CH 54.2

The hand that once held her hand, and that once embraced her.

Yoo-hwa’s eyes clouded.

“I haven’t heard the answer yet.”

“… What answer.”

“If you accepted the confession or not.”

The voice that went down through the nape of her neck broke the composure she had tried hard to find.

Yoo-hwa quickly turned around and looked up. Only then did she see Woo-hyun’s face properly. The dark eyes that looked at her were extremely calm. Unlike her face, which was crumpled into a mess, Woo-hyun’s face didn’t change in the slightest.

Even the look in his eyes.

In the gap of emotions she felt once again, a part of her heart that she had barely maintained collapsed. No matter how hard she tried to move, her feelings, which had been calm, were helplessly shaken up in front of Woo-hyun. They were shaken up so much that she was getting angry.

“I told you before. Can’t I accept it? Why? Will that person be in danger too if I get along with him? If that’s the case, I’ll answer. I didn’t accept it. But next time a good person shows up, I’ll have to accept it.”

“…”

Crack. Whether Woo-hyun had given strength to his hand on the door, a strange sound was heard. Feeling as if that sound was telling her to give up that ridiculous idea, Yoo-hwa gulped.

“I don’t want to see you anymore. Kim Yi-woon is dead, and it may not be enough for you, but I’ve done enough by my standards. I misunderstood the things you were doing just because I was Kim Yi-woon’s sister, and even though I knew you didn’t mean it, I gave you my heart. And, more than you wanted…”

It hurt.

Even the clear sunlight suffered a despair that looked grey. She even saw herself, who wasn’t religious, putting her hands together and begging for him. The prayer she stopped because it had never been fulfilled before… Just in case.

Swallowing the words that rose to her throat because she didn’t want to have that conversation, Yoo-hwa closed her eyes for a moment. As she opened her eyes again, they were calm.

Then, she looked straight at Woo-hyun. However, trying to calm down was for nothing as she realized that they were so close that each other’s breaths were mixed, and she couldn’t say anything.

“I didn’t mean to torment you.”

The words that followed made her close her mouth even tighter.

Why was he saying that now?

Yoo-hwa lowered her gaze so that he wouldn’t catch her shaky eyes.

“… I see. I understand, so don’t let me see those people again.”

“…”

“If you’re done talking, please step aside.”

As Yoo-hwa was about to turn around,

“Why, of all things?”

A small voice leaked from between Woo-hyun’s lips, which opened slowly. The small but powerful voice was like a flood of water. Water that flows out without one even realizing it because it’s too much to hold in.

Yoo-hwa bit the flesh inside her mouth. She had goosebumps on the back of her neck. As Yoo-hwa tried to stop talking, feeling anxious that she would not be unscathed if she heard that now,

“Why did you have to be Kim Yi-woon’s sister?”

“…”

“Why…”

“…”

“Why did we have to meet again like this?”

The words that had been cut off got stuck in the middle of her heart. Hearing those words, the heart that was barely holding out back collapsed completely. She couldn’t breathe for a moment.

The arm that came down from the door grabbed Yoo-hwa’s shoulder with strength.

“Why did it have to be you and I?”

A suppressed voice flowed from Woo-hyun’s lips.

It would have been better if they hadn’t met like this.

If that had been the case, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt, and he wouldn’t have had to hurt her.

If that had been the case… They would have been able to face each other with better faces than now.

Woo-hyun’s words that he could not say out loud were conveyed.

Seeing his face, which showed regret and pain for the first time, Yoo-hwa couldn’t suppress the sadness, and her expression distorted.

She felt that Woo-hyun was regretting it. She didn’t know if he regretted what he said, or what he regretted, but… It was clear that Woo-hyun’s face was different than before.

He couldn’t do anything now.

“… You didn’t think it was me? Why did I have to be Kim Yi-woon’s sister… Why did we have to meet like this. Why did we have to become like this.”

Yoo-hwa opened her mouth, suppressing the pain.

There was a time when she repeatedly asked herself that.

Why did she have to be Kim Yi-woon’s sister, of all things? Why was it Kim Yi-woon, and why was the woman Kim Yi-woon met Woo-hyun’s sister? There was no answer to all these questions.

However, one thing was always clear.

“If I wasn’t Kim Yi-woon’s sister,”

Yoo-hwa’s powerless gaze moved softly and turned to Woo-hyun.

“You and I wouldn’t have met again.”

The world they lived in was different. Unless she was in debt and rolled around and around and found her way to Woo-hyun, they had no reason to meet at all.

Woo-hyun’s face distorted as he faced the cruel fact. She looked at Woo-hyun’s face, filled with pain.

This type of face, she wanted to see it once more; but it wasn’t actually pleasant to look at. The fact that Woo-hyun was shaking, and the fact that this moment was too much for him to handle.

Yoo-hwa slowly opened her mouth. Her breathing was getting more and more woeful.

“That’s why we only have this kind of relationship.”

They couldn’t even meet again if it wasn’t like this.

“Something like this…”

It’s called an ill-fated relationship.

A relationship where all that remained were the wounds, and even if they embraced each other, there would only be pain left, so there was no way for them to be together.

A relationship… that had come a long way for the gaps between the wounds to be filled with belated regrets and apologies.

A relationship that was nothing now.

Instead of continuing, Yoo-hwa, who couldn’t say anything because she was overwhelmed with emotion, raised her hand and grabbed Woo-hyun’s hand from her shoulder. Unlike her expectation that it would be difficult because of how much pressure he was putting into it, she removed his hand easily.

Yoo-hwa slowly pushed Woo-hyun’s hand away, and then turned around. Woo-hyun did not move an inch until the door closed.