Payback: Reversal

[Epilogue] The End Is Where We Begin

"Is that a sauna?" Byeol clasped her cheek in awe at the small, separate building not far from the main house. There was also a small paved yard that seemed to function as an outdoor kitchen, with a big cauldron and bbq station mounted on a short stone wall. A big pile of firewood could be seen behind the wall, half of it was hidden behind a vinyl cover. The outdoor kitchen was connected to the main building's side patio, overlooking a nice pond with white and red carp swimming around. "Ahh...I want to live here too~"

"I don't think J would let you invade their love nest," Ingyoo chuckled, recalling how possessive the man was. It had been years since they met, but he was sure the man wouldn't change—except for the worse. "But where's your brother?"

"Huh?" Byeol looked around in confusion, looking for her twin. "Han Gyeol?"

As they looked for the male twin, they found a path leading down the hill, toward the place where there were lots of trees. There was a walkway leading down, with crisscrossing ropes securing the side. They could see various trees flanking the path—jujubes, persimmons, apricots—and saw Han Gyeol passing through a pavilion built in a flat platform that overlooks a garden—a vegetable garden to be exact.

"Hyung!" they could hear Han Gyeol yelling as he climbed down the stairs, reverting back to the youthful boy he once was. Hearing him, the twin sister hurriedly ran down the stair too, leaving Ingyoo in his leisure—it wasn't the type of physical activity a financier like him would willingly do.

There, at the end of the stairs, was a stone path leading to a spread of spacious garden. Rows and rows of vegetable plants filled the neatly arranged field fenced by concrete blocks. There was also a greenhouse on the side, and they saw the man they were meant to visit come out of this greenhouse, wearing a pair of gardening boots and gloves, looking at the twins with a surprised face.

"Huh?" Lee Yoohan blinked at the pair of adults who ran at him like kids. "You're here alrea—ugh!"

Yoohan staggered back as a pair of overgrown kids tackled him with a laugh. It had been years since they had met each other, and the twins had grown into mature-looking man and woman. Yet they still acted like teenagers again after a long time of not seeing Yoohan.

He couldn't blame them though, he was the one to cut all contact with the outside world. At first, it was only for the duration of the vacation—that year of complete bliss. But then he felt how nice it was to not look at his phone or involve himself in the affairs of the world. It was peaceful, it was blissful. The one person who mattered most to him was always by his side anyway.

They only came back to Korea after their house was finished being built, all the while only communicating online with the architect and the construction manager. And living here, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, Yoohan became even more reclused, enjoying himself caring for his beloved garden. They even had separate farmhouses with some cattle and poultry that were being cared for by hired hands. They were basically self-sufficient in this place, and rarely needed to go out to the big stores for logistics.

Yoohan was living his quiet dream life.

Perhaps, deep down, he wasn't ready yet to see other people. The outburst he experienced, the separation anxiety he never knew he had, made him realize that he was, in fact, not okay.

They sought professional help, and Yoohan would have a session every time Jay came up to Seoul for their company's business. The advice he got was to step back and find peace within himself; rediscoverd himself and looked for what he actually wanted to do.

It was a good thing that they already lived in a quiet place where he could concentrate on himself. They didn't initially think of making a vegetable garden, an orchard, or even owning a farm. But they purchased additional land adjacent to their house, and this spacious field was the result. They just tried to do things that would make Yoohan busy in this small corner of the world, and gardening seemed to be a logical choice. Yoohan definitely did not want to do anything that garnered attention anymore with all those bitter experiences, so he went back to become a monk in this village.