Chapter 24 – Episode 24
“I have an apology to both of you.”
Have courage and speak out.
These words don’t come out easily unless you say them out loud.
So, you have to spit it out without thinking.
Of course, I regret it a lot after saying it.
“Apple?”
“Why?”
They both look at me while tilting their heads.
My conscience is pricked even more.
I am even more speechless.
Ah, I feel like I shouldn’t have just said this, but at the same time, I also feel like I can’t help it that it happened like this.
That’s right, it can’t be helped.
It can’t be helped.
“That’s right.”
“Wait a minute.”
“What does Junseok have to apologize for?”
At the mention of Jun-seok, Na-yu glances at Ga-hye for a moment, but then looks away again.
“You don’t have anything to apologize to us, do you?”
“There are a lot of things to be thankful for in the first place, right?”
No, that’s not it.
It was just as I was trying to speak again.
“Would you like to order?”
With those words, the waiter approached our table.
No really, what are you all doing?
Thanks to that, I stopped talking and looked at the employee while yelling at her. Nayu spoke.
“Wait a minute, I’ll call you when I decide.”
“Yes~”
The employee leaves again.
We looked at each other again.
But it was difficult to resume the interrupted words.
“Let’s eat something first, how about that?”
“Then I want to try this!”
The two started choosing pizza like that.
No, please give me some time to talk.
That’s what I thought, but I’m not a smart enough guy to speak up at this time.
I just watched Gahye choose various pizzas as if it were fascinating.
***
“Um, maita-!”
Gahye is impressed.
My pronunciation was muffled thanks to the pizza still remaining in my mouth and the cheese flowing from my lips, but I was able to clearly understand what was being said.
Nayu was also eating a slice of pizza as if she was satisfied.
I also take a piece and eat it.
Of course, you can’t taste it.
I’ve been keeping an eye on them for a while now, trying to decide when to start talking, but the two women don’t give me a chance.
When I try to talk, he starts talking about something else, and when I try to force him to talk, he asks me another question.
The pizza is delicious, I’m sorry I always get it like this, I’ll give it a try later, I’m afraid I’ll get a part-time job too…
There is a lot of talk going around.
There is nothing important among them.
There is no such thing as pouring cold water between two people talking about how happy they are.
It shouldn’t be like this.
“I said no.”
“”Huh?””
They both pause for a moment at my words.
I spoke right away.
“Wait a minute, please listen to me first, it’s important.”
Gahye pauses at those words.
And then Gahye seemed to be about to say something, but Nayu stopped her.
“Hehe… Okay, well, I guess so.”
Nayu sighs in resignation.
… Chaenyeom?
Well, anyway, for now.
“I owe you two an apology.”
Silence.
Thanks to the sudden silence, I can clearly hear the surrounding noise.
It feels like my mouth will be buried by those words, but I somehow manage to open my mouth.
“Well… Well, uh, so.”
Wow, it’s too much.
“I crossed myself, sorry.”
I barely succeed in spitting it out right away.
“”Lamb leg?””
They both keep looking at me.
“Uh, yeah, it was a cross between two people… I was dating both of them at the same time, but I didn’t reveal the truth. I’m really, really sorry.”
My shameful heart is now starting to drive me away.
“So, I didn’t mean to do that either. I thought I was dating Nayu, but I found out I wasn’t, so I ended up dating Gahye. It wasn’t until I started dating Gahye that I found out that I was originally dating Nayu.”
If you say it out loud, I can’t even understand what you’re saying.
“I didn’t mean to trick you two or anything. I guess I just misheard and misunderstood. I’m sorry. Furthermore, I was a bit stupid and made that mistake.”
Gibberish.
What are you talking about, you idiot?
“I never wanted to do that to Ga-hye or Na-yu. After all, they are both my guests, and I am in charge of it. Or perhaps my responsibility is a bit excessive, anyway…”
Gibberish, gibberish.
“I’m sorry… I liked both of you, but I let you both down. I’m really sorry.”
After saying that, I close my mouth.
Look at the gazes of the two.
The two just sat quietly.
The only time it takes for the pizza to cool down is a burden.
No, actually, it was just a moment.
It was just a long time for me.
“Phew.”
Suddenly Gahye smiles.
Nayu stops her laughter by poking her side.
And the two women look at each other.
“What should I do?”
“Shall I tell you, sister?”
“Uh, no, I won’t say anything. There’s something I want to find out more about.”
I don’t ask for leniency, I just… I’m sorry.
I decided not to make excuses anymore.
“So in the end, you cheated on both of them?”
“Oh, right…”
“Is that what you wanted to do?”
“No, that’s not it…”
Gahye slaps Nayu’s side and laughs.
When Nayu said, “Don’t bother me, sister,” Nayu said, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” I just did it.
