episode_0094

Just before blinking, I was standing in front of the ticket box at the Arts Center.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a completely different space.

My arms and legs moved freely as if floating in the air.

Where am I?

In the sky? Underwater? In space?

I looked around, but my vision was blurry. It felt like I was in water filled with impurities.

Suddenly, my senses returned. Something cold touched my skin.

“In the water…?!”

Yes, this was the situation right before death. Could it be that I’ve been dreaming all this time? Dreaming for a whole month in that short span of time?

It’s unbelievable. This must be a delusion or a fantasy. I’ve been resurrected. I’ve gained a new life thanks to Chaewon.

To be brought back to my past life and then die again, that’s impossible.

If the story unfolds like this, the author will be assassinated.

— Don’t worry.

Suddenly, the voice I longed for echoed.

It was Chaewon.

“Chaewon?”

I tried to speak, but no sound came out in the water. Strangely, time kept passing, but I didn’t feel suffocated in the water.

Is this not underwater? Then where am I?

— You won’t die. No matter what happens, I’ll save you. Don’t worry.

Chaewon’s voice continued to reassure me. I still couldn’t see her.

— We’ve always been together, and we’ll continue to be together. I’m here for you, and you’re here for me.

My vision blurred. The murky water turned black. I closed my eyes tightly.

— Don’t be afraid!

The last moments of my past life came to mind.

There was a warm touch contrasting the cold water.

It was Min Chaewon’s touch.

Did she really save me?

How could something so unbelievable happen?

When we were young, our bodies switched once, and even after returning to normal, did some part of ourselves remain with each other?

Why did Chaewon start showing signs of dissociative identity disorder after our bodies switched?

Maybe because I also kept many selves inside me and lived with them? Perhaps Min Chaewon, pretending to be Jung Siwoo, was hidden among them.

“Th- Chaewon?”

“Y-Yes!”

Suddenly, I came to my senses.

I was back in front of the ticket box at the Arts Center.

The long line had almost cleared out, and it was time for us to join and enter.

“L-Let’s go inside.”

“W-Wait. I have to answer.”

As I was about to run to the line, Siwoo grabbed my shoulder and looked straight at me. I remembered what Chaewon had told me.

Just as Min Chaewon remained with me.

If Min Chaewon also had a part of me with her.

I could remove the last obstacle that remained.

Not just because Min Chaewon loves Jung Siwoo.

If Min Chaewon is still inside me, I can love Siwoo as much as Chaewon does.

I had no choice but to love him.

“I like you. I do too.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I hugged Siwoo tightly as if throwing myself at him.

“I also… like you a lot. Really really like you… I’ve liked you all this time, even when you didn’t know…”

And then, I poured out all the emotions I had kept bottled up.

I brought out all the bombs that Min Chaewon couldn’t detonate in time and exploded them in front of Siwoo. As if saying it was all your fault that I ended up like this.

“From now on, there’s… only you.”

After saying all that, I felt embarrassed. It was hard to believe that those words came out of my mouth.

Feeling ashamed, I quickly broke free from Siwoo’s embrace and tried to run to the line…

Staring blankly for a moment, Siwoo suddenly slumped down to the floor.

“Hey, what are you doing?!”

Surprised, I quickly helped him up, and Siwoo, who had been laughing like a fool, muttered softly.

“No… I just felt a rush of energy in my legs because I’m so happy… Haha.”

Unable to just stand by while I was groaning, Siwoo quickly got up. He almost fell backward, but his long arms caught him and saved him.

“Let’s go. Let’s watch the performance.”

“Uh, okay.”

Siwoo reached out his hand, and I took it.

In less than a month, our actions had become habitual and natural.

My pounding heart was speaking.

Holding hands and walking together was the most certain and direct way to feel each other inside.

No matter what happens, please don’t let go of this hand. That’s the happiest thing.

Yes, I won’t let go.

I never intended to let go from the beginning.

Whether it’s a reward for waiting for you for 14 years.

Or to find your missing piece within me.

Or simply because I like Jung Siwoo.

I won’t worry about it anymore.

I’ll just follow my heart.

Because I realized that’s the right direction.

As soon as we entered, I let go of Siwoo’s hand.

Looking at your surprised face, I crossed my arms casually and smiled. Then, a snake-like arm wrapped lightly around my waist. It was Siwoo’s arm.

As I stood there in surprise, he slowly led me forward and whispered in my ear.

