Chapter 130
Seo-jung couldn’t help but flinch a little. It had already been an hour since he conducted the interview. But why was Cha Yoon, whom he had seen before entering the interview room, still here?
Moreover, Cha Yoon’s condition was as fresh as if he hadn’t exercised at all, without a single drop of sweat.
Whether or not he knew Seo-jung’s thoughts, Cha Yoon simply greeted him with his eyes crinkled.
“Good morning.”
“……”
“Did the interview go well?”
Seo-jung swallowed as he looked at the beautifully folded corner of Cha Yoon’s eyes. He was pushed to the extreme by what had happened in the interview room, having barely slept. In this situation, if he continued to talk with Cha Yoon alone, he didn’t know what he might say. So he had to avoid it. That was the only defense he could manage.
Seo-jung nodded vaguely at Cha Yoon, who seemed to be still waiting for his answer, and moved his feet as if to escape.
But as always, things didn’t go Seo-jung’s way. He felt footsteps matching his pace. Of course, it was Cha Yoon.
The two naturally walked along the beach. Between the occasional sound of waves, a voice very different from nature’s could be heard. It was Cha Yoon’s voice.
“Didn’t you sleep well?”
“……”
“Your left double eyelid is more prominent.”
Cha Yoon pointed to his left eye as he spoke. At this, Seo-jung unconsciously raised his hand to touch his eye area.
It was as Cha Yoon said. On days when Seo-jung couldn’t sleep, his left double eyelid became a bit more pronounced than usual. Of course, Cha Yoon was the first to notice this fact that even Seo-jung himself hadn’t recognized.
The first time he heard about this, Seo-jung felt his chest tighten. It was because he could feel Cha Yoon’s deep affection towards him.
And now, as this story known only to Cha Yoon and Seo-jung in this world flowed out, Seo-jung bit his lip.
In his mind, the events leading up to meeting Cha Yoon passed by in order. The thoughts he had on the beach while looking at the empty mailbox with no messages from Cha Yoon, and the conversations he had with the writer in the interview room.
The emotions he felt while claiming to act for Cha Yoon’s sake but failing to properly sort out his feelings, and his own appearance that was actually more desperate to protect himself under the pretext of protecting Cha Yoon, kept circling in his mind.
Despite all this, Cha Yoon was still worried about him. It was the worst.
“You’re not sick, are you?”
“……”
“If you feel even a little unwell, tell me.”
Whether or not he knew Seo-jung’s complex feelings, Cha Yoon continued to express his concern for Seo-jung. To the staff, or to me. At Cha Yoon’s incessant words, Seo-jung couldn’t bear it anymore.
Seo-jung stopped right where he was. Cha Yoon also stopped, following Seo-jung’s abrupt action.
“What’s wrong? Are you not feeling…”
Cha Yoon closed his mouth as he noticed Seo-jung’s reddened eyes.
A face full of mixed emotions like guilt and remorse. At this, Cha Yoon felt a great pain as if someone had tightly gripped his heart. He swallowed a sigh. He wanted to hug Seo-jung right away and comfort him until he calmed down.
But given the cameras installed everywhere, such a thing was impossible. He couldn’t be swept away by emotions that were almost instinctive.
Cha Yoon recalled the thoughts he had repeated several times before arriving on Jeju Island.
When he first opened his eyes after the accident, he couldn’t quite come to his senses. It was because of his jumbled and messed up memories. Unidentifiable scenes and a considerable amount of time that had passed. In the midst of the chaos that seemed like a mix of dream and reality, only one thing shone clearly.
Ki Seo-jung, for whom he wouldn’t mind giving his life.
As he thought of Ki Seo-jung, the scene of the accident hidden on the other side naturally came to mind. Cha Yoon gasped for breath with a splitting headache. Where was Seo-jung? Was he okay? Was he safe? Even in the midst of this, the worry for Seo-jung’s well-being didn’t leave his mind.
Before he could put his feet down under the bed to find Seo-jung, as if by magic, Seo-jung appeared before his eyes. Cha Yoon took in the sight of Seo-jung safely approaching him. Seeing Seo-jung’s face full of worry as he poured out his anger, Cha Yoon couldn’t hold back anymore. He pulled Seo-jung into his arms.
With every breath he took, he could feel Seo-jung’s scent filling his lungs. As his heart, which had been full of anxiety, gradually calmed down, ridiculously, the pieces of his memory began to find their place like a puzzle being solved.
Perhaps because of this, Cha Yoon was able to have a proper conversation with the intruder who appeared by opening the hospital room door. The writer wanted Seo-jung and him to be apart for a while. Normally, he would never have listened, but this time he had no choice but to follow the writer’s words. His memory was still not complete, and he didn’t want to make any mistakes that would hurt Seo-jung again.
After sending Seo-jung away and left alone, Cha Yoon organized his thoughts as if untangling a tangled thread. Only when dawn broke did his unstable memories finally become complete.
