Chapter 134
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 134
There was no miracle.
The game was a one-sided defeat for Latte.
Latte couldn’t put up a fight in a single inning and, ‘once again,’ lost to Hana.
That’s right. They had lost ‘again’ to Hana, the very same team Latte had been playing against the day they’d gone to watch a game in person.
Dokyun broke out in a cold sweat and glanced nervously at Eun-byeol.
Her face, staring at the screen from the sofa… was completely devoid of expression.
The game was over, and the smartphone screen had gone black, but Eun-byeol showed no sign of moving.
Suddenly, Dokyun felt a tension begin to fill the space.
His instincts screamed.
…She’s going to blow!
Eun-byeol was on the verge of exploding.
His eyes darted quickly from Eun-byeol to their surroundings.
Nothing she can throw.
Letting out a small sigh of relief, Dokyun spoke to her in a cautious tone. He had to do something, anything, to calm her anger.
“Um, Eun-byeol?”
“…”
Silence was his only reply. Eun-byeol remained hunched forward, her breathing deep and heavy.
Naturally, Dokyun’s anxiety intensified. After a long, tense moment, Eun-byeol’s lips finally parted.
“Honey.”
Her voice was low and gravelly.
It was far deeper than Eun-seol’s usual tone, perhaps the lowest pitch he had ever heard come from Eun-ah’s body.
Dokyun flinched at her words before forcing out a brisk reply.
“Yes!”
The word shot out of him, sharp with military discipline. With the rigid posture of a new recruit just assigned to his unit, Dokyun waited for her command. Whatever she said, he decided, he would not defy her.
Eun-byeol remained silent for another moment before finally speaking.
“Can you get me a can of beer? My throat’s burning…”
Thump.
Dokyun shot to his feet and practically ran to the fridge to grab a beer.
“Here you go.”
“…Thanks.”
Eun-byeol took the beer and cracked it open with a crisp psst!, then drained the entire can in one go.
Immediately after, she crushed the empty can in her fist.
CRUNCH—.
The sound echoed through the room.
A fresh wave of tension washed over Dokyun.
“One more.”
“Yes, sir.”
The refill request came.
Once again, Dokyun swiftly presented her with a can.
“Ah, thanks.”
Dokyun couldn’t bring himself to reply to her thanks. It was because the light had gone out of Eun-byeol’s eyes.
Should he offer a word of comfort?
The thought crossed his mind, but he immediately shook his head.
Trying to console her now would be like pouring oil on a fire.
All he could do was pray for her anger to subside.
The moment felt like an eternity.
Dokyun desperately wished for it to pass quickly.
But perhaps that was too much to ask for.
One can, two cans.
As the number of empty cans piling up on the table grew, Eun-byeol’s expression hardened even further.
“M-Maybe you should stop drink—”
“Shh.”
“Right.”
It was useless to try and stop her. To Eun-byeol, Dokyun didn’t even exist right now.
After downing beers for a while longer, she stood up and staggered toward the kitchen.
She was rummaging through the fridge, clearly looking for more beer.
But…
“Um, Eun-byeol. We’re out of beer…”
Eun-byeol had already finished every last can in the house.
As he spoke, Dokyun felt his throat go dry, swallowing hard.
A deep sigh escaped Eun-byeol’s lips.
“Haaa…”
She closed the refrigerator door with a staggering motion and began to slam her head against it.
Thud.
Once.
THUD—.
Twice.
THUD—!
Three times.
With each impact, the sound grew louder.
Every time the thud echoed, Dokyun flinched as if it were his own body being slammed against the fridge.
And then.
K-THWUMP—!
Another impact, so loud it made the previous ones seem gentle by comparison.
Jolt!
Dokyun’s body jumped. Immediately after, Eun-byeol’s gaze shot up toward the ceiling.
A brief silence. In that instant, every muscle in Dokyun’s body tensed. His instincts were screaming.
It’s coming!
Something big is coming!
