Chapter 83: Precious Person
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 83: Precious Person
“…….”
It was evening.
Today’s filming had wrapped up, and while everyone was slowly packing away their gear, I stayed by Ahn Hyun-ho’s side as he sat on a bench.
He shot me a resentful glare, looking like he wanted to say something, but ultimately just let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.
“This is on you.”
I understood his desire to blame me, but in the end, the choice had been his, hadn't it?
“You idiot, you went from zero to a hundred way too fast.”
No matter how much he liked Choi I-seo, how could he just dive headfirst into a confession like that?
Watching him charge in face-first like some suicidal Scourge, I had instinctively made myself scarce.
“You didn't explain it to me in detail.”
I sighed as I watched Ahn Hyun-ho continue to blame me with his face buried in his hands.
I didn't think he actually believed it was my fault; it just felt like he needed someone to lash out at. It actually made me feel a bit sorry for him.
“Man, weren't you popular in high school? Didn't you date much? Why are you so inexperienced?”
Usually, guys like him have a revolving door of girlfriends, don't they?
“Back then, girls just... approached me.”
“Just go die, seriously.”
I couldn't help but click my tongue at such absurdly arrogant humble-bragging.
Then again, in middle and high school, looks and status often matter more than grades. Someone like Ahn Hyun-ho would have been a top-tier catch.
Just imagining students fighting over a handsome guy made me feel slightly annoyed for no reason.
If all he had to do was stand there with his mouth open for women to flock to him, why would he have ever needed to study how to approach them?
“Anyway, are you giving up on I-seo now? I’ve never seen her make such a terrifying face before.”
“……How much did you see?”
“I ran away the moment I saw you launch that confession. I’m not really into gore.”
Honestly, it was practically a live show of Ahn Hyun-ho being torn limb from limb.
There might not have been actual blood spraying everywhere, but it was a moment where his dignity was being shredded in every direction.
“I see.”
Hyun-ho seemed somewhat relieved.
Then, he clenched his fists and replied.
“It’s a bit early to give up. It’s hard to find a woman like I-seo anywhere else.”
“…….”
I wanted to agree, but I didn't. I felt like doing so would only create a strange atmosphere.
“What about you?”
“Huh? Me?”
“You’re interested in I-seo too. That’s why you confessed to her before, and you’re planning to try and date her for real in the second semester, aren't you?”
“Ah……”
It was a difficult question to answer.
Since I had no intention of becoming a Campus Couple, the possibility of developing a romantic relationship with Choi I-seo was low.
But honestly, I did feel like the hurdles were slowly crumbling lately.
Part of it was because the memories of Oh Yun-ji were fading with time, while Seo Ye-rin and Choi I-seo kept knocking on the door of my heart.
“I don't know.”
That was my honest feeling.
It was something difficult to tell anyone else, but since Ahn Hyun-ho wasn't someone particularly important to me, I felt like I could open up to him more easily.
“Don't get jealous if I end up dating I-seo while you’re acting like that.”
How would I feel if that happened?
While I thought I needed to diagnose my feelings coldly, the expression Choi I-seo had made while looking at Ahn Hyun-ho flashed through my mind the moment I closed my eyes.
“As if that’ll happen.”
That was the only answer I could give.
“Shit.”
Hyun-ho seemed to acknowledge it too, letting out a deep sigh as he swept back his bangs.
While we were unintentionally sharing our thoughts, the rest of the group approached us, seemingly finished with their packing.
“Tsk.”
Choi I-seo clicked her tongue at me.
“Huh?”
I was caught off guard because she wasn't looking at Ahn Hyun-ho—she was looking directly at me.
Seeing Choi I-seo genuinely annoyed with me was quite a rare sight, and it immediately made me wonder what I had done wrong.
“I’m sorry……”
But unexpectedly, Ahn Hyun-ho apologized from beside me. I instinctively glared at him.
“Why are you the one saying sorry?”
Watching Ahn Hyun-ho try to stand up while avoiding my gaze made me even more uneasy.
I immediately grabbed his sleeve, pulled him back down, and asked.
“What are you sorry for, you bastard?”
“Well……”
Well?
