Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Raise Three Idols Well And They’ll Launch a Confession Attack.

Episode 81: Death Of The Sun.

Seon Taeyang stayed by Gyeoul’s side from then on.

He was there during the funeral service, the final farewell, the rites, the departure, and even the pallbearing.

Although some of Taeyang’s colleagues or members of the girl group he managed came to visit in between, he firmly sent them back.

Gyeoul, knowing she had already taken up much of his time, asked him once again at the crematorium.

“Are you okay?”

“With what?”

“…Giving me so much of your time like this.”

“I told you, didn’t I? I have plenty of time.”

“…That’s a lie; I know how busy you are.”

Gyeoul realized she was whining like a child.

She flinched inwardly, surprised at herself.

She worried that this kind of whining might give him a negative impression.

So Gyeoul tried to apologize.

But Taeyang gently brushed her disheveled hair as if it didn’t matter at all and said,

“No matter how busy I am, I always have plenty of time for you, Gyeoul.”

“….”

To Gyeoul, he was so bright.

So bright that whenever clouds overshadowed that light, or it shone elsewhere, the emptiness felt overwhelming.

But Gyeoul wanted to keep looking at that warm light, like the sun shining clearly in the sky.

Even if it meant she would go blind from staring at it too long.

That painfully dazzling kindness.

That steadfast, reliable warmth.

That was why Gyeoul had fallen for Taeyang.

She loved him.

Gyeoul’s grandfather was enshrined in a columbarium.

She had wanted to bury him, but his will had stated not to make a fuss with a grave.

Gyeoul followed that will.

As she looked at the urn enshrined in the columbarium, she closed her eyes and paid her respects.

She thought she had cried all her tears during the funeral, but as if there were still more left, tears began to flow again.

“Oh dear, your pretty eyes are all swollen; what should we do?”

Taeyang said that as he gently wiped Gyeoul’s tears.

Gyeoul quietly accepted his touch.

After finishing her respects and when her tears had stopped, Gyeoul spoke to him.

“Taeyang ssam.”

“Hm?”

“What must I do to repay this kindness?”

“What did I do that’s so great? You don’t need to repay anything.”

Gyeoul looked into his deep brown eyes tinged with blue and said,

“No. That won’t do. I’ve received too much. And I’ve kept on receiving. This kind of relationship isn’t normal.”

“…”

What she wanted was a relationship that wouldn’t change or break. But their current relationship wasn’t like that.

“The moment you find me bothersome, Taeyang ssam, it’ll just end. And I’m okay with that… If that happens, there’s nothing I can do.”

She spoke with desperation and earnestness.

“…Before it’s too late, I want to change it. I really, really want to keep my relationship with you, Taeyang ssam. So please tell me anything. Anything I can do or give.”

Taeyang scratched his head slightly as if he were perplexed.

Then he looked at her with an expression that seemed to wonder, ‘What should I do about this?’

Gyeoul was disheartened by his gaze and lowered her head.

It seemed she had made him uncomfortable again.

She felt terribly disappointed in herself.

Taeyang looked at her seriously, more than ever, and said,

“What do you think a normal relationship is?”

Gyeoul, while trying to read his expression, shared her thoughts.

“A relationship where both sides give and take equally.”

To Gyeoul, that was what a normal relationship meant.

Even in the past, when she maintained her relationship with Yeji, or when she was forming relationships with the members of Alcest, Gyeoul had to give something to receive a favorable response.

In that sense, her relationship with Taeyang was too unnatural.

Because she hadn’t given him anything.

“Hmm… let’s put aside whether that idea is right or wrong for now, Gyeoul. Then, in that normal relationship, what’s the timeframe for giving and taking?”

“Timeframe?”

“Yeah, if such a debt-oriented mindset is the core of relationship building, there must be a timeframe to return what the other person has given, right?”

Gyeoul was startled by this perspective she hadn’t considered.

She had only thought that she had to repay it quickly, so she was at a loss when asked to provide a clear standard. So after hesitating, Gyeoul said,

“I hadn’t thought about that. But it has to be quick.”

Taeyang, lowering his head slightly to meet her gaze, said,

“So it’s not clearly defined?”

“…No.”

