My Bloody Valentine - 117

Chapter 117

“Han-a!”

Although Jeong’s face had no makeup, it was still beautiful, and it was glowing with a healthy tan.

Until now, Jeong had been living a vampire-like routine, working at night and sleeping during the day. Not just her, but most of the people in Tacenda lived like that.

However, here, the day starts as soon as the sun rises. Especially in this scorching summer, working in the middle of the day could be dangerous, so people often went out to work in the early morning.

Han recalled the time when Jeong, like he once did, would follow her grandmother and ride the village mayor’s van to help with the farm work, and he smiled affectionately.

Jeong quickly put on slippers and ran out to hug Han.

“I missed you, Han-a!”

“Jeong-a…”

With her eyes closed, as if savoring something, Jeong rested her chin gently on Han’s shoulder, her face overflowing with longing and joy.

Suddenly, Jeong felt a sharp, suffocating gaze and opened her eyes to meet Taeshin’s intense glare. His dark eyes were full of killing intent.

Yujung, still upset about having lost Han to Jeong, struggled to hold back the childish urge to stick her tongue out and tease, extending the hug just a little longer. She wanted to take revenge, even if only subtly, on Taeshin, who had once been her rival.

But Taeshin didn’t hold back. He grabbed Han by the back of his neck and forcibly pulled him away from Jeong, not forgetting to shoot her a sharp warning look.

“Oh my, who’s this! Han’s kid!”

The voice of Han’s grandmother coming from outside ended their long reunion. Taeshin’s furrowed brow relaxed slightly.

“Grandmother!”

Han rushed over and embraced his grandmother’s small, yet generous figure. The grandmother’s scolding, asking if it was alright to make people worry like that, was filled with affection.

As she gently patted Han’s cheek and held his hands with her wrinkled ones, the grandmother noticed Taeshin standing like a totem in the yard.

“That’s Han’s friend.”

Taeshin bowed his head in response instead of speaking. With his tall frame and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants even in the scorching summer, he was clearly someone never seen in the village.

But there was no awkwardness. The grandmother, deciding to feed the guests who had come from Seoul, went into the kitchen to prepare something to eat.

Han slowly looked around, taking in the serene view of his grandmother’s house, something he hadn’t seen in a long time. There were parts that had changed since his last visit. A calendar handed out by the village savings bank hung on the wall, and on the other side, Han’s drawing of Yujung was displayed. Han’s face turned slightly red as he saw it.

The grandmother, bringing out a tray full of sliced melon, said she was going to buy the ingredients for dinner and left the house. Meanwhile, the three people who had once been employer and employees in Tacenda sat side by side on the porch.

At that moment, an unfamiliar puppy appeared in the yard. A brown puppy mixed with black fur came running from behind the house, its pink tongue wagging as it sniffed the air. Han’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Jeong.

“Huh? Do you have a dog?”

“The dog next door had puppies. Grandmother took one in.”

“Wow.”

Han suddenly jumped up from his seat. As he did, Taeshin quietly grabbed his wrist to stop him.

“Be careful.”

Jeong’s expression, looking at Taeshin, was priceless. A puppy that was only three months old? What danger could it pose? He didn’t realize that, for Han, the most dangerous person in the world was himself.

Jeong let out a small laugh in disbelief and turned her head to look at Han, who was crouching in the middle of the yard, petting the puppy’s head and back.

“Wow, its fur is so soft! Taeshin, come over here and touch it!”

“…”

The tall man, who seemed completely out of place with something small and cute, stood up. Then, he silently walked toward Han, who was playing with the puppy, and looked down at his face.

Han grabbed Taeshin’s wrist and pulled him down, making him touch the puppy’s back. Despite being someone who wouldn’t usually be dragged around by Han’s strength, Taeshin allowed himself to be led.

As Taeshin’s hand touched the puppy, the strange sensation made him frown, and Han couldn’t help but laugh loudly at how amusing the situation was.

Jeong let out a long, heavy sigh, watching the two of them.

Han’s smiling face was so beautiful. She wished that this smile, this face, was because of her, not anyone else…

Fate was cruel, wasn’t it? If I can’t have you, then why did fate make us meet?

From the moment she first met Han, all the events that led her back here seemed to play out like a movie in her mind.

After meeting Han, Tacenda, which had once felt like a prison, wasn’t that bad after all. Sure, she now had a scar that would never disappear, but at least she had left Tacenda and returned here.

Jeong, lost in her thoughts, arrived at one conclusion.

Just like I saved you, you also saved me.

“Ah, it tickles!”

The puppy licked Han’s palm, and Han burst into laughter. A faint smile appeared on Jeong’s face, which had once been bitter.

❖ ❖ ❖

After the grandmother went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, Han followed her. He didn’t leave her side while she washed and prepared the ingredients, eager to help with dinner.

It seemed like Han was trying to make up for disappearing suddenly and causing her worry. Although the grandmother waved him away, she didn’t show any sign of displeasure.

