43. Old Woman and Her Home

“Want to sit here?” Jason pointed to a long bench made of wood, then spread his gaze across the open front yard. In front of the old lady's house, there was only a narrow road and it displayed a view that showed part of the city from above. “We can wait for Mr. Kwak while getting some fresh air.”

Ashley followed where Jason pointed and nodded. There was no harm in her resting there for a while. It would also probably lessen the awkwardness of the old woman and her grandson for not having to jostle with Ashley or Jason inside the house.

With Jason helping her walk, Ashley slowly stepped up to sit on a long wooden bench in the middle of the front yard. The man grabbed a rag that was lying there and cleaned the surface of the chair before it was occupied by Ashley and himself.

“Thank you,” Ashley said as she adjusted her seat as comfortably as possible with her legs stretched out.

Jason followed sitting next to her after that.

“Thank you again. You guys really got into a lot of trouble today.”

A sigh could be heard coming out of Jason’s mouth, along with his head turned up to look at the dark sky. “That's fine. Just don't forget to buy me a meal next time.”

Ashley smiled and let out a crisp laugh. “Of course. I'll invite you to eat somewhere nice.”

Jason returned the laughter with a nod.

Then an awkward silence engulfed them both for a few moments.

Ashley was silent without knowing what other words she could use to make small talk. While Jason, who was still looking up at the sky, was increasingly hypnotized by the beauty of the night. In that place, some stars became very clear like a light that was deliberately made to stand out brightly on a black canvas that was polished so darkly.

Then unintentionally, his mind was filled with some of the prejudices that had sprung up while they were still in the hospital. To him, the attitude Ashley showed and a fact he knew—Josh and that girl spent time in different places since the wedding night—were enough to give him reason to be suspicious.

If it was due to the adaptation process between the two of them, Jason thought he would let it go as things would definitely get better with time. But if it was due to Sharon's presence, Jason might have to rack his brains hard to sort it out. Because it signaled something very serious. His mom did a lot to keep Josh's relationship with Sharon hidden from everyone. So if the girl beside him found out that her husband was staying at another girl's house, it would be the end of the world—not just for Josh, but for their entire family.

“You... and Josh, are you really okay?”

Ashley frowned when she heard Jason suddenly ask such a question again. Her face certainly couldn't hide an expression of incomprehension.

Jason, who caught Ashley's confusion from the girl's face, quickly raised his hand to gesture a cross.

“Please don't misunderstand me. I'm only asking because I know that your marriage happened because of the parents' wishes,” Jason tried to say it very carefully, ”I am in a position of not knowing whether both of you also want it or not, but, I hope my brother treated you well.”

Ashley smiled at Jason. “Thank you for your concern. But we're fine. Josh, yeah—he's been good to me.”

“Thank goodness then.”

Jason responded and then paused. He paused to think—whether to end his remarks so that Ashley wouldn't suspect that there was a big secret about Josh that he should keep, or to indulge his heart's desire to give Ashley a little advice so that she would be strong enough to face anything with Josh.

And his logic gave in, as another long sentence came out of his mouth softly and carefully.

“You know, in this world, there are many new things that they gained but also many things that may be lost when someone decides to get married. Regardless of whether they marry the person they love or not. And that, actually, happens to a lot of people. They just don't show it. Marriage is not an easy thing to get into. But it's not impossible either.”

Ashley was pensive for a moment after hearing all that.

What the man sitting next to her said somehow touched her and made her realize the meaning of loss. She, herself, had lost many things in her life in a very unfair way, which other people would never have thought or imagined could happen to her. With her entering into another trap called 'marriage', she should be used to it and not surprised. 

But it turns out she was quite overwhelmed. 

Perhaps, it's just that, the moment Ashley found out that Josh had another girl that he loved so much, the disappointment that was originally struggling in her heart transformed into a hope of a chance to escape. From the marriage that was obviously going to be miserable. And from the agreement she made with her parents—one thing would ease her hard life a little, and if both come true then she would be able to get one benefit without having to sacrifice anything.

“I'm probably pretty good at guessing what's ahead, but I still don't know what's really going to happen anyway,” Ashley muttered, her eyes staring off into the distance. “Maybe I'll just live with it, and see what happens later. But thank you, really.” Ashley smiled and turned to Jason, “I appreciate your concern.”

The previous two encounters, she and Jason only had time to talk casually just for formality. Even if added up, the duration of their conversation did not exceed ten minutes. Only today she gets to know a bit of Jason's nature—even though in general and only on the surface. And it turns out reminded him of Josh that showered her with kindness—which he could now conclude might be nothing more than a pretense.

“Come to think of it, you and Josh do look alike. It wouldn't be wrong if you were brothers.”

Jason's eyebrows went up. “Me and Josh? Look alike?”

“You're both kind, and good with words,” Ashley clarified her point, though in her heart she also wanted to say ‘but I don't know which one of you is really sincere in saying it and not manipulating me’ because she just realized she was bad at guessing other people's tendencies. “I guess that's why you're such a famous politician.”

Jason laughed a low, crisp laugh. “You think so?” Jason frowned and shook his head. “You need to know, that me and Josh are completely different,” this time the man's expression and eyes turned stiff and more serious, ”I'm much better than him.”

Ashley, who noticed the change in Jason's voice and expression, was stunned. But the man soon melted the uncomfortable atmosphere with his crisp laughter again.

“I'm kidding.”

Ashley then replied with a short smooth laugh. “Oh—I just remembered. That grandmother's cart. Ah, how is this? The kid who stole the bag got away with it, now the cart is forgotten, and still on the street. No one will want to take it, right?” she questioned her doubts to Jason.

Meanwhile, Jason himself also didn't understand whether or not someone would want to steal a cart if it was left unattended. So he shrugged his shoulders, and shook his head. “I don't know.”

Ashley sighed. “I'll think about it tomorrow. Maybe asking the police for help would be better.”

“Just give her money to replace her cart and stolen money,” Jason suggested the solution that he thought was the most practical and effective to do in a situation like this, ”There's no way the boy will be found easily, and if the cart is missing I think it will be even harder to find it.”

Ashley understood Jason's point, but she knew that it was highly unlikely that the old lady would accept money for free from her. “She won't. I bet she’ll refuse.”

Meanwhile, Jason, who heard Ashley's answer, burst out laughing. “How can anyone refuse to be given money—especially when having problems and in this condition.” Jason raised his hand, trying to make a gesture to illustrate the old woman's economic condition.