Unrequited Love Obsession Diary - Chapter 70

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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 70

Having hastily downed two shots of soju in one go, heat spread throughout her entire body.

It was when Yeon-jae reached for the water pitcher to drink a glass of water.

“…Why are you shaking like that?”

Hyeonoh took the pitcher and poured water into Yeon-jae’s cup.

Then, after staring intently at Yeon-jae’s trembling hands, he finally spoke up.

“How are you going to live being so careless?”

“…You still haven’t given me an answer.”

“Do you really not know the answer to that?”

“I don’t know… I’m really stupid about these things.”

“Who says that?”

“It’s metacognition.”

“If you say things like that about the girl I like, it makes me feel really bad too. Especially when it’s the girl herself saying it.”

“…”

“It means it’s valid.”

At that moment, whether it was from the alcohol she’d just gulped down or from what Hyeonoh had just said, her cheeks became so hot she couldn’t tell the difference.

“Things didn’t work out with Dohan.”

Yeon-jae hastily opened her mouth before Hyeonoh could respond.

“I couldn’t confess. To be precise… we were together until just now, and I stormed out. Dohan might really hate me now. He might think I’m crazy.”

“It’s okay. That’s probably what he thought from the first impression too.”

“Ah, senior!”

“Just kidding.”

“…Anyway, I couldn’t confess.”

“Yeah.”

“So I lost the bet too.”

Yeon-jae paused for a moment.

Then she stirred the bone soup she wasn’t even going to eat, just for something to do.

Hyeonoh, who had been watching quietly, pulled the bowl in front of Yeon-jae toward himself.

Hyeonoh separated all the meat with fresh chopsticks and pushed it back in front of Yeon-jae.

Despite everything that had happened, seeing Hyeonoh still being so kind to her made her feel like she might cry.

“Senior.”

“Yeah.”

“So I’ll tell you. Why I came to like Dohan.”

“You don’t have to.”

“No. I want to.”

Yeon-jae clenched her fists tightly. Though only faint traces of the wound remained now, speaking about it out loud wasn’t easy.

“When I was in my third year of middle school.”

“Yeah.”

“My mom and dad got divorced. They fought all the time. Mom would complain to me. If I didn’t listen well, she’d get angry asking if I was on dad’s side. Meanwhile, dad left home and started a new family.”

“Yeah.”

“Right around that time, I was also being bullied in class. Bad luck, right?”

“Oh, really?”

Hyeonoh reacted casually, as if he were listening to someone else’s uninteresting love story.

Hyeonoh’s calm attitude actually allowed Yeon-jae to open up about everything without hiding anything.

About how Miyeon had asked her to get Dohan’s phone number.

About how Dohan had written his eleven-digit phone number on the back of her hand.

And about how much Dohan had seemed like a savior to her.

“I thought my heart was going to fall out. I had never seen someone speak so kindly with such a clear face in my entire life. There was never a moment when the clichéd expression ‘prince from a fairy tale’ felt more real to me.”

Before they knew it, the restaurant had grown quiet, and the restaurant staff kept glancing toward the table where the two were sitting.

“So I didn’t want to give his number to those girls. That’s why I didn’t.”

The opportunity to get back in with the group disappeared along with it, but that didn’t matter.

What mattered more was the fact that she was the only one who knew Dohan’s number.

And Hyeonoh didn’t ask her why she never thought to contact him first even though she had his number.

“I came to university following Dohan, and I attended Business Administration classes following him. If it weren’t for Dohan, I wouldn’t have even thought about studying as hard as I do now. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to endure that time. If it weren’t for him…”

For the first time, Yeon-jae paused for a long time. After catching her breath, she spoke again.

“…I don’t think the me of today would exist either.”

The time that had passed flashed through her mind. Getting close to Dohan and getting to know him as a person had happened during the short span of one semester, but in reality, everything had started in front of the swing at the neighborhood playground.

It had started with the kind heart that one high school boy had shown to one middle school girl.

That’s why Yeon-jae couldn’t imagine that those feelings could change.

How could she dare to love someone other than Dohan? She had spent so much time imagining, dreaming of, and longing for Dohan—how could she possibly come to like someone else overnight like this?

“But I felt my heart flutter for you.”

That’s why her heart raced at Hyeonoh’s jokes, and though she was shaken by Hyeonoh’s confession, she turned away from it all.

