WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Malfoid
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◈ The Dynamics of Pure Love and Overprotection ◈
Chapter 23
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As Chaewon’s late mother remained in this house longer and longer, Chaewon let Uihyeon further and further into her space. She liked it when he organized her desk in his own way, and she happily fell asleep each night after taking the perfume he used and spraying it on her bedsheets.
The first time Chaewon tried to break free from Uihyeon’s grasp was when she submitted her university applications.
“My grades are good enough for Sangheon University. My homeroom teacher said I have a good chance of getting in.”
“Your grades aren’t the problem.”
“Then what is? I want to go to the same university as you, oppa. Why won’t you let me decide for myself? Why?”
Chaewon flopped onto her desk and whined. Judging by the way even her feet were stamping beneath her chair, she seemed determined to dig in her heels.
A muscle in Uihyeon’s brow twitched unpleasantly. Decide for herself? Now she wanted to do as she pleased? For the past three years, no, practically her whole life, she had grown up doing exactly as he said. Looking at Chaewon, who had suddenly decided to have her own way, he barely managed to keep his voice gentle.
“Baegyeong Women’s University is a good school too. And who applies to only one university? What if you don’t get in? Are you going to spend another year preparing for the CSAT?”
“Yeah! I will!”
When he had recommended she go from Hoijeong Girls’ Middle School to Hoijeong Girls’ High School before she graduated elementary school, she had followed without a word of complaint. Why was she being stubborn now that it was time to choose a university? Was it because she thought of herself as an adult now? If so, it only made him more displeased. How much had she grown up already, that she wanted to do whatever she pleased?
“You said you wanted to go to the same university as me. I’ll graduate while you’re spending another year preparing for the CSAT, so what would be the point?”
Chaewon stopped moving. It seemed she had not considered that their time at university might not overlap at all. She looked up at him with a frightened expression.
“Apply to Baegyeong Women’s University too. If you get into even one school, we can still have university life together.”
At his argument that they needed to become university students at the same time, Chaewon’s expression eased. Uihyeon waited leisurely for her decision. Before long, those lips would agree to do as oppa said.
“...Okay. I’ll do as you say, oppa.”
As expected, Chaewon obediently lowered her head. Her waist-length hair parted to reveal the pale nape of her neck. Uihyeon’s hand, which had been stroking the crown of her head, slid down along the line of her neck. The protruding vertebra at the back of her neck grazed his thumb.
“You made the right choice.”
The satisfaction and fulfillment were no different from usual. But another feeling, unlike anything he had felt before, stirred quietly inside him. Without recognizing what it was, Uihyeon relaxed his grip, then clasped Chaewon’s nape in his hand. When her neck, delicate enough to seem as though it might snap at any moment, fit in his palm, that unfamiliar feeling raised its head a little more clearly.
Chaewon lifted puzzled eyes toward him. Whenever her slightly upturned eyes looked at Uihyeon, they always held a gentleness. Eyes that wanted praise and waited for his touch.
Maybe it was because he had always thought she was like a puppy. For a moment, an image came to mind of a little white, cotton-ball-like puppy in a collar, lightly wagging its tail as it followed its owner. It was clearly a cute image, but his throat tightened. His chest suddenly felt stifled, as though a heavy stone had been set on it. The room seemed to grow several degrees warmer in an instant.
“I’m going to check whether you submitted your applications properly.”
Uihyeon took his hand off Chaewon and stepped back. His mind must have overheated from imagining something indecent. It felt as though his own throat were tightening.
But the feeling he thought would pass as a momentary confusion came back to him.
Perhaps because of the strain of taking the CSAT while tense, Chaewon was plagued by a cold that would not go away. Unable to keep watching, Uihyeon took her to the hospital. He intended to have her get an IV and sleep soundly.
“The Sangheon early admission results come out today.”
Lying in the hospital bed, Chaewon chattered in a congested voice.
“I won’t get rejected, right? If I get rejected, who’ll get in? Right?”
“You got into Baegyeong Women’s University. What are you worried about?”
Chaewon shot him a look. She had reluctantly applied to Baegyeong Women’s University and even been accepted, but Sangheon University was still her first choice. Her desire to attend the same school as Uihyeon was keeping her awake.
Uihyeon slipped his hand beneath Chaewon’s bangs. There was still a lingering warmth there. As he furrowed his brow in concern, Chaewon pulled his hand down.
