Chapter 13 – 3. Erosion (3)
There is nothing to enjoy in a small rural town.
3. Erosion (3)
On the way to negligence, I pondered deeply. Chae-kyung’s changed atmosphere and the professor’s words. The time has come for a change in relationships that have been ambiguous until now. But what if I’m mistaken? What if Chaekyung just hangs out with me because I’m comfortable and there’s no one else to hang out with? What should I do if I accidentally confessed to him and ended up in a relationship where I can’t even play together?
[Ding]
The elevator stops and the door opens. The feeling of having to confess right away before riding has now changed to one that needs to be seasoned more. Am I indecisive? However, he is just an extremely ordinary man with no dating experience. It would be nice to have someone to consult with, but there’s no one I can trust, and even if I consult with men I’m somehow close to, they’re all targeting Chae-gyeong, so there’s no help. Then, in the hallway in front of the fruit, I saw Chae-kyung, who was talking with the face I hated the most at this moment.
“You know, I have no friends. Huh? Please.”
“What are you doing.”
Again, he stands in front of Yi Yul who begs for something. His expression is noticeably contorted. When I glance behind him, Chae-kyung stands awkwardly with a reddened face.
“What did you say again?”
“What.”
Yi-yul doesn’t even think to look at me. But the moment I saw him like that, rather, I made up my mind. I need to change the relationship between me and Chae-kyung so that these guys can no longer approach me. I really like Chae-kyung, and Chae-kyung will truly love me.
“Chung Chae-kyung.”
I turned around and grabbed Chaekyung by the shoulders. He stares at her with the most serious expression she has ever seen. But coming up with the next words was surprisingly difficult. Her lips quiver and her legs try to loosen up. But in front of me, Chae-gyeong is looking at me with a puzzled face, and behind me is Lee-yul. There is no retreat.
“Let’s go out with me. I like you.”
“What?”
Chae-gyeong’s face, which is not normally expressive, showed surprise that could almost be described as astonishment. The sound actually came from behind. Yes, this is the relationship between me and Chae-kyung. It will be a relationship where a guy like you can’t intervene. The face of Chae-kyung, who was looking at me right in front of her eyes, was filled with joy for a moment, but suddenly turned into a face about to cry. At first I thought she was thrilled, but then she shook my hand and ran away.
“Uh?”
The rate of interest hit my board, which was standing devastated.
“Ah!”
“You sick. Not at this time, really. It’s cramped, you too.”
Yi-yul walked slowly in the same direction as Chae-kyung. However, I had no idea whether he was following Chae-gyeong or what he was going to do.
Lee Yul, of course, went looking for Chae Kyung. But she didn’t take her elevator crying, so she went down the stairs, but she was nowhere to be seen. She even wanted to try contacting her on her cell phone, but in this situation, contacting her for nothing is counterproductive.
“Anyway, he’s a real spectator.”
Chae-Kyung Jeong and Joon-Hyung Lee have a strange relationship, and she already noticed from their first meeting that the relationship hadn’t developed for a long time, but suddenly Lee Yul hit her in the hallway and confessed that he was with her, giving her a beat. I couldn’t imagine. Of course, if you like each other, what does it matter where or who confesses? However, developing between ambiguous people requires more careful effort, but newcomers who are sure to be misunderstood only think about themselves like that and push forward. I think even this impulsive look is cool.
‘Hmm.’
To be honest, Yi-yul doesn’t care if Chae-kyung and Jun-hyung are dating or not. Because his purpose is not to genuinely love Chae-kyung and each other. Even so, the change in the relationship between Chae-kyung and Jun-hyung must be an important part for him as he tries to squeeze in and settle in Chae-kyung’s heart. Having had quite a bit of experience like this, he knew it intuitively. That today is a watershed.
Chaekyung literally cried for a long time. After going down two floors from the negligence, I went into the bathroom and continued to cry. Honestly, she was happy about Junhyung’s confession. She flew out of the negligence aisle, but it was neither romantic nor fancy, but she was happy anyway. She didn’t want an event, and she didn’t want expensive gifts. It was enough to simply whisper that we love each other, so neither the place nor the form mattered.
“Huh.”
But there was one problem. Junhyung kissed another woman not too long ago, and Chaekyung kissed another man that day. Even Chae-kyung herself didn’t just kiss her, she even took her caress and left. He cheated on her before he and she were even dating. Both too. This was not the type of love Chae-kyung had dreamed of. It is something she also agreed to and participated in, but she has already become irreversible.
