of a familiar street.
The wide road unfolded outside the car window, and the alleys stretched between them. An antique-style cafe.
“We’re here. Get out.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Joo-oh clasped his hands tightly in front of his chest and took a long, deep breath.
He seemed to be expecting something a lot. Mu-hae unconsciously pressed his temple at the already foreseen great disappointment.
…If he’s depressed, I should feed him a lot of meat. I should stroke his hair for a long time, and rub his cheeks too.
If I scold him a little when he feels better, he might be less involved in unnecessary things in the future.
Thinking about it that way, it wasn’t all bad. Joo-oh gets meat, and Mu-hae gets more information. Isn’t it a win-win in its own way?
Harboring vain hope, he sat down at a window seat with good lighting in a corner of the cafe. As he handed over the menu placed on the table, Joo-oh made a small smacking sound.
“Order only three things.”
“Huh?”
“Three things excluding drinks. Olga has to sit down too, so don’t put plates all over the table.”
He was making a big concession in his own way, but Joo-oh looked shocked. Was he planning to order all the food on the menu?
“Is three enough?”
“Yes.”
“Anything?”
“What are you trying to do again, asking such a thing.”
Without answering his question, Joo-oh quickly ran away to the counter. His hidden intentions, which had been bothering him, were revealed when the server brought a large dessert tray.
“Are you crazy?”
“One. It’s one.”
“Who calls a whole cake one?”
“One lemon cheesecake. One Earl Grey chiffon. One mixed berry tart. Three.”
A headache is coming. Feeling the attention of the people around him, Mu-hae wanted to shake his own collar for entrusting the order to that crazy guy a little while ago.
Suppressing the urge to clench his teeth, Mu-hae forced a smile.
“We’re not here to play. Pack it up and eat it at home.”
Even though he was smiling, Joo-oh seemed to sense that his face was becoming increasingly fierce, and quickly nodded, pulling only the cheesecake in front of him.
Soon, two cake boxes were stacked next to Joo-oh. The six-piece cake he had defended was reduced to three pieces in less than 5 minutes, and when Olga arrived at the cafe as usual, it was one and a half pieces.
If it weren’t for the large tray, Joo-oh was able to pretend to be normal, which was a great relief.
“You’re a few minutes late for the schedule.”
“There’s no such schedule. I’m just coming out for a break at a similar time.”
“I have some news about the item you requested. You should think of a pretty good reward.”
“Can I expect positive news?”
Olga showed a faint expectation as she pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him. Her reaction was a bit unexpected, as she seemed to think that she wouldn’t be able to find the bracelet easily.
“So, who had it?”
“It seems a mercenary got it and sold it to a fence. ‘Some time’ ago.”
“…I’m sorry for glossing over that part. To be honest, I thought it would be okay even if I couldn’t find it.”
“You seem to have held onto it for quite a while, considering that.”
Olga made a bitter expression. There was no answer, but her reaction was definitely positive.
“It went through a few more hands and finally ended up with Sakdal.”
“Sakdal… This is going to be a bit of a hassle.”
“And this guy found it.”
Mu-hae gestured towards Joo-oh and took out the bracelet from his inner pocket. Olga, who had turned to look at Joo-oh following his gaze, soon discovered the bracelet and widened her eyes.
For a moment, she froze like a pillar of salt. Her head seemed to have stopped at the unexpected appearance of the item, and she couldn’t even open her mouth.
“It’s Olga’s bracelet.”
Only after Joo-oh confirmed the obvious fact did she slowly raise her hand above the table.
Thud, the Platinum bracelet fell onto Olga’s palm. She couldn’t even hold it and just stared blankly at it for a while.
“I didn’t think I’d be able to find it this easily.”
“It wasn’t easy.”
“When I was looking for it quietly on my own, I couldn’t even find a trace of it.”
Her method was obvious even without deeply contemplating it. At best, she would have gone around to jewelry stores or pawnshops over a long period of time.
If she went too often, others would know that she was looking for something, so she would pretend to buy jewelry that she didn’t even use, and she would have been passively searching for it like that for 17 years.
“Did you get pickpocketed or something a long time ago?”
“…It probably disappeared as stolen goods from the beginning.”
Olga said in a choked voice, carefully stroking the bracelet. Her eyes, filled with emotion, didn’t look entirely happy.
After taking a moment to catch her breath, she opened her mouth in a faint voice, as if whispering.
“Young people probably don’t know. Exactly what happened in Solar City. After the accident, I couldn’t even go there for a while. It was only after a couple of months that a mercenary appeared who would escort me to the ruined city, but when I returned, everything had already disappeared.”
Receiving the sunlight streaming in from the window, the round metal ring shone dimly. Surprisingly, Olga’s ring, which had been so inconspicuous, also began to stand out.
“You know, this bracelet is actually an item of my dead lover. He hated wearing anything on his body. He couldn’t wear rings for long either. Thanks to his habit of wearing a Link Watch, he thought a bracelet would be okay?”
Was that why the design was so excessively simple? Because the owner of the bracelet was someone who couldn’t stand jewelry. Instead of a pair of rings, the couple shared a set of a ring and a bracelet.
“The bracelet wasn’t on his body. I was sure someone had taken it.”
“So…”
“Yes. So, I said it was lost. There’s no one who can follow mercenaries when it comes to picking up lost items. As expected, there were quite a few mercenaries who risked their lives and roamed the burnt city. Wondering if there was anything to pick up, in that Aberrant field.”
“…”
“After making inquiries, I obtained information that one of the mercenaries had taken the bracelet. He returned to Goryeo City. I guessed that the bracelet probably went there too.”
Olga stared blankly out the window. At the time approaching noon, she was quietly detached from the lively street like a dusty glass ornament.
“Most of the few survivors scattered to nearby Comfort zones, but I came to find the bracelet and ended up settling down here.”
“To find this item?”
“No. It wasn’t like I wouldn’t leave until I got my hands on this. It just happened that way. Just. As if my home and people had all disappeared while I was away from the city for a while.”
A heavy silence fell between the three of them. Even Joo-oh, who probably had the least thoughts, shut his mouth and watched her as if he was admiring her.
“Thank you anyway. I’m only saying this now, but I asked without much expectation. I never imagined I’d be able to receive it like this.”
Finishing the story almost in a murmur, Olga put the bracelet on her right wrist. A starburst pattern engraved in the middle of the loose ring. She brought her left hand to that simple decoration.
Then, surprisingly, click. With a small metallic sound, the convex decoration of the ring fit exactly into the pattern.
Woo-oong- Her Link Watch vibrated. As if receiving some data from the surroundings.
Olga looked around the quiet cafe and touched her Watch.
Beep-.
―Olga, my…….
As if she didn’t expect a recorded voice to come out, she hurriedly turned down the volume. Soon, a stranger’s voice was played at a volume that could only be heard whispering around.
―Olga, my love. I once made you such a promise. That I would always wear this bracelet except when I wash. So, when you hear this recording, I will not exist among matter. I wish we could stay together forever, but it’s a pity.
Olga’s face, which he glanced at, was pale.
He had expected the bracelet to have some function, but he probably didn’t expect it to be such a will.