***
When he came out of the café, he looked down at the doll in his hand.
‘I would like to love you, even your pain.’
Her voice didn’t leave his ear.
“She couldn’t have gone far yet…”
He became impatient.
“Where did she go?”
Gyeonhui grew frustrated and mumbled to himself.
Because of the words that Sun said to convey her pain, Gyeonhui was still struggling to breathe.
However, his head wasn’t filled with the pain that bothered him but his worries about her.
“Cheonsun…”
At that moment, he saw her at the end of the road.
Without hesitating, he started running toward her.
***
“Hmm.”
Ojae kept looking at his phone like he was worried about something.
“Are you expecting a call?” Eunyoung glanced at him and asked.
“Well…” After hesitating, he struggled to speak.
“Gyeonhui is with her now.” Ojae carefully said to Eunyoung with a concerned look on his face. Eunyoung nodded like she was aware of it too.
“Did you know that they were going to meet tonight?”
“I heard from Sun today.”
“Sun also told you too.”
“Are you worried about them?”
“Sure… are you not?”
“I am too, but not as much as you are.”
Eunyoung smiled and filled up his glass.
Ojae emptied the last of it at once with a shallow sigh.
“For me, Gyeonhui is like a brother.”
“You mean, Mr. Woo?”
“Yes,” Ojae said bitterly. “He wasn’t like who he is now when we were young. It’s all because of the wounds in his mind.”
“How about you, Ojae?”
“Sorry?”
“Were you like this when you were young? Do you also worry about someone else more than yourself?”
“I’m just nosy. I grew up alone, so once I feel a connection with someone, I feel like those people are no longer strangers to me.” Ojae scratched his hair awkwardly.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”
“Sorry, what’s not bad?”
“Being nosy. I’ve gotten help from you because you’re nosy.”
Watching her smiling, Ojae smiled too.
Ojae soon became calm and moved his lips like he had questions to ask.
When he was lost in thought for a long time, he finally started speaking.
“I’m very sorry to ask this, but… did we really have sex that night?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Well, I was blacked out and really don’t remember anything about what happened that night.”
Ojae struggled to recall the day while furrowing his eyebrows.
“Do you feel bad about it because you remember nothing? Don’t worry. I don’t have any intention of sleeping with you ever again.”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
“Then what? Are you not satisfied?
Ojae had to swallow his salvia intensely while looking at Eunyoung’s eyes.
“I would understand if you’re not satisfied.” Eunyoung giggled and said to him.
“Why is that?”
Hearing Ojae’s earnest voice, she showed a bit of shock and looked at him.
“I told you that I won’t sleep with you ever again. I was drunk, and I made a mistake.”
“M… mistake?”
“Sure, then did you do it on purpose?”
“No, absolutely not, just…”
“It was just an accident—just a happening. So why don’t we forget about it forever, okay?”
Smiling bitterly, Eunyoung emptied the glass at once and stood from her seat.
“I wanted to have a drink with you because I don’t want to cause any misunderstanding. I’ll see you around then.”
At that moment, Ojae grabbed her hands when she turned her body.
Eunyoung was very surprised before looking at him and at her own hands that he was holding.
“… Is it wrong to misunderstand?
“What?” Eunyoung asked him this time.
Ojae seemed frustrated and gulped the water beside him.
After barely catching his breath, he started speaking again with a firm expression.
“I like you.” Eunyoung’s eyes shook over his sudden confession. “I’m not doing this because I want to sleep with you again, nor do I think you’re easy to sleep with. I just like you.”
When he finished his confession, he looked at her face carefully.
“So what?” Hearing her calm question, Ojae felt a little embarrassed and started speaking again.
“So… what I’m trying to say is…”
“You want to be my boyfriend, don’t you?”
“Hah… Well… Sort of…”
“You’re confessing?”
“… Yes…”
“Hum…”
With her arms crossed, Eunyoung closed her eyes.
When she was finally lost in thought, she opened her eyes again.
“I barely know you, so it’s hard to believe you, and your confession felt way too impatient…”
“No, this is not a thing I decided suddenly. I’ve liked you for a long time now…” Ojae answered in a hurry.
Eunyoung crossed her arms again and looked at him.
Ojae looked so nervous as he swallowed his saliva.
“Unfortunately, I don’t want to start any special relationship with you.”
“What…?” Ojae couldn’t hide the disappointment on his face.
“I would like to be your friend. I always hoped to have a friend like you.”
“Friend? Haha… that sounds great. Haha… Haha…” He smiled awkwardly, but his face was filled with disappointment.
“I’ll see you around then.” After Eunyoung smirked and turned around while Ojae dropped his head.
On her way to get out of the bar, Eunyoung turned around and looked at him.
“But he sometimes acts like a real man.”
Eunyoung mumbled to herself and exited the bar soon.
***
“Hah, Hah.”
As soon as she turned the corner of the street, she struggled to breathe while leaning against the wall.
It wasn’t exactly because she was out of air; it was just that, somehow, she couldn’t breathe well.
She tried to tap her heart with her small fist, but her mind was so hazy that it made her feel like she’s going through some indigestion. It was frustrating.
“Cheonsun.”
She heard a voice that was calling her name from behind her.
She stood up immediately without looking at him because she knew it was Gyeonhui.
She tried to move a step to stay away from him.
“Are you running away from me?”
Although she heard his voice again, she still hurriedly wanted to walk away.
“You said you’re going to love me, even my pain!”
She stopped when she heard his plea.
‘I would like to love you, even your pain.’
At that moment, she recalled the moment she confessed to him in the past.
“… People say sweet things when they love each other.”
Her voice was trembling, but she still refused to turn towards him.
“No, you’re different than others.”
He started to speak again while approaching her slowly.
“I didn’t believe you when you said it because I didn’t think humans were kind enough to love even someone’s sickness or pain. That’s why I didn’t care and had forgotten about it until now.” He embraced her from behind. “I’m very sorry, but now I know how much you loved me and how happy I am because of you.”
Hearing the word ‘happiness’ from him made her eyes shake vigorously.