Love for Love's Sake - Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Again, it was hard to completely dismiss it as mere baseless rumors, as there were about seven of them who came. That was what it seemed like. It was maybe back when I was in my 3rd year of middle school.
“I guess you could say I won.”
There was a fight. It wasn’t anything remarkable, just the usual scuffles among children our age. It ended quickly because the security guard came before anything could happen.
Still, could I say I had won since I had managed to knock down at least three of them? Back then, I was overflowing with youthful vigor.
– “Did you win against Jungyeong too?”
Was this another probing about whether I had hit him?
I scratched the back of my head wondering what to say. No matter how you look at it, how could I beat a child? Of course, I couldn’t claim that I had convinced him with words alone. It was true that I had unintentionally intimidated him.
“What’s with all the winning and losing talk?”
– “Then why would Jungyeong apologize to me? The other children only talk about how good senior is at fighting.”
“They’re always talking about fights. With several dan ranks I can at least handle high school students. There’s something called experience that comes with age.”
I had 10 years of experience, and it would be really unreasonable to put me in the same conversation as a teenager. Furthermore, I now had the fitness of a 19-year-old.
– “Senior is only a year older than me but always talks about the difference in age.”
“Just wait until you’re in your 3rd year of high school. There’s a big difference.”
Although I had passed it off nonchalantly, Cha Yeowoon made a disgruntled noise. It was strangely cute how he pouted.
– “If you’re not going to give me a straight answer, fine. I’m going to sleep.”
“Cha Yeowoon, are you upset?”
– “I need to go to bed early for training in the morning.”
It hadn’t even been a few days since the award, but he seemed to be returning to training right away. It was natural for an athlete to lose form if they took a week off, but nevertheless, I felt sorry for him.
“Take it easy. Try to take care of your body.”
– “…You’re talking like a grandmother even in moments like this.”
“What? Hey, what do you mean grandmother…”
Before I could properly protest, the call was abruptly disconnected.
“Ah, this child.”
While mumbling about the disconnected call, a response came from somewhere else.
[ Calculating Cha Yeowoon’s favorability. ]
All of a sudden…
Nevertheless, when the alarm sounded, my expectations rose.
Really? Maybe? Last time, it jumped from negative 20 to negative 10 in one shot, so would it suddenly go to zero now? Then we could start going to school together starting tomorrow.
[ Favorability: -7 ]
The number that appeared was cold as if to mock my expectations.
“The favorability only went up by 3 points?”
Cheap. Cha Yeowoon, a real cheapskate.
In front of me, who had burst into a hollow laugh out of disbelief, along with the familiar sound effect, another message appeared.
[ Mission: Make Cha Yeowoon happy. ]
Up to this point, it was a familiar message.
However, the message didn’t end there.
[ Penalty: Death ]
“Hm?”
Suddenly, one more line was added.
[ Remaining Time: 300 days ]
“Huh?”
And another line.
“What?”
Dumbfounded, I reached out toward the transparent window that had appeared. Of course, my hand just went through it as if I had touched a projected image.
“Am I going to die?”
It was currently April, and 300 days would be 10 months. Roughly February.
An incredulous sigh escaped my lips. What was this?
Were my days numbered?
* * *
[ Favorability: -7 ]
Cha Yeowoon was cold.
Like most rooftop apartments, his place was cold in the winter and hot in the summer. When it was cold outside, it felt even colder inside, and when it was scorching hot outside, the apartment was like an oven.
The rooftop room was freezing cold in early April. At night, there was a draft and he had to wrap himself in a blanket.
It seemed colder because he was alone in a home where two used to live. He had always been sensitive to the cold, so his grandmother would always make sure to provide him with extra knitted socks and an electric blanket.
However, the cheap electric blanket had broken a few weeks ago, and today the wind was particularly harsh. He layered two blankets and prepared to sleep.
“Goodnight.”
He said goodnight to a photo of his grandmother as he covered himself with the blankets. The silence that followed felt cold.
As he huddled beneath the blankets, his phone, which he had placed near his bed, vibrated. A text had come through from one of the few contacts he had saved.
The sender appeared on the popup. It was his senior, Tae Myeongha. He had wondered why he had even bothered saving this person’s number after finding it in the teachers’ office yesterday. Why had he gone to such lengths? Thinking back to the person running away from him, heat welled up inside him.
[Tae Myeongha] : Goodnight, Yeowoon^^
Below the text was an emoji of an animal falling asleep under the covers.
“A rabbit? Doesn’t really suit him.”
He smiled as he continued to scroll down and at the thought of sending something cute.
In the darkness, he stared at the softly glowing screen before slowly closing his eyes. Somehow, the electric blanket against his back felt warmer than before.
He didn’t think it was so bad.
That there was someone to say goodnight to before bed.
* * *