The End of a Long Adolescence – 1

“Are you not feeling well?”

Kang In-ho put the bizarre encounter with Crown behind him and returned home to prepare dinner.

He put in extra effort today for Seong-a, who must be increasingly exhausted from preparing for the college entrance exam.

With his experience living on his own, he didn’t find cooking particularly difficult, but like most men living alone, he rotated through a few dishes.

Because the number of dishes he could cook was severely limited, he tried to make them as diverse as possible, but he could only add slight variations and couldn’t produce any dramatic results.

To compensate for this weakness, he looked through cookbooks in his spare time, and today’s dinner was the result of that effort.

But there was a problem.

He had prepared the meal according to her food preferences, which he had been paying attention to, but her reaction wasn’t very good.

He wondered if she didn’t like the food, but seeing that her expression had been stiff since she came home, he figured something must have happened outside.

“I’m okay. Let’s eat.”

She gave a weak smile.

-Clink, clink

The sound of the spoon hitting the rice bowl filled the table.

He followed her and started eating, taking a spoonful of rice.

“Did something happen at school?”

He asked cautiously, watching her.

“No, nothing happened.”

“It doesn’t seem like it. Your face is stiff.”

“Ah….”

Kim Sung-ah, using her free hand to touch her face, gave an awkward smile.

Kang In-ho’s eyes narrowed.

“Is it hard studying?”

She was a kid who had hardly ever studied seriously.

He thought that she was starting to find studying difficult and boring.

“It’s really not because of my grades. I just suddenly don’t feel well.”

“Really? You need to take care of your condition.”

“I know. The college entrance exam is coming up soon.”

The two men and women concentrated on their meal again. Kang In-ho cleared his throat twice, as if the previous conversation bothered him.

At his signal, Kim Sung-ah’s eyes turned to him. He saw his face looking apologetic.

“…Am I nagging a test taker too much?”

“Pfft, you say everything you want to say and then worry about it. I’m not upset, so don’t worry about it.”

“That’s a relief. How’s the food?”

Kang In-ho raised the tone of his voice, as if the atmosphere of the meal had returned to normal.

“It’s always delicious. Did you find some new recipe?”

“I put in some effort.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Kim Sung-ah chuckled as Kang In-ho puffed out his chest and boasted.

Then a cloud passed over her face again.

Kang In-ho decided to simply take note of that subtle change for now.

“Ahjussi.”

Kim Sung-ah, who had already eaten about half of her meal, called him.

“Yeah?”

“Um… never mind.”

“What is it?”

“Do you have some kind of secret you’re hiding from me?”

She glanced at him.

“Of course, I do. Don’t you?”

“I don’t have any secrets that I’m constantly afraid of being caught for. At most, it’s that I like you, but that’s not a secret anymore.”

“You say it like that, and I have nothing to say.”

He smiled awkwardly and took another spoonful of rice.

She watched his face and hands carefully.

“……..”

He didn’t show any particular reaction.

But that wasn’t enough to completely dispel the suspicion she had.

She sighed inwardly.

“I ate well.”

She put down her chopsticks and got up.

“Aren’t you going to eat more?”

He asked, looking at the third of her rice that was left.

“I don’t feel well. It’s not because it’s not delicious, so don’t worry too much.”

“Okay. Tell me if you’re having a hard time.”

“Okay. I’m going to study for a bit and then sleep.”

Without waiting for his answer, Kim Sung-ah strode up the stairs.

-Thump

The sound of the door closing was heard from afar, and he said, still looking at the large amount of food left.

“Ah, I have to eat all this.”

He thought he might overeat today.

Lying in bed, Kim Sung-ah felt dizzy and her heart was pounding.

The conversation between Crown and Kang In-ho still seemed to be playing in her ears.

“Ahjussi… what on earth….”

When she looked at his face, she smiled for no reason.

When she talked to him, time flew by.

When she ate with him, even simple side dishes tasted good.

When she smelled him, she felt faint and her heart raced.

It was the same today.

Her feelings for him remained the same, even after seeing that questionable scene.

That’s why it was painful.

“Ahjussi.”

She was afraid that this happy time he was giving her might actually be a trap set by an evil force.

“Please… please… it can’t be.”

She prayed to the stars.

She couldn’t go back to a life without him now.

That’s why she desperately hoped that the worst-case scenario she was imagining wouldn’t come true.

“If… if it’s really true… if Ahjussi is deceiving me….”

What should I do?

She could feel her heart slowly breaking.