“We… have officially started dating.”

“Uh, yeah.”

“But I’m your boyfriend now.”

“Is that so?”

Why is he hesitating to say something like this? Since we’ve started dating, isn’t it okay to move things along a bit? Is he asking if it’s okay to fulfill desires because he’s a man?

“From now on, I’ll take the lead, so don’t push yourself too hard.”

“….”

“To be honest, when you asked me to touch you at first, I was a bit uneasy. It felt like you were forcing skinship on me for my sake.”

But that’s not true. I had my own reasons for doing that.

I tried to deny it, but is there a need for that now? The walls of my heart have all crumbled, and I realized there was never a gunpowder keg in my heart.

Do I really need to take the lead?

I know Jung Siwoo well.

He sets goals and knows how to achieve them step by step.

Dating is no different. He must have his own plan. Maybe he’s willing to wait until I become an adult since I’m still a minor.

So instead of being afraid of losing control to Siwoo, as a senior of three years, I should just support him calmly. He’s an adult. If he makes a mistake, I just need to calm him down a bit.

We’ll surely clash like bumper cars in our relationship since we both don’t know much about dating. But as professional books say, such clumsy and bumpy relationships are part of the fun of first love.

“There was no such intention. I just did it because I liked it.”

“…Really?”

“But you’re right. If I’m too aggressive, it might be hard for you to handle.”

But I don’t want to completely give up control. I want to endure a little longer. I have my pride too.

And luckily, I have a bomb that will surprise Siwoo. It’s just a silly joke and banter.

I glanced at Siwoo’s lower body. He was startled and quickly removed his hand from my waist.

“I-I didn’t mean it that way!”

“Ahaha!”

“Hey, hey! You almost fell!”

I smiled brightly, still feeling the happiness in my heart, as I ran down the descending hallway of the bustling orchestra performance venue.

***

In grand halls like the Arts Center, one would expect to hear only classical symphonies by renowned masters, but surprisingly, new compositions by young composers occasionally make their debut in front of the public.

During the last week of May, the orchestra we had tickets for was no exception. It was a new piece by a remarkably young composer born in ’96, and it seemed that his previous works had already been successfully performed at various music festivals in the country.

“It seems like I’ve become too accustomed to the masters, unintentionally starting to critique like a latte judge.”

But aren’t Siwoo and I both pursuing classical music? Despite ourselves, we couldn’t help but be amazed by the performance of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 that followed.

“You too? Me too. But let’s keep it to ourselves. There will be a lot of industry people here to see the live reactions.”

“I know. We won’t make such mistakes.”

In my past life, just three years ago, I was considered a child.

“Anyway, thanks to you, I enjoyed it. The ticket price…”

Siwoo shook his head, indicating that there was no need to worry at all.

“It’s just a few walks in the park. Don’t worry.”

Ah, right. That’s true.

I shouldn’t take away the desire of a boyfriend who wants to make his girlfriend happy with the hard-earned money he sweated for.

Let’s stop talking about that.

…Even though it seems like the source of that money is mine, Kang Hwi is spending it on the mansion’s operating expenses, so technically, it’s not my money.

“Anyway… it was good.”

As we walked side by side, Siwoo naturally held my hand.

I wasn’t surprised anymore. I just turned my head to look at Siwoo and shyly smiled as I felt the warmth through our hands.

“Want to go eat dinner?”

“Sure. Shall we try to guess what you want to eat?”

“Sounds good.”

For some reason, after watching such performances, it was a rule for us to naturally seek out Korean food. Perhaps it was because 14 years ago, on the first evening we met, we had seaweed soup.

“Korean food?”

Siwoo chuckled. I laughed along and followed his lightened steps. We didn’t need to discuss it separately; we knew what the right answer was.

And just as we were about to leave the orchestra venue and pass by the ticket box office, it happened.

“Wait… excuse me…!”

A person of similar height to me suddenly blocked our path. With her head bowed, her prominently pink hair stood out.

“Excuse me, but… Chaewon, Mama, right?!”

A editor who goes by the nickname JINDAWN in Chaewon’s database suddenly appeared.

As I bowed to confirm her face, the name Jin Saebyeok also popped up.

Combining the two clues, I could figure it out. The editor Jin who Song Seonghyuk had introduced was none other than Jin Saebyeok.

I couldn’t help but cautiously call out the name of the woman who was nervously fidgeting.

“Jin… Saebyeok?”