Love for Love’s Sake - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

“Hey.”

I barely caught Cheon Sangwon’s forehead before our lips touched.

“Can’t you do it in moderation?”

As I tried to pull him away, he held on with all his might. He was even straining his neck. What was he going to do with his lips like this?

“Dump me, but let me kiss you, please.”

“Why would I let you kiss me if you’re being dumped? Korean dramas have ruined children these days. Not letting go?”

“I haven’t let go at all, so just do it once.”

“Sangwon, I’ve told you. It’ll hurt if you get hit by me.”

I was caught in a power struggle while being led in one direction. I was pushing hard, but it wasn’t easy to push him away because he was hugging me and pushing me with all his might.

Eventually, my back was pushed against a tree. The branches shook because I was hit hard. The thick leaves made a wavelike noise.

Cheon Sangwon was looking at me with a face that could be described as crazy or lunatic, as if he was about to devour me. While looking down at me, even the whites of his eyes were clearly visible. It was the madness of a guy who suddenly confessed and started with his lips.

Oh, this was really…I was getting angry.

“Stop, I said stop, stop.”

Smack. Smack. Smack.

I applied strength to my palm and struck his forehead three times in a row.

He backed down and held his head. It must have hurt, considering he had stumbled and even fell down.

“Are you crazy? I thought my head was going to split open.”

“So don’t try to force something on someone who doesn’t like you.”

“It hurts like hell.”

Of course, that was because I had just hit him. When I saw tears in his eyes as he looked up at me, I worried if I had hit him too hard. However, I quickly came to my senses. Words alone didn’t work on this guy.

“I get that you’re in a bad mood because of Seulgi, but if you try this kind of thing again, it’s straight to the police station for sexual harassment. Take care of your dog. Got it?”

“…I wish I was Cha Yeowoon.”

Cheon Sangwon, holding his head, mumbled.

“Why are you talking about Yeowoon again?”

“Would you have pulled me away if I was Cha Yeowoon?”

Cheon Sangwon stood up with his knees straight and fixed his gaze squarely on me. I was taken aback. Not because of him, but because of what he had just said.

In my dream, I couldn’t bring myself to push Cha Yeowoon away.

“Tell me straight. It can’t be me yet, or does it have to be Cha Yeowoon? Is there room to try?”

“There’s no such thing as room.”

“Why?”

Why? The answer was too clear.

“I’m not in a situation to date anyone right now.”

With the possibility of disappearing before the graduation ceremony, I had no time to concern myself with dating. I couldn’t explain it, and it was driving me crazy.

“Can I wait until brother is in a situation to see me?”

“That situation won’t come, so stop it.”

“Are you going out with Cha Yeowoon?”

“Why are you so persistent? Why keep bringing up Cha Yeowoon?”

“Because brother made that face earlier…!”

Cheon Sangwon’s voices grew louder. He glared at me as if blaming me.

“Because you only make that face when Cha Yeowoon is mentioned.”

What face was he talking about?

The reason I couldn’t bring myself to say anything was probably because I knew the answer. Whenever I thought of Cha Yeowoon, an unexplainable determination took over me.

If Cheon Sangwon had realized it, would it be obvious to others too? Did Cha Yeowoon also know? My face heated up.

“Haa…”

Cheon Sangwon, who had been staring at me, listlessly kicked the ground. Dirt scattered messily.

“Damn it. If you make that face again here, I won’t even be able to cling onto you…”

* * *

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Cha Yeowoon was anxious.

“There’s something suspicious.”

Ahn Sia asserted.

Work was finished, so Ahn Gyeonghun was busily editing the photos and Tae Myeongha was going to leave.

Just as Cha Yeowoon was about to resolutely catch up to Tae Myeongha, Ahn Sia grabbed him and shouted that it was tactical time.

“Wake up, Cha Yeowoon. A red flag has risen in your already unlikely romance.”

Her words made sense.

“Why suddenly hang out with Dog Sangwon? I even heard Dog Sangwon has been following big brother Myeongha around like crazy. There’s something going on between the two.”

“…I don’t think senior likes him.”

“All those who get involved with Dog Sangwon say that, but if he clings to their back a bit, won’t they fall for it? That bastard. His appearance is his weapon, so it can’t be helped.”

Every word Cha Yeowoon heard was ominous. Tae Myeongha said he disliked Cheon Sangwon, but didn’t he endure that guy’s chatter every time?

Ahn Sia, perhaps worried about the now pale-faced Cha Yeowoon, added.

“Don’t worry, Cha Yeowoon. You’re more handsome.”

“…”

“There might be differences in taste. Maybe big brother Myeongha’s taste is unexpectedly the delinquent type?”

That might be true.

Tae Myeongha had said Cha Yeowoon was cute, but honestly, he always seemed to be joking. On the other hand, Cheon Sangwon was a famous model at school.

Cha Yeowoon had even seen girls from other schools come and confess to him. His complexion became darker.

“…Maybe there’s some circumstance.”

“What could the circumstance be to hang out with someone they hate? I’ve contacted other people, but there’s no one else hanging out with Dog Sangwon that day. It’s just big brother Myeongha and him, I’m certain.”

What were the two going to do together?

In the end, Cha Yeowoon’s thoughts also headed to the same point as Ahn Sia. Suspicious.

