Can Love Be Transferred Too? 44

#44

I didn’t have the confidence to enter the dorm.

If I returned with my eyes all swollen from crying after the conversation with my X, people would surely surround me and ask what happened. It wasn’t that I disliked people’s kindness, but everything felt burdensome to me right now when I didn’t even have the strength to say I was okay.

After wandering around the dorm vicinity, worried I might run into people returning, I entered an alley where people wouldn’t frequent much.

I crouched down between garbage bags stuffed full of contents and shed tears endlessly. My heart, which had been churning without warning, flowed out painfully through my eyes.

“…Bad bastard.”

What was really the worst was that I almost unconsciously softened at his apology. My heart wanting to believe that was truly his complete sincerity was what I resented most.

Even in this situation, I look after you first out of habit.

“Don’t act pathetic, Yoo Sanho.”

Right. As Lee Chan said, I should just like someone else. The world is full of Alphas, so surely I’m not planning to only like Lee Chan for life.

I should meet someone who likes me too. There’s even someone sending such signals. I desperately wanted to go in that direction too.

But my heart keeps refusing to be cut cleanly. The boundaries won’t fall clearly. So I was scared it might be doing something terrible to the other person.

‘I hope the crying gets edited out.’

A moment I wanted to keep secret from Jin Woohyeon had occurred, but the camera was diligently filming that scene.

Even if they edit out the cheating part, they probably won’t cut out all the crying parts. Since it airs in early summer, should I just pretend not to know until I fulfill this bucket list item?

It was ridiculous that I was having such cowardly thoughts even while crying sadly, so I was chuckling when it happened.

“…Huh.”

Suddenly I felt a shadow cast over my head, and an arm that shot out grabbed my armpit and lifted me up in an instant. I was so startled that my tears went right back in.

“Eun… Eungi hyung.”

Choi Eungi, who was examining me with his characteristic expressionless face, answered.

“I thought this might happen.”

“You thought this might happen…”

He put me down on the ground and began brushing the dust off my clothes. Then he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to me. It seemed to mean I should wipe my tears.

“You were late returning, so Han Jiwon-ssi subtly asked me to look for you. He said you were probably crying somewhere.”

At his explanation that he had looked mainly in alleys where people don’t often go, thinking I’d be hiding somewhere inconspicuous, I couldn’t help but smile sheepishly.

“You know me well.”

“Well, I’ve been watching for almost two weeks now.”

I said while catching my breath from crying.

“Eungi hyung, how long did it take you to accept the breakup?”

He answered calmly.

“It took quite a while. It was one-sided.”

Jeon Yudam unilaterally said they should break up? I couldn’t imagine it at all.

“I demanded an explanation, but he wouldn’t tell me anything. All I could do was just guess his inner thoughts. Even now, everything still isn’t clear.”

“Don’t you want to ask?”

“I am curious, but…”

He hesitated, then smiled slightly.

“I didn’t want to make him upset.”

Since it was a one-sided breakup, the one who would be upset would be none other than himself, so why was he worrying about the other person?

As I tilted my head in confusion, I suddenly thought of Jeon Yudam I had seen earlier. He said with his mouth that he had no lingering feelings, but his eyes looked very sad. Perhaps when Choi Eungi received that one-sided breakup notice, he might have read the pain that appeared in very complex forms in Jeon Yudam’s eyes.

Well, where is there a person without a story?

“So I hope you don’t push yourself too hard for not getting better right away.”

“But aren’t I being too dramatic…”

“Isn’t it a time worth being dramatic about, if it’s 10 years?”

“…”

“Just because Sanho-ssi’s crying looks pitiful doesn’t mean I think badly of Lee Chan-ssi.”

“Even so… Jiwon hyung and Taeseong hyung became openly awkward with Chan.”

Especially Han Jiwon. He who had been smiling brightly would turn cold-faced whenever he made eye contact with Lee Chan. Thanks to that, Han Jiwon and I were always assigned to seats farthest from Lee Chan during dinner.

Choi Eungi, who was walking a step ahead guiding me to the dorm, replied in a slightly colder voice.

“That’s not because of Yoo Sanho-ssi.”

“…”

“They judged for themselves.”

Strangely, those words made my heart feel a little lighter. I bowed my head to Choi Eungi who opened the door for me, expressing gratitude.

“Eungi hyung… how was it talking with Yudam?”

Perhaps because he’s someone with particularly few facial expression changes, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. It didn’t seem like he asked about the reason for the one-sided breakup, it seemed like he just talked about other things and came back.

At my question, Choi Eungi showed a faint smile.

“He was the same as always.”

Those words sounded like he still liked Jeon Yudam.

* * *

[The second addition has arrived. Everyone please gather in the second-floor living room.]

That day was when the Alpha group’s ‘catfish’ was scheduled to arrive.

Even while putting down my apron and going upstairs, I actually felt no particular excitement.

‘He’ll probably be a good person, but…’

I didn’t have any romantic expectations.

I didn’t interpret the goodwill shown by Bae Taeseong or Han Jiwon in any romantic sense either. I was somewhat tired for that, and also… though it was a very unfaithful statement, my attention was somewhat distracted by Jin Woohyeon, who existed outside the dorm.

I was thinking about the Mediterranean salad, braised flounder, and open sandwiches I had promised to make for dinner.

“Oh? He’s coming up. He’s coming up.”

“He’s really tall? He might be similar to Taeseong hyung?”

“Wow, you’re right. He might be almost 190cm.”

“Hello!”

So until the new addition opened his mouth, I was looking down slightly.

“Hello.”

This voice, I think I’ve heard it somewhere…

“Nice to meet you.”

“…Huh?”

Why is it a face I know…

“I’ll be joining from the third week. Please take care of me.”

Why, why now, here…

As soon as I raised my head, our eyes met. As if he had been waiting for me to raise my head, our gazes locked immediately.

“My name is Jin Woohyeon.”

It was Jin Woohyeon.

I was so surprised that I jumped up as if bouncing.

People’s attention naturally focused on me.

But I didn’t have the capacity to care about such things.

“Why are you here now… no, why…”

In a situation I could never have imagined, I grabbed my head.

Meeting Jin Woohyeon? Here? Suddenly? Like this? My X is here right now… no, then Jin Woohyeon also entered following his X? He dated An Lei? An Lei is… currently dating Lee Chan?

So… the person I wanted to meet anew after ending a failed love that lasted 10 years is my ex-boyfriend’s current boyfriend’s ex-boyfriend?

“Um… wait a moment!”

It was overload. My thoughts were boiling so much that steam seemed about to come out of the top of my head. My head was throbbing and burning, it was absolute chaos.

“Please continue your conversation! I, I… bathroom, no, anyway, just a moment, later…”

I didn’t even know what I was saying. Rambling incoherently, I decided to get out of there.

However, the problem was that to escape this place, I had to pass by Jin Woohyeon. To go the opposite direction from where he had just come up the stairs…

“Hey, hey, Sanho. Where are you going?”

There was only one escape route. I hurriedly fled to the rooftop.

I pushed open the transparent door and was just sticking my head out into the outside where cool wind was blowing, when…

With a clicking sound, my arm was grabbed and my body turned around in an instant. The shadow of the person with their back to the bright dorm poured over me.

“Why are you running away, Sanho hyung?”

Pheromones resembling the earth and wind of a spring dawn, as if declaring that the rain had completely stopped, poured over me.

“I told you.”

Jin Woohyeon said to me with a gentle smile.

“Let’s meet next week.”

“…”

“Were you keeping your promise well?”