By Zephyria I flinched at the more sharp attitude than expected.
“You couldn’t even bring a single flower.”
As if looking at his son’s enemy, Kang Robin Sunbae gritted his teeth and continued.
“Se-han prepared a bouquet of flowers for you.”
I, who had been listening silently, couldn’t help but react to those words.
“Flowers…? Se-han prepared a bouquet of flowers for me?”
I hurriedly looked around as if there was a bouquet of flowers somewhere here. Kang Robin Sunbae gave a cold laugh as if he was dumbfounded by my reaction.
“Is that all he prepared?”
I stopped looking around foolishly and stopped my gaze at Kang Robin Sunbae, who was walking towards me.
Kang Robin Sunbae’s physique in his black suit was so similar to Sung Se-han’s that my heart felt like it was collapsing for a moment.
“Ah….”
I swallowed hard because something that I had been holding back seemed to be rising up my throat. My throat was blocked, and I couldn’t breathe properly.
As I grabbed my neck and gasped for breath, Kang Robin Sunbae looked down at me with cold eyes.
“A necklace that he had imported from France for you arrived today. Se-han canceled all his other schedules and went to the airport to pick it up himself.”
Necklace. That was what I had asked Sung Se-han to buy for me instead of a figure.
“He said he was on his way to you with the necklace and the bouquet of flowers. Se-han seemed to be in a good mood when I talked to him last. He said he was going to formally confess to you and ask you to be his boyfriend….”
Kang Robin Sunbae, unable to continue, covered his face with one hand. I, I clasped my hands together and anxiously bit my lip.
My heart ached so much that I couldn’t express it in words. I felt like I could do anything if I could have even one flower from the bouquet that Sung Se-han had prepared.
But, that wasn’t my share.
It was everything of mine that I had to let go of now.
“Lee Tae-kyung, Se-han had been collecting figures all this time.”
Kang Robin Sunbae lowered his hand and looked at me. I frowned at the sight of his transparent eyes, which seemed to have given up on everything, losing their strength. I felt like it would be better if he glared at me as if he wanted to kill me.
“Originally, he was planning to go to you and ask you to forgive him for betraying you after he had collected them all. But then he suddenly said he wanted to give you a necklace….”
Kang Robin Sunbae thumped his chest with his fist. It was probably an action that came out without him realizing it because his heart was aching as if it was being torn apart. I could fully understand.
“Se-han thought about you much more than you know. He really, really cherished you. Lee Tae-kyung, you need to know that.”
I, too, had to press down on my chest like Kang Robin Sunbae. That was the only way I could barely endure it.
How nice would it have been if I had heard that confession directly from Sung Se-han.
If that had happened, I would have confessed to Sung Se-han too.
That I had liked him from the moment I first saw him. That I had liked him for longer.
That I had been drawn to his piano sound and went into the practice room, that I had liked him without stopping from the moment I first saw him playing in the sunlight pouring through the window. I would have confessed like that.
“You probably have a lot you want to say too.”
As if exhausted, Kang Robin Sunbae stepped away from me.
“Take your time and say what you want to say to Se-han. I’ll leave you two alone.”
I was grateful for Kang Robin Sunbae’s consideration, but I shook my head firmly.
“I won’t be here that long.”
Kang Robin Sunbae, who was turning away from me, suddenly stopped. A cold light was flashing in his face as he turned around.
“What…?”
I forcibly turned my head and looked at Sung Se-han.
“Sunbae, Se-han said that he was born in a cold field, right? That kept hurting my heart.”
It was time to take Sung Se-han, who was smiling in the photo like he was taxidermied, out of there. This was the least I could do.
“There’s nothing we can do about being born that way, but I hope Se-han felt that life was warm. I hope he was that happy.”
“Lee Tae-kyung.”
I turned my gaze away from Sung Se-han and looked at Kang Robin Sunbae. Sunbae was looking at me with strange eyes.
“Lee Tae-kyung, what are you thinking?”
“Kang Robin Sunbae.”
I bowed politely to Kang Robin Sunbae as a final greeting.
“Sunbae, thank you for everything so far. I will never forget that you cherished me.”
“Hey, Lee Tae-kyung!”
Kang Robin Sunbae, who had strode over, grabbed my arm.
