WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Malfoid
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Dynamics of Pure Love and Overprotection ◈
Chapter 14
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The final game was about gathering into groups based on whatever number the host called out. Supposedly, it was meant to promote unity or something. The last two people standing would get coffee coupons, but I didn't care much about that. The only thing I was on edge about was who Kang Uihyeon would reach for.
“Six!”
The moment the host called out a number, Kang Uihyeon grabbed my wrist and pulled me in. As he drove away the extras and formed a group of six, he never let go of me.
No matter how the host changed the number, Kang Uihyeon took me with him. Even when I was the last to join a group that needed four people, he pushed out someone who had already been there and made sure I stayed in. His body heat never left my wrist.
“Now, it's the final round.”
The host's solemn voice rang out over the microphone. The people left were Kang Uihyeon, me, and an unnamed male second-year senior.
“You all know what number I'm going to call now. Say it together.”
“Two!”
Everyone shouted the number at once. Without hesitation, Kang Uihyeon pulled me into his arms. He turned his back completely on the male senior and held me so tightly that not even a finger could fit into the space between us.
The feeling that I might faint washed over me. The scent of the perfume I had given him seemed to engulf me, almost suffocating me. I wanted to stay buried forever in the solid feeling of his chest against my cheek and the arm wrapped firmly around my waist. It didn't matter that people were looking at us strangely. In Kang Uihyeon's arms, the stares of others and all the noise they made were shut out.
“I'll count to ten. If you can't squeeze in before then, Kang Uihyeon and Yu Chaewon's victory will be confirmed.”
The second-year senior grabbed Kang Uihyeon's shoulder. But Kang Uihyeon, whose body was stiff as stone, didn't budge. Growing desperate, the senior circled around and roughly yanked my arm.
“Ah.”
When I winced and groaned, Kang Uihyeon loosened his hold on me and slapped the senior's hand away. That was the opening the senior had been waiting for. The moment a gap opened between us, he slipped right into it and clung tightly to Kang Uihyeon, not me. The senior's formidable butt power shoved me aside, and I landed on the ground with a thud.
“Time!”
People burst out laughing at the sudden reversal. Feeling empty, I stared blankly up at Kang Uihyeon. His eyes, as he looked at me, were full of the same disappointment. The second-year senior raised both fists in the air as people cheered.
“Your arm?”
Kang Uihyeon came over and stroked the arm that had been roughly pulled. Everywhere his palm brushed tingled. He was only gently caressing it through my clothes, but I couldn't stop my facial muscles from relaxing on their own.
On top of that, being looked after by him in front of so many people made me feel proud and pleased. Anyone with eyes must have seen. Even if they ignored my unrequited love, there were moments like this when he responded to it.
That was why I was always so desperate for him. The man who thoroughly pretended not to know how I felt would occasionally show kindness that crossed the line. Kindness that looked excessive even to others. Knowing that only made me hungrier, and I blindly chased after him. That was the dynamic that made up the relationship between Kang Uihyeon and me.
“Take it.”
Kang Uihyeon handed me the 10,000-won coffee coupon the host had given him. The express train carrying my unrequited love found more fuel and eagerly set off again.
After seating me somewhere safe, Kang Uihyeon approached the second-year senior. His face was as gentle and kind as ever as he took one of the senior's shoulders and said something to him. But the broad smile on the senior's face, so delighted at having won the coffee coupon, gradually turned sour.
“Argh!”
Then he clutched the shoulder Kang Uihyeon had been holding and bent over at the waist. People's attention immediately turned toward him, but Kang Uihyeon calmly helped the second-year senior stand straight again. Even as he patted his shoulder, his touch remained as considerate as ever.
After all the games ended and we started drinking, my seat was still beside Kang Uihyeon. I thought I should get away from him, even now, and carry out my resolution, but once I was pressed against his side, I couldn't pull away by my own will. It would be nice if someone else joined us. Just not someone overflowing with impure intentions like Seo Minji.
“I do or do not have a girl I like here!”