Meanwhile, the cold atmosphere between the two people left behind on the porch remained as sharp as ever.

“I thought Han would come alone, but I didn’t expect you to follow him all the way here. I can’t believe I have to see my superior here, it’s so uncomfortable.”

“…”

Taeshin ignored Jeong’s words and only listened to Han’s voice coming from the kitchen.

Jeong spoke, as if to make him hear.

“Shouldn’t he have been sent to the U.S.? Does he even have a conscience…?”

“Not really.”

“How did you treat Han? Aren’t you even sorry?”

“He said he wouldn’t go, so what should I do?”

“Ha.”

Jeong sneered quietly, glaring at Taeshin with eyes full of hostility.

“Do you know Stockholm Syndrome? It’s when a hostage starts feeling sympathy for their captor. I think that might be the case here.”

“I don’t care.”

“…”

“Because he’s next to me.”

“…”

No matter what feelings Han had for him, Taeshin truly didn’t care. What mattered was that Han was alive and by his side. That was enough.

Jeong got up, feeling like she had lost, and went into the kitchen. After briefly meeting Taeshin’s gaze, which seemed to be filled with an indescribable pain, she couldn’t bring herself to argue any longer.

After eating a large dinner that had been served, Han went for a walk around the neighborhood with Taeshin to help digest the food. The plastic greenhouse where they had worked on opening clams, the house of the village chief, and the small shop selling fishing supplies and snacks — Han wanted to show Taeshin the places where he had spent a short, happy time.

And as night fell, Han spread out a blanket in the room where he had briefly stayed.

Just as if he had been waiting, Taeshin pressed his body against Han’s back. Han could feel the growing pressure of his arousal against his thigh.

“No, no…”

“What’s wrong?”

“We can’t here.”

Although Taeshin hadn’t planned on doing anything, hearing Han’s flustered voice made something stir inside him.

Taeshin wrapped his arms around Han’s waist, pressing his hips closely against Han’s, then slid his hand between Han’s legs. He wanted to play around, to hear more of Han’s voice as he complained in embarrassment.

Han grabbed Taeshin’s wrist and urgently said,

“Don’t. Are you trying to show this to Jeong?”

At the careless words, Taeshin froze.

Yes, he had definitely humiliated Han in front of someone he valued.

“Ah… Ta-Taeshin, I didn’t mean…”

Taeshin stayed silent for a moment, then stood up. Without saying anything, he quietly left the room.

Han, left alone in the bed, stared blankly at the door Taeshin had just exited. The words had slipped out by mistake, and he didn’t mean to bring up the past.

He knew that in order to move on to the next page, he had to close the current one. Just as Taeshin had to endure his own pain, Han decided he had to do the same. He couldn’t believe he had said something that sounded like he was blaming Taeshin for something so long ago.

Han got up from the bed, grabbed Taeshin’s linen shirt, which had been left behind like a coat, and went outside. Taeshin was standing by the cherry tree, smoking a cigarette.

His face, visible through the pale smoke, showed no clear emotions, but his blank expression felt unbearably bleak.

Han dragged his slippered feet deliberately, calling out his name.

“Taeshin…”

“Yeah, I did those things too.”

Taeshin’s voice was low, with a self-mocking sigh, and Han lowered his eyes, clutching the shirt tightly.

“I didn’t mean to make you apologize…”

“…”

“I’ve already forgiven you…”

“Don’t.”

Han looked up at Taeshin’s words, which cut off his sentence.

“…?”

“Don’t forgive me.”

Taeshin let out a dry laugh and continued.

“Do you think there’s anything to forgive? Everything I did to you was coercion and rape. I was a damn bastard.”

The reason he had pushed Han and forced himself on him might have been because he wanted to keep him close. After their first time together, Han had been unable to get out of bed for two days and couldn’t move properly for three.

Han, feeling his emotions surge, shouted,

“No!”

“…”

“You said it yourself, you were ruined… There’s something in the law that can lessen the sentence, like diminished responsibility…”

“Isn’t that something the defendant has to claim? I’m not going to do that.”

“Why not!”

The white smoke escaping through Taeshin’s teeth made Han’s chest tighten. It felt as though Taeshin was burning himself, not just the cigarette.

“I love you, Taeshin.”

“…”

“I love you.”

Han said it as if he were chanting a magical word. As if that one word would solve everything… and in some ways, maybe it was half true.

Taeshin exhaled a bitter puff of smoke and turned away.

“Go inside and sleep.”

“I want to go in with you.”

“…Fine, then.”

The two stood side by side under the cherry tree, unaware that someone had been listening to their conversation from the other side of the closed front door.

Jeong, unable to sleep late into the night, had heard Han’s voice raised in what sounded like an argument. She had stepped out in concern but stopped when she heard their conversation. Even Han’s confession at the end.

The hand that had been holding the doorknob dropped limply.