Chapter 121 – Episode 121. Empty Seat (3)

Chaeyoung and Sihyeon went into a nearby café.

“So, where is Sunwoo now?”

Before the coffee I ordered was even served, Sihyeon asked a question.

“Are you going straight to the point? That’s also similar to Sunwoo.”

“… Don’t talk back and just answer.”

“Speak comfortably~ There is no need to be polite between us.”

“What is our relationship like? I have no intention of living comfortably.”

“Then I won’t say anything~”

Chaeyoung crossed her legs and looked away.
Sihyeon took a deep sigh and said.

“… Answer me.”

“My house.”

“… What?”

“Sunwoo, you are staying at my house.”

Sihyeon’s pupils trembled rapidly.

“W-that… What…?”

When I asked you to live with me, you refused!

Or rather, you’re leaving my family alone and staying with that woman?!

Was the dream I had today like a precognitive dream?

Sihyeon clenched her fists and glared at Chaeyoung.

Chaeyoung calmly accepted that gaze.

No, she actually burst out laughing as she looked at Si-hyeon who was glaring coldly.

“Ahahaha.! It’s fun to tease him. If I had known it would be like this, I should have been friends since we were students. Seonwoo is currently living in a building I own. Unfortunately, we don’t live together.”

“… Ah.”

Sihyeon made a dumbfounded expression.

Her face turned red from the embarrassment of not trusting Sunwoo.

“Ugh…”

Sihyeon’s expression hardened again, and he asked again.

“So, where is Sunwoo now?”

“But what are you going to do? Sunwoo, didn’t he fight with you and leave the house?”

“… We didn’t fight?”

I didn’t fight with Sunwoo.

He left because of a fight with her younger sister, Si-eun, over Seon-woo, but he didn’t think to tell Chae-young.

“Seonwoo must be sad too~ In the past, I went through so much trouble because of you, and I even got kicked out of the house…”

“I wasn’t kicked out!”

Sihyeon was furious.

“… But when do you mean long ago?”

Although Sihyeon was angry, she was interested in what Chaeyoung had to say.

“A long time ago, when there were ridiculous rumors going around about you.”

“… How do you know what happened back then?”

“Because I helped Sunwoo back then?”

Now that I think about it, it seemed like it was around that time that Chaeyoung started getting involved with Seonwoo.

“… I wonder how it is?”

Sihyeon’s pride was hurt by the fact that Chaeyoung knew something he didn’t know, but his curiosity was bigger than that.

At that time, I guessed that Sunwoo had done something, but I didn’t know exactly what he had done.

Even though I tried to ask him secretly, it seemed like Sunwoo didn’t want to talk.

Sihyeon nodded.

Chaeyoung smiled with satisfaction as she watched Sihyeon decompose.

“As for what happened back then…”

**

Chaeyoung started to intervene when she saw Seonwoo looking different from usual.

She was usually Seonwoo who kept her distance from people, but these days she seemed to be getting impatient.

‘What’s going on?’

Chaeyoung thought about what was happening around her.

Is it perhaps because of rumors going around school?

Rumors were secretly circulating within the school.

It was a rumor about a pretty girl who seemed like a vision.

It was a ridiculous story, but people originally liked things that were stimulating.

Moreover, since she was a student who didn’t usually gossip, she was even more likely to be absorbed in such stories.

As always with rumors, more and more flesh was added as time went by.

‘Even so… Isn’t it too ridiculous?’

A rumor this malicious, nonsensical, and without solid evidence could not have spread so widely.

The person who heard it said, “Ah, that doesn’t make sense.” It is a story that will disappear from there.

But if it continues to spread like this… Someone is continuing to spread it.

‘… Okay, that’s what I remembered. Is it Si-hyeon? You said she lives with Seon-woo?’

Is that why you’re so restless?

Chaeyoung started observing Sunwoo.

Seon-woo, who didn’t want to get involved with people, talked to people everywhere.

‘Are they trying to find the instigator?’

Even if it’s the boys who talk openly, it’ll be hard to find girls.

‘What are you going to do when you find it? Are you going to report it?’

Even if a report was made, there was a high possibility that no proper punishment would be imposed.

There, Sunwoo unexpectedly did something primitive.

Violence was used.

‘… I’m a little disappointed.’

Can this be the solution?

Perhaps only Sunwoo will be punished, and the situation will not improve.

Chaeyoung waited for Sunwoo to come out.

She asked a question when Seon-woo, who was completely injured, came out.

“Why did you do that? This won’t solve the problem. Only you will be punished and it will end. Besides, did you know that there was also a child of a high-ranking person there just now? You won’t just let it go, right?”

Wow, Seonwoo spat out the blood that had accumulated in his mouth.

“… I didn’t intend to do this either. I was planning to collect evidence and report it to the police… Or at least threaten the people involved with it to silence them.”

“But why did you do this?”

