Impossible Romance - Chapter 42

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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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42.

I absolutely despised wallowing in self-pity and melancholy. I’d woken with swollen eyes from crying all night, yet the world remained unchanged—cold and merciless as ever.
Moving my body was the wiser choice. At least then I could change one thing. Even in this indifferent world that refused to budge, I could shift a single stone.
Doing laundry seemed like the right move.
I gathered the clothes from the laundry basket and loaded them into the washing machine. Ever since that mishap, I’d been meticulously separating my laundry from Kwon Seok-ha’s.
I jabbed at the buttons carelessly, pressed start, and stepped back to watch the machine hum to life. If I left now, I’d end up lingering in the living room waiting for Kwon Seok-ha, who wouldn’t even be home. This was why habits were so terrifying.
Living together day after day, I’d somehow developed feelings akin to family affection. Yet we weren’t officially dating—I was simply collateral, crashing here out of necessity.
‘Maybe that’s for the best.’
Each time tears threatened to spill, I convinced myself this was right and nodded firmly. Still, my nose tingled.
What should I do about the Company? Before that, I’d need to move out of this place. If I left the Company, could I find part-time work?
Amid the swirling thoughts, the laundry room felt unexpectedly cozy. Under the warm yellow lighting, my heart grew calm.
I slid down and planted myself on the floor, my back against the wall, staring blankly ahead.
I finally understood why people stared into fires. Watching the washing machine spin with its rhythmic hum, I felt a strange peace settle over me.
“What are you doing here?”
Yet naturally, thoughts of Kwon Seok-ha tumbled from my lips.
“What do you mean? I’m right here.”
“Oh my!”
I startled and turned to find Kwon Seok-ha sitting beside me. He held out a large container of ice cream.
“Eat.”
“When did you get here?”
I accepted the container filled with vanilla, chocolate, and various other flavors, asking absently.
“I don’t know. About thirty minutes ago?”
“No way.”
I shook my head in disbelief.
“Have you been deceived your whole life?”
Kwon Seok-ha dug a spoon into the container and scooped out a generous portion of ice cream.
I watched him and pulled the spoon from the ice cream, taking a bite. As I chewed, the sweetness spread across my tongue—a stark contrast to the bitterness that had filled my mouth moments before. Somehow, it felt revitalizing.
“You said you’d be late today. Why did you come back so early?”
Once I’d regained my composure, curiosity stirred.
“Were you worried I’d sleep at the Hotel?”
Kwon Seok-ha’s lips curved upward smoothly. He looked pleased.
“No. Since we live in the same place, I was just concerned about locking up. I was actually thrilled you weren’t coming home.”
I answered brightly, turning my head away in case my tear-stained eyes gave me away.
“I rushed back because I was afraid you’d mix my clothes with yours again like last time. Is this strawberry?”
Kwon Seok-ha scooped up a pink-colored ice cream and waved it teasingly in front of my face before eating it.
At the mention of strawberry, my face flushed hotly. It hadn’t been long since I’d accidentally washed his shirt together with my strawberry-patterned underwear.
This was precisely why living together was problematic. My careless mistakes were constantly exposed in this house.
“That’s really childish, you know?”
I shot him a glare before turning my attention back to the washing machine. At least my anger had swept away the melancholy I’d been feeling.
“I’m childish, I know. That’s why I like that you’re staying up waiting for me. It makes me feel proud.”
“I wasn’t waiting for you. I just had a lot to do today.”
I whipped my head around to look up at him, only to meet Seok-ha’s gaze—those eyes that had been fixed on me this whole time. His stare was so intense that I was about to turn away slowly when—
Seok-ha’s large hand gently cupped my cheek.
“Want to taste strawberry ice cream?”
Before I could answer, he tilted his head toward my lips. The sweet strawberry ice cream flavor traveled from his lips to mine.
Without thinking, I closed my eyes, but then I pulled my head back. I’d almost gotten swept away by the moment.
