A sense of anxiety washed over.
“Pretending to be sad, lonely, and missing me! Stop manipulating your waves and showing them off!”
Cha Jae-woo knew how to control his waves. Yet, every time his waves were felt, it was unsettling. Perhaps the anxiety and the urge to confront Cha Jae-woo were all because of this.
“This is too much. Do you have to use my feelings like this? Is this the only way you can think of?”
“….What—”
“Just beg for guiding instead! That would be better! Bow your head once, and just take what you need! This act of pretending to be pitiful is more fitting for you than this! Stop playing with people’s feelings!”
The harsh words might provoke Cha Jae-woo’s anger, but it felt like the only way to keep from going mad.
All of this was Cha Jae-woo’s fault. From the moment the side effects began, he decided to pretend to be a lover and deceive. Because of him, it had come to this.
If he couldn’t keep up the act, he shouldn’t have started it in the first place. He shouldn’t have made it seem like they were lovers, making the heart flutter. If there were no expectations, there would be no disappointment. Even after realizing it wasn’t a side effect, the guiding would have been done wholeheartedly. Just because the heart was directed towards him didn’t mean Cha Jae-woo had to reciprocate.
But Cha Jae-woo made the wrong choice. Because he could use his mental abilities, he thought he could manipulate the heart at any time. If only his abilities had worked.
“Please don’t do this to me. I won’t believe you no matter what. So, just try to get what you want!”
There was no response. He seemed to have more patience than expected. Otherwise, he would have frowned and cut off the conversation long ago.
No, saying he just had patience wasn’t enough. Cha Jae-woo was more remarkable than expected. The way he pretended to be confused, as if he didn’t understand the words, was chilling.
“I just need to guide…”
More frightening was the thought of being swayed by that expression. Quickly, the gaze was averted from Cha Jae-woo. Otherwise, there might be a mistake in thinking it wasn’t intentional.
“I wasn’t trying to show my waves…”
“…..”
“I guess I couldn’t control them well.”
But despite the effort to look away, the heart was easily swayed by Cha Jae-woo’s voice. The anger that had been directed at him now turned inward. How could one be so foolish? How could one be so easily swayed?
“Are you pretending to be pitiful?”
The anger turned into sharp words directed at Cha Jae-woo. The anxiety and fear that usually accompanied thoughts of him vanished, leaving only pure anger that clouded reason.
“Are you protesting because you can’t get guiding? Is this my fault? It’s all because of you that I can’t guide!”
Even with the shouting loud enough to strain the throat, Cha Jae-woo remained silent. His tightly closed mouth was a familiar sight, but the feeling was different from before.
He didn’t seem angry at all. If anything, he looked troubled. As if he really hadn’t intended it.
“Hide your waves from my sight. I don’t want to feel them. Control… ha, right. You said you couldn’t. If you can’t, then don’t come near me.”
All the anger was on the other side.
Whether Cha Jae-woo’s patience had improved or if he was desperate enough for guiding to overlook such words, the reason was unclear. What was infuriating was that, regardless of the reason, the heart was moving according to Cha Jae-woo’s will.
“Cha Jae-woo, you are truly horrible.”
Even after saying such harsh words and turning away, there was no relief. Instead, it felt worse. But it was nothing new. It was always the other side that hurt, while Cha Jae-woo remained at ease.
‘Don’t do anything unnecessary…’
I shouldn’t have called Cha Jae-woo in the first place. I shouldn’t have dared him to do something. In the end, as always, I was the only one getting hurt. Cha Jae-woo remained unfazed. For him, this was nothing if it was for his purpose.
Of course, even if I hadn’t called Cha Jae-woo, he would have shown up eventually. But at least it would have been a little later than this.
“…..”
The walking pace gradually turned into a run. The waves weren’t felt, but there was a desire to go even further. To a place where he couldn’t be sensed, and where Cha Jae-woo couldn’t hear the voice.
Maybe it would be better to run away far from here.
A thought that had never crossed the mind before suddenly surfaced. The results weren’t good, but there was enough money. There was no need to attend school right now. So, maybe this was the chance to leave far away? Take a leave of absence from school and travel.
Ah. There were times in the past when it was thought that it would be great to do so, to roam freely anywhere. Finally, there was a chance to do so, so why had it been endured here?
After running for a long time, the school was finally reached. Immediately, the phone was checked. It didn’t matter where. With the thought of leaving right away, the eyes quickly searched for flight tickets.
‘But….’
However, even after finding the earliest time and a country that had always wanted to visit, the payment button couldn’t be pressed.
Instead, a sudden thought crossed the mind.
What if.
What if Cha Jae-woo wasn’t doing it on purpose? What if he really couldn’t control it? What if the waves were truly showing Cha Jae-woo’s emotions?
‘Why think of something useless knowing it’s useless.’
The face contorted. It was impossible to gauge Cha Jae-woo’s true feelings, and there was no need to.
Knowing that, it was still hard to press the payment button. After much thought, the phone screen was turned off. It would be better to graduate quickly. Travel could come later. It was a ridiculous thought used as an excuse.
“Ha….”
A sigh deep enough to make the ground sink escaped.
After saying such harsh words, a slight curiosity arose. What if the waves Cha Jae-woo was emitting were checked, not just the waves, but the mass inside him?
If it was checked directly, wouldn’t it be possible to know? Cha Jae-woo didn’t know about the mass inside him. So, wasn’t that beyond his control?
Ultimately, if that mass was checked, it might be possible to be sure of what was true.
“You’re crazy.”
The useless train of thought stopped abruptly. Even in this situation, there was a desire to believe Cha Jae-woo, a hope that his waves might be true.
How much more foolishly could one act? What was the problem? If it weren’t for that damn side effect, it wouldn’t have come to this.
It was a useless question, and one that couldn’t be answered. Shaking the head, the walk towards school continued, putting strength into the legs that felt like giving out.
There was no need to know. And the result was obvious. Besides, if he wanted to explain and show his sincerity, that was Cha Jae-woo’s job. Right, it was his responsibility, not the other way’s.
‘Don’t be swayed.’
The heart that was too easily swayed was steadied.
Cha Jae-woo would come back. No matter how harsh the words were, he would return because his goal was clear.
So, for now, it was better to prepare the heart for when he might appear. Preparing not to be easily fooled, to watch him struggle to get what he wanted.
It was unlikely, but if his waves and words were sincere, time would tell.
‘How far would he go?’
Besides hovering around like this, what could Cha Jae-woo do? How would he try to change the heart? No matter how much thought was put into it, only forceful methods came to mind.
If that happened, would the other side be trapped in that house forever?
It was a terrible thought, but it wasn’t as frightening as before. Anger welled up at the heart that kept falling for Cha Jae-woo’s petty tricks, but there was a sense of giving up, thinking that eventually, the other side would end up in his hands anyway.
