CH 74.2

She could feel the heat when Woo-hyun’s hand touched the back of her hand. Woo-hyun slowly caressed Yoo-hwa’s finger with his thumb. He did that for a moment as if to reassure her, and then opened his mouth.

“There’s no need to go back anymore.”

The voice she heard was definitely pitchless, but it was also desperate.

“Give me a moment to think about it. It’s something I’m hearing suddenly.”

It was true that she was moved by Woo-hyun’s suggestion, but she kept her mouth shut because she thought it wasn’t something to be answered impulsively.

“… Alright.”

Woo-hyun, who assumed to some extent that she would say that because of her personality, replied with a gentle smile, but he couldn’t hide his bitter gaze.

A sparse conversation ensued, and 30 minutes later, Woo-hyun got up. It was precisely when Yoo-hwa yawned and wiped away the tears from her eyes. Woo-hyun noticed she was tired and stood up.

“I’ll stop by before I go to work tomorrow. Around 9 in the morning.”

Woo-hyun said while putting on his shoes.

“You said you were working at home. Do you have a time to go to work?”

“It’s convenient to set a time and work. That way I can also come again around evening.”

“You’ll come again?”

At Yoo-hwa’s question, Woo-hyun straightened his waist and stared at her with a look on his face that asked what she was talking about.

“We should have dinner together.”

“…”

“That way, both you and I will eat properly.”

“Then come only for dinner. It’s a long way. You don’t have to come here twice a day.”

Their houses weren’t close. Even in the morning, all he did was look at her for around 30 minutes. He wasted too much time on the road just for that. She knew that Woo-hyun was busy, and his face, which had become greatly emaciated lately, worried her.

An expressionless Woo-hyun looked alternately between Yoo-hwa’s two eyes without saying anything. Then, with a low sigh, he swept his face.

“I’ll be disappointed if you meant what you said right now.”

“…”

“If you tell me to…”

“…”

“Yeah. I’d rather if you told me to.”

“…”

“I can come three, even four times. If you tell me to come.”

Hearing that, Yoo-hwa thought she had made a mistake and hurriedly opened her mouth.

“I didn’t mean to disappoint you. I know you’re busy, so I was worried.”

“I know. I’m sure you are. But…”

… sometimes I wish you would hold on to me.

Sighing again, Woo-hyun reached out and pulled Yoo-hwa into a hug. Even though the place where he was putting on his shoes and the living room had quite a different height, Yoo-hwa’s chin barely reached Woo-hyun’s shoulders.

As he held her shoulders, Woo-hyun’s hands were full of strength. Embracing her so tightly that it hurt, Woo-hyun then released his arms with a regretful expression.

“See you tomorrow. Don’t come out.”

With a goodbye that had now become their daily routine, Woo-hyun turned around.

“Yeah. Have a safe trip.”

Yoo-hwa smiled lightly and waved, and Woo-hyun followed her. After the door closed, Yoo-hwa’s hand fell. Yoo-hwa stood at the entrance for a moment and then looked around the house.

Again. The feeling that everything was sucked out, like a low tide.

She always felt this emptiness whenever Woo-hyun left, and each time she wandered around the house like a broken machine for a while. She swept and cleaned her already clean house and organized her thoughts. She washed the glasses of juice she had forgotten about for a while and even cleaned the sink.

“Let’s live together.”

No matter what she did, those words lingered around her ears. To shake them off, Yoo-hwa found herself touching this and that for no reason and even emptying the living room trash can. After filling and tying up a trash bag, she thought about throwing it away.

She also thought about stopping by a convenience store nearby and buying a can of beer.

If she didn’t drink today, she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep easily.

She put on her sneakers, grabbed the trash bag and her wallet, and even checked if she had two wet wipes to clean her hands after throwing out the trash. As she opened the door and came out, a warm breeze blew. Yoo-hwa took a deep breath.

Spring had quickly softened the world. The previously dry branches were covered in leaves, the wind was warm, and the sky was blue. The scenery with the cherry blossoms blooming and the leaves fluttering even after dark was no exception.

She stood in the hallway for a moment, looking at the world dyed by the sparsely lit streetlight. Her gaze unintentionally touched one place. And then, she saw it.

Someone was leaning against the hood of a car, arms folded.

She was so surprised, she couldn’t do anything. When the sense of surprise disappeared, a question escalated.

He said he was leaving, so why was he still there?

Yoo-hwa put the trash bag down on the floor, then went down to the first floor. She was suspicious whether she had seen it wrong as she went down. The suspicion disappeared upon reaching the first floor.

Woo-hyun, who had been leaning against the hood of the car, stood tall in front of the front door of the building, having walked there at some point.

“I didn’t know I would be caught. I thought you were going to sleep as usual.”

Woo-hyun looked embarrassed.

“As usual? You… You’ve been staying here like this?”

Yoo-hwa asked with a frustrated expression, looking at Woo-hyun’s face. Woo-hyun frowned as if he had made a slip of the tongue.