The moment the thought crossed his mind, a lion’s roar erupted from Eun-byeol’s mouth.
“FUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!”
The shriek was loud enough to shake the entire house.
The thought, Thank god we live in a detached house with no neighbors, flashed through Dokyun’s mind as Eun-byeol started walking toward the dining table.
Her eyes, shot with bloodshot veins, gleamed with madness.
Dokyun belatedly realized she was about to flip the table and lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
“C-Calm down!!!”
“Aaaaargh!!!”
Her thrashing only grew more violent.
Dokyun felt his legs tremble from the force of her struggling, but he tightened his grip.
“Let me go, you bastard!!!”
“N-No, I can’t!!!”
Her frenzy intensified. Eun-byeol flailed her arms and legs with all her might, causing Dokyun to stagger with her.
What is this strength?!
It was a power that shouldn’t have been possible from such a small frame.
As Dokyun stumbled backward, Eun-byeol, still struggling, managed to kick a chair.
CRACK—!
A vicious sound.
As the noise pierced his ears, Dokyun turned his head to see the chair collapsing to the floor, one of its legs broken.
His jaw dropped. Just as he tightened his hold on her arms—
Smack!
“Agh!”
Eun-byeol’s elbow slammed into his eye.
*
Still seething and unable to contain her rage, Eun-byeol finally came to her senses after she had managed to bruise both of Dokyun’s eyes.
She stood there with an awkward expression, not knowing what to do. When Dokyun shot her a glare, she let out a small groan, muttered an apology, and handed control over to Eun-ah.
That’s right. He’d been the victim of a hit-and-run.
The realization filled Dokyun with a sense of profound injustice.
Why…
Why does this always happen to me?
As tears began to well up in his eyes, Eun-ah, who had just emerged, saw his bruised face and rushed over in shock.
“H-Honeybee!”
She hurried to his side, her eyes scanning his face with worry.
Eun-ah’s face crumpled as she looked at him. She grabbed an ice pack from the freezer, sat down on the sofa, and spoke.
“H-Here, lie down…”
She said, patting her thigh. On the verge of tears again, Dokyun laid his head on her lap.
He flinched as the cold pack touched his swollen eyelid. A throbbing pain pulsed around his eye, and a long groan escaped his lips.
“Nngh…”
“W-What happened? Does it h-hurt a lot…?”
Her tone was thick with concern. Feeling another surge of emotion, Dokyun answered in a choked voice.
“So much happened…. I-It was so, so hard…”
“Th-There, there…”
Dokyun closed his eyes, his heart swelling as she gently stroked his hair.
“You… you went through a lot…”
Her soft, comforting words.
They soaked into Dokyun’s heart.
As expected, Eun-ah was the best.
*
The next day, Dokyun opened his eyes to a warm presence wrapped around him.
…Or rather, he tried to.
His eyelids throbbed, and he could only half-open them before they fluttered shut again.
They were swollen.
“Agh…”
He grimaced, trying to force his eyes open, but they would only open halfway. After a moment, he let out a deep sigh and a small smile formed on his lips as he saw Eun-ah through the slits of his vision.
She was lying on top of him, her mouth slightly agape as she slept.
Because Eun-ah was a terrible sleeper, no matter what position they fell asleep in, he always woke up to a sight like this.
He let out a soft chuckle. After gently moving her to his side, Dokyun wrapped an arm around her as she snuggled against him and closed his eyes again.
His eyelids were sore and his body ached all over, but… it was okay.
She had said Eun-ah would be out for about three days, so all he had to do was enjoy this brief period of peace.
He held her like that for a long time, until eventually, Eun-ah’s eyes fluttered open.
“You’re awake?”
“Mmmh…”
She mumbled back. As Dokyun let out a small laugh, Eun-ah, who had been burrowing into his chest, lifted her head slightly to look at him.
Her eyes were half-open, heavy with sleep. Her gaze was unfocused.
