Love for Love’s Sake - Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Cha Yeowoon cupped his hand above my forehead.

As a shadow cast over my eyes, the sight in front of me became clearer.

His golden eyes, burning with jealousy, were brighter than the sunlight they reflected. Without attempting to mask his surging anger, he took a deep breath and spoke in a remarkably soft voice, never once averting his gaze from me.

“My qualifying match is tomorrow morning.”

Despite me carefully pondering my response and missing the moment to address Cha Yeowoon’s petty jealousy, he shifted the conversation by bringing up the competition.

“I’ll come cheer you on.”

“I’ll win.”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”

“I didn’t forget to give you a gold medal.”

Hearing Cha Yeowoon’s overflowing confidence, I felt as if he would certainly be able to do that.

“I have something to give you too.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll give it to you after you win.”

I looked forward to Cha Yeowoon’s reaction after receiving it. My lips eased, forgetting the earlier tension.

“Senior said you like people that are cute.”

Cha Yeowoon, who had been watching me for a while, pouted.

“Cute, diligent, kind, and a pretty smile, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Senior said it was your ideal type.”

I vaguely remember saying something like that when we were studying for the midterm. Although it was vague to me, Cha Yeowoon seemed to have remembered every little detail.

“So, you probably don’t like the mature and sexy type?”

What was Cha Yeowoon talking about? The roulette in my mind spun around until it stopped at an answer. Mature and sexy, he must be talking about Choi Jinseo.

While talking about something else, his thoughts seemed to be on this.

I grabbed his hand that had been resting against my forehead and lowered it.

“Yeowooon, you’re going to get a sunburn.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Cha Yeowoon retorted grumpily.

“Also, Choi Jinseo came to see you.”

“Why would she chase senior if she’s here to see me?”

Cha Yeowoon heard that? He had good ears.

Worried about the sunlight, I led him to the shade beneath the trees. Since the shadow was short, we leaned against a tree shoulder to shoulder.

“She said you turned down the opportunity to be an advertising model.”

“I might have.”

“You might have?”

“I don’t remember the details; it was a hectic time.”

“She came this time to ask something similar.”

“You two were talking about that?”

The way Cha Yeowoon answered became strangely crooked again.

“I was going to ask you what you thought.”

“Senior like kind people.”

“Huh?”

“Cute and kind people don’t get jealous easily.”

Cha Yeowoon seemed more interested in the fact that Choi Jinseo and I had a conversation than the topic itself.

“So, I’m holding back.”

When I heard Cha Yeowoon’s serious tone that didn’t fit the situation, I was about to laugh.

“Jealous?”

Cha Yeowoon stared at me expressionlessly without answering.

His cool, stoic expression made him appear mature beyond his age. It was different from the irritation he had shown earlier. It was an expression I hadn’t seen from him until now.

The surrounding scenery blurred as if I was in a fast-moving car. My stomach felt uneasy.

This symptom wasn’t good.

My instinct was warning me: ‘Don’t get swallowed, Tae Myeongha.’

After resolving myself, I looked at Cha Yeowoon again.

The lump in my throat pounded. Maybe I was surprisingly weak to the sexy type.

“Are you staying with me?”

“…I guess so, probably?”

“I’ve never spent 5 days and 4 nights with senior before.”

“…”

“Annoying…”

Even complaints that were eventually voiced sound cute. Perhaps I was infatuated.

“I don’t want to act like a child.”

No. I was also vulnerable to the childish type.

Cha Yeowoon sighed in distress, leaning against me.

I wanted to kiss him.

He pointed to the tree as if reading my thoughts. Now we weren’t standing side by side but facing each other. That was always the case when our lips met.

In the distance, cicadas cried. The moment our lips touched, everything in front of me became hazy.

For the first time, when we brought our lips close, Cha Yeowoon naturally adjusted the angle. The tip of his tongue lightly licked my lower lip, emitting a warm breath.

“W-We can’t.”

After I pushed away the tightly approaching chest, Cha Yeowoon sent me a deep gaze with dewy eyes. I quickly lowered my gaze. I thought I would yield if I looked.

“We haven’t done anything yet. Just a kiss.”

“A kiss isn’t nothing.”

“Senior was planning to do more than this.”

“I haven’t? I don’t remember such a thing?”

As I tried to recall, Cha Yeowoon gently brushed his lips against my cheek.

“I told senior not to scam people.”

Cha Yeowoon’s voice was terribly attractive. It was precisely the voice he would use when he wanted to be persistent.

“It’s too bright now.”

I took a step back and escaped from the shade of the trees. I was afraid that if I didn’t do that, we would end up doing something in the park.

Cha Yeowoon sighed, expressing regret, and followed me, holding my hand. We had stopped and nothing happened, but I kept conversing with myself internally until we returned to the lodging. Ah, I was going crazy.

* * *

What was love?

“Is it that amazing, Gyeonghun?”

I asked Ahn Gyeonghun, who had his nose to his phone with enthusiasm.

“Huh? Oh, ah. Mhm.”

Ahn Gyeonghun said so, but was it really? Through his thick glasses, a longing expression as if he was deeply in love could be seen. With the way he was grinning, it wasn’t difficult to see that he had been in contact with his lover.

“Were you talking to your lover?”

“Ehm! They asked me to watch them pack.”

In the photo Ahn Gyeonghun showed me, various clothes were flying around in a wide-open suitcase. I couldn’t tell if the person was packing or unpacking.

