There was a neatly folded note that had been lying somewhere in the room. On that day, he was so preoccupied with various matters that he hadn’t thought about finding it again in the mess of his house. When he moved, he had poured his belongings into several boxes, completely forgetting about the note.
Now the note flashed in his mind.
“I found it!”
When he discovered the note among the crumpled clothes, Seungwon’s heart thumped. His tense fingers unfolded the crinkled paper.
As he read the words on the note, a thrill ran through his body.
[To Seungwon, from Hyeju.]Although it was only seven letters, the meaning was clear.
The note clearly revealed the owner of the confession song.
“Why did I only see this now!”
Seungwon sprang up as if startled. He shoved the note into his pocket, put on his slippers, and darted out like a bullet.
Oh Hyeju, to see you.
“I’m relieved… truly relieved.”
To say these words to you.
Seungwon’s face, which arrived late at night, was flushed. Hyeju was taken aback by Seungwon’s unusual excitement.
“Seungwon? Why are you here at this hour…?”
“Hyeju.”
Seungwon took a step closer. Hyeju, who had put on slippers to go outside, stood awkwardly in the narrow shoe rack.
“I came to ask you one thing.”
Seungwon’s shadow fell over Hyeju’s forehead.
“Not as a brother… but as me?”
Those trembling words contained everything.
Hyeju looked up at Seungwon with a surprised expression. His eyes were dim from staying up for several nights, but his pupils sparkled brightly. Like someone anticipating something.
Should she ask what he meant? Should she interrogate how he knew? Numerous thoughts crossed her mind in an instant.
However, Hyeju didn’t choose any of them. When she saw Seungwon’s confident eyes, she realized that it was already too late to avoid it.
“Yes, it was you.”
Hyeju looked straight into Seungwon’s eyes.
“That day, I tried to confess to you, but I unintentionally failed. It was you, the person I liked.”
“Ah…”
Seungwon’s legs momentarily weakened.
He felt empty, like someone who had wandered around with an oasis under their feet until their throat was torn apart. Eventually, in front of the discovered oasis, he could do nothing but feel numb, unable to cry or laugh.
“I really didn’t know.”
Seungwon pressed his throbbing forehead. When he learned that Hyeju had intended to confess to him, a myriad of emotions surged within him.
He felt relieved yet sorry, sorry yet happy. And while feeling all of that, he despised himself for feeling happiness.
“How much did your heart ache when you found out about my relationship with Dahee?”
Seungwon lifted his gaze from the floor.
“I’m sorry, Hyeju. I didn’t even know…”
“You don’t need to apologize. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“It doesn’t matter?”
Her dark brown irises trembled slightly.
“It’s already in the past. It’s true that I liked you, but after I found out about you and Dahee, I sorted out my feelings. Now, it doesn’t bother me at all.”
Ah, this isn’t right.
Seungwon felt quite flustered. He thought Hyeju would scold him further.
“Well, now that I think about it, not confessing to you back then was a stroke of luck. If I had made a mistake, I would have ended up sandwiched between you and Dahee.”
“…”
“And hey, if you saw the note, you should have just pretended not to know. Why did you make such a fuss and come rushing over? It’s pointless.”
“…”
“Anyway, it’s an absolute secret from Dahee. Got it?”
Seungwon didn’t know how to respond to Hyeju’s unexpected attitude. He had come all the way here with one prepared statement.
“I’m glad I didn’t like you alone, Hyeju.”
I never thought her feelings would change in such a short time. The note was folded with sharp corners, just like her heart, it seems.
How is that possible? How can that happen?
Seungwon couldn’t find the right words to say in front of the woman who claimed that not confessing that day was a stroke of luck.
“You… completely gave up on your feelings?”
“Yeah.”
“If it’s because of me and Dahee’s relationship…”
“Of course, at first, it was like that, but now it’s really not.”
Seungwon could tell that Hyeju’s words were not lies. When she lied, Oh Hyeju blinked her eyes a lot.
What Seungwon was really curious about was not ‘when’ Hyeju gave up on her feelings, but ‘why’.
“Do you like someone new?”
A sentence that slipped out unintentionally.
While saying those words, Seungwon hoped to see Hyeju deny it with a wave of her hand. But her answer brutally shattered that expectation.
“Oh, you’ve become more perceptive lately, huh? Yeah, I have someone I like.”
Hyeju’s cheerful smile erected a giant wall in front of Seungwon. It made him realize that she had retreated to a place he couldn’t reach, even if he stretched out his hand.
“I see… I didn’t know.”
“You might not have known. Lately, we’ve been making progress with our wishes. It’s a recent development that’s worth mentioning.”
“Progress?”
That word ruthlessly stabbed his heart.
While I was struggling, you were taking steps forward with that man.
In the flow of time I carelessly let slip away, you were gradually drifting further away.
“Ah, did I choose the wrong words? Anyway, I couldn’t say anything because we’ve been in this ambiguous relationship for a while.”
“So, you bringing up this topic now means you’ve reached some conclusion?”
“It seems like it.”
“When?”
“Probably… today?”
Hyeju’s cheeks turned slightly red. Hyeju, who couldn’t have imagined why Seungwon came here with what kind of feelings, expressed her raw emotions.
His legs lost their strength.
“Damn it.”
Of course, it’s not Hyeju’s fault. It’s unimaginable that a close male friend she has known for years, and moreover, a male friend who is dating her best friend, would have feelings for her.
So, from Hyeju’s perspective, it was natural to think that it was all over once she sorted out her own feelings.
But for me, it’s just the beginning.
I’m starting to desire you now.
“Okay, well, congratulations for now. Now that I’ve satisfied my curiosity, I’ll leave.”
Seungwon offered a congratulation that he didn’t mean and turned away.
“Did you come running to our house late at night just because you were curious? You could have called.”
“I was passing by. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, take care.”
Zip. The note in his pocket got crumpled.
He was angry. Angry at himself for being so late… and at her for not waiting and turning away without even giving him a chance.
lu lu lo la ▪️ net (lululola.net)
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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