Right? A cat-shaped mini-robot beeped beside them.
The air during the setting sun felt particularly chilly. Opening a can of beer and taking a sip brought a surge of satisfaction.
“Kheh!”
The beer from the convenience store inside the park was colder than the air. Watching me drink beer without any side dishes, Baek Yi-hyeon muttered.
“Shina, you’re like an old man…”
“What? Don’t you drink?”
“Don’t… No, never mind…”
It seemed like he had a lot on his mind, but it was probably just my imagination. Ignoring his gaze, I looked up at the sky.
The sky, splattered with red paint over blue, was taking on a hint of purple.
The thought of how long I could keep this scenery in my eyes made me slightly gloomy.
The problems and questions kept piling up without any clear resolution, making me feel thrown into darkness. And the most annoying part was the thought that I might soon get used to this situation.
Baek Yi-hyeon cautiously asked me.
“……Are you okay?”
“Okay? Well… I don’t know if I’m okay.”
Letting out that sentence, a sigh mixed with laughter escaped me. It was just funny. I didn’t know what was funny. Could I be getting drunk just from half a can of beer?
“If you want to escape, tell me. I’ll help you.”
“Yeah right, as if you could help.”
“……I’m not joking.”
“Fine, whatever.”
His expression was serious, but I wasn’t in the mood to respond earnestly. What did he mean by helping? Helping me live freely? Or helping to uncover what Cheon Shinwoo was hiding?
Either way, it was absurd. We were talking about Cheon Shinwoo, not just the No. 1 ranker of South Korea, but unofficially the strongest in the world. What could he possibly do against such a person?
Seeing my indifferent reaction, Baek Yi-hyeon slightly pouted.
Oh, please.
“Don’t make that face. It’s not like you could help even if you wanted to.”
“……I can help. Whatever you want.”
“…….”
I felt a lump in my throat. Looking at Baek Yi-hyeon’s sullen face, one question inevitably came to mind.
Normally, I wouldn’t have voiced this thought. But somehow.
“……Do you really like me?”
“Uh…? Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
A baffled expression faced me. Oh, am I really drunk? I wasn’t sure. The words I was saying now were definitely ones I wouldn’t utter in my right mind.
“Just. If you really like me, I was wondering why.”
“…….”
Baek Yi-hyeon fell into a brief silence. I giggled and laughed.
The ‘like’ he mentioned probably didn’t mean he saw me as a romantic interest. It was more likely a liking in the sense of human affection.
That’s why it was more puzzling. Why?
“I disliked you.”
“……I know.”
Why would he like me? I had no remarkable qualities, no skills, just someone who tends to cause trouble by unnecessarily intervening.
Out of such a pathetic reason as inferiority complex, he liked me, someone who disliked him.
Soon, Baek Yi-hyeon, who met my gaze, smiled.
“Would you understand if I tell you?”
He was indeed patient. He even smiled at me after hearing me say I disliked him to his face.
I should not have asked. Every time this happens, I feel pathetic, unsure of what to do.
“I’m still curious.”
Yet, my mouth blabbered on its own.
I knew for a long time that Baek Yi-hyeon was following me. It was also true that he was exceptionally friendly to me compared to others.
That’s why I disliked him more. I couldn’t believe that such a remarkable person would like me. I hated the feeling of being consumed by my own sense of inferiority.
“……Because you are upright.”
The answer that followed made all the strength drain from my body.
It was the opposite. I was not upright. Insisting without ability was just recklessness and hypocrisy. I was a hypocrite cloaked in recklessness.
There was no reason at all to like me.
“Why did you dislike me?”
A direct question came back to me. My throat felt constricted. I felt pathetic whether I answered or not.
“……Because you could do things I couldn’t.”
A brief silence passed before I gave my shrunken response.
You had the courage that didn’t turn into recklessness, the goodness that wasn’t hypocrisy. I envied you for being able to do things naturally that I couldn’t.
We returned at the same time, but one was so incapable and the other so capable.
I hated the endless comparisons, hated that my counterpart was also of a similar age. The more I loathed, the worse I seemed, and I hated the fact that you were such a good person.
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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