CH 62.1

The silence continued and their gazes were still facing opposite ways.

“Where are they? Give me back my clothes and my shoes. I’m not saying I’m leaving right now. I don’t know what’s going on. But they’re my things, so I’ll hold onto them. So…”

Even if she thought about it, only words that seemed pathetic followed, so she stopped. As she casually turned her head, Yoo-hwa’s gaze reached the display case where the watches and belts were placed. Under the lights, the watches and belts sparkled like the surface of the sea when it received light. However, Yoo-hwa’s gaze turned a little towards the corner.

People, Love

The book that had become old and torn and did not fit this place was there. Even more tattered than when she gave it to him.

Woo-hyun’s gaze followed Yoo-hwa’s. His face hardened when he saw the book and he tried reaching out quickly, but Yoo-hwa had already grabbed the book, as if she was possessed.

“Why is this book here?”

Unlike what she thought, Yoo-hwa’s voice trembled slightly.

“Because you gave it to me.”

As opposed to being caught off guard, the voice that returned was calm.

“So why is the book I gave you…”

She thought he would have thrown it away. It was a book that resembled her too much, but she expected that he would not want to understand her. Knowing that, she handed it to him as if she were giving herself away.

She wanted to convey her sincerity without regret.

And she also hoped that if Woo-hyun happened to see this book in his life or find a book with a title similar to this one, he might want to give it a thought. So this was somehow evidence of her desperate struggle to stay in Woo-hyun’s memories. The struggle that showed him her rock bottom.

Woo-hyun grabbed the edge of the book one beat too late. Seeing the attitude that seemed to claim it belonged to him, Yoo-hwa looked at Woo-hyun with a half-dazed face.

Suddenly, heat rushed to the area around her eyes. She stared alternately between Woo-hyun and the book, holding back the tears that were trying to burst out for no reason.

He really did see it. That letter.

The letter that she sent Woo-hyun was vivid in her mind. Since it was a letter that she beautifully wrote after thinking about it dozens of times. While she was filled with joy and also wanted to cry when writing the letter, after closing the book, the terrible moments that she grabbed with all her might as if they were Woo-hyun came to mind vividly as if they had happened yesterday.

Woo-hyun tried to stop Yoo-hwa as she tried to take the book as if she was possessed.

“I’ll take this.”

Yoo-hwa said in a sinking voice, as if drawing a line.

“Leave it. It’s mine.”

Woo-hyun spoke unyieldingly, as if he would not give it back.

“I know. Because I gave it to you. But you don’t need it anymore.”

“Who said that? Who said that I don’t need it?”

A low sinking voice questioned her. In those words, there was a crumpled emotion that was difficult to handle.

“Why do you need this…”

At the same time as she said that, something fell from the book and landed on top of the display. She saw a familiar handwriting on a crumpled, worn-out piece of paper.

I want you to be happy.

A handwriting that was clearly written with emphasis.

Sin Woo-hyun. Sin Woo-hyun. Sin Woo-hyun… Woo-hyun.

The sincerity underneath that.

Her heart plummeted to the floor at the unexpected discovery.

As soon as she saw the letter, she felt like she had gone back to the time when she was writing it, leaning against the wall of the old house.

I want you to be happy. Although it was a prayer to herself at first, it ended with Woo-hyun. She prayed without realizing it, and was surprised and hurt by her own sincerity.

She couldn’t understand why the paper was here and why it was like this. Yoo-hwa’s surprised gaze turned to Woo-hyun again.

This situation was not calculated, and Woo-hyun had nothing to say as an excuse.

“… This, why is this here?”

Her voice trembled, her efforts being to no avail.

“I thought Kim Yi-woon would contact you.”

“I know. I noticed it roughly. I don’t know if you did it yourself, or if you ordered the others to do it, but I knew you were looking through the trash bags. I could have thought it was a stray cat, but that happens when there’s food waste. I also knew that you approached me with a different purpose because of that. What I’m curious about right now is not that, but why this paper is still here.”

Yoo-hwa quickly said what she had to say and asked. Her emotions were entangled, and her heart seemed to be about to burst. In fact, her breathing became rough, and her chest went up and down.

If he acts like this now, she can’t help but misunderstand.

It’s not a lingering feeling… He’s the one who…

Yoo-hwa repressed the thoughts that were popping out with all her might. She turned her head and spoke as if he was enduring it.

“… If you found this kind of thing, you should have thrown it away.”

Don’t make people misunderstand. Act mean until the end, and abandon her…

“I tried to throw it away.”

Finally, Woo-hyun opened his mouth. He stood against the display case, staring at the crumpled piece of paper. Several emotions grazed over his eyes.

“In the end, I couldn’t throw it away. I forgot that I had put it in the dresser and found it a while ago.”

Yoo-hwa’s eyes shook aimlessly.

“Even then, I couldn’t throw it away.”

“…”

“It must have been the first and last time someone ever wished me happiness.”

“…”

Woo-hyun’s voice subsided.

“And even more because it’s you.”

“…”

The moment his gaze reached her, Woo-hyun’s voice changed. There was a crack in her heart, which was pressed tightly, and something was about to leak out. In an instant, the atmosphere in the dressing room changed. Yoo-hwa was suddenly scared as the emotions in her heart changed to a good warmth.