55 – I hate rain so much
“… “Lee Han-sol.”
After receiving her confession to me, Kim So-yi was not immediately happy.
Unlike her faintly smiling lips, her static eyes looked up at me.
“… Yes, tell me.”
“Can I trust you? “You’re really okay with me, right?”
Soyi was anxious.
I guess it’s because I didn’t give her confidence.
“Is it because I’ve been so ambiguous to you until now?”
“… I don’t doubt that you like me. I just… “It takes a while to see if you’re really ready for us to be lovers.”
Soyi’s words clearly saw through the wanderings of my mind. Although she may not know exactly why, she must have felt it.
Of course, there is no lie in my love for Soyi. But as she guessed, there was still a bigger trace of another woman in my heart than hers.
It must be the difference in the years we spent together.
But I didn’t want to make Soyi wait any longer. Rather, it seemed to her that only by taking time with her as her lover could she wash away those traces.
I quickly wanted to build up a bigger story in my heart.
Forcing down a small feeling of guilt, I put on a confident face and spread my arms. With the intention of showing it through actions rather than words.
“Yes… “
She hesitated for a moment, but Soyi eventually came into my arms.
It was a sign of positivity.
The day I held her in my arms for the second time in her life, I became Kim So-yi and her lover once again.
It rained on her the first day I held her.
———-
A few weeks after Ara’s birthday, I received a text message from her.
「Sol, do you have time tomorrow evening? Her grandfather asked if he could watch it with you. It may be too sudden, but my grandfather can only meet other people on days when he is in good condition. Of course, it’s okay to refuse. “I don’t think it’s that important.”
This was our first contact since her birthday. We hugged each other and cried, and we couldn’t even have a small conversation with each other.
I felt greater love and sadness at the same time than ever before from her who came to my house that day.
So I became even more afraid to face her.
I am afraid that this dark love, like bad blood, which is difficult to describe as love and hate, will eat me up even more.
Perhaps it bothered her that I had a hard time even smiling for her, so she never contacted me first.
But King Yucheol’s invitation… It’s been quite a while.
From what I heard from Yoo Ji-tae and Yoo Ah-hyun, his health has deteriorated considerably. So much so that it wouldn’t be surprising even if I were to die tomorrow.
Why does such an old man look for me, who is not even his family, at the end of his life?
When he was young, he used to visit me a lot with Ara, but after Han Seung-ah died, things like that rarely happened.
I am reluctant to meet King Yucheol, but I cannot refuse the request of someone who is facing death.
I sent a reply asking for a time and place to meet.
I sent it, but I was already at a loss.
What will I hear from the old man who is facing death, and how should I treat Ara?
———-
“… “Sorry I’m late, something happened.”
“Oh, no… “I arrived exactly on time for my appointment.”
Ara smiled awkwardly.
I was reluctant to wait for a long time alone with her, so I deliberately arrived just on time for her appointment.
Director Han Cherry’s vehicle had already arrived in front of the North Gate, the meeting place.
It seems like Ara deliberately waited for me to come without getting in the car.
“… “You’ve come all the way to Lee Hansol, so let’s get on now.”
It’s been a while since I met Cherry Han, but she didn’t particularly ask me how I was or pretend to know me.
Well, just because we haven’t seen her in a long time, she’s not the kind of person who would treat someone so kindly.
I wondered for a moment whether I should greet her first.
“Sol, I’ll sit in the front.”
“Huh?”
Ara quickly opened the passenger seat door without even giving me a chance to ask why.
Maybe they misunderstood because I didn’t get on quickly and seemed to hesitate for a moment.
Perhaps it was Ara’s consideration that she thought I would be reluctant to sit in the back seat with her.
It wasn’t because of that… My heart actually became heavy because of her behavior that made me look so harshly at her.
“But why is the Chairman looking for me today?”
“… I was simply instructed to pick you up and you. “I didn’t know anything else and didn’t have permission to say anything.”
‘… ‘This person really hasn’t changed.’
Ara also didn’t know why King Yucheol called him today, so he asked Hancheri just in case, but it was the same.
Just like that cold face that does not change even after several years, her attitude did not change.
“…… “
“…… “
“…… “
There was no longer any conversation in the car.
Not to mention Han Cherry, neither I nor I even made a coughing sound.
Normally, that silence would be uncomfortable, but now I actually felt at ease.
After arriving at a restaurant that seemed like we had been there before, Ara and I entered the room following Han Cherry’s guidance.
In the room, King Yucheol sat alone, quietly closing his eyes, without even touching the dinner on the round table.
King Yucheol, feeling popular, slowly opened his eyes and recognized me.
“You’re here… It’s been so long. “You’ve grown so much.”
“… “I’m sorry, Chairman, for not being able to visit you for a while.”
I sat down as carefully as I could in the seat he pointed to.
Whether it was because he was older since we had seen each other for a long time, or because his condition had become more serious, King Yucheol’s appearance had changed considerably since I had seen him for the first time in a long time.
The eyes that had been filled with poison due to stubbornness became clear, like the eyes of a monk who had attained enlightenment, but at the same time, their spirit weakened.
His originally thin body was now very skeletal, and his straight back, which showed his strength, was completely bent.
The sound that sounded like groaning and drooling while speaking made me sympathize.
