WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Malfoid

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Dynamics of Pure Love and Overprotection ◈

Chapter 3

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That evening, I met Han Jio alone. We went to a pasta restaurant near the back gate of campus. Meeting a man other than Kang Uihyeon when I barely had enough time to study for exams was something I couldn't have imagined doing just days ago.

“I didn't think you'd contact me so soon.”

Han Jio smiled broadly, until his eyes were nearly invisible. Maybe that was what I looked like when I smiled at Kang Uihyeon.

“I hope I didn't burden you during exam season. Do you have a lot to study?”

“I'm fine. I'm only a freshman, so we haven't covered much yet.”

“Oh, you're a freshman?”

Han Jio said he was twenty-five. I thought of Kang Uihyeon, who was the same age as him. Linking everything to Kang Uihyeon was an old habit.

“You can speak casually.”

I suggested it first. Han Jio didn't know what to do with my younger-than-expected age. Watching him hesitate made me realize the advantage I held. The anxiety that always chased after me whenever I was with Kang Uihyeon vanished in front of Han Jio.

“Then you can speak casually too, Chaewon.”

“I'll take it slow. Once we get a little closer.”

I crinkled my eyes and copied Kang Uihyeon's relaxed manner. It wasn't difficult. The person who liked the other more was always the one left fretting. Han Jio wasn't Kang Uihyeon, which meant I was far from being the one at a disadvantage.

The meal with Han Jio wasn't bad. He made everything convenient for me. I didn't have to keep the conversation going with questions or watch his expressions.

“Thank you for the meal.”

I said goodbye to Han Jio after he paid, then left the restaurant. But I froze when I noticed someone standing a few steps away from the entrance.

Kang Uihyeon was waiting for me in the darkness beyond the reach of the sign's light, his hands shoved into his pockets.

“Next time, I'll buy you something even better. We can go somewhere farther away, not just near campus.”

Han Jio spoke while looking only at me, unaware of Kang Uihyeon's presence. Even though Kang Uihyeon's gaze was scanning him like an X-ray, he didn't seem to feel it at all.

I turned toward Han Jio, who had earnestly played along with me all evening. I ought to have thanked the man who had helped get under Kang Uihyeon's skin.

“Okay. Buy me something delicious again after exams, oppa.”

Han Jio grew shy again at being called oppa. It felt strange to see a man's feelings so plainly written across his face. Kang Uihyeon was still watching me with an expressionless face.

“Are you taking the subway home? Want me to walk you to the station?”

“No. I'm meeting a friend for a bit.”

“Oh, then...”

Thankfully, Han Jio wasn't entirely oblivious. When I turned toward the side opposite campus, he realized it was time for us to part. There was a trace of regret in the way he awkwardly waved.

I walked past Kang Uihyeon and continued ahead. I soon sensed him following me. His long legs easily caught up with my stride. His firm forearm brushed mine before pulling away.

“How was he?”

Kang Uihyeon asked quietly. I had been prepared for a question like that.

“He was okay.”

“Does he have a big appetite?”

That question, however, caught me off guard. I had firmly resolved not to look at Kang Uihyeon, but I couldn't help turning to him with a puzzled expression.

“I mean, did he wolf down his food and eye yours too?”

Kang Uihyeon kindly explained what he meant.

“He didn't do anything like that.”

“Is he chatty? Loud?”

“He seemed pretty normal.”

I couldn't shake the feeling that Kang Uihyeon was trying to steer my answers in a negative direction. And I ended up sounding as though I were defending Han Jio.

“How old is he?”

Kang Uihyeon's questions didn't stop.

“Twenty-five.”

“He's too old.”

A hollow laugh escaped me. As we left the alley and entered the main road, I looked up at Kang Uihyeon.

“He's the same age as you, oppa.”

“Exactly.”

“What do you mean, too old?”

“When you were in elementary school, I was in high school. It was the same for him.”

“We're both adults now. What does that matter?”

Kang Uihyeon gripped my elbow and stopped me. My mood instantly plummeted when I remembered him leading Jeong Sujin away like this yesterday.

“Get in my car.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Go drive Jeong Sujin around instead.”

My ears didn't miss the quiet sigh Kang Uihyeon let out. My temples throbbed from nerves wound so tight because of him alone. I shook off his hand.

“Then take a taxi home. I'll give you money.”

“You know I don't want to go home early.”

That was the real reason I didn't even want to take a taxi. Going home early only meant being greeted by silence so deep that even fabric brushing together sounded loud, and the pale, hazy figure of my mother. Even after three years, getting used to it didn't mean I had to like it.

So I planned to take the subway back, kill time at the cafe in front of my house, then go home as late as possible. I was almost grateful it was exam season, because at least I had something to study. I didn't want to stay in that house for long.