“You shouldn’t do this with someone you’re going to marry.”
“Marry? Oh, right—the blind date?”
Seok-ha feigned innocence as if he’d completely forgotten about it.
“Yes. Lee Ha-eun, the Director of SEC. When I saw her today, she’s not just capable—she’s beautiful.”
“What does beauty matter? She doesn’t have the fun of teasing you like I do.”
“If you know that, then stop teasing me now.”
“I don’t want to.”
Seok-ha brazenly leaned his face closer to mine.
“Stop it anyway. I don’t like talking this way with someone who has a fiancée.”
I was about to get up when—
“I turned her down.”
Seok-ha held my hand and met my eyes.
“Should I praise you for that?”
I glared at him. My eyes glistened with moisture, trembling on the edge of tears.
“Can’t you praise me?”
Seok-ha spoke like a child, his own eyes dark and heavy.
“The Director sent me a list of blind date candidates by email. You know the Executive Director hates being bothered. If you don’t want to go on blind dates every week, it’d be better to just decide on someone right away.”
I spoke coldly, gritting my teeth.
“I’m going to turn down all of them.”
“…If it’s because you slept with me, that’s fine. I chose to do it, so you don’t need to take responsibility.”
My neck flushed crimson as I spoke, trying to hide my shame.
“What are you talking about? You agreed to take responsibility.”
Seok-ha sat down right beside me.
….
I opened my mouth slightly, unsure of what to say. It was infuriating.
“Are you trying to eat and run?”
“Eat and run? The person who decided to get married and went on a blind date is the Executive Director.”
“And the person who showed up at that blind date to check out the candidate is Ahn Joon-hee.”
“The Director told me to go. His intention was obvious. Because you’re someone I can’t reach….”
Suddenly, emotion surged up, and I couldn’t finish my sentence.
“Do you keep trying to make me out to be a mama’s boy? That’s what my mother thinks. Have you ever seen me listen to her?”
….
“You’re a woman I can’t afford to lose. Even if you think I’m lacking and pathetic, just give me one chance. Close your eyes and give me just one.”
“Don’t say such ridiculous things.”
I rose from my seat. No matter how I thought about it, Kwon Seok-ha was toying with me. How could the heir to one of South Korea’s most prominent Chaebol Groups claim to be lacking or pathetic?
Following my lead, Kwon Seok-ha also stood up.
Before me, he seemed like an enormous pillar rising up.
“That it’s ridiculous is just your opinion. You should at least give me a chance, shouldn’t you?”
Was it my imagination that his voice sounded desperate?
I, who had been about to push Kwon Seok-ha away, stopped in my tracks.
The word ‘chance’ suddenly pierced my heart. The day I cried as a child, denied even the opportunity to confess, felt like it was happening yesterday.
Could this man truly feel the same way?
Would his heart ache if I denied him even the chance to confess?
Even though he lived at the end of the sky while I lived beneath the earth.
“Executive Director, why are you like this? You know I’m lacking. I have no money, I have a family to care for, and also…,”
“I don’t know.”
“How can you say you don’t know?”
He had known me for well over ten years.
“There’s one thing I do know. What you’re lacking is me.”
“What?”
“So take me. What you’re lacking is just me. Take me when I’m offered.”
Kwon Seok-ha lifted one corner of his mouth. Even as he confessed, he maintained his characteristic arrogance and composure.
But his eyes alone seemed strangely anxious, as if he feared I would reject him.
“You expect me to believe that lie?”
Tears welled up in my eyes before I knew it.
“Have I ever lied to you?”
“…No. I know you haven’t. But….”
Sobs caught in my throat, and I couldn’t continue. Could love alone carry us forward?
“Jun-hee, look at me.”
Kwon Seok-ha drew closer, gently touching my cheek and tilting my chin up.
“I, I don’t….”
I was transported back to my childhood, to when I clung to him.
“Your older brother will take care of everything. Don’t worry about anything.”
He consumed my lips in a single breath.
Just then, a melody chimed from the washing machine, which had finished its cycle.

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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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