Love for Love’s Sake - Chapter 41

Chapter 41

“See. People who only move when they like someone are really hard to date.”

“Senior…is good to me.”

Cha Yeowoon barely finished speaking. But nevertheless, since Tae Myeongha treated him well, was there a chance?

“That’s also a problem.”

Ahn Sia lightly shattered the shallow expectations.

“The way I see it, big brother treats you too much like a child. Big brother Myeongha seems to do that to everyone, but you, in particular. Special treatment.”

“I know…”

“More like a younger sibling than a junior? Or maybe a nephew.”

“There’s only a one-year age difference between senior and me.”

“Who doesn’t know? That’s just how it looks from the outside. Anyway, it’s quite a distance from a rosy atmosphere.”

It couldn’t be denied, even if it was unpleasant. Cha Yeowoon gulped down his Americano. Drinking it made his throat burn.

Brothers, family. At best, to put a title on their relationship would be ‘amicable senior and junior.’

Furthermore, Tae Myeongha had said with his own mouth that they should be friends. Hearing those words, Cha Yeowoon had stayed up all night with wide-open eyes.

“In my view, Cha Yeowoon, you don’t stand a chance.”

Ahn Sia said decisively, taking the Americano from Cha Yeowoon.

Her words made sense. Even if it was unpleasant to hear, there wasn’t a single wrong word.

“Calmly give up. It’s not good to cling to someone who doesn’t like you. Even if it continues, the temperature difference and difficulties will remain. I know because I’ve seen many cases, and it rarely ends well.”

“Even if senior doesn’t like me the same way, it doesn’t matter. Maybe, even if it doesn’t go well, I can’t give up.”

Ahn Sia exclaimed briefly.

“You seem to really like big brother Myeongha.”

“…”

“If I were you, I would probably like him too.”

“Don’t like him.”

“If I were you. But unlike you, I don’t have a hobby of voluntarily torturing myself by throwing myself into that hard level. I’ll go out with someone who likes me.”

That seemed to be the case. Ahn Sia shook the cup with only ice left. The sound of ice colliding spread like a bell.

“Can you help me?”

Ahn Sia was the only person Cha Yeowoon knew who could be helpful in matters of love.

He was desperate for help right now.

“Help you?”

“Help me try.”

“…”

“Sister Sia, please help me try.”

Cha Yeowoon clenched his fists and glared ahead. Ahn Sia smiled triumphantly.

* * *

[ Sub-Mission: Find Cha Yeowoon a friend. ]

[ Sub-Mission cleared. ]

I was surprised by the unexpected notification. Although I had become accustomed to the message window suddenly appearing, the content was surprising.

“A friend?”

All of a sudden?

Did Cha Yeowoon make a friend without me knowing? Who? I quickly recalled the candidates. Cheon Sangwon, definitely not. Ahn Gyeonghun, Ahn Sia…The candidates could be counted on one hand.

[ Reward triggered. ]

[ You can see what Cha Yeowoon wanted most in the past. ]

[ Would you like to check now? ]

Messages continued to appear. Similar yet different from last time. It wasn’t the present but the past. So what he wanted most wasn’t the same as it was now?

But it was obvious when I recalled what he wanted now. Suddenly, my face felt hot.

“Mister Myeongha, take this!”

A loud call came from the kitchen. I gathered my thoughts and stepped outside.

“Yes, coming.”

I wasn’t sure what I would see, but now wasn’t the time to be distracted. I was in the middle of work.

“Turn around at the 2nd apartment complex?”

“Ehm. Since apartment unit 204 has been added, make sure to check it thoroughly.”

“Okay.”

I checked the apartment number on the post-it note the boss had given me and put the icebox on my shoulder. The interior of the store, visible immediately after leaving the small kitchen, was clean and simple. As I exited the store, apartment complexes stretched out before me.

Recently, I started another part-time job during the weekends.

I continued to help Ahn Sia with her work related to the shopping mall whenever she called, even occasionally modeling for men’s clothing that was being launched. However, I wasn’t satisfied with the money I was saving. Perhaps it was because I used to work like crazy.

My schedule was ambiguous because I was a minor and was still attending school. A part-time job I had found after going through these adverse conditions was delivery.

The job involved delivering reserved lunchboxes at a set time near a shop. I was introduced to it by an aunty my grandmother knew who had quit due to health issues.

As it operated on a reservation system, the order quantity remained consistent daily. And since I only had to navigate around apartment complexes, it was convenient as it was essentially a walking job. Carrying the icebox filled with lunchboxes made me recall being a glutinous rice cake merchant in the past.

Going up and down the elevator, the icebox was practically emptied. Today was a bit faster. Proudly checking my phone, a new message had arrived.

[Ahn Sia] : Big brother♡

What was with the heart? Ahn Sia and I were in touch relatively often as we coordinated our part-time jobs. Basically, we were close friends because she treated me well. However, I didn’t understand the sudden heart.

Did she need something? I remembered her subtly asking me to post a selfie together on her social media to promote the shopping mall.

[Tae Myeongha] : I’m telling you, I’m not showing my face

[Ahn Sia] : T_T♡ Still ㅈㄴexpensive♡

[Ahn Sia] : But that’s big brother’s charm♡

[Tae Myeongha] : Stop with the heart

It was too much. Seriously.

