By Zephyria “Sung Se-han…!”
I forced my feet, which felt stuck to the floor, to move forward. A sense of crisis, as if I would be forcibly kicked out if I didn’t, made a rough breath escape my lips.
“Sung Se-han, I’ll wait until you’re done with your business.”
My voice, trembling pathetically, grated on my ears, but the thought that I couldn’t leave Sung Se-han alone made me rush forward.
“Let’s go together.”
Sung Se-han watched my anxious behavior with a crooked stance.
“Sky Blue Lee Tae-kyung.”
Sung Se-han’s tall frame was filling the small reception room, making it hard to breathe.
How could I possibly take that guy, standing firm with his broad shoulders, out of here? How could I make him listen obediently? I couldn’t figure it out at all.
“You’ve now entered my private space, which no one can invade.”
Each word he uttered in a low voice felt like it was pounding into my heart.
“If you’re confident you can take responsibility for what happens next, you can stay here.”
The sight of the sunlight filling his brown eyes was always unreal. Especially now.
As if thrown into a bright light without shadows, I couldn’t help but reveal my inner self without any defenses in front of those eyes.
Responsibility or whatever, I have to get Sung Se-han out of this place, no matter what it takes.
A space filled with an unpleasant tension that was clearly felt even in the warm air. I couldn’t leave him alone in a place that was clearly making Sung Se-han uncomfortable.
“Responsibility… what kind of responsibility am I…”
Sung Se-han, with his arms crossed, lowered his shoulder towards me.
“Responsibility for all my emotions that will arise from now on.”
Sung Se-han’s face, tilted at an angle, came closer, but I couldn’t bring myself to step back. I had no choice but to meet his beautiful brown eyes that were looking into me. A cool breeze blew through my heavy heart.
“Sung Se-han, you have to take responsibility for your own emotions. I have no intention of being swayed by you.”
Leaving aside the responsibility for all emotions that will arise from now on, I don’t have the ability to handle anything, so I should turn around and leave now. I shouldn’t give Sung Se-han any more room.
The moment I clenched my teeth, Sung Se-han’s eyes curved softly.
“So you’re saying you want to get me for free without offering anything in return.”
His smiling eyes and low voice were extremely cold. I blankly opened my mouth and watched Sung Se-han straighten his upper body.
No… I’ve already given everything…?
“You underestimated me too much.”
His dry voice, as if disappointed, darkened my vision.
“Sung Se-han…!”
“I’m sure I told you in the parking lot too. To get lost, right?”
The moment Sung Se-han turned his body away from me, I couldn’t come to my senses. I have absolutely no immunity to being rejected by him. So please, I hope Sung Se-han doesn’t turn away from me.
“Sung Se-han, wait…!”
He stared down at me, who was desperately blocking his path. His cold expression towards me made me want to cry.
Is it a foolish desire to want to protect you when I don’t have the ability to do so?
“It’s not that I underestimated you, it’s just that it’s too sudden. We haven’t known each other for very long… I know you like my looks, but it takes time for people to get close…”
I was just a weak being with emotions anyway.
My greed, like a weed that has been rained on by Sung Se-han, grows back quickly no matter how much I cut it. The selfish greed that has covered my eyes has now reached a point where I can’t handle it anymore.
“You said we’ve built up time… but it can’t help but sound one-sided to me. I hope you can understand that part.”
If Sung Se-han’s strong arms were to push me away, I was prepared to grab his hand and hold on.
I’ve already thrown everything away for Sung Se-han anyway. I’ve even gone back in time for him. I won’t be affected by being rejected a few times like this.
I will never let Sung Se-han be hurt alone again in a place where I’m not there.
I couldn’t protect seven-year-old Sung Se-han.
We’re together in the same time like this, and I can’t leave Sung Se-han, who is within my reach. Absolutely not.
“Let me stay with you, Sung Se-han.”
Even if you don’t allow it, I won’t move a single step. I clenched my lips tightly and glared, having made up my mind.
Sung Se-han, tilting his head, watched me indifferently.
