Love for Love’s Sake - Chapter 72

Chapter 72

“Don’t go.”

Cha Yeowoon stubbornly blocked my path. After being dazed, when I tried to pass, he moved directly to block me once again.

“I was wrong.”

This time, Cha Yeowoon didn’t lower his head. He was determined, as if believing that if he took his eyes off me even for a moment he would lose me.

He didn’t have to be that desperate. The more it went on like this, the more my heart wrenched.

As I remained silent, a hesitant hand reached out toward me.

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. You don’t have to like me as much as I like you.”

Cha Yeowoon’s fingers seemed like it touched the edge of my clothes.

[ A system error has occurred. ]

The error message was faster than Cha Yeowoon’s hand. My toes tensed inside my shoes. My body reacted before my mind. My calves were tense as if I wanted to leave this place immediately.

“Let’s talk later.”

When I said decisively, Cha Yeowoon became rigid.

“Later, when?”

A persistent question followed. I shook my head and tried to pass Cha Yeowoon.

I didn’t expect it to come to this. He was a child who had protected himself by pretending that he could easily let go of anything, whether it be track and field or life.

He seemed just as surprised as I was.

“Did I do something so wrong today? To the point where it’s unbearable to see me…?”

Cha Yeowoon’s murmur came from behind. My steps became heavy as if lead was attached to my ankles. I wanted to answer that it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t that he had done something wrong or that I disliked him.

[ Emergency-Mission: Keep Cha Yeowoon’s favorability from rising until the server stabilizes. ]

[ Penalty: Mission¾î¶Èõ¿ ]

The broken text cluttered my view. At first, I thought I might have read it wrong, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t read it.

It was ominous. Without having to think long, I knew it was a warning.

I stood in front of the crosswalk to return the way I came. The signal was still red, but it would change soon.

After crossing the street I would be able to take the bus. I needed time to cool my head.

When I turned around, Cha Yeowoon, who had been following me hesitantly, stopped. Seeing his stunned and pale face like that of a lost child, I felt as if I was abandoning him.

I couldn’t endure it.

The approaching cars gradually slowed down. People standing beside me walked across the white line in unison. One side stopped and the other side passed. I had to pass too.

“Hey, crybaby.”

Instead of crossing the street, I stood facing Cha Yeowoon.

It felt like a lengthy, single cut scene. Despite the straight road and people passing by between us, Cha Yeowoon and I were locking eyes from opposite ends.

Serving as each other’s reference points, it seemed there was nothing beyond that, even if the horizon and surface stretched far beyond each other’s backs.

“Is canceling our plans for today that heartbreaking?”

Cha Yeowoon didn’t answer and took another step toward me. Tensions permeated his eyes as if he was watching to see if I would take a step back.

I didn’t avoid him. Instead, I took the same step forward. The distance between us narrowed as much as our steps.

“Are you going to cry again?”

Cha Yeowoon walked briskly and hugged me. A dull shock hit my chest and my body instinctively jerked backward.

As I stumbled and finally regained my balance, I felt fingertips scratching my back like claws. It was a strong hug that almost choked my breath.

“Are you angry?”

“No.”

“Are you disappointed?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“I’m just worried.”

A translucent window appeared against the backdrop of clouds huddled together like black sheeps. The sun was beginning to set.

[ Calculating Cha Yeowoon’s favorability. ]

I never thought I would see this and worry. Life was always full of unknowns. It could become tangled without knowing where it had gone wrong and positives might take a turn for the worse.

[ Favorability: 68 ]

What a disaster…How the hell did Cha Yeowoon come to like me so easily?

It was a clear disaster. But it was still nice to feel his hug, holding me tightly so I wouldn’t go anywhere.

I was the one that had made him cry, and I was also the one soothing him. What good was a person that lifted and put down a person as they pleased? Yet, Cha Yeowoon was thinking about me while sniffling until his nose had turned red. Affection, without purpose or calculation, coursed through my skin.

Cha Yeowoon liked me.

Just enough without getting hurt, that kind of hope was already lost.

[ Mission failed. ]

[ A system error has occurred. ]

[ Çѱâ´É을 forcefully executed. ]

Something big happened. I didn’t know exactly what yet.

Pricked by thorn-like fear, I swept Cha Yeowoon’s back. Despite it being midsummer, the air felt surprisingly cool, maybe due to the approaching rain clouds. Cha Yeowoon was vividly hot. It felt like he would become cold if I let go.

I couldn’t reject him.

* * *

[ Favorability: 68 ]

Cha Yeowoon was feeling troubled.

Tae Myeongha seemed to be in a constant trance. When Cha Yeowoon had asked him what was going on, he only quivered his lips and shook his head.

It was the first time Tae Myeongha had been so cold. Even when they had first met, he never treated Cha Yeowoon like a stranger.

So, of course, Cha Yeowoon might have assumed that it would be like that forever. Tae Myeongha always seemed like he would be kind to him forever.

