***
Gyeonhui headed to the CEO’s office with a firm expression.
It was just a moment, but seeing her for a second, already shook his heart vigorously.
“I’ve tried so hard to forget her, but…”
The effort that he tried during the entire week turned into nothing.
“Hah…”
With a long sigh, Gyeonhui opened the door and entered the CEO’s office.
“Gyeonhui!” As soon as Ojae saw him entering, Ojae cried out.
“Can you please be quiet? I have a headache.”
He said while furrowing his eyebrow in frustration.
“Oh, I’m sorry, but you have to see this,” Ojae continued.
Gyeonhui reluctantly approached Ojae.
“What’s up?”
“Look at this flower! A flower bloomed out of the tree.”
“Flower?”
Gyeonhui reiterated Ojae’s word without understanding what was happening.
“Look at this.”
Ojae pointed to the tree at the window. He pointed to the coffee tree that Sun gave to Gyeonhui in the past.
It was a white coffee tree flower that bloomed splendidly in all directions.
“Isn’t it so pretty? I haven’t seen a coffee tree flower before. It’s gorgeous.”
Ojae smiled with admiration while he looked at the flowers.
Just like Ojae said, the tree she left behind had a white flower on it. However, his expression was just hardening even more.
“… It’s too late…” He smiled bitterly and mumbled to himself.
“Huh? Doesn’t this look somewhat familiar, though?” Ojae said.
“Maybe you’ve seen it on TV.”
“Yeah, maybe… but I’ve never seen a real coffee flower before.”
It looked like a starfish with long tentacles or a star with long legs and arms. Ojae tilted his head in doubt and smiled after giving up on remembering. However, at that moment, an image came to Gyeonhui’s mind.
“No way…”
Gyeonhui’s eyes widened; he couldn’t get the words out properly.
“… Why?” Ojae asked carefully after looking at Gyeonhui’s serious face.
“Hey… Ojae…” Gyeonhui called Ojae quietly.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
Ojae was frightened unwittingly and slowly stepped back.
Gyeonhui began to unbutton his own shirt as he approached Ojae.
“You, what the hell are you doing?”
Ojae’s voice began to become more urgent.
At that moment, Gyeonhui opened his shirt wide and showed off his chest to Ojae.
“Hey, stop! You’re not my type!”
Ojae was terrified and cried out with his eyes closed tightly. However, even after a long time, Gyeonhui didn’t move an inch.
“Look.”
Ojae heard his voice.
When Gyeonhui asked again, Ojae slightly opened his eyes.
Ojae looked at him awkwardly, after confirming Gyeonhui’s muscle and hard chest.
“Look at it.”
“What, what do you want me to look at?”
“Here!” Gyeonhui pointed to his own chest and asked.
“Oh, what’s wrong with you, this is so weird…”
Ojae finally looked at his chest without even properly having eye contact with him.
Once, twice, and finally, Ojae’s eyes began to grow unbelievably.
“Gyeonhui… You, you… That’s…”
Ojae couldn’t speak; he only pointed his finger on Gyeonhui’s chest.
“… Is that it?” Gyeonhui asked again in a sinking voice.
Ojae nodded vigorously as if his spirit left him.
Gyeonhui turned his body slowly, and looked in the mirror, firmly clenching his teeth.
The red pattern, which occurred on the day of the accident, caught his eyes.
He slowly looked at the flowers on the coffee tree alternately and the pattern on his chest.
The pattern was just like the flower.
His eyes began to shake vigorously.
74. The Sound of My Heart Beating
“Wow… I can’t believe it. How can this happen…” Ojae mumbled to himself with a bewildered expression.
Some time had passed, but they both still were in shock.
Then, Ojae stood up and tried to get Gyeonhui’s shirt open again.
“What are you doing!?”
“… Let’s see it one more time.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Because I can’t believe it. It doesn’t make any sense…”
“Me, feeling her pain, does that make sense?”
“That, that’s… Hah…” Ojae sighed in shock.
Although Gyeonhui said that, it was also hard for him to believe it. However, glancing back at the tree a few more times, the flowers on the tree and the pattern on his chest really looked very similar.
With a firm expression, Gyeonhui recalled the memories of the past.
‘I’ve raised it with the coffee seeds my dad left behind. My dad said the coffee tree flowers are so beautiful, so I hope they grow well here.’
“She definitely said it was the seed her dad gave to her…”
“Her dad? Is he some kind of a mysterious man, like God?”
Gyeonhui frowned and stared at him.
“I mean, I’m frustrated too, or… can we meet him?” Ojae said.
Gyeonhui answered while clenching his molars tightly, “… He’s dead.”
“What?!”
“He’s already passed away.”
Ojae eyes began to grow.
“… Now everything is clear.” Ojae said.
“What?”
“It’s a curse. Curse.”
Gyeonhui glared at Ojae silently.
“You also said it the other day that this is like a curse. Look at the situation. After the accident, she gave you the blood transfusion, and you started feeling her pain since that day. Moreover, the pattern on your chest is just like the flower that she gave to you. However, the one who gave the seed to her is dead. If this isn’t a curse, what is it? How, how…”
Ojae reiterated the same words like he was terrified.
“Can’t you be quiet? Are you going to tell everyone about this?! Lower your voice!”
Hearing Gyeonhui with his sunken voice, Ojae finally kept his mouth shut.
“… What are you going to do now? We need to do something.”
Hearing Ojae’s question, Gyeonhui closed his eyes with a shallow sigh.
He didn’t know what exactly happened, but at least he didn’t want to hurt her anymore.
Gyeonhui slowly opened his eyes as he touched his own right shoulder.
“… Just stay calm for now.”
“Gyeonhui.”
“Just do what I say. Nothing has changed. Nothing.”
Gyeonhui stood up after the end of his words.
“Hey! Gyeonhui Woo!”
Ojae urgently called his name, but he had already left the CEO’s office.
“This is crazy…”
Ojae sadly bit his lower lip.
Inside the CEO’s office where the silence subsided, Ojae slowly turned his head and looked at the tree by the window.
However, Ojae’s expression, while he was looking at the flower, became different than before.
He got so scared, and goosebumps raised up all over his arms.
“… Oh, It is so chilly here.”
Feeling cold, Ojae rose from his seat slowly, rubbing his forearms.
He carefully opened the door and began to run away as he closed the door roughly.