“Pull yourself together! Is this the time to be having crazy thoughts? Se-han, how much he….”
“Calm down, Sunbae.”
I took Kang Robin Sunbae’s hand off and patted it gently.
“I’m not having crazy thoughts. I’m going to live even harder from now on. So that I won’t be ashamed of Se-han.”
“You, what the hell….”
I looked up at Kang Robin Sunbae’s eyes, which were shaking with suspicion, for a moment. When would I be able to see those beautiful brown eyes that resembled those eyes again?
I shook my head violently to erase the growing greed.
“I have to go now.”
Kang Robin Sunbae urgently reached out his hand as I stepped back.
“Lee Tae-kyung, wait a minute!”
“Sunbae, I’m at my limit now.”
Kang Robin Sunbae made an astonished expression at my answer. I was sincerely reaching my limit. I didn’t have any strength left to endure any longer in a world without Sung Se-han.
Still, I didn’t rush and put on my shoes and left the room. Fortunately, I didn’t hear any more sounds of someone grabbing me.
Tap. Tap. I looked up at the sky, listening to the echoing sound of my shoes.
“Grandmother.”
I called Status Window Grandmother for the first time. I thought it would feel awkward, but it felt so comfortable and natural, as if I had been calling her that all along.
“Can I call you Grandmother? You’re Se-han’s Grandmother, so you’re my Grandmother too, right?”
Step. Step. The silent hallway stretched endlessly, and only the sound of shoes echoed loudly.
“Grandmother.”
Step. Step. The footsteps were getting faster and faster.
“I will offer my entire life’s worth of heart as a price.There was nothing on the endlessly stretched road, making it difficult to even figure out which direction to go. But I was certain that no matter where I walked, I would eventually arrive at the place I wanted to be.
“If that’s not enough, I’ll offer something else too. So please, grant my wish.”
A wind blew from somewhere, scattering my hair. The hem of my jacket fluttered along with it. I didn’t stop walking, but I looked around.
“I don’t need a broken Status Window anymore. Grandmother, just grant my last wish.”
[Tae-kyung.]
Grandmother’s voice flowed like the wind, but I still didn’t stop walking. Because the road I had to go was very long.
[You’ll be in pain for the rest of your life, are you still okay with that?]
Grandmother’s worried voice seemed to embrace my heart. That’s why I could barely manage a smile.
“You know, I’m not okay at all.”
The wind that blew again seemed to caress my hair.
“Grandmother, I actually thought I still had time.”
You even warned me that the Status Window was broken and time was torn and messed up, but I still thought naively.
Because there was still plenty of time left until December 8, the date of the accident. I believed that Grandmother would fix the Status Window by then, or that something would happen somehow.
Acting like I was something special, I reassured Sung Se-han with the confidence that nothing bad would ever happen to me.
Because I was there. Just trust me.
“I vowed and promised Se-han so many times that I would keep him completely safe.”
[Even so, Tae-kyung…….]
“I can make Se-han safe without things like Inferiority Score, so why would I hesitate?”
I should have done this sooner. I could have saved Sung Se-han safely sooner, but I clung to my pathetic inferiority complex and made him go through something terrible again.
[I must tell you this. In the first place, the Status Window is….]
“Grandmother.”
I became impatient and quickened my pace. Even while I was doing this, Sung Se-han would be wandering in the cold time.
“Thank you for everything so far. I will never forget that you gave me the chance to save Se-han. I will remember you forever too.”
[There’s no need to go so fast. I have a few things to tell you….]
Grandmother tried to stop me, but my pace kept getting faster. Because in the distance, I could see the place I wanted to be.
“I’m almost there.”
[Tae-kyung, even if you go there….]
I couldn’t delay any longer, so I started running as fast as I could. Perhaps the speed at which I was running was faster than light, because Grandmother didn’t follow me anymore. Her affectionate voice was fading away.
I ran as if I had wings on my legs. I didn’t stop, even while thinking it was strange that I wasn’t out of breath at all even though I was running so fast. I had to arrive as soon as possible….
“Tae-kyung.”
I was startled when someone shook my shoulder and I looked up.
“Tae-kyung, what’s wrong?”
Mom’s face came into view with wide eyes. Mom, who tilted her head, was giving me a troubled smile.
“The teacher is asking you something. What are you doing being so rude without answering, huh?”