Naturally, Cha Yeowoon became attentive. Tae Myeongha, who used to be sensitive to Cha Yeowoon’s mood, was lost in thought as he walked through the mart like a ghost. He seemed too preoccupied to care about anything, not just Cha Yeowoon.

Tae Myeongha added bags of clams to the shopping cart he was dragging along. The unseen Cha Yeowoon stopped the cart.

“Senior, what are you shopping for? You’ve put three bags of clams in the cart. What are you going to do with them?”

Then, Tae Myeongha, as if waking up from a dream, abruptly checked the inside of the cart.

“Huh? What? I don’t need this much…”

“Did you put in the kids toothbrush because you need it?”

“When did I put in a toothbrush?”

Cha Yeowoon took out a short toothbrush with a colorful head from the cart. Tae Myeongha awkwardly opened his mouth.

“I’ll put it back.”

“What do you need today?”

“Seaweed…ingredients for soup. It’s my grandmother’s birthday, so I want to make seaweed soup.”

Cha Yeowoon became surprised by the absent-minded answer.

“It’s your grandmother’s birthday?”

“Yeah. Lunar calendar.”

“What should I do if you’re just telling me that now?”

“What should you do? Don’t even think about buying anything. She hates receiving gifts on her birthday, so I’m just going to prepare a birthday meal.”

“Still…”

When Cha Yeowoon muttered, Tae Myeongha gently stroked his head. His touch, treating it as nothing, made Cha Yeowoon purse his lips.

Their cart was soon filled with ingredients. Tae Myeongha, who left the mart after paying, was dazed again.

Cha Yeowoon felt a thirst he couldn’t be accustomed to. As if the time when Tae Myeongha looked at him as if he was the most important person or when they hugged tightly never existed, the distance felt like hitting a transparent wall. Tae Myeongha, immersed in his own thoughts from afar, was familiar yet unfamiliar.

An impulse to grab and ask him to look at him surged. However, he held back. Only then did he feel like he could continue walking beside him.

The sky, which seemed like it would rain at any moment, was still dark. The air was filled with an unpleasant humidity.

“Should we go home now?”

Cha Yeowoon would no longer be able to insist if Tae Myeongha pushed him to leave. He didn’t want to receive even a tiny bit of resentment.

“Let’s go together.”

Tae Myeongha readily offered Cha Yeowoon a seat next to him at the bus stop.

“Who knows what might happen if you walk alone and the stalker appears.”

When Tae Myeongha gave the unexpected reason, Cha Yeowoon’s shoulders slumped.

“I can at least protect myself, senior.”

“They might suddenly attack from behind. The stairs to your house are steep, what if they push you there? You can’t. It’s dangerous. Did you see what they did to me earlier?”

Tae Myeongha was adamant. Considering what had happened earlier, it wasn’t an exaggeration.

“Then, I’ll stay overnight at senior’s house.”

Cha Yeowoon gathered his courage and said, hoping it sounded casual.

“Yeah, since it’s already a failure anyway…”

It was a small mutter, but Cha Yeowoon didn’t miss it. Because he was solely focused on Tae Myeongha.

What did he mean by failure? He couldn’t ask. Himself? Breaking up with him? He was afraid he would get that kind of answer.

The sky had completely darken as they neared Tae Myeongha’s house. The earthy smell of wet grass filled the air.

“It’s going to rain. Let’s hurry.”

Tae Myeongha hurried his steps. Cha Yeowoon, following Tae Myeongha up the hill somewhat slowly, would often look at the ground.

Weeds sprouted through the cracked cement like spikes. Even at this moment, like the heart glancing at the back of Tae Myeongha, looking only for love.

As they arrived home, Tae Myeongha never once looked at Cha Yeowoon.

Tae Myeongha, who walked briskly into the house, stood at the entrance. Naturally, Cha Yeowoon thought he would go in quickly, but he remained stiff and unmoving.

From Tae Myeongha’s weakened grip, the plastic bag he was holding fell. The contents scattered on the floor. The clams in the long, round plastic bag rolled and stopped at Cha Yeowoon’s feet.

Water leaked from the torn bag. The clams with their feet sticking out shrank and closed.

Plop, plop–

Droplets fell from above. It was raining.

Tae Myeongha still didn’t move. His neck, which had turned a faint pink after quickly climbing the hill, had turned pale like a corpse.

“What’s the matter?”

Cha Yeowoon grabbed Tae Myeongha. When the pale Tae Myeongha staggered, Cha Yeowoon sensed that something terrible had happened. Something really bad.

“Grandma…”

Tae Myeongha muttered in a strangled voice as he ran into the house. The sneakers he hadn’t taken off left muddy footprints on the floor.

Cha Yeowoon followed in a hurry. The bedroom door opened hastily. Tae Myeongha groaned like a wounded animal. As he was about to fall, Cha Yeowoon supported him.

An old woman was lying crumpled on the blanket.

* * *

[ Çѱâ´É을 forcefully executed. ]

[ !Sub-Mission triggered. ]

[ Penalty: Time remaining reduced by 80% ]

[ Q. Who is more precious to you? ]