Illusion Blind Date - Chapter 57

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Episode 57

—Why aren’t you answering? Don’t you want to?
“Oh, no. ……I was just thinking, should we head up to Seoul now?”
She knew it made no sense, but that was how Bom conveyed what her heart was telling her.
Tae Moon laughed softly.
—You have to mean that.
They’d always stopped at kissing before, but she wanted to touch him more, wanted something more than this.
And she knew how much he was holding back.
Why should either of them have to keep restraining themselves?
Imagining being in bed with Tae Moon, Bom found herself suddenly thinking of a 500ml Water Bottle.
God, I don’t think I could handle that…….
“Well, let me think about it for a moment.”
As Bom hastily corrected herself, her voice trembling with anxiety, Tae Moon burst out laughing again.
He seemed unusually affected today.
—I’m going crazy missing you.
“I miss you too.”
—I’ll try to wait. Though I’m not sure I can.
“Then I’ll cancel going up to Seoul today.”
A faint whooshing laugh came through—the sound of deflating air. She could picture his expression perfectly.
—Yeah, cancel it and get some sleep. You’ve got work tomorrow too.
There was a hint of laughter in his tone.
She liked the way he took her teasing in stride. She wanted to keep talking, but it was time for both of them to sleep.
They both had work in the morning.
“Yes, I’ll hang up now. Stop exercising and go get some rest.”
—Okay. Sleep well.
Bom pressed the end call button. Then she stole a glance at her reflection in the mirror across from her.
Have I put on weight lately?
Being called out to different places every evening and eating good food all the time, her face seemed to have filled out, and she’d definitely gained some weight.
Maybe I should start a diet from now on?
Bom rubbed her still-flat belly and felt her face flush.
Should I do some calisthenics before bed?
In the Dormitory, where soft light filtered through the window, Bom began what could only be called moonlit calisthenics.
One-two, one-two.
Only the sound of Bom’s counting echoes filled the quiet Dormitory.

Meanwhile, Tae Moon sat on the bench, sweat dripping down his face, and rose from his seat as he swallowed the bitter disappointment.
Just from the phone call, he was already stirred below.
His bronze skin, glistening with sweat, was rigid as if deeply aggravated, looking ready to burst at any moment.
It was the result of pushing his body to extremes.
He’d exercised to calm the fierce heat churning inside him, but it had been for nothing.
In the end, he couldn’t hold back and let what was inside him spill out.
She must have been surprised.
Fortunately, Bom had the wit to deflect it with a joke, but whether she saw his true nature now was still uncertain.
Rough, ragged breaths still tore from his chest.
Less than three weeks remained.
The fact that he couldn’t see soft, lovable Bom in person with his own eyes was driving him mad.
Tae Moon, who hadn’t realized his patience could run this thin, rubbed the back of his stiff neck and left the Training Room.
“Oh, jeez!”
Yoon Geon, coming down the stairs half-asleep, let out a cry when he spotted Tae Moon.
Tae Moon simply passed by Yoon Geon, who pressed himself flat against the wall, his hand over his chest.
What bothered him was simply that Bom had been the first to leave on Dispatch.
Time moved painfully slowly.

