Chapter 33
- I Think I Like You
2023.06.02.
As always, Kim Tae-joon put Han So-eun in the passenger seat and got into the driver's seat.
He felt bitter seeing So-eun, who had followed him without a word of refusal, sitting there watching him carefully.
When he had urged her to follow him quickly, her eyes had been red as if she were about to burst into tears. He knew well that she hadn't followed him because she wanted to. She must be feeling guilty about the Moon Jar that had been broken in two. He wondered if she was thinking that she had to avoid offending him at all costs.
Even so, Tae-joon couldn't bring himself to tell So-eun to get out if she didn't want to be there. He just wanted to keep her by his side longer.
Tae-joon deliberately went to a department store in Seoul, far away from the company. He planned to buy her glasses and then have dinner with So-eun on the way home.
So-eun, who had followed Tae-joon without any idea where they were going, seemed surprised.
"I can just get them at the neighborhood glasses store."
"This is the only place I know."
"If I get my glasses here, it'll take a long time to pick them up."
"I can bring them to you, right?"
"……No. It's okay."
"What do you mean, it's okay?"
As he tossed the words out, So-eun mumbled cautiously, as if she was watching him carefully.
"……They're mine, so I should come get them."
He couldn't help but smile a little at how she managed to say everything she wanted to say while still being so careful.
As Tae-joon had expected, So-eun chose the cheapest glasses at the store.
The employee seemed to think that the glasses So-eun had chosen weren't very good, and strongly tried to persuade her otherwise.
"Ma'am, there's not much difference in price between these and these. These look better on you."
"I still like these better."
"Why don't you ask your boyfriend?"
Tae-joon, who had been standing a few steps away to give So-eun the freedom to choose as she pleased, was summoned.
"Sir, please take a look at your girlfriend's glasses."
While So-eun was flustered and stammering at the expressions "boyfriend" and "girlfriend," Tae-joon nonchalantly walked over to So-eun's side.
The employee held up different glasses to So-eun's face, alternating between them, and asked,
"Which ones do you think look better on her?"
"They're both pretty."
"……."
"Please tell my friend not to worry about the price since I'm the one buying them."
Tae-joon answered the employee and smiled slyly at So-eun. He found it amusing to see So-eun's face turn red at his reaction.
"Did you hear that, ma'am! You'll be wearing these glasses for a long time, so get the pretty ones! These are pretty, and these! These too!"
The employee, excited by Tae-joon's answer, brought the glasses to So-eun's face even more enthusiastically. So-eun silently tried on several pairs of glasses, trying to calm the heat in her face amidst the employee's fuss.
"Ma'am, what do you think? These glasses look best on your girlfriend, right?"
Finally, the employee, who had found the glasses that looked best on So-eun, called Tae-joon again.
Tae-joon, who had been sitting casually on a chair, got up from his seat.
The employee had a good eye. They really were much prettier and suited So-eun much better than the glasses she had chosen. But a murky feeling built up in Tae-joon's heart.
He had decided to buy her glasses because of a casual remark from an employee named Jang Eun-pyo. He had felt a petty jealousy and decided that he should put glasses on So-eun.
The glasses might be comfortable, but it was a shame to cover up that pretty face. It wasn't as if she was a woman who wasn't interested in her appearance. He had even heard her asking a colleague today whether she looked better with or without lenses.
"Please also get the lenses with the same prescription."
Tae-joon paid for So-eun's glasses and contact lenses. The lenses were in stock at the store, so they were able to pick them up right away, and they decided to pick up the glasses later.
On the way to the parking lot after finishing their business, So-eun kept muttering as she carried the daily lens set.
"You didn't have to get me this. I have lenses I was using."
"Didn't your eyesight change?"
"Still... if you buy me too much like this, it's uncomfortable..."
Could it be more uncomfortable than I am?
You're pretty to me, so you must be pretty to everyone.
I can already clearly picture myself regretting it, watching you from afar with those well-fitting glasses, those even better-fitting lenses, on your pretty face.
"I broke Assistant Manager Han's glasses."
"I broke Director's Moon Jar."
"……."
"Then Director, please make a fair demand of me."
The two of them stopped as they reached the parking lot.
Tae-joon felt bitter as he received a resentful look in response to his unconditional favor.
I want to make a demand, all right. It might not be fair, though.
The base desires he had been suppressing were now trying to burst out. He could no longer look at her with pure eyes.
I want to kiss you. I want to kiss every nook and cranny of your body. I want to confirm all the colors and sounds you possess. I want to take you to a secret place where no other man can approach you and make you look only at me. I wish you wouldn't let anyone but me into your life.
But you won't listen to me, will you?
"There's nothing Assistant Manager Han can do."
Tae-joon, well aware of his selfish nature, chose a reasonable compromise. That was all he could say.
Just stay as you are, Han So-eun. That's what I want.
Tae-joon suggested dinner, thinking that the argument would drag on over something trivial.
"I'm hungry. I should get some dinner, is that okay?"
"Director, there's something I need to tell you."
But So-eun still didn't move.
Tae-joon's feet also stopped again.
