SMW 24

As I stared back at him, wondering why he was acting this way, Choi Seol eventually shook his head.

“No. I just think you made the right choice.”

“Right? I told you it was a good idea to come here.”

It wasn’t that I hadn’t considered a sauna or a motel. But at the time, Choi Seol was in no state to offer an opinion. This place was the closest option for dragging along a guy who was as stubborn as a stone, and as it turned out, we were lucky enough to have laundry services. In any case, I felt proud that my foresight had secured us a comfortable night’s stay. Thanks to that, I felt a bit less tense.

“Anyway, aren’t you hungry? We haven’t even had dinner.”

Now that I felt more relaxed, hunger began to set in. Just as I twisted the cap of a bottled water to quench my thirst first—

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing….”

The cap turned too easily. That meant it had already been opened. I glanced at the water bottle in front of Choi Seol and then looked back at the one in my hand. It wasn’t much, but [Read on Read BL Novels]the water level [stolen content]in my bottle was lower. Choi Seol must have given me the wrong one, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

“It’s nothing. Anyway, I don’t think we can go out because of the clothes, so can we order delivery here? Or I hope room service is okay.”

Deciding to ignore the water, I returned to the topic. Choi Seol looked puzzled for a moment, but he followed the conversation smoothly.

“I think I saw a menu under the TV stand.”

“Then I’ll go get it.”

I set the water back on the table, went to where Choi Seol had indicated, and brought back the menu.

“Oh, they have chicken. Pizza too. It looks like they’re mostly appetizers, but there’s sausage. It seems like the only rice options are for breakfast. What do you think? Want to eat some of this?”

“Let’s do that.”

“Okay. Then let’s order beer too. What do you want to eat?”

“Everything there looks delicious.”

I stopped mid-motion while unfolding the menu to show Choi Seol.

“Everything?”

“I don’t think the portions will be that large.”

“I guess… that’s true.”

Choi Seol wasn’t wrong, but my eyes automatically locked onto the prices. How much would it be if we ordered all of this? Each item was at least twenty thousand won, gasp!

I quickly looked at Choi Seol. I tried to glare, but I ended up just looking at him.

“How about we just start with the chicken and pizza…?”

“…….”

“Then that’s three things… or maybe four if we add this?”

“Well, let’s do that for now.”

“For now,” my foot. Even ordering just four items would easily exceed a hundred thousand won. Between the hotel room and the laundry, the amount spent at the hotel alone had already surpassed my monthly living expenses.

Was that guy a glutton at home too? If anything, I was the one who gave him more; he wasn’t that greedy. Or was it stress-induced binge eating? Looking at his state today, it was understandable. I sometimes lose control of my appetite too. But why did it have to explode here?

Forcing down a handful of complaints, I handed the menu over to Choi Seol.

“You order.”

“Got it.”

“And one more thing.”

I subtly caught the eye of Choi Seol, who had just picked up the phone.

“The money….”

You’ll pay me back, right? You’re not going to stiff me, are you? I can get it back when I go to your house tomorrow, right? Countless words flooded my mind, but not a single one escaped my lips.

“…Tell them to charge the money to the room.”

“Okay.”

“Actually, everyone does that these days anyway, so there’s no need to mention it separately.”

“Right.”

…In the end, I couldn’t say it. I didn’t want to look like someone obsessing over money after following him and pretending to be his guardian. I had stolen contentlong since realized that this kind of pride was useless in social life, and I had never stolen contentbeen the type to let people walk over me or stay silent when I had something to say, but for some reason, I felt weak specifically in front of Choi Seol. I didn’t want to show him that side of me.

“They said it might take a while because there are many items, so I told them to bring whatever is ready first.”

“Huh?”

“I didn’t think you heard me.”

“Ah, yeah. Good job.”

It seemed he noticed that I had been too lost in thought to hear the phone conversation, even though I was right next to him. I wondered if I was just being played for a fool. There was no way a guy with that much intuition wouldn’t notice I was flustered, yet he remained so composed that it felt suspicious.

Come to think of it, Choi Seol was particularly unhesitant when it came to spending my money. Could he be some professional gigolo from Gangnam, or someone specialized in fleecing people?

Just as a new suspicion began to sprout, Choi Seol turned his gaze back toward the window. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked in the same direction. We were positioned where the stream was visible.

“It’s raining hard.”

The sky was pouring rain, just as it had been when we entered the hotel. The wind seemed to be blowing fiercely as well. If we had been in a hanok, we could have felt everything—the sound of the rain, the damp scent of earth—but the city’s double-paned glass windows didn’t transmit such things. It felt cozy yet regrettable.

“The stream is going to swell a lot.”

Choi Seol murmured softly. He had been watching the stream as well.

“It won’t overflow, though. It’s never happened before.”

“Right, because the embankments are high.”

Ah, that’s right.

I stared at Choi Seol. It was something that had definitely crossed my mind while crossing the stream bridge, but I had forgotten it at some point. It was a memory. But it seemed I had accidentally recalled it. My heart reacted as if welcoming an old memory. Fearing I would be found out, I pressed my hand against my chest and asked Choi Seol in an intentionally high tone.

