CH 74.1

As she hastily opened the door without even knowing that she was wearing mismatched shoes, the wind rushed in. Forgetting to close her eyes, Yoo-hwa looked up and down at Woo-hyun, who stood in front of her.

“… What is it? Did something happen?”

Yoo-hwa asked, trying to hide her trembling voice.

Woo-hyun contacted her before coming to her house. He asked when he could see her, if he could meet her on his way home, etc. He was overly polite, so when she got the call earlier, she thought he was going to ask when he could go to her house tomorrow.

– I’m in front of your house. Can I see you?

Yoo-hwa’s mind became hazy when she heard the unexpected question.

This morning, Woo-hyun had come to her house to see her for 30 minutes. So, when he said he had come in the evening, she hurriedly opened the door wondering what had happened; but contrary to her concerns, he was fine from head to toe.

“Nothing happened.”

Woo-hyun opened his arms as if to assure her and answered lightly.

“Are you hurt?”

Without realizing it, Yoo-hwa approached Woo-hyun and examined his body.

“I’m fine. I’m not hurt.”

“Then? What’s going on all of a sudden?”

“When I was in front of your house, I remembered that I didn’t contact you. I just wanted to see you.”

“… Aah.”

It was an absurd answer. With a long sigh, Yoo-hwa crouched in her spot and pressed her hands against the corner of her eyes.

“I didn’t know you would be so startled. I’m sorry.”

Woo-hyun said, getting down on one knee at Yoo-hwa’s eye level.

“Yeah. I’m sure you are. I didn’t know I would be so startled either.”

How could he have known?

Yoo-hwa herself did not think she would be at such a loss because of Woo-hyun’s sudden call. Woo-hyun grabbed her shoulders and lifted her. Staggering for a moment, Yoo-hwa stood facing him.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Then what brings you here?”

Woo-hyun frowned slightly at Yoo-hwa’s question.

“I came here because I thought of you. I can do that now.”

“… Ah.”

Yoo-hwa stopped breathing for a moment at Woo-hyun’s words. Woo-hyun pointed out exactly that their relationship had changed. They could now meet for no reason.

“If you really need a reason, can you give me a glass of water?”

Woo-hyun asked with a refreshing smile. Hearing that, Yoo-hwa straightened her body.

“Come in.”

Woo-hyun’s eyes curved softly as he got the answer he wanted. Looking at his smiling face, Yoo-hwa lowered her gaze.

It wasn’t her first time seeing it, but her heart was palpitating.

Thinking that she was crazy, Yoo-hwa rubbed her heated cheeks with her hands and went inside. As she closed the door and took off her shoes, she saw Woo-hyun standing in front of the main room door. When they were eating, they sat in the kitchen or the living room, and when they were having a simple conversation, they sat side-by-side on the fluffy carpet on the floor of the main room. He stood there as if asking where to go.

“Let’s go to my room. It was raining in the afternoon and it’s cold.”

When he got Yoo-hwa’s permission, Woo-hyun naturally went into her room and sat down in the middle.

“I also have juice. Do you want juice instead of water?”

Since Woo-hyun came to her house often, Yoo-hwa always had something to drink.

“Anything.”

Woo-hyun replied indifferently, as if his purpose was not to drink something. Yoo-hwa returned with a glass of juice.

“I’ve never had a guest in my house, so I don’t even have a tray.”

“A guest?”

Woo-hyun recounted briefly. Only then did Yoo-hwa realize that her words had room for misunderstanding. Thinking about it the other way around, she thought it could be disappointing.

“I mean…”

“I don’t have any intention of becoming a guest.”

Woo-hyun responded as if talking to himself, taking the glass.

“To make me not feel like I am a guest,”

“…”

“Let’s live together.”

Yoo-hwa was speechless as Woo-hyun interrupted her and said those words.

She wondered if it was a joke, but there were no signs of a joke in his eyes as he looked at her awkwardly with a pale smile on his lips.

Suddenly feeling thirsty, Yoo-hwa grabbed her juice. She emptied the glass without realizing it tasted bitter, as she had brushed her teeth not long ago.

“Woo-hyun.”

Yoo-hwa called out his name as if stopping him.

“I think my house would be nice, but I don’t mind if it’s yours.”

There were no highs and lows in his voice, as he spoke with an attitude that it didn’t matter which house it was as long as she was there. She felt a firm will in his attitude, as if he had already made up his mind.

“I actually came here because I wanted to tell you this.”

“…”

“I’m working at home, so I keep thinking about it. Us, eating together at the table, and even running into each other in the living room.”

It was easy to understand what Woo-hyun was talking about. After Woo-hyun left and she was left alone in the house in the redevelopment area, she found traces of him in every corner. The tightly bound clothesline, the frozen faucet, the handful of sunshine in a corner and the shoes beneath it; Woo-hyun was in all those places. She knew Woo-hyun was also enduring that time.

Yoo-hwa touched the already empty glass. Then, Woo-hyun took the empty glass from her hand and gave her the glass he hadn’t touched instead. As if telling her to drink this if she needed something to drink.