Side story:1 chapter 16

“Did you have a fight with Michelle or something?”

“……”

Yuni hesitated for a moment. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk. On the contrary, she lowered her shoulders and began to speak, as if she wanted to confide in someone trustworthy.

“It wasn’t a fight… No, I don’t even know if it was a fight.”

She roughly ruffled her bobbed hair before sweeping it back and taking a drag from her cigarette.

She started by saying that as her relationship with Michelle deepened, they had recently started opening up to each other about their family situations. She couldn’t go into detail, but she said Michelle’s father had been suffering from a chronic illness for a long time.

“He’s retired and managing his health, so he’s doing well for now… but she said there’s always a risk that his illness could suddenly worsen or a more serious condition could develop. She told me a few days ago that if that happens, she might have to go back to England, even if it’s just temporarily.”

As their relationship deepened and the other person became more precious, Michelle had probably decided it was only polite to share potential future possibilities with each other in advance.

Liu took one last deep drag from the already short cigarette, then turned to throw away the butt.

“When I saw her at the gallery earlier, I told her that if that happened, I would go to England with her.”

“……”

Liu, who had been stubbing out the butt in a tall, standing ashtray, stopped and looked back at Yuni.

“And she just shut it down, saying it was absolutely out of the question. That she would never let her issues get in the way of my career.”

After taking a drag from her cigarette, Yuni exhaled the smoke and, after a brief pause, continued.

“We clashed a bit over that. It wasn’t a topic we could discuss briefly and come to an agreement on, so we just parted ways for today… but I didn’t expect Michelle to react like that, so I feel a bit… off.”

Listening to the bitterness in Yuni’s voice, Liu crossed her arms and looked down at the ground.

“It’s not like I meant I would throw away my career and my dreams just to be with Michelle. There are plenty of good galleries in England, too. Michelle is more than just a lover to me; she stimulates me and holds me steady. I may not have been in love or in many relationships, but even I know how hard it is to meet someone like that. My career isn’t the only important thing that makes up my life.”

“You’re precious to Michelle, too… That’s probably why she said that.”

Liu could only say that because she empathized with both Yuni’s and Michelle’s positions and feelings. Yuni, who for a moment focused solely on smoking, didn’t seem to be unaware of Michelle’s true intentions either.

She gazed at the sale items displayed in front of the flower shop diagonally across the street and said.

“When I first came here and was having a hard time, Michelle helped me in many ways. It wasn’t just simple kindness; she made me feel like I wasn’t alone in this foreign land. If I can’t be with Michelle when she’s at her lowest… I don’t know what the point of love is.”

Her last sentence, muttered uncertainly as if to herself, left a deep impression on Liu. Not in the sense that she had heard a clear definition of love. Such a definition couldn’t possibly exist. But no one would likely argue that being together during the hardest times wasn’t love.

Liu fiddled with the ring on her finger, her arms still crossed, mulling over Yuni’s words. A man who had stopped walking and was peering into the flower shop caught her eye. The man, holding a bundle of yellow mimosas, wore a happy expression as he smelled their fragrance. Liu and Yuni stood side by side, gazing blankly at the man’s face.

The man paid and left the flower shop, the bunch of mimosas tucked into the grocery bag in his hand.

“You know, Yeehyeon scolded me. He said I broke my promise not to tell you.”

Yuni, her tone suddenly cheerful, leaned in and nudged Liu with her shoulder. Liu gave her an apologetic smile.

“I understand how Yeehyeon feels, but… if my partner was sick in a foreign country so far away and I didn’t even know, I thought I would be too upset. That’s why I told you. Though I didn’t know you’d pack your bags and get on a plane three hours later just from hearing he seemed to have a cold.”

At the end of her sentence, Yuni shot Liu a slight glare.

“I got scolded too. For overdoing it and changing my schedule for just a cold.”

Liu rubbed one arm with the other and glanced back through the glass window. Yuni laughed, amused. Then, with a lingering smile, she lowered her gaze.

“About Yeehyeon coming to ‘The Hands,’ I don’t know whether you or Yeehyeon were the one who opposed it… but you two are getting along well again like before, and I don’t mean to butt in and give advice, but… maybe Yeehyeon was relieved that you came. At least, that’s how it looked to me.”

