Vol. 2 Chapter 73: Chapter 73

Vol. 2 Chapter 73:

Translated by Chef

Edited by Chef

“Ugh….”

Since he didn’t eat much, only gastric juice flowed out. But the feeling of nausea did not go away. Inseop vomited a few more times, then managed to get up and rinse his mouth in the sink. He had to endure nausea even while brushing his teeth.

For the past few days, he has been experiencing pain in his stomach as if it was clogged whenever he eats anything. He thought it would be okay, but the pain got worse and eventually got to the point where he was vomiting even when he drank water, so he went to the hospital again.

Fortunately, he did not have a heart problem, but was diagnosed with severe gastritis. He listened to the doctor’s instructions to watch what he ate, take his medication regularly, and avoid stress as much as possible.

After taking a shower, Inseop went outside and found a bag of medicine. The number of pills he took at one time was more than ten.

After staring at the pill in his palm, Inseop put it in his mouth, poured some water, and drank it. He swallowed the medicine and then went to bed and lay down.

The room was still a mess. Since that day, not a single box has been opened. Even though he knew he had a lot of work to do, Inseop didn’t want to move a single finger. It was the first time he experienced helplessness.

It wasn’t like this when he found out about Jennie’s death.

All he was doing now was washing, preparing meals, and taking medicine.

‘Take care of food and medicine… rest.’

As he left the hospital room for the last time, the words Lee Wooyeon said lingered in his mind.

Even though he vomited almost everything he ate, and the medicine was so strong that he would sleep for an abnormally long time whenever he took it, his physical condition was not good, but he did everything that Lee Wooyeon said.

He spent most of the day sleeping, to the point where he wondered if he could sleep like this for so long. When he opened his eyes, thoughts of Lee Wooyeon flooded his mind and he couldn’t bear it.

‘Is it worth risking your life for something so common, just for dating?’

What was Lee Wooyeon’s expression like when he said that?

Inseop stopped trying to remember his face. He was in pain. He felt like he had been confirmed dead once more. It was painful enough to kill him, but what was even more difficult was the feelings he had for Lee Wooyeon that still remained intact.

Time was short. Any breakup fades with time.

Inseop repeated the verses he had read in his book like a prayer, but the problem was that time was passing too slowly.

He closed his eyes. A faint feeling of medicine came over him. It felt like his body was floating on water. He started feeling sick again.

At that time, he heard someone knocking on the door outside. Inseop jumped up and ran to the front door. He opened the door without even asking who it was.

“Uh….”

Yoon Ahreum, who raised her hand to knock, froze in shock. She quickly put her hand down and smiled.

“Ah… hello.”

Inseop bowed his head in greeting.

“I told you I would come today. Did you forget?”

“Wasn’t it tomorrow?”

Inseop asked with a puzzled expression. Yoon Areum took out her cell phone from her pocket and confirmed her date. Inseop blushed, not knowing what to do.

“You didn’t even notice the time passing because you were so busy.”

Yoon Ahreum scolded lightly and held out the envelope in her hand.

“It’s a housewarming gift. My mother wanted me to give it to you.”

There was a side dish in her hand. Ever since Yoon Ahreum’s mother found out that Inseop was a student who came alone from the United States to Korea to study, she would make and send him side dishes whenever she had the chance.

“Thank you. But I just received too much…”

“Just receive it. You gave us Lois. You don’t know how much my father likes her. Even when he sleeps, he hugs Lois. You don’t know how mad her mother is because he even tries to take Lois in the shower.”

Lois ended up being raised at Yoon Ahreum’s house. Since adult cats are difficult to sell, let’s raise them ourselves, declared Yoon Ahreum’s father, who did not even try to sell the adult cat.

“If the situation doesn’t work out, you can also give John.”

Yoon Ahreum first recommended that John’s adoption be delayed a little. Since there were issues that needed to be resolved before he could be taken to the United States, Inseop readily agreed to do so.

“No. John, of course I…”

Before Inseop could finish speaking, a thumping sound was heard. When he looked down, he saw a white-furred puppy wagging its tail eagerly.

“You were so excited to see your brother that you came running. right?”

Yoon Ahreum said, stroking Kongi’s head. When Inseop put down the envelope, crouched down and spread his arms, Kongi jumped in as if he had been waiting. Inseop patted Kongi’s back endlessly.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes. It’s okay.”

“Why does your complexion look worse?”

She looked worried. Inseop quickly smiled and shook his head.

“It’s gotten a lot better. You don’t have to worry.”

She said hmm and closed her mouth.

When Yoon Ahreum came to visit again, she saw Inseop sitting alone in the hospital room and asked carefully.

‘Why are you alone?’

‘It’s okay because I don’t need a caregiver.’

‘It’s not that… ’

She was about to say something, but her mouth was shut. She has the same complicated expression as before.

“No matter what, you shouldn’t be alone, right?”

“If I don’t get stressed, I won’t collapse. I take a break from work.”

After learning that Inseop, who was alone in the hospital, was still alone after being discharged, Yoon Ahreum contacted him once a day. There were times when she sent photos of John or Kongi without any specific content.

“Your lover… seems to be very busy.”

“Ah, yes, I guess…”

Inseop was embarrassed and looked around in a panic. He couldn’t even say they had broken up.