I thought he would date someone who was mature and calm, but seeing this, it was far from calm. I guess the saying opposites attract rang true.

Ahn Gyeonghun was smiling happily despite the messy suitcase. It seemed he was ecstatic at the thought of meeting his lover in a few days.

I felt slightly relieved. I guess this was how it was when people were in a relationship.

At least, I wasn’t the only one walking around out of my mind.

“Oh, Sia is back.”

Ahn Gyeonghun, who just received a message from Ahn Sia, stood up with his usual expression.

“They’re back already?”

“Ehm. Let’s go down to help with the luggage.”

Well, we should go. As Ahn Gyeonghun and I headed to the parking lot, a car with a wide-open trunk greeted us.

There wasn’t much around the lodging. A convenience store was located about a 10-minute walk away, but it was inadequate in size for Ahn Sia, who said she would go rob a supermarket by car.

“Why is there so much?”

It seemed like she had really robbed a supermarket. Three boxes filled with items instead of bags were stacked.

“I bought a lot while I was at it.”

Ahn Sia proudly picked up a box and placed it on my arm.

“Two for big brother Myeongha.”

“Just give me all three.”

“What? Why are you saying that so coolly.”

“I got a ride, so I’m trying to act as a porter.”

I held the boxes and walked past Ahn Gyeonghun as he pleaded to help. I owed them a lot, so this was the least I could do.

For now, we decided to put the boxes in Ahn Sia and Choi Jinseo’s room. While Ahn Sia opened the boxes, I helped organize next to her. Most of the contents were food.

While sorting out what to put in the refrigerator, something caught my eyes.

“Hey. What’s this?”

Cigarettes were hidden among the snacks. An entire carton at that.

“How did a minor manage to buy cigarettes?”

“Because there’s someone among us who isn’t a minor?”

When I questioned Ahn Sia with an interrogative tone, she answered as if aggrieved.

“That’s mine.”

Choi Jinseo walked forward and took the cigarettes.

“Don’t ever give them to children.”

As if I didn’t already have enough trouble with Cheon Sangwon, now there was this.

I felt really uncomfortable when I recalled how Choi Jinseo had calmly offered me cigarettes earlier. However, she was older than me and I couldn’t tell her what to do. My grandmother had taught me too well to give seniors preferential treatment.

“Mister Myeongha, you don’t talk like a child.”

“Big brother is really strict, isn’t he? Uh, Dog Sangwon asks if he can come over.”

Ahn Sia, who had answered for me and had been fiddling with her phone, shook the phone screen where Cheon Sangwon’s message was displayed.

“Didn’t Cha Yeowoon say the track and field team can’t leave their lodging? Say no. Why come over here to play when the competition is tomorrow?”

“Big brother, does that mean you’re not going to play with Yeowoon during the competition?”

“What do you mean play? We didn’t come here to play…”

I was interrupted by the vibration coming from my phone.

[Cha Yeowoon] : Can we hang out?

It was a message from Cha Yeowoon.

“What is it? Dog Sangwon is pestering big brother to play too?”

“No…”

“Just ignore it. He’s always persistent.”

“…”

“Today is the first day, so let’s eat snacks and play together.”

That was my intention, but more messages came.

[Cha Yeowoon] : I need to focus on the competition tomorrow, but…

[Cha Yeowoon] : I keep thinking about what happened during the day

[Cha Yeowoon] : I can’t concentrate

If someone other than Cha Yeowoon had said something similar, I would have immediately responded by telling them not to fabricate.

[Tae Myeongha] : It’s dark now

But it was Cha Yeowoon.

“I thought he was a puppy, but he’s actually a fox. This…”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. Just eat your snacks.”

“I’m already full.”

“Eat. Eat more.”

I stuffed Ahn Sia’s mouth with more snacks to prevent her from asking more questions. It didn’t take long for me to write a reply.

[Tae Myeongha] : I’ll come over

As I was giving a completely different answer to Cha Yeowoon than what I had said earlier, a profound thought that I often found myself asking these days crossed my mind. What was love? What was it to like someone?

“Hmm.”

Choi Jinseo sipped her drink and looked at me.

I wondered if I also showed a mushy expression similar to when Ahn Gyeonghun was talking to his lover. Feeling guilty, I hardened my expression.

“I’m going out for a bit.”

“Where are you going?”

“…To see the moon?”

When I blurted out an excuse, Ahn Sia’s face became strangely distorted. It seemed she was about to say something when Ahn Gyeonghun gently caught her.

“It’s a full moon today.”

As I blurted out another nonsensical excuse, I felt my neck warming up. Ahn Sia snorted and waved her hand.

“Yes, yes. Make a lot of wishes on the full moon.”

I hurriedly left the lodging before I blurted out any more excuses. What was love? My ears were burning as I came down to the lobby.

Unlike during lunch, there were cars parked near the lodging that I had never seen before. As Ahn Sia had said, once the competition was scheduled, all nearby lodgings would be fully booked.

“Are you out?”

After walking for a while, I called Cha Yeowoon. His lodging was right across the street, so we had decided to meet a little further away from the hotel.

Since it was summer and it was past 7 p.m., the sun had already set. There were street lights near the lodging, but unlike the inner city, once you left the weak lighting even slightly, it would become completely dark.

– “Yes. Where is senior?”