“……”

Yuni seemed to think that the reason Liu and Yeehyeon had briefly broken up was because they had a disagreement over his transfer to ‘The Hands.’ It was a completely mistaken assumption, but it was just that—an assumption; she didn’t seem to be certain of it either.

“Don’t take what Yeehyeon says too literally. He’s fundamentally someone who doesn’t want others to suffer because of him. And he tries even harder not to be a burden to the people he holds dear.”

If Yeehyeon had had to come here alone in the worst of circumstances, without even Yuni, he would have surely been much more lonely. Liu had no intention of closing her ears to another’s words, thinking she was the one who understood Yeehyeon best. Yuni and Yeehyeon had spent over a year here relying on each other and growing close. Advice from her was certainly worth considering.

Liu remained silent and nodded carefully. Yuni sent her a brief smile.

“Anyway, I’m going to drink and get wasted today. I’m mad at Michelle, too. I’m going to rebel.”

With that declaration, Yuni threw her cigarette butt into the ashtray and disappeared into the cafe first. The boisterous sounds of the group welcoming her could be heard even from outside the door.

Liu didn’t feel like immediately blending into that cheerful atmosphere. He watched the back of Yeehyeon’s head as he sat among the others welcoming Yuni, then turned away. He planned to smoke just one more before going in.

He had just lit it and was taking his first slow drag. That was when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind. A smile spread across Liu’s lips, which held the filter, without him realizing it.

“Why… aren’t you coming in.”

He could sense his effort to enunciate his words, which were slurred from the alcohol. It was followed by a small whisper, “I was waiting.” A light shiver ran down the nape of his neck where Yeehyeon’s breath had touched.

“Aren’t you cold?”

Stroking Yeehyeon’s arm as he asked, Liu pulled him forward. Without a second thought, he tossed the cigarette he had only taken a single puff of into the ashtray and wrapped both his arms tightly around him.

He didn’t care what kind of jeers the people inside the cafe sent their way. These few days of being able to see, hear, and touch the real Yeehyeon were too short and precious to worry about the eyes of others.

“Because of what my parents do, I used to draw a lot when I was little, too.”

“……”

He felt Yeehyeon’s gaze on him, his chin resting near his collarbone as he looked up. His face would be full of curiosity, wondering what he was about to say. Liu kept his eyes fixed on the colorful baskets in front of the flower shop and continued his story.

“Until I was about ten, brushes and paints were very familiar toys to me, and though it might not be objective since it was my parents who said it, they said I had quite a bit of talent.”

“……”

“Maybe I should have kept drawing instead of quitting. Or… maybe I should have delved more seriously into photography instead of leaving it as a hobby.”

Only then did Liu look down at Yeehyeon. Though he was drunk and blinking slowly, he was listening intently with a serious expression. Releasing one of the arms that had been around his waist, Liu brushed away the hair covering Yeehyeon’s forehead.

“You working with other people. It makes me much more jealous than you drawing other people, or other people owning your work. And Seo Yeehyeon… doesn’t really like it when I get jealous.”

Yeehyeon’s serious expression broke into a smirk, and Liu hugged him tighter as if to punish him. Then he spoke in a deliberately light tone.

“But since I have the goal of becoming the most faithful interpreter of Seo Yeehyeon’s world of art, and a perfect partner both personally and creatively… I’ll learn to manage this feeling. I’m just telling you so you know.”

Being apart made Yeehyeon sensitive to Liu’s emotions. He didn’t want to make him worry and was always careful when talking about things that might concern him. It was the same for Liu, but now he didn’t want to hide even the most trivial of feelings. Even for the reason of not wanting to worry him. He knew that just by not talking about things and putting them off, even by just being silent without telling a lie, misunderstandings could arise. If that was the case, it was better to bicker from time to time.

An elderly woman walking past the two of them made eye contact with Liu and smiled warmly. Without letting Yeehyeon notice, Liu smiled back silently and pulled him closer, tightening his arms.

After squirming for a moment in her arms, Yeehyeon said in a low voice.

“You are now, no, you were a perfect interpreter from the very beginning.”

“……”

The person in his arms sometimes left him speechless. He moved Liu in ways he thought impossible.

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