Chapter 386: Chapter 386

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“Ah, don’t get me wrong. Not even three times, but I’ve been giving a lot of dating advice.”

“Are there people asking you for advice?”

“Hey, what do you mean by that?”

With that response, Lucas gently pinched my cheek. I thought, ‘Then you should have not quarreled with Ruda in front of me every day.’ Showing a look of unfairness on my face, I flung a question.

“Are you concerned about Yeo Dan oppa and me?”

“Well, a little, and I also wonder about something.”

‘Um… does he have a thing for me?’ Such a thought entered my head, but I quickly stopped thinking that way. Not only did we have a big age difference, but Lucas also looked very picky about women. For some reason, that was how I felt about Lucas.

Wondering for a second, I replied, “Hmm, we do have known each other for a long time, but he’s a person whom I can keep fantasizing about, regardless.”

“I’m not getting it clearly though.”

“Let’s say there a furnace where I can add and mix my fantasies about Mr. Perfect and a guy living next door. He’s a person whom I’ve drawn out of that heating unit. No matter how long I have known him, I have never seen my fantasies breaking away.”

Lucas, who was listening to my response, asked me as if he felt a little dumbfounded.

“That kind of guy living next door… isn’t the possibility almost the same as a vampire living right beside your house?”

Was he using vampire as a comparison since he was from the West? Anyway, I nodded my head. Just as he said, the possibility seemed to be the same as something that much rare, but I just had come to expect it since he was the brother of the female main character.

“Anyway, I would say… it’s correct that my fantasy about him is still ongoing; however, I seldom get surprised. You know he’s always been beside me, so I’m very used to him…”

“Hmm…”

Listening to my remark, Lucas placed his hands behind his back and tilted his head back. After a moment of thinking, he suddenly blurted, “That also isn’t a good sign though…”

“Huh?”

“It’s too early to get used to him when you guys have been a couple less than a hundred days. Novelty is something that keeps a relationship going.”

Having heard his additional words, I showed a look of bewilderment. ‘Just listening to his remark… he really seems to be a master of love,’ I thought.

That was when Lucas suddenly uttered, “Are you really sure that you have fallen in love with him?”

“What?”

“When did you begin to have a feeling for him? How did that happen?”

Looking up at the sky, I soon replied, “… He’s a person who deserves to be loved…?”

“Huh?” Slightly furrowing his brows, Lucas responded immediately, “Then what if someone pops out and confesses that she has a crush on him? Won’t you be jealous?”

“Hmm… I think that’s understandable. He’s like everyone’s sweetheart you know.”

“Nah, those are different. I’m not talking about some universal standard.”

“Um…” Considering about Yeo Dan oppa again, I replied, “He’s sweet, warmhearted, and considerate…”

“All guys behave that way to the person they like. What can’t they do for their lovers?”

“… Always staying beside me… and likes me.”

It was my true heart, which came out after Lucas pushing me to the corner. I closed my mouth. Casting down my eyes, I somehow dug the frozen ground with my toes. Meanwhile, Lucas also remained silent beside me for quite a while.

After a long pause, he uttered, “You…”

“Yeah.”

Lucas threw a glance far ahead. A stray paintball was just breaking apart while striking the tree. He continued, “Aren’t you thinking, ‘Am I be able to meet someone better than him?’ something like that?’

I didn’t respond. Lucas kept on speaking, “Do you really think a choice you’ve made while having no options can become a real choice?”

“…”

“Broaden your mental vision. Don’t drive yourself to the corner too much.”

‘That’s the way to live a life true to your heart.’

Somehow his following voice contained a little bit of regret. Thus, I just nodded at his advice.

On our way back home after the paintball game, we went to the biggest grocery store in the neighborhood, where we first stopped by once we arrived at Gapyeong, and bought meats for barbeque along with a set of firecrackers.

I suddenly felt a little depressed that ever since I came here, I didn’t even open a page of the workbook I carried in my backpack all the way to this place. Well, I had fun, so that would be enough.

As we came outside of the grocery store, we crossed the town and bridge then walked along the roadside where there were no cars running around.

