Chapter 29

[Hello, are you Smile-nim who was desperately looking for how to remove the ring on the internet cafes ‘Knowledge Win’, Ring-verse’, ‘Ring Protector’, ‘Ring Love’, and ‘Ring Destiny’?]

[I’d like to ask you for a little favor to help you in finding a way to remove the ring.]

[If possible, could you take a picture of your left-hand ring finger and send it to me attached via email?]

[I’m not trying to use it for anything strange, I am asking for it to help Smile-nim, so please don’t be doubtful.]

[If the post was just for attention, please ignore this message, and please delete all the posts if possible.]

[I’ll be waiting for your email.]

[Have a nice day.]

I read the contents again and again. The more I read, the more I questioned it. There were also questions about who the person was and what the purpose of this message was, but the bigger question was that they asked for “a photo of the left-hand ring finger.”

‘Why a picture of the left ring finger?’

I stretched out my left hand so that I could see the back of my hand. In my eyes, I can clearly see the single line of the red ring on my left ring finger, but only Ji Geon-hyung, who is connected by the same ring, can see it. Even if it was a person with a ring, it’s impossible for them to see another person’s ring in the first place unless they were connected to them.

So whether the other person knows about the ring or not, the picture of my left ring finger would just be a useless attachment.

‘Hacking or distributing viruses… It’s probably not meant for that.’

If it was like that, they wouldn’t have contacted me with a message like this.

If they tried to plant a hacking program or virus, they would have used email instead of a message that couldn’t include attachments, and they would have cleverly written down a link that I would have no choice but to click on it or install a program.

Again, I read the contents of the message carefully. Again, the biggest problem was the request for a picture of the left ring finger.

‘I’ve never heard from anyone like this before, so it’s worth a try…’

Even if it’s not removed, they seemed to know something, so perhaps I can get some good information. It was quite strange to send a picture of the ring when they couldn’t even see it, though.

Thinking about it, I picked up my cell phone and took a picture of my left ring finger. The real-life red ring was clearly positioned on the ring finger of my left hand in the saved photo. To anyone other than hyung, it might seem like a simple hand photo, but if I sent this, the other person from the message might be able to tell me something.

I sincerely hoped that the other person wasn’t playing a prank, so I sent them an email with the picture of my ring finger attached.

“Uuuack-!”

As soon as I replied through a message that I sent the email, just in case, after sending the picture, I heard loud noises outside. When I went out to find out what was going on, there was a spectacular fire show reminiscent of a Chinese restaurant pre-frying curry ingredients in a wok1 for Chinese cuisine fans. Even though the huge red flames soared so high that they seemed to burn up the ceiling, hyung, who was holding on to the wok, remained calm.

Screaming next to him, Kang Ji Seok was swinging a poorly cut carrot.

“Are you trying to burn the house down?!”

“It needs this much fire for it to be cooked.”

“Are we the ones being cooked?!”

Seeing his older brother respond in a dignified manner, I put my hand on my forehead. As Ji Seok said, we’ll be cooked.

“Everyone, come out. I’ll do it.”

“No.”

“NO!”

I turned around and stared mercilessly at the two people who spoke out at the same time.

“I’m included among the people who will eat that, right? If you don’t want to die after eating, hurry up and come out quickly.”

Threatened by me, the two men looked at each other for a while and eventually got kicked out of the kitchen.

++++++++++

It’s been a week since I sent that picture of my left ring finger.

I was looking forward to [a response], but I guess it was as expected. I checked my e-mail and inbox several times a day, but all I got was a notice from an internet cafe or spam mail.

‘It was better not to expect anything.’

I sent it feeling gullible, but nothing actually came, so my mouth felt bitter.2

I was scanning the empty mailbox on my cell phone, then turned off the screen as I saw Ji Seok dragging a cart.

“I’m not going to buy a lot today, so why are you bringing a cart?”

“You never know, you might end up buying more things.”

“If you keep your mouth shut, there would be no impulse buying, right?”

Ji Seok grinned as if he was really going to make an impulsive purchase. I went to the supermarket with him today, vowing not to fall for it.

All of what I wanted to buy would be one bag at most, but when I came out there were three for some reason. I sighed as I looked at Ji Seok’s dignified back with both hands heavy with bags, taking even what I was carrying. I had to actively stop him, but there was definitely a limit since I wasn’t buying it with my own money.

