Chapter 123
The car carrying four people sped down the road. A silence as thick as the darkness outside the car window filled the interior. There was no music that usually matched the clear weather, no continuous conversation, or occasional laughter. Only the sound of four people breathing, sometimes disguised as sighs, could be heard from time to time.
The quietness was suffocating, but no one took the initiative to change the atmosphere. Cha Yoon was no exception. He rolled his eyes to observe Ki Seo-jung sitting next to him. It was the sixth time he had repeated this action.
Seo-jung’s appearance, observed from the corner of his eye, wasn’t much different from what he had seen a minute ago. Cha Yoon sighed again as he stared at Seo-jung, who was turned towards the window, showing his back to him.
Even though I said to look forward when wearing a seatbelt… Cha Yoon swallowed his complaints that he could never voice aloud.
Was it really such a wrong thing to do? Cha Yoon recalled what he had said at the cafe once again. But even this time, his thoughts remained unchanged. All he had done was reveal that the person he liked was Ki Seo-jung. That was all.
A person liking another person. The only difference was that he liked someone of the same gender. It meant there was no reason to hide it. Although raised as a Christian from birth, Cha Yoon viewed the situation without prejudice more than anyone else. This was his thought, but sadly, Seo-jung’s thoughts seemed to differ.
But just in case, he had firmly stated that hyung didn’t like him, that it was just his one-sided love. Each time, despite the pain in his heart, he had endured and drawn a line saying that hyung was different from him. It seemed his efforts hadn’t reached Seo-jung. Cha Yoon let out an even bigger sigh than before.
As he shifted his gaze from the side to the front, he saw Woo-jun holding the steering wheel, no different from the morning. The root of all this trouble. Cha Yoon glared at his back with all his might.
After the commotion at the cafe, Woo-jun had started to actively explain the misunderstanding Cha Yoon had.
He said that the person he currently had feelings for was Shin Da-bin and would continue to be so. He didn’t forget to mention that while Ki Seo-jung was a very nice person, it was just a friendly affection and he had never felt anything more than that, not even once.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Of course, why would I lie?’
‘Then why did you make such a fuss at the cafe?’
‘…Well, I thought you were doing that because you had feelings for Da-bin.’
Is he in his right mind? How could he make such a nonsensical misunderstanding? Cha Yoon, who only saw, heard, and thought about Ki Seo-jung day and night, felt only wronged. The misunderstanding he had about Woo-jun wasn’t much different, but that wasn’t a point of consideration for Cha Yoon.
As a result, Cha Yoon couldn’t immediately believe Woo-jun’s explanation. Only after explaining several times how much he thought of Ki Seo-jung as just a friend did Cha Yoon finally let him go.
Even after realizing that everything had been his misunderstanding, no words of apology flowed from Cha Yoon’s mouth. It was natural. It was Woo-jun who had acted in a way that caused the misunderstanding in the first place. From that perspective, it was ultimately a disaster he had brought upon himself.
With the sound of the turn signal, the car made a left turn. As the body tilted slightly, Seo-jung’s body also swayed a bit. Cha Yoon reflexively reached out towards Seo-jung, but quickly returned to his place, stopping before he could reach him.
Cha Yoon lowered his hand, seeming disappointed. Looking out the window, the car had already entered a familiar neighborhood. I should talk properly with hyung when we get home, just the two of us. As Cha Yoon was making his own plans, estimating the remaining distance to the X House, it happened.
“Oh, oh?”
“Woo-jun, motorcycle on the side!”
Woo-jun’s voice, tinged with bewilderment, was heard from the front seat, along with Shin Da-bin’s cry. What’s going on, why are they like that? At the urgent voices, Cha Yoon quickly raised his head and checked the front windshield.
What entered his eyes was a motorcycle. The distance between the car and the motorcycle was close enough that a collision wouldn’t be strange. Cha Yoon’s expression hardened instantly as he grasped the situation.
Accidents always come with some precursory symptoms. It was all because of a motorcycle making an illegal U-turn. The motorcycle approaching from across the center line suddenly turned sharply without any warning.
Woo-jun, who had been driving according to his signal, reflexively turned the steering wheel to the right as soon as he recognized the motorcycle cutting in sharply from the left. Soon, the sound of the brake pedal being pressed hard was heard, and the scenery outside the window shook dizzily.