Even now, rambling on like this in front of Hyeonoh felt like betraying Dohan.

Even though the relationship between Dohan and Yeon-jae could still only be defined as a one-sided crush.

“When I’m with you, I keep laughing. I laugh like a crazy person. It’s strange. I wasn’t someone who laughed that much before. I…”

Yeon-jae, who had been speaking rapidly, stuttered for the first time today.

Nevertheless.

Finally. Eventually. Inevitably.

With a determination that wouldn’t be lacking even if adorned with all the adverbs befitting the opening of a final chapter.

As if this was how it should have been from the beginning.

She spoke again.

“…I’ve come to like you.”

For a moment, silence fell over the store.

Still, she felt relieved.

This confession contained no pity or inertia.

So everything she was saying now was a confession thrown out with a refreshed heart, in the most sincere way.

“So senior, about what you said before. That you li…ked me. Is that still valid…?”

Despite her bold words, her voice trembled.

Hyeonoh took Yeon-jae’s hand that was resting on the table and said,

“I like you.”

Applause broke out from somewhere.

It started with small claps from a restaurant employee. Soon, everyone in the restaurant began clapping in unison.

“So young~ So young~”

Only then did Yeon-jae realize that their table had been too loud.

Ugh…

Embarrassed, Yeon-jae buried her face in her palms.

Hyeonoh ruffled Yeon-jae’s bangs. As if he was proud of her.

It meant thank you for growing up so well.

* * *

When they left the restaurant, the sky was dark.

Despite all the crying, confessing, and commotion, it wasn’t awkward.

“But senior.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you really like me?”

“I like you, that’s why I said I like you.”

“Could you tell me a bit more specifically?”

Hyeonoh, who had been thinking for a moment at Yeon-jae’s words, opened his mouth.

“Hmm. When I got your message asking to meet, I briefly considered getting religion. I even woke up this morning thinking, ‘Ah, I want to see Shin Yeon-jae.'”

Hyeonoh’s response continued for quite a while after that.

But then you contacted me at just the right moment. I didn’t know what you wanted to talk about, but just hearing that you wanted to meet made me happy. I wondered which god had granted my wish. If so, I’d convert to that religion. Even if it turned out to be a cult. I came running here with those thoughts.

Yeon-jae laughed with a bewildered expression. It was Hyeonoh’s characteristically honest way of speaking, without a trace of falsehood. The same way that had made her heart flutter endlessly.

“…Then what exactly do you like about me?”

“Didn’t I tell you?”

“No. You gave that long speech about liking me, but you never actually gave me a single reason.”

“It’s hard to choose…”

“Still.”

“Because you live earnestly. Because you’re bold.”

Yeon-jae’s face turned bright red.

“But when you get to know you, you’re embarrassed about many things. You’re naive. You’re foolish. That’s what makes you cute.”

Hyeonoh rattled them off as if he had prepared in advance. Yeon-jae was somewhat dumbfounded that he showed no embarrassment whatsoever while listing reasons he liked someone right to their face.

Yeon-jae glared at Hyeonoh, but he just shrugged his shoulders.

“…And because you’re pretty.”

When he said that, even Hyeonoh seemed embarrassed as he cleared his throat quietly.

“…I’m pretty?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, come on.”

“What do you mean ‘oh, come on’?”

“I bet there are tons of pretty girls around you, senior.”

Indeed, Hyeonoh was popular, and she had often seen girls trying to get his contact information.

“There aren’t.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Why would I care what they look like? I’m not interested.”

At his firm answer, Yeon-jae fidgeted with her hands.

“Really?”

Even though she knew she was asking an annoying question, she kept asking because she wanted confirmation.

“I only had eyes for you. From when you wore those round glasses until now, always.”

Round glasses—when was that? From the beginning of the semester?

“From that long ago?!”

“Who knows?”

Hyeonoh chuckled. He had his hands casually stuck in his pockets.

Now the two walked side by side. Even without holding hands, they stayed close together, so Yeon-jae’s shoulder frequently brushed against Hyeonoh’s arm. Each time, Yeon-jae felt as if her shoulder had been burned by fire.

Hyeonoh seemed to walk casually, but he was matching his pace to Yeon-jae’s stride. He walked on the outside and looked around to make sure Yeon-jae could walk comfortably.

It seemed no different from usual, but in reality, everything was different.

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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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