Chapter 240
Chapter 240
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 240
Chapter Title: Side Story 2: Aram and Horyeong
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Still in the last week of February, when winds carrying a chill blew one day.
"Graduation's finally here."
An Horyeong's words were met with a response from Aram Go.
"Yeah. I never thought the day we graduate would come. Time really flew by in the blink of an eye."
Perhaps she had grown more thoughtful.
It was a graduation that everyone experiences upon finishing school.
But for some, it was set to be a ceremony filled with very special emotions.
"You're going straight into preparing your solo exhibition after graduation, right?"
"Yeah, I think I'll rent a small studio and get right to work."
"......"
"......"
A brief silence followed those words.
In its place, only the quiet wind blowing from afar passed between them.
They stared blankly into the empty air for a long while like that.
Then Horyeong asked.
"What about you, then? What are you going to do?"
"Me..."
Aram couldn't finish her sentence.
She had decided long ago to go study abroad after graduation.
"As planned, I think I'll head to the US in a month or two."
"So you've made up your mind after all."
"Yeah. I've just grown to want to study more."
Horyeong knew all too well.
Once Aram Go made a decision, she was not the type to go back on it.
But he didn't want to let her go like this.
His heart, calmer than any lake, was already rippling fiercely.
"What if... I mean, what if I..."
"I'd rather you didn't say it."
"Okay."
"You're not about to tell me not to go, are you?"
"......"
Horyeong shut his mouth.
Because Aram had pinpointed exactly what he was about to say.
"It's not like I'm leaving forever. Two years at most. I'm going to study, to chase my dream. So I want you to cheer me on, Horyeong."
She had chosen to study abroad for her own dream.
The words "don't go" rose to the tip of Horyeong's tongue, but in the end, he couldn't let them out.
Instead, he cheered her on.
"Come back having done great. If it's you, Aram, you'll achieve your dream in the end."
"Yeah. Thanks."
With those words, their conversation ended.
Any more talk, and it felt like it might shake the resolve she had forced herself to hold.
Rustle.
"Well, I'll head out first."
"I-I'll call you."
"Yeah. Let's meet again when there's a chance."
And that was it.
Their memories would slumber in each other's minds as beautiful recollections.
They both knew she shouldn't be sent off like this, that she shouldn't leave like this.
But neither held onto the other.
For their dreams.
To achieve the goals each had set.
They decided to part, if only for a little while.
Step.
Aram trudged toward the practice studio.
The graduation exhibition was over, and there was no more need to paint here.
Rustle.
Still, she picked up her brush.
She wanted to finish a painting before leaving Korea for the last time.
"My final painting."
On the blank canvas, she would normally sketch freely.
But not this time.
She couldn't paint anything.
What to paint.
What should she paint.
As if someone had reset her mind, nothing came to her.
The only thing that surfaced was the farewell with Horyeong, where she had turned away without regret.
Drip.
Tears fell.
She knew exactly why.
But she couldn't run to him.
How could she turn back after deciding to chase her dream?
If she went back now, if she faced Horyeong again.
Her resolve would crumble.
So all she could do in the end.
Was cry.
"Hic!"
She sobbed bitterly.
At the thought of leaving the one she loved behind to chase her dream.
Her chest tore apart, and the tears wouldn't stop.
She cried.
Surely it would get better if she cried it out.
But no matter how much she cried, it only made her miss him more.
Then.
Rustle.
Someone stroked her back.
"It must be really tough."
Startled, she turned to see Hyorin standing there.
"Uh, hic! Wh-when did you... here... sniff."
"Why I'm here? Wipe your tears first."
With that, she pulled out a few tissues and handed them to Aram.
Aram took them and hurriedly wiped her tears, then asked again.
"Wh-when did you get here?"
"Hmm, a little while ago. I'm going to start teaching at the school next year."
"T-Teaching?"
"Yeah. So I met with Minji to go over things and was heading out when I spotted the practice studio full of memories. I popped in for a bit..."
"Oh, sorry. Because of me..."
Hyorin shook her head with a smile at Aram's apology.
"No, it's not like that. No need to apologize. If anyone's sorry, it should be me."
"N-No. Why would you, senpai..."
As they talked, her tears naturally stopped.
Having barely calmed down, Aram turned her head, embarrassed by her messy state.
Then Hyorin asked.
"I heard from Minji, by the way. You're going abroad?"
"Ah, yeah. That's right. I still feel like I need more learning to achieve my dream."
"Learning..."
Aram had heard from Kanghyeok Lee before.
That the Hyorin sitting before her had also gone abroad to pursue her own dream.
"Going abroad does teach you a lot, for sure. I only realized how much of a frog in a well I was after I went."
It was a bit of comfort and solace.
Proof from Hyorin that Aram's choice wasn't wrong.
But then Hyorin spoke as if she regretted her own decision.
"But there was something I couldn't learn even abroad."
"Even abroad?"
"Yeah. No matter how hard I tried, there was one thing I could never master. I even regretted it deeply for a time because of that."
"May I ask what it was?"
To her question, Hyorin replied with a smile still on her lips.
"Forgetting the person you love."
"Huh?"
"You like Horyeong, don't you?"
Whoosh!
Her face flushed red in an instant.
"Th-that's..."
"No need to be embarrassed. Liking someone is never something to be ashamed of."
