Love for Love's Sake - Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Cha Yeowoon, who had been quiet, suddenly interrupted the conversation. Maybe we were talking too animatedly, just Ahn Sia and me. I belatedly felt embarrassed.
“Yes. We’re close.”
Ahn Sia responded cheerfully. Cha Yeowoon was far from lively when he heard it.
“How close?”
What kind of question was that? It wasn’t like we needed to divide our closeness into scores.
Ahn Sia, seemingly bewildered, suddenly turned toward me while looking amused.
“I don’t know. Big brother Myeongha, how close are we?”
“I don’t know either. Let’s say we’re quite close.”
“Are you closer to her than me?”
What was wrong with every question that Cha Yeowoon asked? It felt as if we were in a situation where one needed to raise their hands to show who was closer in front of the parties involved.
“Hey. Childish.”
“I’m curious too. Between us, who’s closer?”
Ahn Sia tapped my foot under the table. I knew what the signal was just by looking at her raised lips as if she was dying of laughter.
The idea was to roughly match the rhythm of Cha Yeowoon. It seemed he was the only one taking this kind of question seriously in this situation.
Cha Yeowoon. A childish guy that contradicted his appearance.
“…I guess I’m closer to Yeowoon.”
“Ah! Too sad!”
Ahn Sia sighed, lamenting in a sad tone.
“I’m less close to big brother Myeongha than Cha Yeowoon, so can I get your autograph?”
After checking Cha Yeowoon’s relaxed facial muscles, she picked up a box containing running shoes and a marker she had left on a chair. Contrary to Cha Yeowoon’s hesitation, her movements continued like water as she opened the box and held out the marker to motion for an autograph.
Despite only being 18 years old, she was sociable and savvy. I hoped Cha Yeowoon could take after her slightly.
“Can I just call you Yeowoon? We’re the same age like big brother said.”
“No.”
“Okay, Yeowoon. Please take care of me too.”
Ahn Sia casually brushed off Cha Yeowoon’s refusal and put the shoebox into her bag. Cha Yeowoon had attempted to speak, but was dismissed before he could reply.
“You guys are playing better than I thought. I didn’t need to interfere.”
“I’ve never played. Senior, when are you leaving?”
“What’s that way of talking? Are you planning to leave as soon as you sit down? The coffee hasn’t even arrived yet.”
“Right. I’ll buy you coffee as a thank-you for the autograph.”
Ahn Sia quickly responded. Cha Yeowoon seemed displeased, but he stayed put when he saw I wasn’t making any move to leave.
Anyway, Ahn Sia, despite being a big fan, didn’t seem particularly upset or bothered by Cha Yeowoon, who kept his mouth shut and seemed occupied with other thoughts.
Instead, she enthusiastically talked about subjects she had wanted to discuss with him.
“So! Short distance is all about power. How fast can you accelerate? Athlete Cha Yeowoon, you can explode in an instant!”
Bang!
Ahn Sia exclaimed, hitting the table. She seemed like the type who expressed herself physically when she was excited.
“During those moments, it feels like even the surrounding air changes.”
“I felt that too. It does feel that way.”
“Doesn’t it seem like his instinctive timing is better than other athletes?”
The person with an instinctive timing was completely absent from the conversation.
“So, by the way, what do you think about before you run?”
Ahn Sia suddenly turned her shoulder toward Cha Yeowoon. Cha Yeowoon, who was suddenly ambushed, didn’t even have time to react.
“You didn’t answer properly in the interview.”
“I guess so.”
The vague answer didn’t deter Ahn Sia. She waited patiently, giving Cha Yeowoon a glare that was almost too much to bear.
Cha Yeowoon answered as if he felt it was inevitable.
“Imagine a large alligator running from behind.”
“What?”
“Or like a car chasing me and I’m about to be hit.”
It was an imagination that teetered between cute and scary. Ahn Sia became speechless as if she wasn’t sure what to say.
I understood what Cha Yeowoon meant.
He ran with the idea of running away. Just like when he started running for the first time, running aimlessly around the schoolyard.
“It’s different these days.”
Cha Yeowoon glanced at me.
“How has it changed?”
“I run thinking that someone is waiting for me at the finish line.”
“Wow, that’s romantic.”
The rhythm of the conversation matched perfectly. I never thought Cha Yeowoon would be capable of such a flowing conversation.
I didn’t need to put in much effort. From then on, until coffee and dessert were served, it was mostly Ahn Sia asking questions and Cha Yeowoon answering them, with me occasionally chiming in between. Surprisingly, it was a fun time.
Ahn Sia left after exchanging numbers with Cha Yeowoon. This was a child who would become big. She was full of entrepreneurial spirit.
There was a cool breeze when we left the cafe. While Ahn Sia had taken the taxi, Cha Yeowoon and I had decided to walk together to the bus.
“Let’s be friends from now on.”
After playing to our heart’s content, Cha Yeowoon looked at me as if what I had said was strange.
“Why? You played well.”
“I endured it because senior said you were close to her.”
Endured. The two had played around a lot. Anyway, if Cha Yeowoon said he endured it, then let it be so.
“Are you heading straight home?”
Chapter 36 is missing (。・ω・。)ノ♡꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡(灬º‿º灬)♡
Thanks. I’ve added it.