Since the department was so large, we couldn't all sit in one circle to drink and had split into several groups. An interesting conversation drifted over from the group beside us. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought so. The people who realized the group beside us was playing Truth Game all fell silent at once and turned toward the source of the noise.
“What? Why'd it suddenly get so quiet?”
Baek Jungyeong looked around in confusion. It wasn't late enough for Truth Game yet, so I wondered why they were picking up the pace already. Then the liquor bottles in front of Baek Jungyeong gave me the answer.
“Hey, hurry up. Is there a girl you like here or not?”
Baek Jungyeong's gaze slid toward me, then shifted to Kang Uihyeon. Baek Jungyeong hesitated before finally opening his mouth.
“...There is.”
People answered his courageous truth with loud cheers. A few people who had already guessed who the girl was glanced at me. What were they going to do by staring? The fact that Baek Jungyeong saw me differently from the other female classmates couldn't possibly affect me. I was more interested in the unopened bag of snacks than Baek Jungyeong, who was letting his feelings spill everywhere.
Kang Uihyeon watched me as well, but unlike them, the corners of his mouth had loosened into a smile. As though something pleased him.
Why was he smiling? Before I could ask, the phone I had left on the floor buzzed. The screen was fully visible, so the people sitting nearby could clearly see the caller's department and name.
[Department of Mathematics Han Jio]
I had plenty of excuses not to answer. But I remembered the resolution I had made. If I was going to seriously consider seeing Han Jio, I needed to make the effort to talk to him even on a weekend night away on the MT (membership training trip).
“Hello.”
I stood up as I answered. I saw Seo Minji lifting herself from her seat with her drink in hand, as though she had been waiting for this, but I pretended not to notice. I pretended not to notice Kang Uihyeon's eyes following me, too.
“Did you eat dinner?”
“Yes. What about you, oppa?”
“I came out near my place to eat with some friends.”
Outside, where summer was quickly approaching, was just as crowded as indoors. Cats wandered around without caution, eating leftover food here and there, while noisy chatter drifted over from another guesthouse that seemed to have a group staying there too.
“We're having chicken and beer. There's a national team soccer match later, so we're going to watch that.”
At first, with so many footsteps crossing the gravel, I couldn't pick out the familiar sound of his. But soon, I noticed a figure overlapping with my shadow. When I looked up, Kang Uihyeon's neat features entered my view.
“It's almost time for everyone to start drinking a lot. Will you be okay?”
Han Jio's voice failed to settle in my ears and scattered with the night breeze. I stared up at Kang Uihyeon, who stood silently without so much as a sound.
“Do you have a lot of food to go with the drinks?”
Kang Uihyeon's hand came toward me. He carefully tucked the loose hair at my temple behind my ear. The feeling of his fingertips brushing through my hair made goosebumps rise over my scalp.
“Chaewon? Are you listening?”
“Ah, yes. A cat was passing by, so I was watching it for a moment.”
The flimsy excuse slipped out in a rush. Still, Han Jio seemed to find it amusing, because his quiet laughter came through the speaker. It must have carried beyond the phone and reached Kang Uihyeon too.
“There are plenty of snacks, and I won't drink too much. It's not the kind of atmosphere where people pressure you.”
My chest kept swelling tightly, then constricting again. As I spoke to another man in front of Kang Uihyeon, an emotion I couldn't identify came over me. I didn't know whether it was pride or embarrassment. My cheeks burned and my throat tightened, but I neither looked away from Kang Uihyeon nor ended the call.
“Is the guesthouse okay? It must be uncomfortable sleeping with other people.”
“It's only for one night.”
Kang Uihyeon was still holding the ends of my hair. I couldn't feel any force in his grip, but somehow, it felt as though he had me by the hair.
Perhaps because he stood with his back to the streetlamp, deep shadows fell over his face. His gaze descended in a straight line through the darkness, steady and unwavering. Without taking a single deep breath, he only gently rubbed the strands of my hair caught between his thumb and forefinger.
Having known him for more than a decade, I could easily tell.
Kang Uihyeon was waiting for my call to end.
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