thanks
At the end of an exhausting day
Around 3 am.
All the staff and members had already left work.
Go Eun folded the last of her clothes and carefully tidied up her place.
My body was stiff and stiff, and as I finally straightened my back, which had been bent over for a long time, a creaking pain came up.
After barely finishing tidying up, she took a taxi and headed home.
The last train had stopped running, the road was deserted. The lights outside the window weighed heavily on my eyelids.
A narrow studio apartment.
After a quick shower, Go-eun collapsed onto the bed.
It was past five in the morning. It was three hours before I had to go back to work.
임고은
"…under…"
As I closed my eyes and washed my face, Dokyeom's face came to mind.
도겸(석민)
‘Is that dying…?’
That question lingered in my mind.
She slowly raised her palm. The back of her hand, her fingers, and the dark ceiling visible between them.
임고은
“…Life is like hell…”
The idea that death could actually be a liberation. The shadow that had followed him for so long.
임고은
"Only those who have a reason to live live. What am I...? What have I been holding on for all this time?"
I turned to the side. And then, unconsciously, I turned on my phone.
The bright screen quietly illuminated her face.
임고은
"ah...."
The child's birthday was approaching.
임고은
'this…'
It suddenly occurred to me at that moment.
If I had died then, I wouldn't have been able to celebrate that child's birthday.
임고은
“…Thank goodness… I didn’t die…”
The moment those words left my mouth, they rang too quietly and too heavily.
Go Eun slowly closed her eyes. She lay there for a long time, absorbed in the quiet air.
Dokyeom, who was in the waiting room earlier.
도겸(석민)
"hmm…"
In the waiting room, in front of a dimly lit wall, Dokyeom sat quietly after finishing filming.
민규
"What's wrong, Lee Do-gyeom? Why are you so serious? What's wrong?"
Min-gyu approaches, sits down and asks.
Dokyeom looked up with a blank expression for a moment, then smiled awkwardly and shook his head.
도겸(석민)
“…No, just…”
Mingyu tilted his head, but didn't ask any further questions. Dokyeom looked away, glancing at the other staff members who were chatting away.
Familiar faces. But Go Eun wasn't among them.
도겸(석민)
‘Why is no one… pretending not to know? Why are you tormenting me like that?
도겸(석민)
In this day and age… is this normal?
My head was complicated.
Her expressionless face, trembling fingertips, and eyes that push her away, saying, “It’s okay.”
도겸(석민)
"Is it just because of the job? Or... is there something deeper?"
Dokyeom kept his mouth shut.
And again, I thought of the back of Go Eun, whom I had just encountered on the rooftop.
That was the appearance of a heart that had been neglected for a long time, finally on the verge of bursting.