“I told her... that you were the one who told me the confession strategy.”
“What?”
“I—I was just so embarrassed at the time, I felt like I had to make some kind of excuse……!”
Is this guy insane?!
“Hey! I just told you that such a method existed! When did I ever tell you to run straight to Choi I-seo and launch a heavy confession right then and there?!”
I immediately raised my fists and started pummeling Ahn Hyun-ho. He just held up his guard and took it, looking apologetic, but the fact that he didn't seem to feel any pain at all only pissed me off more.
“Sorry…… I’m really sorry.”
So, in Choi I-seo’s eyes right now...
I was some bizarre piece of trash who was trying to set up the woman who liked him with another man.
When I finally locked eyes with Choi I-seo, who had reached us, she mouthed something to me so that Yoo Ah-rin and Seo Ye-rin wouldn't notice.
“That I’m cool?”
She shook her head.
“That you’re thirsty?”
No.
“Horolololo?”
Choi I-seo immediately flipped me the middle finger.
Thanks to her doing it one more time, I finally understood what she was saying.
“Ah, I’m dead?”
Seeing her nod, I felt more like sighing than feeling the joy of getting the answer right.
* * *
“I’m telling you, that’s not it.”
After parting ways with the others, I was busy making excuses as I walked home with Choi I-seo.
No, it wasn't an excuse.
I was performing a fact-check.
“Really?”
Choi I-seo asked with a coy expression.
The coldness she had directed at me earlier had softened considerably.
“It’s just like I said. He was making excuses for why he confessed to you like that. Why on earth would I tell him to go and confess to you?”
Did my sincerity get through?
Choi I-seo’s heart seemed to have thawed a bit.
“I misunderstood.”
She said, inching a little closer to me.
“Right? So next time, can you please listen to what I have to say before you start hitting me?”
“……It was an irresistible impulse.”
Thanks to her lunging at me with her fists the moment we left the others, I had been beaten black and blue.
From Choi I-seo’s perspective, it probably felt like I was intentionally trying to distance myself by introducing her to Ahn Hyun-ho, so I could understand her reaction.
Anyway, now that the misunderstanding was cleared and she was more relaxed, Choi I-seo began to grumble lightly.
“How am I supposed to look at Hyun-ho now? Ugh, why did he have to confess!”
As I’d mentioned before, since they were the Department Representative and Vice Representative, they were bound to run into each other or be linked together.
With Ahn Hyun-ho having dropped a confession out of nowhere, it meant nothing but awkwardness lay ahead.
Even earlier, Ahn Hyun-ho had left by himself because he felt awkward being around her.
“Well, you’ll have to figure it out. Try to make it not awkward.”
“…….”
I responded, thinking I couldn't really give her a satisfying answer, but it seemed it wasn't the answer she wanted.
With her cheeks slightly puffed out, Choi I-seo asked me.
“What were you going to do if I actually started dating Hyun-ho?”
“You’re asking me that?”
“I mean, I could get tired of you and go to another man. Life is the real deal, you know.”
That was true.
I think I had a similar thought earlier.
“What could I even do?”
That was my somewhat settled answer. To begin with, Choi I-seo didn't say anything specific even when she saw me getting involved with other girls.
Even though she knew I had spent the night with Seo Ye-rin, she couldn't say anything because she wasn't my girlfriend.
To put it coldly.
We were friends.
We had crossed the line a bit, but we were maintaining that kind of relationship.
“Just like you don't say anything to me, I can't say anything even if you meet another man.”
If she started dating someone, I could probably at least offer my congratulations and support.
Choi I-seo glared at me with an expression of utter annoyance.
“Is that your kink? Like, having things taken from you?”
“Are you crazy?”
How could anyone like something like that?
Well, I suppose there are people with those kinds of tastes. There are people in this world who eat literal shit.
But I could confidently declare that I belonged to a category that could never understand them.
“That is absolutely not my kink.”
When I answered firmly, Choi I-seo crossed her arms and began to press me.
“Then why can't you say it properly? Can't you at least tell me not to go to another man?”
“I don't have the right to……”
I didn't, did I?
When I added that, Choi I-seo bit her lip, looking upset once again.