“Well, maybe it was because we had a strange conversation.”
“Uh, um…”
Something feels uncomfortable.
“Why?”
“No, I think I misunderstood.”
I guess it’s my fault.
“Even if I said it a little confusingly, I guess I didn’t understand it properly because I did that.”
“Hey…”
Nayu looks at me like I’m amazing.
Ga-hye also looked a little surprised, her eyes widened.
Your eyes are huge.
An unnecessary feeling passes through my mind.
My head is spinning with other thoughts.
I want to run away.
“Hmm… What I’m asking from now on is, will you answer honestly?”
Nayu suddenly made a suggestion to me.
Having already gathered the will to reflect, I simply answer yes.
Then Nayu picks him up again.
“Really be honest with your heart, okay?”
Well, what is it?
“Really?”
“Uh, that, that…”
The two women are just looking at me.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
And Nayu takes a moment to catch her breath.
Gahye just continues to look at me quietly next to her.
“Let alone straddling it.”
A moment of silence.
“If I had to choose between Gahye and me…”
There was no time for silence, but it was a tense moment to the point where I could feel it.
“Who would you choose?”
Those words leave me speechless.
What is it?
Suddenly it’s a choice?
Are you even considering it that way?
I wanted to ask what he meant, but I stopped when I saw Nayu’s eyes looking at me.
It was serious.
Gahye, who was next to me, also had a rare expression.
I had the feeling that that was Gahye’s serious expression.
So, I’m not kidding, but I’m saying that we definitely have to make a choice now.
I look at the two of them again.
The two of them are just looking at me.
Can you choose one of the two?
Will it work?
I actually already know how I feel about this issue.
But conveying that is another matter.
Choose someone.
No one can choose.
There’s no way you can say something like that.
But.
I asked them to answer honestly.
Anyway, I decided to confront the truth.
“It’s okay, I won’t say anything, so don’t worry too much.”
“Yes, Junseok, just tell me comfortably.”
They both look at me and say.
They both seem to feel sorry for me having to choose one side.
It would be better that way!
I hesitate a bit.
It’s a topic with a fixed answer, so it’s hard to come up with it.
“”…””
The two of them just quietly watch me.
I know.
You have to say it.
First of all, quickly anyway.
“That’s…”
Ah, this time I failed to spit it out right away.
Take a breath again.
Hu, ha.
Yes, hu, ha.
“Actually.”
I never thought I would need one more deep breath.
“… Both.”
“… Huh?”
“What?”
The two women react strangely.
Of course.
“I like them both.”
My face turns red.
It’s as hard as the first confession I made when I was young.
But at the same time, guilt also strikes.
Ha, why are you like this lately?
I got fired from my job, and I had to make the biggest decision of my life.
“It’s true, that’s how I feel.”
I am overwhelmed by the look in their eyes.
“I really like you both. It was just a short date or something else.”
At those words, the two look at each other for a moment.
“Anyway, it was perfect, and every time it happened, we both loved it so much, it was lovely.”
My hand gestures are awkward.
“But really, I like them both, yeah, I like them both.”
That’s my heart.
Finish the story.
The two were dumbfounded at those words, but then Nayu said, “Wow,” And laughed again.
Gahye also starts laughing with that laughter.
The sound of giggling overflows from the table for a moment.
People around me also glance this way to see what’s going on.
I felt burdened by both, so I just kept silent.
“Wow, this is really…”
“We ate it, sister?”
“That’s right, we got hit, haha, really!”
The two can barely speak while giggling.
“No, really…”
“Oh really!”
The two start laughing again, as if they can’t hold back their laughter.
Hey, what’s so funny?
“Over there, ugh…”
Gahye tried to calm down somehow, but she failed.
Nayu grabs Gahye’s shoulder and falls down for a moment, but then she stands up again.
I was so anxious that I couldn’t hold back my laughter.
“Ha, calmed down a little, hoo, hoo…”
Nayu calms down only after laughing for a while.
I wonder if this is contagious like laughter, and Ga-hye soon calms down as well.
“Oh, really, really, really?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Both of us? Are we both okay?”
“Yes.”
“So much so that I can’t choose just one person?”
“Yes, really.”
“Wow… Hu… That’s amazing.”
Gahye drinks water.
“Junseok, let us apologize first.”
“Uh… Huh?”
“I have something to apologize for.”
“Just tell it to me?”
“That’s right, sister.”
The two exchange glances.
“Actually, we did it on purpose.”
“On purpose…?”
It reminds me of something I already knew in my head but was ignoring and pretending not to know.
“Yes, we planned it together and lied to Junseok.”
“I’m sorry, we did something really bad.”
With those words, I become a person from another world.
Huh? What? What do you mean?
“Huh, let me explain…”
With those words, Nayu takes a sip of water.
I just wait for their explanation.