With that, Hyorin gazed at the blank canvas.
"But even I, saying this now, couldn't express my feelings for Kanghyeok at first. I was shy, and I didn't want him to find out."
Rustle.
Aram empathized with Hyorin's words.
Probably because it overlapped with her current situation.
"There was a moment when that feeling I tried so hard to hide next to him changed. When I could never approach him again. Even when I wanted to be close, to be together, but it required going halfway around the world. That's when the regrets hit."
"Regrets?"
"Yeah. Regrets that I should have expressed my feelings more. Why did I hide them so stubbornly?"
Rustle.
Hyorin ran her hand over the blank canvas and said.
"Then, the painting came. I told him to paint with his heart, but I hadn't painted with my own heart all this time. There are no perfect paintings in this world, but at least, shouldn't a good painting come from an artist being honest with their emotions?"
Aram looked at Hyorin.
Hyorin looked at Aram.
As they gazed at each other.
Hyorin smiled and said.
"How about being a little more honest with your feelings?"
In that moment, Aram stared at her blankly for a bit.
Then, little by little.
Very little by little, she felt her heart beating.
Thump, thump.
The heart that had been beating softly.
The moment she heard the words to be honest with her feelings.
Thump! Thump!
It began to pound wildly.
I want to tell him.
I want to convey my feelings.
The thought that if not now, she might never get the chance.
She sprang up!
"I-I'm just stepping out for a bit! I'll be right back!"
At Aram's words, Hyorin smiled and said.
"Run. Before it's too late."
Dash!
Aram bolted from her spot.
To convey her feelings.
'Where the heck is he!'
Aram searched the school high and low.
She wanted to find Horyeong somehow to confess her heart.
But he was nowhere to be seen.
Of course, she tried calling.
He didn't pick up.
Her stomach burned.
Had he cut off contact completely since she was going abroad?
All sorts of thoughts flooded her, but she couldn't stop.
If she gave up now, it felt like she'd never see Horyeong again.
She checked the auditorium where the ceremony had been, the classrooms, even the student cafeteria in case he went for food.
'He's not here...'
Nowhere.
As if he had vanished like a mirage, she couldn't find Horyeong anywhere.
Thud.
The cafeteria was quiet on graduation day.
Aram plopped down there, wondering where on earth Horyeong had gone.
She sat dazed, lost in thought, when Minji approached.
"Hey, Aram, what are you doing here?"
"Ah! T-Teaching assistant!"
"The ceremony ended ages ago. Why are you still hanging around?"
"Uh, w-well..."
Having vowed to be honest with her heart, but seeing herself hesitating again, Aram said.
"I'm looking for Horyeong."
"Horyeong? Why?"
"To tell him I like him."
"Oh my!"
Minji jumped at the sudden declaration, but her expression changed upon seeing Aram's face.
"So you've finally decided to be honest."
"Yes."
"About liking Horyeong."
"Ah, you knew?"
"How could I not, when you show it so obviously?"
Everyone knew.
No, only she and Horyeong hadn't.
Realizing it late, she felt a twinge of embarrassment.
But now was no time for that.
"Do you happen to know where Horyeong is?"
"Hmm, not exactly where, but I have a good idea."
"Where?"
"The gazebo behind the school. He always stops by there when leaving campus."
"Th-the gazebo?"
"Yeah. You'll probably find him there."
At those words, Aram jumped up and bowed in thanks.
"Thank you! I-I'm in a hurry, so I'll go right now."
As she rushed to leave for Horyeong.
Minji called out.
"Aram!"
"Yes!"
"You're lucky! You didn't wait as long as I did."
Aram didn't understand Minji's words.
She didn't know her circumstances.
But she knew what Minji meant.
"So run! Don't let him get away!"
At Minji's shout, Aram nodded vigorously.
"Yes!"
Leaving the cafeteria behind, Aram dashed straight to the gazebo.
And there was Horyeong, whom she had searched everywhere for, staring blankly up at the sky.
The moment she spotted him, Aram yelled.
"An Horyeong!"
"Yeah? Oh, Aram."
Her breath catching in her throat.
The instant she reached the gazebo, Aram panted heavily.
"Wh-what? Is, is something wrong?"
"Something's wrong! Huff! Why are you here of all places!"
"Well, that's..."
"No! That's not the point."
With that, Aram took a deep breath and straightened up.
"I have something I want to tell you."
"To me?"
"Yeah. If I don't say it, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."
"To me, huh."
"You too?"
At her question, Horyeong grinned widely and said to Aram.
"Honestly, I agonized over whether to say it, but I think I'll regret it forever if I don't."
"Wh-what is it?"
She grew a little anxious about what he might say.
But Aram recalled her earlier resolve.
The resolve not to have regrets.
"I thought about it a ton and decided. I'm going abroad too."
"...What? Why? You have to prepare your solo exhibition here."
The sudden decision to study abroad.
"The solo exhibition isn't that important. It was my dream, sure. But I realized there's something more important than that."
"More important than a solo exhibition?"
At her words, Horyeong beamed and told her.
"Love."
"What?"
And Horyeong confessed his heart.
"I don't think I can live without you."
At Horyeong's confession, Aram threw her arms around him and said.
"Me too. I love you too."
-End of Aram and Horyeong Side-