It's been a month since we lost contact with Daniel.
During the day, he spent time at the store and at night, he went to Daniel's house, waiting for Daniel to suddenly appear in front of him.
Daniel's house had been empty to begin with. Unable to bear the increasingly stale air, I waited for Daniel every day and cleaned his house. Of course, I did my best to keep his traces intact.
Then one day, I shed tears and vented my resentment toward Daniel, who hadn't returned without a word. But when I thought about it, I'd waited three weeks longer than the one you'd told me to, but you, Daniel, had waited for me for three years. That thought made my suffering seem insignificant compared to yours, and I endured another day.
Because not only Daniel but also Seong-woo disappeared, Yoon-ha also went to Seong-woo's house at night like me, so I had to spend every dark night alone for three weeks.
I can't see a single star today.
Daniel didn't seem to be coming back today. I checked the clock and saw that it was 2:30 in the morning, then got up from the sofa.
Will you come tomorrow?
As I was packing my bags and leaving, I heard someone pressing the door lock.
The bag I was about to sling over my shoulder was tossed to the floor. I stopped dead in my tracks, standing in front of the front door. Finally...
"who are you?"
It wasn't Daniel who opened the door and came in.
"...who are you..?"
Someone came into his house that no one should know about, and no one should know about.
"I thought the house wasn't occupied... Who is this person?"
I feel like I should be the one asking who you are, but strangers keep asking me who I am.
"The owner of this house is here. He's gone for a while, but he'll be back soon."
The suspicious man, who had been thinking deeply about my answer, let out an exclamation of 'Ah!'
"Are you by any chance from our company? I didn't recognize you because it was the first time I saw you."
"Who are you? How did you get here?"
"This house changed hands? Didn't you know?"
"...Then who was the original owner of the house..?"
"I don't know."
At the suspicious man's answer, he took out his cell phone from his bag and called Yunha.
'Uh... Gianni? What, what's wrong?'
I felt sorry for Yoon-ha, who answered in a hushed voice, but there was nothing I could do.
"You were sleeping... Sorry, I think I'll have to come for a bit."
'why?'
"I'll explain when you get there. Da, no, come to Kay's house."
My call ended and the suspicious person strode towards me, his eyes wide and he asked,
"Just now, you said Kay? The Kay I know?
"Is Kay the owner of this house?"
"...That's right."
"They are waiting for that person..."
"yes."
The suspicious man sighed and paced around the house.
"Why are you doing that?"
After watching him for a while, I asked him why he was doing that, but he just kept repeating, "Just a moment."
"Why are you like that?"
The moment the man finally stopped in his seat and met my eyes, Yoon-ha came in, breathing heavily.
“Yoon Ha..”
“Who are you..? No way...”
It was only after Yoon-ha arrived that the suspicious person opened his mouth.
“I am the agent who will be living in this house from today.
The previous owner who has been waiting... that is, our boss, Mr. Kay...
You didn't come back from your last mission...
“The loss of personnel on our team was so great that many agents were replaced by new recruits, and a new boss was appointed a week ago.”
I couldn't believe what the suspicious man was saying.
I clearly said I would come back... I clearly said to trust only me...
what's this...
My legs were so weak that I couldn't stand.
Unlike me, who just sat there, Yunha was holding on with all her might, her legs shaking.
“...Then... how many people came back...?”
“All personnel deployed were killed.”
Tears fell one by one and soaked the floor.
My heart and mind still can't believe it, I can't believe it... but tears are already flowing down without stopping.
“That’s ridiculous.....”
Yunha, who muttered softly, clenched her fists tightly and shed tears at her feet.
“That’s a lie.....”
***
Two months have passed and I haven't heard anything. Your house, where you tried your best to keep your traces hidden, is now owned by someone else, and naturally, all traces of you have disappeared.
"Your Majesty, I'm here." You didn't say it was that dangerous for me. You said I could definitely come back alive. It's been two months since I heard your voice. The day I heard the news of Daniel's death from that man, I tried to go to the company. It was Yoon-ha who stopped me.
"If you go there now, Daniel's sacrifice will be in vain!"
"Daniel isn't dead! I'm going to go find him."
"Gia, you can't let those people find out you're alive. That's all Daniel has planned up until now. This is something that will make Daniel's dreams disappear in an instant."
"All of that... would be useless without Daniel..."
"But what if Daniel hadn't died like you said? Please, Ji-ah... Hiding you is all we've done for the past three years... Protect us until the very end."
Daniel can come back. I can go get him. Everyone's trying to stop me...
Yoon-ha said that to me calmly, but I knew that she still visited the voice actor's house every night, which was empty without a new owner because it was not owned by the company.
I'm sorry... I'm so easily shaken... I'm so easily broken... I'm not strong...
I feel like it's all your fault for holding on tight... I'm so sorry, Yoonha.
I couldn't relax my tightly clenched fist. I held it tight, and I wouldn't let go. Just like Daniel, who always stood by my side to protect me, just like you, I promised myself I would wait for you until the very end.
Two months and a week. Another week... The last week.
Time passed without any news, and I, too, let time flow by without change, just like that. Daniel waited for three years. But I'd only waited for three months. That's how I breathed, that's how I lived. I had to do what you did. Because I could. I didn't even skip work at the cafe, trying not to be too swayed.
One day, a very well-matched couple came in, dressed in stylish doctor's gowns.
"What would you like to drink?"
"I'd like an Americano. A warm one."
"Two warm Americanos, please. Oh, I heard the tarts here are really delicious.
"Boram, don't you want to eat a tart? You haven't even had a proper lunch because of the surgery."
"Tart? I love it! Hmm, mango tart?"
"Please give me a mango tart too."
"The strawberry tart looks delicious today. How about a strawberry tart?"
"Teacher Kang! Then let's eat strawberries."
"Please give me a strawberry tart."
At first, they seemed unusual in their doctor's gowns, but even in their busy schedules, they held hands and entered the cafe, their seemingly ordinary appearance bringing a smile to my face. I envied the couple's ability to maintain their beautiful love while remaining dedicated to their work. Perhaps it was the stark white gowns, a stark contrast to ours, who always wore black, that drew my attention to the couple.
I wish we had days like that. Looking back now, I regret all those years spent living in the dark, hidden from view. I wish I'd dressed up, dressed up, and gone on a normal date like everyone else.
Will it come today, will it come tomorrow? The days I used to count as days had turned into a week before I knew it.
Will he come this week, or next week? That means the days were passing by meaninglessly for me.
Yesterday and today weren't that different, and it felt as if time had stopped. I let the four seasons I spent with you drift by alone. Winter, spring, summer, fall, when you left. And then winter again.
Winter has begun again, too cold and long to endure alone.
As the winter came back, filled with tears of longing for you, my heart naturally began to settle down little by little.
The person I'm waiting for can't come back to me anymore. There's nothing I can do about it.
Daniel would definitely have done his best to return to me and keep his promise to me.
But it wasn't his fault that it couldn't happen.