Chapter 10.7

They walked around, looking at the wide stretch of sand, then sat on a rock where they could watch the waves break gently on the shore.

Her gaze drifted toward the long, unbroken horizon. The deep, dark blue sea, whose depth could not be guessed, gave off a solemn yet somewhat lonely feeling.

Seo-hwa turned her head and looked at Yooheon. The man who always fixed his gaze on her when they were together was, for once, looking far away today. His expression was unreadable, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

“Have you ever been here before?”

Seo-hwa spent a long moment quietly observing the man’s profile as he gazed at the sea with an expression different from usual, before she cautiously spoke up.

“Yes.”

“…….”

“This is where I was born.”

His tone was light, but Seo-hwa sensed an inexplicable heaviness in his answer. Suddenly, she recalled something he had said before.

–I confessed that I killed my mother.

 Had he lived here with his mother? There were so many things she wanted to ask, but seeing how the color of the sea seemed to reflect in Yooheon’s expression, her lips couldn’t easily form the words.

“You asked me before, didn’t you? If I’d ever smelled the scent of a rotting corpse.”

He spoke calmly, his gaze fixed in the distance. Seo-hwa suddenly remembered a conversation from long ago.

–……Have you ever smelled the scent of a rotting corpse? 

It had been a light question from Seo-hwa, who had never smelled such a thing herself. She hadn’t even considered that Yooheon’s olfactory hallucination disorder might have truly begun with that scent.

“My mother died right in front of me.”

“…….”

“She stabbed her own stomach.”

Seo-hwa sharply turned toward the man who so calmly confessed his past. Her lips parted in shock, unable to form words. While she hesitated, unsure of what to say, he continued speaking in a steady, emotionless voice.

“The scent I smelled then has never left me.”

“…….”

“How could this scent ever be erased? It’s my mother’s last gift.”

Yooheon confessed the origin of his olfactory hallucination disorder. Tilting his head slightly, the man smiled, but his face held no sadness. The smile he showed seemed hollow, as if all emotion had been erased.

In the past, that expression would have felt chilling, but now Seo-hwa only felt pity. She could imagine how many feelings he must have erased to be able to talk about this so casually, with a smile.

“So, Honey, don’t worry.”

“…….”

“It’s an illness I’ll never be able to cure.”

“…….”

“My love is forever, too.”

His voice turned playful again.

Yooheon, holding Seo-hwa’s frozen cheeks, lightly pressed his lips to hers. With a soft, cute sound, he pulled away, his eyes crinkling as he smiled.

“I’ll never leave you.”

“…….”

“So I’m the one who always has to be anxious about things like that.”

Now, the sincerity wrapped in his lighthearted teasing was plain to see.

“Loving you is easier than breathing for me. But for you, it’s not like that.”

Seo Yooheon always cited his disorder as the reason for his love. Because he liked her scent. Because her scent was unique.

Sometimes, Seo-hwa felt that saying a scent was the reason for love was too trivial, and it hurt her a little. But now, she could faintly understand. That was the best confession he could give.

–When I fall for someone, I love them until I die.

The confession that had once felt so light to Seo-hwa was, for Yooheon, filled with sincerity.

He used his persistent olfactory hallucination as proof that his love would last forever, always trying to assure her of the eternity of his affection.

In the scattered memories that followed, Seo-hwa recalled scenes of Yooheon blindly trying to hold her close. What had felt like reckless behavior to her might have, for him, been a desperate struggle. Thinking this made her heart ache.

She finally understood what had built up the composure and strength she once admired in Seo Yooheon. Now, she could clearly see the anxiety that was hidden beneath his calm exterior.

After hesitating over what to say, Seo-hwa finally reached out and took his wrist, her fingertips gently stroking the back of his hand as she fell into thought.

The red mark from an old burn on the back of his hand had completely disappeared now. Stroking his smooth skin, she carefully parted her lips.

“……You don’t need to be anxious.”

“…….”

“So, don’t hurt yourself like you did last time. Even if you don’t do things like that, I’ll still care about you a lot, Oppa.”

He was the one who had asked to stay by her side, even if it wasn’t love, even if it was just out of pity. He’d said he could bear losing a leg if it meant she would stay with him out of sympathy. Even after getting burned, he would grin just from catching her gaze. The image of Yooheon as a child kept flashing through Seo-hwa’s mind.

Seo Yooheon resembled the young Woo Seo-hwa.

He was so much like herself, always trying so hard to be loved. That was why she found him frustrating, why she cared, and why she wanted to embrace him.

“And from now on, don’t waste your time or money on unnecessary things.”

“…….”

“Let’s just use that money to buy ourselves something delicious.”

Yooheon, who had nodded calmly, suddenly paused and tilted his face. Their gazes met deeply. His eyes quickly scanned Seo-hwa’s face, trying to read her expression.

Seo-hwa met his eyes and quietly revealed the feelings she had kept hidden in her mind.

“That day, even if my mother had asked me to live with her, I was planning to come back to you.”

“…….”

“I went to see my mother because I wanted to break free from old memories and start anew.”

As Seo-hwa continued, Yooheon’s smile slowly faded.

“The person I want to build my future with now is you.”

It was a look as if he already knew everything.

Yooheon stared at Seo-hwa’s face, doubting and doubting again. Outwardly, it seemed out of place in the flow of conversation, but Yooheon understood well enough what Seo-hwa was trying to say with her confession.

There was no way Seo-hwa could know what he had done. He had moved with meticulous care, leaving no room for mistakes.

But why?

Why did she look at him as if she knew something?

Long ago, Yooheon had already checked the note inside Seo-hwa’s suitcase. He had finished investigating everyone around her a long time ago. Seeing the note with the address and the words ‘I want to see you,’ he had guessed that if Seo-hwa ever tried to run away, this would be the place she’d go.

It was unexpected, though, that Seo-hwa actually jumped from the second floor and went to that place. 

[As you said, Seo-hwa came to find me. I told her firmly never to come back. Her departure is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. When will you send the rest of the money?]

–I’ll send it once her departure is confirmed.

[Okay, you’ll keep your promise, right? By the way, may I ask what kind of relationship you have with my daughter to be giving me such a large sum of money?]

–Daughter?

[Ah, no. Sorry. She’s not my daughter anymore. I shouldn’t have said that. Haha, anyway, please be sure to send the remaining payment.] 

Just one hundred million won.

In front of that small sum, Seo-hwa’s mother abandoned her daughter once again.

One hundred million, offered on the condition that she never show up again and never call herself her mother for the rest of her life. Half of it was sincere, and half was a test.

If she had shown even a hint of worry for Seo-hwa, saying, ‘How could I abandon my daughter?’ then Yooheon would have considered bringing her along as a gift for Seo-hwa.

He didn’t like the idea of Seo-hwa’s attention being divided between two people, but maybe this gift would open her heart to him completely.

But, just as he had half-expected, Seo-hwa’s mother accepted Yooheon’s offer without a moment’s hesitation. She didn’t seem to care at all why such an offer was being made for her daughter. She just smiled widely at the money deposited into her account.

That was how he simply cleared it all away.

All the things Seo-hwa was struggling with, yet unable to let go of.

It was a familiar method for Yooheon, but he planned to hide it for life, knowing that if soft-hearted Seo-hwa ever found out, she might cause a scene. He had finished everything cleanly, certain that Seo-hwa would never know.

But since when?

Since when had she known?

Yooheon unconsciously bit his lip. The thought of Seo-hwa looking at him with disgust and finally running away filled him with fear. His previously calm expression hardened.