Love for Love's Sake - Chapter 49
Chapter 49
My weekdays became filled with part-time jobs. Lunchbox shop kitchen, lunchbox delivery, internet shopping mall studio, blog review writing, selling social media accounts, video advertising revenue, buying-and-selling used goods, cross-stitching, and so on.
I really did everything I could.
With the money saved, I invested in stocks, made a profit, and then bought real estate. I needed to let my money make money while I slept! I had to break free from the slavery for money!
As a result, I became Tae Myeongha, a rich man by the age of 19. This was the story of how I achieved the greatest wealth in Korea.
…Of course, it was all nonsense.
[ Sub-Mission: $2250 ($2,249.60) ]
Nevertheless, thanks to all the running around, I had managed to save some money. Though it might not be a fortune, I seemed to have made a small fortune.
“40 cents, 40 cents.”
What an ambiguous empty number.
Anyway, I had eased some burdens. The remaining 40 cents appeared to be an amount I could easily acquire by strolling through the streets.
I was proud. Now, I could say goodbye to the part-time jobs that had filled up my free time.
“It’s the liberation of a slave.”
I enjoyed my break with the feeling of watching a slave contract being set ablaze. Ahn Gyeonghun looked somewhat disappointed yesterday when I had told him I would be done with cross-stitching. He seemed to have a talent for it.
Since I was free after lunch, I went out to the schoolyard.
Despite the expectation that the track would be empty during lunch, only a few members of the track and field team were actually training at that time. These days, Cha Yeowoon could often be seen on the field during lunch.
But today, for some reason, he wasn’t there.
“Did you come to see Cha Yeowoon?”
Only Cheon Sangwon was here.
“You know well even if I don’t explain it. I’m glad you’re no longer asking if I’ve come to see you.”
No wonder my message window wasn’t popping up. Just in case, I had come down to check, and indeed, it was empty.
“Are you going to say something cruel again? Do you know that I can get hurt too? Why didn’t you do cross-stitching today and instead came to the field to look for Cha Yeowoon?”
“I’m now free from being a cross-stitching slave. Where’s Cha Yeowoon?”
“In the infirmary.”
“Why? Is he sick?”
“I don’t know. Seems like he hurt his knee.”
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?”
“Because I’m a bad guy.”
“Lunatic.”
I stood up, leaving the dazed Cheon Sangwon behind. Lunchtime was precious. If I hesitated and missed Cha Yeowoon, I wouldn’t be able to see even his nose and would have to go back to the classroom.
Fortunately, he was still in the infirmary. The nurse seemed to have gone somewhere else, and he was applying an ice pack to his knee by himself on the bed.
As I approached the bed, he gave me a surprised glance.
“Are you hurt? Where? Did you scrape it?”
“…No. I came in for an ice pack due to the heat and some painkillers.”
“Are you training too hard these days? Here, let me see.”
I took the ice pack from Cha Yeowoon and pressed it onto his taped knee. Moisture appeared on the towel-wrapped ice pack.
“I guess I ran too much yesterday.”
“Yeah. It’s good to practice, but be careful with your body. You’re an athlete.”
“…Yes.”
“Don’t get hurt.”
I changed the location of the ice pack to avoid applying it to one area for too long. The area near the knee, which had been in contact with the cold ice pack, was slightly red.
“Why?”
I didn’t immediately respond to Cha Yeowoon’s question because I was checking to see if there were any more injuries or if there were any cuts on his calves where his pants were rolled up.
“Does senior not want me to get hurt?”
It was only after listening to that point that I realized that it wasn’t a meaningless passing comment. Cha Yeowoon was sincerely asking.
“Uhm, I don’t want it.”
I deliberately focused solely on Cha Yeowoon’s legs. There were many wounds. Some had healed, and there were also recent bruises that hadn’t been there long. I wished they wouldn’t increase any further. Although I knew it couldn’t be helped.
“It would break your heart?”
“Yes.”
It seemed like we had a similar conversation before. It was when I had looked at his injured foot after the competition in Jebudo. Cha Yeowoon seemed to be recalling that time.
“I won’t get hurt.”
Cha Yeowoon’s feet were writhing inside his socks. As he smiled, he curled his toes and paused.
“After the final exam, I’ll go to the national championship.”
“Good for you. I’ll be there to cheer you on.”
“If I win there…”
The ends of Cha Yeowoon’s words came to a halt and he swallowed his saliva.
Perhaps it was because of the topic. For a moment, I wondered if he intended to ask me for a kiss.
The memory of him, who had embraced me painfully on the infirmary bed last time, came to mind. The lips that were so close that it felt like they had already touched…
“We should go on another trip.”
The delayed words that followed were enough to melt away the tension.
I laughed outwardly, but inside, there was still a tumult. What was there to be so tense about?
“Hey. We can go anytime without conditions.”
“Just the two of us.”
“…”
“I want to set a condition.”
I had no intention of inviting anyone else anyway, but when Cha Yeowoon insisted on going with just the two of us, the feeling changed quite a bit.
It was fortunate I still had the ice pack in my hand. If I hadn’t held it, my hands might have been sweaty.
“Which rank are you going to get?”
“1st.”
Although I asked jokingly, Cha Yeowoon didn’t hesitate to answer.
“Senior, I’ll give you the gold medal.”