His dazzling brown eyes, like the source of light, were constantly looking only at me, and I gradually began to feel suffocated.
Sung Se-han, tell me.
Why do I, who has nothing, want to bet everything on you?
You, who are smiling confidently with your arms crossed leisurely, might know.
That I’m already trapped in your eyes.
I don’t know why I’ve come to a situation where I can’t back down. I realized that I didn’t want to resent anyone right now.
I was just grateful that we could enjoy the miracle of sharing the same time like this.
At the moment when I really felt like I was going to cry, Sung Se-han, passing by me, strode towards the window. I couldn’t take my eyes off Sung Se-han as he threw open the half-open window.
“Come here.”
Sung Se-han, leaning against the window frame, beckoned me with a chin gesture. Before I could even think, my legs were already moving.
Sung Se-han, who had been waiting for me to approach, pulled back the curtain to secure the view. Every time Sung Se-han’s arm moved right next to me, the familiar Cologne scent wafted over, and I could only blink without moving.
“See over there?”
Through my dazed vision, I saw Sung Se-han’s finger pointing to the end of the garden. I craned my neck and looked at where his fingertip was pointing.
A small building was barely visible through the dense trees that were particularly tall.
“I lived there for seven years when I was little.”
In an instant, it felt like the blood in my body had cooled down completely.
“Ah…!”
It felt like I had been suddenly thrown into muddy water while looking at the warm garden. My mind was moving slowly, as if I wanted to deny reality.
That was the place where Sung Se-han had been confined for seven years. Looking at the terrible white building, I wondered if my eyes were bloodshot, and the corners of my eyes felt tight and hot.
“It’s not a very good memory, though.”
A large hand reached my stiff back.
“I’m just letting you know that it’s the house I lived in.”
Sung Se-han, supporting my back as if telling me to rely on him, rested one hand on the window frame.
“I thought you thought I had been dragged to a strange place.”
I couldn’t help but turn to look at Sung Se-han, who was looking down at my face.
“Sung Se-han.”
What are you looking at that house with right now? Faced with a situation that I couldn’t dare to guess, I revealed my confused emotions with my whole body.
“So, are you saying this isn’t a strange place? Then why did those guys…”
The moment I became aware of the hand slowly stroking my back, the words flew away. The fact that Sung Se-han’s body was too close was also a problem. Because of the position, as if I was being held in his broad chest, I couldn’t even breathe deeply and only blinked my eyes widely.
“You don’t have to worry about anything.”
Brown hair, sparkling in the Spring light, was swaying above Sung Se-han’s forehead. At this moment, when his eyes, brighter than the sunlight, were solely focused on me, why wasn’t I completely happy?
“Don’t be afraid, no matter who comes in. Just stay still. Just stay quiet.”
The hand that had been stroking my back slowly moved up and touched the back of my neck.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Who’s coming in?”
When I stepped away from Sung Se-han, the hand that had been touching me naturally fell away.
“Who is the person who brought you here?”
Just as I clenched my fist without realizing it, I heard the sound of the door opening. The small sound echoing in the quiet reception room made my heart drop. I hurriedly turned my gaze, and the figure of the person entering the reception room came into view.
I had predicted that Sung Se-han might meet his Mom here. But when a robust old man appeared, my mind was momentarily confused.
The confusion didn’t end there. The moment I looked directly at the man wearing a white shirt without a tie, it felt like my hair was standing on end.
I definitely recognized the face, but I couldn’t believe it at all.
The sight of the old man, who had walked over with steady steps, stopping in front of the sofa and smiling contentedly, also felt unreal.
“It’s so hard to see your face, Se-han.”
The person calling Sung Se-han in a smooth voice, like a young man, was Choi In-taek, a six-term lawmaker of the Myungjin Party, whom no one in Korea could not know.
“I’ve been a little busy.”
Sung Se-han, stepping away from the window, took two steps forward. Because of that, half of my view was blocked by Sung Se-han’s shoulder.
“You probably aren’t busier than me. Don’t you think?”