WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Malfoid

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Dynamics of Pure Love and Overprotection ◈

Chapter 5

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With steaming gukbap before us, all trace of a smile disappeared from Jeong Sujin's face. She took a sip of the broth, then mixed in the seasoning, unable to hide her grimace.

“What is it?”

I wasn't the only one who noticed Jeong Sujin's reluctance. Quick on the uptake, Kang Uihyeon asked the woman beside him what was wrong. Jeong Sujin hesitated, glancing my way.

“The smell...”

Letting her barely audible voice go in one ear and out the other, I mixed rice into my earthenware bowl. My nose wasn't sensitive enough to catch any off smell, so once again, just like at the cafe, I was pushed out of Kang Uihyeon's attention. Without paying the slightest attention to whether I was eating, he studied the menu closely.

“Sir, one children's pork cutlet, please.”

“The gukbap is fine...”

Jeong Sujin awkwardly pushed her bowl aside. Perhaps embarrassed to look like she was being picky, her round eyes darted around. Her gaze frequently landed on me, the one who had chosen the problematic dish.

A fist-sized pork cutlet arrived soon after. As though it were only natural, Kang Uihyeon took the fork and knife and cut it into small, bite-sized pieces for her. The consideration I had thought he showed only me was now, naturally, Jeong Sujin's to receive.

Without noticing how hot the soup was or how unsettled my stomach felt, I kept my face buried in my bowl.

“Is the pork cutlet okay?”

“Yeah, this one's good. Sorry for making you go to the trouble, oppa.”

“It’s fine. As long as you found something you can eat.”

The ordinary conversation across from me felt like an attack. I had chosen the menu, and I had suggested going to the nearest restaurant, so it sounded as though they were indirectly saying I was the one who had inconvenienced them.

I knew. This was my inferiority complex, born from petty jealousy. Kang Uihyeon hadn't spared me even a shred of attention, and Jeong Sujin was actually embarrassed as she watched my reaction. Even so, my twisted feelings concluded that they were subtly blaming me. So I isolated myself, justifying it by telling myself I could say nothing and simply eat.

When really, I was afraid Kang Uihyeon would ignore me if I carelessly joined their conversation. Afraid of having it confirmed that Jeong Sujin was his only concern.

My lips remained stubbornly sealed until I finished eating and Kang Uihyeon paid. The man turned to look at me, car keys in hand. All his attention had been on Jeong Sujin, but only when it was time to part did he spare me a glance.

“Are you going back to the cafe?”

“I’m just going home.”

Being trapped in the same space as my dead mother or continuing to tag along on a date with the man I loved. The former was so much better they couldn't even be compared. My mother merely shared the cold air with me, but Kang Uihyeon was pushing me into the mud.

“See you next time, unnie.”

“Okay, Chaewon. Don't overdo it with your studying.”

I gave Jeong Sujin a small smile. I didn't want to act pathetic toward a woman whose only crime was going on a blind date with Kang Uihyeon, so I managed my expression as best I could. At the same time, I had to keep reminding myself that it was entirely my fault I had never made it onto the list of candidates to become Kang Uihyeon's girlfriend.

“Call me if anything happens. You know that, right?”

Kang Uihyeon's quiet reminder stopped me for a moment.

“I'll try contacting Dogyeom one more time.”

A flash of irritation surged through me at the man who was spending all day with the woman from his blind date, yet still insisted on worrying about me being alone. If he was that worried, he should stay with me. He wouldn't even set foot past the threshold of my house anyway, so his constant nagging to call him only irritated me.

“I'll handle it myself.”

I threw away the act I'd put on in front of Jeong Sujin and whirled around. I caught a glimpse of her startled face, but hurried away from the restaurant before I lost my temper completely. My pride shriveled miserably at the thought that I was like a childish kid throwing a toy in a fit of rage.

The moment I got home, I ran straight to the bathroom. The greasy broth packed into my stomach was churning violently. I was too focused on throwing up as quickly as possible to care where my mother was.

Bending over the toilet, I shoved two fingers deep into my mouth. My fingertips unhesitatingly prodded at my uvula. The food I'd just eaten sprayed out of my wide-open throat like a fountain.

