Love for Love's Sake - Chapter 75
Chapter 75
“What about the money?”
“My father will probably continue to be that way as long as he’s alive.”
Cha Yeowoon answered nonchalantly as if it was of no importance.
“Then?”
It seemed I was more anxious than Cha Yeowoon. I couldn’t do anything about his father’s problem right now. If I considered it that way, his life was likely to be filled with unknown challenges in the future.
“After obtaining consent, Team Leader Choi Jinseo said we should discuss it with a lawyer to avoid future interference.”
“Oh…”
I supposed that was all brought up with the lawyer that was mentioned previously during our talk if we had a case for defamation. Could they be trusted? Choi Jinseo presenting her business card with clear eyes came to mind.
“If it wasn’t for the senior, I wouldn’t have trusted it.”
Cha Yeowoon said bashfully, making me question if he had accidentally spoken aloud.
“Someone is trying to help me.”
And then, how innocently Cha Yeowoon smiled.
I wondered if this was the same child who would get suspicious and take a step back whenever he saw me nearby.
All the strength went out of my shoulders. The way he was talking shook my heart.
Just as before, there were people who followed and harassed him, and there were also those who encouraged him to spend time together. It was all the same as it was a year ago.
The only thing that had changed was him.
“It’s strange that it has only gone from spring to summer, but my life has changed so much.”
Cha Yeowoon’s fingertips, fiddling with the apricot, danced as cheerful as playing music.
I recalled something else.
The sensation of those fingers stroking the back of my neck, my heartbeat pounding in rhythm similar to the sound of rain, and the whispered words, “I love you.”
“Should we go chestnut picking in the fall?”
At some point, Cha Yeowoon started smiling so much that not a single wrinkle could be seen.
Although there was no sunlight, it was dazzling, so I lowered my gaze. My heart pumped vigorously, sending blood to my toes.
“Senior, Grannie, and I. The three of us. Let’s pick acorns too.”
“Cha Yeowoon. Do you have $23,000?”
“No.”
“Let’s just buy some chestnuts and eat them.”
I was serious, but Cha Yeowoon seemed to take it as a joke.
“What is it?”
“Illegal acts are enough with apricots. Hey, committing crimes every season is too much.”
“It’s just going to jail if we get caught.”
“Don’t even joke about that. I might as well sell a kidney to raise $23,000.”
“If you’re going to, I’ll sell too.”
“What the hell kind of compromise is that?”
At this rate, we might end up selling kidneys instead of going chestnuts picking in fall.
Both of us agreed not to touch our organs, and instead, diligently picked apricots.
A sour and sweet smell entered my nostrils. It was accompanied by the smell of grass leaves and branches.
The green hues of the rain-soaked leaves and the water droplets gliding down the fruits collectively conveyed the essence of summer’s abundance.
[ Countdown: 10:16:43 ]
The ticking time felt oppressive. Apricots piled up in the transparent container. Every second spent with Cha Yeowoon felt special.
I wanted to say that I loved him.
“I don’t know how to properly like people.”
Instead, I said something like this.
My first lover had told me that. How it seemed like I didn’t know how to properly like people.
It had felt like getting slapped when I first heard it, but I soon understood. Perhaps it was true. I was someone who didn’t know how to like and cherish people properly. That was why I hurt them. I even made those who were with me feel isolated.
“I’ve been alone for too long…It became so familiar that I don’t know how to be by someone’s side anymore.”
I picked a heavy apricot at the end of a branch. Playing with it carelessly, I accidentally tore the adjacent leaf.
It wasn’t my intention. I was clumsy.
“I’m sorry if I did it to Yeowoon, too.”
“Stop talking.”
Cha Yeowoon plucked an apricot attached to a branch. The fruit trapped in his clenched fist made a soft, squishing sound.
I faltered at the sharp response.
“Are you angry?”
It seemed like Cha Yeowoon was angry, but I didn’t know why. I felt helplessly anxious.
Transparent juice dripped between his fingers. The crushed flesh oozed.
“Cha Yeowoon. I know you think I don’t like you.”
“I said stop.”
“Why are you suddenly angry?”
Couldn’t I speak? I wanted to complain, but I couldn’t even joke when the atmosphere was so tense. Tension rose along with my nervousness.
The apricot crushed in Cha Yeowoon’s grip fell to the ground.
“Are you trying to break up?”
“What?”
To my ears, an incomprehensible voice was heard. I was immediately dumbfounded as Cha Yeowoon continued without looking at me.
“We can’t break up. I can’t give up. Senior, you don’t hate me, right?”
“What? Hey, wait a minute.”
“Wouldn’t it be the same even if you meet someone else anyway? Continue to see me.”
Cha Yeowoon quickly poured out his thoughts as if he had thought about it hundreds of times.
Last time, he had suddenly asked me if I was going to break up with him.
“I mean, if you’re sorry, there’s no need to break up.”
Cha Yeowoon seemed to firmly believe that I wouldn’t mind breaking up with him.
“I didn’t say that to break up.”