# Chapter 136
“……”
Mo Eunje had contacted him first. Since only an image was sent without any text, Tae Igyeol couldn’t check the content from the preview. He repeatedly took deep breaths to calm his wildly pounding heart. He needed to check the message, but his fingers hesitated to touch the screen. He was already afraid, anticipating content that might cut his heart sharply.
Sitting on the bed, feeling his thumping heart, he was conflicted. He was curious and wanted to see it, but since he couldn’t guess what it contained, he couldn’t bring himself to look rashly. However, knowing he couldn’t stall forever, and aware that Mo Eunje would be staring at his phone waiting for him to read the message, Tae Igyeol suppressed his fear and checked it.
The paper in the photo Mo Eunje sent had his feelings written in his handwriting. Though not completely illegible, it wasn’t writing that could be read at a glance—someone other than Tae Igyeol would have needed to zoom in and decipher it like a code. But Tae Igyeol, familiar with Mo Eunje’s handwriting, could read the worm-like scrawl in one go.
- What do I think of Tae Igyeol? I like him.
- Then do I like Tae Igyeol with feelings beyond friendship? Yes
- Can I stay as friends with Tae Igyeol for life? Ye… No, I don’t know anymore.
- Then can I be happy without Tae Igyeol? No
- Can I… live without Tae Igyeol? No
- Can I betray my parents’ expectations? No
- What should I do now? I don’t know. I just want to see Tae Igyeol.
Though he had clearly read everything, only number 2 appeared in Tae Igyeol’s eyes. The only important thing was the fact that Mo Eunje liked him with feelings beyond friendship. Finally, Mo Eunje had admitted it. Suddenly, laughter burst out of him like a madman. His grandmother was right. It had been worth believing and waiting for the sincerity he’d seen in Mo Eunje’s eyes.
But suddenly he wasn’t sure if this was reality or a dream. He might be dreaming vividly due to his desperate yearning, and since he couldn’t remember when he’d last slept properly, he might have gone crazy.
Unable to be certain despite seeing it with his own eyes, Tae Igyeol ran out of the room still holding his phone. His grandmother was preparing breakfast in the kitchen. He hugged her from behind and showed her Mo Eunje’s handwriting enlarged on his phone.
“Grandma, can you see this? It’s true that Eunje likes me too, right?”
“What’s written here? Does Eunje still write this poorly?”
“Isn’t it cute? I’ll read it to you. ‘Do I like Tae Igyeol with feelings beyond friendship?’ Look here, he answered ‘Yes,’ right?”
“I can see the ‘Yes.’ Are you that happy? Now my pretty boy can sleep comfortably with both legs stretched out.”
His grandmother patted his bottom affectionately with her hand reaching back, smiling contentedly. Only then did Tae Igyeol’s foggy mind clear, and he could feel a sense of reality. His chest was so full that something hot was about to surge up from deep within.
“If you look down here… he also says he can’t be happy or live without me.”
“Yes, yes. You’ve both suffered a lot. Stop this with Grandma and hurry up and reply. Our cutie must have gathered great courage and his heart must be racing. If you read it and say nothing, every second of waiting will feel like a year.”
“I will… Grandma, I… I…”
His vision kept blurring. Tae Igyeol trailed off and bowed his head, burying his face in his grandmother’s shoulder. His grandmother took his hand that was wrapped around her shoulder. A myriad of indescribable emotions washed over Tae Igyeol all at once, swallowing him whole.
&
Right after sending the message, Ban Hajun’s advertisement came on. Making him wonder why he’d had to wait so long to see it, Ban Hajun’s screen time was only 2 seconds. The remaining 13 seconds were dominated by the famous actor who was the main character and the apartment. Ban Hajun played the husband of that actor, so he only appeared in the final scene where the two stood together at the living room window, gazing at the sunset. According to him, they had shot his individual cut too, but it had been edited out.
“Oh, he’s read it…!”
About two minutes after sending the message, the read receipt appeared. But after 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, there was still no reply. Mo Eunje couldn’t sit still and stood up, pacing back and forth across the living room while biting his nails.
“Hey, stop being so restless and sit down.”
“Do I look like I can sit right now? It’s been 5 minutes since he read it, and there’s no response. What’s going on? After making such a fuss over me, shouldn’t he reply immediately or call, or do something once he confirms it?”
“That’s just your opinion. Maybe he’s analyzing your terrible handwriting one letter at a time.”
“That’s impossible. Tae Igyeol can read my handwriting at a glance. What if he’s changed his mind in the meantime? What then? Am I going to be completely ignored by Tae Igyeol now? What should I do? Should I go pick him up from his grandmother’s house right now? Wait, the fastest flight right now is…”
“Oh you crazy bastard, please! Aaaaaaargh!”