Even in the midst of this chaos, only one thought filled Cha Yoon’s mind. That he had to protect Ki Seo-jung from the danger unfolding before his eyes. No rational thought or judgment was mixed in.
“Hyung!”
Cha Yoon called out to Seo-jung, reaching out his arm towards him. It was a gesture as if to protect Seo-jung with his own body. At Cha Yoon’s voice, Seo-jung also raised his head. In that urgent moment, their gazes met in the air.
Just as Seo-jung’s deep brown eyes entered Cha Yoon’s view, an unfamiliar scene filled his mind.
Himself and Seo-jung driving on a coastal road covered in darkness, the flickering headlight approaching, Seo-jung’s urgent voice calling him, Seo-jung’s eyes trembling as anxiously as his voice.
There was no way to completely avoid the car rapidly approaching from the front. All Cha Yoon was allowed was to move the steering wheel he was holding according to his will.
But at that moment, ridiculously, Cha Yoon felt a deep sense of relief. It was the last mercy given to him by a God he no longer believed in. Cha Yoon turned the steering wheel, thanking God for giving him the chance to save Seo-jung. Seo-jung realized what Cha Yoon was trying to do.
‘No. Cha Yoon, don’t…!’
Seo-jung’s voice, sounding like a scream or a cry, was heard. Not long after, the car crashed into the guardrail along the rock and collided with the oncoming car. A violent shock transmitted throughout the body and shook. Window fragments shattered and flew, and the airbag in front of the driver’s seat burst and pressed against the body.
An immense pain, unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life, enveloped his entire body. Cha Yoon barely lifted his eyelids that wouldn’t open. His vision was not clear due to the blood flowing from his head.
Nevertheless, he desperately checked to the side. He had to make sure Ki Seo-jung was safe. He absolutely couldn’t lose consciousness until he confirmed it with his own eyes. The pain that felt like he could die at any moment continued, but Cha Yoon stubbornly endured. How much time had passed like that? Finally, Seo-jung’s face appeared through the hazy smoke.
His gaze slowly traced down Ki Seo-jung’s face, who had fallen with his eyes closed quietly. Although pressed by the airbag, unlike himself with hot blood continuously flowing, Seo-jung only had scratches from glass fragments. Cha Yoon raised the corners of his mouth that wouldn’t move well. A smile settled on his lips.
I really saved Ki Seo-jung.
Now I can really close my eyes.
With that final thought, Cha Yoon slowly closed his eyes like a knight who had fulfilled his last mission.
Simultaneously with various scenes flashing by quickly like rewinding a film, the sound of car tires scraping the asphalt ground rang sharply in his ears. Was it because of the memories that rushed in like a flood in an instant? His head ached as if it would split, and pain bloomed throughout his body as if he had just injured himself. He couldn’t even distinguish whether the sounds he heard were hallucinations or real.
The real situation was no less difficult than his jumbled mind filled with disorganized information.
As the car body swayed, the people inside the car couldn’t be exempt from being caught up in it. The bodies of the four people lost balance and leaned forward. The seatbelts tightened, pressing against their chests.
Even in the midst of the chaos, only Cha Yoon didn’t miss what he had to do. He embraced Seo-jung with all his might to minimize the impact on Seo-jung’s body.
Perhaps because the speed wasn’t fast, the car didn’t go far and came to a stop. Without leading to a big accident like hitting something, it safely parked on one side of the road. It was truly a blessing in disguise.
Among the cast members who hadn’t yet recovered from their shock, Cha Yoon, who had pulled his body back, slowly released the strength in his arms and checked Seo-jung’s face. Although he was fine without a single scratch, there was something Cha Yoon wanted to hear directly from Seo-jung. Suppressing the pain, Cha Yoon opened his mouth.
“…Are you okay?”
“……”
“You’re okay, right? You’re not hurt anywhere, right?”
And this was also what he had wanted to ask Seo-jung all along, from long ago until now. Seo-jung, with trembling eyes, moved his lips and then slowly nodded.
As the words he wanted to hear came back, a smile spread across Cha Yoon’s lips, just like back then. And at the same time, the arms that had been embracing Seo-jung slowly fell to the floor.
“Cha Yoon!”
Seo-jung’s shrill voice buzzed in his ears, but he couldn’t open his eyes. His consciousness drifted further and further away. Finally, it was a blackout.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
