Unrequited Love Obsession Diary - Chapter 64

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 64

Yeon-jae only blinked her eyes.

Only when the prolonged silence became concerning did she cautiously open her mouth again.

“Ah. I like you too, senior. That’s why I said that in my message… I like you, senior, so I wanted things to work out well between us…”

“No. Not like that.”

Yeon-jae’s mouth closed again. Hyeonoh mindlessly stirred the straw in his cup in circles.

He seemed to be choosing his words.

If not that, there was no other emotion to be read.

At a glance, he even looked angry.

After a long silence, Hyeonoh opened his mouth again.

“Shin Yeon-jae.”

It was a quiet voice.

“Now I’m jealous.”

It was the sudden appearance of a name.

“Of Lee Do-han.”

With that voice, Hyeonoh revealed a secret that Yeon-jae couldn’t possibly understand all at once.

“What?”

So Yeon-jae asked back with a foolish expression.

And rambled on in addition.

“Anyone would be jealous of Dohan senior. Anyone would feel that way… Oh. I read this in a book long ago. The basic emotion underlying friendship is love-hate. You love and hate and feel jealous, but still staying by each other’s side is true friendship…”

Hyeonoh chuckled softly. As if he had expected this.

Yeon-jae closed her mouth.

“You still don’t understand what I’m saying?”

And Hyeonoh spoke very clearly, with distinct pronunciation.

“I like you.”

“…”

“Without me knowing, at some point it became like that. When I came to my senses, I was already liking you.”

“…”

“I like you, Shin Yeon-jae.”

“Senior…”

“…”

Yeon-jae’s mouth, which had been trying to say something, finally closed.

Even so, Yeon-jae still found it difficult to understand what Hyeonoh was saying.

For a moment, she felt like she had become very stupid.

Unless she had become extraordinarily stupid, there was no way she couldn’t understand the meaning of his words like this.

“I like you enough to be jealous of Lee Do-han.”

Ah. But this is clearly…

This doesn’t make sense.

Yeon-jae could no longer pretend not to know or deny it. Hyeonoh was saying exactly what it sounded like.

It meant he was looking at her the same way she had been looking at Dohan for a long time.

Silence enveloped the two of them.

“I wish I could be your date partner instead of Lee Do-han.”

“…”

“It’s hard watching your expression change every moment because of Lee Do-han. I keep thinking that if it were me, I wouldn’t have confused you like that. When I see you struggling because of him, I get angry. When the three of us are together and then you two disappear alone, I just…”

Hyeonoh, having said that much, roughly ran his hands through his hair and averted his gaze.

His next words flowed out like the most intimate confession.

“…I feel like I’m going crazy.”

Hyeonoh said while pressing his forehead with his hand.

“…This is too sudden.”

“I only realized it a few days ago. When Lee Do-han got up from his seat first to take care of you when you were drunk, I thought I was going crazy. That’s when I knew. I was so fucking dense that I only realized it then.”

“…”

“I’m not asking you to like me back with the same feelings. I know very well that there’s no place for me. Except for you, Shin Yeon-jae, I probably know better than even Lee Do-han how much you like him.”

“…”

“So I have absolutely no intention of burdening you by bringing up my feelings for no reason. But my feelings are mine. So I’ll sort them out myself.”

What on earth.

What does all this mean?

Yeon-jae froze completely. Even moving her lips was difficult.

Hyeonoh removed the hand that was pressing his forehead and looked directly at Yeon-jae.

But when Hyeonoh actually looked at her without avoiding her gaze, now it was Yeon-jae who found it hard to face him.

A face that felt flushed. An expression that looked anguished. The sincerity hidden within it.

Yeon-jae knew all too well what kind of feelings such a face stemmed from.

She too often felt that way when thinking of Dohan.

“But I also need some time right now. No matter how much I might seem like someone who lives without a care, I can’t calmly sort out my feelings while looking at the face of someone I like from so close. Actually, even sitting face to face like this is a bit hard. That’s probably why you felt like I was avoiding you.”

“…”

“So I’m sorry, but let’s not see each other for a while.”