“Do you happen to remember?”

“What?”

“On a rainy day like this, long ago, we met under that tree by the stream.”

I wondered if he would remember. I had almost no expectations. I had tried once before, and it had ended in failure. They say people can recall forgotten memories when they visit a certain place or hear a specific related word, but he had been indifferent to both. Now, it was raining. I wondered if the weather could give any meaning to his memories.

“I remember. Back then, I wondered what kind of crazy guy would be shivering by the stream on a rainy day without any fear. When I went over, it was you.”

The answer must have been the weather. I struggled not to bring my hand to my face, as I wanted to check if I was blushing. Instead, I looked at the water bottle I hadn’t yet tasted. My thirst had begun long ago.

“I was there with everything taken into account. I [unauthorized copy]told you, it’s unauthorized copyvisit our sitenever overflowed there.”

“Wasn’t it just because you forgot your umbrella?”

“…You have a really good memory. Is it because it only happened a few months ago for you?”

“Who knows.”

Choi Seol replied curtly and turned his head back toward the stream. His face looked deep in thought. As I waited quietly, a calm voice eventually spoke.

“Actually, I don’t remember everything from when I was seventeen as vividly as if it were yesterday. Some parts often feel distant. It’s more like a feeling of, ‘Oh, that’s how it was ten years ago,’ like you said. So every time that happens, I’m reminded. I realize that I really did lose my memories, and that I’m not seventeen, but twenty-seven-year-old Choi Seol.”

A bitter smile, as bittersweet as his voice, played on Choi Seol’s lips.

“But Han Yeo-reum, I remember everything that happened with you clearly. Vividly enough to paint it before my eyes.”

Choi Seol met my eyes.

“It’s strange. Why is it only you?”

“I… don’t know either.”

I felt a sudden prick of guilt, perhaps because of what I’d done visit our sitein the bathroom. Feeling awkward again, I visit our sitetried to [stolen content]subtly shift my gaze, but Choi Seol’s words held me back.

“I think I know why.”

The gaze and voice directed at me had a different quality than when the conversation began. It felt sweet and ticklish, as if it carried the scent of a summer green apple. Perhaps that was why. Suddenly, I felt afraid of Choi Seol.

“Anyway, what happened with the talk about your biological father earlier today?”

In moments like this, I felt like a selfish adult. To block things that might become a problem for me, I brought up a topic that might be a wound for Choi Seol. As expected, Choi Seol’s face, which seemed like it would be infinitely sweet, turned somewhat grim. For now, I seemed to have succeeded in changing the mood. However, because of the murderous aura that made me feel like I might get hit, I unconsciously shifted my weight.

“Literally, my biological father.”

“…….”

“When I was young, I thought he was dead, but once I grew up, he appeared before me. Alive.”

His tone became caustic, as if he found it truly regrettable. Choi Seol stared out the window again. This time, he seemed to be looking beyond the stream.

“I still don’t know the details of the situation. What I heard from my grandmother was that my mother, who was doing well in college, suddenly cut off contact for a year and then brought me back. And then my mother passed away not long after. She must have struggled a lot, having a child alone.”

Strength was imbued in every word he calmly recited.

“It’s obvious. My mother was bitten by a dog. And [visit our site]not just any dog, unauthorized copybut a nasty piece of shit with power and connections; he ruined her life. And then that piece of shit came [Read on Read BL Novels]back to bite someone again. Saying he needed me. That was before I entered high school.”

Choi Seol let out a hollow laugh, as if it were absurd even now.

“So I went through a bit of an untimely adolescence. I thought if I rebelled and acted crazy, I could at least cause some harm to that man. But a mere seventeen-year-old brat couldn’t even leave a scratch on that piece of shit. If anything, it felt like I was the only one losing out. But I couldn’t control the surging emotions, so I acted out a bit.”

The story was a bit overwhelming. It was likely because it was mixed with guilt. I had started this conversation for my own survival. Not knowing where to put my hands, I eventually pretended to pick up the postponed water bottle and replied casually.

“That’s not even rebellion. You just glared with scary eyes and knocked over a few chairs; other than that, you were a total model student who studied well and got along with everyone.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. If you were going to go astray, you should have at least starred in some delinquent drama at school.”

“I wouldn’t want to be on the same level as those pieces of trash.”

“I don’t want you to be either. I’m just saying.”

Despite the many creative works that romanticize delinquents, in reality, they were just criminal groups.

“But you did fight them. Was that rebellion too?”

Choi Seol was the one who drew attention with his face and [unauthorized copy]grades at the [Read on Read BL Novels]entrance ceremony, stolen contentand later became famous for beating up all the delinquents.

“Well, there was that. They started the fight first. I’m not the type to just endure being picked on.”

“I heard you didn’t just ‘not endure,’ but turned them into pulp?”

“That’s an exaggerated rumor. I just stepped on them enough so they wouldn’t dare touch me again. By now, their limbs should be perfectly fine and they’re probably walking around just great.”

“Was that easy? Did you learn some fighting techniques or martial arts?”

“I did.”

“Really?”

I had just thrown the question out there, but it was true. Suddenly, the two hands holding the water bottle gathered politely.