“Dogyeom still doesn't go home much?”

Kang Uihyeon mentioned the uncomfortable name. My only remaining family in the world was practically living with his new girlfriend at her place. In that spacious house, I was alone. No, there were only my dead mother and me.

Knowing full well who he had left his younger sister with, Yu Dogyeom kept running away to other people's homes to escape the responsibility tightening around him.

“What do you expect from Yu Dogyeom?”

A cold, bitter laugh slipped from my nose. Kang Uihyeon's eyes darkened as he looked down at me. He was carrying the guilt my own brother didn't feel.

“Fine. Call me if anything happens.”

Some part of me had expected Kang Uihyeon to say he would come home with me. But he stepped back from playing my guardian, leaving behind only that convenient instruction.

He had come to our house almost every day right after my parents died. When I had studied for the CSAT, he had sometimes stayed up with me all night in my room. But after I received my college acceptance letter, Kang Uihyeon drew a firm line that he wouldn't cross. Even if he took me home, he never entered the house. He kept that boundary thoroughly.

Was he telling me that now that I was grown, I should handle the hardship of being left alone by myself?

Then again, he was neither family nor my lover. He had no duty to care for me. He had felt responsible for a girl unrelated to him by blood for three years simply because he was Yu Dogyeom's close friend. Perhaps it was time for him to be free.

“I'm going.”

I gave Kang Uihyeon a brief farewell and turned away. As I descended the subway station stairs, I promised myself that I wouldn't need to press his number tonight either.

I had to diligently practice handing Kang Uihyeon over to Jeong Sujin from now on.

* * *

Mom and Dad died on Yeongjong Bridge.

They were on their way to pick up their son, who was returning to Korea from studying abroad for summer break. The culprit was a drunk driver in broad daylight who couldn't control his speed. Both the victims and the perpetrator died instantly at the scene. It was a horrific accident.

Yu Dogyeom had called them dozens of times while waiting for our parents at the airport. Without even unpacking his luggage, he had to put on a black suit. The chief mourner's armband tightened around his upper arm, but Yu Dogyeom could only sit against the wall in a daze. Everyone understood his irresponsibility.

So I, who had never experienced a funeral, had to stumble through whatever the funeral service staff told me to do. Grief so immense it felt as though my skull would split bore down on me, while voices came at me from every direction. Do this. You don't need to do that. Yes, yes. The same answer kept coming from my mouth.

After seeing my parents' bodies prepared for burial, I had no time to sink into despair. I had no time to dwell on how horrific their corpses had looked, their bones twisted out of place. I didn't have the strength to be overwhelmed by the question of how I was supposed to live from then on. All of that was Yu Dogyeom's burden.

The mourners who rushed over after hearing the news held my hands and cried. I stood there blankly, unsure how to react. Saying, “I'm fine,” wasn't appropriate when my parents had died overnight, but if I cried with them every time, all the moisture in my body would dry up. So I simply lowered my head and silently listened to their lengthy condolences.

Back then, Kang Uihyeon was the only person I could lean on.

He was the first to arrive at the funeral hall. Standing between Yu Dogyeom, who sat there in a daze, and me, who was barely holding myself together, he greeted the mourners. Like the eldest son of our shattered family, he exchanged bows with guests, arranged the burial site, and made sure Yu Dogyeom and I ate.

“Eat something, then sleep.”

When I opened my eyes after dozing lightly, Kang Uihyeon was sitting in front of me. He held a bowl of soup and a spoon. He had mixed rice into spicy beef soup, telling me to eat at least something.

I sat against the wall and quietly opened my mouth. Rice soaked in the red broth went in on the spoon. Without showing the slightest irritation, Kang Uihyeon fed me small mouthfuls.

“Do you want to sleep in my car?”

The bowl was almost empty. Kang Uihyeon gathered every last bit of food and held it up to my lips.

“I want to stay here.”

I didn't want to be alone. Even with the noisy bustle around me, even though I hated the sight of Yu Dogyeom doing nothing, I felt more at ease inside the crowded funeral hall. Kang Uihyeon was here too.

“Okay, then.”

While Kang Uihyeon went to clear away the empty bowl, I reached for the black jacket he had taken off. When I slipped my arms into it, the oversized garment wrapped around me like a blanket. The outside was cool from the air conditioning, but the lining held its owner's warmth.

Even though I had taken his jacket without asking, Kang Uihyeon said nothing. He simply sat beside me and offered his shoulder. With my stomach full, I fell into a deep sleep with his hard shoulder as my pillow.

The more I hated Yu Dogyeom sitting there as though he had given up on everything, the more I clung to Kang Uihyeon's side.

As if he were my real older brother. As if the place beside him were my home.

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