episode_0136

“Have you given up on calling me ‘oppa’?”

“Ah…”

“Since I went to meet you in front of Yoon Jichang’s house, it just naturally became ‘ya’.”

“Ah. No, that was just because I was flustered.”

Siwoo’s gaze as he looked at me was unsettling.

It was like the eyes of a beast seeing a delicious prey.

“… Consistently cute.”

Feeling a sense of crisis, I immediately shouted, “Oppa!”

Where else in the world would you find an oppa as earnest as him?

Be careful, Min Chaewon. You might really get eaten up if you keep this up. Don’t forget that there is still plenty of time left until the deadline you set in your heart.

Is it cute when you’re flustered? It must be. Because it’s Min Chaewon.

“Huh.”

I used to envy Siwoo for being the only one who could witness such a precious moment. But now, it didn’t really matter to me.

Instead, I felt a sense of happiness as I looked at Siwoo’s smile. It was as if I had completely fallen into a girlish mode of love.

Perhaps the tiny presence of Min Chaewon inside Siwoo was making even my last bit of burden disappear.

At first, I approached him without any burden because it was ‘myself’.

But being ‘myself’ made it too burdensome.

Now, it was okay.

“Maybe… it’s because we’re together…?”

The things I kept postponing, thinking that time would solve them, were actually being resolved as time passed.

Siwoo’s efforts to not burden me were helpful. And my efforts to become one with Chaewon were also there.

Things that I couldn’t do alone were okay when we were together.

We are strong because we are together.

Because we are together, we can do anything.

“How is it?”

“It turned out really well.”

“It will sparkle even more after polishing.”

The ring entrusted to the owner of the workshop soon revealed a smooth surface like a silver ring sold in stores. It was even good enough to be used as a mirror.

“Do mine too.”

“You should do that yourself.”

“My finger hurts…”

As Siwoo chuckled while I fidgeted with my finger that got sore from polishing, he took the ring that I was about to give him.

“Should I have done it from the beginning?”

“No. It wouldn’t be rewarding then.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes!”

Perhaps because he had already completed one, he skillfully polished my ring as well.

After the polishing was done by the employee’s hands, my ring also revealed its beautiful appearance.

“Would you like to have your initials engraved?”

“Yes.”

“Just let us know the initials you want to engrave and the font you prefer.”

“Okay!”

There were many phrases that could be written on the small piece of paper in front of us.

The safest option would be to engrave our initials. Adding a heart between them would make it a perfect item for lovers.

But Siwoo probably had a more unique idea. He would probably say that engraving initials like everyone else was boring.

“I have something I want to engrave.”

So, the girlfriend who didn’t even know it was our 100th day together this time had an idea to suggest.

Siwoo, who probably had the same thoughts, would like it quite a bit.

I handed Siwoo the pen, and he engraved one phrase on the paper.

[ Love yourself ]

Seeing the phrase, Siwoo burst into laughter.

“I get the feeling.”

“Right? It’s something Jesus said. It’s a famous quote by VTS.”

“It also fits our current situation.”

Without needing to explain further, we had already formed a connection on this topic.

Love yourself.

No matter what form that takes.

So, we will love each other. And we will love ourselves.

“Let’s go with this.”

“Yay~.”

After informing the workshop owner of the phrase and font we had chosen, we both looked out the window as we had promised.

The raindrops falling outside were quite thick. It was better to spend time inside the workshop drinking beverages rather than braving the rain.

As we looked out the window, we simultaneously turned to look at each other. About to say something, we both realized each other’s thoughts and turned our heads back to the window without saying a word.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Air conditioning?”

“Yeah. I wore something thin today.”

“It’s okay. Let me know if you’re cold.”

“Or, come here.”

Siwoo pulled my chair forcefully. The wooden chair, carrying my weight, moved as if it had wheels attached to it.

“You’re strong.”

“I’m a man.”

Well, with that strength, he threw me onto the bed.

If it were Siwoo’s strength now, he could easily throw a 20kg bag of rice.

When that day comes, will I also throw someone onto the bed?

… It’s powerful, but it might be a little scary.

“…………….”

For a moment, a strange scene reflected in the glass. It was probably just a hallucination that only I saw.

In the hallucination, I was lying on the bed. And on top of it…

“Why are you like that?”