Even though she didn’t know who it was, she knew that he was dating a celebrity, so he was careful about every word he said.

“They must be very busy preparing for the next project.”

Yoon Ahreum glanced inside the room.

“Have you connected the TV to the Internet yet?”

“Yes. I need to start organizing my luggage, but it’s still a mess.”

“Tidying up luggage is work, but take it easy…”

At that time, Kongi took advantage of the owner’s distracted attention and ran into the room.

“Kong! You stupid bastard! You didn’t even wash your feet!”

Yoon Ahreum screamed like a thunderbolt and tried to grab the lead rope, but Kongi had already rushed in and was running around the room.

“Sorry. I think he’s crazy.”

“It’s okay. It’s messy anyway, so I can clean it up later.”

Inseop got up from his seat and went inside. Yoon Ahreum quickly took off her shoes and followed him in. Seeing the boxes piled up here and there, the dog’s excitement doubled from usual.

“Kong, won’t you listen to me? If you don’t come right away, there won’t be any snacks!”

The puppy got excited by the word ‘snack’ and ran straight towards Yoon Ahreum. In that wind, the boxes that had been piled up collapsed. As the contents of the box poured out, Yoon Ahreum said, “Oh my,” and touched her forehead.

“It’s okay. You can put it back. Never mind.”

Inseop waved his hand and bent down to pick up the items scattered on the floor.

“….”

Inseop, who confirmed the identity of the object that fell on the floor, froze. It was a trophy. Film Festival Grand Prize, Best Actor Award, Best Drama Male Award, Drama Grand Prize, etc.

One day, Lee Wooyeon found Inseop happily looking at the trophy neatly placed in the cabinet. The next day, he put the trophy in a box and brought it to him as a gift. Inseop gave a straight face and said he would not accept it, but Lee Wooyeon had no choice but to display his plaque on Inseop’s bookshelf.

Inseop picked up the plaque with Lee Wooyeon’s name engraved on it and put it in a box.

“Let me help you.”

“No. It’s fine!”

As expected, the puppy rushed in without missing the opportunity and started running around the room with a plaque in its mouth.

“Hey! You! You’re in trouble!”

When Yoon Ahreum scolded in a scary voice, the frightened puppy dropped the plaque in front of her.

“Here…”

As she handed Inseop her plaque, she blinked and said, “Oh.” Inseop was taken aback and took the plaque as if snatching it from her hand.

“Huh, I didn’t steal it. So, he asked me to keep this for a while…”

The more he tried to come up with a plausible excuse, the more his mind became tangled.

It didn’t make sense that the manager had not one, but dozens of plaques for the celebrities he was in charge of.

As Inseop was stuttering, looking pale, Yoon Ahreum took the plaque that had fallen on the floor and put it in the box.

“Mr. Inseop. I know.”

Inseop’s heart sank at the words she said.

Did she notice? He shouldn’t cause trouble for Lee Wooyeon. Should he tell her that they already broke up? No, then he’s admitting they had a relationship… so should he just say he stole it?

When Inseop was turning pale, Yoon Ahreum calmly continued speaking.

“It has been decided that I will study abroad. I will probably go ahead and attend a language school around the middle of next month.”

“Congratulations.”

Although it was a sudden topic for her, Inseop quickly congratulated her. He had previously heard that she was preparing to quit her job and study abroad to study journalism.

“But I can’t sleep because I’m worried. Actually, I didn’t tell anyone, but I have foreigner anxiety.”

“Foreigner depression?”

“Yes. Whenever I see a foreigner, I get nervous and my hands start to sweat. It’s not racial discrimination or anything, but it’s really scary to stand in front of someone you can’t communicate with.”

With her outgoing personality, he didn’t know she would think like this, but Inseop thought she could.

“I understand. If you don’t understand the language, it’s difficult to deal with the other person. But I’m sure you’ll do well. It’s okay.”

At Inseop’s words, Yoon Ahreum stroked her dog’s head and nodded.

“I thought Mr. Inseop would have said that. It’s okay.”

Yoon Ahreum picked up the plaque that had fallen on the floor and put it in the box.

“That’s right. It’ll be okay.”

Only then did Inseop realize her intention in bringing up the topic of her study abroad.

It’ll be okay.

That was not what Yoon Ahreum wanted to hear, but what she wanted to say to Inseop.

Inseop bowed his head. He felt the urge to tell her everything. But he couldn’t. Even though he knew he couldn’t do that, he couldn’t tell anyone because he was afraid that what he told her would cause trouble for Lee Wooyeon.

Hee felt like crying.

“Mr. Inseop. Are you okay?”

When Inseop suddenly closed his mouth, Yoon Ahreum looked worried.

“Yes. It’s okay….Thank you. In many ways.”

Looking at Yoon Ahreum reminded him of her family in America. People who are warm and kind to others without any conditions.

“What? I’m going to get an expensive and delicious meal.”

Inseop smiled slightly. Then he suddenly became curious. If he had liked a good person, he wouldn’t have experienced such heartache.

Even though he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with an answer. The very premise of liking someone else does not apply to him at all.

Inseop stretched out his hand and hugged the panting bundle of fur. Even though he kept rubbing his soft back, he didn’t feel any better. He felt like something was broken.