Only the sound of my retching echoed through the quiet house. Saliva streamed from the corners of my mouth, and involuntary tears ran down my cheeks. My stomach contracted, forcing more food up. I closed my eyes because I couldn't bear to look at the filthy vomit.

After flushing the toilet, I barely managed to lean against the sink. The mirror before me reflected my blood-rushed face. It was flushed a deep red, as if it might burst at any moment. Ragged breaths escaped through my damp lips. It was an ugly sight I never wanted anyone to see.

My mother crouched in the corner of the bathroom and watched her daughter brush her teeth.

I went into my room and locked the door. It wasn't as though that could keep my mother out, but I wanted to make a point. I wanted to be alone right now. I couldn't be sure whether my dead mother would understand that.

I lay on my bed, blankly listening to the ticking second hand of the clock, then picked up my phone. What was Kang Uihyeon doing? Was he watching a movie with Jeong Sujin? It was exam season, so maybe they were studying again. And where did Jeong Sujin live? Surely she didn't live alone...?

My delusions, weighted with unrequited love, quickly took a lewd turn. Anxiety swept over my exhausted body after all that vomiting. I imagined a tiny studio apartment, a bed too narrow for two people, and their bodies hurriedly tangling together. Unable to bear it any longer, I moved my fingers.

[Oppa]

The read receipt appeared immediately after that simple call.

[I threw up.]

Before I even had time to wait, Kang Uihyeon's name appeared in the middle of my screen. I relaxed my throat and answered. A shameless voice, pretending to be weak, came out.

“Hello...”

“Are you home?”

“Yeah...”

“I'll be there soon.”

The call ended in less than ten seconds. I sprang up from the bed and ran to my vanity. I put on tinted lip balm and neatly tied my hair back. Then my face looked too healthy, so I rubbed my lips with a tissue, loosened my hair tie, and mussed the hair at the back of my head. Only then did I look a little sick.

I left my locked bedroom door half open and climbed back into bed. Lastly, I turned on my phone camera to make sure my face didn't look too puffy while I was lying down.

Kang Uihyeon kept his word exactly. If he said he'd be there soon, he came running at a speed anyone would consider fast.

And as expected, a little over five minutes later, the doorbell rang. I didn't jump up to greet him and stayed in bed. Even though he knew the passcode, Kang Uihyeon always rang the bell before coming in.

When there was no answer from inside, I heard him press the buttons on the door lock. As if he wanted to make sure I could hear, he entered the six-digit code slowly, one number at a time.

Kang Uihyeon had been coming and going from my house since elementary school, but lately, he'd become strangely formal. It had started around the end of last year. The reason he was drawing a line between us was still a mystery.

“Chaewon.”

Kang Uihyeon finally came through the front door and called my name as he walked over. Only then did I become aware of my mother somewhere in this house. Only I could see her, but Kang Uihyeon knew that too, and I worried it might make him feel a chill.

A daughter living with her dead mother.

To hold his attention, I had even revealed the shameful fact that I saw my mother's ghost. But sometimes I wondered whether that strategy was useless. Since I became an adult, Kang Uihyeon no longer seemed to particularly pity me for being alone. When he came to my house, instead of worrying about me, he tried to brush it off by telling me to sleep with an eye mask on.

Couldn't even my mother's ghost stir his sympathy anymore? Did I have to throw up every day?

“Yu Chaewon.”

Kang Uihyeon's footsteps crossed the living room and reached my bedroom. Instead of welcoming him as usual, I lay there with every muscle relaxed, blinking slowly. I imagined myself as the protagonist of The Last Leaf.

Kang Uihyeon crossed the threshold. At the same time, his Adam's apple bobbed once, though I didn't know why. Maybe he was tense because he thought my mother might be somewhere in this room.

“How do you feel now?”

Kang Uihyeon set a pharmacy bag beside my bed. He had probably bought several kinds of indigestion medicine. That was how Kang Uihyeon worried about me.

I only shook my head without a word. The man, who had been checking my complexion from a couple of steps away, finally sat carefully on the bed. Then he placed his large hand on my forehead.

As if I'd been waiting for it, I rubbed my face against Kang Uihyeon's palm. His fingers twitched.

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