‘I should come alone next time.’

I was grateful to be a porter, but at this rate, I didn’t think I could do it because I felt sorry for Ji Geon-hyung who pays for my living expenses like this.

I was waiting for the elevator as we reached the apartment and my cell phone vibrated continuously. I confirmed Ji Geon-hyung’s name on the screen and answered the call immediately.

“Yes, hyung.”

“Home yet?”

As if asking who it was, Ji Seok sent a look next to me, so I told him who it was by mouthing the word ‘hyung‘.3

“I just went grocery shopping with Kang Ji Seok. We’re in front of the elevator on the first floor of the apartment.”

“Good. Leave the baggage to Ji Seok and come to the parking lot.”

“Are you here already?”

“En.”

I glanced at Ji Seok, then asked his brother.

“Well, with the other person with the ring…”

“I finished my work a little early today, so I met them in advance.”

Just in case Ji Seok was listening, hyung adjusted to me. I deliberately repeated what hyung had said so that Ji Seok could hear it and told him to go up first.

“What is it? Can’t I come with you?”

Ji Seok, with a dubious face, tried to go with me, but the heavy bags in both his hands caught his attention.

“I’ll be up in a minute, so go up and put those in the fridge. There are eggs in there so be careful not to break them.”

“En…”

Getting on the elevator with a sullen face, Ji Seok left with a message to come back up quickly. Kang Ji Seok, who received the words “I got it” [in response], smiled beautifully.

Soon the elevator door closed, and I took another elevator that was waiting next to it down to the first basement floor.

The first floor of the apartment basement was a parking lot, but it was not difficult to get to the car because there was a designated spot where hyung always parked.

When I found a familiar car and approached it, Ji Geon-hyung got out of the driver’s seat. As soon as his eyes met mine, hyung, who smiled brilliantly suddenly made an apologetic expression.

“Woo Seo-ya, I need to ask you a favor…”

“What is it, hyung?”

I was motivated in my own way because I was going to do whatever he was going to ask me to do. However, even before I could listen to him, someone from the passenger seat greeted me warmly.

“Hiya! You’re the one I saw at the college last time! Ji Seok’s friend!”

Startled by her clear and cheerful voice, I stared at the other person, it was Ji Seok’s first love and ideal type, Han Mina-noona. I froze, wondering why she was here but hyung held some shopping bags.

“Han Mina bought a lot of things because she passed an interview, but she didn’t have enough hands.”

“Ah…”

Even the shopping bags he was holding, there seemed to be five in each hand. Mina-noona was also carrying a lot of things, and there were a few more shopping bags left in the back seat.

I went to the back seat, trying to school my expression. I brought out the remaining shopping bags and closed the door, but Mina-noona approached and gathered her eyebrows, feeling infinitely apologetic.

“Dorry for coming suddenly. I didn’t realize you were living together. I thought it was a lie because there were three people living there; Ji Geon, Ji Seok, and someone else. If I had known, I would’ve just called Ji Geon and Ji Seok to meet them outside.”

I choked up while listening to her. As for Mina-noona, she said she should have met the other two outside because she thought it would be inconvenient for me, a stranger, she specified again. ‘But It was better to be in front of you than to stay alone in a large apartment and imagine what was going on between the two of you.’

‘Two of you?’

Come to think of it, it was strange. Even though there was Kang Ji Seok, I also cared about Ji Geon-hyung,

“Woo Seo-ya?”

As if to break up my embarrassing thoughts, hyung came closer and looked at my face.

“Something wrong?”

“No…Let’s go in. If we stay any longer, Kang Ji Seok will come down.”

I hurriedly headed for the elevator, avoiding his eyes. Along with the sound of two sets of footsteps following behind me, I could hear Mina-noona’s excited voice in Ji Geon-hyung’s direction. They talked about whether the house was better now than the house she had been to six years ago, that it was quite spacious then, and remembered that four people, including Ji Geon-hyung, Ji Yeon-noona, and Kang Ji Seok, exploded the microwave while trying to cook.

They were only stories that I didn’t know myself.

A terrible sense of alienation had settled in, and a corner of my heart was chilled.