Chapter 21 : I like you, a lot (5)

“So that day, after hearing that kind of confession, my heart was pounding.”

“Seeing your embarrassed face made me think you were cute, and the words ‘I want to stay with you from now on’ sounded different to me.”

“Of course, I knew you didn’t mean it that way. You were just saying it as a friend.”

It was definitely a way of speaking that could cause misunderstanding.

Especially since we were friends of the opposite sex.

But such indifferent and straightforward speech was her trademark, so that day, Chaeryeong just spoke the same way as always.

Without any intention, she simply spoke the words that were in her heart purely.

She wasn’t at fault at all.

“Afterwards, when I, flustered, asked if it was a confession, you hurriedly shook your head and said it wasn’t that—being with me was just fun. You just meant you wanted to keep being together.”

I began to tell her my real story, the one she might think was scripted.

Chaeryeong somehow looked quite flustered.

She said she would react with excitement earlier, but why was she so stiff now?

She wasn’t saying much, so I worried the scene might turn out boring.

Instead, Chaeryeong asked me worriedly,

“…Did I say something that could be misunderstood back then?”

“No. What you said that day did ignite a fire in my heart, but people hear what they want to hear. I interpreted it the way I wanted to. To be exact.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. So I think I liked you even before then. I just didn’t realize those feelings. It was only because your expression was so straightforward that I realized my feelings.”

“Is this enough? Now my boring story is over. After that, it’s just the story of me liking you and continuing a one-sided love.”

Was she satisfied with that? I gave her a look that said, “Did I write the script well?”

Chaeryeong stared blankly at me for a moment, then suddenly snapped out of it and said,

“…Oh, really? It was a much less special story than I thought.”

If it was such an unremarkable story, then why did her voice tremble?

Did she feel touched because the story was so well crafted?

I couldn’t shake the feeling that her expression and tone were somewhat forced—like when Chaeryeong tries to hide her emotions and forces herself to keep a bright tone.

“Uh, so, so… Should I say it was a good story? Um… ah!”

Chaeryeong, awkwardly trying to squeeze out a reaction, rolled her eyes and tried to grab a piece of fried food in front of her but accidentally knocked over her water cup with her arm.

The cup toppled over on the table, and water splashed onto me.

“Ugh. Cold.”

“S-sorry! I’ll wipe it! Sorry!”

Seeing the water spill on me, she panicked even more, jumped up from her seat, and hurried over to me.

The problem was that her hands were empty.

If she had brought a tissue or something from the table, it would be one thing.

I couldn’t understand what she was trying to do.

Staring blankly at her empty hands, I asked,

“What are you doing? Are you going to wipe it with your hands?”

“Oh? Ah… well…”

Chaeryeong also looked at her empty hands, looking bewildered.

She had no idea what she was doing.

“Why are you so awkward? Are you really feeling sick today?”

She really didn’t look well today.

I asked her that out of concern.

The car engine cut off, and the vibration subsided.

I stared blankly at the seat where Taeo had been, and when he turned his head, I pretended not to notice.

Taeo smiled as if wrapping up the day and said to me,

“You worked hard. Today’s shoot.”

“Ah, yeah. You too, Yoon Taeo.”

“Get out first. I’ll leave after I see you go up.”

“…Okay.”

Following his words, I opened the car door from the passenger seat and got out.

I waved to him lightly and was about to close the door when Taeo, who returned my wave, stopped me.

“Hey, wait a second.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you going to throw away your bag again?”

“Ah.”

“You really can’t get your act together today. Here, take it.”

He handed me the mini bag I had left briefly in the back seat.

Despite his curt words, his eyes were warm as he looked at me.

What’s with that look?

“Be careful going home. It’s exactly the kind of day you could get into an accident.”

“Anyway, once I take the elevator in the parking lot, it’s over… well…”

“That’s why I’m worried when I see you today—you might not even do that properly.”

“Eh, it’s not that bad.”

Such needless worry.

But the way I looked at him today was kind of shaky.

Especially since after going to the tteokbokki place, I had been in a complete mess for reasons I didn’t understand myself.

Taeo probably thought I was pushing through the pain because of the shoot, and he said,

“If you’re sick, don’t hold it in. You know your health is more important than filming, right?”

“Yeah. I’m really not sick, so don’t worry. I guess I’m just a little out of it today.”

“Okay, go inside.”

“Yeah, you too. Take care, Yoon Taeo.”

Holding the mini bag he gave me, I took the elevator from the parking lot and headed up.

My thoughts drifted elsewhere as my body naturally moved toward home.

I punched in the door lock code, opened the front door, took off my shoes, and plopped down on the sofa.

And once again, I zoned out.

I stared blankly into the air with no focus.

There was only one reason why I was like this.

It was because of Yoon Taeo, or more precisely, because of the story he said was scripted.

“Is that really a script? A story he prepared?”

No way.

It didn’t feel like a fabricated story at all.

At first, I just listened with interest.

How did Taeo come up with such an interesting story?

He wasn’t a professional storyteller, after all.

Honestly, even if it was a bit lacking, I was going to just laugh it off.

“…But it’s way too detailed.”

Yet his story was filled with too much realism.

It was full of stories that only Chaeryeong and I could know.

The things I said that day, for example.

No matter how much it was based on real events, Taeo remembered exactly what I said—word for word.

So precisely that I was surprised as I listened.

As if that scene remained vividly in his mind like a clear video.

The more I listened, the more the story from that day resurfaced in my head.

And I could almost see his changing emotions with my own eyes.

“When I said something like this, he thought like that.”

I had to believe it was a lie.

I had to believe it was a story he made up.

But his eyes, his meaningless gestures, the bittersweet smile he gave,

and the overwhelming atmosphere of the scene all screamed to me that it wasn’t a lie at all.

“How can someone make that face while lying…?”

People instinctively distinguish lies from truth.

Maybe it’s blurrier behind a screen, but when you face someone in real life, you get a sense of it.

That look of excitement, mixed with a little sadness,

that expression and voice conveying the tenderness and youthful feelings he had at the time.

Even if Korea’s best actor came and acted out the scene, they probably couldn’t do it like that.

“If that’s not the case, then is Taeo really a naturally gifted actor?”

I’d never thought he had acting talent.

I hadn’t really seen him act in front of me before, anyway.

My mind was a mess.

I didn’t even know what I had just seen.

Was it a play or a documentary?

It was so confusing my head was about to explode.

And what confused me even more was…

Right here:

“So, you liked me?”

If that’s true, then Taeo had a one-sided crush on me.

For real.

Or maybe even now, he still likes me.

If so, what should I do?

No, more than that, why am I even worrying about this?

Whether he likes me or not, what does it have to do with me?

“He didn’t confess with his own mouth, maybe it’s all just your delusion.”

It might all be my misunderstanding.

Besides, he never confessed his feelings to me, so even if it’s true, I don’t have to care.

But I can’t do that.

My mind was so tangled all day because I was so conscious of his feelings.

Why?

Why do I care so much whether he likes me or not?

What am I supposed to do if it’s true?

— People hear what they want to hear.

I interpreted it the way I wanted to.

Exactly that.

And why do Taeo’s words keep echoing in my head?

That people interpret things as they want.

Maybe I wanted to think that he liked me.

Maybe I only saw his acting as genuine because I wanted it to be.

If that’s really what I want…

“…Am I hoping that Taeo likes me?”

Could it be that I like him?