“You really never say the words I want to hear, do you?”
“…….”
Letting out a long breath, Choi I-seo looked around. We were almost home, but she stopped walking and stared intently at me, her eyes slightly brimming with tears.
“You’re Sex Friends with Ye-rin, aren't you?”
“That’s……”
“I let it slide when you had that photo of her. But now it’s certain. Right?”
It definitely wasn't the case back then.
“If I were to make an excuse, it really wasn't the case back then.”
“Let’s move past that. The point is you’ve done it now.”
“Ye—yes.”
I felt like I was becoming a total piece of trash. I was sure I had been working hard to establish that I wouldn't be a Campus Couple.
“But why do you think I don't say anything to you about it?”
“……Be—because you’re not my girlfriend?”
I thought that was why.
In fact, Choi I-seo had said so herself.
“That’s part of it. But that’s not all.”
“Then what?”
“Because you’re struggling.”
In an instant.
I was speechless.
Choi I-seo, staring straight at me, kept her lips tightly shut as if to give me a moment.
A part of me hoped the next words wouldn't come, but as if seeing right through me, she immediately added her declaration.
“Because you’re struggling with relationships with women because of Yun-ji. Even if you’re okay with having a purely physical relationship, you’re rejecting emotional connection.”
It was cowardly.
I was a cowardly person.
And the one who understood and was being considerate of that cowardice...
Was Choi I-seo, standing right in front of me.
“Sex? I could do it right now if I wanted to. We could get a hotel! I could go to your room! But I’m intentionally not doing it. Do you know why?”
“…….”
“Because then! Then it would mean I opened your heart through your body. It would be forcing you into a relationship with me when you’re not ready yet!”
Thump!
Choi I-seo struck my chest with her fist as tears fell. It was a weak, hollow punch, but it hurt more than anything I had been hit with today.
“I don't know what Ye-rin is thinking. Maybe she saw a side of you I haven't, and she’s approaching you from the opposite direction. It’s not a problem where anyone can decide who has the right answer.”
Kim Woo-jin as the Administrator.
Seo Ye-rin had seen that.
It could be said that Choi I-seo and Seo Ye-rin were on opposite ends of the spectrum.
If our relationship were laid out in alphabetical order.
Choi I-seo started from A.
But Seo Ye-rin had started from Z.
“You don't have the right? You don't have the right to stop me from leaving for another man? Who decided that?”
“That’s……”
“I’ll decide for you. Hold onto me.”
Grip.
Choi I-seo’s breathing was ragged as she took my hand. She was trying to hold back a flood of emotions.
“Hold onto me. So I can't go anywhere. If I ever feel fluttery because of another man, or if I try to look away.”
“…….”
“Hold onto me, you bastard!”
Choi I-seo lunged into my arms.
As if she didn't want me to see her crying, she hugged me tightly and wouldn't let go.
Looking down at her.
“I don't want to love anyone.”
My honest feelings, which I had never told anyone, spilled out of my mouth.
“It…… hurt too much. To be honest, I still see Oh Yun-ji in my dreams sometimes.”
The reason I couldn't date anyone.
“After she left, I really couldn't do anything. It was a relief it was summer break.”
If it hadn't been, I wouldn't even have been able to attend lectures.
“Because it hurt so much then, I don't want to date anyone.”
Choi I-seo’s sobbing and my trembling voice intertwined.
“That’s how I feel, and that’s my resolve.”
The woman I thought I’d be with for the rest of my life.
The woman I had seriously considered marrying.
The woman who always smiled brightly and loved me.
In the end, she left.
That was reality.
The kind of unchanging, eternal love seen in dramas or movies didn't exist.
Oh Yun-ji left.
And Choi I-seo.
Even though she was saying this to me now.
She could leave at any moment.
If that happened.
I thought it would be truly unbearable.
Because I was a coward, and a weak person.
“Please don't shake me anymore.”
My hands, which had lost their way, carefully embraced the trembling Choi I-seo.
“Please.”
I held her gently.
“Don't become someone precious to me.”
Despite my plea for her not to enter my heart any further.
Choi I-seo’s hands.
Still, did not let go of me.