The Brothers Kim

Chapter 44- She is Beautiful

The door creaked open, flooding the musty room with soft light. Undisturbed dust exploded into the air as Namjoon gently pushed the wooden door. He took a small step inside. "Hello?"

Scanning the dark vicinity, he inclined his head to search for any sign of life. And when his eyes settled on the figure before him, they rounded in surprise.

There, in front of him, sat a woman with her face partly concealed by long strands of ebony hair. From where Namjoon stood, the woman looked like a picture ready to be painted. Wearing dull, plain clothes, the woman continued to tend to her patients— bedridden vagabonds— whose eyes carried a look of adoration for the woman before them.

Who is she?

Noticing that cool air was drifting inside, the woman glanced over her shoulder, allowing Namjoon to finally see her face. A sharp intake of breath was heard as Namjoon took in the woman's features in a blink of an eye.

She is beautiful.

With irises the colour of rosewood, fringed by long eyelashes, the woman gaped at Namjoon from where she sat. But despite her soft features that exuded an aura of attractive elegance, her face was marred by the frown that tugged at her lips.

It was only when Namjoon met eyes with her did he realise that the frown was aimed at him.

"Can I help you?" Her voice was silvery and pleasant to the ears—a stark contrast to the cold stare she greeted him with.

"Erm..." Namjoon floundered as he fully entered the run-down building. "I am here to learn from the local physician." He peered down at the scrap piece of parchment in his hand. "A Physician Leu?" He glanced at the woman and met her intimidating gaze. Eager to avoid her penetrating eyes, he shifted his attention to the vagabonds as if searching the cramped room. "Do you know where I can find him?"

"You won't find him here," she replied as she stood up.

Namjoon blinked. "But the locals, they told me—"

"The locals told you wrong." She walked over to the next bed. "You won't find a Physician Leu here, so please leave."

Namjoon frowned at her tone. Had I offended her in some way? Refusing to accept her words, he followed her closely. "Wait, if he is not here, then when will he be back?"

The woman continued to ignore him as he trailed after her.

But just as he was about to ask again, she suddenly stopped, forcing Namjoon to an abrupt halt. The woman's frown deepened when she turned and discovered him so near. Namjoon mumbled an apology under his breath as he shuffled backwards.

"He's... never coming back." At the end of her utterance, her voice suddenly grew sorrowful as she cast her gaze down.

"Never coming back?"

Meeting Namjoon's questioning gaze, she explained, "The Physician Leu you're looking for was my husband. He... passed away not so long ago."

Silence.

"I apologise for wasting your time," the woman said, "but as you now know, he cannot help you." She turned around while mumbling under his breath, "He dedicated all his life helping others when he should have been helping himself..." With a defeated step, she started walking away.

"Wait."

Surprisingly, she did. The woman gaped at Namjoon expectantly, her lips still set in a firm frown.