It was pretty dark outside because there was a long distance between the streetlights. Then at the moment, someone held my hand from beside me. Instead of getting surprised, I grabbed his hand and put it inside my pocket. Raising my head, I showed him a faint smile.

“Again…” grumbled Yeo Ryung. Walking ahead of us, she suddenly kicked Ruda in the shin, which made him throw a fit. It looked like a blurry sight through a camera lens.

I returned home while holding Yeo Dan oppa’s hand. As soon as we got back to the house, we washed the veggies, piled up on a tray, and brought them to the front yard. Although it was wintertime, I liked that there weren’t any winged insects.

After enjoying the barbeque party, we watched TV in the living room and engaged in chatter. Leaning my head on Yeo Dan oppa’s shoulder, I recalled the conversation I had with Lucas earlier today.

‘He’s the only person I can have a relationship with… I’m thinking this way because there exist other people, but does it really have to be Yeo Dan oppa? Can’t I do anything without him?’ I wondered for a while, but there was no answer.

How could Lucas let me fall into such a complicated mood from New Year’s Day? That was when I scowled at Lucas’s swaying hair in a near distance. Muttering that there wasn’t anything to watch, Ruda switched the channels with a remote control then suddenly paused to do so. Since I didn’t have much interest in the TV, I wasn’t directing my eyes on that side.

At that moment, Ruda turned his head to look at Yeo Ryung and me. He uttered, “Hey…”

“Huh?” replied Yeo Ryung. Lifting her head, she diverted her gaze onto the TV and soon froze up. I also looked in the same direction while wondering what was going on. When a familiar name on the screen came into view, I felt my blood curdling in my veins.

[Breaking News] President of Balhae Group Unconscious After Reported Car Crash

All thoughts stopped. I was totally out of touch with reality as if I was inside a TV drama. Amid the situation, I searched inside my pocket all of a sudden and took out my phone. There was a vibration.

Article 31. Until He Gets Used to Misfortune

It took four hours by car from Gapyeong to Balhae Hospital. Since it was already two days after the New Year’s Day, the highway was packed with returning vehicles.

When we arrived at the hospital, it was three in the morning. Everywhere was dark; the air was so cold that my lung was about to freeze. However, broadcasting vans were occupying all directions. Luckily, Lucas drove our car skillfully and slipped through the reporters.

As soon as we got to the parking lot and got off the car, someone was waiting for us. A few strands of his red hair fell under his black beanie pulled down over his eyes. The pair of his grey-green eyes shone clearly over the scarf covering his nose and mouth.

Unwinding his scarf, he said, “Donnie, Yeo Ryung, you guys are here.”

He didn’t seem to have cried since his eyes weren’t wet, but he got a frog in his throat. As soon as he dropped the greeting, Yeo Ryung shouted, “Of course, we are! Why wouldn’t we be here?”

Suddenly changing her attitude, Yeo Ryung pouted her lips with teary eyes in anxiety. I grasped why she was behaving that way.

When someone close to us confronted hardship, the first thing we always said was, ‘Are you okay?’ We did know that the person wouldn’t be fine at all. However, if it happened to Eun Hyung, we somehow thought that he would even conceal his struggles and just smile warmheartedly.

After pouting her lips for quite a while, Yeo Ryung finally chose to just grab the ends of Eun Hyung’s sleeves.

His widely open eyes slowly narrowed down. Looking at Yeo Ryung with an obscure face, which was neither smiling nor crying, Eun Hyung soon switched his gaze to me.

“Donnie… thanks for coming.”

“Come on, all I can do for you is just coming here.”

As I replied that way while feeling very emotional, Eun Hyung stretched out his hand and pressed my head. He also nodded his head toward my back.

“It’s early in the morning… I really appreciate the ride.”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Waving his hand in the air, Lucas, who drove the car, rolled his eyes in embarrassment. It looked like he wasn’t used to this kind of situation. Well, the accident occurred to someone in a distant relation, the father of his brother’s friend, whom he had never even seen before.