‘Why…’
The more I thought about it, the more I resented Junhyung for kissing another woman in the first place. He also hated Yi Yul for making sophistry against Chae Kyung, and he hated himself for falling for that trick. I hated the situation where I had to give up the happiness I wanted right in front of my eyes and everything that made that situation so sad. I cried so hard that I cried out loud, but the tears did not stop.
I cried for so long. No one went in and out of the bathroom once in a while after all classes were over, well past dinner time. The tears have stopped, but my eyes are swollen, and when I sit on the toilet bowl, my legs feel numb and I can’t move. But I can’t stay locked in the bathroom forever. Much of the sadness and suffering has subsided, and what remains is worry and worry. Now, going forward or backward, accepting, albeit imperfectly, that her relationship with Junhyung must change, she managed to get out of the building.
On the way to the bus stop past the main gate, I see a familiar face. She suddenly thought that she wished she hadn’t met that man, but if she did, she would have collapsed that day after seeing Chae-kyung Eun-jun-hyung kissing the professor. When Chae-kyeong and Yi-yul made a secret, I thought that there was no point in blaming Lee-yul because it was after that.
“Are you okay?”
Chae-kyung stopped in front of him, but she didn’t answer. She didn’t feel like talking to him at all. However, Lee Yul stood in front of her, placing one hand on her shoulder and tidying up her tousled bangs with the other.
“You don’t seem to want to talk, so just listen. The moment you wanted has arrived. You and he both like each other, both of you have done wrong things, and both of you have secrets, so what are you hesitating about? That’s why you met me that day.”
An unexpected sound comes out of his mouth. I thought she would tell her to break up, of course, but he was rather urging her to accept her confession.
“Why is it strange? Of course I like you, but now, why don’t you ever see him again, then will you be happy? I’ll do anything to make you happy Think carefully about what you kissed me for.”
Her coercive attitude made Chae-kyung feel intimidated, as if she had done something wrong. She felt different from her Jun-hyung, who was always considerate of her, and even felt a sense of intimidation she had never felt before. Chae-kyung pondered what he had said, just like she was a student getting scolded by a much older teacher.
“And don’t worry, I’ll always be by your side.”
Lee Yul hugged her and whispered in her ear. After a light hug, he turned around and walked away as if he had no regrets. Chaekyung waited for her bus with very mixed emotions.
It feels like everything is collapsing. I still don’t know why the hell she rejected my confession. Was the place and time not good enough? But that doesn’t mean you’ll run away. Chaekyung and I didn’t have any secrets at least between the two of us, but these days, it seems like we don’t know anything clearly.
She couldn’t stand it alone, so she tried to contact Ga-hye, but she didn’t answer. Since she is in the sports world, she couldn’t always check her phone, so it was a frequent occurrence. To be honest, it was a bit painful to go back home like this, to the neighborhood where Chae-kyung is. With that excuse, she got into a taxi and gave the address she had heard the other day.
After that day, Yoon-jung got rid of everything related to his ex-boyfriend, Myung-jin, and blocked everything about him. She had been her lover for six years, but she had been unhappy for three of those years, so instead of being distressed by her decision this time, she was filled with happiness every time she got rid of it one by one. It took two days to get rid of everything on her, and all that was left of her was the things that belonged to Myung-jin, not her. And just now, something new might be in her hands.
“Junhyung?”
“Professor.”
A familiar man is standing at the entrance on the first floor of an officetel. Since when has he been here? It’s quite late, but what was he doing here?
“How did you know this place?”
“That day, when the professor got into the taxi, he said the address very loudly. There are only a few officetels in this neighborhood, so…”
Depending on the situation, these words can be very frightening, but looking at Jun-hyung with a face like an abandoned animal, Yoon-jung felt pitiful. I don’t know what the story is, but she doesn’t seem to be a friend with short thoughts, so there must be a reason.
“Would you like to come in? I don’t think it’s polite to talk about it here.”
“Would it be okay?”
“Well, let’s pay off the debt last time.”
The living space of Yunjeong’s house was tidy, and her study was very crowded. The two of them sat on the sofa in the living room and were silent and still. After a moment of silence, Yoon-jung got up and made her coffee and handed it to her, and Jun-hyung opened his mouth.
“I confessed to Chae-kyung today. But she ran away without answering.”
“Oh.”
Junhyung lowers his head with coffee in his hand. In fact, it was she who pushed his back, so Yoon-jung felt guilty in a corner of her heart. She didn’t even know much about the relationship between her man and woman, but she seemed so light-hearted that she had ruined the relationship between her young man and woman by giving her unworthy advice.
“Would you like…Wine?”
Junhyung let out a deep sigh and nodded while lowering his head. Taking the coffee cup she hadn’t touched yet, Yoon-jung took out a bottle of wine from her small cellar.