“… I couldn’t stand it. Seeing Sihyeon’s name come up and down in those bastards’ mouths.”

“At the very least, you might be expelled from school and even sent to juvenile detention center if you do something wrong. Is there a reason to ruin your life?”

Seonwoo hesitated for a moment and then answered.

“… It’s a precious family.”

“… Oh.”

Chaeyoung liked that answer.

“But why am I even saying this.?”

“Well, good job. Go home and get some rest.”

When Chaeyoung snapped her fingers, Seonwoo’s eyes darkened.

Sunwoo returned home with unsteady steps.

After contemplating what Sunwoo said for a moment, Chaeyoung entered the construction site where Sunwoo had walked out.

**

“Well, then he forced me to hang out with the girls he didn’t like and tried to find the girls who were the instigators? I didn’t want to see that, so I helped him solve it. How about that? He feels a bit grateful to me…”

“Huh…”

Sihyeon was desperately holding back her tears.

She was holding back her tears by clenching her fists and biting her lips, but she seemed to be at her limit.

Tears were already overflowing from her eyes and her body was shaking.

I was barely holding back what I wanted to see,

If you even listen to that kind of story…

“I miss you…”

“… Huh?”

“I miss you so much…”

In the end, Sihyeon burst into tears.

“Aaaaahhh…!”

Chaeyoung was rarely embarrassed.

“Huh.? Now, wait a minute. Everyone is looking at you!”

“Hissop .! Ahhhhh!

“Just stop for now.!”

Chaeyoung tried hard to comfort her, but her crying didn’t stop.

“Ugh.! I want to say thank you. Ugh… I’m sorry…!”

“… Oh, I don’t know.!”

When Sihyeon didn’t stop crying, Chaeyoung called Seonwoo.

“Seonwoo? Your girlfriend is crying. Come and do something.!”

“Ugh. Why don’t you answer my phone, but you answer that woman’s phone call…!”

Sihyeon began to cry louder.

Not long after, Sunwoo came into the café.

I was panting so quickly that I felt like I was going to run out of breath at any moment.

“Whoa..? Whoa… What did you do?”

Sunwoo glared at Chaeyoung.

“Oh, no! I didn’t ring!”

“So, Sihyeon is crying for no reason?”

“Aaaaahhh…!”

As soon as Si-hyeon saw Seon-woo, he rushed over.

“Aaaaahhh.!”

“Sister? Just snap out of it.”

“Don’t go…!”

“Ah, I understand, I’m not going anywhere! Snap!”

“Huh… Huh… Huh…”

Sihyeon cried so much that she even had hiccups.

Seonwoo held Sihyeon in his arms and patted her back.

“Ugh. Ugh…”

“We’ll talk later and go first.”

“Okay… I’ll say it again, I didn’t really make you cry?”

“… We’ll talk later.”

Si-hyeon buried his face in Seon-woo’s chest and didn’t let go.

“Sister? It’s hard to walk, just wait…”

“… I don’t like it.”

“…”

Sihyeon’s answer was decisive.

Rather, Sunwoo becomes stronger

Seonwoo had no choice but to leave the café in a hesitant manner, catch a taxi, and return home.

**

“Ha…”

As Sihyeon and Sunwoo left the café, Chaeyoung sighed.

“I didn’t know I could cry like that.”

As Chaeyoung looked at Sihyeon’s coffee, she remembered something from her past that she couldn’t bear to talk about.

**

Chaeyoung entered the construction site and looked around at the group of grunting gangsters.

“I was worried what would happen if my junior got hit, but it turned out to be unfounded.”

In a place where everything was a mess, Chaeyoung was the only one who looked sane.

With Chaeyoung’s appearance, men’s eyes focused on her.

Chaeyoung, looking for a place to sit, swept her hands over a pile of clean bricks and sat down, crossing her legs.

“Did you think you could get it if you got it dirty and dropped it like that? Or were you just planning to destroy it if you weren’t going to get it anyway?”

After hearing Chaeyoung’s words, her boyfriend reacted angrily.

“What the fuck are you talking about? Do you want to search too?”

“… Well, either way it’s equally disgusting.”

“Fuck you… Do you think we look like shit when we’re like this? Even if that bastard was unlucky, we’d kill him… I was going to hit that bastard first, but let’s get you hit first.”

The gangsters stood up and approached Chaeyoung.

“Shh.”

Chaeyoung brought her index finger to her lips.

And she let out a small sigh, as if she were blowing out a candle.

In the darkness, only Chaeyoung’s mysterious dark red eyes shone.

That night, a slightly darker night fell on the construction site.

**

“I helped clean up after everything, but Seonwoo doesn’t know, and I’m sad~ … Oh, I erased his memory?”

Chaeyoung smiled slightly as she recalled her past.

“Is he a precious person? It’s boring, but good. If I bring back his memories, will you cherish him too?”

In the end, Chaeyoung left her place, leaving behind two untouched cups of coffee.