“Eek.”

I hugged my startled chest.

“Oh, no. It’s nothing.”

“Shall I guess? What were you thinking?”

No, there’s no need to guess what I was thinking.

I pressed Siwoo’s face with my palm.

“If you guess, I’ll kill you.”

“… What were you thinking to react like that?”

“Oh, it’s nothing?!”

I’ve imagined Siwoo and my future countless times. And every time, I was in the position of an observer.

But today’s imagination was completely different. It was entirely from Min Chaewon’s perspective. Maybe, I have completely become Min Chaewon now.

… Kang Hwi said so.

The memories of the past have become valuable nutrients for Min Chaewon.

It cannot be said that that existence has completely disappeared. Have I become a completely different person? No.

I am now Min Chaewon and Jung Siwoo. It may sound absurd, but this is proven by my piano performance.

The mixed black and pink. The beautiful blend of bright pink and complete darkness coexisting. My performance reminded me of Van Gogh’s style.

‘And come to think of it…’

Aclert said he absorbed all the other Chaewons. Did he really?

Min Chaewon, who has played twenty-five different instruments, is now all within me.

It was when I did the Larquismo content. When the judges, who didn’t know I changed the order of the music for the Three-Headed Archangel, except for Professor Baek Jung-eon who noticed, all chose my performance.

This means that they felt more rich colors in my performance than in Cho Jinyeol’s.

Even though I don’t like self-praise, it’s hard to just overlook this result.

With the evaluation of ordinary judges combined, I achieved a score of 3:1. Is this really just a collaboration between me and Chaewon 0?

I doubt it.

‘Rather, all Chaewons are within me… and Aclert is the only one separate.’

Why does Aclert wander around like a different personality without being absorbed by Chaewon?

Is it because of the chuunibyou concept, that I will take a different path from others?

… If so, there might be some reason to it.

You’re bothering people by coming into their dreams for no reason.

When we meet again, I’ll give you a sweet night.

‘I wonder how I can take that damn black away.’

By the way, now I am both physically and mentally Min Chaewon. Naturally, shouldn’t I be the one in control of the dream world?

I don’t like playing around with Aclert because of one knife.

“———Wona. Chaewon?”

How lost was I in my thoughts?

“…… Yeah!”

“The rings are all done. Let’s go check them.”

“Oh, okay.”

The initials and finishing work that were supposed to take about 30 minutes were already finished. The skill of the workshop owner seems extraordinary.

I followed Siwoo, who had already stood up.

Around the workshop, boxes of materials and items for ring making were stacked.

The lighting in the workshop, except for the workspace of the workshop owner, was dim, reminiscent of a scene from a documentary about clock or jewelry artisans.

There was only one table in the place, probably because it mainly operated as an online store. It was the table by the window where we were sitting.

“How do you like it? Do you find it to your liking? If there are areas that need more polishing, please let me know.”

… Was this person a man?

He was small in stature, with a high voice. With a mask on and a hood flipped over, I initially thought he might be a woman.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a man. His voice was more akin to a young boy who hadn’t gone through puberty yet, rather than a woman.

“Young people often have areas of dissatisfaction that they can’t express well. So, it’s good to go over things like this once more. Please feel free to speak comfortably.”

I could have just let it go, but I was certain after his words just now.

This person is older than us.

Perhaps sensing my lingering gaze, the workshop owner smiled and said, “Oh, I need to get a grip on myself. I’m in front of guests…”

As he took off his hood, a messy short haircut of a typical corner artist caught my eye.

“I’m sorry. I stared too much.”

“No, it’s fine. It must be fascinating to see young friends like you. How old do I look?”

“Um… thirteen? Fourteen?”

“Well, that’s about right.”

Is it a neotenic complex syndrome? A disease where growth stops in childhood, and the person remains with a youthful appearance until they die.

“I ask every person who comes in, so I’m used to it. The problem is, even doctors don’t know the exact name of the disease.”

A similar disease has been trending recently. It’s a condition where the body rapidly ages, although there are side effects like changing gender, unlike neotenic complex syndrome.

“Perhaps it’s TSVID or…”

The workshop owner chuckled as if it was no big deal.

“Oh, how did you know? The test results did show that virus. It’s a variant where the gender doesn’t change, but the body just ages like this.”