So-eun, standing a few steps away, was trembling as if she were alone in winter in this hot and humid space. Even so, the look in her eyes as she stared at him suggested a warm body temperature.
She opened and closed her mouth like someone hesitating whether to speak or not, and finally made a sound.
"……I think I like you, Director."
A moment as if everything in the world had stopped.
"It hasn't even been a few days since I broke up with my ex-boyfriend, so I think you'll be turned off if I say something like this."
So-eun took courage. It was a feeling she couldn't endure any longer.
She had to convey this torment to him.
I'm human too.
When you change so quickly like this, my heart, which used to race with fear, just races without knowing why. Just because I failed at one relationship doesn't mean that all men look like stones or seaweed to me. She had to make that clear to him.
"I think my heart has become too weak."
And she had to sort out this torment. So-eun knew very well that she shouldn't be swayed any longer by this cold and indifferent, but warm and kind man.
"The team transfer wasn't voluntary, but I know I can leave the TF Team voluntarily. I'm sorry, but I'm going to quit the TF Team. I'm just going to focus on my current job now."
A heart that was sure to deepen.
A heart that would be absolutely unstoppable if it continued like this.
Let's sort it out quickly. I'm not going to let the wound grow any bigger now.
"I'll take care of it myself. I'm sorry for having personal feelings for you, Director."
This time, let's cut it off properly and early. I won't be swayed any longer.
"I'll send you the money for the lenses tomorrow, and I'll be sure to compensate you for the Moon Jar, though it might take a while."
How many times will I be kicking my blanket tonight? Will I be able to go to work properly tomorrow?
What will I say when I go to pick up the glasses? Will I be able to wear those glasses?
The future was as unclear as the present was quickly becoming blurred.
"I'll take the bus. Thank you for today. Goodbye."
After saying those words, So-eun bowed and turned around.
It's okay. It was something I had to say someday. Good job, So-eun.
It's embarrassing today, but it'll be okay again tomorrow.
She kept patting herself on the back in her mind, but in the end, tears burst out into the world.
She hadn't even cried when she broke up with Yang Hee-wook, so why was she acting like this over a few days of puppy love?
Foolish So-eun, who failed at love once and then flirted with feelings that couldn't be caught again.
I will never hate you, so foolish.
I don't even think you're stupid. I know you did your best to live today.
I will always support you as you continue to walk steadily.
Good job. So-eun.
It was a very hot day. The air was so stuffy that it felt like it was blocking your breathing even if you were just standing still. With the crazy weather and lack of sleep.
So, was I crazy and hallucinating? Did I hear nonsense?
Tae-joon didn't feel a sense of reality as he listened to So-eun's voice. It wasn't until she blurted out her confession and turned away that he came to his senses.
Tae-joon took a quick step forward and immediately grabbed So-eun's hand. Her fragile body, as if it would collapse in the wind, turned around as he pulled her.
Tae-joon's eyes widened as he faced her. So-eun's eyes were sparkling like a window after the rain. It was when the dew, precariously clinging to the corners of her eyes, was about to flow down. A woman who had stubbornly held back her tears even when she had problems with her ex-boyfriend.
Even in a moment when his head felt numb, that face was so pretty that it made him angry, and he gritted his teeth.
I'm going to make this woman cry for me in the future too.
"Why are you being so……."
"……."
"Why are you making it so hard?"
He, too, couldn't get the words out properly, and after letting out a rough sigh, he opened his mouth.
"Why are you always so sincere?"
I wish you were a little more cunning. I wish you were as twisted as I am.
He resented this woman, who was so pure and diligent that she made him choke up every moment, who knew how to be polite, and who was enthusiastic about everything she was told to do.
I shouldn't reach out.
It would be a beginning that foreshadowed the end. Just as the end of a carefully built domino would destroy everything, he could lose what he had managed to protect in vain. There would certainly be a heart that would sicken as it got closer.
So, he knew he shouldn't reach out.
Now he was standing in a place where he couldn't stop.
"Is it all over if you just talk about your side and run away?"
So-eun was even more dazed than she had been right after making her confession, unable to understand what he meant by grabbing her.
It was the first time she had seen Director Kim Tae-joon's face look so urgent.
It was the first time she had seen the eyes of a man who had been calm like a skilled firefighter, even when something happened in his area, even when a fire broke out in the company, shaking so much, only yelling.
That expression, which seemed self-destructive and desperate as if surrendering to everything, looked pitiful even though it was beautiful. So much so that she felt sorry for this man who had everything.
She had blurted it all out and was going to try to turn around cleanly by putting forward her embarrassing feelings.
Now that she had been caught like this, her heart, which had been easy from the start, quickly weakened again.
Han So-eun, what are you going to do now?
As the hand holding hers tightened, the desire to be dragged along by him grew stronger. So-eun grabbed his arm without realizing it.
The times of fear and worry crumble in the hot air.
Tae-joon lowered his body and wrapped his arms around So-eun's shoulders. In that large and comfortable embrace that had hugged her as she left the hotel after breaking up with Yang Hee-wook, the beating of his heart was pounding like an earthquake. It was a more certain surrender of his heart than any words.
So-eun felt like she could melt away in that embrace in an instant, like summer ice cream.