She stared at Dokyun like that for a moment, then her expression began to contort, and she burst out laughing.
“Pfft…!”
Eun-ah’s shoulders shook. She pressed her lips together tightly. Her face wrinkled as she struggled to hold back the laughter, her skin turning red with the effort.
Confused by her reaction, Dokyun belatedly remembered the state of his own face and his expression turned glum.
She must be laughing at his eyes.
“D-Don’t laugh…”
“I’m, pfft! Sor—!”
Dokyun watched Eun-ah choke on her laughter as if she couldn’t breathe, and he suddenly felt a familiar sting in his eyes as tears threatened to fall again.
A look of panic bloomed on Eun-ah’s face. She shot up, pulled Dokyun’s head into her embrace, and began stroking the back of it, offering words of comfort.
“N-No…! It’s not funny…. It’s… it’s cute…”
She said, not knowing what else to do. When Dokyun lifted his head from her chest, Eun-ah’s face crumpled once more.
“Pfft…!”
Her cheeks puffed out as she tried to hold back the escaping breath.
“Pff… I-I’m not laugh—”
Seeing Eun-ah trying so desperately to stifle her laughter while glancing at him guiltily, Dokyun felt a sharp pang in his chest and lowered his head.
“…Just laugh.”
What was he even doing?
It wasn’t like Eun-ah had done this to him, and he felt pathetic for getting upset over a little laughter. As soon as he said it, Eun-ah burst out laughing as if she’d been waiting for permission.
“Pfft! Pff-hee! Phee-hee-hee-hee!!!”
Her whole body shook with laughter.
After laughing for a long time, she tore her gaze from Dokyun and looked at the ceiling, panting as she tried to catch her breath. Then she turned back to him and exploded into laughter again.
“Kh-hup! K-hee-hee! Bhee-hee-hee-hee!!”
Dokyun couldn’t bring himself to laugh along with her.
Do you know the humiliation of the moment someone looks at your face and laughs so hard they can’t breathe?
No matter how much you pretend to be okay, the misery that consumes your entire being in that instant is something you can never shake off.
But having already told her to laugh, it would be pathetic to go back on his word now.
Dokyun tried his best to suppress the gloom that was consuming him and prayed for her laughter to stop… but it showed no signs of ending.
It continued as she left the bedroom, as she went to the kitchen, and as she sat at the dining table. It only subsided once they started eating.
…No, it didn’t stop, it just became less frequent.
“H-Pfft! Honeybee…”
Dokyun, who had been glumly picking at a piece of bread, looked up at the sound of her voice.
The moment their eyes met.
“Phee-hee!”
The laughter erupted once more.
A wave of emotion surged up inside him. Dokyun narrowed his puffy eyes and shot a reproachful comment at her.
“…Did you call me just to make fun of me?”
“N-No… pfft!”
Another laugh escaped mid-sentence. When Dokyun hung his head low, Eun-ah glanced at him guiltily for a moment before quietly apologizing and continuing.
“I-I’m sorry. That’s not it… I was thinking we could go out today, but…”
She trailed off, studying his face. After managing to swallow another impending burst of laughter, she finally finished her sentence.
“L-Let’s go next time…”
She said, her face contorting as she fought to hold back her giggles.
Dokyun nodded with a gloomy expression.
What’s so funny? Doesn’t she feel bad for laughing at someone’s face like that? The thought crossed his mind, but it wasn’t until he went to take a shower and saw himself in the mirror that he understood why she had laughed so hard.
“Pfft…!”
The sound hadn’t come from Eun-ah’s mouth.
It had come from Dokyun’s.
He felt his pride sting, but he finally understood.
He had to admit, his face looked absolutely ridiculous.
As a dry laugh escaped his lips at the thought.
“S-See? You think it’s funny, too…”
Eun-ah, who was showering behind the partition, had heard his laugh and called out.
Dokyun gave a small nod.
Fair enough. This was worth laughing at.