“Cover my eyes like this. I’m going to sleep.”
Half of Chaewon’s face was covered by Uihyeon’s hand. Her lashes fluttered against his palm, tickling it. Unable to hide the twitching corners of her mouth, Chaewon deliberately slowed her breathing.
Uihyeon’s gaze settled on the prominent tip of her nose beneath his hand. Then it moved in turn to her cheeks, which still had their baby fat, and her lips, pale from illness.
When his gaze slid to the pale line of her neck beneath her slim chin, Uihyeon quickly turned his head and looked up at the IV bag full of fluid. Only then did the sound of the heater warming the hospital room reach his ears.
Had it been around three months? Since looking at Chaewon had begun to make him feel stifled. The symptom had started when they nearly fought over her early admission applications, so it had probably been about that long. Whenever he faced Chaewon, he wanted to pound his solar plexus with his fist and gulp down ice-cold water cold enough to make his bones ache.
Time moved slowly in the quiet hospital room. Still, it was not boring. Listening to Chaewon’s steady breathing, he carefully memorized the soft sensation of her brows and lashes brushing his palm. He kept his gaze fixed somewhere on the wall, aware of Chaewon’s presence only through his ears and palm.
After she had slept soundly for some time, he felt Chaewon’s eyes snap open beneath his hand. As her small face shook free of his hand, a lingering sense of regret followed after it.
“What time is it?”
“Three eleven.”
Chaewon sucked in a sharp breath, sat bolt upright, and reached for her phone. Her face, now with color restored, was full of tension. Even her knees beneath the blanket bounced.
As he watched Chaewon check the acceptance list, Uihyeon was troubled by conflicting feelings. For things to go according to his plan, disappointment should soon cross that face, but strangely, he did not want to see it. He wanted Baegyeong Women’s University to be Chaewon’s only option, yet when he imagined her attending Sangheon University, his heart constricted tightly. What was he supposed to call this feeling?
“Oppa.”
Chaewon set down her phone, smiled brightly, and held out both arms. She wanted him to hug her. Seeing how broadly she was grinning, she must have gotten into Sangheon University.
Uihyeon stood and pulled Chaewon into his arms. Her round head buried itself against his firm chest. When he gently stroked the top of her head, Chaewon took a deep breath that lifted her shoulders.
“You’re not happy at all, are you?”
Still in his arms, Chaewon mumbled the question.
“Isn’t it creepy that I followed you all the way to university?”
Even when Uihyeon showed little reaction, and even when people around her, like Dogyeom, said things to her, Chaewon acted as though none of it bothered her. But every so often, she would ask questions that revealed how low her self-esteem had fallen. Be honest, oppa. I’m a bother to you, right? I’m all grown up now, so I’m not that cute anymore, am I? You get annoyed because I keep bothering you, right?
Every time, Uihyeon denied it, and Chaewon would quickly feel better and cling to him like a magnet. When she grew tired from her long unrequited love, that was how she replenished herself. By hearing the answer she already expected.
“It’s not creepy, but...”
Uihyeon dragged out his answer and slid his hand to Chaewon’s nape. He held her slender neck in one hand and breathed in the scent of shampoo rising from her hair. Suddenly, he wanted to sweep aside the bothersome strands of hair. An image of himself taking a deep breath until his lungs swelled soon filled his mind.
“It’s a little scary.”
Uihyeon released Chaewon from his arms and stepped back. The embarrassment on Chaewon’s face was obvious as it gradually flushed red. Her unfocused eyes and lips that only moved soundlessly showed how mortified she was. She thought his assessment of being scary was aimed at her persistence.
What could possibly be scary about this kid? Still, Uihyeon did not bother correcting Chaewon’s misunderstanding. Sometimes, it was easier for him to let misunderstandings remain misunderstandings. If Chaewon did not ask for another hug now, he too could escape the suspicious fantasies that kept surfacing in his mind.
After Chaewon finished her IV, Uihyeon drove her home. But he only parked in the lot for a moment and showed no sign of going upstairs with her. After unfastening her seat belt, Chaewon hesitated and looked back at him.
“Are you going straight home...?”
“Yeah.”
Uihyeon answered lightly. If the person doing the rejecting hesitated and acted sorry, it would only leave room for the other person. He needed to draw a clear line in an unconcerned tone.
“Oppa needs to go home now.”
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