The moment she heard those words, Yeon-jae’s heart sank heavily.

“Wait a minute. Senior.”

“Yeah. Tell me.”

She had been holding back, but finally a tearful voice came out.

“Then do we have to… grow apart now?”

In terms of closeness this semester, Hyeonoh had been closer than even Si-eun, let alone Dohan.

Even Yeon-jae, who was completely ignorant about romantic relationships, knew that when one person in a friendship starts liking the other, that relationship comes to an end.

Hyeonoh said nothing. Yeon-jae asked again in a trembling voice.

“…Senior, do we really, really have to grow apart?”

“…”

“…You mean we can’t even remain as friends anymore.”

This time too, Hyeonoh remained silent. In situations like this, silence usually meant yes.

Finally, tears rolled down Yeon-jae’s cheeks and fell onto the back of her hand.

Seeing this, Hyeonoh let out a low sigh. And then he stood up from his seat.

Hyeonoh, who had turned his back as if he would storm out and leave immediately, looked at Yeon-jae again before long.

And he pushed a few tissues he had brought when getting drinks toward Yeon-jae.

“…I’m telling you this in case you get anxious, but I’m just going to smoke one cigarette and come back. I’m not leaving for good, so don’t misunderstand. I’ll finish our conversation before I go…”

“…”

“Don’t cry.”

Hyeonoh reappeared after quite some time had passed.

The moment Hyeonoh sat down, a cigarette smell stronger than usual wafted over.

Suddenly, Yeon-jae remembered Hyeonoh suppressing his urge to smoke when he was with her.

The scenes where he would habitually put a cigarette in his mouth, then realize and put it back in the pack.

The moment when she had assumed he was a more considerate person than she thought.

Ah… it was all because of that…

A belated realization flashed through her mind.

Even without Hyeonoh knowing, there had already been several signs.

“Are you feeling better?”

Hyeonoh handed Yeon-jae water, having brought it from somewhere. Yeon-jae nodded slightly.

“I was also late because I was sorting out my thoughts alone. Going back to what we were talking about earlier… Shin Yeon-jae.”

“…Yes.”

“When you’re with Lee Do-han, let’s act like we normally do. I’ll sort out my feelings myself. I’ll let you know when they’re sorted out, so once everything is settled, then we can…”

Hyeonoh paused for a moment and swallowed.

“Let’s go back to how we used to be. Sometimes eating together as friends, just the two of us, and seeing each other often on weekends. That kind of relationship.”

“….”

“So right now….”

For a moment, a hint of uncertainty crossed Hyeonoh’s face.

An uncertain Kang Hyeon-o.

It was such an incongruous combination of words. If someone had told yesterday’s Yeon-jae this, she would have laughed it off as absurd.

Yet Hyeonoh looked quite uncertain right now.

Moreover, the person who had made him this uncertain was none other than herself.

It was an unbelievable fact, but judging from what Hyeonoh had said so far, it was clearly true.

“You help me out too.”

After a long silence, Hyeonoh spoke. Yeon-jae’s fingertips trembled.

The drinks sitting before them had their ice almost completely melted, with neither Yeon-jae nor Hyeonoh having taken a sip.

“When you act like this, it’s hard for me to give up.”

“….”

“I want to hold you. I want to comfort you, spend time together, and play silly childish pranks.”

“….”

“I wasn’t even planning to say any of this originally. I was going to sort out my feelings on my own and reappear as if nothing had happened. But when you act like this… it’s really difficult for me too, Yeon-jae.”

While Hyeonoh had called Yeon-jae by various names with different titles as he pleased, this was the first time he had called her ‘Yeon-jae.’

Yeon-jae instinctively sensed it.

Even if Hyeonoh completely gave up and came back, the two of them could never return to being the laughing, chattering friends they used to be.

Hyeonoh tilted his head and did some light stretching, then gestured toward Yeon-jae, who was still sitting there with a dazed expression.

“…So shall we get up now? Model student Shin Yeon-jae. You need to go study.”

Hyeonoh’s tone was mimicking his usual joking manner.

But neither of them was laughing.

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