[Tae Myeongha] : Why are you like this

I sent the message without properly typing. The reason was that as soon as I left the apartment, I saw a familiar bike.

It was a bike I would recognize anywhere. The surface was still flamboyant and haughty. As flashy as its owner.

This was the problem working near the school. The probability of running into familiar faces was too high.

Mixing words with that guy would only lead to troublesome arguments. I needed to avoid him to avoid trouble. At least, that was the plan.

As I was about to pass through the alley, cigarette smoke billowed up. There was so much smoke that anyone who saw it would think something had caught fire.

Whether Cheon Sangwon smoked on the street or not, it was none of my business. I wasn’t a school teacher or the local police officer. I would just slip away and text 112 to report it.

Passing by and pretending not to notice, I saw countless cigarette butts scattered near a pair of expensive brand sneakers. Some still had embers and weren’t properly extinguished.

No, had this child gone crazy?

Not only cigarettes but also many at once. Just throwing cigarette butts on the street?

I couldn’t endure it anymore. Even if something troublesome happened, I had to say something.

“What are you doing here?”

As I kicked the tip of the person’s sneakers, the guy who was smoking reacted.

“Fuck, who…”

We both fell silent.

The owner of the cigarette butts was, of course, Cheon Sangwon.

However, what I didn’t expect was…

“Are you crying, dude?”

Cheon Sangwon’s handsome face was wet with tears. His nose was red as he was smoking a cigarette.

Thud.

There was an awkward sound. He was so embarrassed that he didn’t answer or even look at me.

Although he was a lost lamb, he was still a child.

“What’s going on?”

“I think you’ve got the wrong person.”

“Sangwon, it’s embarrassing, but say something reasonable.”

“It’s not Sangwon. Who are you?”

Cheon Sangwon was persistent. His appearance wasn’t common, so why insist? If he was going to act like this, the least he could have done was hide and smoke.

“First, put out the cigarette.”

I quickly snatched the cigarette from his lips and put it out. We were standing in an apartment alley where students passed by. When I nagged, he pouted as if it was ridiculous.

“Fuck. I’m embarrassed. Can’t you just pass by?”

“I would have done that if you had smoked less. Hey, pick up the cigarette butts.”

“I was just about to smoke that.”

“Stop with the bullshit that won’t work and pick up the cigarette butts you threw away. Quickly.”

Cheon Sangwon, despite the profanity, did as he was told and picked up the cigarette butts. Did he smoke a whole pack? He kept picking them up, but it seemed endless.

“Don’t smoke on the street. It’s illegal.”

“Haa…I get it.”

“Speaking of that, don’t smoke as a minor in the first place. Quit smoking. You punk. It’s not good for your health.”

While Cheon Sangwon picked up the cigarette butts, I gathered the scattered trash and joined him under the nearby tree. Fortunately, I had finished delivery early and had some time.

“Brother, you know, you really hit the mark.”

Cheon Sangwon muttered. His face seemed less mischievous with the dried tear stains.

“So, why were you crying?”

“Me? I didn’t cry.”

“Look in the mirror. Your face is all puffy.”

“Why do you keep saying such embarrassing things like that?”

I handed Cheon Sangwon a can from my pocket with a comforting nudge, and he weakly accepted it. But after confirming that it was sujeonggwa, he returned it without opening it. This was the result of a person’s sincerity.

“Seulgi is sick.”

My thoughts about the sujeonggwa were quickly blown away by the vague answer. My head spun.

Was it his younger sister? A friend? Either way, it was a heavier topic than I thought. What should I do to comfort him in times like this?

“Why? Is she very sick?”

“It’s cancer.”

Damn it. What should I do?

I didn’t know what to say as cold sweat broke out.

“Well, you must be very upset…Is Seulgi your sibling? Younger sibling?”

“Grandpa.”

“I see. Grandpa, huh?”

“Grandpa Seulgi.”

“Hey. Sangwon, I’m sorry if I’m wrong, but is Seulgi not a person’s name?”

“White Pomeranian. Twelve years old.”

If it wasn’t a person, say so from the beginning. Although I wanted to argue, I had lost all strength.

As the dog was twelve, there wasn’t a substantial age gap with Cheon Sangwon. There was a high possibility he had raised it almost his entire life. It was probably not much different from a younger sibling if the news of its illness was shocking enough to make him cry while walking.

Yeah. The dog’s name could be Seulgi, and it could also be a male named Seulgi. The important thing was that Seulgi was in pain and a child was crying.

Cheon Sangwon had his head lowered like before. I awkwardly comforted his sagging shoulders.

“You must be worried.”

“…”

“You’ve been with it for a long time, so I’m sure you feel sad too. He’s sick and needs you by his side more than ever.”

“…Brother.”

Cheon Sangwon called me with a heavy and moist tone. It seemed like tearful counseling was about to begin. If a story from the time of the dog’s puppyhood came up, I might end up crying too. I prepared my heart in advance.

“I think I might have fallen in love.”

Cheon Sangwon’s moist eyes shone as he suddenly started talking about love instead of the dog. What was he saying again?

“This time, it’s genuine love.”

What genuine love?

“From now on, if I do it sincerely, will you accept it?”

Cheon Sangwon fired a series of words at me, leaving me dumbfounded.

No matter how I looked at it, he was definitely a crazy person.