I’m Not That Obsessive

Side Story 2 – Chapter 16

“Would there be someone to meet? Among trustworthy people who can keep secrets, there aren’t many who attract me. Just because I enjoyed that night with you doesn’t guarantee that nights with other men would all be good.”

I brought it back to square one. Instead of saying any man would do, I said I enjoyed the night with you.

“Didn’t you say that photographer guy was trustworthy?”

“Actually, I’m not sure.”

“You might not know since you haven’t slept with him yet.”

His face looks withered and dying, but his mouth is still alive. I wondered if Mitchell’s true strength came from that mouth of his.

“To be honest, I don’t particularly feel like doing it with him.”

I kept giving hints. Among many guys, I expressed that ‘you’re the best,’ ‘I don’t want to sleep with anyone but you,’ ‘it’s only you.’ But Mitchell, as if he had been hit on the ear while fighting yesterday, didn’t understand my meaning at all.

“What if he forces himself on you even if you don’t want to? I did that too. I made you do it even though you said no. I did it even though you didn’t want to. If that photographer bastard forces himself on you, would you like it then?”

“That’s different. You did it thinking my memory had returned. Ah! And I wasn’t forced by you. I enjoyed it while we were doing it. I just whined a bit because I was surprised.”

“Do you want to sleep with me?”

“What?”

“Right now.”

“Haa… I don’t want to. No, it’s not that I don’t want to, but I want to do it with someone I love. Back then, I just somehow…”

“Then do you want to love me?”

“……”

It felt like going back to a very long time ago. Mitchell had once asked me something like this. Although the situation and atmosphere are completely different now, Mitchell is Mitchell. He always encouraged me to love.

I had a vague feeling that even if I die in this life and am born again in the next, Mitchell would still confess to me. Even if his personality and face change, he’s always Mitchell. Mitchell will always miss me and love me, won’t he? Me too.

Ah, maybe we’ve already loved each other in a past life.

Inadvertently overcome with emotion, my response was delayed. Just as I was about to open my mouth to say of course I like it, like a madman, Mitchell stood up from his seat.

He walked to my side and knelt on one knee. I ended up looking down at him. Just as I was about to ask what he was doing, Mitchell dropped to both knees. Tears were streaming down his cheeks.

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

Mitchell seemed completely broken before me. Although I already knew, had I ever seen Mitchell so precariously broken and crumbling? Seeing Mitchell crying made me feel like I was about to break too.

Your fault becomes my fault. Your sorrow becomes my sorrow, and your love becomes my everything.

Am I still me without Mitchell?

Our lost memories took some things from us, but if you think about it, we gained much more. We loved again from the beginning of our relationship. No matter the situation, the end was always the same. I realized that even if given a different background, love is the one thing that can’t be erased from us.

“Geon-woo, give me even just a tenth, no, a millionth of how much I love you.”

I suddenly thought that maybe the reason my memories flew away was for this moment. Whether in a past life, this life, or the next life, Mitchell would love me no matter what form I take.

That our love would become even stronger.

“Love me just that much.”

His longing fell beneath his cheeks.

***

At that time, Mitchell was in a highly sensitive state.

It was by chance that the man entered his sight. The paparazzo was wearing a t-shirt with a large sports brand logo on the chest and had a camera hanging around his neck. Mitchell knew it was a paparazzo sticking to him, but he didn’t think much of it.

If they take pictures, they take pictures, and if not, then not.

Although he was invited to a drinking session with acquaintances, he didn’t really feel like going, but he didn’t want to go home either. The story of another man that came from Geon-woo’s mouth made him feel like some organ was being ripped out.

He trusted the Geon-woo who knew all of their days together. But the Geon-woo who didn’t know that wasn’t the Geon-woo he knew. That person was a stranger who could meet other men or women at any time.

Even while talking with his acquaintances, Mitchell couldn’t take his eyes off his phone.