***

On a rare day off that weekend, Ji Moon crouched in the Garden with Bang Su Ho, spade and sickle in hand, pulling weeds.
It was Bom’s orders, delivered before she left for Busan.
The daytime heat was so intense it felt like midsummer, and sweat dripped steadily down the back of his neck.
Bang Su Ho, wearing a Hat with a Towel wrapped around it—the kind his grandmother wore to the fields—kept finding excuses while watching the house owner’s expression.
“By the way, did you do all the Pruning on those trees?”
Bang Su Ho pointed at the neatly trimmed trees while holding a small shovel.
An electric saw had been shrieking since dawn, and when he went out to check, this is what he found.
Cha Tae Moon had done it all by himself.
Strong, too.
Ji Moon, seated on a Rattan Chair, watched Tae Moon leisurely sipping Iced Tea.
“You’re not just skilled at Surgery—you have talents in all sorts of things.”
“Talent or no talent, I’m never living in a house with a Garden again.”
“That’s why our place is an apartment.”
Bang Su Ho laughed, plucked a weed, and straightened up to survey the Garden.
Look all you want. The weeds aren’t going anywhere.
When an extra pair of hands was desperately needed, Yoon Geon was on On-call Duty.
“We just pulled weeds recently, but look how much grew back. They’ve got real determination. Stamina and tenacity both—balanced just like me.”
At Bang Su Ho’s words, Ji Moon snorted.
“Let’s speak honestly. Of all of us, Yoon Geon has the best stamina.”
“You still don’t know my true worth. Do you know how much my stamina has improved lately? You’d be shocked if you heard.”
“What stamina?”
“When we talk about men, we talk about stamina, don’t we? You think I’m still an amateur?”
“Cut the crap. Remember when your ex dumped you?”
Ji Moon reminded Bang Su Ho of his painful past, watching him boast.
“You’re still hung up on that? I’m not the old Bang Su Ho anymore!”
“No matter what you say, three seconds is three seconds.”
“What the hell? I’m telling you I can go thirty minutes easy now! Actually, thirty minutes is nothing—I can go an hour!”
“Even lies need to be believable.”
“I’m not lying! Back then I was just too excited, but now it’s different!”
Bang Su Ho bounced to his feet. A guy with no girlfriend talking about thirty minutes or an hour—what was the point?
“You want me to bash your head in with the shovel?”
Just then, Tae Moon rose from his seat and approached them.
A shadow fell across their heads, and Tae Moon’s cool gaze bore down.
“Well, I was just disciplining this one a bit since he was still bragging about still being a virgin. My apologies.”
“What are you talking about! I’m not a virgin!”
Ji Moon roared out.
“Have you all lost your minds? Stop spouting nonsense and pull the weeds like you’re supposed to. I’m already stressed enough as it is.”
He looked ready to kill.
No one could say why he was stressed, but it seemed wise to keep their mouths shut for now.
Ji Moon and Bang Su Ho exchanged glances and gripped their shovels and sickles again.
Thack, thack!
Deep and hard.
They were taking out their anger on the innocent weeds when suddenly Bang Su Ho yelped and fell on his backside.
“Ow! Cramp! Leg cramp! Rub it, rub it quick!”
“You said you had good stamina. How out of shape are you if your leg cramps from pulling a few weeds?”
Ji Moon had no choice but to grab Bang Su Ho’s leg as he rolled around on the grass and bend his toes back.
Even as Bang Su Ho screamed that he was dying, Tae Moon didn’t budge.
“S-stop! It’s gone, it’s gone!”
Back in the shade, sipping cool Iced Tea, Tae Moon ignored the ones sprawling on the grass.
Tsk, such dramatics.
Tae Moon turned his gaze away from them and looked at the trees he’d pruned with a satisfied expression.
He’d learned it by watching his maternal grandfather do it when he was young, and it had turned out quite well.
“Hey, we can take a short break, right? Bang Su Ho’s leg is cramping and all….”
Ji Moon dragged Bang Su Ho to the table where Tae Moon sat.
“A few weeds.”
“Sir, that’s too much. Even though my leg is cramping, you’re cold and cruel.”
“So you want to finish by sunset?”
He wondered why they’d started pulling weeds, only to learn it was Spring’s idea.
And yet they were making such a fuss after doing so little.
He hadn’t expected much from them anyway, but he did enjoy teasing them.
Since they were Spring’s friends, the fun of mocking them was surprisingly satisfying.
“W-well then, we’ll just rest for ten minutes.”
Bang Su Ho gently removed the Towel and Hat from his head and reached toward the Iced Tea that Cha Tae Moon had prepared.
“Don’t be shy. Drink up.”
Cha Tae Moon pushed the container of Iced Tea toward Ji Moon and Bang Su Ho so they could help themselves.
Ji Moon, crunching ice between his teeth, wiped the sweat from his brow and glanced sidelong at Cha Tae Moon.
“Ji Moon. Is something wrong? Why do you keep giving me that look?”
“Oh, no.”
After sitting in the blazing sun for a while pulling weeds, Ji Moon’s pale face had turned a ruddy red.
Bang Su Ho, who had sensibly shielded his face with the Hat and Towel, looked perfectly fine.
“Actually, I should’ve mentioned this earlier, but Bom is the real expert at pulling weeds.”
At Bang Su Ho’s words, Cha Tae Moon’s eyes narrowed.
“Is that so?”
“Bom pulled up all the weeds.”
“Why are you two standing around while Bom does the work?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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