He smiled slightly and said,

“Then, let’s make our timeframe 100 years.”

“…100 years?”

“Yeah, 100 years. So it won’t end until we grow old and die.”

It was an overwhelming amount of time.

“Gyeoul, right now I may seem like an adult who can do more than you, and this relationship might feel like you’re only accumulating debt, but this relationship will change again.”

Gyeoul’s nose tingled as she watched Seon Taeyang speak about such a long time as if it was only natural.

“Someday, you’ll definitely become a wonderful adult. And I’ll grow old and become a nobody. Then I might have to rely on your goodwill just to get by.”

Gyeoul didn’t think that would be the case.

To her, Taeyang would always be cool and dependable, no matter how much time passed or how much his appearance changed.

“As we live, things might happen to turn the tables and then turn them back again. But one thing’s for sure—someday, you’ll be a more amazing person than I am. You’re already cool, beautiful, kind, and smart right now.”

Gyeoul asked cautiously,

“Will that day come for me?”

“Yes, it will. Definitely.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“Then I’ll stay by your side until it does.”

Hearing his answer, she felt as if her breath had caught in her throat.

It felt like her heart was about to burst.

Gyeoul held back the emotion rising to her throat as much as she could and said,

“…If you say that, it makes me wish that day never comes.”

No, she couldn’t hold it back, actually.

Her overflowing emotions made her cling to him with her words.

Taeyang, hearing the emotions she let spill out, said casually,

“We’re the same, aren’t we? I don’t want that day to come either. This way, I can keep seeing your cute side.”

“…”

There was one sun that had risen in her dark, low, and damp life.

She wanted to be on equal footing with him.

Not the fragile child who only received from him and depended on him.

But someone who could embrace him, comfort his sadness, and be a source of strength when he was struggling.

And when that time would come, Gyeoul would convey her true feelings, her affection, her longing, and all her emotions.

She would put them all into the words “I love you” and tell him.

Gyeoul earnestly wished for that day to come.

“…Thank you. Please take care of me from now on too.”

“You’re the one I should ask that of, Gyeoul.”

But that day never came.

-BREAKING NEWS: A large truck and a van collided on the Seoul-Yangyang expressway, with three people being transported to the hospital with serious injuries.

-In the accident on the Seoul-Yangyang expressway, two active girl group members, Dajeong and Ray, were among the three people transported to the hospital with serious injuries after their van, commonly referred to as a “celebrity vehicle,” collided with a truck. The driver, who was their manager, was killed. The police attributed the cause to the truck driver’s drowsy driving. Amid an outpouring of online tributes…

Snow fell that day too.

Heavily.

Until the whole world was covered in white.

Heavily.

Gyeoul walked through that snowy path.

Crunching beneath her feet.

This white world she walked through aimlessly felt like a dream.

But this was reality.

A reality that always, as if it were the most natural thing, took away her few precious things.

A reality that seemed to wait until she loved, only to turn small happiness into bubbles.

A cruel and harsh reality.

“Who is that?”

“Isn’t she a reporter?”

“Ugh, those heartless jerks. Excuse me, this is a private funeral. Only Taeyang’s acquaintances…”

“Stop.”

“Dallae noona? Do you know her?”

“Yes, I know her. So just leave her be.”

Gyeoul kept walking forward without giving the noisy surroundings a glance.

“…She’s probably hurting enough too.”

She walked and walked.

“Isn’t that Han Gyeoul?”

“Han Gyeoul? From Alcest? Yeah, you’re right, I didn’t recognize her for a moment because she looks so disheveled.”

“Right. But why is she barefoot? Wait, she’s bleeding from her feet!”

Gyeoul ignored everyone talking to her and walked towards her destination.

And at the place filled with white flowers, she found a familiar face in a photo.

Taeyang was there.

“…Ah.”

No, actually, Taeyang wasn’t there at all.

“…Ahh.”

The hand that carefully stroked her hair to keep it from getting tangled.

The gaze that met hers by lowering to her relatively small height.

And the voice that warmly comforted her.

“…Ahhh.”

They were gone now.

“Aaaahhhh!”

Forever.

[‘Memory of Possibilities’ has been used successfully!]