He kept checking Geon-woo’s location through the tracking app. He was grateful just for him staying quietly at home, but he couldn’t free himself from the worry that he might invite the photographer to his house.

He didn’t even touch alcohol because he had to move immediately if Geon-woo left the house. In that situation, the paparazzo provoked Mitchell.

The paparazzo approached Mitchell, who had stepped out for a moment, and brought up a story he didn’t want to hear at that moment.

“Mitchell, I know that rumor about you dating Geon-woo is true. And I also know that Geon-woo is pushing you away now. You two are over, right? I’d like to reach an agreement on the condition of not revealing this fact.”

Mitchell knew that rumors about him and Geon-woo were circulating quietly. No matter how careful they were, they couldn’t completely divert the gaze of perceptive people. It was partly because they didn’t hide it completely, as they didn’t intend to keep it a total secret.

However, that didn’t mean he was willing to be outed by others. Even if the truth were to be revealed, it should come from his and Geon-woo’s mouths, not from someone else blabbing about it.

Someone had appeared trying to encroach on that territory.

When the paparazzo mentioned Geon-woo, Mitchell’s eyes rolled for the first time in a long while. It was an emotion filled with 100% pure anger.

“If you don’t like it, I’ll go to Geon-woo. If both of you refuse, this will be revealed to the world. If you don’t want that, give me a hundred thousand dollars… Agh!”

His fist moved before he could think. With nerves already on edge because of Geon-woo, the paparazzo’s sudden appearance made his blood boil. It was the first time since becoming an actor that he had recklessly used his fists.

The paparazzo, as if he had been waiting for this, provoked Mitchell even more excessively. He knew well that making himself the subject of controversy was a better means of earning money than photos.

“Isn’t Geon-woo wanting to break up with you because he lost part of his memory? He’s become a completely different person now. I know someone at that hospital… Ugh! You’re making a mistake right now!”

Mitchell vowed to take care of both the paparazzo who dared to threaten him and the hospital staff who had loosened their lips. He couldn’t bear feeling like his unstable relationship with Geon-woo had been confirmed dead.

He only stopped punching when the paparazzo’s front teeth were broken and he was on the verge of fainting. If his acquaintance hadn’t stopped him, he might have broken all of his teeth.

After going to the police station, Mitchell’s lawyer took care of everything. Since the paparazzo had approached for money from the start, the settlement was easy. After going through various procedures and spending the night, he was released when dawn broke.

It wasn’t easy to avoid the reporters who smelled a scoop, but he was glad to find that Geon-woo had called. The familiar breakfast Geon-woo prepared was good, and just sitting across from him at the table seemed to lighten all the accumulated fatigue.

And Mitchell, unable to keep his feelings bottled up, knelt down. He pleaded miserably.

The paparazzo’s words that Geon-woo had become a different person started to feel more and more true. So he asked for just a little love. He didn’t need much. Even if he had become a different person, he asked for just a grain of sand’s worth of love.

To this, Geon-woo brought up a story that even Mitchell didn’t know.

“To be honest, I’m a bit afraid of people. Whether they’re women or men, good people or respectable people, I’m afraid of them. You, who like people, probably won’t understand. There’s a thick wall between me and others. Not just anyone can break through it. That’s why I can’t get close. Naturally, it’s also difficult to fall in love.”

“……”

“Our first meeting was a trespass. At that time, I thought I wanted to touch you when I saw your naked body. I desired you even before I gave you my heart. I did that even before I loved you. Do you know why I desired you? Strangely, I didn’t feel a wall with you. You might not believe it, but it’s true.”

“…Geon-woo.”

“This is the first time you’re hearing this, right? It’s a story only I know.”

“Your memory… has returned.”

“My love has returned.”

The remaining tears fell between his tightly closed eyes. Mitchell got up and rushed to Geon-woo’s lips. He gladly embraced the returned love with his mouth.

<I’m Not That Obsessive Side Story 2, The End>