“Hey, should we follow them?”

“What are you talking about?”

“We’ll just shadow them a little bit to see where they go and what they do.”

“What do we say if we get caught?”

“You and I were on our way to karaoke and we ran into each other by chance?”

“Why would I go to karaoke with you?”

“Just for show! Fool! Are you going or not!”

“…Go.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Despite this not concerning Ahn Sia, she seemed more excited than Cha Yeoowon. However, he didn’t bother to point that out.

[Ahn Sia] : We absolutely have to follow them

[Ahn Sia] : Are the two of them riding a motorcycle together?!

[Ahn Sia] : Wait;

[Ahn Sia] : I missed the motorcycleㅇ

[Ahn Sia] : Wow, I found them

As expected, Ahn Sia really put all her efforts into helping.

She likely had her own classes, but had managed to rush to New Leaf, set up camp before class ended, and amazingly captured Tae Myeongha and Cheon Sangwon on their way home from school.

And Cha Yeowoon, who had joined her, who was fully immersed in the feeling of pursuit, even wearing sunglasses, was unable to come to his senses at the sight he had just seen.

From afar, Tae Myeongha and Cheon Sangwon seemed friendly at first glance.

Why were they walking so close together? What were they talking about? Tae Myeongha’s expression looked gentle.

He had always treated Cheon Sangwon with a sour face.

“The atmosphere between those two is weird…Hmm.”

Ahn Sia, holding Cha Yeowoon’s sleeve, mumbled to herself.

Cheon Sangwon held Tae Myeongha’s arm firmly and moved closer. The bodies of the two, who were getting closer, almost seemed to overlap.

The two disappeared behind the shadow of a tree.

Cha Yeowoon, on the verge of rushing out, was stopped by Ahn Sia.

“What are you going to do by going there?”

Cha Yeowoon, unperturbed by Ahn Sia’s quiet attempt to stop him, remained fixated on Tae Myeongha’s faint silhouette beside the tree.

It seemed like Tae Myeongha and Cheon Sangwon’s overlapping lips had touched.

His breath stopped for a moment.

A sense of suffocation gripped his chest, causing him to take a conscious breath.

There was a rising heat in his chest. His heart was beating so intensely to the point it hurt. It felt like someone was trampling his heart recklessly.

The heat rose from his lungs and heated his throat. He released the strength in his arm that was being grabbed by Ahn Sia. If not, he couldn’t even begin to imagine what he would do if he rushed there.

No, he couldn’t

It kept getting hotter and hotter.

He was scared at the thought he wouldn’t be able to bear it any time soon.

* * *

Abnormalities would reveal themselves very subtly. For example, an empty desk.

The sujeonggwa that were there every morning was nowhere to be seen today. Cha Yeowoon hadn’t missed a day.

Thinking it was strange, I pulled back the curtains and looked down at the schoolyard.

A few students enthusiastic about morning exercise were seen. It was a familiar everyday scene.

However, Cha Yeowoon, who should be training for track and field, was nowhere to be found. I even looked around desperately, thinking I might have missed him.

[Tae Myeongha] : You’re not training this morning?

The message I sent out of curiosity didn’t even show a read mark.

[Tae Myeongha] : Yeowoon

[Tae Myeongha] : Did you come to school?

The read mark suddenly appeared all at once. As the class bell rang, so did my phone.

Confirming that it was from Cha Yeowoon, I left the classroom in a hurry, enduring the glances.

“Tae Myeongha! Where are you going when class is starting?”

“I need to use the bathroom real quick!”

I was caught by a teacher while crossing the hallway. I hurriedly made an excuse, but even while running, I was worried that the call might be cut off.

“Hello.”

As I answered the call after heading straight to the 3rd year students’ bathroom, I heard strange breathing noises.

“Yeowoon, you’re not at school?”

Surely, he wouldn’t be calling me during class.

– “I’m going now.”

“What’s wrong with your voice?”

Even for a phone call, it was excessively low. There was also a small, audible cough.

“Are you sick?”

– “I woke up late because I didn’t hear the alarm…”

“I didn’t ask about that. Are you sick?”

– “It’s not that.”

“From your voice it sounds like you’re sick?”

– “I don’t know. I called because senior contacted me. I’m heading to school now.”

The response felt rushed and incoherent. Why did someone who lived alone with no one to take care of them get sick so often? He was getting hurt too often from training.

“Where are you? Home?”

– “I’m on my way by bus.”

No wonder there was a lot of noise. I couldn’t tell him to stay at home anymore.

“Come and tell the teacher, take early leave, and even now, say you’ll get a medical note. It’s better that way. Go to the hospital.”

– “I’m going to school…”

His attitude was very stubborn, as if he had a grudge against not going to school. I became worried when I recalled the time he collapsed at home. Hadn’t his body fully recovered? Did he not eat properly at home again?

– “I’ll see you there.”

The old exhaust fan in the bathroom was spinning. The season was vaguely at the beginning of summer, so the enclosed bathroom was rather hot.

– “I miss…”

As I hit the back of my head against the bathroom tile wall, I tried not to pay attention to the omitted subject in Cha Yeowoon’s words.

– “Senior.”

But he eventually said it.

A bubble bubbled up under my chest. The feeling was itchy, uncomfortable, and irritating.