Cha Yoon rubbed his face dry. The situation was worse than he thought. A breakup with Ki Seo-jung? It was something that couldn’t and shouldn’t happen to Cha Yoon in the past, present, or future.
However, he didn’t feel any negative emotions towards Ki Seo-jung, who had first mentioned the breakup. Rather, his heart ached. The month he spent unconscious, the appearance of his parents who had cut ties for years, and himself who had lost all his memories. Even without seeing it directly or hearing it from Seo-jung, he could roughly picture the situation.
Ki Seo-jung, who always felt sorry for him in a corner of his heart, must have been overwhelmed to endure alone. It was natural, as he, who had become the only meaning in Cha Yoon’s otherwise meaningless life, didn’t know his true worth.
Cha Yoon didn’t want to blame the situation on anyone. It was ultimately him who, in his haste to save Seo-jung, didn’t think about leaving him alone, and who lost all memories of their love, leaving Seo-jung alone.
But even so, knowing that he would make the same choice if a similar situation were to occur again, Cha Yoon felt most sorry about that.
Cha Yoon, who had been rubbing his face, lifted his head. He couldn’t keep regretting the past forever. He thought about the problems he was currently facing.
Indeed, the most urgent matter now was the remaining week on Jeju Island. He wanted to withdraw from the program right away, but if he did so, there would be too many things Seo-jung would have to deal with alone.
So he had to stay there until the program ended, clean up the mess that the younger version of himself had created, and personally sort things out so that no harm would come to Ki Seo-jung.
If only that could be safely concluded, he was confident in turning Seo-jung’s heart back afterwards.
So he told himself to endure just a little bit, it’s only a week after all. He had repeated this in his mind, but to waver after not even a day had passed? It was absurd.
This wouldn’t do. The more Seo-jung struggled, the more firmly he needed to hold his ground. Only then could he send Seo-jung away from this place without any problems.
Cha Yoon, after scanning the cameras installed around with his eyes, grabbed Seo-jung’s shoulders and turned him around. Using his large body to completely shield Seo-jung’s face from the cameras, Cha Yoon met his eyes. His voice, heard after a long time, was filled with affection.
“Seo-jung, I’m okay.”
“……”
“This isn’t the end for us anyway.”
Cha Yoon distinguished it as if it were obvious. That he and Seo-jung were different from others. That for the two of them, this moment was just a very brief instant in the ‘eternity’ they would spend together in the future. That no matter what anyone said, he would definitely make it so.
“So you do what you want.”
After finishing his last words, Cha Yoon slowly stroked Seo-jung’s shoulder. Cha Yoon’s gentle touch could be felt through the fabric.
No response came from Seo-jung. In the space filled with silence, only the sound of gentle waves crashing could be heard.
How much time had passed? Voices of people could be heard not far away. It was the sound of the cast members talking. Cha Yoon was the first to react to this.
“Maybe because it’s still morning, the wind is cold.”
“……”
“Shall we go back in?”
Cha Yoon nodded towards the X House as if the conversation they just had was all a dream. Seo-jung, who had been staring at Cha Yoon’s eyes for a long time, quietly moved his feet.
Walking silently, they soon reached the accommodation. Ji-yoon and Soo-ho were seen coming out, seemingly about to cross over to the common area. The two also seemed to have spotted Cha Yoon and Seo-jung as they waved their hands.
“Where have you two been?”
“I met him by chance in front while coming back from exercise.”
It was far from chance, rather the result of Cha Yoon’s one-sided effort, but he lied very nonchalantly.
“Yoon hyung, you’re working out hard even here. That’s really cool. Oh, we’re about to have breakfast, would you like to join us?”
“Sounds good.”
As Cha Yoon gave an affirmative answer, Soo-ho seemed surprised for a moment before excitedly urging them to come quickly. Ji-yoon, who clicked her tongue at the overexcited Soo-ho, quickly shifted her gaze to Seo-jung.
“Seo-jung? You’re eating with us, right?”
“I was planning to sleep a bit more and eat later.”
“What? Hyung, don’t say that and eat with us. Noona Ji-yoon’s toast is really delicious. You’ll regret it if you don’t eat!”
Unexpectedly, it was Seo-jung who refused. At these words, Cha Yoon’s eyes also turned to Seo-jung. Although he could feel Cha Yoon’s gaze on his side profile, Seo-jung stubbornly focused only on Soo-ho.
“I’m too tired and don’t have an appetite. You three enjoy your meal.”
“But…”
“Let’s stop bothering the tired person and go, the three of us.”
Before Soo-ho’s whining could get longer, Cha Yoon cut off the conversation and nodded towards the common building. Soo-ho pouted disappointedly but waved at Seo-jung. Even so, he didn’t forget to tell Seo-jung to come by later if he couldn’t sleep.
Seo-jung watched the retreating figures of the three people and only moved his feet after Cha Yoon’s figure had completely disappeared.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
