Love for Love's Sake - Chapter 54
Chapter 54
“When did I do that?”
People with a guilty conscience had no need for accusers.
“Do you have naughty thoughts whenever you see me?”
“No.”
The answer was too quick. This was a hundred percent confirmation.
Cha Yeowoon was a hot-blooded 18-year-old. It was awkward imagining what he might be thinking, so I thought I would leave that as uncharted territory.
“Last time, you said you couldn’t sleep with me. Why the change today?”
“Well…”
“Did you blurted out anything because you wanted to be with me so much?”
“…”
“Or is it okay to sleep together now?”
“…Senior brought up the topic of watching a movie.”
“And that’s unfair?”
“Because you keep teasing me…Without knowing my feelings…”
Cha Yeowoon muttered to himself. I could hear everything, but it was quite cute how he muttered quietly.
“When was the autumn national competition we talked about last time?”
“It’s from the day of the vacation; 5 days and 4 nights.”
“That soon? And 5 days?”
“It’s the national championship.”
Was that so? The national championships lasted 5 days it seemed. The reason probably had something to do with it being track and field.
“Is the track and field team going together?”
“All starters are going.”
“Are you staying together? You’ll be sleeping next to other guys, Yeowoon.”
“Stop teasing me.”
Cha Yeowoon walked ahead as if he wanted to run away, but I quickly caught up with his pace before he could get too far.
“If you’re going home, you have to go that way.”
On the deserted road, we had to leave the side street and navigate through the buildings now. Stores displayed large signs on each floor. The most eye-catching was a sign on the first floor for a new shaved ice shop.
“It’s hot, want to eat shaved ice before we go?”
Since we couldn’t watch a movie. I wanted to say that, but I held back because I was afraid Cha Yeowoon might run away again.
He immediately agreed. The cool breeze from the air conditioner could be felt as we entered the shaved ice shop. I hadn’t realized how hot it was outside while walking with Cha Yeowoon.
Leaving the menu selection to Cha Yeowoon, shaved ice on a tray piled high with rice cake arrived soon after.
“Why Injeolmi shaved ice?”
“Senior has the taste of an old person.”
“Even though you eat red bean ice cream.”
“That’s why I added red bean to the shaved ice.”
“Daring.”
“You don’t like it? Should we have chosen strawberry shaved ice instead?”
With a visually abundant stack of rice cakes, there was also a set of plates. Cha Yeowoon playfully used a long spoon to scoop up my share of shaved ice.
He offered me a plate as if it was natural and then took his share. Lately, his actions seemed very natural like he was already accustomed to serving me first. Maybe I’ll get used to the special treatment as well.
“If you don’t eat quickly, it’ll melt.”
Cha Yeowoon signaled my plate with his eyes. I slowly ate the shaved ice. As I swallowed the ice, a chill spread through my stomach.
[ Mission: Make Cha Yeowoon happy. ]
[ Time Remaining: 208 days ]
[ Penalty: Death ]
While diligently eating, the comforting message window appeared over Cha Yeowoon. As time passed, the number was steadily decreasing.
I had only 208 days remaining to be with Cha Yeowoon.
“Where is the national championship held?”
I asked impulsively. Cha Yeowoon’s spoon, which was scooping the shaved ice, slowed.
“Boeun County in Chungcheong.”
“Where is the lodging?”
Cha Yeowoon’s eyes widened.
“Are you coming?”
“If I go and cheer for you, won’t it give you extra strength?”
Like when Cha Yeowoon had run while stepping on rainbow-colored ripples at the competition held in Hwaseong. The thought of witnessing that scene again made me unexpectedly excited.
“Aren’t you busy with work these days?”
“I’ve saved enough money to take it easy.”
“What was the money for?”
“Oh, um…”
Money for you?
There were many things I couldn’t say to Cha Yeowoon, so naturally I found it difficult to answer.
The $2250 I had earned after completing the Sub-Mission remained in my bank account.
Since I had a vague idea that it was a money problem, I thought I would discover a story that could be solved with exactly $2250 as a mission reward. It wasn’t entirely the case.
“Was it for college tuition?”
“Huh?”
I asked back in a daze.
“Considering how hard you’ve been saving during this time, maybe you were saving for tuition.”
To others, it might have seemed that way. But since I wouldn’t need to go to college, it had become extra money.
I did everything I could to gather money as quickly as possible. It reminded me of the time I worked hard to make money doing all kinds of things, so I couldn’t spend it carelessly.
Actually, I was still worried about Cha Yeowoon’s situation. For now, I thought of keeping it and maybe giving it to my grandmother later…
“No matter why, senior use it for yourself.”
Cha Yeowoon put down his spoon in the empty bowl.
Clink–
The clear sound was similar to the message window’s alert.
“Why are you suddenly saying that?”
“Senior don’t really think about yourself.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Senior. You should take care of yourself more.”
“To hear this from a child…It feels strange.”
“You invited me to eat, but you haven’t even eaten your shaved ice properly because you were talking about my upcoming competition.”
Cha Yeowoon pointed to my bowl.
While lost in thought, my serving of shaved ice had melted, turning into a porridge-like consistency. Even if I stirred the shaved ice that had turned into a reddish brown colored liquid, it would never return to its appetizing form.
The time spent with Cha Yeowoon would never return once it passed.