Ara next to me also had a sad look on her face.
“First, start eating. These are what I have prepared for you, so eat them as much as you can. hehehehe… “I’m no longer good at eating these things, so show me what you eat.”
Hearing those words made it very uncomfortable to eat, but when I saw Ara sitting next to me putting food on her plate as if she was used to it, I followed suit.
King Yucheol struggled to put the mixed porridge that he ordered separately into his mouth.
While eating, he said he was happy to see me as it had been a while and asked me various questions.
When he was about to fill his stomach, he got to the point with a wry smile.
Now that I think about it, it was his mercy to at least wait until the meal was finished.
“How are you two doing these days? Things seem a little awkward between us.”
“… As time goes by, everything is like that. “Why are you asking again?”
Ara answered quickly. Instead of engaging in an uncomfortable conversation, I stayed quiet.
King Yucheol smiled and clapped softly.
“Then there will be no problem. In fact, another guest decided to come here.”
“Guest… “This?”
Ara frowned as if she hadn’t heard of it.
I had a bad feeling about something bad.
“Isn’t there a story we told you last time? “Your fiancé.”
“About, alone… ?”
I automatically followed his words like a parrot.
Fiance? The person you promised to marry?
What does this mean… Why does Ara have someone like that?
Ara jumped up from her seat.
“Ha, grandfather! “At that time, I said I would tell you something I clearly didn’t hear!”
“Is there something wrong? “Don’t you want to see her granddaughter’s partner before you die?”
“Well, I…” I’m still thinking about getting married… “
What does that mean?
Did King Yucheol just decide on his own?
I don’t know. What I said last time… Why didn’t I hear it?
Why didn’t Ara tell me?
No matter how broken our relationship was, weren’t we at least in love?
Engagement… Why shouldn’t I even hear about that?
Why…
“Why… “You didn’t tell me?”
“So, Sol… no. “Just listen.”
“What is it? “Do you have anything to say about Ara’s fiancé?”
“Well, we…” “
Because we are in love.
Ara stopped me before I could say those words.
“No! Nothing happened! Just… Sol is just a little embarrassed.”
“Yoo Ara… “What are you saying now?”
“Sol, stay still for now. Huh?”
“… Why me?”
Why should I stay still? So you’re telling me to sit here and smile and shake hands with the man who’s going to marry me?
I felt sick to my stomach and couldn’t sit down any longer.
I got up from her seat and made one last plea to Ara sitting next to me.
“You too, wake up. Let’s go out. Chairman… If what that person said is different from your feelings… “Come out with me.”
“… What does that mean? What qualifications do you have? Are you even in love? “Oh, you answer.”
The eyes of King Yucheol and I turned towards Ara at the same time.
Ara, whose eyes were sparkling as she looked at me, eventually lowered her head.
“Oh, no… We… “
“… Joy.”
King Yucheol snorted at Ara’s answer.
Ara couldn’t raise her head. She didn’t wake up.
“… I see “No, we are.”
It seems like she’s hung up and can’t say anything more.
I couldn’t stay here any longer and eventually left the room without saying goodbye to the two people in the room.
It seemed like an eternity as I slowly left the room.
In the end, Ara did not catch me.
———-
“Then I’ll go, sister.”
“Ugh~ Why don’t you call Lee Hansol one more time before you go?”
“Okay, am I a kid? “Can’t I go home alone without him?”
Soyi opened her umbrella and left the store.
It seemed like it would have been better to wear different shoes since there was quite a lot of rain due to the spring rain.
“Anyway, Lee Hansol… Is he dead or alive? There is no contact. I wonder why I got drunk… “
She was Hansol, who said she would quickly finish her appointment this evening and contact me at night, but she hasn’t even called me yet.
Because Hansol had never experienced anything like this before, Soyi was worried rather than offended.
Soyi, who had no idea what to do since she had no idea where or who she was meeting, thought about going to his house.
“Uh… ?”
As she got closer to the house, she saw someone standing at her front door.
I thought someone in the studio was drunk and did that, but when I got closer, I saw that wasn’t the case.
It was Hansol. Even in the darkness, her shiny white blonde hair stood out.
The problem was that I couldn’t see the umbrella that was supposed to cover me in the rain.
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Soy quickly ran towards him.
The stagnant rainwater splashed and wet her pants, but it didn’t matter.
She stood in front of him and quickly covered him with an umbrella.
When the rainwater hitting her head disappeared, Hansol finally lifted her head from her bowed position.
“… “Kim So-yi?”
“W-what are you…” ? Lee Hansol are you drunk? It’s raining like this, so why don’t you have an umbrella? “
“I’m sorry today. Because I couldn’t contact you… I lost my phone… “
“No, that’s okay… First of all, what happened when you got caught in the rain… “aaah!”
Hansol got up and hugged Soyi.
Soyi, surprised by the sudden action, lost her umbrella, but Hansol did not let go.
Soyi was embarrassed, but did not try to escape from his embrace.
It was a cold rain, but the rainwater that flowed along Hansol’s face mixed with the hot water and became warm water, drenching Soyi’s shoulders.
“I… Rain, I hate rain so much… “
“…… “
The two hugged each other for a long time.
Perhaps it was because of the rain or her broken heart, but Hansol felt sick the next day.