Tired of Mo Eunje’s racing thoughts, Ban Hajun pulled at his own hair and screamed. This was completely different from the past when he’d only screamed silently with his face.
“If it was the kind of feeling that could change in a few days, would he have been in one-sided love for over 10 years? I couldn’t say it because I was afraid Tae Igyeol would hit me, but honestly, at that level, it’s not one-hearted one-sided love—it’s fucking creepy stalking.”
“Wow, you’re saying some really weird things? How can you slander someone who shows pure sincerity as a stalker? When Tae Igyeol comes, I’m going to tell him everything you said.”
“Look who’s playing dirty now. Who let you sleep at their place when you two were having your dramatic episodes? If you had any conscience, you should be carrying me on your back—”
“He’s here! A reply came, oh my god…”
Cutting off Ban Hajun’s words, Mo Eunje firmly held his phone in both hands and struggled to organize his rapidly quickening breathing.
“What does it say? What did he write? It’s obvious, but why am I so curious?”
Ban Hajun approached Mo Eunje’s side and leaned in to look at the phone. Mo Eunje pushed away Ban Hajun’s face with his hand and guarded his phone.
“I can’t look at this with you. Logically, shouldn’t I see it first?”
“…Hey, I’m not curious. No matter how much I enjoy other people’s romances, I’m absolutely not curious about you two’s pathetic love story.”
Ban Hajun said this with a face that looked like he was dying of curiosity. Regardless, Mo Eunje went to the corner and stood at the edge of the wall, checking the message with a trembling heart. Like Mo Eunje, Tae Igyeol had also written on paper, taken a picture, and sent the image. The neat, clean, and tidy handwriting was so like Tae Igyeol.
Your answer to #2 is enough.
Your answers to 4 and 5 are proof that you love me too.
Eunje, I love you to death,
Without you, I can’t be happy
Without you, I can’t live.
I told you. My one-sided love is a matter of my life’s existence.
I miss you. I love you
His stomach churned as if seasick, feeling the full extent of Tae Igyeol’s heart. While organizing his feelings in writing, he had already set his priorities. No matter how much he tried to deceive himself, Mo Eunje was more inclined toward his sincere emotions in points 2, 4, and 5 than his concern for his parents in point 6. Despite desperately struggling to deny and look away until now, in the end, like a train arriving at its predetermined destination, Mo Eunje’s heart had no choice but to reach Tae Igyeol.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you? Are you crying? What did Tae Igyeol say? Huh? Are you really crying?”
Ridiculously, tears welled up in his eyes. When his legs gave out and he slumped to the floor, a surprised Ban Hajun pulled out a bunch of tissues and handed them to him. Laughter came at the same time as the tears. He couldn’t explain this feeling.
“Damn, I was wondering why you were crying… Looks like another house’s cockroach has come to our home.”
Understanding the situation after seeing Mo Eunje crying and laughing, Ban Hajun snickered and picked up his phone.
It was always going to end up like this, but he’d hurt Tae Igyeol too much, made things difficult, and taken a long detour. If he had summoned just a little courage a bit earlier, he wouldn’t have had to drive Tae Igyeol all the way to America. The physical distance between Seoul and Louisiana—which required half a globe to travel, incomparable to Busan—made him anxious.
“You crazy bastard, don’t take pictures…”
“I think Tae Igyeol would buy this for ten million won.”
“I’m going to report you for violating portrait rights.”
“Your nasally voice is hilarious. Mo Eunje, look in the mirror. Right now you look extremely hap—no, you look fucking ugly.”
Ban Hajun cackled as he filmed Mo Eunje from various angles in video mode. No matter how urgent his feelings were, he regretted not contacting Tae Igyeol when he was alone at home, but regret is an emotion that can only be felt after something has happened, so any regret was always too late.
After composing himself, Mo Eunje treated Ban Hajun like an invisible person and sat on the living room sofa. After blowing his nose into a tissue and going “Ah, ah” to clear his nasally voice, he made a video call to Tae Igyeol. As if they had called each other simultaneously, Tae Igyeol’s face appeared on the screen right away. In contrast to his smiling expression, he looked haggard, like someone who hadn’t slept for days.
“…Why does your face look like that?”
“Have you been crying?”
“Who’s crying?”
“Hey, Mo Eunje was absolutely bawling when he got your reply. I took a video. I’ll sell it for ten million won. Deal?”
“Deal. Send me your account.”
Both Ban Hajun, who jumped in like a busybody and pushed his face into the screen to make his sales pitch, and Tae Igyeol, who seriously listened and tried to make the deal—it was truly a festival of crazy men. Mo Eunje sighed and went into the dressing room to escape Ban Hajun, locking the door. He should have done this from the start, but he’d briefly lost his reason and judgment, making a mistake.
